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They stood, face to face in front of the referee. To the west was the man with two swords at his belt. He wore a blue bandana and had light armor that would be easy to move in. Macadenia Nikke. Facing him, was Bandi. A B-Ranker. However, she wasn’t one of those Adventurers who had hit the ceiling. She was a vicious fighter who had risen to the top with tremendous skill. It was clear that she could reach A-Rank with a little more work.

 

Macadenia laughed.

 

“Hehe.”

“What’s so amusing?”

 

Bandi asked suspiciously with a raise of a thin eyebrow.

 

“Well, how can I not laugh… When I am fighting against such a fierce warrior…”

“Yes. It’s perhaps too big a burden for someone like you, who only takes people down when they aren’t looking.”

“Ahahahaha! And yet, I always win.”

“What?”

 

The suspicious face became expressionless. But it felt like there was rage hidden under the surface. Bandi must have been watching the preliminaries then. Well, the guy’s fighting style was definitely divisive. As it was a battle royale, I thought you should always watch your own back. But I suppose it wasn’t exactly the most honorable way to fight.

 

“Let’s begin. You will become my footstool.”

“Hmph. You’ll be a forgettable memory among the others I’ve defeated.”

 

Macadenia took a few steps back and withdrew his sword. Bandi jumped back and raised her spear. Then the referee raised his sword high into the air and swung down.

 

“Begin!!”

 

Bandi was the first to move. Her posture was low as she shot out with her spear. While she wasn’t as fast as me, it was faster than most B-Rankers.

 

“She is quick.”

 

Daniela muttered. While I had become accustomed to ridiculous speeds, Daniela was not. The white prince snorted. Blue-haired Heinrich rubbed at his jaw as he looked on with surprise.

 

Bandi thrust forward without losing her speed. Macadenia’s smirk never left his face as he thrust one sword into the ground and launched himself into the air so he was doing a handstand on the pommel. The spear smashed into the blade, but it not break. It was a good sword.

That wasn’t what surprised me. What surprised me was that he was able to respond to such speed. From the front, it would have been like a bullet coming towards you. But he had seen it coming and moved with precision. 

 

Bandi scowled at this as she jumped back once again.

 

“Hmm. I suppose you were lucky.”

“Hehe. Do you think so?”

 

Either she didn’t want to admit that Macadenia was skilled or she didn’t understand. In any case, Bandi twirled her spear over her head and crouched low.

 

“Then what about this!”

 

There was a sharp thrust and the sound of something cutting through air. As someone who was currently studying the use of a spear, it was night and day. She aimed for Macadenia’s feet with an attack that I could only dream of.

 

“Hhhuh!”

 

Macadenia stepped away while simultaneously blocking the attack with his other sword. The spear stabbed into the stage instead, but Bandi’s attacks didn’t end there. Just as Macadenia had done, she used her weapon to launch herself into the air and unleashed a ferocious kick to her opponent’s head.

 

“Ohhh!!”

 

I couldn’t help but gasp. It was a clean attack, and Macadenia fell to the floor. Perhaps the thrust in the beginning had been used to mislead him. I should take notes.

 

Macadenia’s face twisted in pain as he curled up on the ground. He had lost his weapons, but the fight wasn’t over…

Well, Bandi wasn’t likely to allow him to pick his swords up. So I guess it was over.

 

“That was fast.”

“This is about what you should expect in one on one fights…”

“Really? I suppose you’re right.”

 

Most of the fights I had gotten into personally had been against groups. But now that I think of it, judo matches tended to end quite quickly. So maybe it was like that…

 

“So, you were all talk, after all.”

 

Bandi said as she pulled out her spear and approached Macadenia. Macadenia slowly picked himself up until he was on all fours. However, he was dripping with blood. The kick must have been hard enough to tear his skin. Even worse, it was falling from the left side of his face and so he had to keep his left eye closed.

 

“Heh. Damn this pain…”

“You did well enough, I’ll give you that.”

 

Bandi said as she raised her spear and looked down at her opponent. Macadenia looked up. It was then that his hand moved slightly.

 

“Huh!?”

 

Bandi frantically moved out of the way. In spite of his condition, Macadenia had managed to throw a knife. While I wasn’t very close, I could still see it. Bandi only barely dodged it, but she lost her balance in the process.

 

“There!”

 

Macadenia’s smiled disappeared. For the first time, he looked dead serious as the second knife flew through the air. It was going straight towards Bandi’s face. The audience seemed to be holding their breath.

 

“Gaah!!”

 

Still, she avoided death. I suppose that was a B-Ranker for you. Her left hand went up and caught the knife. Well, I suppose I should say ‘stopped.’ The end of the blade was sticking out of the other side of her hand. A stream of blood began to cover the stage.

 

“Heh. Hahahaha!! I specialize in projectiles!!”

“I see… That’s why you have that eye…!”

 

So he wasn’t actually a dual-wielder. In fact, he had never actually fought with both swords… I think it was just the impact of seeing him with two that had made me forget. Hmm. He was pretty tricky for a low-ranker.

 

Bandi pulled the knife out of her hand as the blood continued to pour. Still, she seemed determined as she faced Macadenia.

 

“The battle starts now! Macadenia Nikke!!”

“Hehe… Ahahaha! Let’s enjoy it then!”

 

And so the fight continued.

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