This was Odis's strategy... Since the opponent's Tumble spell and other tricks were troublesome to deal with, he would lure him in close and then launch an attack.
When Eden first spoke, Odis knew the opponent would take the bait. That's because Eden was overly confident and likely to underestimate him.
Things unfolded exactly as Odis predicted. He successfully tripped Eden and immediately jumped up to pursue...
After rolling several times, Eden raised his hand toward Odis again, and suddenly, a thick fog appeared between them.
Odis charged straight into it. The moment he entered, he was ambushed with a punch to the chest, but he seemed unfazed. With one hand, he grabbed Eden's wrist, while his other fist slammed into the opponent's armpit, sending him flying back into a wall with a heavy thud.
The knight's attire Odis wore contained a modified Defensive Array he had inscribed. Thanks to it, Low-Sequence physical attacks were nothing more than a tickle to him.
The fog quickly dissipated, and Odis pressed his advantage, continuing his assault.
Eden hastily pressed a hand against the wall behind him, conjuring an illusory door to slip inside the room. Clutching his injured armpit, he leaned against the wall in visible pain... every breath felt like it might knock him unconscious.
But Eden didn't dare linger. He immediately dashed toward the other side of the room.
Odis, of course, leaped onto the wall's edge in pursuit. Just as he was about to attack, Eden raised his hand again, and his entire body suddenly erupted in a blinding flash, illuminating the entire room.
Odis had prepared for this. He turned his head away, but his vision still blurred momentarily, taking a second or two to recover.
By then, Eden had already used his DoorOpening ability to escape the room.
Odis continued the chase, but his feet suddenly slipped again, sending him tumbling off the wall. He twisted midair, landing on his back. The knight's attire absorbed the impact once more. Without pause, he sprang up and sprinted after his opponent at full speed.
The delay had given Eden a close to seven-meter head start.
Though Odis was agile, he wasn't particularly fast. After half a minute of pursuit, he'd only closed the gap by a meter.
By then, Eden had mostly recovered. He reached another wall and pushed his way inside.
Odis followed as before, vaulting onto the wall's edge, only for a glint of cold steel to shoot toward him the moment he landed. He dodged swiftly. It was a kitchen knife.
Now he could see the room clearly. The interiors were highly detailed, even the beds had sheets. Naturally, the kitchens were fully stocked with utensils. The knife had come from one such kitchen.
Eden was intimately familiar with these settings. He had entered the kitchen specifically to use the knives as weapons against Odis.
According to the rules, while fighters couldn't bring weapons in, they could use props found inside, which is what these utensils counted as... props.
Knife-throwing was another trick in Eden's repertoire. Smiling, he hurled the blades at Odis with precision.
In theory, Odis should have immediately evaded and sought a counter. But he did the opposite... he suddenly spread his arms and lunged at Eden, letting the knives strike his chest unimpeded.
This response shocked the audience, drawing another collective gasp.
It also caught Eden off guard. By the time he realized what was happening and tried to retreat, it was too late.
Odis's outstretched arms struck like twin hammers, hitting both of Eden's ears simultaneously.
Eden's vision swam. A deafening ring drowned out all sound. Instinctively, he raised his hands and unleashed another Tumble spell.
Odis's feet slipped, but this time he caught himself on a table, supporting his entire weight with one arm. Eden collapsed onto the floor, his eyes dazed.
Against an ordinary person, Odis's earlier strike would have knocked them out cold. He advanced without hesitation.
Gritting his teeth, Eden mustered another Flash spell, hoping to blind Odis and buy time to recover or flee.
But Odis simply shut his eyes and kicked Eden square in the chest, sending him crashing into a cupboard, which knocked him out.
Only then did Odis casually pluck the two knives embedded in his chest and toss them aside.
The crowd gasped again, having noticed there was no blood! The blades hadn't even pierced him!
The referee announced: "Lelouch wins."
It took Odis a moment to remember that he had registered under the name "Lelouch" here.
He kicked the door open and strode toward the exit, visibly disappointed. He had expected a more evenly matched opponent, but Eden had relied entirely on his Beyonder abilities. The moment the fight turned to close combat, his low defense became a fatal flaw.
Still, the audience applauded, more enthusiastically than after his last match.
While the match hadn't been particularly spectacular, Odis had once again demonstrated overwhelming dominance, defeating an opponent everyone considered strong. That alone deserved cheers.
Ignoring the applause, he briskly returned to the lounge...
The butler-like middle-aged man approached with a smile, saying, "Mr. Lelouch, you've now won two consecutive matches. For your next bout, we'll arrange a stronger opponent. Please be prepared. Of course, the reward will also increase accordingly."
Odis nodded, "I hope the next opponent doesn't let me win so easily."
One of the reasons he had come here was to hone his combat skills, yet both opponents had been disappointments. At least the first one had decent fighting techniques. Today's opponent was barely better than an ordinary brawler.
Before the butler could respond, a voice interjected from the doorway: "Quite the boast."
Odis turned...
The speaker was a middle-aged man with a thin mustache, someone Odis had seen before. During his last visit to the lounge, this man had been preparing for a match while holding a greatsword.
The butler smiled politely, "Mr. Chipman."
The man called Chipman smirked at Odis, saying, "Your skills are impressive, but don't think you're unbeatable."
Then he added, "Care to step outside for a chat?"
Odis declined, "Sorry, no time." He grinned, "I'm waiting for my payment."
Chipman blinked, clearly not expecting the refusal.
The butler interjected quickly, "It'll be here shortly."
Then, to Odis, he said, "Mr. Lelouch, this Mr. Chipman is one of our top fighters here."
The implication was clear: Don't brush him off so bluntly...
"I see," Odis nodded. Then, to Chipman, he remarked, "Your friend Eden went down too easily..."