“Mr. Jiro Tanaka, it’s almost time for your preparation.”
“Yes.”
Four matches passed after I continued watching the overwhelming match. A demon standing before the door knocked and informed me it was time for my turn.
After watching Carter Isperio’s match, I closed my eyes in a corner of the room, focusing my concentration, much to the dismay of the others. I slowly opened my eyelids and responded to the voice.
I readjusted the Ore Tree I was holding across my shoulder, slinging it onto my back, and walked towards the exit with steady steps.
“Jiro-san.”
“Master.”
“……”
Suella called my name, followed by Himik. Memoria silently gazed at my back.
Turning around, I saw the Kaido’s party members lined up behind Suella and the others.
“Good luck.”
Representing the party members, Suella slowly sent me off as if in prayer.
“Alright, I’m off.”
Even though they weren’t participants, everyone had a tense expression. I wondered where the initial celebratory atmosphere had gone; there was a considerable temperature difference with the audience.
So, I didn’t put on any pretentious airs and simply replied, waving my hand behind my back as I left the room.
Demons stood in front and behind me, escorting me along the player’s passage. Perhaps due to the careful scheduling to avoid contact between players, or maybe because this was inside a dungeon, the cheers didn’t reach us. I passed no one, only the sound of my footsteps echoed quietly.
“Please enter through this gate once the previous match concludes. If you have time, you can watch the match on this monitor, would you like to?”
“No, I want to concentrate right now, so I’ll pass.”
“Understood.”
The escort led me to an open space with a door resembling a grand hall. This was probably where the Coliseum was connected. The chairs set up along the illuminated passage were likely due to the size differences between various species. A human-sized chair was prepared by the demon escort. I sat down to wait, and a monitor was set up beside me, which I declined.
A hulking, sheep-faced demon spoke to me respectfully, a sensation that was hard to describe ran through my body. However, I didn’t want to think about extraneous matters, so I sat in the prepared chair and slowly closed my eyelids again.
I recalled the glint of that man’s sword. Before I knew it, the beastkin was brutally murdered. I replaced the brutally murdered beastkin’s position with myself and simulated resisting it countless times, but the result remained the same. My figure, unable to lift a hand or foot, lay on the ground, flashed in my mind. I wanted to face the match with the image of victory, but it wasn’t going well.
“Time, huh.”
“That is correct. Please prepare yourself.”
While I was in that state of mind, the atmosphere beyond the door changed. The noisy atmosphere from before quieted down. I surmised the spectators were eagerly awaiting the appearance of the title contender. The atmosphere was like a stretched balloon; the spectators were waiting for it to burst. Conversely, there was almost no expectation placed on me. Or perhaps, I might be waiting for them to jeer at me. From here on, it was a complete away game, a stage where allies were the minority. However, if I wasn’t expected to perform, it also made me feel more at ease. The fact that I could think such thoughts showed I still had some leeway. Normally, I would have chuckled wryly at such thoughts and restrained myself, but the hot, deep, powerful heat emanating from the depths of my body tightened my expression, maintaining a certain level of tension.
When I confirmed it was my turn, the escorting demon nodded. I slowly stood up and stood before the door. The escorting sheep-faced demon sent a telepathic message somewhere. Then, the door before me opened, and a space vastly different in size from the passage unfolded before my eyes.
I thought I would hesitate at the first step, but my body moved surprisingly lightly as I stepped out into the venue.
“You’ve come, human!!”
“You’ll be instantly killed, instantly!!”
“You don’t belong here!!”
“Just go back where you came from!!”
As I passed through the door, the spectators who recognized me began to hurl insults as expected. However, their words didn’t penetrate my ears. I ignored them and headed towards the center with firm steps. It would be a waste to get distracted by the noise. After all, a demon was approaching, enveloped in a great cheer that was the opposite of my jeers.
We were about ten meters apart. Naturally, we faced each other with the referee in between. Kizan Kuyo. Not Instructor Kio, but a demon. Clad in a black gi, he held nothing in his hands. He possessed a steel-like physique exceeding two meters in height, comparable to an instructor, with gray skin and a fearsome face crowned with a single horn. The demon, with waist-length white hair tied carelessly at his back, slowly gazed at me. Instructor Kio was a being who poured out intense emotions, but the demon before me was his opposite; he stood quietly, yet I felt a heavy weight being thrown at me. If the instructor was a being of motion, the demon before me was a being of stillness.
The referee was explaining the match. The content entered my head, but I couldn’t divert my attention. The demon gave the illusion of a mountain standing before me. I understood that such a being could become a general.
“Human.”
The demon called out to me. His voice was hardened. Just quiet, just businesslike.
“You cannot defeat me. Leave.”
He threw words at me. My body creaked as if I had been punched in the gut. Just speaking those words, just that, my body cried out. There was no arrogance in the presence before me. He was simply stating a fact. Reason warned me to flee immediately at the words of such a superior being, but…
“…I suppose so, but it would be a waste to leave without fighting you.”
My instincts expressed pure joy. One does not use polite language with an opponent. I knew from the start that reason’s warning was in vain. I stood here, knowing that. The grit and guts instilled by the instructor. My face broke into a grin, and I gently grasped the hilt of the Ore Tree.
“Is that so?”
Perhaps sensing my resolve and fighting spirit, the demon said, with a short word:
“Then, challenge me.”
Leaving only those words.
“Kaha!”
He unleashed his power. Seeing the fighting spirit I had held back, I found it laughable that I could still smile. Even the referee demon’s complexion changed, and he retreated at once.
“Ah!! The higher the mountain, the more rewarding the climb!!”
The pressure from the aura was immense, undoubtedly a being of the same realm as the instructor. It was routine to confront such a presence. The only difference was that this was actual combat, not training. I couldn’t hold back against a superior opponent. I had to go all out from the start, and actually land a blow.
For the first time, I connected with the Ore Tree, roots extending from the hilt, coiling around my arm, forming a pathway for my magic power. I slowly, yet firmly, raised my stance to a high guard, refining my magic power with each breath. As I was already at a disadvantage, my only option was to fight with the most powerful, decisive blow I could unleash. The air told us that both sides were ready. Sensing this, the referee, from a distance, clearly stated:
“Begin!!”
“!!”
The first move is mine. No, I had no choice but to attack. If I went on the defensive, I would be utterly overwhelmed without being able to do anything. I understood this instinctively due to the gulf in our abilities. I had to attack to win. That’s a natural act in the world of competition. If I played defensively, there would be no possibility, not even a one-in-a-billion chance. I wouldn’t think about what if this attack doesn’t land, or anything unnecessary.
“KYIYAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”
Directly, at the fastest speed, with all my might. With a monkey’s roar, I swung down. The fastest step, the fastest swing. What that single strike produced was…
“…Impressive. I may have underestimated you slightly.”
“Koha.”
It was a perfectly landed counter to my stomach. A steel fist burrowed itself into my abdomen, and something surged, spreading in my mouth. It tasted of blood. Were my internal organs gone? But I was still conscious. I could feel my legs and arms connected. This outcome in mere an instant. The arena, which had been filled with cheers for Kizan just moments ago, was now silent.
“That strike, if I had taken it, I wouldn’t have been fine. I show respect for that honed blow.”
A single streak of blood trickled down the demon’s cheek. A wound had been left on the demon’s skin, which I thought had a hardness superior to steel. However, the spectators’ gazes were not directed there. The result that Kizan praised was unfolding behind the demon. A rupture, as if the ground had cracked. A blow that shook the barrier of the Coliseum’s walls. The entire venue fell silent at the devastation created by that single slash. It was a blow that sliced through the abdomen of the great body, the queen of Evol Eaters, using the first move. It was Jigen-ryu, needing no second stroke. I poured all of my strength into this one strike to make it the “Cloud Gleam” sword. The result was that the demon did not defend, but chose to evade and counter.
Pain consumed me whole, especially in my torso, which had taken the direct hit. My armor was shattered, and I felt several bones in my abdomen break, despite strengthening my body with magic power. The pain kept me lucid, yet I was wracked by agony.
“However, you are still immature. Take pride in having shown that you have the qualifications to stand on this stage. And fall.”
The slowly withdrawn, adjusted fist. My body collapsed onto the ground. I believe everyone in the audience thought it was over. They probably thought that while I, a human, had unleashed a considerable blow, I was, after all, only human and not a significant being. The entire Coliseum was likely sighing in relief. The demon before me also believed I would collapse. But unfortunately for him, I…
“Not yet.”
“What?”
I’m a contrary sort. I’m not so straightforward as to give up in the face of such adversity. I can still exert my full power. As I breathe in, pain echoes through my body, but I can move without issue.
“You can move with that body?”
“Unfortunately, yes, that’s how I was trained.”
I refused to fall to the ground, intending to blow away the audience’s sighs and distort the smug look on the demon’s face. Pumping life into my collapsing body, I used my center of gravity, infused my stepping foot with power, circulated blood through every blood vessel in my body, and mobilized every muscle fiber to launch a full-powered attack. It seemed moving despite my aching body paid off. Unlike that Carter fellow, his surprised expression—or rather, a look of bewilderment at seeing something inexplicable like I hadn’t ended with that one blow—disturbed the iron-faced demon’s eyebrows.
An upward slash from below. The connection with the Ore Tree continued, and the swing, with its vastly increased sharpness, posed a threat sufficient to make the demon retreat. I had instilled a sense of caution in my opponent.
“I’m not planning to end it yet.”
While vaguely sensing such emotions, I slowly raised the Ore Tree to an upper guard again. My body was not in perfect condition, but I could still move with all my might. The first strike, where the opponent might have been carelessly complacent in the back of their mind, would have been the greatest chance, but even that chance was merely a sliver of light filtering through a needle’s eye.
“Who says I’ll go down easily? Even if I’m showered with insults, calling me an idiot or a fool, I’m standing here. So, I won’t give up on winning until the very end.”
Even so, I stood here with the resolve that might be called foolish. If I were to stand here with the intent to lose, I would have refused to participate in this tournament in the first place. Even if the probability were less than a 0.01%, there was a chance. That’s why I’m standing here, investing all my effort into it. Therefore…
“If you want to crush me, then give it your all!!”
I shouted, displaying the utmost of my resolve. Even if, to my opponent, it was merely the ferocity of a puppy yapping. I would face the demon, who looked at me as if I were a mere stone on the roadside, with all my might. I cannot end this by being looked down upon. No, I cannot end this until I win. Perhaps sensing my resolve, Kizan finally took a stance.
“…I apologize for my rudeness. You are a warrior. I will respond to that resolve and fighting spirit by revealing my full power from now on and crushing you–resolved spirit and all. Now, state your name, human. I am Kizan Kuyo.”
“Jiro Tanaka. I have no intention of going down easily, nor do I intend to lose. You best be prepared for that, too.”
“You barked well. Don’t regret those words you spat.”
The spirit I had been holding back intensified. The air itself felt like it was trying to crush me. This time, there would be no more gentle attacks like before. Fists that would truly crush me with full power were coming. Facing a storm, facing a natural disaster, a human knows what to do when their resolve is set. I firmly gripped the raised Ore Tree, releasing any unnecessary tension.
“I’ll show you the power of a human.”
Today’s thought:
Have you made up your mind? I have.
Watch closely with your own eyes, the potential of humans, my resolve!
This concludes this section.
If you found it interesting, please leave comments, ratings, bookmarks, etc.
*The first volume has been decided to be published by Hayakawa Bunko JA.
It was released on October 18, 2018.
An e-book version is scheduled for publication on October 31st of the same year.
The content has been revised and supplemented from the material posted on Shōsetsuka ni Narō, with the addition of an unpublished interlude.
We ask for your continued support.
