No matter the circumstances around them.
Whether the audience cheered or jeered, regardless of how their comrades fought, or whether the item in their hand was a real sword or not—it didn't matter.
Lucas and Hecate were completely absorbed in each other, exchanging blows with their swords. Neither of them backed down an inch, exchanging sword strikes with their utmost effort.
Years had passed since their graduation.
Both of them had honed their swordsmanship in their respective hells. They were trained in battlefields where not killing meant not surviving.
They paved the way for their respective rulers by washing the roads built of corpses with blood.
Both of them had changed. Their swordsmanship had changed as well.
However—
The core, the essence of their sword principles, remained unchanged.
The foundation of being a swordsman, the basics they had trained together during their school days, stacked at the very bottom, remained entirely intact from that time, and so both of them were reassured.Though they had each fallen into their own hells.
Both Lucas and Hecate still maintained their selves.
Swoosh!
The wooden sword and the umbrella being pushed against each other, the two knights created distance between themselves.
Hecate, gripping the handle with both hands, slowly lifted the umbrella above her head.
Lucas also gripped the handle with both hands, lowering the wooden sword and crouching down as much as possible.
Hecate, taking the high position, and Lucas, taking the low position. The two knights, adopting completely opposite stances, stared fiercely at each other.
Just like the battle they had on the day of their graduation ceremony.
And then—
The outcome was decided in an instant.
Thud!
Lucas, with a fearsome momentum, rushed towards Hecate delivering a strike as he leapt from the ground.
Hecate, like a matador smoothly dodging a bull, smoothly brought her umbrella down.
Slash!
The wooden sword was cut in half.
It was a reproduction of the graduation ceremony duel. Hecate thought she had won just like on that day. However.
"Ugh!"
The remaining half of the wooden sword did not stop.
Lucas's wooden sword, smoothly continuing its sword path, drew an elegant arc and, the next moment Hecate blinked, stopped right in front of Hecate's neck.
Lucas had anticipated from the beginning that Hecate would cut down his wooden sword and set his sword path such that even with the remaining blade, he could subdue Hecate.
The sword was broken, but Lucas won the duel.
Following Lucas's motion, a whirlwind belatedly swept through, and Hecate's wide-brimmed hat gently lifted into the air before falling to the ground.
Hecate slowly lowered her umbrella to the ground and then raised both hands.
"You've grown, Lucas."
"If it were our school days, the moment you cut the sword would have been your victory."
Lucas also slowly retrieved his wooden sword.
"But in real battle, it doesn't end there."
"Right. There's no teacher to blow the whistle for a draw, no school uniforms to protect us, no school fences... none of it anymore."
Hecate chuckled.
"We've become adults."
The world outside the school was cruel, and both of them had adapted.
The deciding factor was just one. How much more they had mulled over their last duel.
Lucas had constantly pondered how to fight to win in that duel and had drawn his answer. And thus, he proved it.
"I've lost!"
Hecate conceded with a cheerful voice, and Lucas added slowly.
"Next time."
"Huh?"
"Next time, let me hear your answer."
Hecate's eyes widened as Lucas gave an awkward smile.
"How will you move to block this move?"
"..."
"I'll be waiting for our next duel, Hecate."
The corners of Hecate's mouth slowly formed a smile too.
Because Lucas's earnest gaze was really no different from their school days.
"I'm relieved. You've grown, but changed a lot... Yet, you're still you, Lucas."
"You too, Hecate. And."
Lucas slowly turned his head.
"So is our lord."
Lucas's gaze shifted towards the Fake Dragon.
Damien was firing rubber-tipped arrows wildly, and the others were doing their utmost to block them.
An arrow slipped through Ash's fingers as he jumped up. Ash screamed and rolled on the ground, and the arrow that got through was blocked by Evangeline with her shield instead.
As if he never screamed, Ash clapped his hands wildly.
"Our lord has lost his memory."
Lucas watched quietly before looking back at Hecate.
"He has changed a lot. He's no longer the person from our school days. But... when he talks about protecting the world, that grand and far-fetched goal."
"..."
"The smile that appears on his face then, it's still the same as back then. It's the light of the person I decided to follow for the rest of my life."
Suddenly, the images from their school days flashed before Hecate's eyes.
The black-haired boy walking at the forefront, with a haggard look.
The blond boy, always standing firmly behind the black-haired boy.
And herself, with beige hair, checking on the blond boy and following beside him.
When Hecate opened her eyes again, the images of their youth vanished like an illusion, and they were replaced with their adult selves.
"Graduating from school, surviving in a harsh world, we keep changing... But if there is one thing that doesn't change, if there is one thing we should keep..."
"..."
"Isn't that enough? With that, we are still ourselves."
Lucas smiled softly.
"I try to keep that unchanging thing."
Much had changed, but still.
Still insensitive, still following only their master, still wanting to duel with oneself.
Facing such a face of first love, Hecate couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Ha ha. Coming to this festival was a good decision. Really..."
***
Separate from the duel between the two knights.
This side evolved into a situation where Evangeline, Junior, me, and four Black Knights were twisting our bodies to block the rubber-tipped arrows shot by Damien.
Even dodging water cannons and whip chains shot by the Fake Dragon!
Damien & Fake Dragon (Lilly) VS the other 7. A similar setup, so to speak.
In the end, Damien won. Eventually, the arrows began to rotate in a whirlwind shoot in mid-air. Can't you stop cheating?!
Luckily, the duel between Lucas and Hecate ended first. It was a relief to escape this ridiculous situation of potentially thwarting our team's victory!
After the duel, with faces refreshed, the two knights bowed to each other and turned away.
Wow...
Clap clap clap clap.
Applause poured from the audience for the splendid duel between the two knights. Cheers also came our way for the hard work.
I patted the shoulders of the Black Knights who had suffered with me.
The Black Knights felt awkward but soon exchanged greetings with laughter with our members. How warm.
'Now, the finals...'
Our final opponent would be Dusk Bringar and the Dragonblood Knights, who had advanced earlier from the semifinals.
The defending champion of the last martial arts tournament, the Duchess of Bringar Kingdom, and the warriors from the west, known as the berserkers. All members are a luxurious configuration of SSR grade.
Turning my head, I saw Dusk Bringar standing blankly in the audience, looking at me. Her four knights were neatly lined up behind her.
"..."
"..."
We exchanged silent glances.
Suddenly, I remembered the declaration of war she sent me two years ago. Even then, she had challenged me to a duel over Crossroad.
Perhaps we were always destined to fight like this.
"..."
"..."
No, apart from that.
Suddenly, it turned into a staring contest. Dusk Bringar and I glared at each other, seeing who would look away first.
"...Ugh!"
Eventually, Dusk Bringar was the first to look away.
Unable to bear it, Dusk Bringar blinked her big eyes, her cheeks reddening with frustration as she gritted her teeth and then turned away.
"Hehe, looks like I've won the psychological warfare..."
While my eyes were bloodshot during the staring contest, Damien was 'healing' me, and Lucas stood in front of me with a much brighter expression after defeating Hecate.
"Another revenge match, it seems. I'm looking forward to it."
"Ah, now that you mention it."
Last time, it was Lucas who faced Dusk Bringar in the finals of the martial arts tournament. He was utterly defeated then...
"At that time, the use of swords was prohibited in the tournament, and we had to fight purely with our bodies. It was unreasonable to win against a half-dragon."
Lucas, with a face full of confidence, drew a new wooden sword and raised it into the air.
"But this time, we have swords! And I have diligently trained since then. This time I will have my revenge!"
"You're brimming with confidence just because I lost, Lucas..."
Even though Hecate lost, her expression brightened. The mindset of swordsmen is indeed complex.
Then, Junior asked me cautiously.
"By the way, Your Majesty, are you sure it's okay? The Duchess seems to be really fired up."
"Heh. I'm fired up too."
I cracked my knuckles menacingly.
The 5v5 PVP tactic against the Dragonblood Knights had been established a long time ago.
Since Dusk Bringar sent a declaration of war two years ago, I meticulously prepared for this eventuality.
For this martial arts tournament, we rigorously trained our party members in this tactic from the start to defeat Dusk Bringar.
Almost half of the training period was spent preparing for this.
'Berserkers from the west? Dragonblood Knights? All SSR? Who cares! Bring them all on!'
They are well within the scope of my 'strategy.' I'll use every dirty trick I've prepared in advance to take them down.
"Like a true villain! I'll drag the previous champion down from the ring and wrap the belt around my waist!"
I covered my face with my hands and laughed wickedly.
The main party members exchanged glances... and then smiled kindly at me, as if saying 'let him enjoy.'
What, you guys! If you have something to say, say it!
***
Thus, an hour later.
The main event of this festival, the martial arts tournament, and its climax, the final round, finally began.
The weight of the name 'finals,' the renown of the two parties stepping up to fight, and the lingering sadness for the festival reaching its end...
For various reasons, the audience was packed, and everyone waited for the match with faces full of anticipation.
...Until about 5 minutes ago, that was.
"Aaaaaah!"
"Aaaaack!"
"Run, everyone run!"
"You'll die if you get caught!"
Most of the people sitting in the audience were screaming and running away.
In the sky, dark clouds swirled, and the atmosphere vibrated with suffocating magical power. Not only the people but also the animals in the vicinity ran away with faces filled with terror.
Dragon Fear.
The wide-area fear technique of the dragon species, dominating the surroundings with its mere presence.
No, it wasn't just Dragon Fear... clearly, a murderous magical power was swirling around violently.
Wiping the cold sweat off my forehead, I directly faced the opponent who had caused this situation.
Grrrrr-
Dusk Bringar.
She, walking slowly towards us, looked quite different from usual.
A pair of red horns on her small forehead, a pair of red wings made of blood membranes under both shoulder blades, and a red tail protruding from below her back.
As the eyes wrapped above the cheeks with emerging red scales opened, her amber dragon eyes were completely surrounded by whites that had turned black.
'Dragonblood Frenzy?!'
Using this insane risk technique, here and now?!
I uttered with a grimace.
"Um... Your Grace? Sorry, but this isn't a battlefield, it's a martial arts tournament..."
"It may be warmth that warms the world."
Dusk Bringar responded with something out of the blue.
"But ultimately, it's the blade that kills and saves people. So." (TL Note: Basically, she's saying that kindess may bring warmth to the world, but it's the blade that will actually save people)
Grrrrrrr-!
Dazzling sunset-colored magical power swirled and gathered, then condensed into the form of a giant greatsword in Dusk Bringar's hands.
Swoosh!
The martial arts tournament's restraint orb, meant to limit magical power and hanging on her wrist, couldn't withstand the force and evaporated into thin air.
We all stood with our mouths agape at this unbelievable show of power.
This person, no, this dragon, is serious...!
"I will become the blade. To protect you, I will defeat you, Ash."
Dusk Bringar, pointing the greatsword forward, looked at me calmly.
"If you cannot defeat even me, you stand no chance against the Black Dragon."
"...!"
"If you truly wish to defeat the evil dragon, then overcome this trial...!"
Thud!
Dusk Bringar, kicking off the ground, flapped her wings and soared into the air- then in the blink of an eye, she charged directly at me.
My main party members looked at me with pale faces, as our tactics against the Dragonblood Knights had never included a situation like this.
"My lord?! What do we do in this case?!"
"For now..."
I screamed and turned around.
"Runnnn-!"
Boommm!
At the same time, the greatsword that Dusk Bringar had slammed down exploded with magical power, blowing away the floor of the arena.
--TL Notes--
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at /MattReading