"Uvahahaha, greetings to all our faithful spectators. The second stage of the tournament has arrived," the resounding voice of Vinila welcomed us at the stadium. "To spare you from prolonged waiting, let me announce today's battle order right away!"
Vina rummaged through some papers and pulled out the necessary list.
"First will be the duel between Hilda Degarun and Krito Vale, then the clash between Princess Katrina and Vivien, Alfred and Aileen, and finally, Rizel and Ragni!! Of course, there are fewer battles today, so there will be longer breaks between them for you to place your desired bets, buy food, drinks, and other items. The first two battles will take place before lunch, and two more after. Rector, would you like to address the participants?"
The old man rose from his seat and took the pipe out of his mouth.
"Dear students, you have already proven your strength, and...," the Rector pondered, scratching his beard, "since I can't think of anything clever, I'll let you do it instead."
The Rector comfortably settled back into his seat, giving the floor to Vina.
"What an inspiring speech," she sarcastically remarked. "Well, it doesn't matter, dear viewers, place your bets on the first battle. Although I already know your preferences, who knows what our gray cardinal might come up with."
"Oh, this Vina, she really can't encourage people," the words of the greedy merchant only filled me with melancholy.
"Ha, don't let it get to you. If such a trifle can knock you off balance, what kind of warrior would you be," a heavy hand clapped me encouragingly on the back. I wondered if this could be considered a false start, given that Hilda's preemptive strike nearly dislocated my shoulder. How can this girl be so strong?
"Well, Princess, ready for the battle? I won't yield to you, so don't even hope," I said.
"Ha-ha-ha, I don't need that. By the way, to avoid misunderstandings later," Hilda leaned closer to me, "let's do it on your terms. Let's make a bet on the victory."
"So, you still want to gather loyal warriors under your banner?"
"That's exactly why I'm here! So, are you in agreement?"
"Hmm, so if I lose, I'll serve you, no matter what role you choose for me?" I smirked.
"Of course, don't think I'm some delicate flower. Even if you use me as a living shield against monsters on missions, I won't be offended," Hilda confidently folded her arms across her chest.
"Fine, then it's a deal. But I think you won't like the role I have in mind for you, hehehe."
My evil laughter unsettled the princess, but she still extended her hand towards me.
"Deal," I said as we shook hands and headed towards the arena.
"Here comes the first battle," Vina greeted us once again at the arena. "One of the strongest warriors from the North against... Krito."
"Oh yes, Vina, thanks again for the support," I thought to myself.
"I found out some interesting facts about the princess, and now I'll make up for my ignorance," Vina pulled out a few cards from her pocket. "Princess Hilda fights with the axe 'Curse of the Northern Tribes', forged during the great dragon war. She loves meat and strong people, dislikes vegetables and foolish laws. Oh, and she's afraid of spiders and... whatever this is."
Vina squinted, trying to decipher what was written on the card, while the blushing princess sent a couple of icy arrows towards the booth.
"WHERE DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THIS?!?!"
"It's elementary," the merchant shrugged and pointed to the balcony opposite. "I asked your father."
The king in his Nordic fur-lined armor nonchalantly waved his hand at his daughter.
"DAD!!"
"King Siegfried, it seems to say here that she's afraid of her mother," Vina looked at the king doubtfully, but he nodded affirmatively. "Ha, unexpectedly, it seems even this princess has her weaknesses."
Vina slowly dissolved into a smug smile, while Hilda seethed with anger.
"Ahem. Krito, are you without your usual weapon today?" Vina noticed that I didn't have the sheaths behind my back.
"Yes, today I will fight differently," I smoothly drew a beautiful bluish katana from its sheath.
"Ho-hoo, you've taken the blade from this naive girl. This could be interesting," Vina clapped her hands and closed her eyes. "Let the battle begin!"
"I need to calm down and remember the worst moments of my life. How I ended up on this island, how I was treated as an outsider, the first encounter with the inquisitors when they wanted to burn the miller's family alive, and how at the beginning of the year, one conceited princess broke my heart," I mentally recalled everything that annoyed me as I swung the katana. The air filled with sparkling ice fragments, and the temperature dropped sharply.
"Hoo, you wield the ice magic better than the owner of that katana," Hilda slowly pulled an axe from behind her back and thrust it into the ground, causing the earth around the blade to freeze over.
"Well, of course, I made this katana myself, and I know exactly how its powers are activated," I leaned forward, gripping the katana with both hands, preparing for the attack. Hilda took the axe horizontally at the end of the handle and made a swing. The axe flew towards my head with a whistle, and I met it with an upward strike. The katana was much lighter than the axe, even with my two blades, but the advantage in attack speed allowed me to parry even the powerful strikes of the princess.
The katana slid along the axe's edge, deflecting the blow upwards. I dove beneath the attack and delivered a second strike with the katana aimed at the opponent's legs. Hilda leaped into the air, and only the icy aura of the blade slightly grazed her boots. Twirling several times in mid-air due to the inertia of the heavy axe, she landed gracefully, placing the axe on her shoulder.
"Heh, didn't expect you to master handling the katana in just a couple of days, but you did it," Hilda remarked.
"Well, I learn fast. But how did you notice the second strike in such an awkward position?" I asked.
"Oh, that," Hilda glanced at her armored boots and shook off some ice. "While you use ice magic, I can easily predict your attacks. That's all."
The princess shrugged, as if it were something quite obvious. Of course, if she had been studying ice magic for so many years, she could easily detect the source of an attack by the chill it emanated.
"Well, let's give it a try anyway!" I lunged at Hilda again and delivered a horizontal strike, but she just stepped back, and the sword only grazed her armor slightly. I swung again, but Hilda easily evaded the attack.
I kept striking, but Hilda effortlessly anticipated my moves and dodged with minimal movements.
"For me, it's not difficult at all," Hilda blocked my sword with the axe handle and punched me in the chest. The blow was incredibly powerful, and I was thrown back three meters.
"Phew," it was hard for me to catch my breath, and for a moment, everything went dark, but I quickly got back on my feet. "Truly incredible strength for a human."
"It's natural for all warriors of my lineage, but that's not all I can do," Hilda held the axe at the end of the handle with one hand and began swinging it over her head. It looked mesmerizing, but I noticed ice fragments gathering on the axe blade.
"Damn," the first wave of ice broke off from the axe's tip. The wide wave spread across almost a quarter of the arena. I delivered a quick strike from above, and the narrow wave from the katana cut through the attack. But the princess didn't stop there; she continued rotating the axe around herself at high speed, sending new waves at me with each swing.
I met each wave with a counterattack, causing them to disperse into a hundred snowflakes. Eventually, I couldn't see anything around me except for the snowy veil and new attacks; a white curtain enveloped half of the arena. I needed to come up with a new way to defend; I couldn't strike as frequently as Hilda.
I noticed movement in the fog before me, but it was too late. With each attack, Hilda closed the distance with small steps, and I didn't notice how she got within arm's reach.
"Gotcha," I heard the clash as the axe suddenly stuck into the ground. Using the momentum from the rotation, the princess turned on the spot and kicked me in the stomach. The blow was powerful, and I somersaulted in the air, flying backward. But an idea struck me right away. If I couldn't gather magic on my own and attack with the sword as fast as Hilda, perhaps I could use it directly.
As I flew back, I rotated in the air and launched a small ice attack at Hilda. She didn't expect the trick and received a direct hit to her chest plate.
"What's this?" the princess looked at her armor. A deep dent with frozen edges was visible on her chest. "I thought you could only use ice magic with the katana."
"Well, I thought about it, huh," struggling to stand after the princess's devastating blow, I confidently looked her in the eyes. "I might not be as skilled with the katana as Asura, but I am a mage, after all. So why not fully utilize that?"
I ran my hand along the backside of the blade and gathered a small ball of ice mana. Twirling it in my hand for a moment, I hurled an icy icicle towards the princess.
"Surprising, ice magic like that doesn't dissipate," I concentrated on the katana, and the icy aura slowly enveloped my hands. "This should work better."
I gathered the ice on my left hand into a shield-like form and rushed back into the attack. Hilda lifted her axe and blocked my katana with the handle. I transformed the icy shield into three sharp spikes and aimed for her head. The princess leaned backward, and the spikes passed barely grazing her cheek. She kicked the axe with her knee and, disarming me, the sword continued its motion behind her back. Hilda prepared to deliver a powerful circular strike, and I doubted I could block it. I swiftly sat down and directed the icy aura under my feet. A wall of ice emerged from the ground where the axe's blade approached, slowing down the mighty weapon. With the slowed strike, I blocked it with the katana, pointing its blade towards the ground.
"Heh-heh-heh, it's been a while since someone managed to stop my strike," Hilda smiled, and I grinned in response. The icy aura that covered the katana's blade went underground and emerged moments later, forming sharp spikes from below. "Damn."
Hilda jumped back, but the spikes left a few cuts on her legs.
"Well, you do love unexpected attacks. I think I need a bit of preparation, if you don't mind?" I asked.
"Sure, go ahead," Hilda planted the axe in front of her in the ground and closed her eyes, kneeling. For a moment, it seemed to me like a white shadow appeared behind her and instantly merged into the princess's body. Hilda remained still, and ice began to gather around her; her entire metallic armor started quickly coating with a thick layer of ice. After a minute, the armored gloves, boots, breastplate, and her wide skirt adorned with steel plates were covered with a thick layer of ice.
"There we go, now I'm ready," Hilda stood up from her knees and smoothly raised the axe on her shoulder.
"Isn't it heavy for you?" The ice accumulated on her must weigh at least twenty kilograms.
"I'm used to it by now, but it has its advantages. Come on, attack," Hilda beckoned me with a gesture and smirked. Apparently, in such "armor," she might be uncomfortable moving, but there was something else.
I decided to test her reaction. Gathering some mana of lightning in my legs, I teleported behind the princess within a second and tried to strike her neck.
"Nope," the katana's blade stopped halfway, Hilda blocked it with one hand. Previously, my attack could easily have cut off her hand together with the armored glove, but now the blade stopped even before reaching the metal. The thick layer of ice slowed down the impact and immediately restored itself where it had been damaged. Just as I managed to stop her axe, she could stop my attacks as well.
I turned around and aimed a strike at her torso, but the princess didn't even budge from her spot, and the blade simply got stuck in her breastplate.
"And it's not just for defense," Hilda spun on the spot and made a full circle with her axe. I jumped back, but the icy wind from her swing pushed me even further away.
The girl playfully took the katana by the end of the hilt and, with a couple of swings, created several powerful streams of icy wind. I was thrown to the edge of the arena, and I noticed how the princess raised her axe high above her head and began gathering a huge ice block above it.
"Hail," Hilda struck the block with her axe from a wide swing. The block split into thousands of shards, and they rushed towards me. I delivered two quick strikes, and the icy waves in the hail of shards created a thin passage. Twisting, I managed to pass through it, but I still received a few deep cuts on my legs.
"Now I'm much stronger than you!" Hilda shouted while still standing in the center of the arena. In such defense, she couldn't move from her spot. The ice shards began to slowly attract themselves to the princess, captivated by the bluish glow of her axe. Fighting further would be futile.
"Alright, alright. In ice magic, you outperform me," I stood up and carefully sheathed the sword.
"Oh, are you giving up so soon?" Hilda stopped and looked at me suspiciously.
"What? No, I don't want to surrender yet, but I need a bit of preparation too."
"Well, you gave me time, and I don't mind either."
"Thanks," I faked the end of the katana's hilt and unscrewed it, revealing a beautiful diamond. "Dragon's blood, pure flame, a soul bound to mine, lend me your power."
Quietly repeating the oath, I took the diamond out of the katana's hilt. The light in the gem immediately faded, and the icy aura around me began to dissipate. But from my pocket, I took out a ruby, just as perfectly round as the removed diamond, and inserted it into the vacant spot. Suddenly, it became very hot, and the ice around started melting. I twirled the hilt and quickly drew the katana from its sheath. A bright flame spread around, scorching the ground and turning ice into steam. The mark on my hand emitted a soft glow and began to burn my skin. Maybe it wasn't entirely my power, but I didn't intend to use it to the fullest.
"Hey, Ragni, do you know you're glowing?" Katrina noticed the changes in her friend from the balcony.
"Huh?" Ragni looked at her hand; the tattoo was glowing, covering her entire body with a faint fiery aura. "Well, I hope he won't go too far with this."
"Ah, my katana!!?" Asura anxiously looked at her sword engulfed in flames. "It won't melt, right? It won't, will it?"
It was striking how a composed warrior like her cared about her sword as if it were a beloved kitten.
"Eh, Asura, calm down," Seleria patted the girl on the shoulder. "Krito said that this katana can use any element, so it won't just melt like that. I don't know how he changed it, though."
"Ooo, my katana!?" Asura watched the scene with teary eyes, holding on to the balcony's edge.
"What a powerful flame," Hilda smiled contentedly, building more ice blocks around herself. "Can you handle this?"
Swinging her axe, the princess hurled three blocks at me in a row. I split the first one with my sword, exploded the second with a fireball, and caught the third one with one hand. Ragni's power not only granted control over fire but also enhanced my physical strength. Of course, I couldn't use it for too long, but I didn't need much.
"Interesting," I jumped and almost reached the dome above, crashing down on Hilda. The girl blocked the attack with the handle of her axe and pushed me away. Jumping back, I approached the opponent again, delivering a strike from below. The princess leaned back, and the katana passed right in front of her face. The heat from the flames instantly melted the ice on her breastplate, and Hilda realized that this tactic no longer worked.
"Alright, enough defending," Hilda jumped back and shook off the icy protection. As the ice shards fell off her armor, they were immediately attracted by the aura of the mighty axe. The blade of the enormous axe became even larger, almost my size, but Hilda still held it effortlessly with two hands. "Finally, I'll be able to fight at full power!"