A/N: A late merry Christmas if you celebrated it!
***
I was sat down, waiting for the match between Charlotte and whoever was to begin. I was surrounded by people of different races, skin tones, heights and strength. But, one thing that they all shared was that they couldn't take their eyes off of me.
It was the Elves in particular who seemed to be particularly uncomfortable, they seemed agitated. Or perhaps scared would be the more appropriate term.
Then, I heard footsteps and soon, a young man with black hair and grey eyes sat beside me. He met my gaze before speaking, his eyes were a stormy grey, his eyes weren't pleasant to look at if I was being honest.
That was because it was if his eyes understood everything about a person in a single glance. His gaze betrayed his age, or rather, his physical age. Not that I was surprised. If my memory served me right, he had probably regressed today.
In other words, less than 24 hours ago, he died. Dying and then realising you're not dead is an experience I'm familiar with, so I can sympathise with him.
"The Elves are uncomfortable cause of that freaky Mana Capacity. They're a highly Mana sensitive race, it's almost as if they're blessed by Mana itself. But like I was saying, they're very sensitive to Mana. When they're this close to you, they can't help but feel on guard."
I looked at him, silently studying the man who I had just had a blood splattering battle with.
"Yeah I guess it makes sense. How're your injuries?"
He smiled a little before replying.
"I'm still pretty sore, but I'm fine for the most part. Except I've got to wear a bandage around my neck for a while, since you uh... bit me. How about you?"
I scoffed at his words, he should know that I was fine after seeing me regenerate entire limbs instantly.
"Fine really, I'm just annoyed that we couldn't keep going. You know, you're the best, I've never had that much fun in my life. Fighting you was like fighting a machine, every move you made felt like it was... correct? Yeah, every choice you made felt like it was the right one. It felt like I was fighting a supercomputer."
Sweat formed as he laughed awkwardly. The reason he was able to fight like that was because he was a regressor. A regressor who experienced in many forms of combat, that's why his swordplay was so... well, I'm not sure how to describe it.
'No, that's wrong. It's beautiful. His swordplay is beautiful. I'm just embarrassed to say it.'
Then, Arthur spoke.
"If I'm a machine then you're a beast. You don't think, the way you fight is unsightly, it's ugly. But, it's destructive. Anyone can tell that you've never learnt how to fight properly. But, it's also ferocious. Just like a beast, you kept going for my throat."
Then, interrupting him, one of the Elves spoke up. He had blonde hair and green eyes, blonde hair seemed to be a very common trait amongst Elves. The Elf didn't seem go be trying to start anything, in fact it just looked he was trying to join in on the conversation.
As such, neither of us got particularly annoyed at him butting in.
"You know, there's a saying. The more you fight against Mana Beasts, the more you become like them. Just what sort of beast's have you spent your days fighting? Scratch that, I don't wanna know. But, what I do wanna know is what noble family you come from. I don't think Hyperius is a noble name, are you some concubine's kid?"
Arthur spoke. I shouldn't have been someone who existed in his past regression, but I was still able to keep up with him. So, he should also be curious about me.
"Yeah, I'm curious too. I don't think the Erebus Empire has a noble family with the name or Hyperius, but you were with the Princess of your country, and you're obviously talented. So, I'm assuming the same thing as that Elf."
I smiled, it was a little funny that they thought I was from some sort of noble lineage.
"I'm a commoner, I'm with Charlotte cause I'm her Knight."
The Elf'a jaw dropped a little.
"Really? You could've fooled me. You look like a noble, and you managed to become the disciple of the weather dude so I assumed that you had to be a noble. Guess not. That's kinda cool though."
Arthur nodded his head, agreeing.
"Yeah, I didn't think a person like you would be a commoner like myself. But, it's good to have someone like you here. With a person like you here maybe..."
The Elf spoke next.
"A person like him?"
"Oh, ah... nothing. It's nothing. Anyways, the match is gonna start."
Then, the commentator spoke as Charlotte walked onto the field. Her long black hair was tied into a pony tail, she wore what seemed to be a lightweight body armour.
The shadows seemed dance at her arrival, the rather sky itself seemed to be applauding her arrival. It was as if darkness itself was nothing more than her subordinate.
I looked at Arthur, he should have some sorta grudge against her from his first life but strangely he just... looked a little sad when he looked at her.
'Weird.'