The colosseum was a storm of sound. Humans roared, cried, and clung to one another, their voices echoing like thunder after decades of silence. For the first time since the tournament began, hope wasn't a fragile whisper, it was a shout.
"WE WON!"
"Humanity still fights!"
"Musashi! Musashi!"
In the VIP stand, Lucianne collapsed into her seat, her body trembling. She covered her mouth, tears streaming, unable to contain it. Noah placed a hand on her shoulder, his own face a mask of exhaustion and relief. He exhaled deeply, as though he had been holding his breath the entire match.
"…Two to one," he whispered. "We're on the board."
Musashi, down in the arena, wiped his blade against his sleeve. His back was torn, his arms bruised, his chest bloodied but his grin was calm, almost smug. He scratched the back of his head and muttered to himself.
"Tch. Still hurts my back… should've finished it quicker."
Then, with no grand speech, no acknowledgement of the screaming crowd, he simply walked toward the human gate, yawning at last, but with a satisfied glint in his eyes.
"Guess I'll get some sleep before the next boss fight."
The humans laughed, cried harder, and screamed louder. Even in his irreverence, Musashi was their savior.
Meanwhile, across the arena, the Grimm brothers sat in silence.
Hans's knuckles were white around his wine glass, which finally cracked under his grip. His polished calm was shattered. "Impossible… IMPOSSIBLE. Lady Rose… undone by him?"
Leo, by contrast, did not shout. His jaw was tight, his eyes sharp, his lips pressed into a thin line. But a faint twitch betrayed his fury.
"This was supposed to be certain," Leo muttered, voice like a knife's edge. "Rose was one of our strongest hunters. She slaughtered gods without blinking. And yet… " He stopped, inhaled sharply, and straightened his coat.
"... we underestimated him. No more."
Hans slammed his fist on the table.
"That clown humiliated us! That swordsman turned our hunter into prey. We can't allow another mistake."
Leo's gaze shifted to the blood-soaked sand where Rose had fallen. His face softened for a fleeting moment, as though even he felt the weight of her loss. Then the steel returned to his eyes.
"Very well," he said. "We still hold the lead. Two to one. Five victories remain. Next time, we won't waste our pieces on spectacle. Next time… humanity bleeds."
They raised their glasses again, but the toast was bitter.
In the human quarters, Noah and Lucianne rushed to greet Musashi. He brushed past them, slumping onto a bench, half-asleep already.
"Wait! Musashi! That was incredible! You-" Lucianne started.
"Mm. Wake me up when the next fight's here," Musashi mumbled, already closing his eyes. "Don't forget to charge my console, yeah?"
Lucianne's face went red. "Y-you reckless! You almost died!"
Noah chuckled, rubbing his forehead. "Leave him. He earned the rest."
Behind them, the humans outside the Colosseum were chanting into the night. The world saw it. Humanity could win.
And for the first time in years… the Grimm brothers weren't smiling.
Musashi slumped onto the bench, still bleeding but clearly more annoyed about being woken than dying. His eyes were half-shut when something strange drifted upward from his chest wound a tiny, round puff of cloud, bouncing lightly like a floating dumpling.
Lucianne froze. "N-Noah… are you seeing this?"
The little puff bobbed in the air, then blinked open two sparkling eyes and sprouted a tiny mouth. With a high-pitched "Puuu~", it turned to Musashi.
"Wait… is that-" Noah leaned closer. "Rose?!"
The puff squeaked cheerfully, spinning around once before settling in front of Musashi's face.
"Yup! Lady Rose, the Blood-Colour Hunter… but cuter!"
Musashi, for the first time in the tournament, was utterly dumbfounded. He blinked.
"…What. The hell. Is this?"
The puff wiggled, bouncing onto his head and puffing her cheeks.
"From now on, I'll follow you everywhere! You freed me, so I have put my soul within you before I die and I swear to be your biggest supporter!"
"Absolutely not," Musashi said flatly, swatting at the air. "I like being alone. You'll just talk too much."
The puff spun in indignation.
"Nope! You can't get rid of me! Think of me as your… battle mascot! Your cheerleader!"
Musashi groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "I fought a werewolf the size of a mountain just for this?"
Lucianne and Noah stood frozen for a moment then burst into laughter, the kind that carried all their pent-up fear, grief, and stress. For the first time since the tournament began, their smiles were genuine.
"Musashi, you need to head to the fairy medics," Noah finally said between chuckles. "That wound is fatal if you don't treat it."
"I said I'm going to sleep," Musashi mumbled, lying back on the bench.
The puff Rose floated down to his nose, glaring with her tiny face.
"No way! Go heal or I'll bounce on your face until you do!"
Musashi grunted… then sat up with the slowest, most reluctant sigh.
"…Fine."
As he trudged toward the medical wing, Rose floated after him like an annoying little halo, humming cheerfully. Lucianne and Noah leaned against the wall, still laughing.
"Humanity really did win today," Lucianne whispered.
Noah nodded, his eyes softer than they'd been in weeks.
"And for once… it feels like we can keep winning."
The Colosseum lights dimmed as the humans celebrated, and for the first time since the tournament began, hope burned brighter than despair.
Musashi lay on the futon in the fairy medical ward, bandaged but refusing to stay still. The little puff of Rose bounced on his shoulder, giggling innocently as she poked his cheek.
"Musashiiii~ wake up! You can't sleep forever, dummy!"
"I can and I will," he grumbled, rolling over.
The puff puffed up her cheeks, hovering above him like a tiny storm cloud. Then, with the sweetest, most innocent face she could manage, she whispered,
"If you don't move, I'll tickle you."
Musashi cracked one eye open, glaring. "…You're a curse."
She beamed. "And you're my swordsman!"
Lucianne and Noah, watching from the side, laughed quietly. For once, the room wasn't filled with despair,it was filled with something lighter.
But then, Noah felt curious and asked Musashi a question.
"When you say that you are about to walk away from the duel if I don't give you the golden sphere… Are you really about to do it?"
Lucianne also asked him the same question,
"YEAH, that shocked the hell out of me! Why did you do that!"
"Me too! I thought you were a fraud and scaredy pussy!"
Musashi with annoyed face especially towards the sassy flying puffing cloud of his opponent soul and finally reply'
"Nope. I'm just tweaking with you. It is because you took the console the day before. I'm just testing you and if you won't give me, I will just take some thick tree branches in the forest arena and carved into a katana and continue the fight like normal but it will take some time and I want to end it earlier so, i can sleep earlier."
All of them putting their palms on their faces but, they slowly understood musashi weird strategy of dueling.
Suddenly a laugh can be heard besides them and then the figure show himself as
King Arthur, who is also in Fairy Magical Medical Center to recover from his fight on round 1. Leo Grimm has provided this facility for fairy tales and for humanity champions to recover themselves using magic.
"Oh, you are King Arthur!" say Noah looking at King Arthur that is filled with bandages and now his left hand is covered in a magic machine that slowly recover back his lost hands.
"Please just call me Arthur and this champion of yours name is Miyamoto Musashi, right?"
Noah looks at him and says "Yes, it is… Oh, congratulate on your win before"
Arthur just nods but his face shows a sad emotion but then he looks up back and looks confident. Then he say,
"Humanity is amazing… especially your first winner. He has a weird way of fighting but his swordsmanship is perfect."
Everybody there was shocked hearing a compliment from one of the representatives of their opponent's side.
Hans Grimm's private chamber
The contrast was brutal. The polished room looked like a war zone with books shredded, chairs overturned, glass smashed to glittering shards. Hans stood in the middle of it, his usually calm demeanor shattered, his eyes wild.
"They dared to take one from me…" he growled, slamming his fist into the wall. Blood dripped down his hand, but he didn't stop. He bit into his finger, teeth tearing skin until crimson spilled freely.
"This is not supposed to happen. There is no chance humanity should- "
A sound interrupted him. A hollow clink, like porcelain sliding on porcelain.
From the shadows, steam unfurled, curling into the room like smoke. A crooked chuckle echoed, mocking, bouncing off the walls.
"Temper, temper, little Grimm," a voice sang, sly and amused. "Such a messy child, breaking his toys."
Hans froze, his eyes narrowing. "You…"
From the mist, a figure emerged, half-man, half-teapot, with curling spouts and golden chains, eyes glowing with a mischievous gleam. He bowed mockingly, grin wide.
"The Teapot Genie," Hans spat. His voice was ice. "You have no right to step foot here."
The Genie chuckled, spinning the lid of his own head as if it were a toy.
"Oh, don't glare at me like that, boy. I came only to soothe… and to offer."
Hans' fists clenched. His sharp stare could cut glass. "We don't need you."
"Oh, but you do," the Genie said with a purr, floating lazily above the wreckage. "You're frightened. Your elder brother is frightened. One loss, and your perfect little playhouse starts to crumble. Humanity has claws after all."
Hans snarled but stayed silent, his fury boiling.
The Genie leaned in close, his smile sharper than a blade.
"So here's my proposition. Why wait? Why drag this out? Let me and my client join the dance. Put us in the next round, and I promise that your 'hopeful' little humans won't even survive long enough to scream."
The room grew heavy, tense. Hans' breathing slowed, his anger sharpening into cold calculation.
"Your client?" he asked, voice low.
The Genie's grin widened, eyes flashing. "Oh… you'll meet him soon. And when you do, Hans Grimm…" He leaned close enough to whisper. "…you'll forget all about that little clown with wooden swords."
Hans' lip curled, blood still dripping from his bitten finger. For the first time since the fight, a thin, cruel smile returned to his face.