“Ladies and gentlemen, the Demonplay is about to begin!”
As the announcer, using a Magic Item called a “mic,” declared, a huge cheer erupted from the massive crowd that had gathered. The venue was packed, with an estimated audience of fifty thousand. The Demonplay was a good spectacle even for ordinary people.
(This feels like a soccer stadium.)
Marius, his face hidden by his hood, scanned his surroundings and had that impression. The competitors were gathered in the venue’s competition area, waiting.
“Your commentator is Weiss, and your color commentator is the elf, Felix!”
“Felix, nice to meet you,” he replied, eliciting another wave of cheers.
“We dislike unnecessary chatter, so let’s get straight to it. First, I’ll give you a brief rundown of this tournament’s rules.”
There will be three events. Points will be awarded in order of performance, and the person with the most points after all three events will be the winner of the individual division. Additionally, the total points of the participants will become the country’s points, and the country with the highest total points will be the winner. The first and second events will be held in the morning, and the third event will be held in the afternoon after a lunch break. The use of recovery items between the first and second events is prohibited; discovery will result in immediate disqualification.
“Rest assured, consumption during lunchtime is permitted.”
“We’ll need to consider how to allocate our Magic Power usage.”
The events and their contents will be announced each time.
“Moving right along, first up is the first event, Radiation! Please direct your attention to the sky!”
Everyone looked up, and five black discs were extended from pillars and installed. Five barriers were then erected in front of and behind each disc.
“The black discs are Magic Items for measuring magical power. Target them with sequential magic. The person with the highest measurement points wins; it’s a simple competition. Breaking the barriers or discs is not a foul, but the host country would appreciate it if you didn’t, if possible.”
Laughter erupted from the audience. Destroying barriers stacked five deep sounded like a joke to the spectators. Weiss wasn’t genuinely concerned either.
“The points awarded to the winner will be 25, second place 20, third place 18, fourth place 16, fifth place 15… and so on, down to one point for last place.”
“So, it’s a slight advantage if you can get into the top three.”
“Well, it’s said that the point distribution will be changed frequently until the end to keep things interesting.”
Applause broke out from the audience. They had paid a considerable entrance fee, and it was only natural to want to enjoy themselves until the very end.
“Now, for our first participant, the favorite to win, Hemrooth from Seraeno, please!”
Called by Weiss, Hemrooth stepped forward.
“Wind that blows unceasingly, become my furious blade and cleave that existence! [Wind Slash]”
A blade of gale force swept out and struck the black discs. The central disc displayed five thousand, while the surrounding discs showed four thousand five hundred.
“Hemrooth, 23,000 points! What do you think, commentator Felix?”
“An undoubtedly high score, an incredible number.”
“A high score right off the bat! As expected of a favorite!”
Hemrooth raised his hand slightly in time with Weiss’s voice, drawing an even louder cheer from the venue. Having been a contender for victory for several consecutive tournaments, Hemrooth was a popular athlete.
“As expected of Hemrooth.”
“Reliable Hemrooth.”
The people from Seraeno looked satisfied.
“Next, from Berganda, Ares!”
Ares scored ten thousand points.
“Well, I think that’s respectable. Hemrooth is just that strong, isn’t he?”
Marius thought he was clearly holding back, but he remained silent.
“Next, from Garius, Kyle!”
He took third place temporarily with nine thousand five hundred points. Everyone except Hemrooth seemed to score lower than Nilson. Alex from Misra scored nine thousand three hundred, and Jasper from Barshark scored twelve thousand points.
“Next, a favorite and the previous tournament’s champion, Philip!”
When Philip appeared, the loudest cheer yet erupted. The ground seemed to tremble, and Marius secretly cast a soundproofing spell.
“As expected of the previous champion, incredible popularity!”
“While there are many first-time participants this time, he’s still a strong contender.”
The strongest contender is Hemrooth, a fact only Marius and the Seraeno officials knew. Perhaps not even everyone from Seraeno knew. Philip began his incantation.
“Earth’s lament, fiery wrath, merge and become the hammer of divine judgment, crushing all existence! [Lava Flow]”
Five molten lava projectiles appeared and fiercely struck the black discs. The sum of the displayed points was twenty-seven thousand two hundred.
“Th-this is incredible! A third-tier magic spell has been unleashed!”
“And a high score at that. As expected of a champion, truly exceptional.”
“Truly overwhelming strength! Philip has taken first place!”
Philip waved in response to the loudest cheers yet.
“It seems I’ve secured consecutive wins.”
“I hope for a one-two finish with Princess Barra.”
The people from Ranleo were smug and cheered, already celebrating. Next, Catarina from the Kingdom of Vester scored seven thousand points.
“And now, from Hordia, it’s Annette!”
The excited crowd fell silent. The images of the rule-breaking invasion had not fully faded, and as a first-time participant, no one could react immediately.
“Water, become my power and pierce the enemy! [Water Bullet]”
Annette’s score was nine hundred and thirty points.
“Hmm, Felix, what do you make of this?”
“All I can say is, it’s a pity to blame Annette.”
An awkward atmosphere filled the venue.
“It really is unfair to Annette in a situation like this.”
“Annette is here precisely because the host country is Boltner… it won’t hurt much if she misses anyway.”
Ignat murmured thoughtfully, while Asteria smiled.
“Let’s get back on track, and now, a favorite to win, Lucas!”
A huge cheer erupted once more.
“Great whirlpool, crush them! [Maelstrom]”
A large vortex struck the measuring Magic Item. The center displayed six thousand, and the other four displayed five thousand.
“There it is, 26,000! He’s in second place!”
“As expected.”
The crowd roared, and Bernhard III and the others looked satisfied.
“It can’t be helped that he lost to Philip.”
“Marius is also here… Speaking of which, how many points do you think Marius will get?”
“He might get around fifty thousand.”
They laughed heartily.
“Now, next is the host country’s participant, George from Boltner.”
George scored two thousand four hundred points. A wry smile spread through the audience.
“Boltner traditionally isn’t good at magic, are they?”
“I suppose it can’t be helped.”
Currently, Philip is first, Lucas is second, and Hemrooth is third, reflecting the previous tournament’s rankings.
“It seems the wall of top contenders is high, wouldn’t you say, Felix?”
“There are still many first-time participants whose abilities are unknown, and Warren, who placed fourth last tournament, is here too.”
“That’s right. Next up is a highly anticipated first-time participant and representative of the strong Seraeno, Agash!”
He scored nineteen thousand points with “[Wind Slash]”.
“That’s another high score!”
“As expected of a Seraeno representative. He casually took fourth place.”
“See, everyone from Seraeno is strong!”
Tom from Berganda scored four thousand, and Paul from Garius scored eight thousand points.
“Next, one of our highly anticipated participants, Barra from Ranleo!”
“Since she’s from Ranleo, she’s probably strong, but I didn’t expect her to be a princess.”
Bathed in curious gazes, Barra stepped forward in her dress.
“Earth’s lament, fiery wrath, merge and become the hammer of divine judgment, crushing all existence! [Lava Flow]”
Five molten lava projectiles struck the disc-shaped measuring items, all displaying six thousand.
“W-what?! Thirty thousand points have been scored! Barra has surpassed Philip and taken the lead!”
“My oh my, we had a tremendous hidden gem.”
“S-so amazing!”
“And she’s cute too!”
The loudest cheers yet erupted. Barra, perhaps forgetting her decorum as a princess, waved at the audience and blew a kiss. Her loveliness rapidly increased the audience’s favor, but her father, Henry IV, sighed deeply at her lack of royal dignity.
(This is why I didn’t want her to participate… forgetting her position.)
Despite having strength that surpassed Philip, his daughter was an uncontrollable “magic fanatic.” He had imagined she would act like this if she got caught up in the venue’s atmosphere, and even more troublesome developments were possible. However, with only two participation slots and the emergence of Marius, a magician from Filat, she had to be fielded to protect their nation’s reputation as a magic powerhouse. Seeing his own people rejoicing simply made him sigh even deeper.
Mark from Barshark scored seven thousand points, Stacy from Vester scored five thousand five hundred, and Gregor from Boltner scored one thousand four hundred.
“Next up is Warren from Misra! While he’s not considered a favorite this time, he’s still a strong contender.”
“Lightning, become my spear and sweep away all obstacles! [Thunderstorm]”
Twenty bolts of lightning struck the measuring items, recording a total of eighteen thousand points.
“As expected of Warren! A good result!”
“He’s in a decent position.”
“Warr-en!”
Bathing in the adoring cheers, Warren placed fifth.
“We have only two participants left, can they make up for Annette’s score? Mireille from Hordia!”
“Given that we don’t know the criteria for her selection, it’s hard to say.”
The venue fell silent once more. Mireille, her expression unchanged, began her incantation.
“Black star, emerge from the demon realm and bring peace to perishing souls! [Disaster]”
Five black spheres appeared and struck the Magic Item like spears. The center displayed six thousand, and the other four displayed five thousand five hundred.
“A dark-type third-tier magic spell! She’s scored 28,000 points! She’s moved up to second place, surpassing Philip!”
“This is incredible… Was it the nobles’ fault that this didn’t appear before?”
“Isn’t she amazing?”
“For someone from Hordia…”
A murmur went through the audience.
“I had heard Princess Barra was capable, but for Mireille to surpass her.”
This was an miscalculation for Asteria.
“And now, finally, the last participant, Marius from Filat!”
“He became the Royal Court Magician, surpassing even Lucas, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Marius stepped forward, hearing the audience’s murmurs of “Who is he?” and “Is he strong?”. He decided that if they told him to break the Magic Item and pay for it, he would be in trouble, but using lower-tier magic would be fine due to the barriers’ effectiveness.
“[Fire]”
Marius unleashed his magic with genuine intent for the first time. A blinding, intense white light covered his vision, and a piercing roar filled the venue, causing the audience to hastily close their eyes and cover their ears.
“W-what is this?! Is it a Forbidden Spell!?”
Weiss, stunned, blurted out in his natural voice.
“N-no. It’s Fire… just Fire.”
Felix, despite being blinded and disoriented by the roar, managed to provide commentary with sheer willpower. Five seconds, ten seconds passed, and as things gradually calmed down, a murmur spread through the venue.
“W-what was that…?”
“W-was it that thing called a Forbidden Spell?”
“No, the commentator said it was just Fire.”
“What!?”
Marius was satisfied with the audience’s reaction and the measurement readings, but he broke out in a cold sweat upon noticing that five of the barriers had been broken and the measuring device was cracked.
“Th-that was incredible for just Fire… Ah, the barriers! Five barriers have been broken! And all five are showing as unmeasurable! Ahhh! If you look closely, the measuring device is cracked!”
Weiss was still flustered, which only amplified the murmuring in the venue. The VIPs from various countries stood like statues, their eyes and mouths wide open. The only exception was Asteria, who thought, “What, he’s not using high-level magic?” Even Lovisa, who had instigated Marius, couldn’t comprehend what was happening before her.
“He-he broke it! Marius! He broke it with just Fire! Commentator Felix, why did it break?”
“It probably couldn’t withstand Marius’s magic. The barriers are broken too; if he had used a higher-tier spell, it would have been a disaster.”
The two, having somehow regained their composure and continued their duties, could be said to have professional pride.
“Um, in this case, what should we do? If we try to re-measure, it will likely be completely destroyed…”
“That measuring device won’t break unless it’s hit with over 50,000 impact, so 250,000 should be fine. He’s definitely in first place anyway.”
As the two continued their conversation, a messenger from the organizers rushed over and delivered a paper.
“Oh, a ruling from the tournament committee has arrived. Marius! You will be considered to have scored 250,000 points! Marius takes first place!”
Marius, who had been standing there awkwardly, breathed a sigh of relief. Since he was there, he used “Regain” to repair the Magic Item and “Recover” to re-erect the barriers.
“Ah, Marius has repaired the Magic Item and barriers with his magic! Marius, it’s greatly appreciated, but according to the rules, you’re not allowed to use Magic Recovery Items until the next event? Are you alright?”
Marius answered Weiss’s question with a question.
“Um, there’s no problem with recovering it myself, right?”
“Yes. Otherwise, all participants could be disqualified.”
“Then there’s no problem.”
“I-is that so…”
Weiss’s voice and face contorted, but everyone understood it couldn’t be helped. The murmuring from the venue had also ceased. Repairing barriers of that scale, which would take dozens of people several years to erect, was not something that could be done with a single spell in an instant.
“It’s a bluff. Just a show of force. He must have overused his magic.”
The strained voice came from someone from Ranleo, but no one tried to reprimand him. Everyone except the people of Filat and Asteria wanted to believe it was true. The atmosphere that had been about to praise Marius, filled with surprise, had vanished.
“Marius, isn’t that a bit much…?”
“I wished for it… but perhaps I was too shallow.”
Lovisa regretted the turn of events that even she found unsettling. While she had thought he might be “among the strongest in history,” she had never dreamed he could be “the strongest in history.” The rankings and points were: Marius first with 25 points, Barra second with 20 points, Mireille third with 18 points, Philip fourth with 16 points, Lucas fifth with 15 points, Hemrooth sixth with 14 points, Warren seventh with 13 points… and Annette last with one point. In the national standings, Filat was first with 40 points, Ranleo second with 36 points, and Seraeno third with 26 points. While the individual competition was still undecided, the three major powers were at the top in the national rankings.
“Marius securing first place was a significant factor.”
“There are still two more events, so it’s not over yet. Plus, several first-time participants have climbed into the top ranks, showing that there are still many skilled individuals on this continent.”
The venue fell silent, even to the voices of the commentator and announcer. Although small whispers could be heard, no cheers erupted. Even the representative athletes, except for Barra, and even Lucas, wore expressions of extreme seriousness.
“Hmph… To repair the barriers instantly…”
Even Asteria’s smile disappeared, and a cold sweat trickled down her face. To repair five barriers in an instant was something she doubted even Melinda Guilford could do. Asteria had evaluated Marius as “Melinda-level,” but she had not expected him to surpass her. Like Lovisa, she had unconsciously dismissed the possibility of Marius being the strongest in history. Thus, the first event concluded, leaving an indelible mark of the extraordinary in the minds of everyone present.
