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The Day of The Duel

The Royal Capital

A tremendous crowd had gathered at the Battle Arena.

“This… is incredible,” I muttered to myself.

There must be around thirty thousand… no, forty thousand people here.

Well, considering that Sword Saint Leon’s goal is to redeem his reputation, this is only natural. He probably wants to show off the difference in strength to as many people as possible.

Most of the audience seemed to be on the side of the Sword Saint candidate.

“Dudley-sama! Do your best!”
“Don’t lose to that useless skill loser!”
“Yay! Dudley-sama!”
“Knock out Arios!”

…Well, it can’t be helped.

The people from Rastal Village would show me some understanding, but the majority still treat me like a pariah.

It was a mistake to seek cheers here. I’ll just do what I can.

“Arios-san! Don’t lose!”
“Arios, do your best!”

The occasional cheers for me must be from Kaya or Ray, as they shout to drown out Dudley’s supporters.

I smiled wryly at their enthusiasm as I left the waiting room and stepped into the arena. The light coming from the arena was strangely blinding.

“Yo, Arios. It’s been a week,” came a voice as I entered.

It was Dudley Claise, my nemesis from that time when I received the skill of the “Silver Sword Saint.”

He seemed to have been training a bit as well. His body was surrounded by a silver gleam, giving off a Sword Saint-like aura. Only in appearance, though.

His inner nastiness remained unchanged.

Even now, he was pointing at me with a smirk on his face.

“Heh. I’ll give you some credit. You accepted a fight you know you’re going to lose,” he said, laughing.

“Yay! Dudley-sama!”
“Knock that trash out!”

The women in the audience were shouting with high-pitched voices, apparently charmed by his words. It was unbearably annoying.

I glanced toward the audience and saw Prince Rayfar, the first prince, seated in a position of honor. Sword Saint Leon was beside him.

Ray wasn’t there.

It seemed he had mingled with the people from Rastal Village and planned to cheer for me as a regular spectator.

“Hey, ignoring me? Say something, loser.”

“…”

I sighed and responded to Dudley with half-exasperation. “No need for unnecessary chatter. When holding a sword, discard distractions—didn’t Leon teach you that?”

“Hmph… What a boring guy,” Dudley snorted and took his stance, looking uninterested.

Even someone like him, though, was still a “Silver Sword Saint.” He looked the part well enough, and the audience cheered once more.

…Well then, I’ll go now.

I sharpened my focus and placed my hand on the hilt of my sword, just as Dudley chuckled and said, “What’s with that stance? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten everything about the strongest Macba style?”

“…I told you. No need for unnecessary chatter.”

“Tch, with a weakling like you, there’s no fun in this.”

Once both of us were in position, the referee raised a hand.

“We will now begin the duel between Dudley Claise and Arios Macba. Are you both ready?”

Both Dudley and I nodded in response.

A brief moment passed.

Then…

“Begin!”

At the referee’s command, Dudley and I rushed at each other.

“Macba style, First Form, Godspeed Slash!”

So that’s his opening attack.

Then I’ll meet it with the same technique!

“Fuchigen style, First Form—True Godspeed Slash!”

“What…!” Dudley’s eyes widened.

His hesitation was fatal.

Half a second later…

Dudley swung his sword horizontally at incredible speed.

It was impressive speed, no doubt. But as someone who also trained in the Macba style, I was very familiar with that movement.

Seven-tenths of a second later…

I swung my sword at a speed that surpassed Dudley’s, launching an upward attack from below.

“Wha…?! Uboooooo!”

Dudley let out a strange scream as he was sent flying high into the air.

“…Huh?”
“…What?”
“…Pardon?”

The crowd, who had been cheering for Dudley until just now, suddenly fell silent.

“B-But that’s impossible…!”

Among them, someone suddenly stood up from their seat.

“No way… That movement, no way, could it be…!!!”

Even Sword Saint Leon, the master of the skill, looked visibly shaken.