An owl flying above said.

''We have confirmed the destruction of Kurt's magic sword. Therefore, the first match of the first round, the winner is Anos Voldigord!

　The auditorium is silent. I suppose it's mostly the royal family.
　They can't seem to acknowledge that I, a half-blood who wasn't even originally eligible to participate, won.

　I turn on my heel and turn back to the waiting room.
　Then a voice rises from one corner of the auditorium.

I'm going to be able to say that Anos!　Moooooo, genius!

Well done, Anosk!　You'll have it easy after this!

　It was my mother and father's voice.
　Following that, the half-breed demons let out a roar of joy.

'What shall we do?　The game's over before I could sing my cheering song!

What's more, Anos-sama is so strong, there's no room to sing!

I'm going to sing it now!

Now, because it's after we've won.　A pep talk?　What are you cheering for?

"Ikkyuyo, Anosu-sama's Cheering Song No. 2, 'Oh, give me the sword of the Noble Anosu'.

Hey! You hear me?

Clomp, clomp, clomp.

Well that's just the way it is. So, congratulations to Anos-sama for his victory!

　They start playing drums and wind instruments brought in by the Fun Union guys and start playing a melody.

'You're down, I'm up'

'Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...'

You down, I up.

'Lah, lah, lah, lah, easy... uhhhhhhhhhh...'

"Kedakaki, give me your blessing, Mr. Anos.

A sleeping caravan called Togijo, where the stalker spooks.

"Let us impregnate ourselves with the magic of our time.

I'm going to have to take a shot at it.

"Hungry, Hungry, Hungry, Hungry!

You down, I up.

'Byoo, dobyoo, seconds... hmm, ahahahahahahahahaha...'

You down, I up.

'Ahhhhhh, ahhh, relief... uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh'

I'd like to thank you for the gift of a sword...

　The vibrato was wasted.

　But it's quite painful. All the members of the royalist faction who listened to that song and cried out that I couldn't become the Demon Emperor, are now looking down with humiliated faces.
　It's a shame that we won after showing so much difference in ability.

　This may not have been planned, but I can't write a song that can make a mockery of the opponent. The Fan Union, for what it's worth, seems to have a rare talent.

　After leaving the arena stage, I left the waiting room and headed leisurely to the audience.

'- Yeah, yeah, and...' I think these lyrics would be good. Take a listen.

　As I come to the auditorium, I can just hear my mother's voice.

"I'll make you eat your sword, Anos-chan, and I'll make you happy!" "I'm going to make you eat your sword tip, and I'm going to dye it pure white~~~

　Hmm. That's a terrible lyric.
　But the Fun Union guys by my side looked at my mom as if they were looking at her with respect.

''Seriously, that's Anos-sama's mother!

Wow, wow!　I've never heard such a beautiful voice before!

'Mm-hm!　And the bold and delicate lyrics really express the heart of Anos-sama, who has lived a raging life, and you can't help but cry...!



　The fan union seemed to be very impressed with the song.
　I don't know what's in those lyrics, but I guess it's the gap between two thousand years ago and now.

"Mother, if you'd like to come to the Fan Union sometime, please come and visit us?　As an outside instructor, you can teach us how to sing!

Wow, I need you to do it for me, too!

　The fan union bows its head in unison.
　Hmm. I have a fiercely bad feeling about this. If I don't stop them here, I might have a serious problem later on.

''I'm sorry, but my mom is usually too busy with the shop.

"Oh, Anos-sama...!　Yikes, yikes!

　With a yellow scream, the Fun Union guys took three steps back and bowed as if they were afraid.

''Kya, Kya, if Anos-sama says so, Kya!

'I apologize for my rude imitation. Yikes!

　I hope you'll either make a fuss or be cocky.

'It's okay, Anos. Sometimes the shop is closed. Would you mind letting me come in for a visit from time to time?

I'd love to!　Thank you!　Yes!

　The Fun Union girls shook hands firmly with my mom.

　When I was feeling a bit uneasy, Mom smiled meaningfully at me.

I'll make sure that you can be yourself at the academy, Anos. I'm sure you'll be able to do that. Hey.

..........

　Hmm. Mother. I'm going to lay the groundwork to make it easier to come out with Ray like that, and stop looking like I'm going to leave it to you.

'Then we will now begin the second game of the first round. Appearing here is Madra Shenson, a member of Aeneas Kenjutsu Dojo!

　A man appears in the arena.
　His entire body was covered in countless scars, and he looked like a beast.

''That guy is the Madras of the Gale, right?　The fastest sword wielder of Dillhade... the runner-up of the previous tournament...?

Yeah well you've changed a lot, haven't you?

Apparently, he was living in a secret labyrinth in Goranuhelia because he thought he could get back at Kurt.

'Underground labyrinth Gola Nuheriah?　That thing that is said to be extremely difficult to even get through the first layer?

Yeah, rumor has it that they went down to the 250th layer and didn't come out for 200 years.

"Nah ... that's insane ...

'That was the end of a man who drove himself to madness and sought only strength. In that sense, he may have surpassed Kurt.

　Hoh. The underground maze of Goranuhelia, eh? It's been a long time.
　I was curious to see how far the lowest level is, so I took a walk in it once, but it was 25000 layers.
　You've made it down to a tenth of the level, that's quite something to do.

　An owl's voice echoed from above again.

''The next one to appear is from the Log North Magic Sword Association, Ray Grandsdry!

　It looks like it's Ray's turn, Log North Magic Sword Society...?

Ray Grandsdry the Swordsman of Renunciation.

Yeah, part of the generation of chaos.

It's a pretty good card from the first round, but as expected, Madras will win.

'If it had been fifty years later, I wouldn't have known, though. Our experience would be too different.

''But the wrought sword saint belonged to the Log North Demon Sword Society?

You're one of us, aren't you?

　Ray appears in the arena.
　The sword she wears is the magic sword Initio, which slices through the magic formula that she lent to Misa in the squad competition exam.

''Well then, the second match of the first round of the Dillhade Magic Sword Tournament!　Please start!

　The signal to start the match is given.
　Facing each other, Madra and Ray walk straight to each other.

　Just as they were in between swords, they both stopped in their tracks.

''Out.''

　Madra says in a heavy voice.

'Let's keep it that way,'

　Ray smiled, as usual, with a refreshing smile.

''It's not a threat. The wind magic sword Reflesia, I'm sure you've heard of it at least. Once it is pulled out of its sheath, the sword barrel turns into a gale. You have three seconds to do so. If you don't pull it out during this time, you'll die.

　Madra glares at Ray with a sharp look in her eyes.

'Three.'

　Ray doesn't move.

"Two.

　Ray still hasn't moved.

"One.

　Madra put her hand on her magic sword.

'Leave.'

　In an unnoticeable and quick action, the magic sword was drawn and flashed at Ray's neck.

''Nah.........''

　Madra is astonished.
　Instead of slicing Ray's neck, Madra's magic sword had snapped off with a snap.
　By the time the sword swung at his neck, it had already been broken.

''........When did you.......pull out your sword......?''

　Ray's magic sword is still in its sheath.

''After you pulled it out.

''Well you drew your sword after me, faster than my sword, faster than the wind magic sword Refresia...''

　Madra's eyes didn't seem to catch the moment Ray pulled out, or even the moment he put his sword away.
　Smiling, Ray smiled.

'My friend was far faster than you, though, even with a tree branch.

"....tree branch................. ...?

　Ray turns his back on the winner.

'I have confirmed the destruction of Madra's sword!　Therefore, in our second bout of the first round, we have a winner by way of Ray Grandsdry!

　Cheers erupted with surprise.

'Wow!　That Madras in an instant.

Did anyone see him draw his sword?　I had no idea!

I didn't know what to expect when Kurt was killed, but there are some pretty reliable people on the royalist side now, aren't there?

'Yeah, it's the generation of chaos. Maybe that guy is the Demon King of Tyranny.

　The girl standing behind me looks at Ray as he leaves.
　She has a languid look on her face.

　Well, the Log North Demon Sword Association is an organization of the royal family faction.
　I wonder why Ray belongs to it.

''Are you curious, Misa?''

　She nodded at him.

'Then let's go ask them.'

What...?

Come on. If you're going to make that face, just ask him.

　With that, he walked away and Mass followed behind him.