He was strong, that much was abundantly clear. He was so funny that it kind of overshadowed that, though. I almost felt bad. But, really, you would think people could only be so bad at telling lies. If he was that incapable of it, then he should’ve just stayed quiet. It was because he tried to answer honestly all the time that he always ended up cornered.
And then there was Lestra. From what she’d said in her interviews, she was an adventurer and a magician, so unsurprisingly, she was good with a sword and fairly strong—only fairly. That was where her magic came in to enhance and support her swordplay. Or was it the opposite way around? Was the sword necessary for her to use her magic effectively?
Whichever the case, my impression was that she fought with both sword and magic at the same time. It was a little hard to tell just from seeing her fight on magivision, though. Was she using magic? It could also have been that she was just fighting with her sword.
Lestra had become popular as the adventurer who was far too pretty. She had often been paired up with Fressa in specials that dubbed them “the beauty squad” or “the two great beauties.” That must have been a nightmare for Fressa.
Now then, it was time for the match between these two fighters. I still didn’t have a clear grasp of their power levels, so I was naturally interested to see.
Show me your martial arts.
Both of them had been quite boring to watch so far, but both had also been undefeated in the way they’d been fighting until now. I was certain of that.
First, though, the usual introduction. “Our second match of the day is between Sauzan and Lestra. In terms of skill with the sword alone, Sauzan has the advantage. However, Lestra has the power of magic on her side. Perhaps she is far more of a magician than a swordsman.”
With magic being such a rarity in this tournament, it was important for me to detail the rules surrounding it. “The rules make it clear that lethal magic is strictly forbidden. A head suddenly going flying, a body being cut in two, a gruesome crushing up of meat and bones with the power of gravity or wind... Oh, uh, pretend I didn’t say that. Basically, all magic that has the potential to kill her opponent is forbidden. I wait with bated breath to see who will be the ultimate winner of this matchup.”
I looked up and saw Bendelio crossing his arms, so I quickly wrapped up my commentary. Apparently, I had said something bad. Was it the crushing...? Maybe I should’ve worded it softer like comparing it to squishing a tomato under your foot.
It’s fine. I just need to shake it off and watch the match.
“Let the match...begin!”
Lestra made the first strike.
“Hah!”
Wow, she’s pretty fast.
The two blunted swords crossed and clanged. Sauzan continued to guard without a hint of a struggle against the thrusts of Lestra’s rapier.
Sauzan has a good sense of balance. He’s very stable. The times he would put out an occasional strike of his own wasn’t with the intention to hit Lestra, it was purely to control the advance so he didn’t end up completely cornered. Did he not want to risk Lestra getting too close?
No, that didn’t seem right. He was baiting her. He was trying to get her to do a deep thrust. He was trying to tempt her to get too close.
Oh?
“Lestra is now making her move,” I said as Lestra suddenly blurred. She’d stepped forward as fast as one would for Rumbling Thunder and then was immediately behind Sauzan.
You really are speedy. You just used magic, didn’t you?
There was a large metallic clang that could even be heard by the audience. Sauzan had taken the powerful thrust and wobbled.
No, that wasn’t a wobble—he’d deftly shifted his upper body to escape the impact. A very efficient defense. He was so stable it was almost infuriating.
“What we just saw was a display of magic strengthening the body.”
That speed and the weight of her thrust had been a result of her using magic to fortify her muscles. That was the thing with magicians—they might not know how to use chi, but they had other ways they could strengthen themselves. It would have been unclear to a casual observer, but that was likely how she’d won her matches in prelims.
The audience cheered at Lestra’s moves, the woman moving so quickly that she was even leaving afterimages behind. Sauzan focused on defense as the violent sounds of their swords clashing continued to ring out through the arena.
He really isn’t faltering. Despite being attacked with such speed and ferocity, his stance never showed any signs of breaking. What incredible core strength.
Oh? Lestra’s ferocious attacks have stopped. More accurately, her attacks had suddenly slowed down. She’d maintained the speed for so long that the abrupt deceleration made it seem as if she’d stopped entirely.
From the surprised look on her face, Sauzan must’ve done something to her. That single moment of having her movements forcefully limited left her completely defenseless. Sauzan naturally did not let that moment pass him by, immediately slashing his sword forward until it was up against her neck.
The match was over.
“The winner is Sauzan. What a display of calm and stability.” I gave my commentary amid the thundering cheers. “Lestra no doubt used physical enhancement magic to perform such swift attacks. It appears that Sauzan utilized some sort of skill to dispel her magic.”