“Is the arena situation there different than in Gideon?” I asked. It sounded that KoT didn’t hesitate to use all his firepower back in Caldina, unlike here.
“Oh, it is. Everything is wide-open and there are fewer people. The duels breathe some life into their surroundings, but comparing it to Gideon is just unfair. Gideon is the greatest dueling location in the Seven Great Countries—it’s even better than Tenchi in terms of providing a venue for duels, if not in the average power of its duelists.”
“Well, it’s got a whole twelve arenas... Thirteen if you count our base.” That made me wonder why arenas were so concentrated here in Gideon. I’d heard that the city predated the Kingdom of Altar, but...
“Anyway, based on what we’ve seen so far...” said Marie. “Figaro is gonna win this.”
“Yeah.” My thoughts had gone off on a tangent, but I could only agree with that.
Figaro had a large arsenal of weapons—many of them MVP rewards—and his Embryo empowered them, making him the most well-rounded attacker in the kingdom. He could easily field more than eight forms of offense, so he could overcome all of KoT’s resistances and defeat him. Additionally, KoT was fighting with a self-imposed handicap that kept him from using his high-firepower weapons.
“Bad compatibility and holding himself back,” said Marie. “With these two disadvantages, it’s sooo clear who’s winning this.”
With his offensive powers curtailed like that, KoT had no hope of beating Figaro. As things were, it was obvious that our duel champion had this in the bag.
“Hm...” However, if both of them could use all their powers and weapons to the fullest—if both of them were capable of actually killing each other—then it could honestly go either way.
That was what I believed, and I was sure he thought the same thing.
The Tournaments’ matches continued, and everything was going about as you’d expect.
KoT was climbing up the left side of the bracket as Figaro was rising up the right. Many powerful Masters were taking part in this, but they were all falling before the two Superiors.
In the quarterfinals, KoT had defeated a duelist in the middle of the rankings, and in the semifinals, he’d brought down Catherine Kongo—the second in the kill rankings.
She(?) had actually gotten pretty close to beating him. She’d first gotten him with Charm, then four times using her tamed monsters in their human forms, and then yet again in close quarters physical combat using her Embryo ult. That made a total of six times.
But once KoT had the resistances and the attacks that countered her monsters, she finally fell. The skill names he used for every heal were all stars in the Big Dipper, adding credence to my idea that he could come back at least seven times.
“By the way, why were her monsters in human form?” I asked.
“Oh. That’s because their true forms don’t fit in the barrier. The third maid—the one with the green hair—is actually a High-End Disaster Elemental. She’s probably bigger than all of Gideon.”
...I see, I thought. So she(?) was also fighting with a handicap. It was like how Shu’s Baldr in its fifth form onward couldn’t be used in the arena either.
But man, I’d never thought that tamed monsters could be that big. “Weeell, if they weren’t tamed, Catherine Kongou’s four ‘Nethermaids’ are pretty much guaranteed to be UBMs,” said Marie. “If someone goes around with a retinue this destructive, it’s not at all surprising that they’re only behind KoD in the kill rankings... Though, the third... The one who beat me could probably beat Catherine one-on-one.”
I felt like I heard her say something under her breath at the end there, but I chose to ignore it.
Anyway, KoT had already advanced to the finals, and Figaro just beat his semifinals opponent too.
“It’s getting pretty dark,” I said as I noticed the twilight.
The finals had been delayed due to preparations, so by the time the match actually began, it would probably be night. The Masters of Cor Leonis—another name for the star called Regulus—and Septentrion would fight beneath the starlight, and I felt like there was a kind of romance to that.
“Hm...?” As that thought went through my mind, I heard a knock on the door to our box. Had some clan member logged in in time for this? Did the arena staff have something to tell us? Wondering who it was, I opened the door and...
“Hello again. We met just a short while ago.”
Behind the door, there stood King of Light, F.
“Why are you here?” I asked. “And how did you know our seat?”
“Research.” So he’d been spying on us using his drones again.
I swear he’ll get arrested for this someday, I thought.
“As for why I am here... There is something I feel I should inform you about.” Inform us...? “I’m currently using my drones to observe Gideon...”
That made me notice that his right eye was closed, and I wondered if his drone Embryo could be linked to his vision in order to give him a bird’s-eye view of the area... It had been a real pain when I’d fought him, and I bet he was using it right now.
“And?” I prompted.
“There is trouble at your clan’s base. Three of your duelist friends have gotten caught up in it, as well.”
“HUH?!” Both Marie and I let out a cry of shock. This had really come out of nowhere.
There’s trouble at the Eighth Arena?! And three duelist friends... Right! I gave a spare key to Max! Who else would be...?
“Should you not hurry there?” King of Light interrupted my thoughts.
“What kind of trouble?!” I asked. “Are they all right?!”
“Please go and see it with your own eyes—I want to see your reaction.”
“Nnngh...!” Of course—this guy was so obsessed with his research for inspiration and reference material that it was literally criminal. “Ugh... Marie! I’ll get on Silver and take a look!”
“Shouldn’t I go too...?”
“You stay and watch over this guy! He might be planning something—don’t let him out of sight!”
“I see. That’s definitely necessary,” Marie said.
“I don’t understand why you’re so distrustful.”
Remember what you did during the last event here in Gideon and try saying that again, I thought. Regardless, I left the two where they were and ran out through the arena’s exit.
“Nemesis! You awake?!”
“Yes, and I know the situation. I wonder what that trouble he mentioned is...”
“I have no idea. For all we know, it might have something to do with KoT’s appearance in The Tournaments. But whatever it is, we can’t ignore it.”
“Indeed!” Once out of the arena, I instantly took out Silver, jumped on his back, and flew off. I also shattered a job crystal and switched my main job to Paladin, just in case.
My destination: our base, the Eighth Arena.