"Let the games begin!


　There are 40 of us gathered on the battlefield.

　Only four chairs remained for the second round of the preliminary round.

　There should have been 10 less than the first round, but 40 was still too many people to be scattered around the field.

　How could they survive the four?
　They had figured out the answer in their own way with the victory in the first round.

　Of course, there was more than one answer. But all of them were correct.

　Don't force the fight.

　If it's too hard, fight in numbers.

　Give yourself time to rest.

　Sometimes you have to catch your breath.

　Or...


　With a thud, a stone slammed into the center of the field.

　In the middle of the battlefield, a place where he could be targeted by all, he howls.

He barked, "Come at me, all of you!　Me versus the 39!


　--Yes, or... Or I'll blow you all up.


"Don't you dare, Izuna Sienzan!

　The first to respond to Izuna's challenge was the double-edged sword wielder with whom I had exchanged words in the waiting room.
　He fought off the hammer axe with his left sword and dove straight into Izuna's bosom.

　The crowd cheered for a moment.

　Just as the crowd was getting excited about Izuna's declaration, the crowd's hopes for the man who jumped in - who they had hoped Izuna would blow away - disappeared, and instead, surprise enveloped the place.

　I'm not sure if he's going to do it too.


If it were that easy, I wouldn't have made it to the first sword.


　The one who muttered was a young man looking at the game amidst cheers.
　In the event you're not sure what you're looking for, there are a number of things you can do.

I'm not sure what to make of it.
I'm not sure what to make of it.
"Huh.

　I'm not sure what to make of it.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

　--The young man also remembered the double swordsman.

　In the first round, he fought through with his skill without a break and ended up as one of the ten. It was a very unthinking strategy for a battle royale, but it was proof that he had been able to win through brute force.

　However, the young man's eyes have already seen his path.
　His battles, his training, his skills. All of it, the young man saw through, and muttered.

It's a shame. I don't know what will happen next time.

　He crossed his arms, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, looking happy.
　He was enjoying the match between Izuna and the two swordsmen, even though it had just begun.

　--To the girl next to him, all she knows is that Izuna is strong.

　At the moment, the swordsman seemed to be wielding his sword without a way out, and Izuna could only wonder when she would be able to blow the swordsman away.

　Although Izuna was wowing the audience with her feats of leaping over enemies with her hammer and axe and taking on the double swordsman with one arm.
　The double-edged sword wielders lacked a certain "flair".

　Yet the young man next to him seemed to be enjoying himself.

　So I hit him with my elbow.

"That hurts!
"It hurts here. Die.
Then it itches.
That's even more annoying. ...... Explain it to me.

　Tell me what's so funny.
　I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do that.

It's a good thing I'm not the only one. His reaction time is fast, and his speed with the sword is top notch. The fact that he was able to go toe to toe with Izuna's black hawk karate with his twin swords is due to his amazing eyes and responsive body.
That's a lot of praise.
That's how great he is. Although Izuna's movements are slower than the rest of the Eight Flashes, he is still overwhelmingly faster than the minor leagues.

　In terms of the speed at which he wields his weapon, the fastest by far is Ocean Big Wave.
　In terms of physical speed, Prim Lancaster is the best by a small margin.

I'm not sure if you've heard of it or not.
"...... Oh, you mean he can be a Tenka Hachi-sen?
I'm not sure. For now, the rest of the status depends on the growth potential. But as far as reaction time is concerned, it's both great and a hole.
What do you mean?
You can't win when you're forced to be on the back foot.

　Futa's eyes are fixed on the double-edged sword user.

"He's... Maybe he's a hunter or something.
"Wow. He sounds very strong and he seems to be competing with Izuna.
Yes, she is. If it was Prim, for example, she'd be killed in an instant.
Is it the speed difference you were talking about?
That's part of it, but the biggest thing is the overwhelming lack of experience.

　That was the moment.



　Izuna bent down slightly and blew away the fighters around her with her hammer axe.
　With a clear gap created by the large hammer axe, the dual-wielding swordsman, who was in the middle of an in-fight, must have seen this as an opportunity.
　He sheathed his right sword, swung his left, and flashed his sword in determination to finish him off.

　But as he dove - as if he had been waiting for it - the fist that had been stored in his waist was released.
　It was a thrusting blow that pierced his abdomen.
　It's also a great way to get the most out of your day.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to do with your time.


...... Exploit any clear opening. That is the way of the hunter. The other side is the prey, and it's your job to kill them in one fight. That's why you can't see Izuna's point of view.
"Izna's point of view?
Yeah. Izuna's battle style is just like that, so everyone is looking for an opening, just like the current twin swordsman. --And the Eight Flashes are not cheap enough to live with their weaknesses exposed.
"I see.

　Besides," Huta continued.

The only reason why I had to be on the back foot and rely on my own strength was because I kept losing to Izuna in readings. You'll be able to find out more about this in the following article. In other words--
"...... If you can learn to do that, you can be a strong enough player. That's why you said it was a shame.
That's what I meant.

　That's what I meant. So Futa exhaled.
　It's not that I don't have a lot of experience in fighting against other people, but I've been beaten in readings, and I've been forced to use my skills to fight with my own strength.

"Yeah. I knew it.
What's wrong?

　While unconsciously touching her lips, the girl looked at the game.
　The two swordsman, who had held his ground on the edge of the field, coughed up a little blood, but stood up and held his left sword.

　I've come this far with my battle style as a hunter.
　Just by hearing that, I can imagine that he is tough enough to withstand Izuna's shot, perhaps because of the toughness he gained from fighting demonic beasts.

　For example, suppose one of the spectators is a hunter in the same profession. If they knew he was at the game, they would certainly cheer for him.
　But if I didn't know his work, I'd probably just be a stranger to him.

I'm just saying that what I'm thinking is probably right. Anyway...
Yeah?
Keep going. It's going to be interesting.

　Pasta's mouth turned up at the corners of her mouth as she looked at Izuna Sienzan. I'm not going to be able to do it.






"Fight me, fight me!

　The girl's cry was one of desperate courage.

　She knew that the other two swordsman was a man of considerable ability.

　She was also aware that her own abilities were not worth much in this situation.

　But still, I raised my voice.

　Even though he knew that he was of little value to the man in front of him.

"Oh, yeah!

　So. I gulped when he responded to my desperate plea with an open-hearted response.

"I don't know how you're going to fight yet!　Hahahaha!
"Huh? About me.
"Of course I do!　I'm not stupid!

　--Oh, I see.
　Leafy exhaled.
　The exchange in the waiting room with the double-edged sword wielder had been enviable to the core. 　

　But it makes sense. No wonder the swordsman had laughed uncontrollably.

　If there is such a thing as being remembered by the strong.


If it's so gratifying to be remembered by the strong, then what's the point of staying in a place where you can't win?　I couldn't win. I was just a little girl waving a stick around in the countryside. I'm sure you're not the only one.

It's just that this tournament was a quick opportunity to show that my sword is awesome. There are other things you can do.

"But what I hate the most is people who think it's okay to lose .......


　Yeah. That's it.
　That's what makes me happy, makes my heart beat faster, makes me excited to be where I am.
　The person you ran away from is no longer here. I'm not like those who abandoned because I'm standing here. --That's why.


Look at my sword!
"Heh, ......, you barked. Sorry, kid.

　I'm just a little bit of an idiot.


I'm a little ...... tougher on the sword.




　I felt a surge of fighting spirit.

　It's so intense that it makes your skin tingle, and it's just as hot as "that woman" from the first round.

　--It's not as scary as that woman. I don't feel the will to kill.

　And yet. So why is she just as strong?

　She took a half step back, her sword pointing at Izuna, but she couldn't move.

I'm not sure what to say.
".........ugh.

　I just remembered.
　The absolute despair of Aylan B. Smiles.
　I just forgot about that moment of heartbreak like it was a fever that had passed my throat.

　No matter how many times I remembered that I couldn't do it then, and how many times I said, "I can do it now.
　No matter how many times I remember and say, "I can do it now." No matter how many times I get a pat on the back and get fired up.

　What scares me is scary.

　I wonder if Izuna will be disappointed when she sees the frightened look in his eyes. Will she look at herself like a stone on the road?

　I hate myself for unconsciously worrying about what the people around me think of me at this point in my life.
　If so, challenge the man in front of you and let yourself be scattered with flowers. That's what my head thinks, but my heart trembles and I can't move.

　To her.

　The strongest swordsman in the room, standing in front of her...


You're weak, too."

　I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do it, but I'm going to try.