Chapter 70 – Decisive Day
The semi-finals were scheduled to start at 10 a.M.
Anyway, this exchange meeting is the biggest event.
The attention of all the demons who came to participate in the exchange meeting was focused on the martial arts competition.
Didn’t they say that the most interesting spectacle in the world was the unfaithful spectacle or the fight spectacle?
The martial arts competition was, in a sense, an environment where both calibers could be displayed.
Since it was a tournament only for demons, there were actually fire-breathing races.
Anyway, yes.
The martial arts competition, which has already entered its third day, is also the last today.
I ate breakfast early in the morning, idled around in my room, and headed to the stadium when it was time.
“Hey! I’m rooting for you!”
“Show me a fun match today!”
“Patrash! Patlash! Patlash!”
Now, quite a few people recognize my face.
To be precise, I recognize it by looking at the dog-shaped mask worn over my face, but that means my awareness has increased considerably.
Camilla was following me like a shadow from a distance, so it was not known that she was related to me.
It was a measure to prevent my identity from being discovered later by being with her.
Anyway, I managed to break through the cracks of demons that filled the road to the arena and finally arrived at the arena.
Ozma said she would come a little later, so she thought I was probably the first to come to the arena.
“Oh, welcome.”
However, contrary to expectations, there were passengers in the waiting room.
As always, Gav, shirtless and showing off his muscular upper body, sat cross-legged on the desk and greeted me.
“Are you here early?”
“It’s me, when I wake up in the morning, I have nothing to do.”
Saying that, Gav smiled and asked her while tilting her head.
“But what about Ozma?”
“She said she was coming a little late.”
Only then did I know why Ozma said he was coming late.
He said that he had participated in countless martial arts competitions, but if he had met Gav at that time, he would have to know his behavior patterns to be normal.
It seems that he didn’t want to run into Gav until the tournament started in earnest.
As for Camilla, she would be in the crowd, and it was obvious that she would have to avoid people’s eyes if she went outside, so after thinking about it, I decided to just stay in the contestant’s waiting room.
After all, there are only about 30 minutes left until the competition starts anyway.
To pass the time, I asked while touching the refreshment placed on the other side of the waiting room.
“By the way, where did you learn qigong, Gabriel?”
“Huh? Ah, this? I once went on a trip to the East Continent as an apprentice. I learned it from an old man I met there.”
In general, when you see a swordsman or martial artist with a high level, it is expressed that the fight spirit is clear.
Even if the root of mana is the same, the form can be different depending on the person who handles it.
From what I’ve seen, Gav has reached a considerable level as a fighter.
Probably not a day or two.
It seems that he has stayed there for quite a long time.
This time, Gav asked me in reverse.
“Then you can see the traces of training quite harshly on your body. Did the magician learn qigong?”
I shook my head at his question.
“No. What I have learned is not qigong.”
“Then?”
“It’s called magic arts, so I learned a martial art that combines magic and qigong skills.”
“Hmm?”
Gav’s expression was colored with curiosity.
“That such a thing exists in the world? It’s the first time I’ve heard of it.”
I nodded and agreed with Gav’s words.
“Originally, it only existed in theory. The master who taught me magic arts is the first creator of magic arts.”
“Interesting, interesting.”
Gav stroked his chin as he said that.
“I want to fight you even more.”
I shrugged.
“Before that, isn’t there someone I need to defeat to fight me?”
“Are you talking about Ozma?”
“Yes.”
“If that’s the case, don’t worry. No matter how strong Ozma becomes, he won’t be able to defeat me.”
“Ozma-sama has become much stronger than before.
Then Gav laughed hahaand tapped his knee.
“I think I evaluated it fairly coldly? You know that. A dragon’s tough skin cannot be pierced with any magic. That’s the same even when transformed into Polymorph. There will be an overflow of Slayers.”
“…”
It wasn’t exactly wrong.
Dragons, incarnations of elements, had tremendous power as their population was small.
Possibly halfway level magic would not even be able to vitalize the dragon’s skin.
Dragons are creatures that specialize in mana response more than any other species.
When I couldn’t retort, Gav asked, putting his right arm on his chin as if deflating.
“Do you like Ozma by any chance?”
“No. Why is that all of a sudden?”
Then Gav shrugged his shoulders and replied.
“It’s usually said that when a male falls for a female, he can’t think normally. That’s why I asked. Ozma is a good female in her own way.”
“I’ve never thought about it that way.”
“But why did you predict Ozma’s victory?”
“Since I worked so hard, I wonder if it’s about time to be rewarded.”
It wasn’t long before I went out with Ozma, but she had such an honest personality that it would be fitting to say that she was naive.
She’s the type to push through what she believes is right.
I never saw a day when she skipped her practice.
If it’s hard, she might take a break at least once, but she worked hard every day to become stronger while being in a good position to suck honey as the daughter of the devil.
One Shin Woo One Shin.
She was getting newer every day.
Perhaps sooner or later, she will be able to break through her own limits.
Then why not dream of beating a rival you haven’t won in 34 years as a skirmish?
When I explained that, Gav put on a mysterious expression.
Obviously, no matter who sees it, it seems that he has never thought of it that way.
“Does Ozma think so of me?”
“To be precise, all the demons who have participated in this tournament many times must have the same idea.”
His expression became more serious than ever before.
It is said that Ozma is taking the 35th challenge, but depending on the person, there must be some who have struggled to beat Gav even once for a much longer time than that.
He has reigned as an undefeated champion for 50 years.
If you’ve been doing it for so long, wouldn’t it be okay for her to come down soon?
Even for the many challengers who respect him.
Hearing my words, Gav put on a serious expression for the first time.
To the point where I couldn’t even pretend to listen when I was talking to him.
I didn’t want to break that concentration, so I opened the door to go to the bathroom for a while.
Standing there was Ozma with a slightly flushed expression.
“Oh.”
“Ah.”
When her gaze met mine, she hurriedly backed away from her.
He said he would come late, but it seems he came early after all.
Thinking that way, I checked the clock hanging in the room, and it was only 10 minutes before the start of the tournament.
It turns out that Ozma came just in time.
“Would you like to come in?”
“Huh? Uh uh. Yes.”
Luckily, when I talked to Gav inside her, I didn’t see anything bad about her.
I can only express how fortunate I am.
Ozuma nodded her head with a slightly bewildered expression, and as he was about to enter the waiting room, he looked back at her and said to me.
“Thank you for what you just said. I never thought you would stand up for me.”
“That’s a bit surprising. Did I look so heartless?”
“No, um. To be precise, I swear today is the first time my efforts have been acknowledged by anyone.”
Saying that, Ozma, scratching his cheek as if embarrassed, spat out.
“This is surprisingly not bad either.”
“…Then I’m glad.”
I internally let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, it doesn’t look like it was filmed or anything like that.
She said, stroking the hilt of her sword at her waist.
“Today is going to be the fight of my life with everything I have. So watch over me.”
I nodded.
“It’s not that difficult.”
“Um. That’s enough.”
As Ozma said, she showed her smile for the first time.
I didn’t notice her because of her boyish appearance, but her face was pretty.
***
Eventually, it was 10 o’clock, and the final schedule of the martial arts competition began at the place where all the participants gathered.
My opponent in the quarterfinals is a guy named Adolf who climbed up from the bottom of Block A, and I heard that he was one of the demons who gained quite notoriety during the man-man war.
Just like Seneca, the butler of the Devil’s Castle, Adolf, a Baphomet who has the shape of a typical devil with a goat’s head, stared at me with terrifying eyes in the form of a single letter and said,
“This guy looks pretty meaty. What does it taste like when you chew it?”
Hearing that, I asked, squeezing the handle of the duck corn knuckle in his hand.
“Do you like meat?”
“…Then?”
“No, remember the taste well.”
I said that and squeezed the knuckles in both hands.
“I’ll let you live on porridge now.”
Unfortunately, there were no implants in this world.
