Their fight was like a battle to the death. Both of them were painfully aware of their own strengths, and they did not let down their guards even for a second. If their focus ran out for even a second, it would immediately end with certain death. Their attacks were planned as one-hit kills, as they evaded these with the smallest margin, blocking every attack with pinpoint accuracy. And yet, both of them were slowly but steadily amassing small injuries. Amidst this fierce battle, looking like a choreographed dance up on stage, the audience kept on raising cheers.

However, even this balanced battle slowly started showing cracks. The first one to start pressing harder was Seran. Slowly but steadily, Kyle was pushed into the defense.

“Urk!”

He somehow barely evaded an attack that grazed the tip of his nose, but because he was forced to dodge that in an unfortunate stance, he lost his balance, which Seran didn’t miss. He aimed for Kyle’s limbs that he could hit for certain. Kyle knew that trying to protect himself there would open up his head or other limbs, which is why he had no other choice but to accept these attacks. With this endless onslaught of attacks, slowly draining Kyle of his strength, Kyle’s movement started to become dull.

Naturally, this choice was taken by Seran because he was conscious of him as a strong enemy. It might seem like it would take time, but Seran knew that this was the best possible way of bringing a conclusion to a fight that would otherwise be dragged out endlessly. He attacked like a hunter preparing to capture their prey, slowly but steadily cornering Kyle.

Yeah, I guess Seran is a cut above me when it comes to sword skills.

Talking in simple talent with the sword, and battle sense, Seran was superior. On top of that, he put much more effort into his training as well. At the same time, Kyle had taken almost a year off of training, his body having gotten somewhat dull. Although he made up for it with rigorous training recently, the difference was still clear as day. Trying to reach an equal level with Seran’s skill was too much for Kyle at the moment.

He tried his hardest to get back up, in a proper fighting stance, but Seran continued to attack. And of course, Seran had the upper hand when it came to time as well. As of right now, Kyle was boosting his physical abilities with support magic like [Haste] and [Strength]. Once that effect ran out, his fighting strength would drop drastically, and Seran surely wouldn’t allow him to recast the spell.

If this was an actual battle, he would use a magic crystal that could apply that effect instantly, or run away temporarily to give himself time, but as this was a match, these options had been stripped of him. Seran had seen through all of that, slowly chipping away at Kyle, aiming for him to run out of time. It was all to achieve indisputable victory. All Kyle could do now was go for a hit or miss all-out attack—

..Yeah, no way that will work!

He knew that self-abandonment would not let him get the win no matter what. Defending against Seran’s relentless attacks, Kyle sought out openings between these, throwing in counterattacks, always calm and collected. That was the one difference between the two that actually benefited Kyle. Namely, his thorough battle experience. He has had many more dangerous and equally hopeless battles like this, and being shaken or panicked never helped him overcome that. However, even as he was looking for past techniques to help him overcome this battle, more and more wounds were inflicted on him.

Finally, the magic he had cast on himself wore off. His body suddenly felt like he was carrying a heavy rock, slowing his movement, right as Seran jumped at him, aiming for his chest. Kyle somehow managed to block off the heavy impact, but Seran pushed the two swords together, flinging Kyle’s arms into the air. As his arms were riddled with wounds, Kyle couldn’t hold on to his sword, which flew into the sky, him falling backward on his back.

“I got you now!” Seran screamed, planning on finishing the fight.

—There, an odd sensation filled Kyle. Seran’s sword, which normally would move at speeds a human person wouldn’t be able to perceive as well as the dust being swirled up around him, and the blood and sweat dripping off him, it all looked so slow. Like time had been stretched out, or like his thoughts accelerated. They say that people relive their final moments before death. However, Kyle instead thought of ways he could win.

Evade? ..No, that won’t work. The wounds on his legs were too deep, his posture was unstable. Intercept the sword with his bare hands now that he had lost his own? No, that won’t work. Together with Seran’s raw strength, as well as the Holy Sword Rand, he would just cut through Kyle’s arms. Attack with magic? ..Not possible. Magic used chants to exchange mana into fire or cold air, but he didn’t have the time for that. There, a certain thought ran through Kyle’s mind. If he didn’t have time to convert the mana, then just skip that part?

With that plan in mind, Kyle’s body already moved. Seran saw Kyle’s left arm and his palm pointed at himself, but didn’t bother with that. No matter what magic Kyle could use without a chant, it was nothing but final and futile resistance. Seran accepted the bit of damage if he could finish this fight in his favor. However, the moment he saw a bluish-white light flashing up in Kyle’s palm, Seran felt a shiver running down his back, realizing that this was bad. What Kyle fired off after that was pure mana, raw [Strength].

That sphere of light was fired off, and the moment it hit Seran, a great explosion happened that caused the entire arena to shake. It was a larger explosion than during his fight with Goldar on the previous day, which caused somewhat of a panic in the audience, as people in the audience even fell off their seats.

“What was that!?” Shildonia raised a voice of shock and disbelief, but there was another person—

“That was..!”

Indeed, it was the Empire’s greatest court mage Beadola, watching the fight from the VIP seats. Finally, the explosion settled, and the only person standing still was Kyle. Naturally, the left arm he used to fire off that sphere of light had suffered severe injuries as well, and he himself was riddled with wounds all over. However, he still managed to stand on his own two legs. As Seran was hit with that explosion at close range, he must be in an even worse shape. Kyle picked up his sword, approached Seran’s body, collapsed on the ground—right when Seran jumped up to leap at Kyle, but he expected this, blocking the attack.

“So even now..you won’t let down your guard, huh.” Seran was breathing heavily, blood dripping from his mouth, as he called out to Kyle.

“When fighting you, there’s no way I can afford to let down my guard even a second, right?” Kyle suppressed the pain in his left arm, flashing a cocky smile.

“..So, what was that just now?” Seran should have understood that the previous attack wasn’t just any kind of magic.

“It’s my ace in a hole I prepared for fighting you.”

Naturally, that was an absolute lie, but Kyle wanted to act cool for once. Of course, he himself realized that he was just making up nonsense at this point.

“Sounds fishy, but..At least I can still move my body.” Seran said, but his body was in tatters.

He seemed severely injured on the inside as well. However, his eyes weren’t dead.

“You still wanna continue..”

“Of course. I’m still alive after all. Though this is pretty tough.”

“Don’t you worry, I’m not much better.” Kyle was pretty much all out of mana, his body riddled with wounds.

His left arm was in an especially awful state. However, his eyes were brimming with willpower as well.

“We both can’t bother with small tricks anymore, but..”

“As long as our bodies are still moving, right..”

Seran and Kyle smiled at each other, and the battle was restarted.

The fight from there on grew even more severe, to the point it was hard to describe with sheer words. It was still as fierce as before, but the essence had changed. It was a harsh battle that used every ounce of technique they both possessed, but no small tricks or intricacies were used. It’s like a battle of souls, their beings clashing directly. Each and every swing of the sword was a bet on success or failure, repeated by Kyle and Seran for what felt like an eternity. Sometimes they didn’t even bother to dodge, other times simply clashed against each other, both flung off in the opposite direction, and yet they would get up again.

The reaction of the audience changed as well. At first, the audience was cheering at every exchange that happened during the beginning of the match. However, they were met with overwhelming force and awe, watching the battle in utter silence, some viewers simply putting their hands together. The VIP lounge was no exception, as Eldorand and Maizar, even Angela all held onto their chairs with quivering hands, their mouths closed in anticipation.

Lieze was watching with tears in her eyes. Urza’s face was pale in shock and disbelief. Shildonia simply watched the battle from start to finish with an indifferent expression. Leyla observed the fight with a serious expression, but didn’t utter a single word. The entire arena was wrapped in an almost eerie silence you wouldn’t expect during a semi-finals match, as only the sounds of the two people could be heard.

Despite this battle seeming like it could continue forever, the ending soon arrived. After their countless full-power clashes, they both dropped their swords at the same time. Even though they were burning with passion to continue their fight, the endless wounds and exhaustion they suffered didn’t allow them to even hold their swords anymore. Even so, the two didn’t stop the fight, putting all of their strength into their fists, throwing them at each other.

Neither of them even had the stamina to block or evade. Their fists just simultaneously slammed into the other’s face, landing direct hit after direct hit. Like this, both their stamina and willpower finally reached their limit, with Seran being the first one to break down and collapse, with Kyle—standing despite that. Right before he fell over, he slammed one foot on the ground, keeping his balance at the last moment. He grit his teeth to bear with the pain and stood still as his entire body was shaking.

If one asked why Kyle managed to keep standing then—it was the difference in experience after all. They both gave it their everything, using up every ounce of strength they had, but only Kyle experienced battles where he had to keep standing despite that. There were battles he couldn’t give up as long as he was still alive..No, even if it would kill him in the process. That’s what allowed him to stand in the end.

‘P-Participant San Ferdes is down! Regarded as unable to continue the match, participant Kyle is the winner!’

The announcer returned back to their senses, announcing Kyle’s victory.

“How..can you still keep standing?” Seran was still collapsed on the ground, asking Kyle who approached him.

“..Maybe because of our eating habits? I eat everything, but you often leave your vegetables, no?”

“So I lost because of mere preferences..So, when will we have a rematch?”

Now that the match between them had ended, there was no grudge between them. Rather, they had a reason to fight again.

“Can you maybe relax a bit..No way I can do that anytime soon again. Ask me in a few years again.” Kyle sighed in disbelief, but he didn’t deny the rematch.

At the very least, Seran would have to wait another four years..until everything related to the ‘Great Invasion’ was over.

“I know that. Since you won, you have the right to decide when we’ll have the rematch..Ouch.” Seran tried his best to get up, but his body wouldn’t listen.

Hence, Kyle came in and offered him a hand.

“I’ll win next time.” Seran didn’t curse at all but instead declared with full confidence.

“..I’ll win again next time.” Kyle returned a few words, offering Seran his shoulder.

The two smiled at each other and left the arena. The audience must have felt the importance of this action, as many of the visitors stood up to give a round of applause.

“Alright, I guess this is where the real deal begins.”

On the way to the waiting room, Seran muttered with a docile voice

“What are you talking about?”

“Did you forget about Lieze? Do you really think she’ll let us off easy for doing something so stupid?”

The moment Kyle heard those words, his face grew pale.

“Crap, I totally forgot!”

This time, Kyle felt true despair assault his body.

“Then..I’ll..leave the rest to you..”

“Ah, Seran! You bastard, don’t just conveniently pass out! You plan on pushing all the blame on me, huh!?” Kyle continued to scream at Seran, who lost consciousness with a gentle smile on his face.

Kyle somehow managed to drag Seran back to the waiting room, where, as expected, Lieze and the others immediately ran towards them.

“You two! You might be fine with this, but understand how the people watching you must have felt!” Lieze grabbed Kyle’s collar, shaking him while weeping.

The two may have wished for this, but in doing so, they forced their childhood friend to watch a battle where one of them may have died, so naturally she would be angry.

“No, well, I also had my own share of circumstances..H-Hey, I’m hurt, can’t you see!” Kyle looked at Urza in an attempt to seek help, but she just glared at him as well.

And then, he spotted that her eyes were red as well, realizing that he must have worried her, and ultimately stopped all resistance. Finally, Lieze sank to the ground, breaking out in tears again. Urza tried to cheer her up, but she started crying soon after as well, which is why a blushing Kyle was forced to apologize immediately.

Around the two girls finally calmed down, the second semi-final match ended with Leyla’s overwhelming victory, and Seran also woke up.

“Ouch..Damn it..Yo, old hag.” Leyla looked at Kyle’s group, grinning, and then turned towards her son.

“..Feeling better now?”

“I..guess.” Seran nodded with a somewhat relieved expression, to which his mother Leyla smiled.

“Glad to hear that. Still, that sure was a flashy match..Also, how did you even survive that explosion?”

Even from the audience high up, that explosion looked like no joke, so it was even weird for Seran to still be alive.

“At least be happy that I’m still alive..Well, I don’t really get it myself.”

Even Seran wasn’t quite sure how he managed to make it out of there alive.

“The reason for that is most likely the Holy Sword.” Shildonia pointed at the Holy Sword Rand. “That black blade seemed to be working, providing you with some sort of divine protection..It protects its user after all. This most likely saved you from that explosion.” Shildonia concluded.

However, that seemed to be a different kind of power from magic, but Shildonia didn’t fully understand it herself.

“Huh, that’s convenient. As expected of my beloved sword.” Seran seemed genuinely happy, to which Kyle remembered that the current Demon Lord really wanted that sword.

Maybe that’s the reason why?

Kyle realized that he would have to look into it more.

“Anyway..you two worked really hard.” Leyla smiled at Kyle and Seran, speaking with a gentle voice.

So far, all she did was scold them or complain during their fights, so this was a first for the two. They felt awkward, not knowing how to react.

“So, I’ll be fighting you tomorrow, Kyle.”

However, these words from Leyla made Kyle return to reality far too quickly for his taste.

“Ahhh, Teacher, I think we both showed you plenty of our progress just now, so..”

“What are you talking about? Whether it’s you or Seran, I will fight both of you with everything I have. I’ve decided on that since the very beginning.”

“I figured as much..I wonder if I can even recover in time for the match tomorrow..” Kyle looked down at his own body, covered with wounds and bruises, flashing a wry smile.

However, all of the regret he had felt before the match was gone, and his worries left his mind, like he was refreshed. More than anything, he didn’t feel as scared of Leyla anymore.

“..I’m looking forward to tomorrow, Teacher.”

Leyla was surprised to see that reaction from Kyle, but she soon after grinned at him with absolute confidence.

“You’re oh so cheeky now, huh..”

Seeing Kyle like that, Seran showed a happy smile. Lieze and Urza sighed in disbelief, but eventually gave in. Everybody was in a good mood—except one person.

He probably hasn’t realized, or maybe he’s aware of it and is purposefully ignoring it..That was explosion magic..something demons would often use..or rather, only demons could use. If he can use that, that means..

Shildonia was thinking to herself, looking at Kyle with a complicated expression.