Chapter 108

#108 Little Lion and the Crimson Monster (2)

It was hard to tell whether the Tin Knight, my Master, prioritized efficiency or romance; Adelheid wasn’t quite sure.

On one hand, he seemed all about efficiency when he decided to chop off heads instead of wasting time understanding people, but judging from his actions and words, he also valued ideals and romance.

The Witch described him as someone who “lives on a whim” and said, “Don’t expect consistency from a madman,” but Adel didn’t fully agree with that.

However, it was tough to predict how the Tin Knight would react if she asked someone other than him for advice to win.

If it were a regular day, Adel might have hesitated to ask the question, worried the Tin Knight would take offense. But today, she was starving for victory.

So, she asked him, “Um, is it okay if I get some advice from Peter?”

The Tin Knight stared at her for a moment, and for some reason, gave her a thumbs-up.

[‘The Tin Knight’ praises the attitude of asking questions that he doesn’t know the answers to!]

[‘The Tin Knight’ expresses joy over the proactive attitude of his apprentice!]

Fortunately, his reaction was surprisingly positive.

Actually, it was so positive that Adel began to wonder if he was mocking her.

Given the Tin Knight’s usual way of speaking and acting, he wouldn’t twist his words like that, anyway.

With the Master’s approval, Adel approached Peter, who was quite the sight, chugging beer like an old uncle despite his youthful looks.

“Hmm? Any advice on what to watch out for when fighting Kalidah?”

“Haha, listen here, young lady, you can’t just exploit adventurers for free advice. If you want something, you need to hire us. The fee can be pretty steep, you know.”

“Wait, hold on, I’m not about to empty my wallet! That would just make me look ridiculous! Hey, you over there! Stop looking at me like, ‘Wow, what a trashy chick!’”

“Damn, it’s better than dealing with the self-proclaimed vampire lady, but it’s still a hassle to handle. Fine, let’s just say you owe me a meal.”

Rubbing his head, Peter took a big bite out of an apple on the table.

“First off, I assume you know not to clash swords directly, right? Plus, you also need to watch out for other body parts. Considering that brute strength, if you get clipped by a foot while backpedaling, you’re gonna feel like you’ve been hit by a horse’s kick.”

“Forget any biases about the parts that look like leather being weaker than the metal ones. If it didn’t slice cleanly when cut with a sword, then it’s not just some wild animal hide. It’s probably monster skin. If you attack just because it looks weaker, you might get your attack patterns read and end up countered.”

“And don’t forget, that dude’s the champion of the arena. He knows the rules of the Martial Arts Tournament and how to fight in the ring better than anyone. Be extra careful of that arena wrecking move he used against me, it’s super annoying.”

“Lastly, that guy? He’s probably not even showing his full strength yet. Give it your all, little lady.”

***

Boom! Crash!

As time went on, the stage continued to break and shrink.

Adelheid charged straight at Kalidah, who was swinging her great sword with all her might.

At first, it felt similar to before, but there were clear differences this time.

Vwoooom!

Kalidah swung her great sword not with the blade but with the flat side, an outrageous attack made possible only by her insane physical abilities, and it was devastating.

There was no time to bend down and dodge, leaving only two escape routes: to the back or into the opposite direction of the swing.

And the opposite direction was already wrecked by Kalidah.

Everyone thought there was only one place to escape: backward.

Swoosh!

Adel leaped into action.

Over the debris Kalidah had smashed.

Kalidah’s movement stuttered as she prepared to retreat.

It was clear that she had to twist her ready attack because she expected Adel to retreat.

Adel capitalized on that moment.

Swish!

A striking blow amplified by her momentum cut through the beast’s armor and left a mark on the champion’s flesh.

A delayed counterattack followed, but by then, Adel had already widened the distance.

The audience erupted in murmurings.

Wasn’t Adel’s action against the rules of the outside?

However, the referee did not disqualify her.

《…Incredible. Did she check beforehand?》

Kalidah muttered in surprise but didn’t show any anger or confusion at that judgment.

Peter’s advice had become truly vital.

Typically, the way to deal with a huge sword is to get inside your opponent’s reach, but in Kalidah’s case, getting too close could lead to serious injuries from even a light contact due to her sheer brute strength.

Don’t jump to conclusions about the toughness based on the armor’s appearance.

And also, it’s wise to check the detailed rules of the Martial Arts Tournament.

People watching Peter’s fight thought they shouldn’t step into the areas Kalidah destroyed, but in fact, the criteria for being out of bounds were even stricter.

Stepping on the arena debris or fragments was not deemed stepping out, and even on bare ground, if neither foot nor upper body touched it, it was considered void.

That’s why Kalidah did not merely push or direct Peter toward the broken sections; she grabbed him and smashed him down.

“……”

Adel didn’t brag about how thoroughly she prepared in response to Kalidah’s query.

Such confidence was reserved for the strong.

She just monitored the state of the arena and Kalidah’s movements closely.

Though the arena was filled with debris, there weren’t many places where the ground was completely exposed.

Thinking she couldn’t step on the spots broken by Kalidah’s attacks, Adel actually found herself trapped in a siege, but when considering the condition of full destruction, there were more spots she could step on than expected.

Of course, they weren’t ideal stepping stones, but Adel had more experience fighting on uneven terrain than on flat ground.

Kalidah’s destruction of the arena was primarily a performance and meant to psych out her opponent; it wasn’t purely tactically advantageous, according to her analysis.

However, Adel couldn’t feel too happy about that.

‘The wounds are too shallow.’

This time, she targeted the same spot where Peter had damaged Kalidah’s armor in their last fight.

Since that last match, it looked like it had been fixed up, and at first glance, it seemed fine, but it was definitely weaker compared to other parts.

Even striking when catching the opponent off guard and hitting a soft spot yielded unsatisfactory results.

Realizing this, Adel tightened her grip on the sword handle.

Purely lacking in ability.

Her skills in dual-wielding, dealing with magical power, footwork, and martial arts were all lacking.

But that didn’t give her a reason to give up.

‘If the attacks land, there’s a chance of victory!’

Adel sprinted again.

Using the uneven ground to her advantage, she moved erratically around Kalidah, swinging her swords.

Clang! Clang! Scrape!

In a situation where just one clean hit could end it all, her intense desire for victory kept boosting Adel’s focus.

At some point, golden magical power began to surge from Adel’s entire body.

Every sense sharpened to its limits, and the surrounding chaos faded away.

She read Kalidah’s movements, armor gaps, foot placements, and blade directions, processing all of it as she fought.

The instinctive movements that had previously only worked for dodging attacks gradually widened in scope and began to manifest in everything she did.

The warriors who had participated in the Martial Arts Tournament watched in awe as her figure transformed in real-time in the heat of battle.

It was undeniable talent.

Adelheid was undoubtedly a genius.

But even so, it was not enough.

Vwoooom!

Before Adel’s body, Kalidah’s great sword swung down violently.

It wasn’t a direct hit.

Just the hem of her clothing or bits of armor glancing off was enough to create a massive shockwave, at worst tearing flesh off along with her clothes.

Splurt!

Blood burst from Adel’s head.

Because she was a moment too slow in her hit-and-run tactics, she lightly brushed against Kalidah’s elbow as she swung back.

Adel’s legs buckled for a moment, but she rolled forward just before the great sword fell.

Even as Kalidah’s sword pierced deeper, causing injuries, Kalidah started to adapt more and more to Adel’s movements, raising the precision of her attacks.

Kalidah remained steadfast, while Adel’s complexion worsened by the second.

It was clear who would reach their limits first.

In a trance, Adel thought.

‘This isn’t going to cut it.’

‘This is insufficient.’

‘More, just a little more.’

「 [‘The Tin Knight’ says there’s no Master who doesn’t rejoice at their apprentice’s victory!] 」

‘─Because I was cheered on!’

Zap.

Inside the golden magical power that surrounded Adel, something strange began to entwine.

It flickered with a vibrant purple hue, sparking like a firework, announcing its presence.

It was so minor and feeble that few noticed anything odd.

Even Adel herself couldn’t comprehend what was happening to her body at that moment.

Except for one.

Kalidah, who was facing off against Adel, was the only one who noticed.

With a rustle!

In the next moment, the strike that Adel unleashed was clearly beyond her original abilities.

It was as if something had sparked, and right after, blood gushed from Kalidah’s body.

Thud! Adel dropped to one knee.

Her whole body felt as heavy as lead, and a sudden wave of drowsiness washed over her.

Yet, a faint smile lingered at the corners of her mouth.

She didn’t know how or why, but she felt victorious.

Moreover, she instinctively believed she had grasped a clue to reach an even higher state.

So,

《─Gaizel.》

At the sound of that seething grudge ringing in her ears, she momentarily froze.

A dizzying shock. A feeling of weightlessness. A spinning vision.

Realizing she had collapsed on the ground, Adel tried to rise but failed.

It felt as if all sensation had vanished from her body.

All she could manage was to turn her neck to glance around, and what she saw was—

A blood-soaked Kalidah, who was far from weak, radiating a more terrifying aura.

Clang.

Clang.

Kalidah approached, her previous casual and cheerful demeanor completely gone.

It wasn’t that she simply suffered a grave injury, revealing her true nature out of desperation. No, this was something else entirely.

The champion of the Martial Arts Tournament, Kalidah, was not the creature before her.

Adel didn’t know the reason.

Why Kalidah’s form had changed so suddenly, why she radiated such a desperate grudge, and those eyes filled with hatred as they bore into her.

The only thing Adel understood was one thing.

Kalidah intended to kill her.

“Yikes…!”

A scream, sounding as if it were being squeezed from her throat, escaped.

The feeling of omnipotence she had just moments ago vanished without a trace; endless terror consumed her heart.

She wanted to flee, but her body wouldn’t move.

It was then that she realized her limbs were bent in unnatural directions.

“W-Wait! Kalidah! The match is already decided! That’s out of bounds—”

Splat!

In an explosion of gore that resembled crushing a tomato, the referee’s upper body burst apart.

Kalidah’s sudden action of killing the referee aghast the spectators, sending chaos and uproar through the crowd.

Just previously cracked by Adel’s attack, her helmet seemed to have finally reached its limit and crumbled under her movements.

The beautiful woman with red hair and purple eyes twisted her breathtaking features into something demonic as she raised her sword high.

The enormous great sword, like an executioner’s block, swung down toward Adel’s head.

The weight of the grudge in that strike seemed so immense that it felt as if no one could stop it.

[‘The Tin Knight’ roars in fury!]

Except for one person.

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