He successfully passed the qualifying round of the Bushin Martial Competition.
　Of course, Merdi and Ryushin too.

　All ten of the Beast King soldiers who were escorting us to prevent us from getting tangled up with the strange people (yakara) also destroyed their targets in a big way and decided to advance to the main competition.

　The Beast King, who appeared at the end of the qualifying round, blew away the targets lightly. As expected.

　Other than that, only the black panther beastman was able to destroy the target. For the rest, how much damage they could inflict on the target would determine whether they could qualify or not.

　And then the fifty contestants, including us, have been selected for the final round.


　...──＊＊＊]──.

　the next day

　The main match of the Bushin Martial Arts Tournament is about to begin.

　The main tournament will be a one-on-one tournament. If you win this tournament, you will become the king of Bestiary, the land of beastmen.

　I wondered what would happen if someone other than the beastmen, like me, won the tournament, so I asked the Beast King soldier about it.

　They said that if I win the championship, I can become the king. However, he said that I could abandon the throne and appoint the king to the beastmen and others who came in at the top of the tournament.

　He says that the winner is everything and the entire country will follow his intentions without objection. Also, if it is something the country can do, the winner of the martial arts competition can do whatever he or she wants.

　If that's the case, then let's not think about going easy on him, let's go all out!

　I'm feeling a little excited.

　My winner's prize is a day of all-you-can-touch Merdi's paw pads!

　It seems that whoever can destroy the target will be seeded, and we'll be out of the second round. I think I'll have a big advantage in the first round because I'll be able to see who I'm fighting in the first round.

　We drew a lottery to determine where we would be placed in the tournament. About ten minutes later, the tournament table was posted, so I went to check it out.


　My possible opponents are...

　It was either a very large-bodied bear beastman or a cat beastman who said, 'If you can show your strength, I want you under my command.

　The winner of these two will be my opponent.

　I don't want to hit a woman. I was hoping that a bear beastman would be my opponent if possible.


　─ ─ ─ ─ The bear beastman would be my opponent.

　The opening ceremony for the main battle of the Martial God's Martial Competition began.
　First, the Beast King stepped up to the fighting table.

''I have hurt so many people because I was so ungrateful. I'm really sorry. Fortunately, a wise man from a foreign country saved many soldiers, including myself, but there are many who have passed away. To them I swear. When I become king again, I will make this country as strong as a demon!

　The tens of thousands of beastmen filling the amphitheater cheered at the powerful king's declaration.

''I hereby declare the opening of the Martial God's Martial Association here and now!

　The cheers that erupted from the audience became louder.

　The Beast King - no, he's just a lion beastman now, or Merdi's father. I heard that Merdi's father's name was Leo. It was similar to my brother's name.

　When Merdi's father Leo came down from the fighting table, one of the ministers climbed up to the fighting table instead.


''Now, let me once again inform you of the rules of the Martial Arts Association of the Martial God. As in previous years, the use of weapons will be allowed. Also, according to the rules set by Lord Martial God, the use of magic other than physical enhancement is not allowed...

　I give you permission.

　Suddenly, a voice echoed in my head.
　It was a voice that I had heard before.

　The voice seemed to be heard by all the beastmen gathered in the arena. The minister on top of the arena was disconcerted, not understanding the meaning.

　The wind swirls near the minister.


　When the wind disappears, a lion beastman, bigger in body than Leo, is standing there.

　One of the gods of this world - the god of warrior gods.

''Martial God-sama!''

　The minister hurriedly fell to his knees.

　He pretended that the manifestation in the Temple of the Warrior hadn't happened, so this was the first time since the Martial God had come to divinity status that he had manifested in this world.

　However, the aura of divinity that the Martial God emitted made everyone present understand that he was a god.


''I once told you to use all the power you have to be strong. And use that power to protect your fellow man - that's what I told my people.

　Bushin's powerful words echoed through the hall.

''However, perhaps because there weren't many beastmen who could use magic, before I knew it, the rule was that beastmen were banned from magic and so on. But I never said anything about a ban on magic. Those who can use magic to fight should be able to use it. Because magic is part of the beast race's power.

　Hearing these words, Meldy burst into tears.

　He felt that his power was recognized.

'Therefore, I hereby lift the ban on the use of magic in the martial arts competition in the name of the god of war. I expect you to use all the power you have in your body to show me the best fight you can.

　Takegami disappeared for the last time with those words. The hall was filled with silence. Then, the gazes of the beastmen in the hall fell on the minister on the fighting table.

　The minister looked at Leo.
　Leo nodded in response.


''The use of weapons is allowed. The use of magic is also allowed according to the rules set by the Lord of War God.''

　The use of magic was allowed.

　The warrior god's promise to make arrangements to use magic at the martial arts event was now fulfilled.

　After that, the hall became noisy. It might be natural, since the Bushin manifested and the rules of the Bushin martial arts association, which had been followed for many years, were altered.

　And to all the people in the hall, he asked, ''Is there anyone who has the confidence to defeat the Invincible target with magic? It was confirmed that this was the case.

　This was because there was a possibility of dissatisfaction if the rules were changed only for the main game. As a result, no one came forward.

　It was rare for beastmen to be able to fight while activating magic at high speed, and if they were able to do that in the first place, their magic robes should be powerful, so they would have passed the qualifying round.

　Incidentally, Luke was about to raise his hand, but he stopped himself from thinking about it. He remembered that he had been beaten up in one-on-one combat training with Meldi. Before he could activate his magic, Meldy had approached him and beaten him incessantly, unable to do anything about it.

　Luke's magical majesty (...) power (...) is at a level worthy of a (...) sage apprentice. However, in terms of variety and speed of magic activation, there is still room for improvement. Of course, he understood that as well.


　Since there were no additional applicants for participation, the main game was to begin.

　The first round, the first game, would determine my opponent, a battle between a bear beastman and a cat beastman.

　By the way, me, Ryushin, Meldi, and Leo, the former Beastman King, were put apart into four large blocks on the tournament table.

　The ones who performed well in the preliminary rounds - in other words, the four who had the highest target destruction rate - would not face each other until the semi-finals. If things go right, me, Ryushin, Meldi and Leo will be competing against each other.

　Well, that's if things go in order.
　First, we have to win the first game!

　But I still don't feel comfortable hitting a woman, so hopefully the bear beastman will win.


　─ ─ When I was thinking about that, the cat beastman won.

　She was strong.
　It was overwhelming.

　She easily ducked the bear beastman's onslaught and slammed a powerful fist into the bear beastman's unguarded flank.

　With that blow, the bear beastman was unable to stand.

　Oh no, she might be so strong that she couldn't say anything about not hitting him directly because she was a woman or something.