It was a display of deftness and ease only possible with a knife, and also a testament to Fressa’s speed. She’d even made sure not to hit any lethal points; not a single one of those slashes would pose a danger to Gigzaras’s life.
I was sure that the referee would...
“The fight is over! The fight is over!”
Gigzaras was bleeding from twenty-two slashes all over his body. It took no time at all before he was completely soaked in red. He appeared to be in critical condition. Fressa had cleanly avoided all the lethal areas, so that wasn’t actually the case, but just looking at him, he looked like he was steps from death’s door.
Fressa had clearly aimed for a forced end to the match through referee judgment—and that was exactly what had happened.
“The winner is Freeze!”
The small human had won against the half-titan. We even got a whole bloody ending to it. Gigzaras was a big guy, so it made it all look so much more dramatic.
Not bad for a first match. We even got blood.
The audience was cheering wildly, so I would say it was truly a display worthy of the opening match of the tournament. A lot of blood had been spilled.
Gigzaras didn’t look very happy with the outcome—he was covered in blood, but he could tell that it was all just a bunch of shallow cuts. He could still fight. But he didn’t try to challenge the judgment. He accepted his defeat here.
He must have realized their difference in strength through that small exchange alone. He knew that he would’ve had no chance of winning even if he continued. It was a good call, if you asked me.
All right, I should make my own comment.
“What a stunning show of lightning fast speed. Freeze managed to slash up her opponent as she maneuvered behind him. I was able to see up to twenty of the slashes, but the last two completely escaped my sight. It was quick work, too fast for even the eye to catch. We even got blood. What truly wonderful skill.”
After praising Fressa’s moves directly, I shifted on to talk about the usage of her weapon. “Any bladed weapons have been blunted for this tournament. It is almost impossible to fatally slash an opponent with the blades provided by the organizers. The only deaths we could witness here would be through blunt force or stabbing. And yet, Freeze has shown us that it is indeed possible to slash someone up with a knife with no proper blade. From the speed to the angle to the motion of entry, all were perfectly controlled in a way that the sharpest point of the blade, even in a blunt state, could be pressed against the skin to puncture it. This is not something just anyone can do. It is an advanced skill that requires one to cut with a point rather than a line.”
Of course, it was necessary that I speak of Gigzaras too. “Gigzaras was unlucky. His first swing in an attempt to brutally murde—to, uh, take his opponent’s breath away...was really quite impressive. The outcome of the match might have been different had he landed his strike. When faced with a large opponent, it is easy to feel so intimidated that you freeze. That one incoming strike would have been terrifying enough to make anyone shrink into themselves. I can’t help but wonder what would’ve happened had he used that move in the preliminaries. I’m sure he could’ve mowed all of his opponents down. It is truly a shame.”
Luckily, I already got to see blood flowing in this early match, so I could now look forward to the rest. I wanted all of our fighters to continue shining like this—so bright that even I couldn’t help but be captivated.
Although she was being showered in the chanting of her name, Fressa left the ring looking particularly unbothered by it all and made her way back to her locker room.
“Freeze, may we talk for a moment?”
It was at that point that I called out to her.
“Huh?!”
Fressa seemed incredibly shocked by this.
I could see the thoughts written all over her face: You’re going to talk to me now? When I just stepped out of the ring? Where everyone is literally watching us?
I cared about none of it as I approached her.
“I have a request.”
“F-For me? You’re kidding, right?”
Ah, your real thoughts just leaked out, didn’t they?
But I wasn’t kidding. Sorry, I knew that you would absolutely despise me talking to you under these circumstances, but this is my work. Join me for a bit.
“Would you be willing to commentate the matches with me?”
It was something I’d been considering ever since I saw that Fressa would be the very first match of the tournament. It went without saying that if I were to constantly speak in detail about martial arts and the matches and the competitors’ moves, everyone would notice something was off. But in a tournament setting, it was important for those watching at home to get an explanation so they could understand what they were seeing.
I’d actually thought about this dilemma during preliminaries too. There were a lot of matches going on at once back then, so it would’ve been impossible to commentate on all of them anyway, but I did think it was important to detail what the fighters were doing when watching it as a program after. It would help convey the brilliance of the fighters, and help the audience understand what to look out for in the matches.
In that case, I would need someone else to give those explanations in my place. Bendelio apparently had no experience in martial arts, so he had none of the relevant knowledge. Though he did make sure to get in some exercise for his health. If you’re willing to exercise, then at least pick up a martial art. I’d spar with you. You’d love a spar too, wouldn’t you?! Wouldn’t it be great to spar with me?! I’d definitely get a slap in! We could start now!
Never mind, enough of Bendelio.
Back on topic, just as I had been trying to think about who could make the commentary in my place, I caught sight of Fressa’s name on the matchups. Out of all of my students, Fressa was by far the most flexible (literally and figuratively). She was good at chatting and she was proficient at reading the room. She would always adjust how she was acting based on the intentions behind the other person’s thoughts and actions. She could definitely handle what I was asking of her.
She didn’t have to be perfect. I would help guide the discussion, so she would just need to adjust as necessary. I could still be the one to explain the moves that the fighters made.
I’d already gotten permission from the organizers, so I just needed her to accept.
“Uh, w-well, you know, I don’t want to draw too much attention. I don’t really want to appear on magivision and all, and, well, it’s live! So I’d rather n— Of course I’ll join you! I’m your biggest fan in the whole wide world, after all! I’d never refuse!”
All I had to do was glare at her a bit and she accepted in a voice I’d never heard come from her before. It was like she’d just been shouted at for no reason... Wait, is she crying?
Well, whatever. I got her to accept. I might have ended up glaring at her a bit, but she didn’t need to worry. It wasn’t a big deal, not at all. What? You’re worried about it, Fressa? But you don’t have to be? You won’t be worried, right? Right, see, you won’t worry. Good, you shouldn’t. If you’re nice and obedient, nothing bad will happen.
And so, Fressa and I both handled the commentary for a while after that.
Unsurprisingly, when you stripped down ten thousand fighters to three hundred, you were left with quite the interesting selection. It was always nice to see evenly matched forces colliding. They would bleed too.
“Now that’s a rare weapon,” Fressa remarked, looking at a...sword with five sections. It was that strange weapon I’d seen before that looked incredibly unwieldy.
Wait... Is it really just five sections? There’s more than that, no? I’m not imagining things, am I? It looks like there’s double.
“Do you know of this weapon, Freeze?”
“Yes, it’s a nine-section chain sword.”
“Nine?!”
You’ve gotta be kidding me. Nine?! There were swords that came in that many sections?! Hang on!