In the Colosseum, all of the contestants assembled, forming a line at the center. Or rather than a line, it was a linked circle. They stood in while facing the audience. On the large monitor, the contestants were projected on the screen one by one, their appearance came out nicely. In front of the contestants, I greeted everyone through the mike. By the way, I didn’t call Veldora out since yesterday.
After he received the name, my magic power decreased, although it decreased only to the extent that he could grow a little.
「First, the champion of the yesterday’s first match, Gozurl! By stopping the 100 years conflict, he received right to participate in this match! His power gives rise to a new wind that can sweep over Tempest!」
「Furthermore, Gozurl is a champion from the Underground LabyrinthDungeon that Tempest is proud of~! Pay attention to his strength! And for those who are confident that they can beat him, please head towards the labyrinth!!」
She said it in high spirits. She even advertised the labyrinth. Because it's not opened to the public yet, it can’t be considered a Labyrinth yet. Oh well, after seeing its power, I don’t know if there will be a challenger for the labyrinth. I have no idea how the first match will turnout. Even after being advertised like this, he might be defeated quickly. However, I already thought that. If he got defeated, then his challenger will get an additional monetary reward. Well, it depends on his opponent. Everything will be decided by the lot.
I’ve been told that their father, Dagruel, sent them to this country so they could learn various things. 『We will do anything, even the chores. Please give us your permission to stay in this country, Demon Lord Rimuru-sama! 』
The trio bowed their head together. Because it was troublesome, I decide to place them under Shion. It was their wish after all.
「Next up is the champion of the second match, Dagura!! Emitting his overwhelming aura alone, all of the evil spirits from the Great Jura Forest were blown away! His figure is certainly a masterpiece. If he becomes serious, who knows what will happen! How will such power fare against the executives[3] of Tempest? The anticipation is rising!」
During his introduction Dagura waves his hand high. If compared with the quiet fighting spirit[4] of Gozurl, I could sense a surplus of power. How high was the surplus power that he held? Just like before, I didn’t speak anything to the Executives.
「And now, the champion of yesterday’s third match, Hero Masayuki~!! No one could catch a glimpse at his magnificent sword technique! Because, at the same time his sword was unsheathed, the opponent was already dead[6]! With overwhelming power he made his name renowned--the man who introduces himself as the young Hero.
The remainders were special participants and the executives. Starting with Arnaud.
Yes. An amazing ability, actually. Down the side of Arnaud's face, I see a sweat hanging on his forehead.[9] What was she talking about? It was completely unnecessary to say all of that. Now the pressure was on him to win. Souka, are you really a Blood-Sucking Demon? The way you're cornering them was not something just anyone would do. As the little sister of the naturally airheaded Gabil, I never imagined you could be so vicious.
「Next up, another special participant! His name is Damurada! Dispatched from a secret organization, he's a mysterious man! He aims to show off his combat prowess in this tournament~! Will he able to display his power as a mercenary!? The man who catches Demon Lord Rimuru-sama interest. Keep your eyes on him everyone!」
No, no...... I don’t have the slightest interest in him. Also, what's the deal with the secret organization you speak of....? Saying that while looking at me with that fearless smile. I’m glad there was no problem. I’m glad that even if the name gets found out it will be fine. Well, I had been warned about this, but I will stop it if it becomes a problem. 「Let’s continue! Another special participant... a mysterious masked man intrudding the Colosseum~! The unknown Lion Mask! Is he a champion of justice or an envoy of evil!? Really, what kind of enchanting battle he will show us!? By the way, there‘s a message from a certain anonymous person. 『I think you already know, but if you show a unsightly fight, prepare yourself.』 That what the person said. What does this message mean? I don’t know, but it sounds fun~!」 No, his fate was already sealed. Souka already knew that but she still took pleasure in cornering him. I had no choice other than to pray for the cornered Lion Mask’s fortune in the match.
N~o. I really didn’t expect this, you know? She finished the forcefully overbearing introduction. Certainly, the people who know about the existence of Beretta were few, so its power was unknown. So there was nothing wrong in her words.
Ah....... No mercy, even for her biological brother. Of course not, since her performance was to drive everyone into a corner. Since no one knows who's fighting who, I might actually get to see Gabil unexpectedly awaken. And since it’s true that Abil was watching, I think I can look forward to it a little.
Do you need to add -sama to Souei?
And now...the top favorite of this tournament, contestant Diablo! Needless to say but no one has seen his true abilities in live combat. Will there be a contestant this time that can expose his secrets? Is there anyone in existence that can do it!? It will be a match on whole new levels!
As the introductions came to an end, lots were drawn and the matches were decided. Due to the number of participants, the match will be divided into two days. Four matches on the first day and another four on the second day. Immediately after the lots were drawn, names were filled out on the tournament chart. The result...
After this, it will become a considerable great match that I want to see. By the way, Wisdom King Raphael had perfectly predicted the outcome of these matches. It didn’t say anything, so it might be interesting. Because there was free will, there might be case where the contestant actions could overturn even 10.000 calculations, so it can’t reach any conclusion. On the contrary, if the contestants were manipulated, then it could be possible to make a 100% perfect forecast. Well then, now, I somehow expected it, how the result will be. Without delay, the first match had begun.
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For some reason, they were just glaring at each other in the middle of the arena. Neither showed any response to Souka's 「Begin!」.
「Fufufu, how lucky to be able to meet you in the first match. Benimaru-san, your reign as the supreme commander will end today! Today onwards shall be known as the era of Gozurl-sama!!」
He respectfully bows towards me, while declaring such things. To his remarks,
『Shion-sama is my, our bride!!』
「I understand, do the match seriously. I don’t need foolish words.」
Once again, Souka declared. This time it began for real. Gozurl made the first move. And thus, a large magic formation suddenly appeared on the ground.
Hmm. Gozurl was too elated.[22] It seems to be a bad idea to hand out names so easily, since it seems that it could mass produce idiots like him. Even if he's loyal to me, he didn’t takes into consideration the power of his senpai, whom he should respect. However. It’d be different if said senpai was making a mistake. Even Diablo was polite when he meets with opponents that were weaker than him.
30 minutes. That was the match time I set beforehand. One match was about 30 minutes; it was something that I had consulted with Benimaru beforehand. So that means, for the sake of punctually, he's deliberately allowing his opponent to attack as he likes? I was nothing but astonished at the growth of Benimaru. 「Huh? Are you sleep-talking? You're just receiving all of my attacks since the truth is you can't do anything against them, am I right?! Don’t be a sore loser! Don’t get carried away, chump!」
That Benimaru, without me knowing, his abilities increased drastically. His maximum amount of Energy Magic power had probably increased a substantial amount. It was only because he suppressed his youki[23] that its increase went unnoticed. Wisdom King Rafael usually conducts measurement without failure, but I didn’t hear anything even from him. And so, 30 minutes had elapsed.
His right fist catches Gozurl, kneaded with power to penetrate, he drives his fist into Gozurl’s Solar Plexus. With a single hit, the flow of his magic power was disarranged and Gozurl was unable to stand. Even if he set up barriers, everything would be pierced instantly by that hit. It was an excellent and overwhelming victory for Benimaru. 「To correct your character it’s necessarily to beat it into you again and again. Prepare yourself.」
Gozurl fainted after hearing those words.
And the first match came to an end.
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