Day 1 of the Semi-Finals, Sylas Zyair vs Victoria Chauvet
The tension in the crowd watching these two participants was extremely high.
Usually there were matches where they could easily predict the winner. Of course many times they were wrong too, but today, nothing could be said.
On one hand was Sylas Zyair, a human who showed extraordinary talent in his stigmata. He managed to use his Lower Grade stigmata to such an extent that many people wouldn't be able to do that in their entire lifetime.
And on the other hand, Victoria Chauvet, a demigod with astounding talent. Her graceful swordsmanship and knowledge in combat looked as if she could overcome anyone if she wanted.
And Sylas knew that too.
Victoria was an opponent that he could never beat if their battle lasted longer.
'She studies her opponent and can adjust herself according to it.'
So he had to make a decision. Either play safe and wait for a chance where she makes a mistake or to take some risks and make that chance. And he chose the latter.
Sylas looked at his opponent carefully and waited for the match to start. 'This match is going to end in a minute. Either I win or lose, I am going all out. No, I am going to exceed all my limits within this one minute.'
Hoooooonk!!!
The match started and both sides took their stances. Victoria was observing her opponent very carefully. She never saw him fight before because she thought it was useless to watch someone else's match when she had nothing to learn from.
And that was when she already lost the match.
The pride of royalty. And even more than that, the pride of a demigod. She didn't know what skills or techniques her opponent had.
'Stigmata of Blood' mainly focuses on controlling the one's blood to create different instruments and weapons.
But Sylas had long exceeded that limit.
He poured blood into his sword and increased the amount of mana near his fist.
{Minor-Transformation}
Wasting no time, Sylas used his skill. His veins could be seen bulging under his skin. His eyes became slightly brighter and clearer.
Both of them rushed to each other to exchange the clashes with their swords.
But Sylas' strike was not ordinary. He poured his own blood into strengthening his strike to an enormous degree. Her eyes widened at the last second as if she realised something, but it was already too late.
Clang!!!!
The two swords clashed once and of course, Victoria nearly lost her grip with the force. Her sword recoiled long back strongly. It was really a miracle that she kept her sword from not flying away out of her hand.
No, it was not a miracle actually.
That's how talented she is. She realised it at the last second but still was able to change her style slightly to minimise her opponent's force.
But that was enough for Sylas.
Swish!!
In less than a second after his strike, his left hand extended towards her abdomen as if trying to punch her. But at the last minute a red coloured dagger appeared in his hand out of nowhere.
A dagger made of blood. The actual ability of stigmata of blood.
It was impossible to defend against that when she was already struggling to save her sword.
The dagger entered her abdomen and made a deep wound. But even if that was not enough, the dagger soon changed into a claymore while it was inside her abdomen and emerged out from her back.
She vomited a mouth full of blood and supported herself using her sword.
Sylas abandoned his sword of blood on her body and swung his other sword again pouring blood into it. She defended against it from hitting her body but this time she couldn't hold onto her sword.
"I am sorry but I have to win this...no matter what"
Finally he pushed down the sword at her stomach with some reluctance in his face.
Without any sword in her hand and a deep wound on one side of her body, she had no way of defending against that.
Victoria slowly kneeled to the ground, holding the parts where the injuries were critical. She closed her eyes completely and allowed her consciousness to fade away.
"T-that was completely mind-blowing. We have the first finalist of the 8th Blood Legacy Competition and it is none other than Sylas Zyair. Congratulations! "
The whole crowd was split into different opinions. Some of them were happy and called it a match worthy of the semi final while others called it an unpleasant match to watch.
Sylas didn't mind any of these and quickly returned from the battleground. He didn't do it for some kind of attention. And the graceful demigod was still left there, lying on the ground, all bloodied and barely breathing, with the healers rushing towards her.
****
"Did he have to go that far? "
"I also think that was a little rough but I think this was his best option to win."
"What!? You can't be serious, Belle. Wait! Don't tell me you agree with her, Marcel?" Penelope asked looking towards me.
'Although you are asking me that, there's no way this can be answered with a simple yes or no. No, more importantly, what am I doing here with them again?'
Sigh!
"I think he made a lot of thinking on how to win and proceeded logically. She was a terrifying opponent and she might have overturned their situation if she was given a chance.... I think I would have made the same choice if I were him"
"Can't you just say you agree with her instead of going in a roundabout way!? Hmph! She won't fall for you even if you do that."
"W-wha-?" Isabelle's red face showed she could never get used to their teasing. "Why do you always do this to me, Pen?"
"That is because you are very fun to tease, Isabelle." The Princess answered her instead of Penelope.
"Ahh! Not you too, Violet! "
Isabelle made a really cute expression when she was being teased by her friends. And both her and Penelope started calling the Princess by her name after she insisted on countless number of times during these days.
On the other hand, I slightly trembled hearing these ladies.
'Their jokes are really dangerous. What if Duke Aeris hears this and decides to throw me in a dungeon? Maybe I should start preparing for that too'.
"Anyway Marcel, you have your match tomorrow, right? Did you prepare something?" The Princess asked me.
"You can say so, Your Highness. I heard that she's an archer so I just have to get close to her I guess".
"That sure sounds simple. But many had already tried that... And the other reason she reached this far is because no one ever got a chance to get close to her. They are always defeated as soon as the match starts."
'That doesn't sound so good. My original plan included restricting her shots using Lightning Wave from a distance and then ending it by getting close to her, but... hearing these words made me a little worried'.
"Is she that strong? "
I knew that elves were strong in archery and mana but I had no idea how everyone failed to get close to her.
"Yes, she is very strong. The only people who were able to put up a fight against her were those with high defence. Even then, they were also defeated after a while."
It was Isabelle who answered me this time. She flinched slightly after seeing that I was listening to her intently but soon continued her words.
"...I-I think you have a chance to win if you strengthen that mana barrier of yours. And also, do not try to deflect her arrows with your sword because even the fastest contestants here with a speed skill failed to touch her arrows"
"I see, I will keep that in mind. Thank you Lady Isabelle"
I left the ladies and decided to go back. I was very hungry and I couldn't come up with a plan on an empty stomach. But just outside the stadium, I saw someone familiar.
"Congratulations Sylas. You did well. "
"Haha... I think I overdid it a little. I should apologize to her later."
"It was a competition and what you did don't deserve an apology. You never played dirty or anything. And also, I think it would be disrespectful to your opponent as well".
"... I see. You are really something, Marcel".
"But I think you are more amazing though. Do you want to grab lunch together?".
"Sure"
We went to a nearby restaurant to have our lunch. This restaurant was quite fancy and I always wanted to come here and today I finally had the chance too.
I didn't even look at the menu as I already know what to eat.
"Lamb curry with rice, please. "
"Give me the same."
"Yes sir"
The order soon arrived and we started eating. But for some reason Sylas wasn't in his usual form.
"Have something on your mind? "
He waited for a couple of seconds before speaking.
"... Say Marcel, why do you want to win this competition? "
"Hmm... Let's say I have to go to Elysium anyhow. I have something very important there."
"Your family? "
My eyebrows twitched slightly but I didn't let it show on my face.
'Right... this guy already knows I am from Elysium.'
Sylas smirked slightly and hearing no comments from me, he continued. "To be honest, I am the same as you. I have someone I need to save and for that I have to go to Elysium. But I still don't know if that person is still alive. Do you think it's wrong the way I am doing things? "
"... I already told you what you did today was a wise choice for winning. Also there's nothing wrong with trying to save someone."
I didn't ask him who that person was or what that has to do with Elysium. It looked like he didn't want to talk about it much.
"I see. Anyway, good luck for tomorrow. I hope I'll see you in the finals. Don't cry saying that I overdid it then."
'This bastard... At least he looks a little better now'.
We had some small talks after that and finished our lunch. The same waiter that took the order came to us with the bill in his hands.
"What is this? "
"The bill, sir?"
"N-no, I mean w-why is it one gold for a single dish? "
"That is the price mentioned in the menu, sir"
I remembered then that I was so excited to eat here that I didn't even see the menu. And right now tears were about to fall down from my eyes.
'These damned robbers! '