Tournament – Finals Part 4
It’s the main act. Milim was extremely excited; she was encouraging (threatening) the Lion mask. I heard her say “Do you understand what will happen if you lose?” but whatever could she mean? Perhaps it’s better not to know. And with the signal audible to all, the match began.
They stood in the middle, observing each other. The two devils before us were displaying an overpowering presence. And the fact that they did not release even a hint of their aura made the situation all the more bizarre.
Karion never doubted his position as a being of strength. Until he was defeated by Milim, that is. But as a result of his loss, he learned that a league beyond his own existed. Thus, today he was observing his opponent with a composed gaze of a true warrior, not the prideful gaze of the strong.
This guys is insanely dangerous.
(Wha… the… hell? What’s a devil on par with a demon lord doing here?!)
Normally, Karion wouldn’t care about his opponent’s strength–rushing in with a smile on his face, ready to accept defeat. However, even though he has delegated his royal responsibilities to Milim, he lived as Milim’s shield. “Lose a battle, win the war!” Is not an excuse he could rely on. So, training with these thoughts in mind caused him to increase his powers beyond what he had as a demon lord. After all, he has been used as daily stress relief for Milim during what she called sparring sessions. Of course he’d get stronger from that. Let your guard down and you’ll end up in a different world. Survival required him to strengthen his own body. Thus, he became much more cautious, and stronger. And yet, even the experienced eyes of Karion could not see the depths of his opponent’s strength.
“Hey, Lion Mask! You do understand, right? Your job is to trash that doll (Beretta) in an upcoming match! I will not allow failure here! As my underling, get fired up!”
Yet for some reason, he felt no encouragement from her words. Large drops of sweat fell from Karion’s forehead. What will happen if he loses? There’s no need to guess: a hell of a training will await him. So far, he’s endured easy mode and normal mode training, but has yet to unlock hard mode. And according to the rumors, there’s also the ultimate course “hell mode” which cannot be reached by an average person. If he loses, he will certainly be thrown into it. So even against such a dangerous opponent, there’s no choice but to get fired up.
“Kufufufu. You don’t look too well. However, I cannot hold back. Since I have joined the battle for the sake of my rank, I must be a little serious this time.”
Tch. Tch. Looks like the opponent isn’t holding back, Karion thought,
“I, too, cannot lose. My bad, but I’ll be going all out from the start!”
He replied. And immediately afterwards,
“Begin!”
Editor note: this must be the signal that Rimuru noted previously. So no, this chapter does describe the start of the match twice.
Souka’s command reached their ears. And as if tearing the air around them, a battle cry reverberated through the arena. It was Karion who roared. Covered in white silver bristles, he revealed his magic beast form. He was not aiming for victory while preserving his strength; rather, he sought to win quickly by using all of his strength. Denting the arena floor itself, he released his fighting spirit along with the Byakko-Seiryugeki. A large crack ran through one of the stone slabs on the floor. The depth of the crack testifying to his steps’ power. “I got him!” He thought, and confidently slashed the Byakko-Seiryugeki at Diablo’s neck. He had just covered 10 meters in an instant to land a fatal blow, while wielding the Byakko-Seiryugeki–a legendary item that could cut through any and all barriers. Half-baked defensive barreirs will not be able to withstand its mighty blade. Karion’s confidence came from the fact that no being could evade the coming blow.
It was a sure-kill strike that would bring him decisive victory before his enemy could gauge his strength. So thought Karion.
“Beast Strike!!”
The spear’s tip split into two, preventing Diablo’s escape.
The fangs of the Byakko and the Jaws of the Seiryuu. These two slashes embodied the true strength of the Byakko-Seiryugeki. One destroys all the barriers of an escpaing foe while the other decapitates them in a single strike. A perfect maneuver. And perfect timing.
Thus proclaiming his confidence, a fearless smile appeared on Karion’s face. And at that moment, Diablo’s figure vanished.
(Teleportation?!)
Karion was startled for a moment, but then regained his calm and used magic perception to observe his surrounding.
High ranked devils are those who mastered transfer magic. Pulling it off instantly and without a chant was unexpected, but nothing that can’t be dealt with. In the space-time category of abilities, Transfer consumed the most magical energy. Creating a gate and stabilizing space is the safest, and consumes the least magical energy to move. However, what Diablo did just now–transferring without the use of a gate, even when moving by himself–was ten times as costly. And to teleport without the use of a chant… only a handful of high ranked devils could do that. This isn’t an ability usable by just anyone. And the teleportation ability just now, it’s an advanced ability above spatial transfer. Spatial transfer may look instantaneous to the average person, but in the eyes of a master there’s a slight time lag. However teleportation happens literally in an instant, time lag doesn’t occur. It is the pinnacle of the transfer type abilities. This isn’t an ability that could be used in rapid succession. As a counter measurement against it, one should go on the defensive, and wait for the opponent to exhaust himself.
The opponent would weaken faster than yourself. So there is no need to hurry. In fact, since Diablo did not escape using spatial transfer, that means the could not have avoided it otherwise.
(Tch. Lucky guy. If I didn’t use my sure-kill strike right from the start, he would have wasted magical energy pointlessly……)
Karion thought, carefully maintaining his attack stance. He repeatedly attacked in order to bait his opponent to consume his strength. And, every time he would get away in an instant. He patiently waited for a chance. Diablo continuously transferred around, making a fool out of Karion.
(But, what an awesome amount of magical energy. How long can he keep transferring…)
Though he had teleported only once–at the start, he had not transferred himself a countless number of times. To continuously transfer without chanting, this is impossible even for an Arch Demon. He knew the demon before him was an abnormal existence, however it surpassed his wildest expectations. But Karion did not get impatient. That’s because among monsters, there’s his own shockingly unreasonable master (Mirim) whom he always keeps company. So he stuck to basics and observed, paying attention to his opponent’s reactions. Constantly looking for a chance. Karion’s actions were reasonable, and, in fact, correct. If his opponent wasn’t Diablo, that is…
“Kufufufu. Analysis, complete. I have obtained data about your physical prowess. I’ll proceed to verify. Since it’s a little dangerous, please be careful.”
Diablo, who had been transferring around until now, suddenly said.
And cold sweat ran down Karion’s back. his instincts screamed “danger!” A myriad fireballs floated around Diablo, radiating monstrous heat, hiding powers Karion could not perceive. Karion was resistant to fire and frost, but there’s a limit to resistance. Karion released his battle spirit in all directions, creating a barrier to prevent the fireballs from hitting. The impact was so strong that Karion almost lost consciousness as the barrier was crushed; however, he had successfully defended against all the fireballs. And although an intense heat followed, the barrier weakened it to levels that Karion’s resistance could endure.
“It’s my turn, eat this! Beast Roar!!”
While arranging his barrier, Karion converted his magical energy into raw destructive force. An attack aiming for the moment when the opponent was exhausted right after deploying an attack, this was Karion’s Strongest sure-kill magic particle cannon. This time for sure, the finishing blow! As if responding to Karion’s thoughs, the dreg magic particles emitted by the golden light burned the surrounding air. At this point, he wasn’t holding back at all. All of his power was behind this attack.
“Kufu, kufufufufu. Wonderful. This shows the brightness of your soul! However, you have used this attack a little too late. What a shame.”
Diablo’s voice reached Karion’s ears. And, as if the world had stopped, as if time itself refused to continue, the light stopped right in front of its target. That is, right in front of Diablo.
“Impossible!” Karion, thought, and quickly moved to create some distance. And then, he felt as if is mind and body were separated. Even if he tried to turn around, he felt his body fixed in place. He could see himself firing his sure-kill beast roar
“Wh-what is happening?!”
Karion asked, impatiently. And, happily in response, Diablo said,
“Kufufufu. This is my ability, “Paradise Time.” In this world, the time has stopped and only the two of us are conscious. Originally, I had planned to make you into my pawn, but your will was too strong. I might not be able to tempt you. Be proud of the fact. However, your spirit is weak against intrusion. Evidence that your mentality is poorly trained. So rejoice. You can still grow stronger. My lord, Rimuru-sama and his ally Milim are like sworn siblings, so consider this a service. Learn from this mistake and devote yourself wholeheartedly to improvement!”
Karion could not understand the explanation, but he realized his defeat.
Directing his consciousness into this world, he again looked at Diablo. And once again realized the overwhelming difference between them. The fact that he could materialize this world itself was something he could never understand. Before such overwhelming information, there’s nothing Karion could have done. In this world, he could not even move magic power.
“Damn it! I’ll win next time!”
He yelled sorely with his last bit of strength. And Diablo’s voice responded,
“World’s end!”
As he had said, the world itself began to collapse, with Karion’s consciousness getting caught up and disintegrated.
Had Diablo not rescued him in the end, he would have perished in the real world as well. And also, the Beast’s Roar destructive power too was caught up in that world’s collapse. So it will probably vanish in the real world. Such is Diablo’s ability. The ability to control the life and death of the opponent based on their mental strength. The ability of his unique skill “Seducer”, is absolute when activated within the world of illusions. And, “Inversion of truth and fallacy”, the ability to interchange reality and illusions. The embodiment of illusions became reality in the material world. Only by training your spirit could you overcome this ability.
The world regained movement, Karion’s Beast Roar was nullified in the illusion world, and no damage was dealt to Diablo. All mental damage was conerted into physical damage, leaving Karion wounded all over.
“I… have lost…”
“Kufufufufu. Wise decision. If this continued, I would have no choice but to kill you.”
Karion’s defeat marked the end of the 6th round.
“Kufufufu. In the future, don’t forget to train your spirit.”
“Mind your own business. I would do it even without you telling me to…”
Karion glanced at the VIP room among the audience venue. The figure of his master glaring at him while grinding her teeth came into his line of vision.
(Aaa……as expected, she’s completely enraged……)
Karion wanted to cry, but because he was wearing the lion’s mask it wasn’t noticed. Let alone his mind and spirit, what awaited him would bring him to death’s doorstep many times, no doubt about it. Thinking about that, Karion felt gloomy, and wanted to redo his matches.
Lion Mask–Karion was defeated. No, I felt hat he tried very hard. His last attack was particularly good. If it wasn’t for Wisdom King Raphael’s explanations, I wouldn’t have understood what happened either. Souka was able to convince the audience that Diablo used some trick; she’s particularly apt at swindling people, it seems. However, that was a good fight. To the audience, it seems like Lion Mask was overwhelming for the most part. Those of us who understood, saw Diablo using an extraordinary ability that lacked any common sense. Few, if any, truly understood what he had done. Other than us, of course.
“This is bullshit. That demon, actually defeated Karion and won. It seems there wasn’t much difference in ability but that unique skill isn’t normal.”
Mirim stated her thoughts with vexation. She was now being thoroughly ridiculed by Ramiris, and was even dropkicked with a “Serves you right!”
“In other words, my Beretta is superior!”
That one line enraged Mirim and as punishment, Ramiris was pitifully trussed up like a bagworm on the floor. That string seemed like materialized energy, Ramiris probably wouldn’t be able to break free. Well, you reap what you sow. It is true that Baretta did better,
but Ramiris went overboard. The person she’s making fun of is too evil. And so, seeking to avoid collateral damage, Veldora and I did not participate. Currently, the most pitiful one is probably Lion-san (Karion) who just did his best. Well, you’ll now be trained, and I hope I see you alive in the future.
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Clown’s note: Once again, please thank Smoggy for a chapter so wonderfully done, that I had to do minimal editing!
Smoggy’s Note: Thanks for the complement clown san, this means a lot to me :)
p.s. I’m going to be absent for about a month to take care of exams and stuff (lab reports, presentations, that kind of stuff…). Sorry about that, and please put a lid on the bear cuisine jokes. :P