by Yuu Tanaka
And yet, just as I was about to cut through him, his body moved at an impossible angle. It jolted to the right while he was still leaning back. As I looked closer, I found that there were threads attached to his body. He must’ve used them to yank himself to the right.
We got him, though.
“Hm!”
I felt my blade reach his organs, despite not cutting him straight through. His threads nullified my Elemental Blade, but not my physical one.
“Gah…Weave Bandage.”
Come on, how many tricks does he have left?
His threads wrapped around the gushing wound. It didn’t seal the cut completely, but it was good enough to stop the bleeding. Slight blood loss wouldn’t impair him in battle, thanks to his Pain Immunity. He was also wearing a Bracelet of Life Regeneration instead of his Bracelet of Poison Immunity today. He’d soon be back to full health.
He jumped backwards, realizing the dangers of being in close. “You’re pretty good.”
“You too!” Fran prepared to charge again.
“I’ll have you stay there, if you don’t mind.” Mana gathered in Phelms’ fingers. So far, it had been distributed all over the arena via his threads. This was the first time he was focusing it on a singular point.
Get ready! It’s a big one!
“Hm!”
“Thread Manipulation! Formation of the Four Spirits!”
Phelms crossed his arms over his chest, then flung them open. Every thread stretched out over the arena obeyed his command and launched at Fran. Each one was also slightly elementally charged, making for a rainbow display of slaughter. We couldn’t fend off the swarm of spools for long.
“Kaah!”
Heal!
“Haaa!”
Short Jump!
We cut them down as they came, burning them with spells, dodging them with warps, and healing through the damage. None of the hits had been lethal so far, but our mana was constantly draining. We weren’t the only ones with a mana upkeep, though. Phelms was feeling it, too.
Should we turn on Flashing Thunderclap and go into overtime? I could easily heal through Phelms’ attacks, and it seemed like the older man would run out of mana before we did.
“Augh!”
What the—?! Greater Heal!
A gash appeared on Fran’s leg. I quickly healed it, but she was hit with another that took off her arm.
“What is—argh!”
Greater Heal!
What was going on? Why wasn’t our barrier working? Did Phelms have an attack that can go through barriers? This was bad!
Dimension Shift!
I used a Timespace spell to get us out of there, but the strange attack kept happening.
“Ungh!”
Heal!
A wound formed over Fran’s cheek, despite the fact that we were mid-Dimension Shift. The attack didn’t just go through barriers! I wracked my brain, trying to figure out what would be capable of such a feat, and noticed then that some threads were passing through others, and right through our barrier. They had the same attribute as my Dimension Sword.
I remembered the skills on one of the threads. King Baleen Battle Wire’s Timespace Element! That was what gave them the ability to pass through barriers.
“Our barrier’s useless.”
Pretty much.
We couldn’t keep dodging like this. Dimension Shift was rendered useless, too. But his Timespace threads might be difficult to weave, since he hadn’t used them right away. Maybe I was looking at things wrong. His Timespace threads would soon overwhelm us, leaving us with no way of defending ourselves. Even teleportation was useless.
There was no more room for doubt.
Teacher, I’m using our trump card!
Yeah, let’s finish this fight!
The longer this fight dragged on, the worse it was for us. We had to finish it. We charged up our mana while desperately dealing with Phelms’ intense assault. We managed to avoid any fatal blows, thanks to Sword King Mastery and the training of our Sense skills, but we were losing mana fast.
Phelms’ barrier would block any light attacks we made. His threads had high mana conductivity on top of being plain strong. It would take a powerful attack to break through. Well, we would just have to hit his barrier with our most powerful attack.
Fran!
Is it ready, Teacher?
Yeah, sorry it took so long.
Fran grinned with a satisfied smile, even though her body was covered with wounds. Her aura even gave Phelms cause for concern. We would definitely lose if this attack failed, but Fran was happy to unleash all our strength for once. She was smiling in the heat of battle, thankful for such an opportunity.
Jet, start running.
Woof.
Do it.
You got it!
I cast the spell, putting every bit of my mana into it.
Haaaa! Kanna Kamuy!
Collateral damage was inevitable. This move was almost impossible to control. The only reason why I was comfortable using it was because I could prevent it from going completely berserk by using Double Mind. This was a spell unlocked only at the highest level of Thunder Magic—the most powerful thunder spell in the world.
It came to fulfillment as I unleashed the concentrated mana.
Grooooar!
The thunder dragon descended with a roar, striking the arena with a pillar of light. Kanna Kamuy, the pinnacle of Thunder Magic, looked more like a natural disaster than a spell. I had doubts about whether a human could cast this, even if they had maxed-out Thunder Magic—the mana cost was just that high. They would either run out of mana, or their brains would fry. Even Fran couldn’t use this spell.
I could cast it, but controlling its force was so difficult that it made me uncomfortable. It came with a nasty headache too, preventing me from moving afterwards. I couldn’t use it in the heat of battle, at least for now.
“Gaaah!” Phelms screamed as he watched his precious thread barrier scatter and burn.
“Black Thunderfall!” Fran unleashed her Black Lightning, piercing through his damaged barrier. With Kanna Kamuy having consumed his threads, Phelms had no way of defending himself.
“Uraaaagh…” White and black electricity snaked around Phelms’ body. Just as with Gaudartha, we were immediately blown away by it. Fran coughed up blood as she smacked into the barrier protecting the audience from the arena.
Long Jump!
I focused my remaining energy and warped us out, all the way above the arena.
“Urgh…Heal!”
You okay?
“I think…?”
Black Lightning wasn’t something we could use in this kind of enclosed space. It caused too much damage. We looked down on the arena and saw that the black and white lightning had joined together in a marbled pattern. The electric chaos prevented us from seeing what was inside.
That was close.
Yeah. We’d be dead if we’d stayed in there.
I’d thought about using both Kanna Kamuy and Black Lightning even before the Gaudartha fight, but decided against it. It was too dangerous, even for us. But I had an idea after seeing Jet escape out of the dome during the Gaudartha fight. I checked the rules, and found that we wouldn’t be disqualified for leaving the ring, as long as we didn’t touch the ground. Thanks to the barrier, we could escape the wrath of our own spells.
Or so I thought.
“Teacher, look!”
Oh no…the barrier…!
The dome expanded like a balloon. We could feel the electricity, even from outside. This might be bad.
Can’t you do something about this?
Jeez, I dunno…let me think…okay. Dimension Gate!
I created a gate linking the inside of the barrier to the outside. Once it found a hole to escape from, the pent-up storm exploded in a backdraft. But that didn’t stop the dome from expanding. It slowed its rate down…but only slightly. Then, my worst fears came true.
Kabooom!
The d
ome exploded. Violent winds tore through the stands.
“Kyaaaa!”
“Eeeek!”
“H-help!”
I saw pandemonium for the first time. With no time to run, the audience could only panic in their seats. Fortunately, they didn’t have to deal with lightning bolts, since they had already been discharged. They only had to deal with the typhoon. Granted, it was still strong enough to blow away little children. We heard later that it looked like a giant tree of light had grown out of the stadium.
The manatech activated soon after the barrier disappeared, instantly fixing the damage. At least there was no mess to clean up, and mass casualties were averted.
That…was too close.
“Hm. Not doing that again.”
We definitely went too far. Now, how do we get back down?
“Any ideas?”
I don’t have much mana left. The most I can do is cancel the momentum of your freefall with telekinesis.
“That works.”
I didn’t have enough left to telekinetically glide Fran down to safety. She was practically out of mana, too, having been kicked out of Awaken. I let her fall, then stopped her with wind spells and telekinesis just as she was about to hit the newly erected dome. It worked, and she got away with only a mild shock.
“Phew.”
How’s Phelms doing?
Did he survive? The ring was completely destroyed. It looked like someone had a field day with an excavator.
“Wow wow wow! Did she really just do that?! I’ve been in this commentator box for a long time, but that was the first time I’ve seen my life flash before my eyes! The barrier was destroyed from the inside out!”
Good thing the commentator was still alive. He proceeded to describe the situation, while most of the audience were still in a panic.
“And our beautiful stadium has been reduced to rubble! Who would’ve thought a twelve-year-old girl could do such a thing!”
We got a better look at the stands now. Things were quite awful—some people were crying, some frozen in place, and some were still frantically trying to escape. But the commentator’s voice reassured them. Their sanity restored, people returned their attention to the ring, anxious to know what had happened, and what would happen next.
“And would you look at the crater inside the ring! Phelms has been raised by the Cradle of Time! The dragon of pure lightning was too much for the Dragon Hunter! With the spectacular display of her namesake, third place goes to the Princess of Black Lightning: Fran!”
The crowd roared with applause. These folks sure took things in stride. They had almost lost their lives. It must’ve felt more like a roller coaster ride than a plane crash.
Let’s get to the ground.
“Hm. Jet.”
“Woof!”
Jet popped out of the shadows and hunkered down in front of Fran. He wasn’t much use in the fight, so the least he could do was give her a ride. The applause rose when everyone saw Fran riding her direwolf. It all got to Jet’s head, and he started to make a victory lap around the arena. The audience lapped it up. Admittedly, it made for a pretty picture.
Fran, wave to the people.
“Hm? Like this?”
The crowd roared with appreciation as Fran waved in a random direction. She was like a rock star.
“Fraaaaaan!”
“Black Lightning Princess!”
“I want you to be my sister!”
Indeed, my little girl shone brighter than all the idols back on Earth. No, you cannot have her as your sister.
We wandered around for a bit, unsure where to land now there was nothing left to land on.
Oh no. What are they gonna do for the finals?
The finals were delayed for three hours because of Fran. The giant crater we left behind took a lot of time to fix. We watched from above as the Land Mages and dwarven craftsmen repaired it.
“Looks like they’re almost done,” Rigdith said.
“Hrm.”
“You’re still eating?”
“Urmph. Mmm.”
“Okay, got it. Enjoy your meal.”
We had been invited to the Beast King’s private room. I thought that we might say a quick hello…but they seemed to have figured out Fran’s weakness for food, and a scrumptious buffet was waiting for her when she entered. Fran was helpless against this temptation. She agreed to watch the finals from the Beast King’s room, having been roped into his plot. Rigdith seemed like a nice guy, and Fran could actually make conversation with him. He probably set this whole thing up.
Fran was the girl of the hour in Ulmutt, especially among the beastmen. All of them were quiet the day before, but everyone wanted to talk to her now. Some of them were forceful, and some of the nobles used their position to be rude to her. You could never quite avoid those idiots completely.
But what if she was sat right next to the Beast King? No one would dare pull any weird stunts. The only thing abusers feared was someone more powerful than them. Even if Rigdith was interested in Fran, he knew she had the tremendous value of being the first Black Cat to evolve in centuries. He wasn’t going to let idiot nobles give the Beastman Nation a bad name. In fact, he might gain their admiration by winning her over. It was a win-win deal, so we played along.
Fran was the most famous Black Cat in the world. She had achieved something denied to her tribe for five hundred years. I wondered if she knew the trouble her popularity would bring. She had wanted to display her Evolution during the tournament and change how people saw her tribe. She was aware that nothing would be the same afterwards, but she wanted to better the lives of her tribesmen.
Fortunately, her acquaintance with the Beast King should ward off anyone that might take advantage of her. It helped to have friends in high places.
“Here’s your food.”
“Hm. Thanks.”
For some reason, Gaudartha was serving her faithfully. He patiently got her another plate of roast beef when she asked, and even got Jet some raw meat. The burly bodyguard was acting like a butler. When we asked why, he said it wasn’t only because she’d beaten him, but because she was a member of the Ten Tribes. He was also used to the inherent laziness of Black Cats, thanks to the long years he spent under Kiara’s tutelage. Serving Fran came naturally to him.
The Beast King called out as she was eating. “Hey, they’re making their way in.”
“Hm.” Fran sat on the couch next to Rigdith with her extra-large plate of meat. The small couch looked like it was prepared specifically for her. Not that the Beast King would be so considerate. Apparently, Royce had gone around all the shops in Ulmutt looking for a suitable couch for her. Sorry about that, Royce.
Fran and Rigdith watched as Amanda and Forlund entered the arena. I felt bad for having delayed them.
The crowd exploded with so much applause that the stadium shook. Even the Beast King had to cover his ears, and his room came equipped with soundproofing manatech. Fran’s flopped ears looked cute as always, but seeing Rigdith and his vassals do the same was kind of disquieting. The commentator began introducing the fighters.
“Coming in from the West Gate is Amanda the Hariti! She seems to have lost her weapon in her last match, so we’re very curious to see how she will fight today! But look at that invincible smile, ladies and gentlemen! No wonder the girls like her more than the guys do! What a manly grin!”
Amanda had a different whip strapped to her waist today. While it was a strong enchanted weapon in its own right, it couldn’t compare to the whip Amanda had used for years. I wondered if she could handle Forlund with it.
“Making his way in from the East Gate is the man who is closest to S-Rank: Hundred Blades Forlund! No smiles here, folks, just the cool look of a calculating fighter! Can he keep his cold mask until the end of the match?!”
They slowly walked to the center of the arena.
They chatted casually, already acquainted with each other. However, their conversation was drowned out in the
noise. One thing was for sure; they weren’t going to go easy. They knew each other too well for that. Their desire for battle was building. They went to their starting positions, and began.
“Hrm!”
“Ho ho! That’s good!”
You know you had a good fight on your hands when Fran and the Beast King interrupted their meals to watch. Amanda kept her distance and pelted Forlund with wind spells and whip cracks. The newly repaired ring was immediately destroyed again, and Amanda fired the rubble towards him with more wind spells. She wasn’t a former Storm Warrior for nothing.
Meanwhile, Forlund produced swords and launched them at her, trying to close the distance. He was good at ranged combat, but he was no match for Amanda. They moved about for a good ten minutes before Amanda decided to end the match with a powerful attack. She couldn’t keep this pace up for long. She was taking a beating from Forlund’s mana swords. She readied her whip for a match-ending comeback.
“Ultimate: Skanda Killer!”
This wasn’t the move that beat us. She placed her whip at her waist as if to quickly draw it like a sword. The attack was so fast that we could only see streaks from this distance. We didn’t know what kind of attack it was, but could at least tell that Amanda was the source. Unfortunately, she missed.
“Dang it…I was going for your neck!”
“Close.” Forlund managed to dodge Amanda’s attempted decapitation. It highlighted the difference of power between us and them. It hurt to know that we still had to master the basics, despite already obtaining great destructive power.
“I won’t go easy on you.”
“I’ll show you how to fight without a weapon!”
Amanda’s whip was destroyed in her last attack, leaving her weaponless. The spare couldn’t handle her full power. Amanda fought hard, but the match ended with Forlund’s victory.
“Ugh…I can’t believe the emotionless jerk beat me…”
“Equip yourself next time.”
“With over a thousand combatants in the tournament, your champion this year is Hundred Blades Forlund! The man so strong he might as well be S-Rank!”
