"Congratulations Shoko!"
Kaze gave her a huge hug as soon as she was back at the tunnel where they were all watching.
"W-Woah, a little tight there," Shoko forced herself to giggle as she got hugged by Kaze. "I'm still in pain, believe it or not. I need to get treated~"
"How did you do that? I was sure that you were cornered," Kaze asked her excitedly.
"Good job, Shoko," Lunaria, with an impressed smile on her face, congratulated Shoko. "I wasn't expecting such an early show of your beast form."
"Yeah, I could have won if he wasn't in such a hurry to lose," Shoko smirked at her own words. "I look forward to all your performances."
"Don't expect much from us," Albert and Kaze both sighed, knowing that Lunaria would have no problem. "We aren't like you or Lunaria with immense power and experience to begin with."
"Don't say that. We can tell if you two truly tried your best," Lunaria giggled. "Like with Yuuji. Too bad he can't be here since he is resting."
The next person to go was one of the remaining 3 people chosen by Lunaria, meaning that they had time to watch before it was their turn.
"See you guys towards the end of the performance," Shoko gave them a quick wave before heading down the tunnel towards the end, where the medical team was waiting.
"Is it safe for us to watch?" Kaze asked Lunaria since they were standing by the tunnel entrance. "After seeing what Kenridge did, I feel like it would be better for us to step back…"
"He is different, not everyone is capable of dealing such massive spells," Lunaria patted Kaze's shoulder gently. "Other than me, that is."
Back over at the observer stands, it seemed like the crowd couldn't get over how the fight suddenly went from 0 to a 100. What's more, they couldn't believe that a first year like Shoko was able to beat the ranked third by herself after showing such astonishing strength that lacked explanation even from Aldwolf himself. With the fourth bout coming up, the hype was more than ever.
"Shoko did well," Lunatea nodded with a satisfied smile. "It should not have been too hard on her, except the last attack."
"I would say that Kenridge did good too, considering he was up against Shoko of all people," Luniel took a sip from her drink. "I certainly wouldn't have expected someone to be able to cast a Master-class spell of all things."
"I am a little interested in seeing Kenridge's full potential," Lucentia tilted her head to think about the issue for a bit. "But… Lunaria-nee can probably do a lot better."
"She can, no doubt."
"Mm."
"I see you girls really love your eldest sister a lot," Ethan smiled wryly at their response. "But… may I ask if you are able to be a little more discrete, because I'm afraid your words might accidentally hurt someone's feelings."
"I think Sir Ethan means his own feelings!" Reginsleif laughed aloud, giving Ethan a hearty slap on the back. "Don't worry Sir Ethan! My daughters may sound mean, but they are actually impressed and can't help comparing. You see, they are especially competitive, even among dragonkins."
"A-Ahaha, I see," Ethan laughed nervously, his back stinging in slight pain from Reginsleif's slap. "We shall continue watching the fight."
Meanwhile, over where Kaze and Lunaria were watching the fight ongoing, there was some sort of conversation going on between them. They were discussing the details of some of the fights that already happened, knowing it was precious information they were going to need.
"Oh, I see," Kaze nodded after listening to Lunaria's explanation. "So, you think that's why he should have stepped back at the last second?"
"Yes. Judging from his reaction, it shouldn't have been that hard," Lunaria tapped the side of her cheek in a thinking pose. "However, he might have panicked, since he was facing against the number 8 strongest in school after all."
"L-Lunaria-sama!" One of the swordsmen behind them seemed to have overheard their conversation and got interested. "Can you give me a few pointers?!"
"Yes please, Lunaria-sama!" The other person quickly approached too, since there were only 2 of them left other than Albert.
With a kind smile, she beckoned them over and began teaching them some of the things that they were confused or curious about. Eventually, even Albert got dragged in but he and Kaze sat this one out, only listening but never interrupting. They figured that it would be better to allow the other two to be taught by Lunaria since they rarely got the chance to approach Lunaria.
"Say, Albert, what is your impression of Lunaria?" Kaze suddenly asked him. "I don't want to feel too stressed out, so let's talk about something. This fight is going to take a while."
"Hmm, I suppose I will play along," Albert retied his ponytail and glanced towards the fight ongoing outside. "Lunaria-sama… Lunaria is someone who I think is rather unique."
"I would agree, but what about being unique?" Kaze nodded, both of them moving further away from the trio who were discussing about fighting. "In my opinion, she is someone who is very impartial."
"I wouldn't call her impartial, but fair is the better word," Albert mused over Kaze's choice of word. "Impartial is pretty strong, especially considering that she is already biased with you."
"Come on, it's not that bad," Kaze sighed. "I know that she is a little sparing with me but being biased is like saying she treats the rest of you like garbage."
"It's actually the opposite," Albert chuckled. "She is treating all of us like close friends, but treats you like a special friend."
"… Okay…?" Kaze felt a little stubborn regarding this point, choosing to not say anything, however. "Then what else do you think?"
"Other than being knowledgeable, a very strong person," Albert thought about it. "Based on what I know from conversations with the few of you, I can tell it must have taken Lunaria a lot of courage to move over here from Aravel. After all, it has been so long since they had any interaction, so the whole process must be pretty challenging."
"I completely agree with that," Kaze's tensed smile quickly relaxed. "Lunaria tends to want to hold on to a lot of things by herself. She… doesn't want to place the burden on others close to her."
"Hm? Is that so?" Albert's eyebrows furrowed at Kaze's statement. "It might be the case, but I don't really realize it… is it because you are closer with her after all?"
"Why… does it feel like you are relating everything I know to me being close with her?" Kaze sighed, Albert smirking at this. "Are you going to bully me too?"
"Hey, just stating the facts right here," Albert feigned innocence. "But seriously, she is someone I don't think I will get to meet again in my lifetime."
"Got that right," Kaze simply agreed.
After loud cheering could be heard from outside, both Kaze and Albert knew that the fight had ended. Finishing their casual conversation there, they headed over to the front to see who had won.
When they saw their representative lying on the floor, they knew that the top 10s took another round for themselves. The crowd seemed satisfied by the fight from their cheering, which was something good.
"We will be taking a ten-minute break now before we resume the event," the emcee stated. "May the next two opponents prepare!"
"Oh, next will be me," Albert widened his eyes and jogged off first. "Toilet break!"
The other two first-years who sat next to Lunaria also got up and left, heading to the toilet behind Albert. This left Lunaria and Kaze alone together, Lunaria walking over to his side.
"What did you and Albert talk about?" Lunaria asked him. "I heard my name being mentioned several times."
"Oh, nothing," Kaze shook his head. "I mean, we talked a bit about you."
"Of all things, about me?" Lunaria giggled. "What is there to talk about me?"
"Your outfit, perhaps," Kaze gave her a quick scan from head to toe. "Even though this is my second time seeing it up close, I still feel very overwhelmed by it."
"I can see why, but after decades of being used to wearing clothes like these, I can't empathise with you," Lunaria gave herself a quick glance as well. "The clothing that the King gave you fits, on the other hand."
"Ah, yes," Kaze knew she was referring to his outfit and smiled. "It is surprisingly well-fitting, but I am not satisfied with my sword yet."
"We will have to find you an appropriate sword soon," Lunaria sighed. "I have one in mind, but…"
"But?"
"… It is complicated. I have to discuss with my sisters first."
"…. Don't tell me you are planning on giving me a sword that is like a family heirloom or something."
"N-Nothing like that. It is true I want to give you a sword, since I have a few, but… I'm a little hesitant whether or not I should."
"If it is about price, please don't worry. I have no intention of accepting free stuff from you in the first place."
"Whether you like it or not, this is not your decision to make. I will make it for you."
"… Why are you so insistent when it comes to stuff like these?"
"Because I have to make the decision for you when I can, when I am capable of helping you."
"… Please don't give me an expensive sword."
"Oh? So that means you accept?"
"… I can't do anything about it, can I?"
"Nope."
"… Yet you still ask… are you trying to guilt trip me?"
"I wonder~"
- - - - -
"Let the fight commence!!"
At the emcee's words, Albert got into action. He removed his sword and began imbuing magic into his attack.
His opponent was the rank number 4 Ryuuseki Alva Ward, 'Skjolder'.
In order to have a chance to face off against someone who specialized in defence like Ryuuseki, Albert knew he was going to have to go strong from the start. Especially when Ryuuseki was someone with a large build and had a huge shield with him, Albert wanted to test the waters with him, literally.
"Water Magic: Reflection."
At his words, the water magic from his hand separated into a few parts. They landed on the floor in the same row as Albert stood, slowly taking a humanoid shape. Once the magic was in effect, there were 7 Alberts standing in front of Ryuuseki now.
"Ohh, water magic huh?" Ryuuseki grinned at this, raising his shield up. "Come!"
All the Alberts raised the swords in their hands and charged at Ryuuseki one by one. With each of them acting exactly like Albert would, even the audience was starting to get confused as to who was the real Albert based on their interaction.
With each sword swinging at him, Ryuuseki skilfully dealt with all of them while maintaining a cautious distance. He was used to fighting against a mob of people, but this was the first time he faced off against someone using water magic to create doppelgangers of himself. Even their sword attacks felt real and heavy, just like Albert himself was attacking with 7 parts of himself.
"Not going to rely on the sword?" Albert taunted Ryuuseki while still trying to break through his defence.
"Hmph, try to make me then!" Ryuuseki smirked, wanting to see the extent of Albert's power.
The clones continued to rain down their sword attacks on Ryuuseki. As powerful as they were, their true nature couldn't be denied. It only took time before the effects of the magic disappeared and Albert would be left on his own to face Ryuuseki again.
Gritting his teeth as Albert couldn't seem to break through the defence even with 6 more copies of himself, he planned for the next attack.
Ryuuseki was able to fend off the attacks with only his shield was due to his large build. Even though he was only a student, his body reflected that of a grown man who had done hard labour or trained a lot. It wasn't just muscle, but the framework of his body itself that enabled him to grow to such size. Ryuuseki did not have a super large build, but just had a very broad shoulder length and amazing muscle strength.
Putting more mana into his attacks now, Albert was distinguishable from the rest of his clones because he was using magic. Ryuuseki quickly took note of this and bashed one of the clones. Instantly, the clone got blasted back and dissipated back to water. He made use of this momentum and continued bashing the others, as if he was body slamming into them with his shield.
Albert took this into account and finished the rest of his spell.
"Water Torrent!" Albert cried out.
Swinging his sword violently in the air, waves after waves of high-pressured water shot out like strings. It was almost like he was waving a never-ending extending whip made of water. With a loud hissing sound from the condensed form of liquid being released, the waves of water came right for Ryuuseki.
Even so, Ryuuseki never slowed down. He casted a layer of protective magic on his shield and went on. He easily broke through the first wave, and then the second, and then the third. Even as Albert was moving backwards while utilizing his attack properly, Ryuuseki seemed to be slowly catching up.
Gradually, more and more waves came from Albert, splitting into three or four different whips now. This finally forced Ryuuseki to stop his approach so he could guard against them. With each whip dealing high-intensity attacks towards Ryuuseki, Albert could tell that that even Ryuuseki was going to have a hard time guarding against them with just his shield.
Ryuuseki enchanted his shield once more, this time covering it in a blaze of fire so he could counter the water whips. With his shield set ablaze, Ryuuseki spun it singlehandedly and easily moved once again.
"Tch, how annoying!" Albert grunted. "That shield is too overpowered."
Moving from place to place across the grounds hastily, Albert tried his best to distance himself so he wouldn't be caught up by Ryuuseki. One good thing about facing against a defender like Ryuuseki was that movement wasn't his forte, considering he had to lunge around the heavy shield.
Chanting more magic along with his sword attack, Albert twisted his leg around and lashed out more attacks right at Ryuuseki. As durable and sturdy as his defence was, it was likely that he would give out sooner or later. All he had to do was find the point where he could burst through his defence.
Albert already tried moving to his back, but it didn't seem to work based on the defence.
Casting Reflection once more, he had his clones surround Ryuuseki in a circle. Ryuuseki only stood in place and looked around cautiously, gripping his shield even closer to his body.
"Go!" Albert instructed his clones, all of them running in at the same time.
Just as they were about to get close, Ryuuseki suddenly jumped into the air. Holding the arm with his shield below him, he suddenly increased his descent and caused a huge blast to radiate all around him.
What Ryuuseki did was essentially empowering his attack with fire magic. The blast that happened as he dropped to the ground created a huge area of effect impact around him, enough to knock the clones away and dispelling them.
Albert wasn't going to be done in by such a tactic, charging right up with his body clad in water. This way, even if he got bashed, Ryuuseki had to go through the water layer first before he was able to reach him.
"Hmph!" As Albert had expected, his water shield was able to block the impact from the shield being pushed towards him, creating a small gap for him.
Raising his sword and dipping his body to the side where his shield wasn't at, Albert aimed right at Ryuuseki's chest.
Ryuuseki wasn't going to allow that, taking a swish backwards with his front leg moving backwards, creating a sweeping move behind. Albert's attack missed, giving the chance for Ryuuseki to empower his shield once more and bashed Albert away from him.
Taking the impact with a backflip, Albert readied his body and released several water spears at Ryuuseki's wide swing. Easily countering them with another twist of his body, Ryuuseki also casted spells of his own in the form of a fire tornade, taking the time that Albert had moved backwards to make one. It wasn't something too big, but enough to distraught Albert.
"Haa!" Ryuuseki launched the fire tornado at Albert, forcing Albert to either move or defend.
Albert wasn't confident enough to take the brute force of such a spell, knowing that defending would only give Ryuuseki the chance to charge up from behind and defeat him instantly. He was also almost at his limit from all the attacking wearing him down, meaning his end was near.
Wanting to go down in a better way, Albert dodged aside at the last moment as the fire tornado ran right past him. Albert coated his body in water magic once more, but quickly switching over to gathering it to his sword.
Racing towards Ryuuseki now, Albert was going to use his final strongest attack in an attempt to at least break through the defence. Even if he wasn't able to make Ryuuseki draw his sword, it was more than enough for Albert.
Unfortunately for Albert, he only fell a little short. The high-impact fight they had tired him out more than he would have expected, causing him to lack that little burst of energy needed.
As his sword came right at Ryuuseki's shield, it could be seen that even Ryuuseki himself struggled to defend against it. The water magic clad around him exploded with even more force, as though pushing against an immovable object.
Letting out a loud cry, Albert felt his sword creaking against the shield that he was attempting to break through. Just as it was about to give in, his arms suddenly weakened, causing him to stumble a little. Ryuuseki quickly took this chance for himself, using his other hand to grab Albert.
In a swift move, he flipped Albert up and over into the air, right down to the ground behind him. It was monstrous to think that he was able to flip a grown person into the air and right down with just one hand, proving his great strength was not just for show.
Being officially knocked out from the impact of crashing to the floor, Albert didn't even have the strength to hold onto his sword anymore. Collapsing and gasping for air from his chest being compressed, Albert was stunned.
The match concluded with a merciless blow from Ryuuseki.
"Good fight," Ryuuseki grinned at Albert, the emcee declaring the state of the match in the background. "You didn't let me down."
"B… Bullshit… you barely moved…" Albert grunted, feeling his breathing catching up to him.
"Hehe, that was good enough in my book," Ryuuseki shrugged, helping Albert to his feet. "Your last attack was commendable. It was a rather fun match."
"Ah, it ended," Luniel let out a disappointed sigh, slumping back into her chair. "It was just starting to get fun."
"One reason it is so hard to fight against someone who was just as good as defending like Ryuuseki is that they run out of stamina too soon," Lunatea smiled at her younger sister. "I don't feel surprised with the outcome, considering Albert lacks practice against someone like that."
"It was very commendable," Reginsleif nodded, clapping along with the crowd. "If only he had just a bit more strength, he could have broken through."
"How would you have done it, Reginsleif-dono?" Ethan asked the Emperor. "I think I would have tried to break through with brute force."
"Oh, fair point," Reginsleif tugged on his beard gently while considering the question from Ethan. "I might have tried the same thing, but with magic. I wouldn't want to destroy his shield."
"Albert did well," Lucentia gave a light nod.
Discussing the aftermatch with each other, the two group of royalties waited patiently for the next few matches to start.
Albert retreated to the tunnel with help from Ryuuseki, where he was greeted by Kaze and Lunaria.
"Yo… sorry I couldn't beat him," Albert made a wry smile, feeling embarrassed he was seen in such a pathetic state.
"Don't be, I felt very worked up from watching you," Kaze shook his head and patted Albert gently on the shoulder. "Go rest, you need it."
"I will leave him in your hands then," Ryuuseki passed Albert on to Kaze. "Lunaria-hime, it is a shame we couldn't match with each other."
"Next time," Lunaria gave a daring smile at Ryuuseki, showing she was not afraid to be challenged. "I will wait for my friend here to beat you first though."
"Hm, I shall look forward to that too," Ryuuseki nodded, shaking Albert's hand. "Until we meet again."
"Y-You bet," Albert grunted, feeling a little discomfort from how tightly Ryuuseki squeezed his hand.
After Ryuuseki left, the next match began.