The people sitting around the humongous arena made of red bricks and black iron were shouting at us as if we were the most wanted criminals in this kingdom.
And maybe in their eyes, we were.
"They seem rather expectant huh"
"No one is rooting for us"
"There´s Jasmine"
"She doesn´t count"
"Hahaha. Harsh"
"Hmph!"
Isabella and I were standing at the east side of the contestant´s entrance. We were putting on the armor and weapons that we would use in the fight.
We both chose to put on some light armor to protect our bodies over the thick coat that the school gave us as primal protection. Since we were more on the attacking side, using heavy armor seemed just unnecessary.
After adding some protection for the chest, arms, and legs and we were almost set to go.
"I never thought you´d be using dual guns," I said looking at Isabella as she secured a belt with several magazines.
On each side of her legs, there were empty cases where a couple of semi-automatic pistols were being loaded by the girl with a ponytail. Each of her movements made her hair dance in the air.
"I´m not strong enough to use a sword or any close-ranged weapons of the sort, so I trained my aim and agility"
Yhea... The original story said so much...
"It somehow suits you a lot. Or at least I think so" I also loaded my revolver and unsheathed my sword. Usually, I would also be using a semi-automatic, but in this case, I wanted to have a bit more firepower.
Even if the black pouder was lethally real, the projectiles were non-lethal, and my sword was not sharp, so there was no real danger of killing someone.
Unless you really wanted to do so.
"You are also pretty surprising, using both a pistol and a sword. Most knights would stick with just one of them since using them at the same time tends to be quite difficult"
I rolled both of my weapons with style to brag a bit about my abilities.
"You´d be surprised at how handy it is to have these babies near your hand once you´re used to them"
Isabella just chuckled with a cute smile as she said: "Whatever you say, black panther"
A wave of awkwardness and guilt invaded me when I heard that name.
"Oh please, not you too, Isabella"
And a bit of annoyance.
"Hehe. I heard some people calling you that, I thought for a moment that they were joking, but looking at you closely..."
She got in front of me, mere inches separating our faces.
"You do look like a feline" Her hands reached my face. I got petrified when her warmth invaded my personal space and her motherly voice praised my appearance. "I like your eyes a lot, they are a bit scary, but they can be comforting once you got to know them"
"... I... Uh..."
Snapping out of her brilliant smile, and her gentle eyes. I grabbed her palms and said: "Let´s just focus on the fight, alright?"
Although a bit surprised by my sudden move, she nodded and changed into an expression of challenge.
I let go of her and began to walk to the arena.
Damn... I wasn´t expecting that... I better be careful when I´m alone with her...
My heart was beating hard, I tried to appease it by focusing on the task at hand, but it was a bit harder than expected.
Before going out, a referee had to check our guns to make sure that they were non-lethal. We passed the check-up without problems and proceeded to enter the arena.
A team of commentaries explaining everything was floating over our heads inside a cabin with microphones and speakers made of magical crystals.
"From the east side! The couple that caused the whole academy to shake with their presence!"
"C-Couple..."
"Hm? Did you say anything, Isabella?"
"N-Not at all!"
"???"
"The people that by any means, are expected to even pass to the second year!"
Fucker...
"That´s so rude!"
"Representing their vile stance as demons! The black panther from the Yatra household! And the white star from a common family!"
"White star?!"
"Pff... Suits you..."
"No, it doesn´t!!"
"The irregular challengers! Dominique Foe Yatra, and Isabella Li Thomas!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
DEMONS!!! COMMON FILTH!!!
BASTARDS!!!
"Well... They just love us, don´t they?"
Just as I expected, almost all the students gave us their curses and bad wishes.
I thought they would insult us more harshly, but it looks like they have cooled off a bit...
"And from the west side! The team willing to show the whole meaning of being a noble to these invaders!"
"Aaaaaand there he goes again... Ugh..."
"A bunch of heroes led by a man who is well-known by the shield of the sea horse!"
And for living in the shadow of his father...
"A promising soldier! The man whose actions speak louder than his words! Please give your support to the golden sword! Lord Opherio Al Dominus!"
Contrary to our case, the multitude gathered into claps of appraisal and enjoyment.
OUR HERO!!!
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!
TEACH THEM A LESSON!!!
Definitely, they were the favorites of the public.
Not that it mattered in the end...
Opherio was wearing heavy armor of golden brilliance. The same happened with his long sword and the shield on his left arm.
He likes to be close and personal huh...
His minions were walking behind him with light and heavy armor and a variety of weapons that came from a bow to a great axe.
Counting them all, they were 6.
Not a very fair fight indeed.
"So you decided to show. I was expecting you´d flee with your tail between your legs" Said Opherio while taking his position.
There was a distance of 10 meters between both teams. The leaders of each team in the back of the formation.
"We were the ones requesting the fight, that would have been as pathetic as your effort to look rich, golden boy"
"THE FUCK YOU JUST CALL ME?!!"
Opherio held his sword with hatred flowing out of his mouth. A reaction far more exaggerated than what a noble should give if you ask me.
Though I was happy with the results in any case.
"All right, looks like you are ready to go"
The man wearing red clothes and a massive sword on his back appeared seemingly out of nowhere.
Then, he stood between us and faced the audience.
"This fight is the first of many others, and as such, I was chosen to dictate when the winner has been decided!! The rules for this match are simple, incapacitate your enemy until it can´t fight back!! Or you can capture or defeat the general of the enemy team!!"
As he explained the rules, I noticed that the weapons of our enemies were not as regulated as ours.
"Isabella, can you see?"
"... Yhea... Those things are real..."
"And something tells me that their ammo might be too"
"Tch... Should we stop the fight?"
"If that´s what you want, then-"
"I want to do what you want. If you assure me that we´ll get out of this alive I´ll follow you, if not, I´m taking a step back with you"
I was taken aback by her statement. Those words and confidence were not something that I had in mind at this short notice.
However.
"Isabella... As long as you are with me, I´ll do everything in my power to assure victory... But I can´t promise you we´ll be unscratched"
She looked me deeply in the eyes. Staring hard at my soul. Then she let go of a long sigh and grabbed my arm.
"I´m counting on you, show them that we irregulars are much more than demons"
I instinctively grabbed her hand and nodded with a nervous grin.
"I fucking promise you that I will"
We reassured each other with our looks and turned to the front, where Siegfreid was getting done with the rules.
"This is the final moment for both parties to cancel the duel and reach a verbal agreement. Both leaders, step forward"
We did as signaled and got closer to our enemy.
"Dominique Foe Yatra, do you wish to continue?"
"Fuck yhea"
"Opherio Al Dominus, do you agree?"
"Absolutely, sir"
"Then it´s settled. Return to your places"
I gave Opherio a goodbye with my middle finger before reaching my place. It got him quite mad since his face became red.
"What´s the plan?"
When I was back with Isabella, she asked me about out strategy to win against these absurd conditions.
I smiled at her and said:
"Quite simple, really, we just have to..."