Festival (7)
Festival (7)
While broadcasters across every country were getting blasted by viewers thanks to the surprise ad break.
[ Will the first challenger step onto the stage. ]
Below the stage, the students were sorting out the order of participation.
The Losers' Revival Match.
One person takes the stage, and another from the remaining participants challenges them.
One-on-one format.
The winner earns one point and can choose to step down to rest for a turn, or hold the stage. If they hold the stage and win consecutively, their score continues to climb—two points, then three.
The person with the highest score at the end wins.
Managing stamina, strategically forfeiting based on the opponent's ability, ring-out judgments—
the match demanded far more rapid decisions and considerations than expected.
But there were exceptions.
"I'll go."
Baek Ha-na raised her hand, her snow-white hair tied up neatly.
The other students scattered around the stage stiffened as if they had predicted this.
[ Arena Academy student Baek Ha-na. Is there no one else who wishes to take the first turn. ]
The referee standing atop the stage slowly turned, meeting every student's eyes one by one.
[ Student Baek Ha-na, please come up onto the stage. Then, the challenger for student Baek Ha-na, please raise your hand. ]
Just as they were about to move things along quickly, assuming no one would raise a hand—
"Me!"
The Japanese representative, who had lost to the French apprentice chevaliers by an 11-point margin, raised her hand.
[ Confirmed. Upon the signal, please come up onto the stage. ]
The referee, a priest of the God of Amusement, unhurriedly stepped down from the stage.
He had received word that a large backlog of ads still remained.
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[ Thank you for your patience!! Isn't that right, Ben? ]
[ Haha, I suspect the viewers watching this broadcast were even more anxious than I was. Also, I've just received word that posts threatening to kill commentator Demyua are flooding the broadcasting station and social media. ]
[ What?! Why?! I only followed the script the station prepared for me! ]
[ Well, I suggest you handle that matter personally later. It looks like we're about to begin, so let's focus on commentary. ]
[ No—!! ]
The face of the indignant commentator Demyua vanished, replaced by a view of the stage.
**
[ Challenger, please come up onto the stage. ]
At the referee's direction, the Japanese representative who had raised her hand ascended the stage.
Baek Ha-na blinked as she looked at the female student standing across from her.
"Mio?"
"You remembered me?!"
A radiant smile bloomed across Yuzuki Mio's previously rigid face.
"Uh, I, we... have to fight, though..."
"Yes, yes!! I'll do my best!!"
"Uh, okay..."
She had stepped up vowing to finish everyone in a single blow, but that resolve shattered against her very first opponent.
'One blow, I have to finish it in one blow...'
Baek Ha-na scratched her cheek as she looked at Yuzuki Mio.
Rather than fighting spirit, her opponent was grinning like she had just run into a dear friend.
'No, that can't be... a strategy to lure me into being careless... there's no hostility at all...'
Baek Ha-na was still mulling over what to do.
[ We will begin the count. ]
The referee began counting down from ten.
"Lady Ha-na!! It's okay, so please give it your all!! I'll do my utmost as well!!"
"Mhm..."
She didn't want to be rough with someone who had given her chocolate, but given the circumstances, personal feelings had to be set aside for the moment.
[ 7, 6, 5... ]
The numbers kept ticking down.
Shrrrk.
A pure-white tail slipped down beneath Baek Ha-na's backside.
Then, the instant the count ended—
Flaaash!!
A flood of talismans streamed from both of Yuzuki Mio's sleeves, spreading wide across the entire stage.
"Those talismans explode on contact!!"
"...?"
"And when they explode, the curses and spells infused inside them activate!!"
"...??"
Baek Ha-na had been holding still, thinking it best to at least give her opponent a chance to manifest her abilities. The sudden ability explanation caught her off guard.
"I can also do this!!"
Whiiiir—!!
The talismans that had been evenly scattered across the stage all converged around Baek Ha-na.
Just as Baek Ha-na began gathering her mana, anticipating the talismans' detonation—
Whoosh.
A soft glow emanated from the gathered talismans, and they began weaving together, forming a semi-transparent membrane.
Yuzuki Mio pointed at the sphere-shaped barrier enclosing Baek Ha-na and continued.
"As you can see, they can also function as a protective barrier in emergencies!!"
"..."
So, why...?
Was the plan to trap her like this, then detonate them?
But before the thought could even finish forming, the semi-transparent membrane dispersed, and the talismans flew back toward Yuzuki Mio.
"Thank you for waiting."
Baek Ha-na scratched her cheek at the sight of Yuzuki Mio bowing her head. Yuzuki Mio's expression hardened in response.
"I've judged that no matter what preparations I make, I cannot defeat you, Lady Ha-na, with my current ability. So I've decided to focus all my power on defense."
Fwwsh!!
The talismans that had gathered around Yuzuki Mio arranged themselves into a giant pentagram, ignited with blue flames, and rapidly burned away. In the space where they had vanished, an ominous, deep violet barrier manifested.
Having instantly surrounded herself with a violet barrier, Yuzuki Mio spoke.
"This barrier is infused with every curse and spell that had been contained in the talismans."
"...That's your last move?"
"Yes. This is the greatest technique I can currently show you."
"Is that so."
Baek Ha-na lightly clenched her fist.
"Don't underestimate m—"
BOOOOM—!!
A deafening roar and a violent blast of wind battered Yuzuki Mio's face.
"Hrk..."
Staring at the black half-gauntlet halted right before her eyes, Yuzuki Mio started hiccupping uncontrollably.
Crack—crack-crack.
Beginning with the tiny hole that had been punched through before she could even register it, large and small fractures spread wide. The barrier, steeped in its ominous hue, shattered like shards of glass, scattering away on the wind.
At the same time, the strength drained from Yuzuki Mio's legs, and she tipped backward.
Shrrrk.
"...?"
Expecting to collapse pathetically onto the floor, Yuzuki Mio instead realized something had gently coiled around her waist, holding her firmly in place. She opened her tightly shut eyes.
"You okay?"
When she opened her eyes, she found not a terrifying fist but Baek Ha-na's face, with jewel-like eyes radiating a beautiful blue. Yuzuki Mio drew a sharp, shaky breath.
"Mio?"
"Ah...!! I-I'm okaa...?!"
Attempting to answer in her still-awkward Korean, she bit her tongue and flinched.
"Pfft..."
Baek Ha-na let out a small laugh at the sight of Yuzuki Mio covering her mouth, eyes brimming with tears. That moment was broadcast live across every nation through hundreds of cameras.
Utterly unaware of that fact, Baek Ha-na quickly straightened her expression and lifted the dazed Yuzuki Mio, who was still staring up at her.
"Oh, L-Lady Ha-na...?"
Snapping back to her senses inside Baek Ha-na's sudden princess carry, Yuzuki Mio flailed her limbs in undisguised fluster.
"There."
"Ah..."
The very edge of the stage.
Only after being set down there did Yuzuki Mio understand Baek Ha-na's intent.
"I-I c-couldn't see very well, but... you were amazing..."
Leaving behind the words she wanted to say, she promptly scrambled off the stage.
[ Yuzuki Mio ring-out. Baek Ha-na victory. ]
-Waaaaaah!!
-It wasn't as flashy as I expected, but it was great!!
-Smile like that one more time!!
-Kyaaaah!!
The audience roared for Baek Ha-na and Yuzuki Mio, though neither of them could hear it.
For the sake of Baek Ha-na's sensitive hearing, the management had newly installed a soundproof barrier alongside the protective one.
When Baek Ha-na returned to her original position, the referee asked—
[ Student Baek Ha-na, will you hold the stage. ]
"Yes. I'll hold it."
[ Holding the stage, confirmed. Then, the second challenger, please come up onto the stage. ]
As the referee's words ended, the Italian representative stepped onto the stage and stood in the exact spot Yuzuki Mio had occupied moments before.
[ We will begin the count. ]
The numbers ticked down just as quickly as before.
"Please take care of me."
"..."
Baek Ha-na stared blankly at the male student who greeted her with a wink, then gave a single nod.
Then, the moment the count ended—
"My spea—"
WHOOOMPH—!!
With a sound like a soccer ball popping, the Italian representative's body rocketed off the stage.
In the blink of an eye, Baek Ha-na had closed the distance and kicked him square in the stomach.
The Italian representative, sent flying out of bounds, tumbled across the floor several times before finally slamming into the audience wall and coming to a stop.
"Next."
Baek Ha-na didn't even look back as she searched for her third opponent.
**
[ 14 wins, 14 matches!! A record for the ages is born!! ]
[ Considering the previous best record was 8 wins, we can't help but be astonished. ]
[ And except for the first challenger, student Yuzuki Mio, she finished every single one of them in a single blow. ]
[ We just might be looking at a future High Ranker. I should secretly get an autograph later. ]
[ That's a good idea. But there's something important. ]
[ More ads? ]
[ No! And let me state once again, the ads were prepared by the station, not me!! ]
[ Yes, I understand. So please tell us what's important. ]
[ Haah, thanks to student Baek Ha-na's spectacular performance today, Arena Academy has advanced to the round of 16. But as you know, this is a team game—individual brilliance alone won't win the championship. ]
[ That's right. Even just looking at how student Baek Ha-na had to step up today... ]
Click.
Leaving the noisy broadcast behind, Baek Ha-na opened the waiting room door and stepped inside. Then, at the unexpected figure before her, she blinked.
"Hello."
Bound in handcuffs, Jane Moore offered a polite greeting.