I follow Riki to the arena of the Grand Arcane Academy.
The place is crowded with students. Everyone seems excited to watch the fight.
Standing at the edge of the arena is Mr. Ruka.
So he's the judge?
Good. At least there's a responsible adult here.
I look toward the arena.
Iki is fighting with a long-haired boy.
He must be Romi.
Yes, he is a boy. His long hair and feminine face are making it difficult to indentify his gender. Actually, one can only understand that important fact by looking at his dress. In this academy, male and female students wear different uniforms.
Iki sends several blue Electro Balls toward him.
Romi raises his hand.
Suddenly, something bursts out of the ground.
Roots?
Several long, thick roots rise from the arena floor. They twist through the air like snakes.
But they aren't normal roots. They are covered with sharp thorns.
The roots swing toward Iki's Electro Balls.
With a loud sound, one Electro Ball explodes. Another root hits the second one.
Within seconds, Romi destroys almost all of them without even getting close to Iki.
Iki grits her teeth.
She sends a bolt of blue electricity toward him.
Romi jumps aside.
More thorn-covered roots burst out of the ground.
They rush toward Iki.
Iki quickly moves backward. One root strikes the ground where she was standing a second ago. Another comes toward her.
Iki raises her hand and releases electricity. The root shakes violently and falls back. But before she can recover, another one comes from her left. Iki barely manages to dodge it. But it cuts a bit on her right hand.
Hmm. This isn't looking good.
Iki's magic is powerful.
I know that.
Unfortunately, she doesn't seem experienced enough to use it properly in a fight. Knowing how to create powerful magic and knowing how to fight are apparently two different things.
Romi keeps attacking from different directions.
Iki dodges one root. Then another. She blocks an attack with electricity.
But another root almost catches her.
"Come on, Iki." I mutter.
She isn't attacking properly anymore. She's just trying not to get hit.
Romi suddenly sends several roots toward her at once. Iki creates more Electro Balls. They fly toward him. He immediately uses his roots to strike them from a distance. The explosions echo through the arena.
Students cheer around the arena.
Are they watching a duel or a football match?
Then one Electro Ball manages to get through.
It flies directly toward Romi.
Suddenly, one of her Electro Balls slips past the roots. It flies straight toward Romi.
The moment Romi notices the Electro ball, it is already close to him. Romi tries to dodge. But the Electro Ball follows him.
Why isn't he using those roots?
He can't move in time. The Electro Ball hits him.
The explosion isn't very powerful, but it still throws him on the ground.
The arena becomes silent.
Romi gets up and looks at the small burn on his clothes. His expression changes.
Yeah. He's angry.
Iki smiles proudly. Finally, something went right for her.
Romi raises both his hands.
Several thorn-covered roots burst out from the arena floor. They rush toward Iki from different directions.
Iki quickly raises her hand and sends electricity toward them.
Some of the roots stop. Others continue. She destroys one. Then another. But there are too many.
Suddenly, two roots wrap around her arms.
Iki struggles. She tries to use her electricity, but she can't properly move her hands.
I say to Riki, "Princess Riki, that doesn't look good. She may get hurt badly. Why isn't Mr. Ruka stopping the duel?"
Riki replies with a worried voice, "He can't. Until one of them surrenders or gets defeated, the duel will continue. No one else is allowed to interfere. People even lose their lives in a duel."
What!
Romi says loudly, "You should give up."
Iki glares at him.
He says, "Apologize for what you said."
"I won't." she replies.
Romi's expression becomes colder. He says, "I'll ask you one last time. Give up and apologize."
Iki grits her teeth. "No."
Romi raises his hand.
A massive root bursts out of the ground. It rises into the air.
Long. Thick.
And completely covered with sharp thorns. The pointed end faces Iki.
Some students begin shouting.
Iki looks at the root but doesn't say anything.
Seriously? Is this girl going to die because she doesn't want to apologize?
The root moves.
I don't think. I just run.
"Dhruv!" Riki shouts.
I enter the arena.
The root is rushing toward Iki.
I stand in front of her. And grab it.
"Ah!"
The thorns sting my hands.
But...that's it?
The root doesn't move. Not even a little.
I tighten my grip. This thing isn't nearly as strong as it looks.
I pull the root. With a cracking sound, it breaks.
The arena becomes completely silent.
I throw the broken root onto the ground.
I look at my hands. They're hurting from the thorns, but otherwise I'm fine.
Then I look at Iki.
She's still trapped by the other roots. Eyes widen with disbelief.
I walk to her. Break those roots and set her hands free.
She is bleeding from her hands and her left waist.
I don't know why, but I feel something igniting deep inside my heart. I want to burn the person who dared to make her bleed like this.
Anger won't solve anything. I calm myself down.
I look toward Romi. He is staring at the broken root.
I turn toward Mr. Ruka and say. "Mr. Ruka."
He looks at me.
"Princess Iki isn't in the condition to fight," I say. "As her familiar, I'll take her place."
Iki shouts, "What! What are you saying?"
Romi says, "No. This duel is between Princess Iki and me only. It's a personal matter. You have nothing to do with it."
I say, "I am her familiar. I have everything to do with it. And don't worry. If you win against me, I'll make sure Princess Iki apologizes to you in front of everyone here."
Romi goes silent.
The people around the arena start looking at each other.
After a few seconds, Romi says, "Fine. I accept."
Great. That is easier than I expected.
Mr. Ruka, however, doesn't look convinced. He says, "If I'm not mistaken, Dhruv, you can't use magic. You don't even know anything about spells."
- "That's right."
- "Then how do you plan to fight?"
I raise both my fists. "With these."
Romi stares at my hands. "You're going to fight me with your bare hands?"
- "Yeah."
A few students start laughing. I ignore those pathetic creatures.
Mr. Ruka sighs. "No. That won't do."
- "Huh?"
- "Everyone should possess equal weapons during a duel."
He walks toward the side of the arena and picks up two swords. He gives one to Romi. Then he gives the other to me.
I look at the sword in my hand.
A real sword.
Well, I heard somewhere they are supposed to be heavy. Maybe this one's materials are different.
Mr. Ruka steps back. "Now both of you have the same weapon. You may start your duel."
Romi raises his sword and looks at me. "You can still change your mind."
I tighten my grip around the sword. "I am not an octopus. I have only one mind."
He frowns. "What?"
"Nothing!" I chuckle. "Hey! Don't tell me you're only comfortable fighting girls? Princess Iki wasn't wrong. That long hair of yours really has turned you into a girl."
Romi gets angry. He looks like he's about to explode.
Good!
The angrier he gets, the easier it will be for me to win.
It's common knowledge that anger is one of the biggest obstacles to thinking strategically during a fight.
He grits his teeth. "I'll make you regret saying those words."
I raise my sword. "I'll make you regret every single drop of blood you've made her lose."