"What the hell? Why's that guy suddenly taking off his clothes? And why'd he put down his sword?"
"Has he lost his mind?"
"Could be."
"Hey, you crazy son of a bitch! I bet 10,000 Gold on you! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Most of the spectators were dumbfounded when Cloud threw off his clothes the moment the match began. It was only natural; he had struggled to get this far with his lacking sword skills, only to suddenly drop his weapon.
Gallid was just as baffled.
No, he felt something beyond bafflement—he was offended.
"What is this farce? Did you think I'd go easy on you if you imitated my people? If so, you'd better drop the thought. Go back and arm yourself. Now."
He warned the approaching Cloud, but his words didn't stop him. On the contrary, Cloud picked up his pace, bit by bit, before breaking into a full sprint.
"Karnok—!"
Cloud's fist slammed into Gallid's face. Drip. Blood trickled from Gallid's nose. He scowled, his brow furrowing deeply.
"If you're that eager to die… then die!"
Gallid swung his fist.
SMACK!
Cloud's head snapped to the side, his body twisting with the momentum. Just as it looked like he would fall, he suddenly spun around and planted a kick squarely on Gallid's jaw.
"Kuh…"
Even for someone like Gallid, taking a direct kick to the jaw left him dazed.
His sense of balance thrown into disarray, Gallid staggered.
Cloud grabbed the back of Gallid's head with both hands and began driving his knee into the barbarian's face.
"Gak, ugh, guh! You insolent bastard!"
Despite the knees smashing into his face, Gallid stood firm. As his balance returned, he slammed a fist into Cloud's side.
THWACK!
He felt the solid impact of the blow. It must have damaged some internal organs.
But the hands gripping the back of his head didn't let go. The knee strikes only faltered for a moment before they resumed their assault on his face.
"Let go of me!"
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Only after taking three more hits did Cloud finally release Gallid's head.
"Hoo… you tough son of a…"
Gallid tried to back away for a moment to recover.
"Karnok—!!"
But Cloud gave him no time. He rushed forward and smashed his fist into Gallid's face again.
As Gallid's head snapped back, Cloud drove two more punches into his abdomen.
"Guh..! You bastard!"
With his head still thrown back, Gallid twisted at the waist and swung his fist, a blow powered by his entire core.
SMACK!
Cloud's head whipped around.
Though he must have taken a heavy blow, Cloud didn't stop. He, too, put his core into a punch that crashed into Gallid's face. He didn't stop there, landing a blow on each of Gallid's sides.
"Fine. So you won't stop until you're dead, is that it?"
Ptoo.
Gallid spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and threw a straight punch.
Cloud's back bent like a hunchback's.
But only for a moment.
A storm of Cloud's fists and feet rained down on Gallid.
Gallid strikes.
Cloud strikes back.
Gallid strikes.
Cloud strikes back.
There was no defense or evasion in their fight.
There was only the attack.
The sheer ferocity of it all soon captivated the initially bewildered crowd.
—Finish him, Gallid!
—Don't stop, Cloud! More! Hit him more!
They no longer cared who won. They just wanted to see this fight last a little longer.
A roar unlike any before echoed through the arena.
Damn it… why won't he go down?!
Meanwhile, Gallid was in turmoil.
Normally, after taking this many hits from him, an opponent would be crawling on the floor or dead. And that was for the warriors of his tribe; the weaklings from the kingdom should have been dead long ago.
But Cloud was different.
No matter how hard Gallid hit him, he wouldn't fall. Far from falling, he would immediately unleash a counterattack.
No matter how much Gallid beat him, he wouldn't die. Instead, he fought back with even more ferocity than before, as if to say, 'No, you die.'
What the hell is this guy?!
Gallid was born into a barbarian warrior tribe in the Duchy of Politchia. He was born with a powerful physique, so much so that no one his age, or even among all the warriors of his tribe, could match him.
That was why he had looked down on the Quadrennial Contest.
The so-called favorites for the championship had all crumpled after one or two of his punches. It was only natural he'd be arrogant.
But the last one he faced was different.
He wasn't sure anymore. He couldn't even imagine this man collapsing from his punches.
This was a first for him.
His hands and feet began to tremble slightly. The power in his fists weakened.
What? What's happening to me?
Gallid gritted his teeth against the unfamiliar sensation. He was trying to force strength back into his body when it happened.
"Karnok—!!!"
His eyes met Cloud's.
Cloud's unfocused eyes were filled with fighting spirit and madness. Gallid could feel his burning desire to beat him into the ground, no matter the cost.
Only then did Gallid realize what this strange feeling was.
Fear.
The primal emotion a human feels when its survival is threatened.
A human who feels fear does one of two things.
Fight back.
Or run away.
In Gallid's case, it was the latter.
Gallid was a strong warrior. He was the one who instilled fear in others, not the one who felt it. He had never known fear before.
But in the face of this new emotion, even a mighty barbarian with a massive frame was nothing more than a child.
Gallid turned his back on Cloud and started running toward the gate.
Axe. I need my axe.
He had to split that bastard's head open. Otherwise, the madman would never stop. He would devour him with that unsettling grin.
That couldn't happen.
Absolutely not.
A great warrior couldn't die in a place like this!
Damn it, why did I leave my axe behind? What an idiot!
It was because all the participants he'd faced so far had been so pathetic. Now, he regretted it bitterly.
He was sprinting toward the gate when he felt a powerful impact on his back, and his body pitched forward. Gallid fell flat on his face.
"A barbarian… running away…?"
Gallid's body froze at the voice from behind him. He slowly turned around. Cloud was looking down at him as he lay on the ground.
The fighting spirit and madness were gone from his eyes.
What remained in those cold, sunken pupils was an unspeakable disappointment and killing intent.
The rabid dog was gone, but Gallid's fear remained. Only the nature of it had changed.
If the fear he felt before running was like being hunted by a beast…
Now, it felt like an inescapable death was approaching.
"St-stay away!"
Gallid mustered his remaining strength and threw a punch.
It never reached Cloud. He dodged it effortlessly, as if all the hits he'd taken before had been a joke. Then, Cloud dug his fingers into Gallid's eyes.
"Aaaarrrggghhh!!! My eyes!! My eyes!!"
Gallid screamed, clamping his hands over his eyes. He even began to roll on the ground. It was a disgraceful display, utterly unbecoming of a mighty barbarian warrior.
"This is just pathetic."
Cloud grabbed Gallid by the hair and began walking toward where he had left his sword.
Gallid was dragged across the floor like a pig being led to the slaughterhouse.
"Wh-what! Let go! I said, let go!"
Gallid resisted, flailing his fists, planting his feet, and trying to break Cloud's grip on his hair, but it was useless.
Nothing could stop Cloud.
"Aaaahhh! Let go! Let go of me! I said let gooooo!!!"
He was being dragged through a bottomless darkness, unable to even resist. The helplessness sparked an immense terror.
It was enough to make even the great warrior Gallid thrash about like a child.
Cloud picked up his sword.
He let go of Gallid's hair. Instead, he planted his foot on the man's chest, pinning him down, and placed the tip of his sword against Gallid's throat.
Feeling the sharp point on his neck, Gallid swallowed hard.
"St-stop. You won. I surrender. There's no need to kill me, right?"
"Now you're begging for your life… You really aren't a barbarian."
"N-no, I am. I'm a barbarian. If you let me live… th-then our chieftain will give you…"
"Shut up. Don't you dare insult barbarians—insult my friend—any further."
Cloud tightened his grip on the sword.
Shunk.
The blade pierced through Gallid's neck.
"Kehek…! S-save…"
As if still clinging to a sliver of hope, Gallid's arms flailed. But it didn't last long. His limbs went limp, like a toy with dead batteries.
Cloud pulled the sword out and swung it hard.
Slice—
Gallid's head rolled across the floor. Cloud watched it with cold eyes before turning his gaze to the announcer.
The announcer flinched under Cloud's stare.
"Didn't I win? Why are you just standing there?"
"Ah, m-my apologies! The final match! The winner is Cloud! Therefore, the champion is Sir Cloud!" the announcer shouted, spreading his arms wide.
Clap.
Clap, clap.
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
Applause gradually erupted from the silent crowd.
—Waaaaaaah!!!!
A massive cheer filled the arena.
Cloud didn't look back at the spectators.
He was in a foul mood. As soon as the gate opened, he walked out of the arena.
"…What was that?"
At the headquarters of the Snake Venom Society, Hailey, one of the four heads ruling the Alitia Kingdom, was uncharacteristically flustered.
She had come to watch the Quadrennial Contest purely out of interest.
When she heard the report that Hero Cloud was participating, she thought it would be an amusing spectacle.
Cloud, the Incompetent Hero.
From the preliminaries to the semifinals, he had lived up to the reputation she'd heard. He had struggled against mere chaff, after all.
The fact that such a person was a Hero, just like Gis, whom the Snake Venom Society sponsored, was almost laughable.
But that perception was shattered in the final match.
His relentless fistfight with Gallid was quite surprising. She had heard that Cloud was not one to do reckless things.
Still, up to that point, it was merely a little surprising.
What brought her shock and despair came after.
It was the moment Gallid fled and Cloud took a single step to pursue him.
From that instant until the moment Cloud left the arena, Hailey couldn't move a single finger.
It felt as if a cold blade was pressed against her neck.
She felt that if she moved even slightly, that blade would tear her to shreds.
"I, who rank among the top of the Blood Kin… was suppressed by mere killing intent…?"
And by a mere offshoot of his unrefined killing intent at that?
She couldn't even manage a hollow laugh.
"That's something even that brat Gis couldn't do…"
Forget Gis; even Frillite couldn't do it.
The Blood Kin are not swayed by the auras of humans. It doesn't matter how powerful a human's body is when they project that aura.
Because the Blood Kin are a higher form of existence than humans.
Wouldn't it be strange for a superior energy to be affected by an inferior one?
The very caliber of their souls was different.
But just now, the impossible had happened. A Blood Kin had been overwhelmed by a human's aura.
And not just any Blood Kin, but a high-ranking one like herself.
By an offshoot of killing intent that wasn't even directed at her.
…This is impossible.
In the first place, those on the continent who could suppress a high-ranking Blood Kin like her with their aura alone could be counted on one hand.
The Dragon King. The Fairy King. The Demon King. And her master, the Blood King.
Aside from mythical beings, they were all there was.
But not a single one of them could suppress her with just a sliver of their aura.
Therefore, what just happened must have been her imagination.
"…Krapa."
"Yes, Master."
"Did you feel it just now?"
"…What are you referring to, Master?"
Even her vassal hadn't felt it.
It must have been my imagination after all.
Just as Hailey was about to feel relieved, she recalled something the Blood King had once told her.
—Hailey, when it comes to sensing energy, you are more gifted than I. If you use that talent well, you will achieve great things in Blood Magic.
"…"
Her beautiful face, which had been relaxing, hardened once more.
"…Krapa. I have an order for you."
"I will accomplish anything you command."
"Become Hero Cloud's companion. And report his every move to me. You must not miss a single detail."
"As you command."
Krapa bowed his head without a hint of question. Such was the relationship between a master and a vassal among the Blood Kin.
After Krapa left, Hailey closed her eyes and fell into deep thought.
I wish it were just my imagination.
But if what she felt was real…
If Cloud's caliber surpassed that of the Blood King…
"What am I to do…?"
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