Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Azure Dragon Tournament
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Quarterfinals.
It didn't take long to spot the person who'd submitted the special pass last time.
The black-haired boy in the oni mask and the black-haired girl with the eyepatch.
Anyone could tell they were the same ones from before.
They still eyed us suspiciously, narrowing their gazes, clearly dubious about our identities.
Even so, Yoru and I strode confidently into the arena where the Azure Dragon Tournament would unfold.
"Wow, there are so many people."
"Yeah."
People everywhere you looked.
With the duel arena at the center, spectators swarmed the structures radiating outward.
Some of them were probably Hiiragi's people.
The association guy who'd just checked our identities had seemed to receive some kind of tip-off.
"Things might get annoying after the quarterfinals."
"Because of Hiiragi?"
"Yeah."
I didn't think they'd interfere with the matches right now.
But once the duels ended, who knew? Better not let our guard down.
"Kline, you're up first."
"I'll be right back."
"You can win, right?"
"Of course."
I confirmed Yoru heading to the participants' waiting area, then made my way to the arena.
The closer I got, the more intensely the gazes of countless spectators pierced me.
Soon, they began murmuring among themselves.
Across from me stood a girl around thirteen years old.
She wore a leotard with the rest covered in mesh.
Whoa, they said ninja, and she's a real kunoichi.
With a smug, triumphant expression, she declared to me,
"Hello, Mr. Oni Mask."
"Hi."
"I don't know where you're from, but I'm sorry. You must be skilled to get a special pass... but challenging a true ninja like me? Bad luck."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. I can control shadows, you see."
With those words, she crooked her fingers.
Shadows surged up from the arena floor.
Empire-style, it'd be magic; Aonia calls it sorcery, I guess.
"A technique so unpredictable you can't even grasp how it attacks. Even you won't be an exception."
"Ah, so you're not the kunai-throwing type—you handle shadows?"
"Of course! Don't compare me to regular ninjas. I'm special."
"Got it."
I nodded agreeably.
Right, right. No kunai, just shadows.
"Then I should show you something too."
I raised my hand, gathering light.
Crackle, crackle!
A sphere of light formed, shining brightly.
At the same moment, the girl's summoned shadows recoiled.
"Wh-what...?"
The ninja girl's eyes shook in confusion.
I smirked at her and said,
"One thing you're mistaken about."
"What is it?"
"When it comes to special... no one can match me."
The light illuminated the entire arena, and the first quarterfinal match began.
The duel didn't last long.
Light magic completely countered shadow sorcery.
The ninja girl tried her best to counterattack in her own way.
But honestly, she wasn't even close to my level, light magic or not.
In the end, it ended anticlimactically for the spectators who'd been hyped for the quarterfinals—a total letdown.
"That was quick."
"Told you I'd win."
"Even so, I didn't expect an instant stomp."
I sat next to Yoru in the participants' waiting area, where she'd watched my match.
Off in the distance, Hiiragi Masato stared over, clearly bothered by us.
He didn't approach, probably minding the crowd's eyes.
"That guy's been staring at you hardcore since earlier."
"I don't need attention from guys."
"Obvious, right? He sees you as a threat to his path, so he wants you gone."
"Hmm."
Yoru's guess made sense.
But personally, I didn't think Hiiragi Masato was that type.
If he were, he wouldn't have reacted like that when our eyes met on the main street.
How to put it—more like an indecisive sort.
I didn't have a great impression of the Hiiragi family, but the boy Masato himself might be different.
Just speculation at this stage, though.
As I chatted with Yoru, lost in thought,
the second match ended, and it was Yoru's turn.
"Already over."
My semifinal opponent was a plain-looking country girl.
Ordinary face, generic clothes.
Judging by the sword at her waist, a swordswoman.
"Why're you looking at another girl?"
Yoru grabbed my chin with her hand.
"I'm about to go out there, so watch me."
"Who said I wasn't? Obviously I will."
"Hmph. You say that, but you're not thinking elsewhere, are you?"
"No way."
Yoru snorted skeptically, then headed to the arena.
With her gone, Masato stared even harder.
Not glaring or hostile, though.
More like complicated emotions.
The duel started with the announcer's call.
Before Yoru stood a muscle-bound giant.
Just looking at their builds, the size difference was overwhelming.
Age, physique, even gender—Yoru had no advantages.
Naturally, the giant grinned smugly.
...
Yoru said nothing.
Shing! She simply drew her sword.
The giant sneered and took his stance—
Boom!
Sword ki burst from the katana, slicing clean through the giant's body.
Thud...
The giant collapsed unconscious in one hit.
Foam bubbled from his mouth as Yoru brushed back her hair.
Wow.
Yoru knows some rough language, huh.
Graver, the fourth division leader of the Crimson Blood Cult.
He had finally succeeded in spreading his magic across all of Aonia.
Now, no one could stop him.
Corpses would rise from every inch of Aonia's soil.
And they'd scatter the defensive forces, preventing concentration.
Then—his true ultimate, 'Corpse Heap,' would awaken.
'That'll be the end.'
No one in Aonia currently could fell the Corpse Heap.
The Empire might send someone capable... but they had no obligation to aid Aonia.
In short, Graver's plan was flawless.
"Still, why does the cult leader keep fussing over this Kline guy?"
He'd made a half-hearted show of looking into it, as ordered.
Seemed Kline entered the Azure Dragon Tournament, so Graver had come all the way to Aosen.
Sticking to back alleys to avoid eyes, of course.
Anyway, he'd confirmed Kline Leonhart's status.
Graver summoned a blood mirror and contacted the cult leader.
"Cult Leader. Found him. This Kline bastard."
"Yes. In a city called Aosen, holding the Azure Dragon Tournament. So, what now?"
"...!"
Graver sucked in a breath.
The Blood Demon moving personally?
The cult leader who'd prattled about fate and the shadow world without budging.
Her coming to Aonia herself...
"What's going on? You didn't seem that interested before."
"Hmmm... What about my plan?"
"Understood."
"Plan succeeds" meant when the corpses annihilated Aonia.
The Blood Demon appearing then...
What value did this Kline have?
Pushing aside the question, he dispersed the blood mirror.
Didn't matter either way.
Graver owed the Blood Demon—a debt repaid by silent obedience.
Watching Kline and reporting seemed fine too.
That's when—
"Oh?"
He sensed it.
The presence of one bearing his blood.
No mistake.
His 'daughter.'
"So she was here."
Wondered where she'd wandered—participating in the Azure Dragon Tournament, of all things.
"Heh. Hehehe."
Yes, that's my girl.
No escaping her father's grasp.
Graver grinned wickedly and melted into the shadows.
A few days until the corpses rose.
Plenty of time to meet his daughter—Kurotsuki Yoru.