His loud and almost daily professions of his intention to become the dark knight were really going to come back to bite him if he immediately bowed out of the tournament with a humiliating defeat. He had, of course, trained hard for this very day. Sure, he’d talked the talk, but he’d also walked the walk, twice over.
Which was the problem. It was because he’d put in so much work that the thought of it all being in vain became unbearable. He tried to calm himself, but he simply couldn’t stop himself from imagining that terrible moment when his tireless efforts slammed against the wall of reality and shattered into worthless pieces.
I’m scared.
He’d been the holy knight for almost as long as he could remember. For someone like him, who’d been able to call upon the borrowed strength of the goddess for his whole life, believing in himself was exceedingly difficult. He’d put in the work, but had he gotten better? He wasn’t sure, and the absence of confidence left a void that was quickly filled by doubt.
“You’ll be fine.”
He glanced up. It was Marni.
“I told you this last month,” she continued, “but I’ll say it again. You learned how to use Dark Ray . By human standards, that spell should be considered advanced-level magic. It should be more than enough to defeat most opponents.”
“B-But, I haven’t mastered that spell yet. I can’t use it like you do...”
“Sain.” She looked directly into his eyes. “None of us here thinks you’re weak. Not anymore.”
Her comment drew nods from the other two girls as well. He met each of their gazes in turn. Reflected in their eyes was his own image. He looked stronger than he’d remembered. Slowly, the doubt began to recede, pushed back by a growing wave of confidence.
“Okay... I’m trusting you.”
He smiled. Marni did the same. Her smile, however, carried a hint of amusement.
“Actually... You’ll probably be more than fine.”
“What?”
“Try this. As soon as the match starts, use Dark Ray .”
“U-Uh, okay. I’ll do that.”
Seeing as it was advice that came directly from his mentor, it was probably worth a try. He’d intended to make early use of Dark Ray anyway. The spell’s strengths lay in its speed and penetration power, which meant that, conversely, it had the inherent weakness of going only in a straight line. When the match first began, the contestants would be facing each other. Furthermore, there would be no barriers in between them. It presented the perfect opportunity to land a shot of Dark Ray .
He and Melia stepped into the lecture hall and waited for their matches to commence.
“It looks like we’re going to be in different arenas for our first matches,” she said as she scanned the tournament brackets.
“Looks like it, yeah.”
Sain was scheduled for the second match to take place in the intermediate division’s field while Melia’s first appearance would be the third match in the senior’s division’s field. Neither of them could afford to spectate the other’s match in full if they intended to show up for their own on time.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we thank you for your patience! I am pleased to announce that the magic battle exposition will now officially begin!”
An announcer’s voice, amplified by magic, filled the air. It was soon followed by a roar of excitement from the gathering crowds. After some brief introductions by the pairs of commentators for each arena, the tournament quickly got under way.
“Contestants participating in the second round of matches, please head to your arenas!” instructed one of the tour staff standing at the entrance to the lecture hall.
First-round contestants were already in the field staring each other down. Those up next were supposed to wait their turn nearby.
“Try your best then, Master Sain.”
“You too, Maid. Then again, I doubt you’ll have to try very hard to win your matches.”
“Hey, it’s not always a cakewalk for me, you know.”
At the very least, it didn’t seem like she was going to have any trouble with her first match. Neither of them knew their first opponent, but no Jenifa student was going to be a pushover. No one could afford to let their guard down. He waved goodbye to Melia and made his way to his designated arena.
“If I’m going to run into Maid in the brackets, it’ll be... the semifinals.”
Neither of them had explicitly discussed the possibility, but he’d checked Melia’s position in the tournament brackets as soon as he’d received his copy. Normally, she was his faithful attendant, who meticulously looked after his every private and public need. During the battle expo, however, she was also a potential opponent, and a very intimidating one, at that.
“Augh, come on. Focus on the task at hand. First, I need to win my match...” he muttered, reminding himself to be always mindful that he was the untested challenger. As the underdog, he’d have to earn every victory.
He exhaled, steeled himself, and stepped into the ring. A commentator — one of the academy’s female students — announced the competitors’ entrance, and the audience erupted in excitement.
“Our contestants for the second match today will be Sain Fostess and Noel Tidman!”
Sain looked across the arena at a boy with gray hair. The commentators continued speaking in the background.
“Sain is a first-year student, whereas his opponent, Noel, is a second-year student. Based on the stats alone, it would seem that Noel has an advantage, but Sain can be... a rather unpredictable fellow. Perhaps he’ll have some surprises for us.”
“Well, for a lot of our audience, that outfit must be the first one. Students in the intermediate division have gotten used to seeing him like that, so you don’t hear people talking about it anymore, but for any newcomers, that getup is going to leave an impression.”
The other commentator — a male student — kept the banter going as he provided more details. Both commentators appeared to be from the intermediate division, which might have been an intentional arrangement, seeing as the match involved two intermediate division contestants. Familiarity with the contestants would indeed allow for more interesting commentary.
Sain stood there in the ring, feeling the eyes of the spectators on him. His jet black coat was decorated with its usual slew of jangling accessories. Were this a serious duel that demanded silence and respect, they’d have disqualified him on his looks alone. Fortunately, the battle expo was a spectacle meant to entertain, and his bizarre appearance actually served to amuse the audience. Of course, for the two of them currently in the ring, the impending duel was nothing if not serious.
Close inspection of the audience seats revealed plenty of spectators who were not average citizens. There were clearly Loribanian knights present. For ambitious Jenifa students, this event was a perfect opportunity to make an impression. Judging by his sober attitude and the unwavering look of determination in his eyes, the boy named Noel had probably entered this tournament for such a purpose.
Of course, Sain was no less determined. He had no interest in making a name for himself in the eyes of outside guests, but he did intend to test himself. If he wanted to find out how good he really was, he had to treat his matches seriously. There would be no playing around.
As the crowds cheered, he put on the substitute pendant the receptionist had given him. It was the same kind he’d used during the field exercises, and its function was to absorb pain and damage in place of the wearer, shattering when the absorbed amount would otherwise be fatal. The contestant whose pendant shattered first would lose the match.
“Let’s start the countdown!”
The commentator’s enthusiastic declaration was followed by the appearance of a magically-projected screen in the middle of the arena. Displayed on it was a number that changed by the second — 10, 9, 8, and so on. With the match about to begin, Sain gave his opponent one last look-over. Whereas Sain was wearing a sword on the left side of his waist, Noel was unarmed. Presumably, his opponent employed a magic-focused fighting style, which was most effective at a medium range. Considering they’d start the battle standing at exactly that kind of distance from each other, Noel might be hoping to hit him hard and fast right off the bat.
He recalled the words of his mentor. Marni had instructed him to attack as soon as the match began. Assuming his analysis of his opponent was correct, if he wanted to strike first, he wouldn’t have time to carefully observe his opponent; he’d have to come out swinging. His initial attack probably wasn’t going to win him the match, but if it landed, he’d be in a great position to follow up. Even if it missed, it’d at least buy him a few seconds while his opponent dodged away.
As the countdown neared zero, he tightened his fists. His friends believed in him, and he was going to repay their trust by winning.
“Zero! Let the match begin!” yelled the commentators, signaling the start of the duel.
Noel had barely lifted a finger before Sain thrust out his hand and shouted, “Dark Ray! ”
A lance of darkness shot out of his palm. Like a comet, it drew a black trail through the air as it sped toward Noel. The boy’s eyes went wide at the sudden threat.
“Wha—?!”
One second. That was all it took. A mere second after the match began, the magic spear shot across the field and slammed into Noel’s chest with a thunderous crack, kicking up a massive cloud of dust in the process.
“What just— N-No way—”
A commentator’s incredulous voice could be heard as the spell kept going, leaving a trail like a black bolt of lightning across the entire length of the arena. It soon faded, and a gust of wind cleared away the dust plume, revealing a dazed Noel lying on his back all the way at the edge of the ring. His substitute pendant had shattered, causing a pale blue barrier to be deployed around him, protecting him from any further attacks.
At first, there was silence. Then, the commentators began shouting at the top of their lungs.
“That’s it! That’s it! It’s done! The second match is over, and the winner is Sain Fostess! It all happened in the blink of an eye! Unbelievable! Look! The crowd is roaring!”
“Absolutely! Let me tell you, that was definitely not what I expected!”
Everyone was astonished by the result. The commentators, the audience, even Sain himself.