The Pars City – Venue
The cheers of the audience ceased, and only the lingering echoes of the roar caused by the falling star remained. The stage within the barrier where Kelvin and Silvia were fighting was gone, and only the upper part of a giant ice star was peeking out from the ground. While there seemed to be no effect outside the barrier, neither of their figures could be seen in the sky or around the ice star.
“Um, excuse me, Gordiana. The commentary…”
“…It seems to be an emergency, so I’ll skip it. Silvia-chan stabbed herself and Kelvin-chan’s hearts while falling, and then they crashed. Followed by a chunk of ice, *thump*!”
“Didn’t the Shrine Maiden’s Death Avoidance Magic activate when you stabbed yourselves in the heart? Did it activate a second time?”
“It’s a disposable, one-time use! Rescue! Rescue them! Hurry!”
Gordiana’s shout brought people back to their senses. Famous adventurers and warriors from various countries rushed towards the barrier, but they hesitated, unsure of what to do before the ice star. They were intimidated by the sheer scale of the giant ice of the ice star, generated by Silvia’s S-Rank Blue Magic, “Falling Ice Star.”
“It’s… it’s huge…”
“How are we supposed to destroy this? Smash it with a hammer?”
“Don’t touch it carelessly! You’ll get hurt if you do!”
“Melt it with Red Magic! Someone, a Mage—”
As everyone panicked, someone approached the ice block, kicking up a dust storm.
“Get out of the wayyyy!”
It was Gordiana. Her Scarlet Fighting Spirit turned pink as she leaped from the commentary booth. Perhaps intimidated by her aura, or perhaps sensing something instinctually, people naturally made way.
“Everyone, get outside the barrier! I’ll move this…?”
Just as an aura began to converge on Gordiana’s right arm, the giant star before her distorted.
“What is this…! Everyone, evacuate! It’s collapsing!”
With a shout, several lines were etched onto the ice’s surface. All of them were the trajectories of slashes. The passing slashes reached the sky beyond the giant star, breaking through the barrier and flying far away. Eventually, after a short period, the giant star began to collapse. With the barrier gone, the giant ice fragment avalanched down even to the outside of the venue. Throughout this, the slashes continued to be released, and the ice star’s debris continued to be minimized.
“Run at full speed!”
“Mages, construct a new barrier! Ensure the audience’s safety, hurry!”
The venue descended into greater chaos with the collapse of the giant star. Fortunately, there was some distance to the seating, so the damage didn’t seem too severe, but anything could happen. People began to act to the best of their abilities.
“Multi-headed Fire Dragon – Eighth Dragon Head!”
Suddenly, a single red arrow was fired from the audience. It then began to wreathe itself in flames, transforming into an eight-headed fire dragon. The Multi-headed Fire Dragon soon divided its heads, coiling around each other from the outer edge of the area where ice fragments were pouring in.
The ice fragments of the giant star, minimized by the mysterious slashes, touched the Multi-headed Fire Dragon and disappeared as steam. The fire dragons gradually tightened their coiling range inwards, and eventually, the giant star completely vanished. The damage was successfully prevented.
“Is this satisfactory, Master?”
Efil, who had fired the arrow, sent a telepathic message to her master. Her tone was a little strong, as if she were angry.
“Ah, excellent. Efil, don’t be so angry.”
In the crater created by the ice star, if one looked closely at the very center, a square-shaped hole could be seen. Soon, a human shadow emerged from the hole.
“The fact that I’m alive like this is proof.”
Kelvin appeared, carrying Silvia in his arms. The venue erupted in cheers of joy.
***
“Haa, I barely made it…”
Honestly, I thought I was going to die. I had indeed died once when my heart was pierced by Silvia’s sword. But at that moment, Colette’s Death Avoidance Magic activated, and I was revived with the sword removed from my heart, as if it were an accurate rollback.
Having an experience I’d never had before, even in an emergency, Silvia and I were left with question marks floating above our heads. From the outside, it looked like I was hugging Silvia. It was only for a brief moment, so I don’t think the audience saw it, but if it were shown to Kyoufu-kun in that state, he might go mad again. Regardless of it being unavoidable, I was truly glad he was on sick leave.
Without understanding what had happened, the situation moved even as I remained half-doubting. Directly above us as we fell, Silvia’s “Falling Ice Star” was rapidly approaching. Colette’s magic had activated, and there was no longer any point in continuing the match. For now, I re-embraced Silvia, manipulated the wind, and retrieved Disaster, who was also falling.
After that, I dug a hole like an air-raid shelter with Green Magic, avoiding contact with the Extreme Cold Land. I hardened the walls with the Impregnable Black Castle Wall and dug deeper and deeper. Then, I waited for the ice star to fall and stabilize on the ground, after which I began the work of shattering it from below with the Great Wind Demon God Scythe. Since I couldn’t gauge its size beyond “big,” I adjusted the slashes to reach the sky. I also sent a telepathic message to Efil and the others, asking for their support to prevent damage to the ground.
And so, we safely returned. It was a haphazard approach, but I think the result turned out well? I managed to avoid using Melfina’s blessing, my trump card, in front of the public.
“I failed to kill you. Regrettable…”
“No no, I was thoroughly killed!”
With a thud right in my heart. Hmm? Wait a minute—
“Perhaps the reason you came at me mid-fall was to kill me a second time?”
“Hmm, because I said I would keep my promise. In this case, it wouldn’t mean anything if I didn’t kill you twice. That was my attempt to find a way to kill you through actions possible during the match.”
She said something so terrifying with a composed face. I’m no saint myself, but this girl is something else. Though I was quite satisfied with the battle itself.
“It… it seems to have been resolved. Special guest Colette-sama.”
“Um, why am I seated here? I’m not feeling very well right now…”
Amidst the unceasing cheers, the voice from the commentary booth spread. For some reason, Colette was in Pritia’s seat.
“Well, this mock battle is extraordinary! The simultaneous activation of Colette-sama’s magic, which serves as the judging criterion! We staff alone cannot judge it!”
“And so, you want me to judge?”
“Yes!”
Although I couldn’t see from the crater, I felt Colette sigh.
“It wasn’t exactly simultaneous. When Silvia-san’s sword pierced both of you, there was a slight difference, but the sword pierced Silvia-san first. Therefore, Silvia-san’s magic activated first.”
“In that case—”
“Yes. Therefore, the winner of the match is… Kelvin-san! Congratulations!”
“Uooohhh!!”
Delamis’s Shrine Maiden’s clear declaration. While she was like that before the match, she was inherently a person who stood above others. Her speeches were as practiced as ever, and the venue shook even more.
“The winner is Kelvin! Well, it was a wonderful match. Though I don’t understand most of it!”
“It was a match worth watching. As Delamis, we definitely want power like theirs! Ugh!?”
“Colette-sama? Why are you suddenly covering your mouth… M-Mic! Cut the sound!”
With tragic music in the background, my companions rushed over. Ah, I don’t think I’ll be able to forget today…
