"So Today I'll be the first to fight, and against Lady Katerina, no less… how interesting," said Caesar, his voice carrying both excitement and confidence as he looked at his opponent's name projected onto the screen.
The maid in question said nothing. The only expression visible on her face was one of calm determination.
A thunderous laugh suddenly erupted through the arena, catching most of the participants off guard as they were focused on studying the bracket or analyzing the opponents they would be facing that day.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! So you're my opponent—the man I met in that weapons shop befor the preliminaries. Excellent! I was truly surprised when I discovered the day before yesterday that you, too, are a Hero like the boss, and I've always wanted to see with my own eyes how my creations fare against a Hero in a serious battle. Plus, that katana I saw you carrying in the shop looked to be of truly exceptional quality. I can't wait to see how it performs against my armor…" said Roterberg in his booming voice as he approached Musashi with an outstretched arm ready for a handshake. A broad, toothy grin radiating positivity spread across the dwarf's face.
"Let's enjoy ourselves to the fullest, swordsman!" added the blacksmith once he stopped in front of the wandering Hero.
"Certainly," Musashi replied calmly, immediately accepting the handshake.
"Aislyra, know that today will finally be the day I defeat you and prove to my beloved that my love for him is greater than yours!" declared Emeralda, who had stepped directly in front of the queen's bodyguard, her voice ringing loudly through the group.
But the ice princess, lost in her own thoughts, ended up completely ignoring her self-proclaimed rival.
'If I want any chance of fighting that kid Fortore, that bastard Buio, or one of the Heroes, have to wait until at least the semifinals…' thought the silver-haired elf as a disappointed sigh escaped her lips.
'Still, Emeralda and whoever wins between Aurola and Agratà certainly aren't bad opponents,' she added inwardly, trying to reassure herself.
Agratà, meanwhile, was overflowing with joy at seeing her name already paired against her master's.
"Don't worry, Master. I'll win and finally free you from all that burden!" the Minister of Agriculture whispered to herself in a low voice.
On the other hand, Aurola stared at the projected matchup with a slight yet unmistakable trace of fear in her eyes.
"Interesting. I don't mind fighting opponents with strong regenerative abilities at all; battles against them usually last much longer," Enea remarked with a disturbingly excited smile clearly visible on his face.
Meanwhile, his opponent, the Minister of Health Heve, remained perfectly impassive, showing no visible emotion whatsoever.
"Ah! The gods truly wish to put this old man to the test. Facing the final boss right from the start, huh? I wonder if my poor old back will survive it," Brasto said sarcastically, though a smile full of anticipation had appeared on his face.
Fortore's expression, meanwhile, revealed a rare trace of genuine concern regarding his next opponent.
For once, his attention was not immediately focused on the breasts of the women around him. Instead, his eyes remained fixed on the names of his next possible opponents. Both the old adventurer and the mysterious human adventurer were foes that absolutely could not be underestimated.
Still, this moment of seriousness lasted less than a minute.
Before long, Fortore's wandering gaze had once again shifted toward the beautiful bodies of the three female ministers and even Chiacchera.
Although determination could clearly be seen in Macro's wide-open eyes, his body was trembling slightly with fear.
His first opponent was the infamous vice-captain of the Dark Knights—a man who had slaughtered and terrorized countless soldiers throughout his life—and unlike the other ministers, Macro had never truly participated in a real battle before. The overwhelming gap in combat experience between him and Buio was impossible to ignore.
BUT!
That certainly didn't mean Macro intended to lose!
After all, he had entered this tournament specifically to prove that he, too, deserved his place among the kingdom's six ministers. Naturally, after carefully analyzing the two matches involving Buio that he had witnessed during the preliminaries, Macro had already devised something to counter even the vice-captain of the Dark Knights—it wasn't as if he had no plan at all.
Even so, the unease caused by facing such a monstrous opponent still remained.
'Damn it… I would have preferred to be able to just killed that traitor immediately so I could finish the mission the king entrusted to me without wasting any more time…' Buio thought to himself while staring at the projected bracket with a faintly dissatisfied expression.
Then his gaze shifted toward the trembling Minister of Technology, and a sadistic grin slowly spread across the dark elf's face.
'Still, making my dear little nephew suffer a little more is always entertaining,' he thought with twisted amusement.
The moment Macro noticed Buio's smile, the trembling running through his body intensified even further.
The Minister of Economy's gaze was fixed intensely on the two dark elves present in the arena.
'You stupid dog… I won't let you make it past the quarterfinals. You can rest esy… I'll take care of wiping that bastard off the face of the earth!' Thought Lucrio as he clenched his fists so tightly that his palms were nearly bleeding.
But Scuro didn't notice the intense emotions his colleague was directing toward him at that moment. His attention and thoughts were instead focused entirely on another minister: Macro.
'I trust Macro. I know he won't go down easily, and with Pinusal overseeing the match, there's no way Buio will be allowed to kill him… But Macro is still inexperienced…'
Those thoughts swirled endlessly through the Defense Minister's mind.
The vice-captain of the Dark Knights immediately noticed the concern visible on his nephew's face, and in response, the sadistic smile stretched across Buio's lips widened even further.
"Well then, I imagine all of you have memorized the tournament bracket by now, so I'd ask every participant—except for the fighters competing in the first match—to return to the special waiting rooms prepared for you, where you'll be able to watch the upcoming battles…" Chiacchera paused dramatically before suddenly shouting at the top of her lungs,
"BECAUSE THE TIME HAS FINALLY COME FOR THE MAIN TOURNAMENT TO BEGIN!!!!!!!!"
The spectators in the stands exploded into screams of uncontrollable excitement.
With that, after nearly every fighter exchanged one final glance with the opponent they would be facing that day—some far friendlier than others—everyone except Caesar and Katerina began making their way back toward the gates from which they had entered.
At the same time, the enormous sheet of paper that had served as the tournament screen was removed. The two pillars of earth supporting it sank back into the ground, while several guards carried away the two magiimmagi from the arena floor.
Now only Caesar and Katerina remained standing in the center of the arena, facing one another and ready to begin their match at any moment.
"I don't believe these two fighters require much introduction after the impressive performances they displayed over the last two days," Chiacchera announced loudly, "but for those of you who decided to join us only for the main tournament, let me assure you that Leore's new Hero, Julius Caesar, and Queen Alberia's personal maid, Katerina, will absolutely not disappoint you!!!"
With those words, Chiacchera stepped away from the center of the arena and moved to a safe location from which she could observe the battle, leaving a moment for Pinusal to approach the two combatants.
"Is there anything either of you would like to say before the match begins?" the referee asked in his solemn voice.
Katerina gave a slight nod before "looking" directly toward Caesar's face. Then she offered him a brief bow and calmly said,
"I apologize, Mr. Caesar, but I have no intention of allowing myself to be defeated easily. I intend to give everything I have in this match… Although I imagine this will not be the case, I still hope my actions today will not create any problems between you and our kingdom."
Her voice was calm and professional, as serene as the surface of a crystal-clear lake untouched by wind.
"You need not concern yourself with such things, Lady Katerina," Caesar replied immediately. "Please use every ounce of strength at your disposal in your attempt to defeat me. In fact, I would consider it a grave insult if you chose not to fight me seriously."
His tone was regal and decisive, carrying the unmistakable undertone of a commander addressing an equal on the battlefield.
A small, almost imperceptible smile appeared on the maid's face before her expression quickly returned to its usual inscrutable calm.
Realizing from the look in their eyes that neither fighter had anything further to say, Pinusal once again stepped forward.
"The match will begin on my signal. Are you both ready?"
Both combatants nodded silently.
"Ready…"
Caesar unsheathed his sword.
"Set…"
Katerina lowered herself into a fighting stance.
"GO!!"
In less than an instant, Katerina leaped forward while chanting, "Wooden Claws!" Her mouth moved so quickly that the sound itself seemed to lag behind her movements. Immediately, both of her hands became covered in hardened wood shaped into sharp, deadly claws.
At the same time, while doing his best to parry the lynx beastkin's sudden assault with his golden-yellow sword, Caesar spoke in a firm voice.
"Veni."
'That word again… He used it at the beginning of his match against Mr. Ativ as well… Could it be one of the activation conditions for his History Magic?' Katerina wondered inwardly as she unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks with her wooden claws.
Since Katerina's raw physical strength was clearly superior, Caesar was forced backward with every strike he managed to block.
"I see. Since you know that the spells I use require an extremely high level of concentration, you concluded that maintaining this constant barrage of attacks would force me to dedicate most of my focus solely to defending myself. It is truly an excellent strategy, Lady Katerina, especially because if this situation were to continue for even a single minute longer, I would certainly be the one to lose," said the Hero in his regal voice as he continued retreating under the pressure of her attacks.
Yet despite the overwhelming difference in strength and speed between them, Caesar still managed to parry every single strike aimed at him.
Then the ancient Roman general's gaze suddenly sharpened with seriousness.
"However, I regret to inform you that you have underestimated the level of concentration I am capable of maintaining even in the midst of the fiercest battles."
The maid's eyes widened slightly more than usual.
Just before the sword in Caesar's hands finally began to crack under the pressure and the arms wielding it started trembling violently, the Hero cast another spell.
"Earth Soldiers: Giants!"
At once, three brown magic circles formed behind Katerina, and from them emerged three enormous Roman soldiers made entirely of earth. Each giant stood at least three meters tall and wielded a massive broadsword forged from hardened earth, nearly as large as its own body.
Without hesitation, the three giant soldiers swung their colossal blades down toward Katerina with overwhelming force.
But the beastkin maid didn't even bother turning around. Continuing her assault against Caesar without interruption, she calmly cast another spell.
"Roots Wall."
A dark-brown magic circle appeared on the ground behind her, and from it countless thick roots erupted upward, intertwining together into a massive rectangular wall over two meters high.
The earth soldiers' giant swords crashed violently against the barrier, yet the wall successfully endured the attack.
Furthermore, additional roots burst free from the structure and wrapped themselves tightly around the giants' swords and arms, effectively restraining them and rendering them almost harmless.
However, Katerina's brief moment of surprise at Caesar's earlier statement had already given the Hero enough time to cast yet another spell.
"Horse Golem: Speed!"
From the earth beneath Caesar, a horse-shaped golem made entirely of compacted earth and stone suddenly emerged. Caesar mounted it before it had even fully risen from the ground.
Unlike the enormous beast he had ridden during his battle against Ativ, this one was much closer in size to a normal horse.
The instant it fully materialized, the stone steed exploded forward at lightning speed, galloping across the arena so quickly that within moments Caesar had already placed several meters of distance between himself and Katerina.
However, that alone was nowhere near enough to discourage the maid.
Katerina immediately prepared to pursue him, fully capable of moving at speeds equal to—or perhaps even greater than—those of Caesar's golem horse.
But Caesar had anticipated that as well.
"Flaming Blades!" Caesar shouted.
Instantly, blazing flames engulfed the enormous broadswords wielded by the three earth giants.
The intense heat allowed the giant soldiers to burn through the roots restraining them, finally forcing Katerina to turn around and properly deal with the troublesome constructs.
"I would appreciate it if you disappeared," Katerina said calmly.
It took only a single moment.
With one sweeping strike of her wooden claws, the maid reduced all three earth soldiers to nothing more than clouds of dust.
But when she turned back toward Caesar—
An enormous army now stood between her and the Hero.
More than two thousand magically-created soldiers filled the arena floor.
A minute and a half had passed since the beginning of the battle between Caesar and Katerina.