Rain fell from the sky, following yesterday's overcast weather. However, a field of some kind enveloped not only the stage but the entire arena, ensuring that not a single drop fell inside.
Amidst this, Rei stood on the arena stage, facing Gyanda.
His opponent was clad in metal half plate mail and held a halberd—the same equipment he had used in his battle against Veikyul. Gyanda’s eyes burned with fighting spirit as he fixed his gaze on Rei.
There was no trace of the certain leeway he had shown when facing Veikyul. He clearly understood that the opponent standing before him was no ordinary foe.
『Now, the next match of the Fighting Tournament’s fourth round: Rei versus Gyanda! Both combatants favoring polearms is the true highlight of this match. We expect a battle so hot it might just blow those rain clouds away! On one side, we have Rei, whose free-spirited style follows no fixed form. On the other, we have Gyanda, a man theoretically disciplined through years of rigorous training. Personally, I’m eager to see Gyanda’s ferocious technique!』
The Live Commentator's voice stoked the excitement of the crowd. Still buzzing from the previous match, the audience’s fervor surged to a fever pitch.
"I see. Facing you like this, I can certainly tell you’re strong."
As Gyanda spoke, keeping his halberd ready, Rei also opened his mouth while readying his Death Scythe.
"I’m honored. But with your current strength, it’s still not quite enough. If possible, try to make the fight last, all right?"
"Hah! To speak so boldly to my face. Interesting."
With a ferocious smile on his lips, Gyanda directed a gaze at Rei that seemed to exert physical pressure.
"I understand that you’re strong. But even so, I don't recall saying I was weaker than you. You supposedly hold the alias of 'Crimson,' but that title... I’ll shatter it here today!"
With those words, Gyanda swung his halberd around grandly.
The signal to start the match had not yet been given, but since this was viewed as a sort of performance, the referee didn't offer a word of caution.
As if to counter Gyanda, Rei also swung the Death Scythe with a force that seemed to slice through the air itself.
Seeing this, the referee likely decided it was best to start the match quickly. He declared the commencement in a voice that resonated throughout the arena.
"Match, start!"
『Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!』
With the cheers of the spectators at their backs, Rei and Gyanda both stepped forward.
As they closed the distance in an instant, the Death Scythe and the halberd both swung.
The metallic sound of blade clashing against blade echoed across the stage. Immediately following the impact, Rei and Gyanda simultaneously leapt back to put distance between them.
They both held their weapons ready for a moment, watching for an opening. For some reason, a look of doubt appeared on Gyanda's face.
However, without putting that doubt into words, they clashed once more.
Their blades swung wide, attacking from above, below, and either side—aiming for the opponent from every possible angle. They both defended, parried, and evaded everything. A battle unfolded near the center of the stage where neither gave an inch.
As they exchanged blows, Gyanda's expression grew grimmer with every strike.
Yet, no matter how he felt internally, his movements never grew reckless. He continued to drive the halberd toward Rei with precision.
Rei parried a horizontal slash by scooping it up with the butt end part of his weapon. Utilizing that very momentum, he shifted his grip on the Death Scythe, and the giant blade swept upward, threatening to pierce Gyanda's body from below.
"Tch!"
Gyanda blocked the strike by holding his halberd horizontally. His judgment that he could block it came from his long years of combat experience.
That judgment was not wrong. In fact, it was the best possible response in that situation... save for one detail: the fact that Gyanda's opponent was Rei.
"Nuooooooo!?"
The scooping strike sent Gyanda flying nearly three meters into the air, along with the halberd he had thrust out.
He wasn't exactly a giant, but he was still considerably larger than Rei, standing nearly two meters tall. As evidenced by his effortless handling of the halberd, his build was muscular, and including his armor, his weight surely exceeded 200kg.
Rei sending him three meters into the air with a single swing was a terrifying testament to his physical strength.
However, Gyanda was a battle-hardened veteran who had survived this far. He regained his posture in mid-air and landed firmly on his feet.
The fact that the distance between him and Rei had opened up was lucky for him, as it meant he didn't take a follow-up attack.
However, Gyanda’s expression was not one of relief. If anything, he looked incensed.
"...What are you planning?" Gyanda growled from the back of his throat while holding his halberd ready.
Rei responded without changing his expression.
"What am I planning?"
"Exactly. ...That great scythe is a magic item, isn't it? But you don't seem to be channeling magic power through it at all. Or is that ridiculous weight just a natural effect of the item?"
Rei was inwardly a little surprised by Gyanda’s observation.
It was exactly as the man said; Rei was not channeling magic power into the Death Scythe. That was precisely why Gyanda's halberd, which was not a magic item, was even able to clash properly with the Death Scythe.
"Well, I wonder. But if you want to know the answer, try cornering me more. If you do that, you might just find out."
The words were a clear declaration that Rei was holding back.
For this match, Rei had imposed a handicap upon himself: 'to defeat Gyanda using the Death Scythe without channeling magic power.'
Precisely because Gyanda used a polearm like himself, Rei had decided to test his limits.
"Fine. If you're going to say that much, I'll draw out... the depths of your power!"
Shouting as he converted his anger into strength, Gyanda kicked off the stage even faster than before and closed the distance.
Then began the halberd's consecutive attacks.
Sharper, faster, and with greater power than in the previous exchange, Gyanda unleashed a flurry of blows. Rei defended, parried, and let the attacks slide off the Death Scythe.
Even though anger had rushed to Gyanda's head, his movements never devolved into mindless brute force. He knew his own ability well and understood that losing control in the heat of battle was a death sentence.
"Ora ora ora! What's wrong? Is defense all you've got!?"
Gyanda unleashed a horizontal flash. When that was parried by a strike from the Death Scythe, he used the momentum of the parry to spin in place and launch a thrust.
Rei caught that thrust with the shaft part of the Death Scythe and parried it toward the butt end. As Gyanda's balance faltered for an instant, Rei swung a great scythe's strike at him.
Gyanda evaded the strike—which would have easily severed a limb or two if it hit cleanly—by crouching low, nearly falling on his rear. He immediately followed up with a strike aimed at Rei's feet.
"Naive!"
Rei's defense was to thrust the Death Scythe's butt end into the stage floor.
A high-pitched metallic ring echoed as the weapons collided.
"U... raaaah!"
Returning the force of the halberd's strike, Rei drove it back with sheer arm strength.
Gyanda felt his body lift for a moment, but determined not to repeat his previous mistake, he swung his halberd while airborne, using the reaction to land safely.
"I thought this earlier, but you sure can blow me away despite that small body. Is that really an effect of that great scythe?"
"I wonder. Let's just say... you're not entirely wrong."
It was a strike combining Rei's natural strength and the Death Scythe's massive weight. It wasn't an effect of channeling magic power, but the weight itself was an undeniable characteristic of the weapon.
"Hmph, well, whatever. It doesn't change the fact that I'll draw out your power and win anyway."
"Talking in your sleep is something you should do in a bed. Though even then, mumbling is just annoying for everyone else."
"I'll prove whether I'm talking in my sleep or not. With my own strength."
Exchanging light banter, they both held their weapons ready, gauging the other.
When Gyanda lowered the tip part of the halberd until it almost touched the stage, Rei responded by shifting to an upper guard, gauge the timing to swing the Death Scythe down.
Seeing that, when Gyanda readied his halberd for a thrust, Rei shifted the Death Scythe to a middle guard to parry.
For several minutes, they engaged in this psychological warfare—intentionally creating openings to bait attacks or using those openings as decoys to lure the opponent into a trap.
To an observer, only a few minutes had passed, but for the combatants, the mental fatigue was immense.
Gyanda was particularly affected. Even though he was barely moving, sweat had begun to bead on his face.
(This brat... he's not just talk. To actually possess this much skill, I guess he really is an alias holder. ...This is troublesome. He doesn't look fatigued at all. I'm the one being cornered mentally.)
Rei showed no signs of exhaustion. Gyanda clicked his tongue inwardly and steeled himself, steadying his breathing.
He made sure Rei couldn't see him inhale. If an attack came while he was drawing breath, his reaction would be delayed by a fraction of a second. Against the monster standing before him, even a split-second opening would be fatal.
(Phew... alright. If I drag this out, I'll only lose. I have to push through with everything I’ve got. I hate to admit it, but he's superior to me even in pure technique.)
Having made up his mind, Gyanda took a deep breath—out of Rei's sight—and then kicked off the stage, closing the distance in a blur.
"Uoooooooooo!"
With a roar, he swung the halberd with enough power to end the match then and there. Rei met that diagonal slash with his Death Scythe.
A high-pitched metallic clang echoed, announcing the start of the final struggle.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Metallic sounds rang out in rapid succession.
Thrusts and slashes came from every direction. Rei's Death Scythe parried every single one of the halberd's attacks. Moreover, he threaded through the openings to deliver counter strikes, cleanly slicing through Gyanda's armor.
Even without magic power, the Death Scythe's sharpness was staggering.
Gyanda's consecutive attacks failed to deal any damage, while wounds continued to accumulate on his own body from Rei's strikes.
Still, Gyanda did not stop, pushing himself to the limit as he sought a reversal strike. He used the spear part for thrusts, the axe part for horizontal slashes, and even spun to target the feet with the butt end part. Rei evaded every single one and countered.
With every exchange, Rei remained unhurt while Gyanda's damage increased. Impatience began to gnaw at Gyanda’s heart.
"Uoooooooooo!"
As if to banish his anxiety, he swung the halberd harder, faster, and sharper.
As if to say all those efforts were useless, Rei swung his Death Scythe. Small but numerous cuts opened on Gyanda's arms and legs.
"It's about time I finished this!"
Rei shouted as he brought an end to the dance of steel, swinging the Death Scythe with a massive flourish.
Suddenly, the power behind the strike tripled, sending Gyanda flying like a pebble.
It was only a single blow, but Gyanda's limbs had reached their limit. They trembled with exhaustion; he was spent beyond what willpower alone could repair.
The fact that he had even blocked that last strike was thanks to his years of experience. He was still standing on the stage, but the price had been paid: the shaft of his halberd was now violently distorted, bent like heated pulled candy.
Gyanda looked at his ruined weapon and gasped. In that moment of shock, he showed the first true opening of the fight. Feeling a light impact against his neck, his consciousness was swallowed by darkness.
"The winner, Rei!"
He heard the referee's voice just as he went under.