Chapter 62 – Martial Arts Tournament Preliminaries
Time literally passed in the blink of an eye.
After the archery experience, I enjoyed a few more attractions, and after eating the famous dragon steak for lunch, the time was already pointing at 3:00.
We headed to the arena set up in the center of town to apply for the preliminary round of the martial arts tournament.
It was an arena that looked like the Colosseum of the Roman era, and it was so large and spacious that there were still seats left after accommodating all the demons who flocked to the village.
They said it was a tribal exchange event, and it really felt like they came to see some kind of fall sports event.
People were chewing popcorn in real time, shouting the name of the player they were rooting for.
We decided to register our players at the reception desk on one side of the stadium.
“Welcome. What is the name of the person participating?”
“Ozma Zoroaster.”
Then, the attendant sitting at the reception desk made a surprised expression, but when Ozma made a gesture to be quiet while holding his index finger to his mouth, he said oops and sat back down.
Then she cleared her throat and explained.
“Ozma Zoroaster was entered as number 13 in group D in the preliminary round. I wish you luck.”
“Well.”
It is said that she participated in a martial arts competition every year to defeat Gav, one of the strongest demons of the current generation, and her name seems to be quite famous among ordinary demons.
Ozuma, who was looking at the list of contestants for the martial arts competition attached to her poster while nodding her head calmly, suddenly called me.
“Patrasch.”
“Yes.”
“Is your name here?”
“…Yes?”
I wondered if this was the sound of her slapping a baton in her sleep, so I hurriedly looked at her list of contestants she was looking at.
As I moved my gaze along her finger, there was indeed my name written on it.
Number 7 in Group B, Patlash.
“Maybe they have the same name?”
“Among the demons, is there another person other than you who uses the name Patrasche?”
In fact, it wasn’t that there were no guesses at all.
What Gav said yesterday at the hot spring.
If that’s true, then Gav must have sneaked me into her match schedule with her mayor’s authority.
I was a little dumbfounded by her forced business trip that had nothing to do with her will, but I’m glad I found out now.
“Then I’ll tell the reception desk and come back without my name. It won’t mean much if I participate anyway.”
Then Ozma asked with a startled expression.
“Are you going to resign this competition?”
“Yes. Is there something wrong?”
Then Ozma shook her head excitedly and explained.
“This martial arts competition is a very meaningful event. It is a place where young demons are given an opportunity to rationally appeal their strength in front of countless demons in Doom Land. Just getting a high rank in this competition can lead to the entire Demon King’s Territory. If you miss this great opportunity, you will regret it later.”
After listening to it, I thought that this is not wrong again, so should I just participate?
“Oh, but if I participate, Ozma-nim won’t win.”
Then she looked at me with Ozma’s slightly puzzled look.
“You seem to think you’ll win for granted. Don’t worry more than that. According to this bracket, you’ll have to go to the finals to face me.”
I listened to her and read the explanation written next to the bracket.
After selecting 64 survivors from each ABCD block and proceeding to the round of 32, it seems that the tournament proceeds in turn in the format of round of 16, round of 8, round of 4, and final.
According to this explanation, the one I will fight in the semifinals is a contestant in block A, so as Ozuma said, if I fight her in block D, I will be able to see her face only in the finals.
“Then there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. See you in the finals.”
“Yes. That’s how it should be.”
As Ozma said, she nodded her head with a firm expression.
Her gaze was fixed on block C of the bracket, and I could quickly understand why.
It was because the name of the man who was no different from the dark horse of this tournament, the Heavenly Demon Dragon Gav, was proudly written on Block C.
As it is, even if Ozuma steps on her opponent step by step, she will eventually meet Gav, the winner in the semifinals.
Of course you will be worried.
I stared blankly at Ozma’s side profile, then I patted her on the shoulder while laughing at her.
“Don’t worry too much. Ozma-sama has been rapidly strengthening over the past few weeks by learning her magic.”
Then Ozma asked with her shy expression.
“Am I that obvious?”
“You’ve lost your smile? Like a person who met a wolf on the road.”
“…I’m confident that I can beat wolves no matter how many come.”
Ozma said that and glanced at me, then she nodded her head and said,
“It can’t be helped. Master is right next to me, and since I became a disciple, I can’t say weak words.”
“Yes? I’m Ozma-sama’s teacher? It’s the first time I’ve heard of it.”
“But since you taught me magic, isn’t it true that you are a teacher?”
When I heard it, it seemed that I was not wrong again.
In the first place, when I was in the Magic Tower, I had never raised a disciple, so I wasn’t even sure if my education would be helpful to anyone.
Then Camilla, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, tugged at my sleeve from behind her.
I turned her head slightly, wondering what was going on, and Camilla spoke to me with her competitive expressionless expression.
“May I also call Kaldrash-sama Master?”
No, don’t get serious all of a sudden with a story like this.
***
In the end, it was decided that I, too, would participate in the martial arts tournament in order to gain fame among the young demons under the name of Patrasche.
It’s because I like fighting no matter what.
Because it was group B, the order of the match was set quite early, so the waiting time was not that long.
As I was lightly warming up in the contestants’ waiting room, I heard a voice calling my name from the field.
“Group B number 7 Patlash player! Please come up on stage!”
‘Shall we go?’
What I am wearing right now is not a gauntlet, but a knuckle.
I recently tamed the new Stormbringer on the way to Dragon Mountain, so it’s time to tame the great conversationalist #2.
While admiring the grip of the knuckle that wraps around your hand, you climb onto the pitch.
The current attire was a state in which only the robe was removed from the usual attire, and a dog-shaped mask was worn on the face.
After confirming that I was on the stage, the referee turned his head towards the demon from Block A on the other side.
Like a Spartoi in the movie, a naked muscular man was staring at me with only a red cape wrapped over red shorts.
His gaze was burning with passion, but from the point of view of the opponent, he was quite a burden.
If it hadn’t been for the mask, the other person would have noticed the distorted expression.
Before long, I and the two contestants from Block A stood facing each other on the stage.
The referee in the middle looked at us in turns and explained the simple rules.
“There is no time limit. The match is not over until someone dies or surrenders.”
Literally unlimited rules.
A stage where there are no rules and only pure power is in the limelight.
It is truly a martial arts competition with the color of a demon.
After greeting each other, we took up our respective weapons.
The other person held a long spear longer than his body, and I put a pair of knuckles on my hand.
In terms of weapon reach, I am at an overwhelming disadvantage.
Silence pervades the audience overlooking the stage.
They must be already looking forward to what kind of fight we will show them.
Of course, it is possible to show such a bloody fight.
But that goes against my aesthetics.
It’s because he thinks that showing off such showmanship in a fight that can easily be won is an act of ignoring the other person.
So, as neatly as possible-
It ends in an instant so that the other person does not feel unpleasant.
“Swoop…”
Oh oh oh ─
As soon as the correct breathing of the school vision began, the virtual magic furnace inside the body began to rotate rapidly.
Immediately after, the flag in the referee’s hand rises overhead and—
Flutter!
At the same time as it slammed downward, I stretched out my hands that were entangled in the current.
“What!”
Then, like a swift leopard, the passionate man who was about to pounce on me is dragged away with a surprised expression.
He hurriedly rammed his spear into the ground to try to resist, but he was helpless as he was already enchanted with magnetization.
If my hand is the N pole, his body is the S pole.
Even if I tried to run away, I couldn’t escape, and the passionate man’s face, which was caught in strong magnetism, was sucked into my fist.
Bang!!
With an intense impact sound like a shell exploding, the fist neatly entered the face.
“Cuck!”
The straight punch, whose destructive power was augmented by the Orichalcon knuckle, knocked down the muscular macho in one shot.
A strange silence hangs over the audience from the spectators who watched the one-sided victory, which was completely different from what was expected.
The referee looked at me and passion man in turn with a bewildered expression, then hurriedly raised the flag.
“Group B 4th match! Mage Patlash wins!”
It was literally a 3 second cut.
