Rei made his move.
The moment he did, the combatants on stage who had been keeping a wary eye on him reacted instantly. Their reaction was not to launch an attack, however. Instead, they tried to put as much distance as possible between themselves and Rei while remaining locked in combat with their current opponents.
Splitting one’s attention in the heat of a battle royal was a double-edged sword. Some participants were struck down when their opponents exploited the momentary lapse in focus, while others were so fixated on Rei that they were blindsided by fighters they hadn't even noticed.
Among those exercising the utmost caution, two stood out: Sistoi, the man skilled in martial arts who had antagonized Rei in the waiting room, and the gigantic man with a hammer who had provoked him on stage. Precisely because they had picked a fight with him, they found it impossible to look away.
"Uoooooooh!"
Sistoi leaped backward, narrowly evading a mace aimed at his torso. As soon as the weapon swung past, he lunged forward with reflexive speed, delivering an upward punch that shattered his opponent's jaw and sent him flying. He couldn't afford to relax, however; he immediately ducked a dagger swung by another man who had moved in to exploit his opening.
The dagger user's skill was higher than Sistoi had anticipated. With a swift backhand slash, the blade tore through the chest of Sistoi's leather armor.
"Tch. You're just a small-fry who can only strike from the shadows," Sistoi spat spitefully.
The small man with a dagger merely smirked, offering no verbal retort. Sistoi continued to evade the relentless flurry of strikes, his gaze flickering back toward Rei—
"What!?"
In the blink of an eye, Rei had vanished from the spot where he had stood seconds before. It was only a momentary distraction, but for the dagger user, it was more than enough of an opening. Normally, the man would have buried his blade in Sistoi’s body.
(…Huh?)
Instead, the man’s consciousness suddenly plummeted into darkness. He collapsed onto the stage without ever understanding what had happened to him.
While the unconscious man was left in the dark, the other participants had seen everything. They had witnessed Rei appear directly behind the dagger user as if by magic.
Naturally, the first to notice was Sistoi. Having briefly traded blows with Rei in the waiting room—or rather, having attacked unilaterally while Rei effortlessly dodged—he was better prepared than most. Ignoring the fallen dagger user, Sistoi measured the gap with a seriousness far beyond anything he had shown before.
(Crimson’s weapon is a long-handled great scythe. That makes it difficult to handle at close range. If I can get inside his guard, I can deal with him!)
Sistoi muttered the thought to convince himself, watching for any sign that Rei was about to swing the Death Scythe. His logic wasn't flawed; generally, getting close was the standard strategy against spears, halberds, or poleaxes.
...Yes, it was sound logic—provided the opponent was wielding an ordinary weapon.
Sistoi watched Rei’s every movement, determined not to miss the slightest twitch. Ordinarily, fixating on a single person during a battle royal was a recipe for disaster, as others would scramble to strike at an exposed back. In this case, however, a tacit agreement had formed. The surrounding fighters held back, watching to see if this man could defeat Crimson—or at least wound him and create a vulnerability.
If they could be the one to take down Crimson, it would be a massive achievement. Even if they failed to reach the main tournament, they would walk away with more than enough fame.
The spectators and participants alike were left stunned by what happened next.
Rei took a single step forward and thrust the Death Scythe. Despite his confidence in his agility, Sistoi failed to perceive any precursor to the attack. Before he knew it, he was collapsing to the floor.
"Wh—"
He tried to speak, but the words died in his throat. He realized he couldn't even draw a breath. It wasn't exactly pain he felt, but a massive impact. A heavy sensation in his solar plexus had completely paralyzed his diaphragm.
(What… happened?)
With that final question echoing in his mind, Sistoi's consciousness was swallowed by the dark.
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Great cheers thundered through the coliseum. Even though Crimson was practically a sworn enemy of the Bestia Empire, his overwhelming strength was enough to make the crowd forget their animosity. Of course, those who had lost loved ones in the war likely wanted to scream in protest, but the majority of the spectators cheered simply because they were witnessing something extraordinary.
"Hey, did you see that move!?"
"Did he just… thrust the butt end of that great scythe into his solar plexus?"
The Spearman Leader and the Battle-axe User stood back-to-back, fending off other participants while they spoke.
(The qualifying pairings are based on luck, and I thought ending up in this block was a disaster… but facing a monster like this, maybe it was actually good luck instead.)
The Spearman Leader reflected on their situation. Rather than facing Rei alone or alongside a stranger, it was far better to stand against him with a fellow adventurer he could trust.
"Shall we go?" the Battle-axe User asked.
"Already? I'd like to see more of his cards if possible." The Battle-axe User raised his weapon to parry a slash from the Tournament Swordswoman.
"If the number of participants keeps dropping, it'll be harder to take him by surprise. He'll see us coming!" the Spearman Leader warned, thrusting his spear to keep another attacker at bay while they dealt with the swordswoman.
"Damn you! Fighting while talking… don't you look down on me!" the woman cried, unleashing a sharp thrust.
The Battle-axe User parried the strike with minimal movement. Seizing the opening, the Spearman Leader knocked the woman's longsword high into the air. While she stood stunned, the Battle-axe User slammed a knee kick into her stomach, sending her crumpling to the stage.
Leaving the woman where she fell, the Spearman Leader noticed a change in Rei's demeanor.
"Watch out! It looks like he’s going to do it again. Be ready to move at a moment’s notice. If an opening appears, we go all at once. Don’t hesitate."
"Understood. It looks like the others are thinking the same thing." The Battle-axe User cast a swift glance around the stage.
About ten minutes had passed since the start of the match. The number of participants still standing had been cut in half. If they missed this chance, they might be forced to face Crimson alone.
As they watched, Rei gripped the Death Scythe and spoke.
"O flames, gather, gather. You are individuals yet a swarm. A swarm yet individuals. Manifest your form through my voice."
As the chant finished, a 1m flame ball manifested at the tip of the scythe. Those observing realized exactly what was happening. One man screamed in a voice bordering on a shriek.
"It's magic! Don't let him finish!"
The participants froze for a heartbeat before realization set in, and they dashed toward Rei in a desperate swarm. The tacit agreement to watch and wait was gone; if magic was involved, the rules changed. No matter how much reach a great scythe had, its range was limited. Magic, however, could cover the entire stage and then some. To survive the qualifying rounds and reach the main tournament, they had to stop him here.
However, the flame ball was already airborne. It flew in a straight line at a relatively leisurely pace. Its target was the gigantic man with a hammer who had confronted Rei earlier.
Seeing the 1m flame ball drifting toward him, the giant's face twitched, but he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw how slow it was. Even those charging at Rei slowed their pace, assuming the slow-moving projectile couldn't possibly be that powerful. If that was the extent of his magic, there was no need to rush headlong into the path of a warrior with his reputation.
"Heh. People talk about Crimson this and that, but this is the best magic he can do? I heard stories about him creating a flame tornado, but this is—"
"Blooming Flame Flower."
Rei knew the man was mocking him, but he decided the words weren't worth hearing. He activated the spell before the man could finish.
In that instant, the 1m flame ball detonated. It shattered into a lump of flame composed of countless small fragments that bared their fangs at everyone nearby.
Fortunately, the rules of the tournament prohibited lethal attacks. Rei had imbued the spell with a surprisingly small amount of magic power. Rather than turning his targets to ash, the fragments were only meant to cause painful burns.
Even so, being showered by a swarm of fire was a nightmare for the man with a hammer. Because he was struck in so many places at once, his fate was arguably more miserable than the martial artist Rei had knocked out earlier. While his physical wounds would be healed once he left the stage, the psychological trauma was another matter. Like the soldiers on the Seremuse Plain who had named him Crimson out of terror, these men were being marked by his power.
The man with a hammer wasn't the only one caught in the flame buckshot; three other participants nearby were also struck. All four chose to jump off the stage and surrender, unable to endure the agony of the burns.
"Incredible! Absolutely incredible! Is this Crimson's essence!? That flame ball shattered into fragments and swept the participants, eliminating several in one go! Is there truly no defense against this!? Crimson is clearly the favorite to win C Block, leaving everyone else to scramble for the final two spots!"
Rei frowned slightly at the live commentator’s booming voice, then glanced across the stage and muttered to himself.
"Now then. Only three can advance to the main tournament. That leaves… a little over ten people."
His voice reached the ears of everyone on the stage with unnatural clarity. Even those in the front rows of the spectator seats heard him perfectly. A sudden chill ran down their spines.
"I'm going again. A word of advice: if you don't want to experience something even more painful, you should get off the stage now."
Several participants instinctively stepped back. However, most felt they couldn't afford to retreat. They were already calculating how to secure one of the two remaining spots once Rei was finished, but that momentary hesitation proved fatal.
"O flames, become arrows that burn all and pour down like rain."
As the chant concluded, fifty flame arrows manifested in the air behind Rei. Like his previous spell, the magic power imbued in them was kept to a minimum. Those seeing it for the first time, however, couldn't possibly have known that.
"!? Stop him!" several participants screamed, lunging at Rei, but it was far too late.
"Shower of Flame Arrows!"
At Rei’s command, the fifty flame arrows were unleashed in a massive volley. The rapid-fire sweep caught the charging participants, enveloping them in fire. Because Rei had reduced the magic power, the arrows didn't pierce through their bodies or incinerate them instantly, but the sheer volume of the attack was overwhelming.
When the shower of flame arrows finally ceased, only three people remained standing on the stage: Rei himself, and the two participants who had been standing closest to him in their desperate attempt to stop the magic.