“Ngh?!”
However...
Anzel pushed through.
He refused to pull back. He continued charging forward.
The tip of Sauzan’s sword slid past the side of Anzel’s throat.
Did he just...defend with external chi? Did being put in a do-or-die situation bring it out of him?
Almost as if it were a counter, Anzel’s swing connected with the side of Sauzan’s head. He used no Technique—it was all raw strength in that hit.
But that was all he needed.
The arena went quiet. Just like the bare-handed finals, this had been a fierce battle that left the viewer forgetting to breathe.
Anzel coughed harshly, wobbling on his feet as he retrieved the shirt he’d stripped off.
And then he left the ring, leaving behind Sauzan collapsed on the field.
It was only after Anzel had disappeared down the corridor that the cheers suddenly came from the crowd.
They were the loudest cheers of the day.
“And our victor is Anzel! Anzel is our champion of the weapons division!”
The long tournament had finally drawn to a close. Both of the final matches had been more than worth watching. As proof of that, the excitement of the spectators refused to settle. Even the short break before the closing ceremony wasn’t enough to calm them down, but at least they knew to quiet down when the king took the stage.
“What a fantastic display. Though the plan was originally to hold the award ceremony for our victors today, as both are exhausted from their fights, we will hold it at a later date. We will broadcast it on magivision in the near future, so we must ask for your patience. Now...it would be rude to continue talking for too long. Citizens of Altoire and our foreign guests, we must thank you for your cooperation during this tournament. To all our competitors who narrowly missed the prize, we praise your efforts. We would like to also express our warmest thanks to those who have assisted behind the scenes. All of you should celebrate with delicious food and plenty of alcohol. You must all have much you wish to talk about. I would like to now declare that Altoire’s first martial arts tournament has concluded.”
His Majesty left the stand to cheering and applause. A short message for both the opening and closing ceremonies, hmm?
Well, the organizers were no doubt busy. There would be a lot of cleanup to do after this. I had something I also wanted to do myself.
The audience members were all returning home while passionately talking about the day’s matches. The competitors who had remained on the island were also starting to take their leave. A lot of them had probably wanted to see the conclusion of the tournament. I wasn’t sure if they were happy with the result, but it had certainly ended now.
After my crew had finished recording the sight of everyone leaving, I was called to the VIP seating area where I went around greeting all of the foreign dignitaries with my parents and Neal.
It turned out that Prince Christo and Princess Crowen had come from Vanderouge to watch as well, along with the two commanders-in-chief of their armies. I hadn’t seen them since that wedding, but they seemed to be doing well.
Our royalty was already off wrapping everything up for the tournament, so they weren’t present. There would apparently be a lavish feast tonight, so the dignitaries would be gathering again later. Things were hectic for them too, huh?
We Listons would be having our own separate feast tonight with the Silvers and Hildetaura. I was a little curious about Hildetaura—she was royalty, so would she not have to be at that other feast? But if she’d said that she was coming to ours, it must be fine.
Either way, it was perfect timing. I had intended to try and find a way to stay on the island until night, whether through offering to help clean up or some other excuse. But since our feast would be held on the Silvers’ airship, the Listons would be staying here until tonight as well. The adults would definitely be talking late into the night too. It appeared luck was on my side.
In any case, time for me to decide the evening’s schedule.
“How is Gandolph?”
While helping clean up the arena and packing away all our recording equipment, I found a moment to slip away to the infirmary. The doctors looked just as busy preparing to relocate.
“He’s still asleep, I think,” one of the doctors told me.
“In that case, where is Shine?”
“Shine? She should be in the intensive care unit, I think... Sorry, I’m not sure.”
Well, I couldn’t blame her. They seemed plenty busy packing up. If I recalled correctly, the intensive care unit was where Gandolph had received treatment. Where I was now was where those with lighter injuries were treated.
Shall we go take a look, then?
I thanked the doctor and headed for the intensive care unit. Compared to the bustling light injuries area, there was only Gandolph sleeping here alone.
“Oh, Master Nia.”
Never mind, guess he’s awake. He must have just been resting.
“You can stay as you are,” I said, walking up to his bed. If he was sleeping, I would’ve let him be, but surely it would be fine to talk to him if he was conscious. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m a little tired, but I don’t feel any pain anymore. I was told to continue resting for a little longer.”
“You’re tired because you used too much chi. Make sure you eat plenty when you get back home.”
“Will do. I’ll make sure to eat a big dinner.”
Good. It was hard to be lively when you didn’t eat enough. Food was the source of one’s energy. He should eat as much meat as he could.
“Have Anzel and Sauzan dropped by at all?”
“Yes. The moment their match ended. I heard the audience’s cheers all the way from here. The weapons finals must have been just as exciting.”
They certainly were.
“Your match was good too.”
“But I lost.”
He did, but I thought he fought well. Lynokis had been learning how to manipulate her chi longer than Gandolph had, so of course she was stronger. Actually, I thought she’d struggled far too much... Nope, let’s not do that.
Both of them had fought well. Today, that was enough.
“You didn’t view her as an unbeatable opponent, did you? Then next time, make sure you win.”
“Yes, Master. I will do what I can.”