Chapter 149 – Semifinals (1)
Wow!
The cheers of the people shook the hall. So far, people have gathered with the expectation of seeing Duke Chepes, and furthermore, seeing his magic.
I had several chances so far, but the opponent side abstained every time, so I didn’t see it.
Only today, you can see it for the first time.
Because the duke’s semifinal opponent, Sasha Aylanova, came out without withdrawing.
“Sasha! Sasha! Sasha!”
The excited cadets shouted the girl’s name over and over again. Even though she doesn’t have a close relationship with Sasha, as she enjoys the situation itself, her voice becomes stronger as if she is rooting for her.
“At las!”
“I can see the Duke’s magic with my own two eyes!”
It wasn’t just the other students who got excited. Numerous VIPs from outside are also shining in their eyes.
No matter how much he was an academy cadet, Duke Chepes is a legendary man who made his name known throughout the continent.
A person with a high stature incomparable to anyone who has visited this place, who has dominated the night of the Empire for over a hundred years.
“Are we finally seeing the legend we’ve only heard about today…”
“Don’t expect too much. Since the opponent is a cadet, wouldn’t His Highness adjust his strength too?”
“That too.”
The aristocratic man with a splendid mustache kept her eyes wide open as if he could not hide the anticipation inside her, even as he nodded her head at the words of a close friend scolding her.
At that time when there is a young enthusiasm in the middle of the room.
Judging that this would be enough, the presenter opened his mouth.
“——Then, from now on, we will serve the two protagonists of the semi-finals of the first-year ranked match!”
Subsequently, the host who called the names of both sides came down from the stage, and people’s eyes gathered.
Yet.
“Come… !”
Scarlett Chepes and her opponent, Sasha Aylanova, stepped onto the prepared stage.
“Is that the duke’s ‘shadow’…”
Eileen, who was staring at Scarlett among the crowd, murmured softly.
Shimmering shadows. A black curtain wrapped around the duke’s legs and wrapped around his waist and shoulders.
As her father said, a weapon that perfectly combines attack and defense.
In preparation for that, Sasha stood in front of Scarlett holding only a bow. No one else here expected her to ‘win her duke’, but nonetheless hoped for some level of struggle.
“Will that be enough? Doesn’t it end in a second?”
It seemed that someone’s anxious voice replaced their feelings.
If it ended in one second, they would not be able to properly see the performance of the duke they had been expecting so much.
Sasha laughed bitterly. Because I know very well what the expectations they send me are made with.
“You are very popular, Duke…”
She grunted at Scarlett for no reason and raised her bow. An arrow created with clear magic power.
“Are you going to do it while watching?”
“No.”
“Too bad.”
After a short conversation, the host, who thought the two were ready, called out.
“Group A semifinals… Let’s begin!”
As soon as the host finished speaking, Sasha took a big step back from her. Taat! Spreading her distance, she fired an arrow at Scarlett without hesitation.
‘Fairly…’
Small in admiration at the fierce force of the arrow, which was seemingly woven with high-purity magical power, moved the shadow to hit the arrow.
Quaang! The explosion was so loud that it was hard to believe that it was the sound of arrows colliding.
Before the magical energy of the arrow stuck in the ground lost its shape and disappeared, a second shot flew out.
No.
Three feet, four feet.
From a blind spot, arrows were fired one after another, aiming at Scarlett.
Bang! Bang! Quaang!
“Suck!”
Even though all of her previous attacks were blocked, Sasha did not lose heart and put a new arrow on her bowstring. An arrow that shines brighter than any arrow she has ever shot.
‘What should be accepted?’
Scarlett raised her hand after a moment of thought. A dot at the tip of her hand. One, two, three… The black ‘dots’, which gradually increased in number, began to intertwine one by one.
Dot to dot, line.
Line after line, cotton.
Scarlett’s magic erodes space itself. A pitch-dark curtain spread around him.
“… !”
A panicked Sasha lets go of her bowstring. Fain! The atmosphere vibrated simply by letting go of the bowstring.
A decent cadet probably wouldn’t be able to accept it.
“Excellent.”
However, the arrows that hit the “Noodles” Didn’t even collide and were swallowed into the curtain.
“What… !”
I raised my hand. The pitch-black curtain that swallowed even the arrows that were flying with the momentum to shatter everything eventually completely enveloped the two of us.
Combining, connecting, and uniting face to face.
A sphere was created.
「Orb」
As if the space itself had been cut out, a heterogeneous pitch-black orb rose above Scarlett’s hand.
“… That, isn’t that against the rules?!”
In the crowd, “Ohhh…” The same interjection, “That’s the duke’s…” I hear a voice analyzing it, saying,
Sasha, the person who saw the sight of being absorbed by the orb without doing anything that was no different from an attack of conversion, felt unfair.
After she exclaimed, she drew her bowstring again.
However.
Shuuk! Shuuk!
“… Evil! Stop sucking my mana!”
No matter how many times they fire, they are just eaten by the orb. Sasha was furious because he hadn’t even touched it, let alone hit it effectively.
I never thought that I would win in the first place, and even though I came up with the mindset that I would have done well if I got scratched.
Isn’t this too naive to just stand still and eat up my attacks with the orb?
Widely.
Sasha, her feet on the floor, glared at him sullenly. It is a face contemplating what to do with the strength of the hand holding the bow.
“Ruler.”
Scarlett, who hadn’t moved a single step since the start, held out the orb intently. Keying… , With a spinning sound, the orb spits magic bullets.
“Ugh!”
Sasha hurriedly creates an arrow to counter it, bang! The two masses of magical energy collided in the air and exploded.
‘This…’
Sasha’s face turned blue. Through the waves of her two colliding magical powers, she realized that the magic power that formed the magic bullet that Scarlett’s orb spat out was her own.
“Hey, this is against the rules!”
Sasha screamed and threw her bow to the floor.
“Are you going to abstain?”
“Certainly, there is no chance of winning against such a technique, but…”
“Still, at this level, you did very well against Duke Chepes.”
Sasha’s action of throwing her weapon on the floor was regretted by the crowd, who interpreted it as her abstention, but at this point she nodded her head, saying she did well.
But.
“No.”
“Yes?”
“It’s not an abstention.”
“What do you see?”
Eileen, who was watching the match with her robe tightly pressed down, murmured in a low voice. Her magical movements were so secret that even the advanced wizards of the Mage Tower, who were watching with her, did not notice.
‘That…’
At the same time as Eileen’s eyes narrowed.
“Originally, I wasn’t going to take this out.”
Sasha’s momentum has changed.
Contrary to her grumbling words, her eyes are wide open. As if he had been waiting for this moment, a very well-honed sword-like speculation.
Scarlett laughed bitterly.
“I don’t think I did anything to be hated enough to bring out a secret weapon.”
“I hate you. Do you really think so? … And, if not necessarily.”
Sasha, who was raising her spirits, responded with a faint smile. It becomes increasingly intense, and it is speculation that makes the viewer feel her skin tingle.
Scarlett murmured softly that it was a completely different look from when she was next to Anna.
“Wanting to be acknowledged by a legendary figure is a romantic thing that anyone can dream of.”
The speculation that had spewed out uncontrollably once was captured and entered Sasha’s interior.
Because it was Scarlett who always thought of her as the role of restraining her runaway, by her Anna’s side.
“Are you surprised?”
“Any.”
It was surprising to see him so happy and immersed in the fight.
Sasha liked the look of Scarlett. I feel proud that I finally gave that monstrous duke a shot, and her heart tickled.
Also.
I wanted to reveal everything about her and bump into her.
“I’ll surprise you a little more.”
She put her hand in the rippling air. The weak movement of magic that only Scarlett and Eileen, who were more sensitive to the movement of magic than anyone else in this place, could notice, now became so intense that anyone here could notice it.
Subspace.
It is a high-level spatial magic that only a few of the high-level magicians can use, and at the same time, it is a common technique built into arms commonly called ‘Noble Phantasm’.
As Scarlett knew, Sasha wasn’t a wizard.
Then.
—-Sasha pulled out a huge bow from subspace.
A gigantic Noble Phantasm that looks unusual even on the outside, and looks twice as tall as hers.
The spectators were buzzing.
“Shooting a bow of that size with a body like that?”
People who do not recognize the Noble Phantasm and are simply amazed at the size of the bow.
“That… ?”
A person who notices that the bow Sasha took out is unusual and reveals her doubts.
‘The Bow of Permafrost… !’
Even Eileen, who was astonished after realizing the identity of the Noble Phantasm.
Sasha, ignoring the spectators who had a variety of reactions, raised the huge bow.
“How is it? Are you surprised?”
Sasha grinned.
Scarlett finally responded with a smile at a smile that seemed more suitable for a frivolous hunter than a noble aristocrat.
“Yes. I was very surprised.”
People in the North say you can see your true nature if you hold a familiar weapon in your hand.
Isn’t that just right?
