Chapter 53: All or Nothing

“Bianca!”

Seeing Bianca blown away by the black whip, I involuntarily stood up and screamed. Next to me, Estelle also covered her mouth with a pale face. Bianca, who was blown away, stopped just at the edge of the arena, barely avoiding a ring-out loss, but she remained fallen and didn’t move. Just as the referee knight was about to rush over, Bianca staggered but stood up and readied her sword. It seems she’s okay. I sighed in relief, stroking my chest.

“What was that attack just now!? Is that also ‘Discord’s’ power!?”

I raised my voice and questioned Balay-san, who was next to me and probably knew the most about that sword among us. That form didn’t appear in the game.

“That is ‘Discord’s’ true form. Using the power stolen from others, it changes its shape into the weapon most suitable for its owner. A Magic Sword, yet not a Magic Sword. That is the cursed wicked sword my foolish disciple left in this world.”

Balay-san muttered as if spitting out the words and downed his glass of whiskey. Into a shape suitable for the owner? Does that mean for the slasher knight in the game, it just happened to be a sword shape? I also sought the opinion of the Grand Master, who was watching the match next to him.

“Doesn’t that count as a rule violation?” “If that is also the power of the Magic Sword, there is no problem. Of course, if it becomes life-threatening, I will stop the match, but seeing Bianca’s condition, the barrier’s effect is working properly. The match will likely continue.”

As if to back up the Grand Master’s words, the referee knight declared the continuation of the match. The barrier might indeed mitigate physical damage to some extent, but it can’t stop damage or impact beyond that. Even if there are no cuts or scrapes, if she lands badly, there’s a possibility of broken bones, or if things go poorly, even death. Besides, if she takes another attack like that, Bianca will be blown out of the ring for sure this time. Against the whip attack that extends for meters from a distance, Bianca seemed to be using all her effort just to escape. When she tries to get close, the whip flies at her as if to say, ‘I won’t let you near.’ Bianca’s attacks don’t reach, and Gloria is free to attack as she pleases. It’s a one-sided match where Bianca is overwhelmingly at a disadvantage. Bianca used [Duo] to split into two and approach, but the long whip has a wide attack range, and both were blocked. It’s like a barrier of a whip. It keeps everyone away and beats the enemy down. For Bianca, who has no means of attacking from a distance, it could be said to be the worst weapon to face.

“Is it not possible to cut that whip?” “Difficult. It has that shape, but it is the transformed figure of a Magic Sword. It ain’t something you can cut easily.”

Balay-san answered Estelle’s murmur. If it were a whip made of normal leather, it might have been possible to cut it, but even in that shape, it seems to be a Magic Sword. In fact, every time Bianca deflected the attacking whip, a metallic sound echoed through the arena.

“At this rate, Bianca can’t do anything…!” “Well, I wonder about that…”

At my sorrowful voice, Balay-san murmured quietly.

◇ ◇ ◇

Fast. The black whip flies from every direction. Its speed seemed to rival that of Teacher Julia, who was called ‘Sword Flash’. Unlike the attack that blew me away earlier, these are light but fast strikes. Because there is no weight behind them, I can manage to weather them with my sword if I pay attention. But at this rate, my stamina won’t last.

“I have to get close somehow…!”

Even if I slip through the whip and try to approach Gloria, the retracted whip attacks again. I just can’t get close. The only salvation is that she apparently can’t use [Transparency/Colorlessness] in that state. She’s probably using most of her magic power for the whip. Maybe if I keep running away, Gloria will run out of magic power and a chance will come… No, no matter how I think about it, I’m at a disadvantage. If she switches attacks and lands just one heavy blow, I’ll be blown out of the arena. Before her magic runs out, my stamina will run out, and I won’t be able to dodge.

“There, there, there! It seems you’re using everything you have just to run away! It will be a sight to see how long that lasts!”

Kuh, she sees through me. Gloria, with a smile soaking in pleasure, continues to swing the whip at me. She intends to torment me until my stamina runs out. She’s trying to break my spirit by continuing this situation where I can’t do anything. If it were before I underwent that ‘Magic Sword of Trials’, I might have broken long ago. But I have a reason I cannot lose. No matter how painful, even if I think I’m at my limit, I decided in my heart that I would absolutely never give up until the very end. Until the moment I collapse, I will continue to struggle to win. I read Gloria’s movements, sensed the direction the whip was coming from, and continued to dodge it. My legs are already screaming. But as I gritted my teeth and kept avoiding the whip, the composure vanished from Gloria’s face. She must be approaching her limit too. The match isn’t decided yet…!

“That look in your eyes… I do not like it…! If you would just give up quickly, it would be fine…!” “I cannot lose…! For Teacher Julia who gave me special training, for Estelle who encouraged me, for the people of the Ducal House who sent me off telling me to do my best…! And for Lady Sakuraile who believed in me and granted me this Magic Sword…! I… will become that person’s knight!” “You are noisy with your rambling! Just get blown away already!”

Gloria’s black whip flew at a speed unlike anything before. The heavy blow that blew me away earlier. I can’t dodge this…! Just as I thought that, midway, the movement of the whip gradually became slower, becoming a slow movement as if in water. While surprised by that phenomenon, thinking ‘I can dodge this’, I tried to move my body to avoid the whip, but my body could also only move slowly. While all movements flowed slowly, only my thoughts were working normally. No, is it the opposite? Because my thoughts are faster than usual, do all movements feel slow? I succeeded in dodging the attacking whip by a hair’s breadth by moving backward. The tip of the whip passed a few millimeters in front of my eyes. In that instant, the flow of time returned to normal. A sense of fatigue assaulted my whole body with a thud, and I realized my magic power had been gouged out. In front of me is Gloria with a surprised face. Even from her perspective, she must have thought I couldn’t dodge that just now. I looked at ‘Ensemble’ in my hand. Because I had a conviction that the power just now was one of ‘Ensemble’s’ abilities. Lord Balkblay said ‘Ensemble’ is a space-time attribute Magic Sword. Space-time… in other words, Time and Space. The phenomenon just now, was it not ‘Ensemble’ accelerating my thoughts? However, this consumes more magic and stamina than [Duo]. For the current me, doing it one more time is probably the limit. Even if I use this power to dodge the whip, it doesn’t mean I can beat Gloria. If I don’t do something about that whip, it’s my loss. Then, I might as well…!

“Kuh! Such strange movements…!”

The whip is swung again. This time, I intentionally accelerated my thoughts. Just like last time, I see the whip approaching slowly. Here! Right here────.

“[Duo]!”

Myself, who became two by the power of ‘Ensemble’; one of them heads straight toward the slowly approaching whip from the front. The black whip approaches the flank of the me who headed toward it. Before the whip could reach the body, that other me let go of ‘Ensemble’ and firmly grabbed the whip approaching her flank with both hands, timing it perfectly. The next moment, intense pain shot through my flank, and the me who held the whip was slammed onto the floor. Rolling on the floor stones—goro goro—the pain is shared with me. Even while rolling, the me who took the whip does not let go of the hand that grabbed it. A creaking pain ran through the whole body of the remaining me as well. Thanks to the skin barrier, I am not injured, but the pain of the impact is shared and transmitted. In reality, my hands might have been sliced open and my internal organs ruptured.

“Kuh! Let go!” “Even if I die… I won’t… let go…!”

Gloria tries to pull the whip back, but the other me, holding it as if hugging it, doesn’t let it escape. Gritting my teeth and enduring the transmitted pain, I started running toward Gloria with all my might. Gloria, with her whip sealed, can do nothing. There is no next time. Being at the limit of both magic and stamina, I literally sacrificed myself to stop the whip. Before the clone disappears, I will hammer in my full-power strike!

“Yaaaaaaah!” “Hii!?”

An all-or-nothing blow sweeps across Gloria’s torso. At the same time, my legs exceeded their limit and collapsed at the knees with a gakun. My legs got tangled, and I fell forward with the momentum. Rolling on the floor stones—goro goro—pain runs through my whole body. My flank hurts, and the hands that grabbed the whip would surely be shredded in reality. There was no part of my body without pain. My legs are shaking, and my hands are trembling. My eyes are blurry and I can’t see forward well. Still, I must stand. I must stand and fight. As Lady Sakuraile’s knight, I must stand until the end! Move! My legs! Laugh and surpass a limit or two! Leaving a numb sensation in my legs, I somehow stand up using ‘Ensemble’ like a cane. Amidst my hazy vision, when I turned around, Gloria’s figure wasn’t there.

“…Eh?”

Lowering my gaze, Gloria is there, fallen and motionless. I could see her eyes rolled back to white, completely unconscious.

“Winner, Bianca Latia Serenade!”

The referee knight raised his hand high and announced my name.

“Eh?”

Not understanding the meaning, when I looked around, a rain of cheers and applause fell from the spectator stands. I… won…? Did I win? Against Gloria?

“She did it! She won! Congratulations, Bianca! Congratulations!” “Con, congwatulashuns, Bianca-san~!”

As I stood dumbfounded, covered in wounds, I heard the voices of Lady Sakuraile and Estelle from the special seats, and only then did the reality that I had won against Gloria well up. I won. Using the Magic Sword, I won in a fair fight. I was able to prove that Lady Sakuraile’s words were correct. That is happier and more proud than anything. There was pain throughout my body, but I raised ‘Ensemble’ high and responded to the thunderous applause sent from the spectator stands.