"Stop it! Cut out that ominous narration!"
Upon hearing my muttered words, Jin came up and pressed me about it.
Since this world has plays and the like, there are phrases similar to lines that were used in my previous life as well.
Incidentally, among the plays performed, there are ones that appear to be based on Shakespearean works and operas from my previous life, and even ones based on stories from anime, manga, and novels — so with a probability of well over 80%, I'd say reincarnators are involved.
"You've calmed down a bit, right?"
"Don't answer me with a question! Besides, I wasn't nervous in the first place!"
With that, Jin finally headed toward the Arena.
Since I was already there, I decided to follow along and watch the match from near the Arena entrance.
When Jin appeared in the Arena, a great roar erupted from the Audience Seats. Seeing that, I remembered that Jin was one of the featured fighters.
Just as the cheers for Jin had died down a little, another thunderous roar erupted from the opposite side. The Bandit King was making his entrance. Amid the deafening cheers, the Bandit King strode forward with an imposing air of authority.
This was a clash between two fighters who had been drawing attention since before the tournament started, and the audience was showing the highest level of excitement of the day — the crowd's energy had been climbing ever since.
However, when the two squared off near the center of the Fighting Stage, the earlier cheers died away as though they had never existed.
Seizing that gap, the referee stepped between the two and said something to them.
Both gave a slight nod at the referee's words, and then...
"Semifinal: Amour versus Jin. Begin!"
The match began. The referee immediately stepped back at the signal, and both fighters charged forward simultaneously.
Jin's weapon was a greatsword with a blade roughly 1.5 meters long — the first time he'd used it in this tournament. From the looks of it, the blade was somewhere between 20 and 30 centimeters wide and appeared quite heavy, but judging by the color of the steel, it was likely made of Mithril, which meant it was probably considerably lighter than it looked.
Meanwhile, the Bandit King's weapon appeared to be the same type he'd been using since the Preliminary rounds. Not a single nick marked the axe's edge, suggesting he either had several of the same type on hand or was capable of repairing them himself.
The instant their weapons collided, a deafening clang echoed through the venue. And then...
"Doaaaaah!"
Jin won the clash.
The Bandit King had lost ground by a fraction, stumbling back several steps as he scrambled to regain his footing. But before he could reset, Jin was already on him.
"Sei—yaaaaah!"
A full-power overhead strike, carrying every ounce of strength Jin could muster. Even the Bandit King didn't bother trying to meet this one blow for blow — he launched himself backward by a hair's breadth, barely dodging it.
Jin's strike passed clean through, smashing into the stone tiles of the Fighting Stage and carving a small crater into the spot where the Bandit King had been standing.
"Damn it! I missed!"
The attack would have been a one-hit kill if it had connected. Jin cursed under his breath in frustration.
The instant the Bandit King dodged Jin's strike, he had stepped forward to seize the opening and launch a counterattack — but Jin's piercing gaze alone was enough to freeze the Bandit King in his tracks.
The Bandit King, whose counter timing had slipped away under Jin's stare. And Jin, who had left himself exposed after being dodged.
Both of them stopped moving, and the fight naturally fell into a reset. The two fighters raised their weapons once more.
This time, the opening was slower than before. But in exchange, the tension between them had ratcheted even higher, and the Audience Seats responded in kind — the crowd held their breath, utterly riveted.
Jin rested his greatsword across his shoulder in a high guard, circling slowly to the Bandit King's left with measured, sliding steps. The Bandit King held his axe low at his hip, waiting.
The arena went so silent you could almost hear the soft scrape of Jin's sliding footwork — shhk, shhk.
For a long moment, Jin continued his slow circling as if reading the Bandit King's intentions. Then, without warning, he lunged.
The waiting Bandit King didn't lose a step. He blocked Jin's momentum-fueled strike head-on and turned it into a counter.
Jin caught the Bandit King's counter in turn, and both fighters planted their feet and began trading blows at close range.
One clash. Two. Three. Their feet were locked in place, fighting at virtually point-blank range, yet neither could land a killing blow.
With every collision of their weapons, both men's nerves and stamina were surely being ground down. The proof was in the sound — each impact rang out a little softer than the one before.
But none of that mattered to the spectators, who were going absolutely wild. After all, from their perspective, the exchange was thrillingly straightforward — a pure contest of power they could easily follow.
By all rights, they were fighting a clash where even the slightest mistake would mean defeat if a hit landed—yet for all this time, neither had so much as grazed the other's body.
If this exchange had been something the two of them were deliberately putting on to hype up the crowd, the arena would have been shaking with boos loud enough to plug your ears. However, most of the spectators in this arena were connoisseurs when it came to fighting.
After all, nearly all of them were diehards who had lined up from the morning—or even the middle of the night—to watch this once-a-year tournament. Among them, some had gotten in on a memento or through connections, but those accounted for just a little over ten percent of the total. And that ten percent were the ones called royals or great nobles, the lucky ones with connections to great nobles, or the participants in the Main Tournament.
In this tournament, no matter how lofty a noble title you held, it was no guarantee of anything.
Of course, every year there were those who failed to understand that, which gave certain important officials a recurring headache.
Setting aside the bystanders' affairs, the two fighters' clash also came to an abrupt end.
It happened dozens of exchanges into their bout.
"Oraaah!"
With a roar of fighting spirit, Jin's strike shattered the Bandit King's axe. It was hardly surprising—Jin's weapon was made of Mithril, while the Bandit King's was iron, or at best demon-iron. In truth, the fact that it had endured dozens of clashes against a Mithril weapon was impressive in its own right.
But Jin was not the type to ease up just because of that.
The instant the Bandit King's weapon broke apart, Jin hefted his greatsword high and swung it down toward the Bandit King as though splitting a log.
It looked as though Jin's blow had cleaved clean through the Bandit King's skull—screams erupted from the Audience Seats, and the referee rushed over, but—
"There's no impact! Why—guh!"
The cleaved Bandit King kicked Jin flying. It seemed the Bandit King had dodged at the very last moment. Still, the fur pelt he wore was sliced open from just below the chin all the way to his right thigh.
After kicking Jin away, the Bandit King pitched forward as though collapsing.
Yet at the Bandit King's feet, there was not a single drop of blood—let alone a pool forming.
The spectators' and the referee's eyes converged on the Bandit King, and then—
"Graaoh!... Hm?"
The fur pelt that the Bandit King had been wearing—
Fur.
A girl emerged from inside it, pushing both hands upward.
The arena fell silent as if time had stopped. The girl herself seemed unsure of what to do, frozen in place with her hands still raised high.
"Wh-who are you?"
Jin, who had been kicked away, rose to his feet and directed the question that everyone in the arena was surely thinking at the girl.
"Amour! Also known as the Bandit King!"
The girl declared proudly, puffing out her chest.
She then pulled a new axe from the bag at her waist and leveled it at Jin.
"Haaaaaah!"
The Bandit King—Amour was about to launch herself at Jin with fierce determination, but before she could, the referee called out to wait.
"This match is hereby suspended for the time being! Both fighters, please remain where you are!"
Amour slammed on the brakes and skidded to a halt a few meters in front of Jin. Her expression was one of considerable displeasure.
Then again, Jin had also sensed Amour's intention to charge and had readied his great sword to counter, so perhaps he was the more frustrated of the two.
Seeing that both fighters had stopped moving, the referee summoned the other officials.
Where the judges had gathered, the Bandit King's fur pelt that Amour had been wearing lay on the ground, and it appeared they were discussing whether the pelt constituted a rule-violating item.
The discussion dragged on, and nearly ten minutes were about to pass.
Jin and the others each sat down on the Fighting Stage to rest their bodies... though to be precise, neither had suffered any significant injuries, and even the kick Jin had received hadn't caused any real damage, so both parties were simply sitting still to recover their stamina.
At that point, one of the judges broke away from the discussion circle and ran into the building.
The judge who had run off apparently went to seek instructions from the King and the others, and the area where the royals were seated had become somewhat hectic.
And before the judge could return, an elderly man descended from the Audience Seats and walked toward the group of officials.
Not a single guard tried to stop the old man as he walked toward the judges, which caused the audience to stir with murmurs.
The elder arrived at the judges' location, examined the fur pelt briefly, said something, and then returned.
After that, the judges conferred among themselves, and just as the elder entered a building, they dispersed.
"We apologize for the wait, everyone. After deliberation among the judging panel, we have decided to continue the match as is. The reason for deliberation was whether the fur armor worn by contestant Amour violated the rules. As we were unable to make a judgment ourselves, we hurriedly requested an Appraisal from the highly esteemed Sage Merlin. He has determined that while the fur armor is indeed a magic item, its effects increase or decrease based on the user's power. Therefore, it does not constitute grounds for Disqualification."
With the judge's explanation complete, the match was finally set to resume.
However, since the fur Jin had sliced apart was now in a state where it could not be equipped without repair, Amour was resuming not in Bandit King form, but in the state of having emerged from within the fur.
Amour's current equipment consisted of a leather armor that offered seemingly thin defensive power and a newly produced axe. The axe was completely taller than Amour herself.
The sight of a small girl wielding a weapon that exceeded her own height left everyone except Tenma—who was accustomed to such things from the otaku culture of his previous life—unable to hide their bewilderment.
Even Jin, who was facing Amour directly, had a look of half-doubt as to whether she could even swing the axe properly.
However, such doubts were unnecessary.
Shouldering the axe, Amour swiftly closed the distance toward Jin and unleashed a sharp, cleaving blow.
Caught off guard, Jin barely dodged by leaping to the side at the last instant.
Amour's strike, launched from a high angle, created an even larger crater than the similar overhead strike Jin had performed moments before, stunning not only Jin but also the audience.
"What kind of absurd strength is that?!"
In the instant Jin's attention wavered toward the crater, the axe's blade, embedded in the Fighting Stage, began to carve its way toward him as it was pulled free.
"Don't run!"
With Amour's shout, the axe tried to ensnare Jin's body, but Jin's greatsword blocked it at the last possible moment. However, the axe's momentum didn't stop, and it sent Jin flying several meters away.
"Be careful!"
Seeing Jin recover his posture and land even while being sent flying, the audience erupted in excitement.
Ever since revealing her true form, Amour seemed to have captured the audience's hearts in just a short while. By a rough glance, it appeared there were more cheers for Amour than for Jin.
After all, on one side was a capable but surly man, and on the other was someone thought to be a giant but was actually a little girl.
One was a mass of muscle whose fighting style matched his appearance, while the other casually swung a massive axe far too large for her small frame — a clash no one could have predicted.
It was no surprise, then, that the number of audience members cheering for Amour kept growing.
"Ugh, this is tough... It's practically an away game now..."
Jin could say things like that, which only meant he still had plenty of room to spare.
Amour also seemed to notice that Jin still wore a relaxed expression, which made her hesitant to close the distance recklessly.
However, that very hesitation created an opening, and it became the catalyst for Jin's counterattack.
"You're strong, but you're still just a kid!"
Amour scrambled to adopt a defensive stance as Jin closed in, but Jin was faster.
"Hah!"
Jin lunged with a thrust that seemed to stretch his entire body, striking a split second before Amour could settle into her guard.
"Nn!"
Amour barely managed to deflect the tip of his sword with the handle of her axe at the last possible moment, but that only meant she avoided a direct hit — the redirected blade still carved a gash into her left shoulder.
"Ugh!"
Fortunately the wound was shallow, but it still drew blood and left her even more exposed.
"Ha, ha, ha — hah!"
Seizing the opening, Jin launched into a flurry of consecutive attacks.
At first Amour managed to block each strike, but gradually her defenses started to fall behind, and now blood was visible from several places on her body.
Even so, Amour avoided any killing blow and waited for her chance to counter. It was then that Jin's thrust came bearing down on her.
"There!"
Pouring every ounce of her strength into it, Amour deflected Jin's greatsword... but—
"I was waiting for that too!"
Having planned from the start to let Amour deflect his thrust, Jin closed the distance without losing his balance and delivered a weighty left straight aimed squarely at Amour's face.
Having
deflected the thrust,
Amour was completely unable to react to Jin's fist. The punch landed flush on her right cheek, sending her flying backward where she tumbled and rolled across the ground.
Amour finally came to a stop several meters behind and, despite her unsteady legs, managed to stand back up—but her eyes were unfocused, and she looked as though she'd half lost consciousness.
However, Jin showed no mercy. He started running toward Amour, who was still swaying on her feet, intending to finish her off.
Among the
spectators
watching, some let out boos directed at Jin, but he acted as though he couldn't hear a thing.
Jin charged forward with his momentum, but Amour rolled diagonally forward in an awkward tumble and managed to dodge.
Jin hadn't expected her to avoid it. His momentum nearly carried him off the arena, but he held his ground just in time. Spotting Amour staggering toward her axe, he broke into a run again.
"Enough already!"
Jin swung his sword at Amour several times, but somehow none of the strikes connected.
He was trying to finish her with the flat of the blade rather than kill her, and his swings were wide because of it—that was partly to blame. But even accounting for that, the fact that not a single hit landed was strange.
The moment Jin felt a bad premonition, Amour grabbed her axe once more.
"GAAAAAAAAARGH!!"
Amour let out a war cry so powerful it felt like the entire arena was trembling, and in the same motion of turning around, she slammed her axe down.
The axe struck the Fighting Stage with tremendous force, carving a crack several meters long into its surface.
Fortunately, it didn't hit Jin, but he froze for an instant at Amour's roar. If the axe had landed directly, it wouldn't have been surprising if he'd been killed.
"What was that?!"
Jin creates distance from Amour in surprise. The one in question, Amour, is slowly pulling her axe from the stage.
She hefts the extracted axe onto her shoulder, but even now she seems unsteady, nearly toppling over from the weight resting on her.
"Hah... hah... hah..."
At present, Amour is a picture of utter devastation. Normally, this would be the moment to press the attack relentlessly, but the blow she'd delivered moments ago forced Jin to be cautious.
Perhaps Amour's current state was an act.
Most of his thoughts rejected the idea, but even a sliver of suspicion, combined with the sight of the crack formed in the stage, meant he couldn't completely dismiss it. It was far too dangerous.
After all, if he took a hit like that, he wouldn't just risk losing the match—he could lose his life.
Objectively, he was still in the superior position. Knowing that, pushing forward recklessly would be a poor strategy; proceeding with caution was paramount.
Jin reached that conclusion based on his experience as an adventurer.
The reason was, the current Amour reminded him of a Monster he'd tried to subjugate back in his novice days.
It was a tiger-type Monster, with a rank somewhere between C and B.
At the time, it was a slightly overwhelming opponent for him, but he'd managed everything well and had nearly cornered it.
However, the inexperienced Jin of that era had let his guard down at the very end and taken a counterattack.
Luckily, a veteran adventurer had rushed to his aid, but he'd been mere moments from death.
"A wounded beast is terrifying, huh..."
Remembering the past, Jin steeled his resolve and tightened his grip on his weapon.
(But doing nothing won't solve anything... I'll end this here!)
With that thought, Jin closed the distance to Amour with a light feint.
Even now, Amour didn't seem capable of moving her body properly, unable to react to Jin's charge.
"Haaaah!"
It looked as though Jin's powerful horizontal slash had connected with Amour's body, but it seemed Amour's defense had barely managed to come in time.
However, Amour couldn't hold her ground and was sent flying like a rubber ball.
To make matters worse, the handle of the axe she'd used to defend was—
bent
into a clear U-shape, obvious even from a distance.
Blown back by Jin's strike, weapon bent, covered in scrapes all over her body, Amour managed to stay on her feet near the edge of the arena and once again rose to stand.
"Damn! She's seriously stubborn!"
Muttering a complaint to cover up the fact that he'd strained himself, Jin charged forward with his greatsword at the ready to send Amour flying once more.
Only a few seconds remained before Jin would close the distance to Amour.
Most of the spectators expected Jin to win from here and were preparing to praise Amour for her valiant fight.
But reality was different.
Something happened that defied the spectators' expectations and threw Jin's plans into chaos.
"What?!"
Jin let out a cry of surprise at the turn of events.
And for good reason—Amour had actually thrown aside the axe, the item with the highest defensive power among her current equipment, and caught Jin's full-force strike by sandwiching it between both of her bare hands.
However, she hadn't stopped it completely. The blade had bitten into her shoulder.
But that was a trivial matter.
Because his strike had been stopped, Jin had halted in a defenseless state.
By the time he realized it, Amour's fist was just about to land on his jaw.
"Uwaaahhh!"
Almost the same moment Amour's voice echoed through the arena, Jin's head snapped upward.
From the impact of the blow to his jaw from below, the strength drained from the hand gripping his greatsword.
Amour didn't let the opening pass — she swatted it aside with her hand, sending Jin's greatsword flying out of the ring.
With that, it became impossible for Jin to use the greatsword in this match.
After batting the greatsword aside, Amour pressed her advantage, unleashing a flurry of blows.
She struck his face, hammered his abdomen, grabbed his shoulder, and drove her head straight into his nose.
Though it seemed the tables had turned, Jin wasn't simply standing there taking the hits.
The instant Amour headbutted him, Jin seized both her arms despite his injuries and slammed her downward in a throw.
If Jin had been in his normal condition, that one throw would have ended the fight.
However, because he moved so soon after taking damage to the head, his consciousness nearly flickered out for an instant.
Because the throw lacked its full force and was incomplete, Amour managed to twist her body at the moment of impact and reduce the damage.
Both had taken massive damage, both were unarmed, and it was the kind of stalemate where a light push might topple either one — a truly even state.
The two of them began trading blows at a pace incomparable to the start of the match.
Neither of them had any real power or accuracy in their strikes — throw ten punches, and maybe two or three…
…would even graze the target.
If that.
Moreover, every time they missed a weak blow, their bodies would sway as if they might collapse — both were completely battered.
But even this exchange was drawing to a close.
Gradually, Amour's attacks were landing more often. But that wasn't because her strikes had grown sharper — it was because Jin's movements had grown even slower.
All that could be said was that Jin had simply been unlucky.
If both combatants had roughly equal attack power, roughly equal defense, roughly equal speed, and roughly equal accuracy, then the deciding factor between them would come down to their builds.
Under normal circumstances, this would amount to something as minor as whether one could slip inside the other's guard — or not. Unfortunately, neither of them was in any condition to move properly anymore.
The difference in their builds now manifested as the difference in the force needed to stop one's own body after missing an attack.
To bring an object moving at a certain speed to a halt, the heavier one requires more force.
That was why, even though Jin was making similar movements, he was burning through his stamina faster than Amour was.
If Amour had been
as originally predicted
roughly the same build as Jin, then Jin might have been the one still standing at the end.
But having completely exhausted his stamina and barely able to stay on his feet, Jin took Amour's final, full-powered strike to the body and crumpled to the ground like a collapsing structure. And then…
"Winner: Amour!"
The announcement of Amour's victory came from the referee's mouth.