"Come on, what’s the matter? If you can’t even keep up with this, you haven't got a snowball's chance in hell against Crimson."
At Blatta’s mocking provocations, the Sword Tip Rhodos brandished gained even more momentum.
He unleashed his specialty, the Consecutive Thrusts, but not a single one could land so much as a scratch on Blatta.
"Rei won his match against that man Gyanda today. You saw the fight, didn't you? His speed, the sheer power of his strikes—both are leagues above yours. With your current skill, it doesn't matter what you try; winning against Crimson is an absolute impossibility."
"Shut up! I'll do it... I’ll do it!"
The speed of the Longsword Rhodos swung increased even further. But as Blatta watched, he let out a small sigh and parried the strike with the blunted, practice-grade Longsword he held in his hand.
With a single, effortless flick, the Longsword in Rhodos’s hand was sent spinning high into the air.
"No good, no good at all. I told you from the start, didn't I? When the blood rushes to your head, the power of your strikes might go up, but your precision gets sloppy. There’s no way you can beat Crimson like that. You need to keep a cool head. Every time I open my mouth, your accuracy drops. That’s exactly why you were taken down so easily before without putting up a decent fight, isn't it?"
Rhodos bit his lip at Blatta’s relentless criticism.
He had been promised a Magic Item, but Blatta had told him it would be meaningless if his skills didn't match the gear. Rhodos had accepted that logic as true. He had been training like this since Blatta offered to instruct him, but there had been one major miscalculation.
It was the fact that Blatta did not actually think well of Rhodos.
From Blatta’s perspective, the boy might have been skilled by general standards, but he was nowhere near his own level. It rankled him that his partner, Sobul, had taken such a keen interest in the kid.
Inwardly, he knew Rhodos hadn't been recruited because he was a necessary combat asset. He was merely a means of gathering information on Rei and Elk, or perhaps a hostage to be used against them should they ever become enemies.
But even with that understanding, Blatta found the situation unpleasant.
Since Sobul had instructed him to train Rhodos, he was doing so under the pretext of the Magic Item, but Blatta was a man who stayed true to his emotions. Consequently, his tone was consistently harsh and aggressive.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
"Because your mind is focused solely on attacking, you're wearing yourself out. You made that same mistake in your match with Crimson, didn't you? Do you not understand the concept of self-reflection?"
"I... I know that."
Rhodos took a deep breath, fighting to steady his respiration.
Watching him, Blatta rested his practice Longsword on his shoulder and sighed.
"Well, you have the basics down, and you can fight well enough, but how should I put it... you're terrible at application. To put it simply, you have zero battle sense."
"Guh."
Those words hit home, likely because Rhodos knew they were true. He gnashed his teeth in frustration and glared at Blatta.
The man receiving that gaze didn't seem to care in the slightest.
"This kind of sense can be improved to a certain point through practice, but in the end, it’s an intuitive thing. Talent is what really speaks. That’s exactly why the number of High-Rank Adventurers thins out the higher you go. It’s the same for Knights and the like."
"...I suppose so."
Rhodos agreed, his mind flashing to images of his father and Rei.
"So, considering that, you simply haven't got the talent, Rhodos. Honestly, I think winning against Crimson is practically impossible. Do you feel like giving up yet?"
"No!"
Even if he lacked talent, his stubborn pride regarding Rei wouldn't allow him to quit.
Of course, his feelings for Vihera still lingered, but his obsession with Rei had grown into something separate from her. He was determined to carve his existence into that man's heart, and he didn't have the luxury of worrying about his methods.
"Sigh. Fine. Then let’s go again. I’m not much of a teacher anyway, so I usually just stick to mock battles. I’ll beat it into your body until you can't take any more—until you start reacting unconsciously."
"I’d appreciate that."
Having finally caught his breath, Rhodos took up his Longsword again and faced Blatta.
"Here I come!"
With a shout, he lunged toward his instructor.
"We strike tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? Our preparations are ready, but that’s a bit sudden, isn't it?"
Inside a mansion in the Imperial Capital, Shistoi looked slightly surprised by Mura’s declaration.
Despite his surprise, he didn't seem shaken; Shistoi had already understood that they would need to move soon. He just hadn't expected "soon" to mean tomorrow.
"Yes. Personally, I would have liked to observe the target a bit more, but... well, we had that incident with the children, didn't we?"
Shistoi frowned at Mura’s words.
If their reinforcements hadn't arrived when they did, he certainly would have been killed by Rei. More importantly, they wouldn't have been able to save all the children.
However, the follow-up attack Rei unleashed during their escape had resulted in several of those reinforcements losing their limbs. Even Shistoi felt a bitter weight in his chest over that outcome.
Mura felt the same. After giving Shistoi a brief, concerned glance, she continued her explanation.
"The repercussions of our actions in that incident have begun to surface. The word is that we're to clean up our own mess. Besides, it seems a reminder has come from the clients as well."
"So that’s the real motivation."
"I wonder. Even if they're clients, most of them are just Lower-ranking nobles. Considering the organization’s hierarchy, isn't this more likely a form of punishment for us?"
It was true that Mura and Shistoi were known as skilled operatives within the Requiem Bell. However, they weren't unique or indispensable. From the perspective of the Requiem Bell—an organization that lived and died by its secrecy—maintaining its hidden nature was far more important than the lives of two members.
Mura judged that the fact they weren't being eliminated immediately was a form of mercy from their superiors.
"Who is Crimson’s opponent tomorrow?"
"A Mage, if I recall correctly."
"A Mage actually made it this far?"
Shistoi looked surprised. Setting aside Magic Warriors like Rei who could handle both Magic and weapons, it was hard to believe a pure Mage had survived into the Fifth Round.
In a normal year, such a Mage would undoubtedly have been the talk of the town. But the reason they hadn't gained much traction was entirely due to the presence of Rei and Noise.
No matter how brightly a star might shine, if there are stars present that shine incomparably brighter, the smaller star will never stand out. As a result, the Mage—who had to be exceptionally talented to reach this stage—had proceeded through the Fighting Tournament without making much of a splash.
Of course, the spectators were watching them, but the buzz couldn't compete with the talk surrounding the two great Alias Holders, Crimson and Immovable. Considering that several other Alias Holders were also participating without being discussed much, it was perhaps only natural.
"So it seems. They're apparently quite skilled, but they won't have a chance against Crimson. Besides, no matter how deep a wound they manage to inflict on him during the match, he’ll just be healed once he leaves the arena."
"True. But... that’s only for physical wounds, right? Mental fatigue and the like shouldn't be recovered so easily."
Mura nodded at those words. That was an undeniable fact. However, she soon let out a weary sigh.
"But can they really corner Crimson enough to cause mental fatigue? Looking at his matches so far, he definitely hasn't gone all out. In fact, Crimson hasn't used a single spell since the Main Tournament began."
"Fair point. But since we have to do this anyway, we have to bet on whatever slim possibility we can find."
"...Well, that’s true. So, what’s the plan? Don't tell me you intend to launch a frontal attack and fight fair and square?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Shistoi said, immediately dismissing her suggestion.
He had known for a long time that they had no chance in a head-on fight. Above all, he had learned that lesson the hard way during the battle to save the Children from the Slum District. It had been a long time since he had felt such a bone-deep chill while facing another human being.
(More like something other than human... No, that's impossible.)
Shistoi muttered the thought inwardly but quickly brushed it aside. He had seen Rei's face several times; he didn't have the characteristic ears of an Elf, the sturdy build of a Dwarf, or the animal features of a Beastman. No matter how he looked at him, the boy appeared to be nothing but human.
Therefore, he dismissed the idea. Without realizing that he had literally hit the mark, he continued the conversation.
"If possible, I’d like to hit him while he’s resting in the Waiting Room after his match. At the very least, the chances are higher than attacking him when he's at full strength."
"I suppose. But we can't just plant Dolls in the Waiting Room. The Puppets I have available now are quite skilled, but they're adjusted entirely for combat—they aren't capable of subtle tricks like erasing their presence."
"Is it that difficult?"
"Yes. If I had the time to adjust them into a Thief-type Puppet, I could adjust ten... no, fifteen normal Combat-oriented Puppets instead. Besides, there aren't many humans who can adapt to Thief-type techniques."
Despite kidnapping and brainwashing humans for her own ends, Mura showed no hint of remorse. And yet, when the children from the slums were treated as disposable pawns, she had risked her own life to save them. She clearly drew a firm line between those on the inside and everyone else.
"What about putting a Drug in his food? That would be the simplest way."
"There’s no way an Alias Holder would fall for such a simple trick. Given his intuition, I wouldn't be surprised if he could smell the poison before it even touched his lips."
"Point taken."
Having witnessed Rei’s absurd capabilities, Shistoi couldn't dismiss her concern as outlandish.
"But looking at it another way, if he goes to the trouble of avoiding poison, it means it must be effective, right? Still... I agree we should probably steer clear of poisoning his food or drink."
"Yes. If he eats it, great, but if he detects it, he’ll be on high alert. That would make the actual raid significantly harder."
He was a truly vexing opponent. Mura and Shistoi were forced to recognize that reality.
"Anyway, since we’re committed, we need to be fully prepared. Mura, I’m counting on you to get the Dolls adjusted."
"Leave it to me... Ah."
Nodding at Shistoi’s words, she suddenly froze as if she had been struck by an idea. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke.
"Hey, Shistoi. If poison might actually work, why don't we just coat our weapons with it?"
Shistoi looked surprised. It wasn't unusual for an Assassin to use poison, but Mura and Shistoi had avoided it until now. Part of it was because Mura’s Puppets and Shistoi’s own skill made it unnecessary, but coating weapons also came with risks.
Specifically, the Puppets sometimes suffered a few seconds of sluggishness when forced to make independent judgments. They had feared that a Puppet might be disarmed and the poison-coated weapon used against Shistoi instead.
But this time, they didn't have the luxury of such worries. Mura had judged that they had to take risks if they were to take down Crimson.
Shistoi understood that as well. He nodded at Mura’s suggestion, and the two continued their consultation for some time. Ultimately, they decided to prioritize Thief-type techniques over raw combat power to a certain extent, opting for numbers and the use of the Poison Dagger to increase their chances of a successful kill.