kscans

Chapter 502 - The Guests' Battle

The battle between Cecil, Knight Commander of the Imperial Army, and Xenobia, a Demonfolk from the remnants of the Demon Lord's Army, had fired up the event. The real time video broadcast shattered all previous viewership records, and the comment section was an endless stream of posts.

Many players wanted to see it directly within the virtual world, and the number of people coming to Fight☆Club's venue increased. Naturally, they couldn't fit everyone, so they had to set a limit and announce it, but even so, the stream of arriving players was unending.

While the excitement was a good thing, it was overwhelming for the event organizers. The event was taking off for reasons the hosts had never intended, so it wasn't as if there was anything more to offer. Any more unexpected developments would just be a nuisance.

Taking all this into account, they were currently on a break. At last, they were about to welcome their guests for a normal player versus player match, just as the hosts had planned.

Rick, who had been handling various things behind the scenes, came over to Parfait and the others. His helm hid his expression, but everyone could tell from his movements that he was mentally exhausted.

"I had anticipated a lot of things, but I never imagined a situation like this."

"We shouldn't have underestimated our mothers' generation. I think I remember Dad saying something like that once with a distant look in his eyes," Parfait said.

She had heard that her father, Hayato, had a hard time with her mother, Esha, and the others. Whenever she asked what happened, he would always get that faraway look and change the subject, so he must have gone through a lot. For today, at least, Parfait decided she would be a little nicer to her father.

"Noat-san is one thing, but for Cecil-san to show up as well. If I'd heard about it beforehand, I could have done something, but it was completely unexpected. I feel like it's too late, but I decided it would be dangerous for this event to get any more attention, so I had Lunaria-san leave."

"Oh, could it be that you called the Black Rose members, Rick-kun?"

Rick nodded silently.

Just a little while ago, the members of Black Rose had arrived and taken Lunaria away with Rosalie and Xenobia. Parfait was surprised by how efficient they were.

Apparently, watching Xenobia and Cecil fight had ignited a feeling of 'I want to fight too!' in Lunaria that she couldn't suppress. Rosalie and Xenobia had been trying to hold her back, but it was difficult. So Rick explained the situation to all the Black Rose members and had them come. They then led Lunaria away from the venue. He said they were probably persuading her somewhere and having her log out.

Perhaps the world announcement was also exercising restraint. Unlike with Xenobia, it wasn't framed as the group called the 'Ten Black Rose Saints', remnants of the Demon Lord's Army, having joined the battle. However, some veteran players seemed to have recognized Black Rose, and there was a bit of a commotion, with people wondering, "Could the Demon Lord be here too!?"

"Let's leave Lunaria-san to them. On a separate note, I have a message from Rosalie-san. Cynthia-san."

"Y, yes, what is it?"

Cynthia tensed up at having her name called so suddenly. For some reason, she raised her hands in a cross-armed guard.

"Rosalie-san saw the gothic lolita outfit Natsu was wearing, Kazatoki-san's miko outfit, and Lion-san's magical girl, or was it archangel? Well, she saw the clothes you designed, Cynthia-san, and was praising them."

"...Wha!?"

When Lunaria and Rosalie went to greet Blake, Kazatoki and Lion happened to be nearby, and that's when they caught their eye.

"When I told her your parents work for Black Rose, she said she'd like to invite you and your family to the main office sometime."

"Wha!?"

"It seems she wants to invite you to study design seriously, though your schoolwork comes first. She said there's a lot she'd like to teach you."

After her cry of surprise, Cynthia's mouth hung open, completely stunned. The first ones to rejoice were not her, but the others.

"Cynthia-chan, that's amazing!"

"It's true, the gothic lolita outfit you designed exudes a sense of darkness. I won't compromise on my military uniform for daily wear, but that was a fine piece of work...!"

"A direct scouting offer from the top of the company your parents work for. Your hard work has paid off. Congratulations."

"Grr! I was planning on having Cynthia-san make cosplay outfits for Demon King Mikan-neesama's company...!"

Parfait, Natsu, and Chris were genuinely happy for her, but Ginny seemed a little disappointed. Still, Ginny didn't think it was a bad thing either, and pleaded with a serious face, "Please make some cosplay outfits for us sometimes!"

Finally seeming to grasp the situation, Cynthia dropped to her knees, raised both hands, and looked to the heavens.

"This humble servant has done it! No, it is too early to relax, de gozaru! It may be that those who wore the clothes were simply wonderful! I must devote myself more than ever, de gozaru yo! Should I die, no one will be there to claim my corpse! Adriannnnn!"

Parfait couldn't understand what she was saying in the latter half, but she could tell she was overjoyed. Everyone applauded, praising Cynthia.

Once Cynthia had regained her senses, Rick informed everyone of the upcoming schedule. "Well then, I'm heading back," he said, and walked toward the stage.

According to Rick, there would be two player versus player matches featuring the guests, followed by a song and dance performance by Lion and her clan members, and then Parfait and Kazatoki's match.

Originally, Lion was also scheduled for a match, but since Xenobia had fought Cecil, they had to revise the fight card, and this was the result.

Lion had been reluctant, saying, "Singing and dancing in this outfit is a bit much," but she seemed to have agreed on the condition that she wouldn't be doing it alone. She still had her unlucky streak, but Parfait also received the sad news that she's apparently been giving up on a lot of things lately.

An announcement finally came, signaling that preparations were complete. The match between Orion of the clan Cats are God and Deeger of the clan Cretaceous was about to begin. It would apparently be a pet-only battle, with the players themselves not fighting.

From the stage, the two of them looked toward Parfait and smiled lightly. Deeger's expression was scary since he was in a T-Rex costume, though. Their smiles vanished in an instant as they turned serious and faced each other.

"It seems the day has come to prove that dinosaurs are the strongest pets."

"Huh? The strongest are cats. In fact, they're gods."

"They may be the strongest in terms of cuteness, but when it comes to strength, I believe dinosaurs are the mightiest."

"I will overturn that mistaken notion!"

Orion, usually mild-mannered, was a little ticked off. The pet she chose was the cat god Bastet, which she had kept hidden until recently. Deeger went with his usual Quetzalcoatlus. The two creatures began to fight inside the dome for player versus player combat.

It wasn't as exciting as the previous match, but most of the players were seeing Bastet for the first time, and they all raised their voices in surprise at its varied magic attacks. The crowd went wild, especially when it created clones, cheering "Nekko!" and "Nukko!"

The pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus was also popular, especially with the male players. Its acrobatic attacks, delivered with uncanny speed despite its large body, were just like a fighter jet. The only regrettable thing was that the dome was too small.

In a wider space, the Quetzalcoatlus probably wouldn't have lost. With its mobility severely limited, it couldn't fully demonstrate its strength. It took a barrage of spells from Bastet and was defeated.

Though it lost this match, the outcome would have been uncertain without the restrictions. Most of the players present thought so. In the end, it received a huge round of applause, and a lively debate began about under what conditions the Quetzalcoatlus could have won.

"Cats are the strongest after all...!"

Parfait murmured, nodding to herself. She knew it was a conditional victory, but as a cat enthusiast, she wanted to support them over the dinosaurs.

She then wondered how Trachiyo was doing. In fact, she wanted to ask how long he planned to be training. She mentally vowed to spoil him rotten when he returned. Just then, the next battle seemed about to begin.

On the stage were Ingrid from the clan Bandit, and Balbara from the clan Knights of Sweets. Both of them looked at Parfait and gave a little wave, but then their expressions turned slightly troubled.

Parfait wondered what was wrong as she watched, and Ingrid spoke up.

"It's been a while. How have you been?"

"Good. I heard you were training?"

"Yeah, well, I lost pretty badly. I was getting carried away with everyone telling me how strong I was, so I decided to do some training to re-evaluate myself."

"You're as stoic as ever. I think you could live a little more carefreely, you know."

This was the first Parfait had heard of it, but it seemed the two were acquaintances. She listened closely to their words, thinking they might be the same age.

"Are you still eating nothing but sweets in the real world? Your, um, figure is a bit more... than before."

"Say that and you're asking for Armageddon! Coming from someone with ripped abs, that's a declaration of war!"

Parfait wanted to believe it was a joke, but Balbara seemed genuinely angry. The members of the Knights of Sweets clan were also cheering things like, "Take her down!" and "Aim for the stomach!" The male players in the vicinity quieted down a bit.

And then, the battle began.

Ingrid used a martial arts style, while Balbara had an orthodox longsword style. It was a similar matchup to Xenobia and Cecil, and since the combat system was set to realistic, it was expected to be a plain fight. But that wasn't the case at all.

It wasn't flashy, but the fight was like watching a real-world mixed martial arts match. With both of them being powerful fighters, there was plenty to see. The way Balbara parried Ingrid's speed-focused feints with a fundamentally sound stance was a battle for connoisseurs.

Opinions were divided, but many people who found the Xenobia and Cecil fight too fast to follow were enjoying this one, as the speed was just barely comprehensible.

In the end, Ingrid won not with strikes, but with a throw into a submission hold. There was no pain, so joint locks were meaningless, but immobilizing an opponent was a sound strategy. Balbara was in a position where she couldn't win, so she said, "I give up," and the battle ended.

This match also generated a lot of excitement, as it was a rare type of battle. In particular, everyone was amazed by the strange way Ingrid transitioned to different joint locks as Balbara struggled to escape, with many saying they couldn't understand how it was happening and that it was as entertaining as watching a magic trick.

(So that's a way to fight? I guess if that happened to me, I'd have no choice but to give up either.)

As Parfait considered what she would do, it was time for Lion and her clan members' song and dance, which served as a break between the matches.

Parfait and her friends already knew, but Lion appeared in her new Archangel Version costume, which was being unveiled for the first time. At the mere sight of her, people who seemed to be fans let out cries of admiration.

"An angel's kiss for your heart! It is I, the magical girl archangel from another world, Lion-chan! Worship me...!"

With that, Lion winked and blew a kiss. Her clan members, dressed in similar angelic outfits like backup dancers, also blew kisses in the same way.

A moment of silence, then an explosive cheer. Some of the fans were really into it and started bowing. There were also jeers, or perhaps cheers, like "Struggling student!" "Unlucky moe!" and "The Archangel descends!"

Naturally, Ginny and Cynthia were cheering at the top of their lungs. Parfait and the others also put on festival coats and waved fans, cheering just as they had when Natsu was singing.

"The first song is 'Love's Magic is a Heart-Pounding Beat!' Listen and be blessed!"

In a place filled with all kinds of people, some cheering, some looking dumbfounded, and some bowing their heads in a fit of second-hand embarrassment, Lion began to sing. Though she had been reluctant, once she started, there wasn't a trace of embarrassment in her. Parfait saw a true professional spirit.

The song continued, but Parfait's match was next. She told everyone as much and approached the stage. Near the stage, Rick was beckoning to her. As she got closer, he ushered her backstage.

Kazatoki was already in the waiting room in her Nine-Tailed Fox version, but she seemed nervous, taking deep breaths over and over. When she noticed Parfait, she smiled.

"Parfait-san, I look forward to our match today... no ja!"

"Yeah, you too."

"No holding back... no ja!"

"I should be the one saying that, but I'll do my best not to lose right away."

Their match would start after Lion's song ended. Last time was a draw, but what would happen this time? Feeling a little nervous herself, Parfait gripped the scabbard of Beelzebub tightly.