There Is Still Hope (4)

Watching Berserk climb onto the stage, I felt a headache coming on.

Even granting that she might have borrowed the strength of horses and camels, the sheer absurdity of someone who left later than us arriving first was enough to make my head spin. And the fact that the first thing she did upon arriving so quickly was enter the arena? That was even more infuriating. On top of everything, the tickets we had bought for the very first match just happened to be for her fight. It was all so ridiculous I didn't even know where to start complaining. Was this… supposed to be causality? Some forced narrative power determined to drag Berserk into our party no matter what?

"Even if she rode mounts… no, even with mounts, arriving faster than us should have been difficult."

"That's not even the point. We never even saw her pass us. If she took the main road, we definitely should have crossed paths."

I leaned back against the seat with a look of pure disgust. If I'd known it would turn out like this, I never would have wasted time on entertainment and gone off to do something else instead.

But the Archmage had begged us not to go off on our own. He'd even framed it as a contingency—just in case the seal failed to do its job—so ignoring him was hard. On top of that, he'd limited both our location and the duration of our stay for this city alone. Even with my concept-driven temper, completely blowing him off felt a bit much…

"Well, isn't that just miraculous."

No, wait. On second thought, there was no real reason for me to leave this seat in the first place.

It wasn't as if Berserk was going to leap into the spectator stands and pick a fight with me. So maybe a coincidence of this level was fine.

"Ahem. The method of her arrival hardly matters. What matters is that we no longer have any reason to get involved with her…"

But the unexpected struck before the Archmage could even finish speaking.

"Match start—"

Bang!

The instant the referee announced the beginning of the match, Berserk shot forward and subdued the red-tattooed Omar in a single blow.

The fact that Omar had already raised his sword meant nothing. Berserk's fist shattered the blade and slammed into his solar plexus. The body that went flying and crashed into the arena wall was the natural conclusion.

"Utterly disappointing. Next!"

Her platinum-blond hair and the single earring dangling from one ear caught the sunlight and flashed with a metallic gleam.

"…What just happened?"

Perhaps because it had ended so suddenly, even though the outcome was perfectly clear the referee didn't dare open his mouth. The sparse audience was the same. Everyone looked completely stunned, unable to utter a word.

"Did I not just shout for the next one, referee!"

"Th-the winner! Berserker!"

"It's not Berserker, it's Berserk!!"

Of course I wasn't particularly surprised. It wasn't that I had accurately gauged Berserk's level so much as I had been vaguely thinking, "Well, of course she'll win."

After all, Berserk was an official character of sorts. How could someone like that lose to a nameless extra who wasn't even a named NPC? If an official character lost to an extra, fans would start theorizing about hidden settings for the extra or go straight to the story writer to demand answers.

"And hurry up and bring out the next skilled fighter!"

In the meantime Berserk dug in her heels. Normally the winner was supposed to leave the stage once victory was decided, but she stood rigid in the middle of the arena with no intention of stepping down.

"Hurry! Berserk has not even begun to enjoy herself yet!"

And she was throwing a tantrum demanding they send her an opponent. In Ainoxar, where matches were arranged by mutual agreement, that kind of whim would never fly.

"…It was more anticlimactic than expected, but I understand how things proceed now. It seems finished, so shall we leave?"

"If the Inquisitor says so."

"Whoa, I wonder if that guy on the other side is even still alive. Her strength really must be insane."

While Berserk threw her fit, we prepared to leave. Everyone else was still frozen in shock, so the only group actually ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moving stood out quite a bit.

"……! You!"

That was our misfortune.

Whoosh.

Something came flying toward us. It was an attack aimed precisely at me, who had been at the very rear of our formation.

Pak!

My right hand shot up on pure reflex and snatched it out of the air. When I glanced down I saw it was a broken fragment of a sword blade.

"Ha, as expected—you're strong!"

"Demon Knight, are you unharmed?!"

"Young master, are you okay?!"

I tossed the metal scrap onto the floor, leaving the fussing party members behind. My gaze went straight to the one who had sent the blade fragment flying.

She must have kicked the broken blade with her foot; the leg that had been raised was now slowly lowering again.

"Surely you won't back down this time either?"

"You little thunderstruck brat…"

No, no, no!!! Just a moment ago I had been thinking there was no way she would leap into the spectator stands to pick a fight! But what the hell was this development?! She may not have invaded the stands, but she was blatantly picking a fight right out in the open!

Was Berserk originally this reckless a character? Sure, even in the original her script painted her as a battle maniac who lived with her life on the line, but…!

I tensed my neck as I looked at Berserk. My veins were probably standing out, though there was no way for me to check.

Should I just kill her?

More importantly, how many lines had she crossed already? Last time I could endure it under the pretext of the Archmage stopping me, but would that work again?

Ah, damn it. If I play along it'll only make Berserk happy, so I really want to hold back if possible.

"If you wish to prove you are no coward, then come down, warrior!"

Hmm. Including last time, this is the third stack of "you chicken?" I let two slide, but three really might be impossible.

"Young master, young master. You're not going to fall for that strange person's provocation, right?"

"Demon Knight, there is no need for you to associate with that ruffian…"

Kwajik.

I drove the True Two-Hander I had been carrying on my back into the floor of the spectator stands. It wasn't as if I was going to kill Berserk, so there was no reason to use this sword.

If I wasn't going to use it anyway, I might as well leave it behind in style. My longsword had already broken on the way here, so I had nothing else to leave.

"I shall hammer some manners into you."

"We're doomed…"

"Demon Knight?!"

I'm sorryyyyy. I'm sorry that this is my concepttttt.

Leaving my flustered companions behind, I lightly hopped down onto the stage. The arena staff who had been trying to drag Berserk away looked startled.

"Th-that, private duels are not allow—"

Even the previously calm announcer stammered out a warning. But he was only flapping his lips; there was no real firmness in his attitude.

Understandable.

"Finally!"

Berserk's eyes had completely spun out of control. I pretended the same.

"A Norda warrior is fair and upright. Since you discarded your sword, I too shall refrain from using weapons!"

Says the person whose entire body is a weapon.

I slowly regulated my breathing as I watched Berserk toss her halberd aside.

It was lucky she was Berserk rather than a Weapon Master, one of the warrior class branches. That thought flickered briefly and vanished.

"Here I come!"

Without further warning—well, she shouted it, but she charged at the exact ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠same time—Berserk threw a punch straight at me.

Puh-eong!

She punched empty air with a bare fist and it made that kind of sound. Seriously? I suppressed the slight chill that rose as I watched the arm whip past right beside my head.

Instead I reached out.

Kwak!

The hand that had been aiming for my solar plexus was seized. That was a little unexpected, but not a big problem.

Not long ago, with nothing better to invest points in, I had maxed out the Evasion Counter skill tree as well. I had put it off because I could already counterattack after dodging without it, but once I took it I found it fairly useful against equal opponents.

Not that there were many equals like Berserk, but still.

So I used my shoulder to slam into her.

"Kehat!"

Ah, please don't laugh. It's creepy.

I deliberately ignored the laughter coming from above. Then, with my still-free other arm, I smashed my fist straight up into Berserk's chin.

Thanks to that, the arm she had first shot out in a straight line—which she had been trying to rake across my back—ended up useless.

The one who staggered back a couple of steps grinned. It was truly horrifying.

Puh-uk!

My foot kicked Berserk. Even while staggering she still had the presence of mind to raise a guard; her arms crossed in an X took the blow instead. Jiik. Her massive frame slid a little as it dragged across the ground.

About two steps.

"Good, good!"

The moment the force pushing her back weakened, she immediately launched into a charge. For a second the surrounding wind looked like white streaks.

And when the distance had closed considerably, Berserk threw another punch.

Whether she was just tough or simply didn't think deeply, I couldn't tell.

I lightly twisted my body to the side to evade, then crossed my arm and smashed my fist into Berserk's face. Uduk. From the sound of a nose bone breaking, it had landed cleanly.

"Heh."

But the eyes that peeked through the fist I hadn't fully covered only curved into a shape full of madness.

Kwak!

The one who had taken a direct punch to the face grabbed my arm in reverse without so much as a wobble.

Honestly, I was scared. More than any other moment.

Kwang!

Before I could shake free the captured arm, another fist came flying. Because of the posture it hit my solar plexus rather than my face, and the power was no joke.

Thanks to my pain threshold stat, most pain ended as a mere sting, but this one… oof, it felt like getting lightly punched in real life.

The thin residual ache that lingered afterward was more annoying than the moment of impact itself.

Jijijik.

On top of that, the force had shoved me backward, so I planted my feet into the ground and barely managed to keep my balance. Roughly three steps. That was the distance I had retreated.

"This is what a real fight is!"

Wow, whether intentional or accidental, my concept was getting thoroughly triggered.

I straightened my bent waist and my lips trembled. There was still a faint irritation around my solar plexus, but from experience it didn't feel like anything was broken.

That was enough.

I quietly watched my opponent wipe away the blood streaming from both nostrils with the back of her hand, then the moment she lowered her hand I shot forward.

Kwang!

"Kehat, yes! This is how it should be!"

Fist sought fist, foot sought foot, and a full-on brawl began.

I was a little sloppy from lack of experience fighting a proper opponent in close quarters, but it never became a serious problem.

Part of it was the Survival Instinct skill—its evasion-path suggestions were the best—and part was Evasion Counter, but fundamentally Berserk was just too tough. Way too tough.

Yeah, whether she trusted the raw toughness that came from her build or simply accepted getting hit in order to hit back, she traded blows without hesitation.

Of course I couldn't deny that every single punch thrown that way was a threat to me. Deep down I wanted to trade damage for damage too, but her attacks hurt too much…

Even when I raised a guard, I felt a bone-deep throb. Kind of like receiving extracorporeal shockwave therapy.

In the end, partly to make use of my skills, I had no choice but to fight with evasion as the core.

Whenever our bodies rarely connected, faint shockwaves spread through the air and dust clouds rose from the wind pressure.

Cracks slowly began to form in the earth of the arena.

"Good, very good!"

Looking at the stage growing more and more wrecked, I felt even more sorry for the people who would have to clean up afterward. But with my own nose three feet deep in trouble, I couldn't afford to be considerate.

Puh-uk!

Our fists crossed and smashed into each other's faces. Mine hit Berserk square on; hers glanced slightly and struck the area around my cheek and jaw.

My lip split and blood flowed.

E-even so, I won this trade…! My lip split, but it was on the side that already had a scar so it wouldn't show much, and more importantly she had a double nosebleed!

Normally the one who bleeds more loses, so I won! I won!

"Euha, euhahaha!!"

…No, actually I lost…. What good is winning the trade when the one having the most fun is her?

I checked my HP while looking at the one bursting into maniacal laughter as if she were delighted. For a fistfight I couldn't tell whether I had lost a lot or a little.

My limbs just throbbed.

"More, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠entertain me more—!"

Charrrruk!

At that moment a familiar yet unwelcome sound rang out. White-and-blue chains erupted from the ground and bound the two of us.

At least they didn't wrap around my neck, which was a relief.

"Wh-what is this!"

Berserk, of course, got a chain around her neck as well.

"You…"

"That will be enough. The staff are having a hard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time, are they not?"

Hey, if you were going to stop us, couldn't you have stopped us earlier?

I grumbled inwardly as I glared at the Archmage. He didn't so much as flinch and met my gaze head-on.

"Any further engagement here would only lower your own level. Cease and come up."

Wait, this is basically a "you chicken?"-level freebie.

Still, being able to stop here was attractive. Even if they were tightly wrapped and didn't show, I was definitely covered in bruises all over my body.

"…Tch."

So I decided to obediently follow his words.

I clicked my tongue once and drew up more mana. The moment the mana became visible as heat haze, the chains shattered with a clear ringing sound.

"……!"

Berserk's eyes went round with apparent surprise. Not that it was any of my business.

After breaking the chains I lightly leapt up. The stage was a step lower than the spectator stands, but not so high that I couldn't clear it.

"Wait, where do you think you're going! The victory between us has not yet been decided!"

As if trying to free herself the same way I had, Berserk twisted her whole body and shouted.

But she couldn't break them. From that point on I no longer needed to care.

I retrieved the sword I had driven into the floor earlier.

"My, what a remarkable fellow. That binding was a bit more carefully crafted than yours, yet you resisted it."

…Ah, so I didn't break them because I was stronger than her; she just got hit with a higher-intensity binding?

Still, outsiders wouldn't know that, so it was fine. I would look stronger.

"They seem about to break, so let us be on our way."

"Demon Knight, are you all right?"

"Young master…"

The Archmage hurried us along, and Kimchi Dumpling fretted over my body. Meat Dumpling… yeah. I got the look telling me to calm my temper.

But were you always like this? Shouldn't you be looking at me with the same worried eyes as Kimchi Dumpling?

My concept may be immature for my age, but this uncle's heart still hurts…

"Still, there is one thing that can be considered fortunate."

What, that Meat Dumpling is slowly withdrawing his respect for me?

"Though only a small amount, you drew up mana and fought here, yet the seal remains intact. There is nothing wrong with you either. In that regard I can rest a little easier. Though it would be troublesome if you did this again next time."

…No wonder he only stopped us after he'd seen everything. Did he deliberately leave us alone just to test the seal?!