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　　That hurt quite a bit……fortunately, it does not feel like I broke anything. But my abdomen and back are in a bit of pain, this will likely slow me down by a small, but significant, amount. 

  　　No matter, that was an impressive attack, I cannot afford to get hung up on it……I need to move past it and gain the upper hand in this fight. 

  　　"Whatcha waiting for? Come at me, bro," He taunted me with a grin. 

  　　Well, if he insists……I then adjusted my grip on the handle of my blade and flung it straight at him like an arrow before rushing forward at top speed, a look of surprise appearing on his face as he blocked it using his axe, my blade bouncing off the flat of his axe as it struck it. 

  　　I then formed Destruction Magic blasts in each hand and fired them at him from mid-range, before drawing my sword back towards me. 

  　　He evaded my first blast and batted the second one away with his axe, before leaping backwards as I closed in on him, grabbed my sword and slashed upwards at him, the tip of my blade grazing his chin. 

  　　He then blasted out a wave of black flames at me, likely enhanced by wind……I formed a wall of flames in front of myself as I jumped away to the side, my flames only slowing down his attack for a brief instant, barely enough for me to evade. 

  　　I had sustained a few burns on my legs……tch, black flames are rather troublesome. As a Demon, I have more of a resistance to the negative energy signature it possesses, but this body is still human, so I do feel the effects to an extent. 

  　　What a nuisance.

  　　To make matters worse, he is up in the air now……Excalibur gives me the ability to jump across the air, however I have no yet mastered that technique. But I cannot hope to land any significant attacks if he stays airborne…… 

  　　As he fired out a barrage of black flame fireballs down at me, I bent my knees and sprang up with all my strength, batting away the incoming fireballs as I shot up through the aid rapidly. 

  　　He swiftly flew off to the left as I closed in on him, I immediately responded by kicking out my right leg to send myself chasing after him……oh, no, that was too much force! 

  　　He evaded me with relative ease as I lost control and was forced to land back down, my feet hitting the floor with a loud thud. Tch, having to rely on a still-unreliable option is frustrating……

  　　His Mana reserves are fairly immense, I cannot realistically expect him to use all of it simply by dragging this fight out. Should I use the finishing move of my blade? 

  　　It is far more effective on a grounded opponent that an airborne one……if he chooses to use his finishing move from up there, he will have the advantage. The fact that he has not used it likely means that he is wary of me leaping up into the air again. 

  　　"Hey, what do you say we put an end to this? Defend against this if you can," He suddenly called down with a smirk, he axe raised to his left, coated in roaring black flames. 

  　　Hm? Does he plan to combine his flames with the finishing move of his axe? No, I do not think that is what he is planning……but then, what is he……?

  　　Suddenly, he shot down towards me at a blinding speed, blasting compressed wind jets out from the soles of his feet. 

  　　He closed in on me in the blink of an eye, swinging his axe down at me as he did. I was just barely able to raise my blade up defensively and block his swing, my knees buckling under the weight of his strike, the floor beneath my feet cracking and breaking apart. Right as our weapons clashed, he unleashed the flames around his axe, several of the streaks hitting and searing my skin painfully. 

  　　He then swiftly flew back up, using the Propulsion technique again to shoot himself up……and then blasted himself back down towards me. 

  　　I deliberately let my right knee hit the floor, in order to secure a more solid base to be able to absorb the impact of his strike. Once again, I was only barely able to get my sword up in time, most of my body still numb from the force of the previous impact. 

  　　I braced myself as he closed in on me and slammed his axe down at me again, which clashed onto my blade with immense force, rattling my bones as my knee painfully dug into the floor. S-so heavy! 

  　　And in practically an instant, he was back up in the air, preparing to swoop down again. Tch, he got me……his strikes are too powerful, it is all I can do to block, let alone counter. 

  　　At this rate, it will only take two or three more strikes at most for him to break through my defenses. I have no choice but to gamble. I shall focus solely on offense, and abandon my defense. 

  　　As he rapidly blasted down towards me yet again, this time, I did not prepare to block……instead, I prepared to drive my blade straight at him. The instant he closes in on me……I shall thrust my sword right towards his face. 

  　　Here he comes! 

  　　Hm? The way he is holding his axe, his right hand holding the middle of the handle while his left hand was firmly grasping the base of the handle……does he intend to thrust instead of slash? Is that in response to my change in stance? Very well, then, as he says……bring it on! 

  　　As he closed in on me, I immediately drove my sword up towards him, as he simultaneously drove his axe down towards me……my weapon will hit its target first, my reach is longer than his! 

  　　Well fought indeed, but this fight is……suddenly, right as the tip of my blade got within an inch of his forehead, he took his right hand off his axe handle……and then fired out a wind blast from his left hand, which was gripping the base of his handle. 

  　　In the blink of an eye, I found myself outside the barrier in the very next instant. Right before I could strike……he extended his reach immensely by propelling his axe at my head with a wind blast. Impressive. 

  　　I felt a sense of frustration rising up inside me……I did not make any mistakes, I performed close to my best, and yet……he bested me. Yes, I am frustrated, but satisfied, my performance in this competition was quite good, not ideal, but there is room for improve…… 

  　　"Aw, look who lost, you have my sincere my condolences," Smirked Belia with a mockingly sympathetic look on her face, before dropping all pretenses, "Hah, that's what you get for shitting on my joke!"

  　　"How childish, you disgrace yourself, former Demigod," I huffed in response, deciding to bottle my irritation. 

  　　"The high road, huh……how boring. Well, anyway, the winner is……Rion of Abyss! Oh, and let me add, THE LOSER IS, the participant with the highest power level in the competition, Jhin of Abyss! Let's have a round of pity applause for the LOSER, everyone!" 

  　　"Uh, hey, man, don't let it get to you," Remarked Rion with a sheepish grin as I felt it become a lot more difficult to bottle my annoyance. 

  　　He had a thin trickle of blood running down from his forehead……ahh, I see, the tip of my sword must have pierced his skin before I got teleported out. Had I been just another fraction of a second faster, I would have won…… 

  　　"What could you possibly mean? Nothing 'gets to me'," I responded with a strained smile. 

  　　"S-sure……let's, uh, let's head back, what do you say?" He suggested awkwardly. 

  　　"Yes……that sounds good." 

  　　———————————————————————————
　　Point-of-View: Kuro Black

  　　———————————————————————————
　　"Okay, we've got a half-hour break before the final. So, what's everyone's impression of the tournament so far?" I asked the other leaders. 

  　　"Pretty entertaining so far. Of course, it does help that one of ours finished in the top four," Grinned Sylvar in response. 

  　　"I agree, especially since two of the Rustlands' participants finished in the top eight, with one of them currently in the top two with a chance to win the whole competition," Nodded Cusana with a smile……guess she's extra pleased since it's her daughter who's made it to the final…… 

  　　"I thought it was unfortunate that none of Idyll's participants made it to the top eight, and only one making it to the top sixteen, but nevertheless, this has been quite enjoyable to watch," Added Siterra in approval. 

  　　Awesome, I think it's safe to say that this has been a fairly resounding success. 

  　　"Excuse me, Lord Kuro, I have a small concern to report," Suddenly came Zero's voice, as he poked his head inside the VIP area. 

  　　"Hm? A small concern? If it's not a big deal, you can handle it as you see fit, you know,", I responded. 

  　　"Well, you see……it is a bit bizarre, I am uncertain as to what to do in regard to this."

  　　"Okay fine, go ahead, what is it?" I prompted him. 

  　　"Yes, my lord. We have received several reports of people and the intelligent monsters briefly seeing a strange, glowing orb of light. I myself saw it too, along with a number of other Vampires and Demons. I had someone check with the participants as well, and of all of them, Rion, Azeria and Rain all said that they saw it too. I am still checking with more people, so I cannot yet confirm how many saw that light……but from the list I have put together so far, it seems like all of them are either intelligent monsters, or those with significantly high power levels."

  　　"Hey, I saw that light too! You did too, right, Bell and Kuro?" Spoke up Sylvar. 

  　　Yeah, that's right, that dim ball of light……I half-thought that I'd imagined it. It was actually for real? Just what the hell was that, anyway? And why are so many people seeing it? Somehow, it's giving me a really bad feeling…… 

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  　　Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

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