Its quite sothing to think I would set foot here once again.
Ten days have passed since I was asked to demonstrate my strength. During that ti, my opponent seed to have been selected and I was brought to a place both nostalgic and loathso for the waiting room of the battle arena.
I had assud that the event would take place sowhere in the royal castle, but it was decided that the arena where one could fight more freely was a better choice. However, there were hardly any regular spectators; mostly just civil and military officials gathered. It seems only those interested in seeing my abilities gathered here.
I havent been told anything about my opponent. It appears that information was kept strictly confidential from those related to , like Liselotte and Crus.
Is that so? Co to think of it, this place holds so history for the boss, huh?
However, it seems youre not too bothered by it.
My comrades who had co to the royal capital with were currently in the sa waiting room. Just like , they were effectively under house arrest in a room in the royal castle, and apart from not being able to go out freely, they seed to be living comfortably enough.
However, we only had servants visit us around al tis, but it seed that Zalds room had servants or more precisely, maids visiting several tis a day. By the standards of human beauty, Zald was considered exceptionally handso. It was likely that the maids made up reasons to co by, hoping to catch a glimpse of his face.
Ah. Of course its not that I feel nothing, but I dont feel much irritation either.
Lets set aside the circumstances of my comrades for now. The arena was supposed to be a place filled with negative mories from my scorpion days, including the so-called training which was more like abuse by Georg and the deadly battles with ferocious beasts. Now that Im rembering it, theres no doubt that I felt uncomfortable.
Yet surprisingly, my discomfort was minimal. It was as if I was looking down on soone elses mories. I have a theory about why that might be. Its probably because Ive beco a demon.
Both the from my scorpion days and the after becoming a demon are certainly myself. However, having lived in my current body for so long, my past self during my scorpion days seems almost like it happened to soone else.
Nevertheless, the gratitude I felt towards Chris who was kind to back then, the friendship with the Popi person, and the bond I had with Woodsorrel whom I t during the rookie tournant, were deeply engraved in my heart. The feeling of it being soone elses life applies only to my own experiences.
. Co to think of it, you ntioned seeing the mories of the one you were synthesized with. That might be the reason.
No, Orvo was adamant that souls do not mix. Theres no way his soul remains within . He said that having multiple souls in one body is what causes synthetic beasts to go berserk. So, his soul shouldnt be inside .
Even if his soul isnt present, perhaps viewing those mories has had so influence on you?
Besides, the shape of your body has changed significantly. It might just be that.
Regardless of what we say here, were not scholars; its beyond us. You may as well go to sleep and it would be more aningful.
Ugh
It was Rinne who sharply silenced the n debating this way and that. Her point was valid and we had no choice but to fall silent.
Even though a battle was about to take place, the atmosphere in the waiting room was extrely relaxed. Part of it was because we were used to fighting, but more so because no one expected to struggle against any of the creatures prepared here.
From the waiting room across from mine, I could definitely sense a strong fighting spirit and spiritual power even in a relaxed state, suggesting that this opponent of mine would be even stronger during battle. The creature was contained in a cage that was enchanted with spiritual arts that helped conceal its exact shape, but the cage itself was quite large. The creature was definitely larger than Shuu and Apao.
However, in both fighting spirit and spiritual power, neither the quality nor the quantity matched mine. My comrades seed to sense this as well. Knowing that the battle would not be too difficult, there was no need for any of us to be overly concerned.
You seem quite at ease, Antares.
Is that you, Chris?
I had thought to simply wait in relaxation until the ti for battle arrived, but an unexpected visitor ca. It was Chris, who was supposed to be by Lieselottes side. Why was she here?
Chris seed well aware of my doubts. She quickly conveyed her ssage directly.
His Majesty and the young lady have sent a ssage. First, from His Majesty. Those prepared for you are quite confident, so feel free to crush them without holding back.
To disgrace them or rather, he wants to show my power?
It seed that those who disliked had great confidence in the opponents they had prepared. It was clear that the creature was quite formidable, yet King Carl was telling to crush them. It appeared he had a high regard for my skills.
Even though King Carl seed to hold in high regard, I didnt feel particularly honored. After all, no matter what, King Carl was rely the king to my benefactors, Lieselotte and Chris, and to he was nothing more than a source of trouble.
Thats the situation. And as for the young ladys ssage His Majesty has agreed to place you and the others under the young ladys supervision.
Thats a relief.
We could lend our strength to the kingdom as subordinates of Lieselotte rather than the king himself. This arrangent would allow Lieselotte to offset any trouble caused by her familys conflicts with her achievents and enable us to follow soone we trusted rather than a king we hardly knew. It seems things have worked out well.
Incidentally, it appears that the uncle who plotted to assassinate Lieselotte has been spared the death penalty. This was due to Lieselottes plea. However, this was not out of rcy. Officially, her uncle was declared to have died from illness, but in reality, he was sent to work as a slave in so mine.
In essence, Lieselotte has sentenced him to a punishnt equivalent to working to death as a slave in a dangerous mine. The reasoning was that it was more economical than killing him outright.
This thought process is a bit no, quite scary. She must have harbored strong feelings of resentnt towards her uncle, and rightly so, considering he targeted her life. Retaliation was to be expected. However, the perspective of coldly viewing a criminal as a tool is sothing I did not possess.
We only knew the kind-hearted side of Lieselotte, which likely represented her true nature. This was evident from the way Hilda and Chris admired her. However, she also possessed the qualities of a noble. I shouldnt provoke her in the future.
And finally, this might be a more difficult request.
Oh? What sort of request?
Seems like she wants you to avoid killing the opponent as much as possible. Its partly because the young lady is kind-hearted but you understand that shes also being considerate of you, right? I suppose you intended to do so even without being told.
Yes, thats correct.
I couldnt help but smile bitterly at the fact that Chris had seen right through . Lieselotte had probably been considerate of my past as a battle beast. Her unwillingness to have harm creatures who shared a similar fate was undoubtedly a reflection of her kindness.
But Chris went a step further and already figured out that I had never intended to kill from the start. As expected of her, Chris seed to have all figured out.
I wouldnt hesitate if the opponent was a criminal but it seems thats not the case. I would find it difficult to kill those who share a similar fate to mine.
I thought as much. But are you sure? His Majesty seems to want you to show overwhelming power while winning.
Ill manage sohow Its about ti, isnt it?
Contrary to her words, Chris didnt seem overly concerned. This wasnt because she didnt care, but rather because she had placed her utmost trust in . While the expectations of King Carl were of little concern to , I felt compelled to live up to her expectations with all my might.
As we were engaged in this exchange, it seed the ti for battle had arrived. The sound of multiple footsteps approaching our waiting room could be heard. I stood up and fastened my twin swords which had been leaning against the wall around my waist.
Well, it seems the ti has finally co. Ive grown tired of waiting.
King Carl remarked with an unmistakable sense of excitent in the arenas VIP room. Even though he was the young king and the hero of the kingdom, he displayed a childlike innocence. The reason, of course, was the anticipation of catching a glimpse of Antares power.
He was aware that this one-sided test of strength was unwelco to Antares and that it had prevented Antares from serving him directly. The compromise of having Antares under the indirect and non-absolute supervision of Lieselotte, rather than a direct command, was sothing he still regretted.
Yet honestly speaking, King Carl was irresistibly excited about the prospect of witnessing Antares in battle with his own eyes. For King Carl who had originally planned to serve the nation as a warrior the strong were not only objects of respect but also important people he had to keep by his side.
Antares was a demon who had distinguished himself in the war and was the leader of the strongest demons. For King Carl, he was a figure deserving of the utmost respect and soone he desperately wanted to ally with. If they had been alone, its likely Carl would have cast aside all pride and courtesy to bow before him.
If only I hadnt made such a half-hearted effort
Theres no use dwelling on whats done, Your Majesty.
Yes, I know, but Oh! Here he cos!
As King Carl continued to lant his past mistakes, Adelheid scolded him, just as Antares appeared in the arena. He was dressed as he had been when he t King Carl in a simple outfit and a long cloak.
So of the civil officials might have scoffed at his unimposing appearance, deeming it almost ragged, but not a single military officer underestimated him. The reason was clear: even as he stood still, there was an intimidating lack of openings about him.
Although there was no killing intent to be felt, there was an undeniable certainty that anyone who dared to attack would find themselves humbled and face down on the ground. Everyone here knew better than to underestimate the title of the strongest demon.
Look there, Addy. See the one trembling with fear with a face pale? He was the one boasting about how we should have disposed of Antares when we first t him.
Thats rather distasteful Your Majesty, isnt it? Considering he is one of your own subjects Ah, it seems his opponent has also made an appearance.
Ah, this is I can see why they were so confident.
GYAOOOOOO!!!
As the opponent made his entrance, shaking the ground with each step, King Carl humd in admiration at the sight of the towering figure that appeared in the arena. The creature that let out a roar towards the sky was one of the dragon race known as the Fire Dragon.
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