“Both golems are rising slowly! It looks like their fighting spirits are more than ready! They’re crouching low, staring each other down! Now, now, now! Are you ready?! It seems you are! Thank you for waiting—the final match of the Golem Fight! Ready... go!”
The announcer thrust his hand down with a roar.
At that exact moment, Leonhart charged straight toward us.
I took a forward-leaning posture and fired the Magic Cannons on my back.
The first shot was avoided with a leap to the side.
The second shot was dodged just as easily.
By the time the third shot was evaded, Leonhart had already closed the distance, looming right before Diguardia’s eyes.
“Whoa!? He’s fast! He’s at a speed that’s incomparable to any golem we've seen so far, Master!”
“This is bad! At this rate, we won't be able to dodge his attacks!”
The two of them panicked, but it wasn't a problem.
I calmly pushed the lever to the left.
Diguardia tilted its massive frame.
Just as they said, jumping to dodge wouldn't be fast enough, but that didn't matter.
“There... we go.”
While maintaining its tilted posture, Diguardia slid directly to the side.
I’d installed boosters specifically to counter Leonhart’s high-speed movement.
Magical flames roared from the vents, and the momentum sent Diguardia gliding sideways across the arena.
“Hoh, using Attack Magic for propulsion? But Lloyd, do you really think I hadn't prepared for something like that?”
Leonhart immediately changed direction and pursued us.
He’d clearly anticipated my movement, but the feeling was mutual.
As he swung down his sharp claws, I fired the Magic Cannon.
“Ngh!?”
Leonhart dodged the shot by leaping at the last possible second, but the forced maneuver left him defenseless in mid-air.
Good. I’ll snipe him right there.
I aimed at the spinning Leonhart and prepared to pull the trigger...
But then, Leonhart kicked the air as if it were solid ground and landed safely.
“He activated his own Barrier and used it as a foothold, Master!”
“To deploy a Barrier capable of supporting a golem’s mass at that speed...! What a terrifying boy.”
Grimo and Jiriel were struck with shock.
Yeah, that was good. He wasn't going to be taken down easily. In that case...!
I thrust my left arm toward Leonhart as he charged straight at us.
I twisted my body to hide my right arm and gripped the Great Magic Sword at my waist.
I’d cleave him in two the moment he tried to take a bite out of us.
Good, good, good... Now!
I drew the Great Magic Sword and swung it horizontally in a single, fluid motion.
Sensing the danger at the last second, Leonhart created another foothold and changed direction in mid-air.
He narrowly evaded the slash from the Great Magic Sword.
Clouds of dust billowed up along the trajectory of his landing.
...And a moment later, a roar of cheers erupted.
“Wh-what a spectacular exchange! They’re so fast that I didn’t even have time to provide commentary! Is this what they mean by breath-taking?! I must admit, I was so captivated that I forgot my words!”
The announcer sounded incredibly excited.
The spectators were also getting fired up.
“...Hehe, good. This is very good, Lloyd. It wouldn't be worth doing otherwise.”
“The feeling is mutual. Ido, you’re a worthy foe—the first I've had in a long while.”
I don’t actually like fighting.
But that’s only because it usually doesn’t turn into a proper contest.
My opponents can’t even scratch my Magic Barrier, and they fall easily even if I only fire a slightly powerful spell.
There’s no way that could be interesting.
But if both I and my opponent can fight with everything we’ve got, that’s a different story.
Hehe, I couldn’t help but let a smile slip onto my face.
“Geez, look at that joy-filled face while he's fighting... Even in a Demon World crawling with battle-crazed freaks, you won't find anyone like this guy. I’m sure glad he’s not our enemy, Master.”
“Hmph, it seems the day has finally come where we see Master Lloyd’s full power. Hehehe, I am very much looking forward to it. If Master Lloyd gets serious, I have no doubt even the Chief God of the Celestial Realm will be captivated.”
Ignoring the two muttering to themselves, I pushed the lever to move the machine forward.
The boosters spat fire as I charged straight ahead.
“Hah, a frontal breakthrough? ...That’s exactly what I wanted. Let’s settle this in one go!”
Leonhart leaned forward, its talons sinking into the ground.
A trail of white smoke rose from the impact.
That magic reaction—he’d deployed a Barrier.
“It’s the Aqua Regia Barrier, Master Lloyd!”
“Yeah, he’s using it already.”
In that case, it was time for my secret weapon.
This Great Magic Sword had a Barrier Spell Formula woven into it, allowing me to attack while neutralizing Leonhart’s Spell Formula.
However, it only covered a portion of the blade; if I didn’t catch him head-on, the sword might be snapped instead.
Therefore, I had to stop the agile Leonhart in his tracks first, or I’d never hit him.
Of course, I had a way.
“Haaaaah!”
I swung the sword high and slammed it down in front of me with all my might.
A thunderous explosion echoed as a massive cloud of dust erupted between the machines.
“Ooooh! Is that a smokescreen?! Both golems are enveloped in dust! We can’t see them either!”
—But I could see him.
A See-through Spell Formula was woven into Diguardia’s main camera.
Through the dust, I could clearly see Leonhart standing still.
I activated the boosters to muffle the sound of my movement and closed the distance.
Twenty meters, ten meters, five meters... Right here!
I swung down the raised Great Magic Sword.
I felt the weight of metal biting into metal, crushing it. A direct hit.
“Master Lloyd, something is strange...!”
It was just as Jiriel said. I felt the impact, but it was strangely light.
Thinking it might be a trick, I used a wind-attribute spell to blow away the dust.
With a roar, the dust cleared, revealing that I had cleaved through nothing but Leonhart’s empty husk.
“The Aqua Regia Barrier can be used in this way too...!”
I see; he’d used the Aqua Regia Barrier to melt and shed the outer layer of his armor, using it as a decoy to throw me off.
The main body of Leonhart was right beside me, crouched on the ground in a perfect position to strike.
“Got you!”
Along with Ido’s voice, Leonhart leaped.
The aim wasn’t bad.
He was just unlucky.
Because Diguardia was leaning forward from swinging the Great Magic Sword, it was in the perfect position to fire the Magic Cannons attached to its back.
Leonhart pounced with its jaws wide open, and I aligned the Magic Cannon’s sights with its mouth.
Of course, the Great Magic Sword wasn’t the only thing equipped with a Barrier Spell Formula.
Though their numbers were few, I’d woven the formula into the Magic Cannon’s shells, turning them into Neutralization Shells.
And a Neutralization Shell was already loaded.
“—Neutralization Shell, fire.”
The shell was ejected as I pulled the trigger, and everything before my eyes turned white.
A brilliant flash occurred as the Barrier Spell Formulas collided, followed by a shockwave that rocked the machine.
“U-guaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”
Ido’s shriek echoed through the arena, swiftly drowned out by the thunderous sound of the golem crashing to the ground.
Silence. The light faded, and my vision became clear.
Before me lay the fallen form of Leonhart.