Chapter 108: The Little Lion and the Crimson Monster (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 108: The Little Lion and the Crimson Monster (2)
Adelaide wasn’t sure if her master, the Tin Knight, was a man of efficiency or a man of romance.
Seeing him grind people down without mercy or lop off an enemy’s head in the time it would take to assess the situation, he seemed to prioritize efficiency. Yet, his actions and words also revealed a deep appreciation for romance and passion.
The witch had described him as “a madman who lives by the momentum of the moment” and said, “you shouldn’t expect consistency from a lunatic,” but Adelaide didn’t think he was quite that far gone.
Still, it was hard to know how the Tin Knight would react to her ‘seeking tutelage from someone other than her master to win a match.’
The Adelaide of the past would have hesitated to even ask, fearing the mere possibility of displeasing the Tin Knight, but the Adelaide of now was starved for victory.
And so, she asked him.
“Um, would it be alright if I asked Mr. Peter for some advice?”
The Tin Knight stared at her for a moment, then, for some reason, gave her a thumbs-up.
[‘The Tin Knight’ praises your excellent attitude in seeking to learn what he does not know!]
[‘The Tin Knight’ expresses his delight at his disciple’s proactive stance!]
Fortunately, his reaction wasn’t bad.
In fact, it was so positive that she briefly suspected it might be sarcasm.
But considering the Tin Knight’s usual words and deeds, he wasn’t the type to be so roundabout.
With her master’s permission, Adelaide approached Peter, who, despite his youthful appearance, was chugging beer with the gusto of a middle-aged man.
“Hm? What to watch out for when fighting that Kalidah fellow?”
“Haha, now, now, young lady, you can’t just expect an adventurer to work for free. If you want something, you have to make a request. And the fee is quite expensive, I might add.”
“No, wait, don’t just hand over your entire wallet. This makes me look bad! Hey, you over there! Stop giving me that ‘wow, what a piece of trash’ look!”
“Dammit, you may be better than that self-proclaimed vampire lady, but you’re a handful in your own way. Fine, I’ll just consider this payment for the meal.”
Peter scratched his head, then took a crunchy bite out of an apple on the table before speaking.
“First, you already know not to meet his blade head-on, right? On top of that, you have to watch out for his other body parts, not just the sword. Considering his ridiculous physical abilities, just getting grazed by his foot while he’s backpedaling would be like getting kicked by a horse.”
“And get rid of the notion that the leather-like parts of his armor are weaker than the metal. Seeing as it didn’t get sliced through in one go even when I hit it with sword energy, it’s definitely not just some wild animal hide. It’s probably the hide of a magic beast. If you only attack that spot because it looks weaker, he’ll read your pattern and counter you.”
“Also, he’s the champion of the arena. He knows the rules of the martial arts tournament and how to fight on that stage better than anyone. That Arena Smashing move he used against me is especially annoying, so be careful.”
“Finally, that guy… he probably hasn’t shown his full strength yet. Good luck, little lady.”
*
CRASH! K-CRASH!
The stage crumbled with each passing moment, growing ever smaller.
Adelaide charged head-on toward Kalidah, who was like a literal force of nature.
And Kalidah met her charge with a swing of his greatsword.
In some ways, the scene was similar to the start of their fight, but there was a clear difference.
WHOOSH!
Kalidah had swung his greatsword with the flat of the blade, not the edge.
It was a brutish attack, made possible only by his absurd physical strength, but it was undeniably effective.
There was no opening to duck under the attack as she had before. The only escape routes were backward or in the opposite direction of the sword’s swing.
And the area opposite the sword was already a crater of Kalidah’s making.
The only way to dodge was to retreat. That’s what the audience thought.
Fwip!
Adelaide threw herself forward—right onto the rubble of the arena that Kalidah had destroyed.
Kalidah’s movements stuttered.
He had been preparing an attack under the assumption that she would retreat, and now he was forced to awkwardly twist his body.
Adelaide did not miss the opening.
Shk!
A slash, empowered by the momentum of her entire body, pierced the Armor of Beasts for the first time and wounded the champion’s flesh.
A counterattack came a beat too late, but by then, Adelaide had already created distance between them again.
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
They wondered if Adelaide’s action violated the out-of-bounds rule.
However, the referee did not disqualify her.
《…Impressive. Did you check beforehand?》
Though Kalidah muttered in surprise, he showed no anger or confusion at the ruling.
Peter’s advice had been truly invaluable.
The standard way to fight a greatsword user was to get inside their guard, but with Kalidah, getting too close could result in serious injury from even light physical contact.
Don’t judge the armor’s durability by its appearance.
And, it was best to carefully review the tournament rules.
After watching the match with Peter, people assumed that stepping on the areas Kalidah had destroyed was forbidden, but the actual out-of-bounds rule was more complicated.
Stepping on the arena’s debris or fragments didn’t count as being out of bounds. Even on the bare ground, it was only a violation if both feet or the upper body touched it.
There was a reason Kalidah hadn’t just pushed Peter or lured him toward the broken sections, but had grabbed him and slammed him down.
“……”
Adelaide didn’t answer Kalidah’s question or boast about how thoroughly she had prepared.
Such余裕 (yoyuu; leeway) was a luxury reserved for the strong.
She simply kept a careful watch on the state of the arena and Kalidah’s form.
Although the arena was a chaotic mess of destruction, there were actually very few spots where the ground was completely exposed.
If she had assumed all the places Kalidah had destroyed were off-limits, she would have already been trapped. But with the condition being ‘completely destroyed,’ there were more footholds than one might think.
Of course, they weren’t stable footholds, but Adelaide had more experience fighting on uneven ground than on flat surfaces anyway.
She judged that Kalidah’s arena destruction was more for show and psychological intimidation; its purely tactical merit wasn’t that great.
However, Adelaide couldn’t bring herself to be pleased.
The wound is too shallow.
The spot Adelaide had aimed for was the part of the armor that had been damaged in the fight with Peter.
He must have repaired it since the last match, as it looked no different on the surface, but it was definitely weaker than the rest.
Even after catching her opponent off guard and striking a weak point, the result was disappointing.
Realizing why, Adelaide tightened her grip on her sword’s hilt.
A pure lack of skill.
Her technique with the two-handed sword, her control over mana, her footwork, her martial arts—all of it was lacking.
But that was no reason to give up.
If my attacks can land, I have a chance to win!
Adelaide charged once more.
Using the uneven ground to her advantage, she circled Kalidah in an irregular orbit, swinging her sword.
Clang! K-clang! Shlick!
The extreme situation, where a single clean hit would mean the end, and her intense desire for victory continued to heighten Adelaide’s concentration.
At some point, golden mana began to ripple from her entire body.
All her senses were honed to their absolute limit, and the surrounding noise faded away.
She fought on, reading and rereading Kalidah’s movements, the gaps in his armor, the placement of his feet, the direction of his sword.
The reflexive movements that had once only functioned for evasion began to expand their scope, infusing her every action.
The warriors who had participated in the tournament watched her, letting out gasps of astonishment or low groans.
They realized that the girl on the stage was growing in real-time, in the midst of a real battle.
It was undeniable talent.
Adelaide was a true genius.
But even so, it wasn’t enough.
WHOOSH!
Adelaide’s body staggered before the greatsword Kalidah swung.
It wasn’t a direct hit.
The hem of her clothes, or perhaps a part of her armor, had only been grazed—truly, just by a nail’s breadth.
But that alone was enough to cause a large bruise to form, and in the worst cases, it tore away her flesh along with her clothes.
Thwack!
Blood burst from Adelaide’s head.
She had been too slow to disengage, and her head had lightly brushed against Kalidah’s elbow as he turned.
Adelaide’s legs buckled for a moment, but she rolled away just as the greatsword came crashing down.
Just as Adelaide’s sword was piercing Kalidah’s armor and wounding him, Kalidah, too, was adapting to her movements, the precision of his attacks increasing.
Kalidah remained steadfast, while Adelaide’s complexion grew paler.
It was painfully obvious which of them would reach their limit first.
In a selfless trance, Adelaide thought.
This isn’t working.
This isn’t enough.
A little more. Just a little more.
「 [‘The Tin Knight’ says that there is no master who would not rejoice in their disciple's victory!] 」
—He’s cheering for me!
Crackle.
Within the golden mana enveloping Adelaide’s body, something foreign began to mix in.
A substance of vivid violet, it announced its presence by flaring up like a spark.
Its scale was so small and faint that almost no one noticed the change.
Even Adelaide herself didn’t realize what was happening to her own body.
Only one person.
Only Kalidah, who was facing Adelaide, noticed it.
The violet lightning, blooming amidst the golden flames.
Shlick!
In the next moment.
The strike Adelaide unleashed clearly surpassed her own inherent abilities.
Something simply flashed, and immediately after, fresh blood sprayed from Kalidah’s body.
Thud. Adelaide fell to one knee.
Her entire body felt as heavy as lead, and a sudden wave of drowsiness washed over her.
And yet, a faint smile graced her lips.
She didn’t know what had happened, but she knew she had won.
Moreover, she was certain—not with reason, but with instinct—that she had grasped a clue to reaching a higher plane.
That is why.
《—Geisel.》
The boiling resentment in the voice that reached her ears made her reaction a moment too late.
A dizzying impact. A feeling of weightlessness. A spinning world.
Realizing she was on the ground, Adelaide tried to get up, but failed.
It was as if all sensation in her body had vanished.
The best she could do was somehow move her neck to turn her gaze.
And Adelaide saw it.
A crimson monster, bleeding profusely from its wound, yet radiating an aura even more menacing than before, far from weakened.
Clank.
Clank.
As it strode toward Adelaide, not a trace of its former relaxed and cheerful demeanor remained.
This wasn’t a simple case of its true colors showing because it was badly injured or cornered.
The champion, Kalidah, and the crimson monster before her now were two different people.
Adelaide did not know why.
Why Kalidah’s demeanor had changed so suddenly, why he was emitting such a bitter grudge, why he was looking at her with such hateful eyes.
There was only one thing Adelaide could understand.
Kalidah was going to kill her right now.
“Hic…!”
A strangled scream escaped her throat.
The sense of omnipotence and fulfillment she had felt just moments ago was gone, replaced by an endless terror that consumed her mind.
She tried to run, but she couldn’t move.
Only then did Adelaide realize her arms and legs were bent at unnatural angles.
“W-wait! Kalidah! The match is over! Your opponent is out of—”
SPLAT!
As if crushing a tomato, the referee’s upper body exploded.
At Kalidah’s sudden action of instantly killing the referee who stood in his way, chaos and screams erupted from the audience.
The helmet, which had been cracked by Adelaide’s attack, seemed to have reached its limit with that last movement, and a piece of it broke away.
The woman, with beautiful red hair and purple eyes, twisted her stunning features into the face of a demon and raised her sword.
The massive greatsword descended toward Adelaide’s head like a guillotine.
The resentment and weight contained in that single blow were so immense, it seemed no one could possibly stop it.
[‘The Tin Knight’ lets out a roar of fury!]
Except for one person.
Him.