In the instant Don Quixote stepped forward, Nearl momentarily froze in place.
But Don Quixote himself appeared completely unconcerned. He merely raised his lance once more, facing the Jester of Nihil with a fierce grin.
"Come on! Let's do this again—ugh."
Yet before he finished speaking, the Jester of Nihil's indiscriminate weakening fell upon him as well. For a moment, Don Quixote's expression visibly darkened.
"…You really are troublesome."
Finally, Don Quixote sighed, murmuring softly to himself.
"Hey, Don Quixote, why did you suddenly—"
"This is my battlefield."
Seeing Nearl about to move, Don Quixote turned back, gently patting her head and speaking softly:
"I told you earlier, didn't I? I'd clear out all distractions for you…"
"All you need to focus on is the tournament. Right now, to ensure that your fight continues—go and survive together with your opponent."
"A duel between Fixers can't be interrupted halfway without deciding a victor—that wouldn't be worthy of a proper Fixer at all, would it?"
Don Quixote smiled lightly at Nearl.
Nearl stared at him blankly. After a moment, her gaze slowly dropped to the ground.
"But…this…what if something happens…"
"If I let you stay, even more would happen."
Don Quixote crouched down slightly, placing his palm gently atop Nearl's head. Then he swiftly stood back up, gripping his lance firmly with both hands and smiling resolutely:
"As an elder, the most important duty is…"
"…To stand in front of their children when they're faced with trials too great to bear. Even though you never called me 'father' or anything like that, at the very least, we're partners, and your identity as a Bloodfiend was given to you by me. So, at least, we're 'family.'"
Nearl watched silently as Don Quixote once again turned his back to her. Her eyes dimmed once more, feeling suddenly moist. The figure standing before her now overlapped, if only for a fleeting instant, with another she hadn't seen in so long—so long she wasn't even sure if he still lived in some corner of her memories.
"Father…?"
Nearl whispered unconsciously, quickly covering her mouth the next instant. Her eyes, which were merely moist moments ago, now brimmed openly with tears.
Don Quixote glanced back at her. Seeing her gesture, he said nothing, only letting the corner of his lips rise slightly into a faint smile. Then, his red cloak billowing behind him, Don Quixote gripped his lance tightly and charged straight at the Jester of Nihil.
Behind him, Nearl struggled to rise. She exhaled slowly, determination now fiercely clear in her eyes.
Don Quixote, meanwhile, had clashed multiple times with the Jester already, but quickly found himself losing ground. Swiftly retreating, he summoned a massive Ferris wheel cabin formed of Hemomancy to shield himself from another incoming attack.
"Tch," he clicked his tongue in frustration.
This was probably the most troublesome opponent he'd encountered since arriving in Terra.
Without the weakening curse, Don Quixote was confident his full-powered self could at least fight this Abnormality to a standstill—or even win. But now…
The real problem was the weakening effect.
Plus, having Nearl behind him made dealing with this Abnormality significantly harder.
Hold out for half an hour, huh…
As Don Quixote sighed inwardly, Hai's voice suddenly rang in his earpiece:
"Don Quixote, look at the four playing cards in that thing's hands."
"The cards? What about them?"
"Those cards are the source of its power—they represent four magical girls. I've been searching the arena this whole time, and now I've found something."
Hai spoke rapidly. Elsewhere in the arena, Hai pressed his earpiece while staring at a statue depicting a girl in green, gently touching her bandage-covered eyes as he continued quickly:
"I've found one of the four statues—this one corresponds to the magical girl embodying Anger. According to the intel from Lobotomy Corporation, destroying these statues should weaken the Jester's strength."
"…I understand. Need anyone to support you?"
"As many as possible. These four statues must be scattered throughout the arena. I'll take responsibility for destroying this one…"
"I'll go!"
Nearl shouted as she rose to her feet, wavering slightly before quickly steadying herself. Pressing her right hand to her chest, she raised her voice. Blood ran down her forehead, dripping over her cheeks, yet this only made her look more resolute.
Hai's voice had carried loudly from the earpiece, so Nearl had overheard everything clearly.
"…Can you do it?"
Don Quixote asked calmly, eyeing his weakening Ferris wheel barrier as it began to crack.
"I can do it…no—I must do it."
Nearl replied firmly, without hesitation.
Don Quixote was silent for a heartbeat before lifting his head again, smiling softly:
"Hm… Then, I'll leave it to you."
"I'm looking forward to your performance."
Nearl's eyes lit up briefly at his words. She didn't respond verbally—only turning decisively and rushing off.
Don Quixote released a quiet breath.
"Well then…it's still our battlefield, huh?"
Even as Don Quixote spoke, one of the cards in the Jester's hand abruptly shattered, causing him to grin.
"Ah…no, looks like it's three of us now—no, actually, it's all of our battlefield."
"Hai! Keep feeding me information!"
Elsewhere, after Nearl departed the arena, the Blood Knight quickly caught up to her. Nearl initially looked at him with surprise, then nodded in understanding, speaking quickly:
"Let's split up to find them!"
The Blood Knight gave a nod of agreement without objection, and the two swiftly moved through the arena, weaving around panicking crowds one after another.
The chaos and panic significantly hindered their search. Yet, neither Nearl nor the Blood Knight could do anything about the terrified people around them.
Meanwhile, Don Quixote's battle continued fiercely. With the loss of its Anger card, the Jester finally showed some subtle reactions, though it still didn't speak. Blades, lasers, and black-and-white shimmering fists rained down relentlessly. Don Quixote barely managed to evade, continuously forced into defensive positions.
At this rate, I'll last…another ten minutes.
Don Quixote calculated grimly.
Hemomancy took a significant toll after all…
"Hey, Hai, how much longer does Lobotomy Corporation need?"
"Twenty minutes. But—it's not like there's no hope."
Hai's voice crackled over the earpiece. As Don Quixote began to question this, a figure abruptly appeared at his side, destroying several swords in an instant with a flash of the Four Trigrams Slash.
"Because…I'll also help stall it."
Hai's foot touched down lightly, speaking resolutely as he joined the fray.