To the Death
Kalus was dead.
He was the only casualty among the thirty-two tournament contestants.
A warrior counted among the strongest of the dark elves, one whom it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call second only to Belakir.
Slain by a mere "human."
While the rest of the dark elves fell into a state of shock, Princess Belakir was the only one who remained unfazed.
"Our only variable is the youngest imperial prince," Belakir said, her expression blank as she looked at the dark elves.
"Foolish Kalus failed to realize that."
"..."
"Things are not always as they seem."
"..."
"For the next three rounds."
"..."
"Anyone who faces the youngest prince must immediately declare defeat."
"..."
No one could argue. They had seen it clearly with their own eyes.
They had witnessed Kalus's death, and the overwhelming disparity in their strength.
"I will handle the youngest prince myself."
Belakir's red eyes gleamed coldly.
And then,
Bwooooooo!
The horn sounded once more, signaling the start of the next match.
The Round of 16.
Lee Taepyeong picked up a dagger once again.
But the moment he turned around...
"I-I declare defeat..."
The dark elf threw his two hand axes to the ground the instant their eyes met.
"...Huh?"
Taepyeong could only stare in sheer bewilderment.
Bwooooooo!
The Round of 16 was over.
Casualties: zero.
The Round of 8.
Thinking he should switch things up, Taepyeong picked up a longsword this time.
He swung it around, intentionally looking clumsy.
But his efforts were in vain.
"...I declare defeat."
This time, the dark elf didn't even pick up a weapon. He raised his empty hands before they could even lock eyes.
"W-Wait a minute...!"
Before Taepyeong could even say anything, the dark elf vanished.
"At least let me warm up!"
Taepyeong cried out, but the dark elf didn't even look back.
Bwooooooo!
The Round of 8 was over.
Once again, casualties: zero.
"Is it allowed to be this boring?" I asked Nairin with a dumbfounded look.
Nairin only looked back at me with a pitying expression, unable to offer any real comfort.
"...For now, please quench your thirst, Master."
I gulped down the sweet fruit juice Nairin poured for me.
Ah.
Did I kill that guy earlier for nothing?
This was ridiculous. It felt like they were ostracizing me.
Why did they even invite me if they were going to act like this?
"Surely the next one won't..."
"The probability of your opponent surrendering in the next match is also very high," Nairin said softly, as if telling me to abandon all hope.
I emptied my glass in silence.
What kind of martial arts tournament was this? They claimed the empire's greatest warriors had gathered, yet they had this useless "declaration of defeat" rule that prevented any actual fighting!
Bwooooooo!
Regardless of my frustration, the horn blew to signal the start of the semifinals.
Resting my chin on my hand, I looked down at the arena.
Princess Belakir and another dark elf entered the arena.
Coincidentally, this match was dark elf versus dark elf.
"I declare defeat."
Before even drawing a weapon, the dark elf surrendered the moment he stood before the princess.
I suppose it made sense; there was no way he could defeat the princess and advance to the finals.
I should have just faced Princess Belakir from the start...
Right then, Belakir glanced up at me as if she had read my mind. Her eyes seemed to say, It's your turn now.
"..."
Bwooooooo!
The horn sounded again. My opponent was an elf.
"I declare defeat."
"...Again?"
Three surrenders in a row. Scratching the back of my neck, I stared at the elf in front of me.
"There is no point in fighting you, Your Highness."
"Why?"
"Because your opponent..."
The elf glanced over at Belakir on the dark elf side.
"...is over there."
"..."
"I wish you luck."
With those words, the elf turned and walked away.
I didn't even have the energy to stop him anymore. I just stared blankly at his retreating back.
"To think a human actually made it this far..."
"It's not just that he made it; he's the only one who killed his opponent..."
"They said he has the Emperor's favor, but surely..."
The murmurs from the spectator stands drifted clearly to my ears. Everyone seemed quite shocked.
And then,
Step. Step. Step.
A familiar set of footsteps approached.
Princess Belakir entered the arena as soon as the elf left.
"Thanks to my consideration, you must have had plenty of rest..."
"..."
"Shall we begin the finals right away, youngest prince?"
She looked at me, the corner of her mouth curling upward.
Shrugging my shoulders, I replied, "Just what I wanted, Princess Belakir."
Belakir picked up a dagger identical to mine.
"Before we begin."
"..."
"I have a proposal."
Huh? A proposal?
I looked at her, puzzled.
"Youngest prince."
Belakir wore a faint, uncharacteristic smile.
"I propose that neither of us declares defeat."
Her proposal was something no one could have anticipated.
"If it is you, you can do it."
"..."
"Walk with me all the way to death."
A final match where surrender was forbidden.
That meant one of us had to die.
"..."
Any normal person would have rejected the offer immediately. Death carried too great a risk.
But to me, it felt like nothing more than an incredibly fun game.
Had my mind gone completely off the rails after everything I'd been through? Or was it...
...
...
"Fine."
It didn't matter. What mattered right now was that...
I want to kill Princess Belakir.
I had found it strange how she had caught my attention from the moment we met. Now I finally understood. From the very beginning, I had wanted to...
Whoosh!
Belakir moved first.
Her silver hair shimmered in the light as she lowered her stance.
In the next instant, she was already lunging at my throat.
Slash!
Her dagger thrust forward like lightning.
I instinctively leaned back. Then,
Whoosh!
The tip of the blade grazed past my nose.
Fast.
Grinning, I kicked off the ground.
Thud!
The distance between us widened in a split second.
"You dodge better than I expected."
"I can't tell if that's a compliment or an insult."
"A compli—"
Before she could finish her sentence,
Shwip!
I threw my dagger. The blade flashed in the light.
Clang!
Belakir swiftly deflected it.
And in that exact moment,
Thud!
I had already taken my next step. My fist drove into the opening created by her parry.
Tap!
Belakir twisted her waist to dodge and grabbed my arm.
Crack!
Oh, a joint lock. That might have worked on others, but...
Spin!
It wouldn't work on me.
I rotated my body in the direction of the twist and leaped, forcing her to lose her grip.
"...!"
Was this the first time she had ever lost her hold on someone?
Leaving the startled Belakir behind,
Tap!
I dashed toward the weapon rack.
The first thing my hand caught was a spear.
Whoosh!
The spear thrust forward in a straight line.
"Ugh!"
Belakir barely managed to dodge.
Slice!
However, half of her hair was severed, sending glittering silver strands fluttering through the air.
Thud!
While Belakir pulled out a spear that had been lodged in the ground, I grabbed two hand axes.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Ah, the weight felt great. Using all these different weapons made it feel like a buffet.
Clang!
My crossed hand axes easily blocked the sword Belakir swung.
Whoosh!
Belakir retreated as her spear was deflected.
An opening.
"Excuse me."
I lowered my stance and hurled a hand axe at her knees.
Clash!
Belakir barely blocked the axe with the shaft of her spear.
Crack!
The shaft snapped right where the axe had embedded itself.
I'd be a fool to miss this chance.
Whoosh!
The second hand axe spun through the air, flying straight at her.
Clang!
Belakir barely managed to deflect it with the broken shaft.
"You look like you're regretting this."
"...As if."
"Want to declare defeat now?"
"Kh...!"
Finally, a crack appeared in Belakir's composure.
She knew it too—she was being pushed back.
The stronger you were, the faster you realized the gap in power.
Belakir picked up a longbow.
Tsk, tsk.
That wasn't a wise choice.
Well, I suppose a dark elf was still an elf, so she couldn't help it.
I picked up a longsword.
After all, a classic finish is best.
Shweeeek!
An arrow flew toward me at terrifying speed.
It was fast and powerful. But that only mattered if it actually hit.
Shweeeek!
The moment I dodged, another arrow flew straight for my head as if it had been waiting for me.
Clang!
I quickly deflected it with my sword.
And then,
Shweee...
Yet another one, this time aimed right between my eyes.
Screeech!
The incoming arrow was split clean in half by my blade.
Ah, that one was a bit close.
"You need to practice your archery a bit more."
Grinning, I charged at her.
"...!"
A bow and arrow were useless if you couldn't keep your distance.
Knowing this, Belakir immediately grabbed a rapier.
Clang!
Our swords clashed.
Our strength seemed equal. But...
Screeech.
The victor had already been decided.
"...!"
By now, Belakir had no choice but to realize it. She was going to lose.
"Fufu..."
Yet, she was smiling. As if she couldn't wait to die.
Screeech.
The cold edge of the rapier was drawing closer not to me, but to Belakir. Death was closing in on her.
"Indeed, my eyes did not deceive me..."
Belakir's smile widened. At the same time, her red pupils began to swallow the entirety of her eyes.
"So you were here."
Her voice began to change strangely.
It sounded almost like the voice of a god.
"O Star of Death..."
Stab!