Gregory's face paled. He looked at his surroundings in confusion, trying to understand what was happening.
However, he only saw the elven girl he fought smiling at him provokingly before turning around to leave.
"W-Wait!" He cried out hurriedly and tried to stop her, but a hand grabbed his wrist and stopped him.
"Stop it, boy. It's your defeat."
Seeing the demigod looking at him with a pitying expression, Gregory's face turned ashen.
'Did I lose...? But how...?'
He was sure he was winning. What in the hell happened?
How was he defeated?
Gregory bit his lips unwilling, but in the end, he nodded.
He could only accept that somehow, he had been defeated by his opponent.
When he returned to his seat, he saw his club leader, Anna, looking at him with a grave expression.
"What happened during the battle?"
"I don't know." Gregory smiled bitterly. I thought I was winning, but all of sudden, I had lost."
Anna frowned thoughtfully.
"… Tell me everything that you think that happened."
Gregory was confused, but he told Anna about his battle with the elf.
When he finished, he saw Anna smiling bitterly.
"Do you want to know what we saw?"
"Huh?"
"When the battle started, you just stayed frozen in place as the elf girl walked calmly towards you and put her rapier on your neck."
Gregory's eyes widened in surprise.
"That is…"
"… Amazing. I never expected she would have such a mastery over illusions." Sighing, Anna shook her head and stood up. "You were tricked totally, and you didn't realize it until the end.
"Sigh, it looks like I will have to end this myself."
Taking a deep breath, the beautiful girl stood up calmly.
She was ready to fight next.
…
Meanwhile, Bloed was looking at Princess Elwha with an impressed look.
"Princess, I never thought you were that strong."
"I told you, right? The reason I took so long to break through A-Rank was that I practice a special technique. But now that I broke to A-Rank, almost nobody in the same rank can defeat me."
"Is it so?" Bloed nodded to himself while looking at his sister from the corner of his eyes. He wondered who would win if Eres and Princess Elwha fought.
'Probably Eres… Somehow, I can't imagine her losing…'
Shaking his head with a wry smile, Bloed stood up and grabbed his saber.
"I guess it my turn next, huh."
"Are you going now, my hero?" Little Gina tilted her head. "They will surely send someone strong for this battle. Is it not better if you wait for the next battle? That way, the chances of winning will be higher."
"It's not necessary. I'm confident I won't lose."
"As expected of my hero!"
Bloed smiled wryly. He then looked at Regina who was looking at him with a concerned gaze.
"Be careful, Master,"
"Don't worry, I'll be alright."
"Don't be overconfident, Darling." Liu Ying spoke up. "If you lose this battle, then we will have lost the game."
Bloed knew it. Right now, the score was 4-3 in their favor.
Bloed was the last strong fighter on Machine Revolutio's side. If he loses, then Flying Leaves would tie the score, but because nobody else from Machine Revolutio can fight, then the next two points would go to Flying Leaves as well, finishing the game with a score of 4-6.
However, if he wins, then the score will end with a 5-5, and the challenge would be decided in one last match.
Because of that, Bloed knew he could not lose.
"... I won't lose," Bloed said to himself confidently. "Trust me."
"I trust you," Liu Ying said with a small smile. "You will win it."
Eres, Aya, Sara, and the others nodded.
Bloed smiled back before walking towards the stage.
When he arrived, he saw his enemy waiting for him already.
"As expected, it's you." Bloed smiled wryly.
"Well, the most important battle must be fought by the two leaders, right?" Anna's lips curved up slightly. "I hope you don't disappoint me, Mr. Bloed."
"Don't worry, I won't," Bloed said.
Just then, though, he remembered something.
"By the way, Miss Anna, what did you mean when you told me that you were ordered to attack me? Who ordered it?"
"Oh? Are you curious?"
Bloed did not reply. Instead, he stared at the girl in front of him calmly.
"How serious." Anna giggled with an amused expression. "Unfortunately, I can't tell you now. However, don't worry, you will know very soon."
Bloed squinted.
"What do you mean?"
"Hehe, I already said too much. Let's stop our chat here, Mr. Bloed. After all, now is time for our battle."
After saying that, Anna grabbed a dagger and took a fighting stance.
"Mr. Demigod, you can start the battle whenever you want."
The demigod looked at the two of them for a few seconds and nodded.
"Are you ready?"
"Ready," Anna said while licking her lips.
"Ready," Bloed said as he took his saber and his two pets out, turning Tito into his armor.
"Then, start!"
As soon as the voice of the demigod fell, Anna moved.
Her body suddenly disappeared, appearing at Bloed's right and swinging her dagger down.
But–
*Clang!*
Leto's metallic sand blocked the dagger.
Anna's lips curved up in a playful smile.
"What a cute pet."
Then, her body disappeared again.
Just like that, the battle that would decide today's challenge started.
...