After Sherry, it was my turn to fight next.

Well, not exactly, since there were a few fights between us. But they were all short enough that I barely had to wait.

I stepped into the field—my left hand resting on the sword attached to my belt. My opponent? A bee lady with a rapier as her weapon. And she was now grinning at me like a lunatic.

“From the southern corner, a mysterious human swordsman named Alcyon! No one knows where he came from but he sure can fight!”

“Kyaa! Lord Alcyon!"

"Sir Alcyon, look at me pleaseeeee!"

Hmm, is it just me or there’s a lot of girls cheering for me?

I looked at the audience and waved my hand, giving them my brightest smile.

“Kyaahh! Sir Alcyon! Make babies with me please!”

Uuh, yeah. It seems I’ve picked up some fangirls from my fights yesterday.

Welp, hope Felicia and Sherry won’t get jealous over this.

“Aaand from the northern corner, an elegant fencer with a swarm of bees at her beck and call! Samiiiii Rettaaaa!”

The crowd boomed with cheers once more, eclipsing the cheers I had at my introduction. It was clear as day that the crowd overall preferred the bee woman over me.

Speaking of the bee woman, she really was a bee woman. She had bee wings and a stinger jutting out from her butt. A sinister smile decorated her face, made even creepier by the pupilless eyes she possessed.

“Boy! I hope you’re ready for my bees to sting you to death! I, as the queen of all bees, will not show you any mercy! Ohohohohoho!”

I replied to her taunt with a grin. “Bring it on, old hag!”

“O-old hag? How dare you!”

“In three… two… one… begin!”

“Go, my bees! Stung him to death!”

She began her fight by vomiting a swarm of bees out of her mouth. Quite an unsightly sight for someone with an ‘ohohohoho!’ laugh. She then commanded said bees to go after me, which they readily obeyed, though not before enlarging themselves into the size of a basketball each. They then surrounded me, circling around me like a tornado would.

Hmm, if I have to guess, there are at least several thousands of them. And they will start to fire their stings the moment I make my move.

Let’s test their speed, shall we?

I leaned forward, hand on the hilt of my sword. And then…

I dashed forward.

“W-what?! Impossible!”

I cut through the bees blocking my path in a nanosecond, freeing myself from the swarm before the rain of stingers could land at my skin.

And, as she went into panic from seeing her only strategy ruined, I dashed towards her, intending to finish the fight with the single blow.

“Hah! Think again!”

To my surprise, she managed to block my sword with her rapier.

But how about the next blow? And another? And another?”

“Y-you! Stop! Stop! Stoppp!”

At the tenth blow, she missed her timing for a split second.

Allowing me to send her rapier flying before aiming my sword at her throat.

“I—I surrender!”

And just like that, under the deafening cheers of the crowd, I won my first match of the day.

ᅠ

Meanwhile, amongst the monsters watching from the ten thousand seats of the Colosseum, a certain cloaked figure was sitting with a smile on her face.

Alcyon… a young human swordsman… coming here with women already in tow… Aah, finally, an interesting prey is here at last…

She licked her cherry red lips. Do not disappoint me, human… Win and triumph until the very end…

Then, I will come for you, my sweet playmate…

ᅠ

Our next matches went swimmingly. None of these chumps really were a match for us. Sherry's next match was with this giant with pitch-black armor, wielding a morningstar as his weapon. She crushed his spiky ball with her bare hands before punching through his hard armor like it was nothing. As for me, I had to fight against a demon with six swords–one on his six arms. But once again, he was just too slow to keep up with me.

At midday, we were given an hour to have lunch, provided by the Colosseum. Here, we used the free time we had to reunite with Felicia and the others. We had agreed to meet up in the cafeteria. Even though normally it would be off-limits to non-fighters, they were willing to give an exception for relatives and friends and such.

“Master! That was amaaazing!”

I was greeted by a flying hug from Kiri. I can easily avoid it but who wants to dodge a pair of soft boobs right to the face?

“The way you swerve to the left and right, dodging all their attacks—you’re like a butterfly!” Her eyes shone like the stars itself as she described her adoration.

“Really now?” I laughed, patting her on the head. “I don’t think you can call a guy like me ‘a butterfly’ though.” That makes me sound like I’m an effeminate man or something…  which I’m definitely not!

I don’t grow any body hair though… that’s a sign of low testosterone, isn’t it? Damn, maybe she has a point after all…

“But you are! You’re handsome and cool and amazing! Just like a butterfly is!” She giggled.

That’s… not how butterflies are normally seen in human society but okay.

Aria was the next to congratulate me, giving me a bow with a calm smile. “Congratulations, Master, for your victories.”

“Thank you, Aria.” I smiled back, patting her on the head as well. “If it weren’t for you cheering me up, I will never be able to win for sure.”

It’s a lie, of course, but a harmless sweet one, just to make her happy.

“I cheered as well! Did I help too?” Kiri looked up at me, giving me a puppy-eyed look.

“Of course! You helped a lot too, Kiri!” I gave her a grin.

“Alright Hugo, I think that’s enough flirting for now.” Sherry huffed, crossing her arms.

The cafeteria was eerily quiet, with us making most of the noise in the large dining hall. There were only a couple of fighters left and unlike us, they had no interest in chatting with each other. They each ate at their own table, staring at us in the process—some with jealousy, others with curiosity.

Still, the food was actually good, and since none of them tried anything funny, it was overall a pretty fun lunch.

Looking at them, I can’t help but feel grateful. If Sherry and the others hadn’t accepted me for who I am, for all my flaws, I will no doubt be alone now. Just like them.

Once we finished eating, we separated once again, though not before my two familiars wished me well in the upcoming matches. That, and Felicia stealing a kiss from me, saying it was a good luck kiss, to the ire of Sherry, who naturally demanded to be kissed as well. This, of course, led to even more glares from the other contestants, who didn’t seem to appreciate the little romance we were having here.

“‘I’ll bash that smug face of his!’ said the minotaur over there. And the weasel-looking demon opposite of him thinks he’s going to assault Felicia once he brings you down. Shall I continue further?”

I turned to face Myrilla. Does she really have to do that?

“Assault me?” Felicia gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. “How horrible! You will protect me, won’t you, Milord?” She hugged me tightly, pressing her breasts into my chest.

Yeah, definitely taking advantage of the situation here.

“Grrr, enough! Hugo! We’re going to be late!”

And just like that, I got myself dragged by Sherry again.

ᅠ

The opponents we faced at the second half of the day were indeed tougher. Still, they were no match for us nonetheless, though one of them did indeed give me a particular trouble. It was the weasel from before and with his long, thin body, he could dodge my blade, matching my speed with his elasticity.

Yeah, it was as ridiculous as you imagined it—me fencing with a walking, talking weasel. His weapon of choice was a sword and shield too, which didn’t help me in piercing his defenses.

Wonder why his race is classified as a demon instead of a beastkin… oh well, not that I care.

Still, my stamina, polished by Sherry’s cruel training, eventually outlasted his, and this allowed me to seize my chance and put my sword into his heart.

Yeah, I killed him. As if I would just let a man thinking to rape one of my wives go.

As for Sherry’s fights though, I didn’t think she had any particular difficulties with any of them. She still continued to abstain using her sword, preferring to kick and punch her opponents instead. A bat demon tried to nullify her short range assault by taking to the skies, only for her to jump up and land a powerful uppercut that knocked her out in a single blow. Another tried to use what they called Living Weapons, weapons that could move and maneuver on their own without being explicitly controlled by their wielder. The guy brought with him a full stack of the thing. How he could have so many—no one really knew.

He did call himself a collector though so maybe he’s just been collecting them for years.

“Guhahahahahaha! Well, how about it?! No one can survive when faced against the full might of my living weapons!”

Spears, swords, axes, halberds, lances—every single kind of weapon was represented. He had brought them all with the long and black vertical tube he had on his back. But, seeing how there were around a thousand of them in total, there was no doubt in mind that the tube was a magical storage device, just like my Bag of Holding.

Unfortunately, magical items and weapons are not disqualified from the tournament. Just magic spells.

Sherry stood unflinching, looking right at the laughing demon across the battlefield. Surrounding her was a thousand Living Weapons—all ready to cut and chop her into pieces the moment she made a move to escape.

“You can call me The Thousand Weapon Collector! If you surrender now, I’ll—”

His jaw dropped.

Sherry dashed forward, triggering the attack of all the weapons surrounding her. Two swords came forward, aiming to chop off her head. She blocked their swing with her bare arms before crushing them with her steel-destroying grip. Other weapons tried to do the same, though to other parts of her body. Some she blocked and crushed as well but others actually managed to connect, only to find that they failed to cut through her skin entirely.

Her aura. It had granted her durability far beyond any normal armor could give.

With ten—no, twenty weapons sticking out from various points of her body, she ran towards the demon.

“W-w-waitwaitwaitwaitwait, I surrender, I surren—Aaahhhhh!”

She punched him right on his face, sending him flying to the air, never to be seen again.

The swords, sensing the defeat of their master, followed suit, including the ones that had stabbed themselves into Sherry.

“And just like that, Sherry Izurdia wins again! Will the legendary beast ever be defeated?!”

Yeah, they started to call her a “legendary beast” now, thanks to the fact that she’s an Izurd. That, and the beastlike way she fought.

Sherry walked to my bench—her expression surprisingly not as happy as I expected.

“Tch, that was annoying.” She brushed off her shoulder.

“Good job.” I greeted her with a smile.

“Not good enough.” She shook her head. “I didn’t manage to keep him from landing his weapons. Sure, I can take it just fine, but I can tell that my clothes are probably ruined right now.”

I raised my eyebrows. Her clothes?

I eyed her up and down, circling her around to catch a view of her at every angle.

“Yeah, it’s pretty bad. Your shirt has several holes on them now.”

“I knew it.” She huffed, crossing her arms, her eyes flashing with anger. “I need to have a change before my next match. Hugo, I got my clothes with you, right?”

I nodded. They were indeed inside my interdimensional storage. The problem was…

“I can’t use magic when the tournament is going on though.”

“Really? I thought you’re just forbidden to use it in combat.”

“No, I’m pretty sure the rules say that. I read the brochure that the frog receptionist gave to us, you know.”

She huffed again, now putting her hands on her hips. “So I’m supposed to go to my next match with tattered clothes?”

“Oh, it’s not that bad. They’re not noticeable in the slightest, especially since you have your hair covering your back.”

“My hair, hmm? I suppose I can just use it to cover the holes…”

“Oh, one more thing.” She turned to face me. “There isn’t a hole in my pants, is there?” Her cheeks reddened.

"Nope." I gave her a reassuring smile. "None in the slightest."

Of course, I, being the connoisseur that I was, already gave a thorough look at her butt. No holes there, to my disappointment.

Uh, not that I wanted her to walk out there with her panties showing of course.

ᅠ

The day continued onward, until eventually, we reached the final fight of the day.

I vs Sherry—two last remaining fighters.

“And finally, we reached the grandfinals at last! From the northern corner, who needs no introduction anymore, Sherry Izurdia, the Beast of Destruction herself!”

The crowd cheered---the loudest they had ever been. Excitement was bubbling through the roof.

Sherry gave an annoyed glare towards the flying announcer. She didn’t seem to appreciate her title.

“And in the southern corner, who also needs no introduction anymore, Alcyon, the mysterious wandering swordsman!"

The crowd cheered once again, though in a less loud manner compared to before. Heh, Sherry's the popular one here, it seems.

I glanced at the dullahan sitting on top of her tall, lofty chair. Well, time to initiate the plan.

"These two would-be champions are part of the same party! And now, they would have to fight each other to the death—to show just who is the superior fighter! Aah, what romance!"

To the death? Now that’s the biggest reach if I ever heard one.

"No! We will not fight to the death!" I yelled.

The announcer gasped, followed by silence from the crowd. My voice could reach them all because there was a voice amplification magic in the air, designed to allow the crowd to hear the trash talks the fighters would give each other before they fought.

"In fact, we won't fight at all!" I continued.

Taken aback, the announcer lady stuttered. "I-I'm sorry, did I hear that wrong? Did you just say that you won't fight?"

"You heard that right!" I put on my most obnoxious grin possible. "You think I'm interested in fighting my girl? Think again!"

This time, it was the crowd who gasped.

"You see… this whole tournament… it's honestly been awfully, terribly boring. Nothing—not a single one of these fighters is worthy to dirty my blade. Honestly, it's one big, giant disappointment." I shrugged, shaking my head.

This, naturally, led to shouts of anger from the audience.

"Hey, what d'ya mean you won't fight? I paid good money for this seat!"

"Get your haughty ass out there and fight, you stupid human!"

I ignored them, of course, and continued on with my speech.

"Hmph." I shook my head, closing my eyes with a smug smile on my face. "I'm thinking I'll just let my girlfriend do the hard work. My strength isn't needed here, it seems. Not even you, Esana Naturia—" I looked up to the dullahan. "---could make me use my full strength."

Rains of boos covered the arena. Some even started to throw rocks at where I stood, which I dodged easily, of course.

It seems I've hit a nerve. Heh, the people here really love their champion, huh?

"As such, please give the 'honor'—" I made air quotes here. "—of fighting you to her, okay?"

With those words, I left the arena, waving my hand nonchalantly to the crowd, still keeping my smug smile on.

Until a loud crash filled the air, covering my sight with dust.

"Do you think I'll just let you go? After you besmirch my name?"

The dullahan had arrived.

And she wasn’t happy in the slightest.

Just as planned.

She pointed her sword at me. "Fight me, human. Right here, right now. I'll beat you up so badly you'll soil yourself in front of your lover."

I shrugged. "Fine. If you insist. But, if you think I'm going to go easy on you, just because you're the wife of the big boss here, think again." Putting on my most villainous face, I then said, "When I'm done, there will be nothing left of the proud warrior he loved."

And just like that, both Sherry and I got the chance to fight her.

ㅤ

Meanwhile, back at the seats amongst the crowd, the hooded figure giggled to herself.

Ah, such a boisterous, arrogant creature! He's even more perfect to be my pet now!

So please, don't die to her. Or I'll be really, awfully, terribly sad.

ㅤ

The match began immediately. Sherry had retreated to the benches again, watching me with eagle eyes as she crossed her right leg over the left. The dullahan, on the other hand, had her greatsword drawn in her fighting stance—all the while staring at me with murderous, cold eyes.

A greatsword, huh? Just like Alan. Which means it should be slow and powerful with significant range and reach.

I have to weave in between her swings and then strike.

"And now, a match between our undefeated champion and the arrogant human garbage who dared to insult our beloved tournament! Show her how wrong he is, Lady Naturia!"

Heh, the announcer doesn't even try to sound neutral.

"Beat him up, Lady Naturia!"

"Crush him under your heel, Lady Naturia!"

"Show that upstart human who's boss!"

And of course, the crowd will all be by her side as well.

Oh well, I don't need their cheers. As long as my cute familiars got my back, I don't need anybody else.

The gong sounded, and, in a split second, she swung her sword at me.

Tch! That's fast!

A wave of pitch-black aura leaped at me. I barely managed to dodge it at the very last second, letting the projectile crash into the wall behind me.

Faster than Alan for sure!

I took the offensive, leaping forward with my dash to close the gap between us.

Only to find that she was ready, as she countered by stabbing the greatsword to the ground, causing an aura barrier to appear around her, nearly cutting me in half.

Damn, what’s that technique? Alan never used it for sure.

If only I can use my magic, this will be a cinch. But even if I want to cheat—shutting down her organs with no actual spells coming out from me visible, there are charms in the arena that will detect any usage of magic, no matter how small. And if I get caught, then there will be no meeting with Balthazar.

I retreated, sending several Staccato sword thrusts to where the dullahan was. As expected, I couldn’t pierce through her overwhelming aura.

It’s heavy… not as heavy as Quania’s aura but it’s still heavy enough I can’t pierce through it with my sword skill.

I switched my assault, jumping up to the air. Not using Wind Step, mind you, but the Galahad technique of stepping on the air, like Fiora used way back then. Yes, I had mastered it, thanks to my training with Sherry.

“Foolish! Utterfly foolish! No matter what angle you take, your puny sword will never reach me!”

The dullahan pulled out her greatsword and swung it upwards, right to where I was. I stepped on the air again, circling around her as I dodged her ranged slahes.

Crap, I really can’t get close!

Suddenly, a scene from the past echoed in my mind.

ᅠ

“Hugo, your sword swing… it’s too weak.” She sheathed her sword.

“Hmm? It can’t be helped, can it? I’m not like you, Sherry.”

It was a conversation I had with Sherry while we were training together.

She had just defeated me. For what could only be the hundredth time. After parrying away my sword, she rested her blade on my neck, signifying my defeat.

She shook her head, offering a hand to help me stand back up. “No, I don’t think so.”

I grabbed her hand. “What do you mean?”

She pulled me up in one yank. “You’re not angry enough.”

“Angry? Hey, I’m not an Izurd like you. I don’t get stronger when I’m angry.”

“You’re the epitome of being cool-headed in a fight, Hugo.” She put one hand on her hip. “So it’s only natural that your every movement is detached from your emotion. That’s why you’re suited to that Galahad style of yours. You fight not with raw strength, but with precision and intelligence instead. The complete opposite of how I fight.

I raised my eyebrow. “So?”

“But, unless you can develop your Galahad style more, I suggest you learn how to make your sword swing heavier. Or else you’ll soon find an opponent that you can’t scratch with your sword.

“Well,” I smiled. “I got my magic for that, no?”

ᅠ

Not now. Not in this fight.

Still, I didn’t completely dismiss her concern. I tried to perform sword skills from her school as well.

And so, I could use this now.

After dodging another slash by the dullahan, I pivoted my legs upwards, switching to a diving position. Both hands now gripped my sword tightly, channeling every single aura I had into it.

And then, I dived, pushing myself forward via stepping off the air behind me.

This was a completely foolhardy manuever. It could easily lead to my death, if she knew how to counter it perfectly.

Unfortunately for her, she didn’t.

“What?!”

The attack clearly took her by surprise. She didn’t expect me to fully commit into an offensive like this. No longer I cared about dodging. I would land my blow or I would die in the process.

I imagined that would be the main teaching of the Lancelot school. Unlike Sherry, who could rely on her durability, the humans there would need to dispatch their enemies first before they did the same to them.

“Haaaaa!”

She raised her greatsword in front of me, just in time to block the sharp edge of my sword from stabbing her heart.

"Haaaaaaaaaa!"

I pushed harder, deeper. putting everything I had into the blow.

I'll break her greatsword in two. This sword is made out of Sherry's hair. If she thinks she can compete with it…

"You imbecile! You think you'll ever pierce through my Toxicon? Think again!"

Toxicon? Is that the name of her greatsword? Doesn't that mean—

Hssss…

A hissing sound entered my ears.

It came from my sword.

It was melting.

W-wha—

It shattered.

…

…

…

The dullahan grinned.

I was completely at her mercy now.

I have to… I have to retrea—

A crack filled the air.

The dullahan—she just punched me on my abdomen, cracking my ribs in the process.

“Gah!”

I puked out blood, right on top of her face.

She did not appreciate it.

She grabbed me on my throat, crushing my windpipe in an instant.

I couldn’t breathe.

“Be grateful, human. I could have killed you on the spot. But I choose not. You will have to live on to bear the shame of this day.”

She threw her greatsword to the ground, using her now free hand to yank down my trousers and boxers, showing off my naked lower half to the entire colosseum.

A swarm of laughter entered my ears—my fading mind barely able to process the noise.

She then punched me again on my abdomen before announcing something about how I was soiling myself. I wouldn’t know whether she was telling the truth or not. I couldn’t feel anything down there anymore.

However, there was still hope.

“Hugo!”

For the last thing I saw before my vision grew dark, was the dullahan throwing me to the ground so she could block a kick from Sherry, who had rushed into my rescue.

“Master Hugoooo!”

That, and me hearing the high-pitched voice of Kiri, who were no doubt coming as well to heal me.

Heh… you’re screwed now, Ms. Dullahan… Sherry will destroy you… I have no doubt about it in the slightest…