"Go for it, Rush!"
"Blow that scumbag Hugo away!"
"Thank you! Thank you! I swear to you all! I’ll take your support and turn it into the power I need to crush Hugo! I'll save Melt from his clutches, I promise!"
Rush made his grand declaration to the students packing the arena, and the crowd responded with a deafening roar of approval.
In stark contrast to the fanatical energy of the audience, the atmosphere on Hugo’s side was heavy. Melt sat with her head bowed, a somber expression clouding her face as she addressed the brothers.
"Hugo, Fee... I'm so sorry. It's my fault it’s come to this."
"Don't sweat it, Melt. It's not your fault. I was already the local pariah, and those guys are just looking for an excuse to vent. They wouldn't listen even if we tried to talk sense into them."
Hugo gave her a small, wry smile. Remembering how Fee had been the one feeling down before the fight with Marcos, he figured it was just Melt’s turn to play the role of the worried companion. He offered her a few words of encouragement before turning his gaze back to the stands.
The crowd was significantly larger than it had been for his last duel. What’s more, every single person there seemed to be rooting for Rush, hungrily anticipating Hugo’s defeat.
I’m not a total, irredeemable scumbag, but talk about playing in hostile territory... Hugo could only laugh at the absurdity of it all, viewing the impending disaster with a detached, almost clinical eye.
He reached out and patted Melt and Fee on their shoulders. When he spoke, his voice was remarkably relaxed for a man about to step into the ring.
"It’ll be fine. Sure, he’s got more supporters... but look at it this way: the number of people cheering for me has doubled! I’ve gone from one to two! That’s a hundred percent growth! With more people believing in me, I can be even stronger than before. Since I was already the strongest to begin with, there’s no way I’m losing now."
"...You’re right. As long as I believe in you, you’ll never lose, Brother. Okay, I get it. I’ll believe in your victory today, too!"
"That’s the spirit! You really are the best brother a guy could ask for, Fee."
Hugo let out a gentle laugh as he ruffled his younger brother's hair.
Watching Fee look up at his brother with eyes full of unwavering trust, Melt felt a small, cozy warmth blossom in her chest. The bond between the two was palpable.
"...Alright, it’s about time. I’m heading out."
"Good luck, Brother!"
"We’re rooting for you, Hugo! We believe in you!"
With the cheers of Fee and Melt at his back, Hugo stepped onto the field of combat.
Compared to the tidal wave of support for Rush, his cheering section was tiny... but those two voices were enough to plant a firm thought in his heart: he wasn't alone.
Hugo flexed his left arm, settling the weight of the bracelet, and finished a brief warm-up by clenching and unclenching his fist. He stepped forward to face Rush, who was already gripped his longsword, and spoke.
"Ready whenever you are. How about you?"
"Ready and waiting, Hugo Clay. Carrying the hopes of everyone who hates you, I’m going to take you down!"
What a miserable thing to have to carry, Hugo thought, exhaling a dry chuckle at Rush’s bravado.
If he had to choose between the weight of their petty expectations and the pure support of just two people, there was no contest. As he cleared his mind, the voice of the student referee rang across the grounds.
"The duel between Rush Winhelm and the exile of the House of Clay, Hugo, will now commence! Victory will be determined when one side is unable to continue! Both parties, is this acceptable!?"
"Yeah."
"Of course!"
A ripple of laughter went through the crowd at the referee's mocking introduction.
Fee and Melt bristled at the insult, but the referee ignored them, raising his hand to signal the start.
"Then, swearing to a fair and honorable fight... Duel, start!!"
"Blaster, deploy!"
"Now, let’s go, Windrum!!"
As the signal was given, both combatants unleashed their Magic Items.
As his black armor materialized around him, Hugo saw Rush swing his sword from a distance. He reacted on instinct, throwing himself to the side just as a razor-sharp gust of wind tore through the space he had occupied a second before.
Recovering his footing, Hugo calmly analyzed the attack.
(No surprises there. Wind blades... essentially vacuum waves.)
The ability converted the user's magic power into blades of air released with each swing—a power very similar to Melt’s Magic Item.
The difference was that Rush’s strikes were more powerful, but they required a large physical swing of the sword to generate.
Once he understood the mechanics, the rest was simple logic. Hugo already had a counter-strategy in mind and immediately moved to execute it.
"Hup! Ha! Ho!"
Just like the elemental slashes of a tokusatsu hero, these vacuum waves followed the physical trajectory of the blade.
If the sword swung horizontally, a horizontal blade of wind followed. If it swung vertically, the attack was vertical.
As long as he watched the orientation of the sword and Rush’s body to predict the path, dodging wasn't that difficult.
Big, flashy projectiles like that were only truly effective as finishing blows. Hugo had seen enough heroes in his favorite shows try to spam similar moves against fresh opponents, only to have them easily parried or evaded. Learning from the failures of his TV idols, he slowly but surely closed the distance.
(I don’t need anything fancy. Once I’m inside his reach, the fight’s over. Just a few more steps...!)
Leaping over low arcs and stepping inside vertical slashes, Hugo narrowed the gap.
He felt the moment he entered his effective range. Victory was within his grasp. But just as he took his final step forward, a sharp impact slammed into his side.
"Wha—!?"
He was sent tumbling to the right, though he managed to roll with the impact and spring back into a defensive stance.
Standing up, Hugo checked the fresh gouge on the left side of his armor. He racked his brain, trying to understand what had happened. The attack had come from a direction where it was physically impossible for Rush to have fired from—until he looked up.
"Fuhahahaha! Caught you off guard, did I? Did you really think I’d let you get close that easily?"
"Huh? What the hell...?"
Hugo’s eyes widened in genuine shock.
Standing before him were two identical versions of Rush. Both held their swords in a ready stance, and both wore the same mocking sneer.
"When did I ever say I only had one Magic Item? I use two: Windrum and the Avatar Ring! I’m in a completely different league than a relic like you who can only handle one tool at a time!"
Rush raised his left hand, showing off five ornate rings on his fingers.
Flanked by his double, Rush smirked at Hugo and flared his magic power, reveling in the display of his superior strength.