Chapter 98: Chapter 81: Semi-Finals (Part 1)

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Last night had ended uneventfully, after revealing my identity as the supposed inheritor of the Demon Lord, although Master Gil said I most likely had no real connection, I'd taken a nap. And after talking for a little bit with Kare Kare I'd called it a day and gone back to sleep, the fight had taken a lot out of me, although to be honest it was Her fault more that CuCuthain. The struggle following her awakening to put her back to sleep had taken more out of me than the fight itself. Regardless I'd hit the hay after my talk with Karen and about an hour later I woke up for a little bit as my roommate's shuffled into the room, each to follow me to dreamland. Karen, luckily, had been with them. Surprising since I had not expected her to actually listen to my advice.

What had woke me up fully though was when a tired slimegirl nearly crawled into my bed instead of the one we'd set up in the connecting bathroom for her. It had taken everything I had to not let the adorably pouting purple slime have her way. Both because I wanted that outcome and because her puppy dog eyes did critical damage to my psyche. Finally however we had convinced her to use her own bed after pointing out how wet she'd make my own. After that it took me another 3 hours until I finally calmed down enough to sleep. Oh? Did I say that last night was uneventful? Yeah I meant it was completely eventful, so full of events I had difficulty sleeping!

Anyway I'd finally managed to close my eyes only for the morning to come in what felt like no time at all and with it the start of the Semi-Finals.

 

[You ready?] - Rose

[Ready as I'll ever be...] - Karen

[It'll be fine, you're stronger than you were last time afterall! I'm sure you won't lose!] - Veronica

[...] - Karen

[...] - Shade

[...] - Rose

[...umm Ver, saying that before a battle is...] - Malaise

[Bad luck right?] - Rose

[Bad luck indeed.] - Malaise

[...bad luck...] - Shade

[Definitely bad luck.] - Annabelle

 

We'd made it. The last two days of the Tournament and honestly the most important one what with my battle against the Prince and Karen's against Edgar, someone she'd lost to in the Preliminaries. With all that on our minds we each clapped the nervous slimegirl on the back as a show of support only for one of us to mention the one thing one everyone's mind, as well as the one thing we all knew we couldn't bring up.

Glaring at the socially stupid succubus the first to break the silence was our resident Foxgirl, who subsequently ripped the idiot a new one. The rest of us, following along with the implicit permission to absolutely dunk on Veronica, immediately followed suit and each of us agreed that she'd gone too far. Our hearts beat as one as we turned away while lightly pushing Karen forward.

 

[W-Wait you guys! I didn't mean it like that, I-I just meant- wait don't walk away!] - Veronica

[Just ignore the idiot Karen, I'm sure you'll win.] - Malaise

[R-Right! Well here I go, j-just gotta hype myself up! <Crowd's are not scary! Crowd's are not scary!>] - Karen

 

Karen, now even more nervous because of the reminder that she'd previously lost, gulped loudly. A funny sight since slime's technically don't even have that reflex. Either way we comforted the anxious mess of a slimegirl as she made a guts pose while repeating a mantra to herself under her breath.

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[Ah, it's you again. Somehow I expected this, feels natural right?] - Edgar

[Kind of, I agree that I couldn't imagine you losing to anyone before this point.] - Karen

 

Edgar was right, it felt natural somehow that we'd be face to face once more like this. Ever since I'd lost to him the first time I'd felt like something was holding me back, like I was being limited by the monolith that was Edgar. That damn Go*u wannabee. Regardless I felt exhilaration from being able to face him once more, enough that my anxiety about being in front of so many people was blissfully pushed to the background. I couldn't notice all of those unimportant distant faces when the one I needed to focus on was right in front of me.

 

[And what about that form from last time?] - Edgar

[Not gonna use it. I've got a few new tricks this time and that form isn't really ready yet. Can't have you stopping my rampage more than the one time afterall.] - Karen

[Good, that's good.] - Edgar

[What about your injuries?] - Karen

[Don't worry, I'm fully recovered.] - Edgar

[Not worried, just didn't want you to use it as an excuse! HA!] - Karen

 

Edgar, seeming to contemplate my determined face, concernedly asked about our last fight. He'd "saved" me last time, much to my utter embarrassment. I was thankful he'd stopped me before I hurt anyone but the thought that my so-called opponent had instead saved me chafed at my competitive spirit.

Back on Earth I'd never been the strongest martial artist, near the top of the pack certainly but in comparison to some of those guys at Tournaments I wasn't anything special. On top of that the sport was primarily a male oriented one, especially in America, with women being looked down upon and treated as fragile by the chauvinists with a little bit of skill. Because of that I'd been treated as lesser by those weaker than myself as they pointed out the strongest contenders as if that example proved that women shouldn't butt into their man sport. I'd beaten all of them in Tournaments. Even as they pointed out the pinnacle that they'd never achieve they still miserably lost to me while saying that they only lost cause I had been training for longer. It pissed me off!

And yet, here was someone at that pinnacle that I'd so reached for, someone so far beyond all of those athlete's on Earth that there was no comparison. And he'd taken pity on me.

Worst yet I couldn't hate him for it cause I wasn't petty enough to carry a grudge for someone that was, as far as I could tell, a decent guy!

So yeah suffice to say I wasn't going to lose this damn match! 

Thinking about all this and more I lurched  forward as soon as the match began, trying out a move I'd worked on all night. Forming a light paralytic poison into the fluid that made my body I separated a few pebble-sized pieces of myself while swinging my hand. Vaguely aware of the positions of the flying globule's of my body I used my rush as a distraction for the poisonous scattershot.

It was an idea that I'd thought of suddenly when I'd heard that I might have the ability to absorb magic, one that I'd immediately started testing to mixed results. Even now I didn't know what the limits might be but I had quickly found that I could replicate the effects of certain potions using my own body as the material. All I had to do was consume enough of the original and after a bit of time something would "click" in my head and I'd know how to create it. It felt like a piece of myself was suddenly added to more than instantly gaining some kind of knowledge. Plus it might have some weakness that I wasn't aware of, I knew from my college days that conservation of mass was kind of a big deal so it might be limited by how much I "ate" for all I knew.

 

[Woah! Don't know what that is but can't be too careful!] - Edgar

[Can't be too careful?!? Bullshit! Hahahahaha!] - Karen

 

Weaving through the scattering of poison drops Edgar and I crashed into each other as I streamed my body into a long battering ram shape, nearly forcing him off his feet. Realizing that I couldn't hesitate after striking as was my habit previously I immediately flowed into a sweep at his knees as I reformed behind him. Sensing where I was before I was able to strike Edgar contorted over my tentacle, nearly flipping as he did so. Laughing as I saw this craziness I kept on putting on the pressure. This world was insane! I'd always been told on Earth to never let your feet leave the ground but with the addition of supernatural and mana-fueled abilities that piece of common sense was almost completely useless, the act no longer inconveniencing you as much as it should. It opened up so many possibilities in close range like this!

Finally gaining some ground after his skillful maneuver Edgar grinned while closing the gap once more, this time on more equal ground. Careful to avoid another barrage of poison pellets from me he went for a straight thrust, only to be surprised when my body opened a hole in front of his fist rather than letting him strike me. Seeing the slightly vibrating waves of air before his fist I let a smile spread on my face.

 

[Well that's new. Ugh!] - Edgar

 

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Using the pause in combat as he took a second to recover I whipped a tentacle into his abdomen, hard, forcing him back several steps in the process.

 

[Hahahaha! Yes! It was well worth practicing moving my body like that!] - Karen

[I admit I wasn't expecting you to have improved so much in only a few days. Tell you what our previous agreement still stands. If you defeat me here I'll introduce you to my master.] - Edgar

[Oho? I'd say you were getting too cocky but we both know that's not just empty bravado don't we?] - Karen

[Heh, well I never said I'd make it easy for you did I? Limit Release!] - Edgar

[Summon Rafflasia!] - Karen

 

Ecstatic that my move had worked I almost vibrated with energy as I stared down the now distant martial artist, raring to go. His next words only further fueling my desire to win. Both of us smirking as we responded to each other he was the first to move, using his Ki*ken like technique to glow like a Sa*yan. Not waiting for his move I also immediately called out the only trump move I could actually control, the Rafflasia.

Breaking apart the ground I saw Edgar stumble slightly as a massive Flower-Creature made of slime broke through the rock like tissue paper, roaring at the enemy before it. Edgar, while having not watched Karen's fight personally, had heard about her seemingly new ability and was only mildly surprised at it's appearance. Honestly what surprised him the most was that it didn't require any kind of chant, which meant it was more similar to a martial ability that used mana rather than a spell. Whatever the case he needed to deal with it quickly.

 

[RAAAAAAAAAAAH!] - Rafflasia Slime

[Go for support, I'll deal with his attacks Rafflasia!] - Karen

[Oh no you don't!] - Edgar

 

Charging forward for the second time I once more spread out poison before me, scattering slime filled with toxic substance as if I were watering the plant I'd called.

Yelling orders at my summon as I rushed in to deal with Edgar I barely was able to react when his form blurred and vanished. Throwing myself to the side immediately I saw a massive chunk of the ground gouged out where I would've been if I'd continued my path forward, the fuzzy form of my opponent standing in the dust cloud as I noticed him looking around for me. Ah?

 

[Over here! Ha!] - Karen

[Too slow!] - Edgar

 

Thinking back to his slight hesitation and seeming inability to instantly find my location was it possible that he was effectively blind for a few seconds during his attack. It wasn't much but I could've sworn he paused for a small amount of time before reacting to my attack, but it made no sense. I mean I had no trouble keeping my eyes on my opponent afterall, the only real limit I had was my attention rather than if I- ah, he's human. Only two eyes.

Realizing that I might be able to eek out a win if I could monopolize on this seeming weakness I immediately went for a second blow, whilst preparing for something unexpected on my end.

 

[HA!] - Karen

[Oop!] - Edgar

 

My mind racing as I predicted each of the moves that Edgar could use I kept the pressure on, trying to limit the amount of actions he could possibly take whilst dodging each of his strike on top of that. Honestly at this point the fight was extremely lopsided in Edgar's favor, while he could withstand several of my blows in a row any single one of his attacks would cause massive damage to me. It was certainly not as equal as it seemed.

 

[It's time!] - Karen

[Wha-!] - Edgar

 

Once more barely sidestepping one of Edgars earth-destroying blows I called out as I rushed to take advantage of my opponents window of opportunity. Turning towards the sound of my voice he seemed to have already recovered completely but instead of receiving my attack gracefully he suddenly staggered forward, directly in the path of my compacted slime.

Taking advantage of the successful blow I immediately went into another follow-up strike as the tentacle my Rafflasia had used to trip him wrapped around his ankle only to suddenly feel a sense of weightlessness as I found myself flying backwards. The place that Edgar had once stood a crater of rock and dust as I tried to find where he had gone.

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[This is the warehouse? Are you sure?] - Arlen

[Yes your Highness, our sources identify this building as the most likely location for the kidnapped citizens.] - Black-Cowled Lamia

 

Our black-ops was one of the best, it generally did an amazing job of discovering and uncovering plots and criminal plans. Their track record for dealing with incidents secretly was proceeded by the absolute lack of any news whatsoever illustrating how good they were at silencing potential threats. That same group had led them to a warehouse that supposedly contained the missing children and any of the runaways that had survived their first break-out. Sure they had only been able to loan out a junior officer but their elite force generally spoke for itself which is why the sight before me was so surprising.

 

[Then why is it empty?] - Arlen

[Th-there gone aren't they? They've already been killed...] - Moon

[H-Hang on! We don't know what's happened yet! Maybe they've just been moved in preparation for somet-Wait are there any strange movements suddenly among the gangs in the area?!?] - Arlen

 

Collapsing to the floor as she realized that her kids weren't here I panicked while trying to comfort my new friend, only to realize halfway through that comfort that something was wrong. The Blackguard doesn't make these kinds of mistakes. If they said that the kids had been in this warehouse they had been in this warehouse. That meant they'd only been moved recently, which meant...!

 

[Yes your Highness, although they've been fairly quiet the last few days they suddenly all began moving last night, we're still unsure as to what their purpose is. Our investigat-] - Black-Cowled Lamia

[We have to get back to the Arena now, they're making their move!] - Arlen

 

Realizing the implications of the vanished hostages I turned to start for the Arena only to realize that someone was standing in my way. Looking for all the world like a fallen noble rather than the leader of some small-time gang a man stood before me that I didn't recognize. Flanked by over a dozen burly men I immediately understood that he was bad news but...

 

[Ah ah ah! We can't have you interrupting the show. Your... Highness, was it?] - Harris

[H-Harris?!?] - Moon

[Harris? So you're the one that hurt Moon and her family?!? And what was that you said about... interrupting the show?!? I'll have you tell me everything!] - Arlen

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