by Aneko Yusagi
“. . .”
Sadeena was just standing there with a well-performed look of shock on her face. Several moments later, she fell backward onto the floor with a loud thud. Apparently that’s not what the spectators were expecting to see, because the whole coliseum fell silent.
“There’s no way I can win this one. I give up!”
Pretending that she had exhausted both spirit and technique, and lacked the physical strength to continue on, Sadeena admitted her defeat.
Chapter Eighteen: Exhibition Match
After a short pause, the audience burst into cheers.
“We win.”
It had turned out to be a pretty blatant farce, but we still had a lot to do after this. First, we would have to go work something out with the merchant that Sadeena was working for. Otherwise, there was a good chance that Raphtalia’s fellow villagers might end up being sold off as compensation for Sadeena’s debt, before we even got our hands on the prize money.
Either way . . . the next fight was sure to be a throwaway match. I didn’t even want to consider the possibility that our opponent could be as strong as Sadeena.
“Sheesh . . . You sure surprised me with that one.”
Sadeena offered us her insincere felicitations. Then again, the plan had been for her to throw a match from the very start, so surely an upset like this wouldn’t be a problem. At least that’s what I thought, but apparently the people running the tournament weren’t happy with how things turned out. A messenger ran up to the announcer and passed him something, which the announcer then read out.
“Ahem . . . The organizing committee would like to express their heartfelt appreciation for the excitement shown by our guests today. Furthermore, they would now like to conduct a quick survey in an attempt to provide our guests with an even more enjoyable experience.”
Even the announcer had a suspicious look in his eyes while reading the message. I had a good idea what was going on, but there was no point in complaining. The spectators broke out into a commotion. They hadn’t called it a disqualification or anything like that, since the underground coliseum basically had no rules to start out with. But they could still take action under the guise of providing additional entertainment. That was my guess. They probably couldn’t do anything to us directly, due to the involvement of the slave trader and the accessory dealer. So they had decided to deal with us right here like this.
“The members of the tournament organizing committee will now be making an appearance.”
After the announcer finished speaking, up near the top of the coliseum, near the seating area reserved for distinguished guests, several pudgy merchants appeared. The one that looked vile enough to be their representative raised both of his arms into the air, as if waiting for applause.
“Members of the audience! We, the organizing committee of this tournament, come before you now in an attempt to provide you with an even more enjoyable experience today.”
He spoke slowly in a loud voice to ensure that everyone in the audience could hear him. The match was already over, so what was he planning on doing?
But actually, I’d felt this kind of atmosphere before. I could sense that something really bad for us was about to happen. The whole thing about the tournament champion having been decided from the start annoyed me to begin with, and now they were trying to mess with us on top of that. It reminded me of the shit I’d had to put up with from the Church of the Three Heroes and friends.
They hung up some kind of banner behind the distinguished guest seating.
“How would you all like to see our fighters here compete once more in an exhibition match?! What say you!”
“Whaaat?!”
I tried to express my disapproval. Raphtalia, Filo, and Sadeena obviously felt the same, but they had been left speechless with shock.
“Oh my . . .”
Damn! So they could just deal with an unexpected result by obstructing the contestants and making it look like part of the entertainment. In stark contrast to our expressions of disapproval, the audience clapped in excitement. This was bad. If we tried to refuse, they would just declare it a loss by default or something.
“And noooooowwww! Their opponent!”
The merchant snapped his fingers and three figures appeared at the fighters’ entrance of the arena. Huh? What was up with them? Was the way they were walking supposed to look . . . natural? Some weirdo dressed like a clown came walking out along with two masked, life-sized puppets . . . or whatever they were. They looked like mannequins that had been dressed up. I had no idea what they actually were because of the masks.
“Little Rock, this could get a liiiittle bit dangerous, just so you know.”
“Why is that?”
“That fighter has gotten popular lately for going around and wreaking havoc at all of the tournaments in this area. She’s incredibly strong. I was under the impression she wouldn’t be participating in this tournament, though . . .”
Had they brought someone in that wasn’t even participating? Maybe they bribed her? I seem to remember Rishia saying something about watching out for this one. Regardless, surely we should be able to win with someone as strong as Sadeena on our side, right?
“That’s right! It’s Murrrdeeerrrr Pierrot!!!”
So it was some messed up clown? Talk about a creepy ring name. Of course, whatever her name really was, that was just how it had been translated so that I would understand. An earsplitting roar of applause came from the audience.
“An exhibition match featuring Rock Valley’s Party and Nadia versus Murder Pierrot! The survey results will be tallied in three minutes! Bets will be accepted for ten minutes following the beginning of the match! What say you?!”
The spectators all began noisily talking it over with each other, but the way they were looking at us . . . Their eyes were filled with bloodthirsty curiosity. Well, there you go. I guess we could give up on the possibility of the survey results being in opposition of the match.
“Furthermore! All bets made on the Rock Valley’s Party versus Nadia match will be refunded immediately! Everyone! Why not use that extra cash to bet big now and perhaps win big?! So tell me, yay or nay?! Those in favor, raise your hand!”
More than half of the spectators in the venue raised their hand in response to the merchant. Bah . . . They played right into his hands.
“But seriously, how can they get away with pulling something like this off?!”
“Little Rock, take a good look at what’s written on the banner behind the merchants . . .”
“Why? What does it say?”
It was written in several different languages, but it took me a while to find the only one I knew, which was Melromarc’s written language.
“It says that, as a special exception, all bets placed on Nadia will remain in effect at the predetermined odds, should Murder Pierrot win. Anyone that originally bet on me will be in favor of the match, since that means they haven’t lost anything yet. Did anyone bet on you prior to the match, little Rock?”
Ugh . . . I wanted to win big, so I’d gone out of my way to make sure my bet was placed anonymously. Aside from us, the slave trader, and the accessory dealer, there may not have been anyone else.
“Hold on! Can they really do that?! Surely they can’t just decide on a rule that ridiculous, even if it is the underground coliseum!”
“That’s why they took a vote, and the vote ruled in favor of it.”
The organizers were rotten, but this audience was no better! They all just improvised to get whatever they wanted, no matter how ridiculous it might have been!
Then again, if I thought of it from a merchant’s point of view, I did kind of understand. The organizers had sent Sadeena in as an assassin, but she ended up being defeated unexpectedly. They would have to make up for that loss somehow. But relying on their authority to interfere with the opponent would be difficult. In that case, the only real option would be to force their play by winning the support of the audi
ence.
The announcer was averting his gaze. He wouldn’t be able to make things any more disadvantageous for us than they already were now. If they went too far, the spectators would become suspicious. In all actuality, some of them already seemed to be confused by the survey. It was a heavy-handed move, and if they took it any further than this, their true intentions would be exposed. That meant that winning this match would essentially be the same as winning the championship!
“Alright! Might as well use this time to cast some healing magic.”
I figured we should treat our wounds and recover our strength as much as possible, before the match started. I tried to cast healing magic on Raphtalia and Filo.
“Zweite Heal!”
But . . . What was going on? I felt the healing magic dissipate without ever actually taking hold, just like when Sadeena had blocked our magic earlier.
“Little Rock, there’s something you need to know, so listen to me for a second.”
“What is it?”
“The organizers are completely blocking our magic here inside of the arena.”
“Does that mean it wasn’t you that blocked the support magic I tried to cast?”
“No, that was me. But this is different. Right now, there are dozens of magic users all working together to completely obstruct our magic. They’re casting counter-magic nonstop from several areas around the arena.”
Their efforts to sabotage us just kept getting more and more annoying . . . Whatever, if we couldn’t use magic then I’d just apply the healing medicine I’d brought. We had two minutes left before the match started. We would just have to do what we could in that time. Besides, I had seen how strong Sadeena was. If she was fighting with us, we should be able to win easily.
“Another thing, little Rock.”
“What now?”
“I’m guessing you probably suspected this while we were fighting, but the organizers had debuff magic being secretly cast on your team nonstop, during the match. On top of that, they were buffing me.”
“What the hell?!”
“In other words, now that the organizers consider me an enemy, you shouldn’t expect me to be as strong as I was earlier, okay?”
Damn it! Things just kept getting worse and worse! They went so far as to interfere with us healing our wounds, so we had to settle with the bare minimum of treatment. On top of that, the buff that had been applied to Sadeena had now been switched to a debuff.
If I made a big fuss in protest right now, would they listen? Most likely, they would just think I was making excuses and ignore me. It was the underground coliseum, after all. Maybe the very nature of the place made it a mistake to try and make a quick fortune there. I was starting to regret letting the competitive odds lure me into competing.
Plus, our opponent would be buffed. It was safe to assume that the purpose of this three-minute interval was to apply the buff. I had a feeling that my body felt even heavier now than it had earlier, too.
“You three were pretty impressive yourselves. I was pretty surprised during our fight, you know?”
“Yeah, but . . .”
I was one of the four holy heroes that protects the world from the waves. Normally, my strength was worlds apart from that of ordinary people. Damn it! If my stats hadn’t been reduced by that curse, then a little debuff magic wouldn’t have made a difference in the world!
Hold on . . . I’d gotten my hands on a shield in Kizuna’s world that would probably be useful at a time like this. It had come from the White Tiger materials. I was pretty sure it had a support nullification special effect. That could be useful right now if a debuff counted as support magic.
I started messing with my shield but then paused. I didn’t have enough materials on hand to power it up adequately. I tried using what I had and then checked the status screen. Hmm . . . It was really iffy. Since it was only partially powered up, it was far inferior to the Demon Dragon Shield, which was fully powered up. The difference was big enough that it would be a step down, even if I took the debuff into consideration.
“Ra—Shigaraki.”
“Yes?”
“Weapons made out of the White Tiger materials may be able to nullify debuffs.”
This time Raphtalia checked her status screen.
“My stats aren’t high enough to handle the katana anyway, but there’s no support nullification effect on the weapon.”
Oh well. We would just have to keep using the same weapons we had been.
“In any case . . .”
Sadeena glanced over at the spectators and organizers before swinging her harpoon around lightheartedly and then giving me a wink.
“I guess we’ll just have to do this, won’t we?”
“Yeah.”
“Yes. Let’s overcome this obstacle and get the villagers back!”
“They won’t beat meeee!”
Raphtalia and Filo agreed with us. Right around that time, the survey tally was completed, and it was officially decided that the exhibition match would be held.
Realistically, it would be impossible for us to use magic. We had powerful debuff magic being cast on us, and the enemy was buffed. What kind of bastards would make us to fight under such conditions?! I mean, I knew what kind of people they were already, but give me a break!
Should I order the slave trader and accessory dealer to crush them later? They could do that, right? If I exerted my influence as a hero as well, surely we could end them for good. Either way, I needed to focus on winning the fight right now. I’d just look like a whining loser if I tried to pick a fight with them after being defeated.
Something bothered me about how the organizer merchants turned around and left before the results of the survey had even been announced. We needed to finish the match quick. I was sure they were up to no good.
“And noooowww! Let the baaaaattle . . . BEEEEGGIIIINNNN!!”
The gong sound echoed out, and our fight with this Murder Pierrot freak began. Right now, our top priority was to quickly finish off this . . . puppeteer? The clickety-clack of the two puppets out in front as they quickly came running our way was just creepy.
“Let’s do this! Aim for the one controlling them in the back!”
“Understood!”
“Here I go!”
Since we couldn’t use magic under the circumstances, Sadeena didn’t even try to cast any spells and just took off after Raphtalia and Filo while still in her animal form. She was fast . . . but yeah, not that fast. She tended to lag just one step behind Raphtalia and Filo at her current speed. Watching Raphtalia and Filo dash out into the front made it obvious to me that she’d had support magic cast on her earlier.
My job was to stop these two puppet things!
“Ha!”
I leapt out in front and blocked the attacks of the puppets, which were brandishing swords and axes. I could feel the heavy impact travel through the shield and into my body. Still, it hadn’t been enough to surpass my defenses.
“. . .”
“. . .”
The way they jerked around while making clickety-clack noises was seriously creepy. Murder Pierrot was holding a ball of thread and seemed to be using it to control the puppets.
“I harbor no ill will toward you, but I want to end this ludicrous match as quick as possible, so please don’t hold it against me!”
“We’re gonna win!”
“I’m sure it’s no fun to get stuck cleaning up after a girl like me, is it? But we have our reasons, so don’t hold it against us!”
Before I could even tell them to, Raphtalia, Filo, and Sadeena all brandished their weapons and rushed in to attack. Our opponent was supposed to be strong, but . . . surely they weren’t strong enough to handle all of us. We’d gotten here by overcoming every obstacle that had been put in our way, no matter how great! Losing was not an option!
“Spider Net . . .”
“Wha—”
“Huuuh?”
“Oh?”
The
three of them had tried to attack, but their weapons came to an unnatural halt right in front of Murder Pierrot. Huh? What was going on?!
“Something’s . . . stuck to my weapon . . . Thread?!”
“It’s stuuuuck!”
“Looks like things might get sticky, doesn’t it?”
The thread that their weapons had gotten tangled up in suddenly came into view, as it wrapped around the weapons tightly. And then, as if it were alive, thread after thread shot forth and began wrapping around their bodies, as well.
Was it an immobilization attack? Was there seriously an attack that worked like a spider web?! We must have been dealing with some kind of therianthrope or something that had insect-like characteristics. Or maybe it was actually a monster that was using a human form like Filo did.
Murder Pierrot held the ball of thread out.
“Bind Wire”
Thread shot out of the puppets that I was holding on to with a hissing sound and came straight for me.
“Damn it! Let go!”
I yanked at the thread forcefully as it tried to wrap around me, and it gave easily . . . but it wouldn’t break! I could have just written it off as being futile, since I wasn’t able to attack by nature. But regardless of that, this elasticity was just unreal. What in the world was this?!
“Ugh! This thread!”
“Ewww!”
“Little Ra—Shigaraki! Little Humming! Let go of your weapons!”
Filo and Sadeena each let go of their weapons, but Raphtalia was holding a vassal weapon that she couldn’t let go of if she wanted to.
“Little Shigaraki!”
“I know! But . . . Take this! Instant Blade! Mist!”
Raphtalia tried to force a skill to cut the thread, but it just resulted in sparks flying. No way! Just what kind of material was this stuff made out of to be able to take one of Raphtalia’s skills and still not break?! Or was that it? Could we not cut it because the gap between our stats had been made so massive that this was all futile? If that was the case, I might just have to incinerate everything with the Shield of Wrath.
