106　Reiou Match 3

　My opponent in the final match for the Reiou title was a female elf named Vogue.

　She was as beautiful as a model, with crimson hair like the color of red wine that reached to her waist.

"It's an honor to meet you, Second-Nikan."

　As she stood in front of me, she gracefully bowed, giving a polite greeting. She had a beautiful and calm voice, very suited for her beauty.

"It is my honor too, Reiou."

　When I answered back with those few words, Vogue smiled and returned a neat bow. She completely looks like the lead actress in some theater play.

　...A composed attitude from start to finish. A serious expression but without any unnecessary stiffness. She appeared completely relaxed yet extremely focused. Maybe this woman will be the closest to "that" that I expect to find in these battles. I said it before, that I already stopped that useless wishing, that I stopped expecting something I will never find, but maybe today, I can catch a glimpse at that.

"How are you so confident?"

　I can muster a guess, but let's try it and see what comes of it.

"All I can do is try the very best I can. The same goes for you as for me."

"It is as you say."

　Seems I'm being treated lightly. This is getting better and better.

　And while having those thoughts in mind, a question now came from her.

"About that mysterious spirit of yours. Could you reveal its true identity?"

　And that question went straight to the point.

　Apparently, she wants to see Angolmois. Certainly, up until now, nobody has been able to see him properly since I use possession at the same time I summon him.

"Rest assured. You'll be able to see every little bit."

"Ara, that makes me happy."

"Participants, get ready."

　While smiling at each other, we moved to our designated positions after hearing the referee's instructions.

　Now then, let's see if I get to have some fun.

"――Begin!"

　We bowed to each other.

　And in a single breath, we both activated "Spirit Summoning".

　In front of Vogue, a pillar of fire rose so high that you had to look up to see the top of it. I was already familiar with the spirit that emerged from those flames.

　Yeah, if memory serves right, that's the Great Spirit of Fire, Salamandra.

　On the other hand, despite having already used "Spirit Summoning", there was no trace of Angolmois yet, surely they thought...

"What? Are you for real? You haven't summoned your spirit yet? And I thought I would finally get to have some fun, but in the end, your spirit is most likely a small fry――"

"!?　Salamandra! Step back!"

　――The next moment.

　Boom! The whole arena was shaken by a huge impact that seemingly pushed it up from the ground.

　No, this was not an earthquake, it was Angolmois. He just deliberately delayed the summoning timing in order for him to stand out, and that's the same reason why he decided to make such a fuss when finally appearing.

"...Geh...N-No way."

　The handsome red-eyed, crimson-haired spirit's… Salamandra's face suddenly turned pale. The intensity of the flames he wore also seemed to come down a notch.

　I guess I already suspected it, but any spirit seems to have a hard time dealing with Angolmois. After all, his personality is the worst.

"HAーhahahahahahahaha!"

　With a high-pitched arrogant laugh that made you question the gender of the spirit, a huge arm emerged from the ground, covered with streaks of red-black lightning.

　It didn't destroy the arena, after all this was something "staged", so there was no damage. It was more like a huge illusion that Angolmois had created just because he wanted to stand out and scare his opponent... probably.

"On your knees!!"

　The huge arm, with lightning spewing in all directions, quickly approached Vogue and Salamandra, with its palm down, as if to crush them.

"Whoaa!?"

　Salamandra put his arms out in front of him, instantly creating a shield of flames. Amazing, can the Great Spirits of this world manipulate magic so freely, like the fire in this case, without regard for the spell rank?

"Guh...!"

　Booouf! The giant arm crushed the flame shield created by Salamandra, extinguishing it alongside a cloud of smoke.

　That same smoke instantly filled the arena. And then, amid crackles and glowing lightning, a spirit of neutral beauty donning rather ostentatious clothing stood in from of me and opened his mouth.

"――Oh, Salamandra, it's been a while, isn't it?! Have you gotten rid of your bedwetting habits?"

　And as always, he starts with a taunt.

　The Great Spirit King, Angolmois, had appeared.

"Don't lie like that! I've never done something shameful as that!"

"Ohh, did I remember wrong then? Ahh, you're right, that was your father, wasn't it?"

"Are you for real!? I don't know how to feel about it..."

　The flames of Salamandra become smaller. Maybe the fire that covers his body is a sign of his mental strain.

"Salamandra, who is that spirit?"

"Eh? Ahh, that's Angolmois. The Great Spirit of Thunder."

"Of Thunder..."

　Vogue's expression turned grim. Perhaps she realized her chances of victory were quite slim.

"Wrong! I'm the Great Spirit King. If you're going to introduce me, do it correctly, you idiot. Listen here, my name is Angolmois, the Great Spirit King who rules over the four major attributes!"

　Eager to stand out at every chance, Angolmois rebuked his opponent, abusing him in the process. Yeah, terrible personality indeed.

"Salamandra, you think you can win on a one-on-one?"

"No can't do, not even by a long shot. The most I can do is probably endure for about an hour."

"...The final match has no time limit."

"It's going to be difficult..."

　Seems like they are planning some sort of strategy.

　Alright, let's wait and see.

"（How can you cook that red guy?）"

"（I can boil him or grill him, or I can even serve him raw as sashimi. Of course, I can also make a full course meal out of him）"

　In other words, he can either deal with him instantly or play around with him for some time...

　The current time is about 3:30 pm since this last match started a bit late due to Mr. Slim's mischiefs, so if I want to enjoy it until the sun sets, it should take two hours are the longest.

"（Then, I'll take the full course.）"

"（Hahahaha, as you will.）"

　Probably Vogue will have Salamandra 1v1 Angolmois and then she'll try to challenge me one-on-one too.

　A direct attack with Salamandra in "Spirit Possession" could end the match, but the same is true for me. In the same way, if we both attack each other while in "Spirit Possession", my stats would be higher. In that case, she'd rather come at me without having our stats multiplied by 4.5 since I'd have the upper hand. Therefore, her chances of winning are higher if we both remain in our bare state.

　That being the case, let me be a gentleman and go along with you all the way.

"Let's do this! Oh so Great King!!"

"Very well. I'll only use my pinky finger."

　See? I told you. As expected, it will be a one-on-one separately from the spirits. Good decision.

　Immediately after, both Salamandra and Angolmois begin an aerial battle with fire and lightning.

　...Wow, it's more amazing than I even imagined. It totally looks like that fight between Godz〇la and  K〇ng Gid〇ra.

"I don't like how you're ignoring me."

"Don't worry, I'm looking at you."

　I dodged at the last moment Vogue's sword, which approached fast.

　I knew it was coming, I was looking away, but never lost my focus on her.

"Oh my, are you mocking me?"

"I could say the same."

"Do you like to always fight bare-handed?"

"Maybe."

　I dodged her sword slash, made without the use of any swordsmanship skill.

　Still, the attack was quite precise. Everyone would think it was going to hit.

"Hmph!"

"Whoa."

　Suddenly, the accuracy and speed of the sword increased. Slowly but steadily.

　That made me take a slightly larger evasive movement.

　And she didn't miss that chance.

"There――!"

"!!"

　Surprisingly, it wasn't a sword slash that she attacked with.

　It was a body strike――or to be more precise, a tackle with the back of the shoulder.

　Hakkyokuken-style martial arts, huh? –Having those surprised thoughts, I defended by crossing my arms in front of my chest.

　With a thud, a shock ran through my body.

"...Whoa, whoa whoa."

　I was blown backward and although I almost lost my balance, I landed pretty much safely. The distance was about six meters. My arms were numb, so I can see it had quite the power behind it.

　Vogue Reiou. She has fairly high STR.

　Maybe...even higher than me.

"Just for reference, what else do you have besides Swordsmanship?"

"I haven't been able to learn the Dragon Horse and Dragon King ranks like you, but I have the others for Swordsmanship, Martial Arts, Spearmanship, and Magic."

"No wonder you're so strong."

"Oh my, thank you."

　How crazy. This elf is the power type.

　I raised [Swordsmanship], [Archery], [Shield Arts], and [Magic], which raises all stats somewhat evenly, but she specializes in [Swordsmanship], [Martial Arts], [Spearmanship], and [Magic]. They are mostly STR-focused skills. No wonder such a huge amount of power can come up from just hitting me with a body strike.

"Could it be you're getting scared?"

"...There's no way."

　Rather, I'm happy.

　The plan has already been set. Against her, a hit-and-run strat that makes use of my high AGI is the way.

"Hey, why are you laughing...!!?"

　I stepped forward, invading her personal space at once. This is a match of speed. I can't give her time to swing her sword.

　After evading her body blow, I aimed my elbow at her face and swung it as hard as I could. Seems like although her STR is high, her VIT isn't that high up. I can see some damage going through.

"...So, you can do it if you try."

　Wiping the blood from her nose with the back of her hand, she uttered a few words. Still, her eyes never lost their shine.

"Did I scare you?"

"...Yeah, just a bit!"

　Next, she came rushing at me with a slash. She's such an honest person.

　Taking into consideration her STR, receiving just one slash might be dangerous.

　However, if I just carelessly get too close, I will be in danger of receiving a Hakkyokuken-type body slam.

　Alright then. Approach quickly, avoid her by a hair's breadth, hit and run away. This is the best strategy. That is if I can keep at it.

"Ora!"

"Ggh...!"

　Evade, avoid, and do it again.

　Let's see how long can we keep doing this...?

　Two hours have passed.

　Salamandra and Angolmois were still playing with fire and thunder. Salamandra appeared to be quite exhausted and barely keeping up. Angolmois, on the other hand, had a really nasty grin on his face. He must be having a lot of fun playing around with that spirit.

"Haaa...Haa..."

　As for me and Vogue.

"Are you tired now? As expected."

"Yeah...you, have quite, the endurance..."

"I don't have that much endurance. It's just that my stamina (SP) management is better."

　The difference in management skills was clearly visible.

　Vogue's shoulders were moving up and down as she breathed with difficulty. As for me, I still had some SP left.

　If you move around without much thought, you'll end up like Vogue. and if you manage your SP well, removing any unnecessary movements, you'll end up like me. Just as simple as that.

　However, Vogue didn't seem to agree with my words.

"...Weird. That's just weird. Are you saying that you're like that just by managing your SP...?"

"Is it really that unbelievable?"

"It's just too sudden...I've been living for 144 years, and you're what? 17 years old...?　I just, can't believe it."

　It seems she's a bit frustrated after being played with by me for two hours.

　After all, in the two hours we went at it, her sword never reached me. She did several body slams on me, but they didn't do that huge of damage. My VIT was high because I raised [Shield Arts], so I didn't receive as much damage as one would think.

　In this situation, even though she seems so serious, her stress has apparently piled up so she has an irritated voice that reflects things not going the way she wanted.

"You're 144 years old? Amazing."

"Yeah. I wouldn't be that old in human terms. But time is just time."

　144 years. She must've been accumulating experience points and improved her skills slowly without overdoing it.

　You are indeed strong. And considering this world's level, I'd say you're quite strong at that. I'm sure you're a genius. You have it all, mental fortitude, physical skills, a clear mind, quick thinking, you take action, you are brave yet cautious, and you're lucky.

　But.

"You're arrogant. Much too arrogant. I don't want to preach to a lady that's 144 years old, but I feel the need to say it. You are arrogant."

"...What did you say?"

"You're conceited. You may have worked hard for over a hundred years in order to reign as the Reiou. You may have had nobody that could be a match for you, but you can't let yourself be satisfied with just that. You shouldn't sit there, just being complacent."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You still don't know even 10% of the world yet."

"...Are you saying that you know everything?"

"Not at all. At most, I'd say I know about 15%"

"...What are you getting at with this then?"

"Don't just think that you understand, that's what I'm getting at."

　Mobius was all about mystery.

　And this world is even more mysterious.

　Never assume that you understand. Don't be happy with where you are right now, don't be complacent. If you do, everything will stagnate.

"It's been a long time since I was this entertained. As a thank you, I'll show you my secret weapon."

　Since it was unlikely that she would understand even if I tried to spell it for her clearly, I decided to switch to a more easy-to-understand, real-world example.

　Right now, it's past 5:30 pm. The area was already dimly lit. And the lightning of the arena was stronger than the sunlight.

"Wait. The match is still――"

"Angolmois, stand down."

"What? Is it already time to call it a night? My Second."

　After saying those words, Angolmois came back to my side with one last oversized lightning strike.

"Y-You! Wait! Shit...!"

　Salamandra was a total wreck. It seems Angolmois' bullying was quite one-sided. Angolmois on the other hand was very much unscathed and wearing a smug expression. He really is the worst.

　Well then.

"...Vogue. I really hope this will serve to give you some hints."

　This will make me feel terrible for her, but it just can't be helped.

　This is something I need to do in order for her to see how little effort she put in those hundred years.

　I'll have her feel the despair of reaching a wall that, no matter how hard you try, won't be able to overcome and end up on your knees.

　It can't be helped. I came to this world, so I can't help doing this.

"...Come, Anko."

　After Angolmois moved behind me, I used "Monster Summoning".

　What I called forth was the crystallization of all elements combined that make you feel the difference between this side and the beyond. The monster, Anko, the Darkness Wolf.

"...!!"

　I dare say.

　She is terrified of the woman in dark clothes that appeared in front of her.

　She immediately ordered Salamandra to possess her with "Spirit Possession" and help up her sword.

"Slaughter?"

　With her usual expression, eyes closed and a gentle smile showing on her face, she asked me with one word.

"I hope you can show off."

"As you will, My Lord."

　I need to show it off. The difference between me and her.

　If she doesn't know it, I can't expect to see something else in the summer games.

"――!?"

　Anko suddenly appeared right behind Vogue. That's "Darkness Transfer".

"Come to me, Dark Flame Spear."

　Then, as if provoking her, Anko took the time to use "Darkness Summon".

　Vogue rushed away. She decided to run away instead of attacking. Probably trying to regain her calm and devise some countermeasures at the time she also recovered some SP. It's not a bad decision, to be honest. But that is as long as the opponent isn't Anko.

　The Dark Flame Spear appeared after the spinning darkness of the void finally took form. And immediately after, Anko equipped the terrifyingly large spear.

　This is something I can vouch for. No matter who you are or what else you're dealing with.

　You can never let Anko equip this large spear. It's more annoying to deal with than "Darkness Magic". It's something you have to stop from happening at all costs.

"What a shame. I don't think I'll be able to enjoy this."

　Anko muttered to herself.

　I can understand her feelings.

"Ufu-"

　Anko lightly swung the Dark Flame Spear, hunting down the quickly moving Vogue as if implying resistance was futile.

　In addition to the normal reach of almost 3 meters, the ridiculously powerful dark flame emitted with each swing of the spear restricted Vogue's range of actions, gradually cornering her.

"This can't be...This can't be, something like this!"

　Even with "Spirit Possession" active, and even if she were to fight with all the [Swordsmanship] and [Martial Arts] skills unrestricted. Even if she tried to use foul play. It would still be completely useless. And most likely, Vogue also understood the unreasonableness of her situation, and that was the reason for her shouts.

　Then, at last.

　She was struck by a "Dragon King Spearmanship" strike while her whole body burned by the dark flames, and she was stunned.

"――Winner, Second Firstest!!"

　And thus, even if a little empty.

　The acquisition of the Reiou title, and the birth of the first Triple Crown holder in history was decided.