“Next up, the third match!”
The pairings were Mireille, Marius, Alex, Tom, and Jasper.
While not as intense as the previous two matches, the venue buzzed with excitement.
“A clash between Mireille and Marius!”
“Well, the power of Magic Bullets and the power of magic are different things, so it’s not like no one has a chance. Marius seems good at converting them into magic.”
“I see. If they work together, perhaps they might have a chance.”
Many among the spectators nodded in agreement with the announcer and commentator.
The people of Ranleo, perhaps hoping for Marius’s defeat, repeatedly bobbed their heads up and down.
The five individuals who were called stepped forward, wearing their pads.
“Ah, let me inform you of the special rules. If you incapacitate a contestant by hitting them anywhere other than their pad, it’s a foul loss. Killing someone will result in criminal charges. If you break a pad, points will be added, and down points will be added, but sustained down points will not be. By the way, we don’t have many spares, and we have to stop the clock and interrupt the match every time one breaks, so please try not to break them if possible.”
There was no need to explain why these special rules were being added at this point.
Everyone looked at Marius in unison, and Marius understood that the rules were directed at him.
“Now, begin!”
Mireille, Alex, Tom, and Jasper attacked simultaneously, but Mireille, as if anticipating their moves, intercepted and defended against all the Magic Bullets.
Marius, who had expected attacks from everyone, was caught off guard and couldn’t react in time.
“Oh, it looks like the target is Mireille!”
“It seems to be a strategy to ignore Marius, who won’t give them points easily.”
Of course, they kept two or three Magic Bullets floating, prepared for an attack from Marius.
The balance was likely to break depending on whether Marius targeted Mireille or other contestants.
“Besides, each contestant has about five to eight Magic Bullets, with some having around ten.”
“It’s not difficult to create and float them, but controlling them makes it significantly harder. Even for top-tier mages, more than ten would be a burden.”
“I see.”
The venue was getting excited, but there was little individual cheering for the contestants.
This was likely because it was everyone’s first time participating.
Marius took a deep breath and floated four Magic Bullets.
“Now, Marius is finally showing his move!”
“What will he do?”
He fired the Magic Bullets one by one, dividing them among the four.
Seeing this, the four countered with their own Magic Bullets.
However, Marius’s Magic Bullets pierced through them with ease, hitting the pads on all four contestants’ chests.
“Ah! Marius has so easily blown through the other contestants’ Magic Bullets!”
“Amazing.”
Cheers erupted from the audience.
Marius created another four Magic Bullets and scattered them towards the four again.
This time, the four each created five to eight Magic Bullets and fired them at Marius’s Magic Bullets.
Marius’s Magic Bullets pierced through all of them, and once again, they hit the pads on the four contestants’ chests.
“Gah.”
“Ugh.”
Tom and Jasper fell down in quick succession.
“Ah, instant defeat! An instant defeat despite a four-on-one situation! This time too, they were crushed by one shot each! Felix, how do you explain this?”
“There’s no explaining it. All I can say is that there’s a clear and overwhelming difference in power.”
The venue, which had started to buzz, fell silent.
Marius, having gotten his revenge for being ignored initially, now aimed at Mireille and Alex, who were still standing, intending to get serious.
Since it was unclear how many points Barra would earn in the final match, he needed to secure points.
Mireille and Alex, while generating Magic Bullets, attempted to evade the simultaneous five-shot attacks.
However, it was all in vain.
Marius’s Magic Bullets swept everything away in an instant, hitting the pads of both and knocking them down.
“So destructive! Absolute! This is Marius Tubaan!”
“S-so amazing…”
“T-too strong…”
The audience, perhaps getting used to it or becoming numb, began to utter exclamations of awe.
“In this case, it wouldn’t have made a difference if he had forfeited.”
If he forfeited, he would be last place and wouldn’t earn any points.
However, given that almost no one except Marius had scored any points, Felix’s words were accurate.
“M-match end! First place goes to Marius with sixty-one points! Second place is Mireille with one point. Tom, Alex, and Jasper are tied for last place with zero points.”
“Marius has shot up to the top all at once.”
“Y-yes. By earning sixty-one points, he has surpassed Hemrooth, who was temporarily in first place. Furthermore, he almost completely shut out the other contestants!”
“This might be a level that shouldn’t be competing in the Demonplay.”
“Indeed. Will a grand comeback be possible?”
“We’ll have to see that after the final match of the preliminaries. Although, we don’t know who will advance.”
Many predicted that Marius would win.
“He’s so cool, I’m going to melt!”
Barra was lost in a daze.
She was the only one whose tension rose as Marius displayed his power.
She wanted to advance to the finals where Marius would wait.
And she wanted to etch herself into Marius’s memory.
However, in her “current state,” she was highly likely to end up like Philip.
Philip felt a surge of determination emanate from Barra’s expression.
“P-Princess… surely not…”
“It’s fine. It will also lead to the boosting of national prestige that the hardliners are so keen on.”
To Philip, who had asked tentatively, Barra smiled mischievously, but her eyes were resolute.
“Now, let’s move on to the final match of the preliminaries!”
The final group consists of Barra, Agash, George, Annette, and Kyle.
Based on previous results, Barra is in first place, but in Shooting Royale’s preliminaries, many who were in higher positions have been eliminated.
“Who will win the final spot in the finals? Let’s begin!”
Barra was naturally the first target.
However, the other four were shocked to see over twenty Magic Bullets float from her body.
Barra targeted George and Annette. Although they hastily created four Magic Bullets each, they couldn’t defend and were hit, falling down.
Agash and Kyle attacked Barra, but she created over ten Magic Bullets in no time and negated them all.
“Barra’s swift attack has landed perfectly! And she created twenty at once! Was she perhaps conserving her strength?”
“Yes. The strength she just showed must be Barra’s true power.”
“S-amazing…”
“Barra-sama, a true goddess.”
“I’m an even bigger fan now!”
Barra received even more enthusiastic cheers and, propelled by them, pressed her attack.
Marius felt a little dejected by the vast difference in their power.
Barra, even though it was a two-on-one against Agash and Kyle, gained the advantage and accumulated points.
“Y-you fool…”
King Henry IV groaned, putting his hand to his forehead and looking down.
Many of his entourage, who were unaware of Barra’s true abilities, were stunned.
There were surprisingly many entanglements surrounding Barra within Ranleo.
Many, including the hardliners, desired to marry her, seeing her as a prize, yet being too strong would make her a difficult match to find.
They were old-fashioned in that, despite their generally arrogant demeanor, they didn’t want a wife who was too strong.
If she revealed her true power now, her chances of marrying someone within the country would be dashed.
He gauged the reactions of those around him and confirmed his worries were not unfounded.
Henry IV, a doting father, was saddened by this, and it was also galling that the most likely candidate would be someone from the faction of his enemy, Filat.
“Th-that’s enough! The match is over!”
It was obvious who the victor was to anyone watching, but the issue was the earned points.
“First place goes to Barra with sixty-two points! Second place is Agash with twelve points, third place is Kyle with nine points! Fourth is Annette with seven points, and last place is George with five points.”
When the point totals were announced, the greatest cheers and applause yet erupted.
“And it turns out Barra has not only avoided elimination but has surpassed Marius’s points and further widened the gap!”
“Speechless is fitting here. And she’s proven her words.”
“Barra! Barra! Barra!”
“She’s the ultimate goddess!”
“A beautiful girl, a princess, and the strongest—the best!”
“Barra-sama is eternal!”
Many of the spectators, especially the men, shouted and applauded ecstatically.
Barra responded with a flying kiss, drawing even more applause.
She had splendidly blown away the somber atmosphere that had been growing due to Marius’s all-crushing power.
Moreover, she had surpassed Marius in points, not only reclaiming first place but also extending the lead.
“And why didn’t Ranleo put Barra forward until now?”
“Perhaps she’s only gotten this strong recently. Or, it might simply be the royal family’s circumstances.”
“Princess Barra’s strength is comparable to Hemrooth’s when he’s serious.”
Agash, having been thoroughly defeated, couldn’t hide his surprise and whispered to Hemrooth.
Hemrooth nodded with a stern expression.
“That girl Barra is seriously strong.”
Marius frankly admired her.
If he were to make excuses, the power tested in this competition was outside the game’s specifications, and parts of it couldn’t be judged by levels or stats.
Barra’s level was similar to Hemrooth’s, but she clearly surpassed him in Magic Bullet creation speed.
Compared to Marius, who could only do what he could in the game, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she had the advantage of experience.
“To defeat both Barra and Hemrooth, I’ll have to give it my all… To think I’d be allowed to go all out against humans.”
He had to be careful not to break or kill the pads, but if he held back, there was a considerable risk of her snatching first place again.
He didn’t know how Hemrooth would react, but Barra would likely show that same strength in the finals.
He felt like scolding himself for forgetting that this was different from the game, but he also inwardly apologized and thanked the two who had made him realize it, admonishing his own arrogance.
This would be the first time Marius would fight with his full power since arriving in this world.
The current rankings, though provisional, were displayed.
First place was Barra with one hundred and two points, second was Marius with eighty-seven points.
Hemrooth had risen to third place with sixty-two points, Philip was fourth with fifty points, and Lucas was fifth with forty-eight points.
Warren was sixth with forty-five points, and Catarina climbed to seventh with forty-two points.
Hordia, who had no qualifiers for the finals, plummeted dramatically.
“The points for preliminary elimination and final advancement have not yet been added to the announced rankings. The points for the finalists, Barra, Marius, and Hemrooth, and Catarina, will likely increase further.”
“Catarina will want to earn points and contribute to the national rankings.”
“However, her opponents are strong contenders like Barra, Marius, and Hemrooth, so it looks tough.”
“The mutual caution they’ll need might lead to them being less wary of Catarina.”
“Speaking of which, this doesn’t purely indicate raw strength, does it?”
“Well, normally it would be a simple comparison of strength, but this time, they seem to be emphasizing interaction.”
“That’s probably due to Boltner’s national character, then.”
“The characteristics of the competition venue vary, making it interesting.”
“Indeed. Everyone, let’s enjoy ourselves as much as we paid for the admission!”
Applause erupted from the crowd.
