Leading up to the Knight Division of the martial arts tournament, the Harpies performed a line dance, the Nyunyu-daphnes showcased their mysterious dance, and the Elves provided an instrumental performance.
Since the Harpies weren't participating in the matches, they had apparently been aiming to liven up the atmosphere with these displays. The Nyunyu-daphnes and the Elves felt the same; they were always on the lookout for a stage to showcase their skills, they claimed.
It served as a transition between segments, but it was surprisingly exciting. It also seemed to help the competitors in the Knight Division get into the right headspace.
There were sixteen participants in the Knight Division this time. From the pool of previous competitors, Ria and Ann were sitting this one out due to their pregnancies. Everyone else joined in.
The roster included Lu the Vampire, Tia the Angel, Granmaria, Kudel, Corone, Daga the Lizardman, Bulga and Stifano of the Devil Race, Uno the Inferno Wolf, Makura—one of Zabuton's children—and Junea and Suunea of the Lamia Race. Added to the mix were Ya the Mountain Elf, Masayuki the Inferno Wolf, Fubuki the Cocytus Wolf, and Kierbit the Angel.
Kierbit had initially expressed interest while doubting she could make it, but Shiso-san had taken matters into his own hands and brought her along via teleportation magic. She looked a bit overwhelmed as she surveyed the other participants, but she seemed to find her footing soon enough.
...Specifically, she allowed herself to be baited by Tia's provocations and boldly declared she would win the whole tournament. Quite impressive.
However, Kierbit was matched against the reigning champion, Makura, in the first round and was defeated. As it turned out, certain racial advantages were simply hard to overcome.
"I couldn't do anything at all..." Kierbit sobbed, while Granmaria did her best to comfort her.
The Knight Division proceeded at a brisk pace, and the first round was over in the blink of an eye. Despite the speed, every match was incredibly dense and hard-fought. While winners and losers were inevitable, everyone gave it their all.
The survivors of the first round were Makura, Fubuki the Cocytus Wolf, Lu the Vampire, Tia the Angel, Uno the Inferno Wolf, Bulga of the Devil Race, and the two Lamias, Junea and Suunea.
Fubuki had triumphed over Ya, while Lu defeated Granmaria. Tia beat Corone, and Uno won against Masayuki. Bulga overcame Stifano, Junea bested Kudel, and Suunea won her match against Daga.
The two from the Lamia Race were the ones who truly surprised the crowd. They used a fighting style that made clever use of their serpentine lower bodies, and they had clearly refined it since the last event. It felt as though they had specifically trained for combat against humanoid opponents. They would coil their lower halves into a sturdy base, using the height to keep their upper bodies at a tactical advantage. They maintained that control throughout their battles to secure their wins.
From their seats in the stands, Ria and Ann explained the mechanics of the Lamias' technique to me at length. Given their condition, I really wished they would be careful not to get too overexcited.
After a short interval, the second round began. Luck was not on the side of the Lamias here, as Junea and Suunea were matched against each other, forced into a battle of elimination. The winner was Junea. She proved herself worthy of her title as the Lamia Race Leader, though both were quite battered by the end and required Flora's healing magic.
The other matches were equally spectacular. To my eyes, the clash between the reigning champion Makura and Fubuki the Cocytus Wolf could have gone either way. Ultimately, Makura emerged victorious, but the spider had to sacrifice a leg to get the win. I was startled by the injury, but I was assured it would grow back on its own eventually. However, with another match looming, Makura received immediate treatment via regeneration magic from Dos and Raimeiren. Fubuki, though defeated, didn't seem to need any magical healing.
The remaining two matches featured Lu the Vampire versus Tia the Angel, and Uno the Inferno Wolf versus Bulga of the Devil Race—the exact same matchups as the previous tournament. Interestingly, the results were reversed this time.
Lu had apparently found a hint in a conversation we'd had after the last tournament. She fought in a manner befitting a vampire, toying with Tia until she secured the win.
"Lu-san, that’s just mean. Please give me some combat hints too..." Tia grumbled.
Uno won by intentionally tanking Bulga's clone attack to create an opening for a counterattack. I wondered if he had taken inspiration from the exhibition match between Zabuton and Raimeiren. Even so, it wasn't a feat easily replicated; Uno was battered and bruised after taking several hits. However, he managed to catch Bulga in a momentary lapse and claimed victory.
"Once I'm caught, the number of things I can do drops off a cliff," Bulga admitted.
Then came the semi-finals.
The first match was Makura versus Lu. Makura's legs were fully restored—regeneration magic really was something else. The spider used those legs for high-speed maneuvers, while Lu used tricky movements to try and baffle her opponent.
In the end, victory fell to Makura. It wasn't so much that Makura had a secret weapon, but rather that Lu had a critical lapse in judgment. She had been too focused on performing flashy moves to excite the crowd, giving Makura enough time to finish setting up a web of silk traps.
"Ugh, how frustrating!" Lu lamented. What seemed to bother her most was that the activation of Makura's traps received a bigger cheer from the audience than her own performance.
The second match was Uno versus Junea. I wasn't sure what to expect, but Uno dominated the match from start to finish. Junea seemed uncharacteristically hesitant; I wondered if the memory of Kuro's offspring attacking their dungeon in the past had resurfaced as a form of trauma. If so, I felt quite bad for her.
Finally, the championship match.
It was the reigning champion Makura versus Uno the Inferno Wolf. Based on the pre-match talk and the general mood of the venue, Makura was the heavy favorite. However, Uno’s partner, Kurosan, led Kuro's offspring in a collective howl from the perimeter of the arena. The sheer volume shifted the atmosphere in an instant. Suddenly, it was anyone's game. Even Zabuton, who had been injured in the exhibition match, was watching intently.
The match was a fierce struggle in every sense of the word. One moment they were at a distance, the next they were closing in with incredible speed, only to break away again. All the while, they traded blows relentlessly.
As it turned out, both Makura and Uno had been hiding long-range attacks until the finals. Makura fired balls of rolled-up silk. The goal wasn't the impact itself, but rather to have the silk entangle the opponent and slow them down. Uno, on the other hand, fired flame spheres from his wide-open jaws. In terms of raw power, Uno's ranged attacks were superior, but Makura had the advantage in rapid-fire capability.
One of Uno's flame spheres landed a direct hit, dealing significant damage, but by then, he had been struck by countless silk bundles. His movements were completely halted. Makura closed in for the finish.
I thought the match was over, but I had underestimated the wolf. The horn on Uno's head began to glow with a blue light; he used it to shred the silk and regain his freedom just in time to intercept Makura's charge.
Uno's counterstrike sent Makura flying through the air, its balance completely shattered. Sensing his chance, Uno let out a thunderous howl. His physical size doubled in an instant.
Wait, he could do that? The flame spheres were one thing, but this? The venue erupted in a roar of shock; clearly, I wasn't the only one caught off guard.
Uno followed up immediately. Makura went down and stayed down. The winner was Uno.
The celebratory howling from the pack at the edge of the arena was deafening. Uno's partner, Kurosan, seemed to be the proudest of them all. While I felt for Makura, I was genuinely happy to see Uno take the win.
I was just beginning to think it was time for the award ceremony when trouble struck.
Ria and Ann, who had been watching the final match, suddenly went into labor.
I panicked.