Chapter 27
Some time has passed since the start of the event.
「–Gallim has emerged victorious! That last magic was incredible! I’m seeing it for the first time, but Sieg, did you know about it?」
「Yes, that was Aqua Dragon, a Water Magic spell. It’s the third Water Magic spell one can learn, and as you can see, it’s very powerful.」
「Aqua Dragon! If Gallim can use such a strong spell, he seems poised to take the championship… what do you think?」
「Hmm, well, Aqua Dragon consumes a lot of MP due to its power. So I think it will depend on how much MP Gallim has left.」
「I see! Indeed, how much stamina the players can conserve for the final stage is the key to winning this battle royale! We don’t know Gallim’s remaining MP, but let’s hope he still has plenty! Now, moving on to the next area–」
Thanks to his preparation, Isamu somehow manages to provide commentary.
(Phew. I’m so glad I checked the combat arts beforehand.)
Realizing his efforts weren’t in vain, Isamu feels relieved, and at the same time–
「Oh, looks like the area is starting to shrink! All the players are on the move, trying to reach the safe zone! This will lead to more player encounters and intense battles!」
Teshigawara, sitting next to him, says this with a fired-up voice.
Isamu checks the left display showing the map and sees that the circle indicating the safe zone is indeed slowly shrinking.
Staying outside the circle rapidly drains HP, so the players have no choice but to get inside.
As a result, the frequency of encounters will naturally increase, intensifying the battles just as Teshigawara says.
(It’s getting serious now. I need to stay focused until the end… Oh right, I wonder how Leon and Emi are doing. I hope they’re still in.)
Among his close friends, Isamu has confirmed the status of Shuka, Kaito and Elena, but he hasn’t seen Leon, Emi or Nana yet.
They may have already been eliminated, but Isamu cheers them on in his heart.
「Alright, let’s continue checking on each area… oh!」
The players shown after the transition are two people facing off in a grassy field.
It looks like they just ran into each other.
(Oh, it’s those two!)
Isamu recognizes the two people.
「Lucifer and Destroy have just encountered each other! Now, what kind of match will they show us?!」
Lucifer is the guy suffering from 8th-grader syndrome who Isamu gave advice to before.
He’s that hopeless pretty boy who had prepared original incantations.
He’s holding a staff, so if he hasn’t changed his skill composition, he’s likely still specializing in Dark Magic.
The other one, Destroy, is that gloomy guy who was hunting beginners.
Like before, he’s wielding an axe and still has that creepy smirk on his face.
『Hehehe! Come forth from the darkness, jet-black fangs! Devour all those who oppose me!』
Destroy, the gloomy guy, makes the first move.
He chants the incantation for Darkness Bite, the Dark Magic that took out Isamu in one hit before.
『Oh, so you too are captivated by darkness. Interesting. Very well, I shall make you realize which of us is superior. Come forth from darkness, jet-black fangs! Devour all those who oppose meeee!』
『Darkness Bite!』
Following him, Lucifer also recites the same incantation.
At the same time Destroy activates his magic, a black object in the shape of wolf fangs appears and flies towards Lucifer.
『Darkness Biiite!!』
Lucifer activates his magic a breath later.
The two black fangs colliding head-on shatter into pieces and vanish.
(Whoa! He’s good!)
「Destroy’s attack has been cancelled out by Lucifer! This is shaping up to be an interesting match!」
『Tch! Then try this on for size!』
Destroy rushes towards Lucifer and swings his axe with that momentum.
The attack cleanly hits, but Lucifer just scoffs without changing his expression.
『Hoh, not bad. Then it’s my turn now. I shall show you my secret ultimate technique.』
『S-secret ultimate technique?!』
Destroy judges it dangerous and backsteps to create distance.
Meanwhile, Lucifer takes a deep breath, then stretches his hand out towards Destroy and starts speaking.
『Ye dead who despise the living! Answer my call and steal life with that blackness!』
(Ooh, this sounds powerful!)
『And now– come, o vengeful spirits! The time has come to unleash your resentmeeeent! Evil Haaand!』
「…Hm?」
The unfamiliar incantation made Isamu think a fourth Dark Magic he didn’t know was about to be used.
However, what was activated was Evil Hand, the second Dark Magic spell.
It’s weaker than the Darkness Bite chanted before, nothing special at all.
『Hey, that’s just a regular Evil Hand… oh shi-』
Destroy, who was bracing for the attack, prioritized retorting and failed to dodge the approaching black hands, taking a direct hit.
『Come forth from darkness, jet-black fangs! Devour all those who oppose meeee! Darkness Biiite!! Appear, black flames, and burn– Dark Flaaare!』
Lucifer activates Darkness Bite and Dark Flare in rapid succession.
『W-wait, hold o-』
The black fangs and flames assault Destroy, and the moment they hit, he disintegrates and disappears.
『Hmph. This is the power of true darkness. Go train and come back.』
Lucifer declares this to the void, then spins on his heel and walks away.
「Match over! Lucifer’s bluff worked perfectly! He’s quite the interesting player!」
「Y-yes, that was magnificent.」
(I don’t think it was a bluff or anything like that though…)
To avoid spoiling the mood and protect his honor, Isamu decides to just breeze past it.
「I hope Lucifer keeps this up and does his best! Now then, the camera is switching to the northeast of the forest area! I wonder what players we’ll find here!」
As the camera pans around searching for players, a young girl comes running into the frame.
『Safe! But I took a lot of damage…』
(Oh good! Shuka is still alive!)
「Here’s Shuka again! Looks like she barely made it into the safe zone! I hope she keeps doing her best… oh! What’s this, another player has appeared!」
(Oh no, it’s Nana! Aw man, this is unfortunate…)
The person who showed up is a woman who dotes on Shuka like a little sister– Nana.
Since teaming is prohibited, no matter how close they are, there’s no avoiding a fight.
In other words, either Shuka or Nana will be eliminated here.
Well, Nana will undoubtedly try to let Shuka win.
『…Shuka』
Upon turning around and seeing who it is, Shuka’s face lights up.
『Wow, it’s big sis Nana!』
「Oh, these two seem to know each other! What a twist of fate!」
『–Wind blades, slice and dice! Air Cutter!』
(What?!)
As Shuka tries to run over to her, Nana unleashes a magic attack.
Hit by it, Shuka stands there stunned with her mouth agape, not understanding what just happened.
『B-Big sis…?』
『What are you thinking, approaching me without your sword ready? Are you even trying, Shuka?』
『…Huh? But I don’t wanna fight you, Big Sis…』
Shuka looks down and mutters weakly.
Nana heaves a big sigh, then speaks to Shuka with a serious expression.
『I’m so disappointed in you. To think you were such a coward, Shuka.』
『I-I’m not a coward!』
『Yes you are. You’re too scared to fight me.』
『That’s not true! I… I hate you, Nana!』
Shuka grips her sword and starts running.
Seeing this, Nana softens her expression.
(I see, so that’s how it is. She had to act cold, or else Shuka wouldn’t try to win. As expected of Nana.)
If she interacted with her usual kindness, Shuka would never attack and Nana wouldn’t be able to let her win.
That’s why she deliberately took a distant, harsh attitude, Isamu concluded.
『Double Slaaash!』
『Oh no. I’m gonna lose like this. Guess I have to fight baaack.』
Nana says this in a monotone voice and swings her staff down at Shuka.
She probably figured if she just stood there taking hits, her acting would be too obvious.
However, the moment the staff bops Shuka on the head, Shuka vanishes.
Nana is victorious.
『…Huh?』
「「Ah…」」
Faced with this unexpected outcome, Nana and Isamu/Teshigawara, who were watching, let out voices at the same time.
『What, how…? I only hit her with one Air Cutter and bopped her… huh? Did I really do it?』
Nana crouches down on the spot, holding her head.
(Ah, she really messed up… but she had no way of knowing Shuka took damage outside the area. It couldn’t be helped. Don’t mind it, Nana.)
「N-Nana pulls off an impressive victory! Let’s look forward to her continued performance! Now then, moving on to the next area–」
Unable to bear it any longer, Teshigawara quickly changes the subject.
Isamu also refrains from commenting, silently encouraging Nana in his mind.
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