Echoes of Fire and Shadows

Chapter 72: The Second Round Begins and a Brief Duel.

— Julius’s POV —

The tournament continued without delay. The matches have all been faster than I expected, actually. So much so that it is almost time for my second match, or rather, the beginning of the second round.

I guess I should give another rundown of how all the previous matches went and my thoughts about them. I will start with the most intense and controversial one, which is… 

• Cassandra Oriana vs Reina Oriana: The duel between the Oriana sisters unfortunately ended in a draw. Both sisters managed to eliminate each other before reaching the time limit of ten minutes. At first, Cassandra seemed to be on the losing side after taking some hits from Reina. However, after some clashes between them, Cassandra was able to level the playing field after landing some strikes on her opponent. After that, they were both pretty equal in terms of damage until the end. But when they were almost reaching the ten-minute mark, Cassandra and Reina managed to eliminate each other at the same time after causing a huge explosion of fire and stone, thus their duel ended in a draw, much to Felicia’s disappointment. Since Felicia had won her duel, she was left without an opponent for the second round.
• Claude Genaris vs Tristana Rossi: Although I watched the whole duel from start to end, I am not entirely certain of what happened. This duel was dubbed by my friends at the table as the “Lover’s Quarrel”. Apparently, these two were dating as well as a quite famous couple here in the academy, but something huge came to light and caused to have an enormous fight on top of their duel, thus they ended breaking up with each other before the two started fighting with tooth and nail to eliminate their former lover. It was pure teenage drama at its finest.
• Donnel Magreus vs Alberis Nebandia: Neris’s cousin, Alberis, won without ever unsheathing his sword. There was no need for him to do so, as the duel never came to be. Donnel decided to surrender before the match could begin. He seemed very afraid of Alberis while doing so too… Is Alberis really that strong that he could cause such fear in another person? I suppose I’ll have to wait before I can see him in action.
• Robert Ragrom vs Richard Garum: This duel was pretty entertaining to watch. At first, it started as a normal duel, both participants using their weapons of choice, and then, all of a sudden, they were both shirtless, roasting each other and having what seemed to be a rap battle with their region’s jargon. I wish I understood what they were saying, but I didn’t… I don’t think anybody did… Oh, and after that, they just returned to beat the crap out of each other with their bare hands. Ten out of ten duel, would definitely watch again.
• Morgan Alunnae vs Teal Prarion: I am afraid that I didn’t pay much attention to this one… I kinda got a little distracted thanks to Felicia… No comment about what she did. From what I was told, these two spent the better part of five minutes denouncing each other’s families about their evils and whatnot. It was a duel between two mages, so it was over pretty quickly after that. Morgan blasted Teal off into oblivion with what seemed to be a tsunami of mud. That was the only thing I saw, so… 
• Leopold Hostrea vs Malek Rudanom: This fight… Yeah… Well, there’s not much to say about this one. Both opponents were on the same level of skill and power, so their match lasted quite a bit, around seven minutes I would say. They both used spiked morning stars, full plate armor, and shields, so it took them a while to determine the winner. Malek won by a hair’s breadth.
• Melissa Phaorm vs Neris Shtrel: I will just say it plainly. Neris won, and by a landslide. It was a duel of swordsmanship, but the duel didn’t even last more than fifteen seconds. Neris destroyed Melissa’s bracelet before she could even pull out her sword. I've got to say that I was deeply impressed by Neris’s speed and beautiful technique. Though, I must admit that something about her swordsmanship style felt awfully familiar for some reason…

Anyway, that was all the remaining duels of the first round, and now it is time to begin the second round. I really need to do my best in order not to lose my bet with Zoe… She doesn’t know what’s coming to get her!

“Pat my head.” Felicia was looking at me with a serious expression.

“Felicia… I need to go already…” I was trying to get away from the wolfkin girl to no avail. “Also, I’ve been petting you for the last twenty minutes…” I frowned as Felicia continued to pull my arm toward her.

“You still have time.” Felicia said with a serious expression while putting more strength into pulling me toward her. “I want to be patted more.” She was wagging her tail like crazy despite her serious expression.

“This is still going on? Great.” Neris plummeted down on her seat. A look of annoyance had appeared on her face as soon as she returned to the table.

“Do you also want him to pat your head, Neris? I think you deserve it. I mean, after such a flawless victory, how could you not?” Myria asked with a seemingly innocent tone. She was looking at me while smiling maliciously.

“Then don’t mind if I do!” Neris practically shoot up from her seat and ran at me full speed. “Pat my head too! I won my duel and I deserve a reward!” Neris said while pulling my arm without any shame whatsoever. 

Yup… I am deeply regretting the misuse of my charm now… I shouldn’t have used at all! Sigh… Well, there’s no point in crying over spilled milk.

Mental note, Myria is pure evil and rotten to the core despite her innocent looks…

In any case, how did this even happen in the first place? Beats me… Felicia came running at me on all fours and knocked both Myria and I to the ground with my chair and all after she jumped at us. She demanded quite loudly that I had to pat her head and hug her whenever she wanted. Naturally, I was confused by the sudden development. Myria, however, found everything to be quite amusing and laughed until her stomach started hurting. This caused Felicia to back down a little and looking quite embarrassed… Before suddenly deciding to double down and ask for more hugs and head pats. She also stole Myria place and used my lap as her seat for a bit… At that point, Neris started looking quite pissed off, like about to unsheathe her blade kind of pissed off, while Zoe looked as she was just as confused as I was.

Even now, I have no clue about what the hell happened to Felicia during her duel… I also don’t really know if I want to find out or not.

In any case, I’ve been playing dense for a bit, but at this present moment in time, I think it is becoming painfully obvious not only for me but for everyone that both Neris and Felicia have started to like me and quite a lot… Myria also seems to be looking at me differently… And then there’s also the Oriana sisters, who quite literally already asked me to marry them…

Damn… This almost seems like a bargain sale my mom would visit… Take 5 daughters-in-law for the price of one, and you get another one for free on top of that. I think that Mom would take that deal in a heartbeat…

Sigh… What should I do about this situation…? I don’t if Mia will get pissed off about this, but as I see it, I have three choices… I can continue to act dense and pretend I didn’t notice anything, break their hearts, or accept their feelings and pray to the gods that Mia will not protest like she did with Tiria…

None of the three feel like a good choice right now… What to do?

“Jeez, can you drop the lovey-dovey act? It is pissing me off…” Zoe said with annoyance as she stood beside me. “C’mon, our names were already called! We have to go.” She said while trying to pull me away from the two girls that were hungry for love… 

“She’s right, you know? I wonder what will the o, so powerful, son of the Skull Crusher do in this seemingly impossible situation?” Myria giggled after winking at me. She had really taken a liking to teasing me mercilessly ever since her duel ended.

“I wonder about that myself…” I couldn’t help but let out a sigh, all thanks to the dwarven priestess who enjoyed watching me in this kind of troublesome situations.

Well… I suppose I should put on the big boy pants and deal with this situation before it gets any worse. There’s no time like the present to be blunt!

“So… Do you girls like me? Romantically, I mean.” I asked the two girls that question with a deadpan expression.

Both girls immediately froze on the spot and stopped pulling towards them. Both were extremely flushed and seemed to have fallen deep in thought. Their faces had been painted in a deep crimson color. 

It was safe to say that they were both stunned after hearing those words leave my mouth.

(Wow, would you look at that! A critical hit!) Catris said with both amusement and pride mixed in her voice.

I obviously didn’t let go of the opportunity to escape from the infatuated girls. Using Zoe as a shield, I managed to create some distance between them and me.

“Hey, what’s the big idea of asking them that all of a sudden!? Are you trying to play with their feelings!? I knew you were just a punk pretending to be a good boy!” For some reason, Zoe looked seriously pissed off. 

“I’m not trying to play with their feelings or anything like that, to be honest. I just couldn’t think of any other way of getting away from them.” I just shook my head while looking at Zoe. “In any case, we should run before these two recover from the shock and the Professor gets mad at us for making everyone wait.” I gestured to Zoe that we had to leave ASAP.

“Ah… Good point… Yeah, I knew you were planning something like that! I thought of doing that too! HOHOHOHOHO!” Zoe spoke nervously before laughing in that particular way of hers.

Yeah, we don’t have the time for all that jazz…

I quickly grabbed Zoe by the arm and prepared myself to make a run for it. Of course, I didn’t forget to take a look back at both Felicia and Neris.

“Ehh? Wait… You don’t mean to do what I’m thinking you’re going to do… Right?” Zoe’s voice became a little fearful.

“I’ll hear your answers after I win my second duel, alright?” I smiled, trying my hardest to not charm them any further with my weird succubi powers. “I’ll hear your answer too when I return, Myria.” I said at a previously smug priestess who was now pouting and looking quite annoyed.. Her face also became flushed as soon as I said that.

“Off we go!” I said before running as fast as I could to the center of the arena with Zoe in tow to be in time for our next matches.

Without waiting for the reactions of Felicia, Myria, and Neris I simply ran for the hills like a family man would when going to buy milk and cigarettes. Of course, all with the addition of Zoe’s screams of terror as background sounds while I ran.

The most obvious solution to this kind of problem is to run away, of course! 

In the blink of an eye, I managed to reach the center of the coliseum, where our opponents and the staff of the academy were waiting for us. At that moment, I simply let go of Zoe’s arm. She stumbled quite a lot while trying to get back on her feet.

“The gods… I saw them all… I thought I was dying, and that Skell had come to claim my soul as her prize…” Zoe was panting heavily while she was using her staff as her support. She was as pale as a ghost.

Maybe, I kinda overdid it a little…

“It seems that you seem to enjoy dramatic entrances, eh?” Dante said to me with amusement.

“It does appear to be like that.” Raphael nodded in agreement. “Oh, such an energetic youth… I wish I could live again those days.” Ophelia’s husband spoke with nostalgia.

“Old man, you are not that old… Stop talking nonsense. You’re probably far more energetic than all the youngsters here, myself included.” Dante retorted.

“That is not very difficult, is it?” Raphael gave Dante a smirk before laughing quite loudly. “Anyway, where were we? Ah, yes. The little Skull Kid loving dramatic entrances, just like his parents.” Raphael shot me a glance after he stopped laughing.  

“What can I say? It just runs in the family.” I just shrugged in response. “I genuinely apologize for being late, though.” I bowed to Dante and Raphael.

As I made my way to my spot in front of my opponent, I made sure to take a good look at him and Zoe’s opponent as well.

As a reminder, my opponent was a dwarven boy, with long braided brown hair, an equally long beard, and a pair of blue eyes. He was around 1.50 meters tall, and wore pieces of plate armor to protect strategic areas of his body without restraining his movements. A mighty battleaxe remained strapped to his back. His name was Matthew Asha. His serious gaze was completely fixated on me, not showing any sign of hesitation or fear.

While Zoe’s opponent was a human girl called Astraea Galoria. She seemed to be around 14 years old. She had very short red hair and a pair of green eyes. She also had a lot of freckles covering her face. She was wearing some simple leather armor over her uniform and carried a halberd in her left hand. She seemed really excited and a bit about her next match, as she was smiling from ear to ear.

“Well, let’s not delay the start of the second round any further, shall we? You know the deal. Each of you shall state your desired battlefield, and then we will decide by flipping a coin.” Dante held a gold coin between his fingers while looking at Matthew and me. “As the winner of the first duel, you have the right to speak first, Skull Kid.” He pointed at me.

Difficult decision… There are many places in the Empire I would like to visit, however, I think I'm going to roll like I did in the last duel. As my father said, I need to experience fighting in all kinds of environments in order to grow as a warrior.

“I’ll leave it up to my opponent to decide. I don’t have any particular preference this time.” I shook my head in response. “I’ll be fine with whatever he chooses.” I said after giving Matthew a friendly nod.

“Good. Straight to the point then.” Matthew spoke for the first time. “I want to fight inside a volcano. Any volcano is fine with me, but I want a volcano.” He said without batting an eye.

Oi… Did I hear that correctly?

(You did.) Lia spoke with her usual cold tone of voice.

“Hey… There’s a limit to what I can do, okay? Do you seriously think someone like me would visit the insides of an active volcano?” Dante looked extremely annoyed. “Unfortunately for me, you’re right. I was dragged once to the insides of a dungeon, which was, coincidentally, an active volcano. You should be familiar with that one, Matthew, since it is located within your family’s territory.” Dante said after letting out a huge sigh.

“Yeah, sure. Whatever. Can you hurry up and teleport us already? I want to fight.” Matthew said in a very unfriendly manner, all while looking at me with some serious intent…

“Talk about unfriendly… Jeez. Should I remind you that I am still your professor?” Dante almost looked like he really wanted to punch Matthew in the face but was holding himself back. “Alright, sure. Have it your way. Friendly advice though, you two should activate your [Fighting Spirit] and mix it with Water Haki now if you don’t want to be roasted like a chicken as soon as you arrive to your battlefield.” Dante said before preparing himself to snap his fingers.

Without wasting any time, I decided to heed Dante’s warning and did exactly as he said. My whole body was immediately engulfed in a cold blue-colored aura, whose sole purpose was to protect me from the heat.  However, I already knew what I had to do even without his warning, since my homeland is pretty much an archipelago filled with nothing but volcanoes.

Though, My opponent didn’t even bother to do the same as I. Was it due to overconfidence and pride?

(Are you ready, Remillia?) I asked as I pulled Dying Scarlet from its resting place.

<Always, master.> Dying Scarlet replied with vigor in its voice. It was still taking the shape of a bow, an imitation of its sister weapon [Verdant Destruction].

I wonder… Should I use another weapon this time? I still have three more weapons I can use. Though, I would like to save Remillia’s real appearance for the end. What to do?  

“May the boldest of the two of you win this match.” Dante said as he snapped his fingers.

Soon, everything around me started to vibrate violently, a sensation I had grown somewhat accustomed to. My vision was also taken from me as a bright orange flash swallowed the world around me…

Immediately after, a wave of a burning heat crashed against my face, while the smell of sulfur and ash invaded my nostrils. Even with my [Fighting Spirit] protecting me, the heat was unbearable.

When I opened my eyes, I was met with the sight of an ocean of melted rock and lava. No matter where I looked, I could see cataracts of lava falling to the previously said ocean. It was a little ironic too, as there was a small archipelago dispersed all over the melted ocean. My opponent and I were standing apart in separate islands right in the center of the volcano.

“I assume this should be the magma chamber… Never been this deep into a volcano…” I said to myself, glad that I had listened to Dante’s warning.

<You have been inside a volcano before, master?> Dying Scarlet asked.

“Ah, right… You don’t know about it since you’ve never in Gliosis… Basically, there’s a bit of a tradition for parents to bring young children into the entrance of the biggest volcano of the archipelago in order to get the blessings of Ifrit, so may the children become as powerful as the fires that forged our home islands. It also serves as a lesson for them to not underestimate the power of nature, or at least that’s what my parents said when they took me there.” I said while recalling a memory I had regained not so long ago.

It is also said that asking for the blessing of Ifrit makes it more unlikely for a person to die from fires… Yeah, some of our traditions are a bit weird now that I think about it.

<I understand… Then, should I return to my true form? With it, you should have the advantage in this environment. Even if your opponent has mastery over fire, my power should be vastly superior. After all, my connection with Ifrit and Nocturna are still strong after all this time.> Remillia seemed a bit too eager to fight.

Just like Verdant Destruction is linked to Sylph, the spirit that personifies the wind element, the other abyssal weapons are also linked to other spirits. Dying Scarlet is unique amongst these weapons because it's linked to two spirits, Ifrit, the spirit that personifies the fire element, and Nocturna, the personification of Darkness.

“Not yet, Remi. I want to save the best for last, or least, keep your true form hidden as my trump card. Can you please take the shape of [Azure Tranquility]?” I asked the sentient weapon.

<You want to use HER instead of me? That obnoxious and oh so high and mighty little sister of mine?> For some reason, Dying Scarlet was not particularly happy with my request. <Besides, you would be at a disadvantage using a weapon linked to Undine? There’s literally no water whatsoever here, and if you were to generate some with magic, it wouldn’t be of much help. Use my true form, master.> Dying Scarlet insisted that I use its scythe form.

“So what Lia told me about you and Azure Tranquility being at odds with each other was true…” I couldn’t help but frown.

<How could we not be? She was always so smug, telling me how she can cut anyone or anything no matter what and how her edge will never dent and how her shape is oh so magnificent and beautiful! Bitch, you’re just a sword! You’re a pointy stick for all I care! I’m a fucking war scythe, I am literally ten times cooler than you! The craftsmanship required to make me was far more complex!> Remillia suddenly lost her cool and started talking smack about its sibling… It was a rare occurrence, but not the first time I had seen it happen, unfortunately.

“Remi, calm down… It is not the time for that. We’re in the middle of a duel right now.” I said while looking at the serious dwarf who was currently hopping from island to island trying to get to me.

<Why would I calm down when my own master doesn’t want to use me but wants to use my bitchy sister instead! No, you want me to assume her shape, so it is literally worse than that! Bad master!> Remillia was having none of it. It really did not want me to use Azure Tranquility.

As I stated before, this is not the first time I had seen Remillia get angry at the sole mention of its sister weapon. The first time I asked Remi to transform into Azure, Dying Scarlet basically blew up at me. I was literally stunned when it happened, but Lia gave me a good tip to make Scarlet more likely to cooperate with me.

“Alright, I understand that you don’t want to transform into Azure. I’m really curious about something, so there was something I wanted to try during this duel, but since you’re refusing, I won’t force you to do anything, okay?” I said to Remillia, trying to make her relax. “However, what about if I decided to offer you something that could make you change your mind about this?” I decided to try and put some of my charm into my words to see if it would work on Remi.

<I’m listening…> Dying Scarlet was not particularly amused about this situation, but she still decided to listen.

“If you transform into Azure then, when the time comes that I have to use your true form and as long as it doesn’t kill me, you can drink some of my blood.” I shared my proposal with Remillia.

I know that my proposal is weird, but it all has to do with one of Dying Scarlet’s special abilities. Just like when that Laurent thug had Remillia in his hands, Remi regained most of its power back by absorbing my father’s mana, the same thing can be achieved by drinking the blood of its wielder. Or rather, it can grant a huge power boost to the user in exchange for mana and blood.

<...> Dying Scarlet was silent. She had fallen deep in thought.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have any more time to spare, as my opponent had finally reached the small island I was in.

“Skull Kid… The time for your defeat has come.” Matthew said as soon as he landed on my island. “You might have thought that just because you’re a kid I might have taken some pity on you and held back, but after all I’ve seen during the preliminaries, there’s no way I would hold back against someone like you. A dragon pup, is still a dragon, after all.” He soon readied his battleaxe, holding it over his shoulder as he started to walk toward me.

“Oh, so you’re comparing me to a dragon? I suppose I am flattered.” I smiled carelessly while watching my opponent.

“You've been trained and raised by someone who has slain dragons. As the son of another dragon slayer, it would be foolish to go easy on someone like you, so I intend to end this duel now.” Matthew gripped his battleaxe so hard that the veins in his muscles became very visible. Her aura practically exploded, his mana scattering all over the area. “Do your worst, son of the Skull Crusher. I will end this battle with a single strike of my axe.” Matthew’s aura began to gather in his weapon, while his muscles started to become bigger due to all the [Body Reinforcement] spells he decided to cast.

“Aww, really? So no warm-up or exchanging strikes… Color me disappointed, I thought that since you chose a volcano, you were going for a battle of attrition.”  I said in an exaggerated manner. “Though, I wonder if you’ll be able to hit me with that one strike.” I said with confidence as I started to stretch for a bit. I was trying to make some time for Dying Scarlet to make her choice. 

My opponent was not particularly amused with my words, he continued to advance towards me.

“You’re more talkative than I imagined. It matters not. If what you’re tying to do is to create an opportunity to run away and shoot me with your bow, then I am sorry to crush your dreams, kid. The moment you try to turn your back and run, I will cut you down.” He said while looking at his axe which was now overflowing with energy. “You shouldn’t have waited for me to come to you. You should have shot at me with your bow when you had the chance.” He said before reaching me. He towered over me by at least 20 centimeters, so he did appear a little intimidating. It didn’t help that his axe was suddenly set ablaze after he poured some Fire Haki into the aura he was using.

“Perhaps I should have done just that.” I nodded in agreement before looking down at my bow. “Or maybe you did exactly what I wanted you to do?” I smiled at Matthew after I noticed the faint blue glow coming from the white wooden bow in my hands.

<I suppose I find this deal acceptable, master.> I heard Remillia’s voice in my mind. Her usual somber voice sounded happier than ever as the bow started to change its shape. <But only this time. Next time you want me to turn into Azure, it might cost you double the prize. Perhaps more than you can offer.> Though, she didn’t seem that happy about having to turn into Azure Tranquility once more. 

(That’s something I can live with, Remi. We’ll talk about it when we get there.) I was ecstatic that I would be able to try something that had been bothering me since Neris’s duel.

“Whether that’s the case or not, I won’t even give you the chance to try whatever you’re planning!” Noticing the glow on the bow in hand, he quickly swung his enormous battleaxe down at me, aiming to get rid of me in one strike, just like he said he would do.

I was taking a huge risk, his weapon which was filled to the limit with his mana and even some Fire Haki and his [Body Reinforcement] spells were no joke either, so one hit from that axe would really be my doom even if I decided to cast a barrier. The strength of the Dwarf in front of me could not be taken lightly…

However, with a swift movement of my right hand, I managed to stop just at the nick of time with my newly formed weapon. The huge risk I had taken proved to be a successful gamble.

“Tsk… You were really aiming for this, weren’t you…?” Matthew looked at me as if he had eaten a bitter bug. His arms and most of his muscles had started to twitch and tremble due to the strain of his spells.

“Maybe.” I smiled from ear to ear as I looked at the edge of its axe, which was just a few centimeters shy of my face.

The flames of his axe had been extinguished, and all the mana he had put into his weapon had dissipated abruptly. In fact, cracks were rapidly appearing all over his weapon. The cause was definitely the bright blue blade that had come into contact with the axe.

A blade whose edge is rumored to cut through anything, no matter what… A long sword whose whole body is as blue as the ocean, whose guard is decorated by an icy crown of flowers which make the weapon shine brightly like a diamond. This sword is known as [Azure Tranquility].

A sword that passes down only to the best of the best of each generation of the Azorius Family, a long line of unparalleled masters of the sword and the combat arts… My paternal family, the ones that created the Blade of Tranquility, the unique swordsmanship style required in order to be able to wield the blade that share its name.

A sword that I thought I would never be able to possess on due to my severe lack of talent during my early life as the prince of Gliosis… In my hands laid such a sword, while not the real one, it was something that a small part of me considered hard to believe. That sword had completely blocked my enemy’s attack.

When I was little, never in my wildest dreams I would have imagined having Azure Tranquility in my hands, much less use it… I wonder what would happen now that my talents are better and my dominion over the sword has improved?

“Well then, I assume that since you failed in taking me down in one strike, it is now my turn to give it a try.” I showed him a friendly smile while keeping his weapon locked in place. “I shall repay the favor now, Matthew.” I immediately pushed back my opponent using all my strength and took a stance to launch my counterattack.

Now is the time, Julius… Remember the basics of the Blade of Tranquility… One of heart and mind, one with the sword, one with the world…

Azure Tranquility’s special ability, the rumored capacity of being able to cut through anything no matter what, has a little requirement that must be fulfilled in order to be able to use said ability. One’s heart must be calm while one’s mind must remain empty, hence the saying “One of heart and mind, one with the sword, one with the world”.

Those were the words that my father, Droam Azorius, the wielder of the real Azure Tranquility, repeated to me each day without fail. The words that I needed to remember in order to become a swordsman like him.

Back then, I never understood what he really meant by that. Even after I left Gliosis and began to train under my adoptive father, I didn’t understand the meaning of those words.

But now, actually holding Azure Tranquility in my grasps, I think I can understand it. The way that everything slows down as my concentration reaches its peak, the burning heat of the volcano crashing against my face despite my aura, the way my muscles burn right before pushing them to their absolute limit with my next attack, and the sword becoming an extension of my being…

I felt like all of those sensations embodied what my father had tried to teach me so long ago…

I never quite mastered this technique, but it feels appropriate to use right now…

“Blade of Tranquility, Twelfth Form: Sublime Heaven.” Those words escaped my lips as my body moved on its own, as if my sword had taken over me.

In the blink of an eye, I dashed at my opponent and attacked before giving him a chance to react. I mindlessly slashed at Matthew as many times as I could while seeing him look at me with a shocked expression on his face.

By the time I realized what I had done, I was standing directly behind my opponent, with my back facing his, all the while he remained motionless. He was yet to react to the fact I had attacked him.

“Strange…” I said as I turned my head to see my opponent’s necklace. “Back then, I couldn’t even slash once without stumbling and now… It all just felt natural…” I murmured as I saw the way how Matthew’s bracelet crumbled into pieces.

I simply observed as the bracelet spread into several neatly cut, symmetrical pieces and fell to the ground. By the time the fragments reached the hard rock beneath our feet, Matthew had already disappeared as proof of his defeat.

“As expected, it was more or less the same that Neris did during her duel.” I raised my sword and looked upon the icy looking blade. “I suppose she and I should have a serious conversation about this.” I had managed to confirm my suspicions.

As I felt the entire world vibrating around me, I smiled while I felt the icy chills coming from my blade coursing through my right hand.

“You did a good job there, Remi. I’ll fulfill my part of the deal later.”  I said to the sentient weapon before returning it to its resting place.

<You better do, master. Otherwise, I will continue to remind you about the incident with the elven woman and the fox woman.> Dying Scarlet sounded serious about her warning. <Though, I am always happy to help my master.> Her somber voice sounded happy again.

“I’ll keep it in mind…” I said nervously before I was blinded by a bright white light, once more. I was teleported back to the main arena.

Thus, my second duel ended with another victory. I was not prepared for the amount of cheers I would receive as well as the questioning I was about to be subjected to thanks to my little blunder with succubus charm from before…

What starts well, ends well, I think?

Chapter 72: The Second Round Begins and a Brief Duel.

END

GodlyKamui

Heya! New chapter! How are y'all doing? For the first time in a while, I was able to write a chapter and publish it in time, more or less. I've been personally doing well, been feeling better from my cold and things at my job are fine at the moment. And I more or less was also able to defeat my writer's block! Another victory for me.

Still, no ffunny commentary this time cuz I have to go play genshin with my friends (they are sick bastards who got me hooked to their gacha drug...)

Anyway, As usual, I do hope that you enjoyed the chapter, please don't forget to comment and leave some hearts since that motivates me to continue writing the story! Also, join the discord to talk about the story and see the new picrew/NovelAI character illustrations I'm working on! Here's the link: https://discord.gg/uH6APbzrFR

Buh-bye!