48. Seal vs Layla (1)

Ancient Arena <Kataros>.

A dome-shaped place. 

Inside, there is a circular audience seat, and in the center, there is a square stage. All of it made of stone.

The roof blocks the sunlight, so the light is a candle made from magic. It’s a round glass with a Green Alchemy Stone embedded in the center.

I guess they used some magic to lit it.

“OOーiii! It’s not the time yet!?”

“I’m tired of waiting!”

“I wonder if you really can see a really interesting match, you sure right!?”

Many guests were sitting in the audience seats drinking alcohol.

There are knights, merchants, who got drunk there.

I stand on the stage and look at Pearl, who has his arms crossed next to him.

“Oi, Pearl. I haven’t heard that there would be audiences.”

“HaHaHa! It’s impossible to rent an arena for free! At the very least, we have to attract customers and makes this as an event to cover the expense!”

“You’re making another people as a spectacle without permission, you know… Anyway, why are they so pissed?”

“Because I told them 30 minutes too early! My bad!”

“…Thanks to you, it became like this. Well, that’s fine. I’ll shut them up right away.”

“Yeah! I’m looking forward to it!”

Outside the stage, there are three knights in addition to Pearl.

All of them are women.

“Who are they?”

“They’re a white magician! When something happened, I immediately brought them to heal your wounds. ――Hooo! Finally, the other main character for the show is here. Well, as a supporting character, I’m off the stage.”

While the swearing of the audience who got tired of waiting flew around,

Layla appeared wearing a long skirt, a shirt with buttons, and a robe.

That clothes… Is it the school uniform? 

There is something like a school emblem on the shoulder.

“You came early. Seal-kun.”

“Well, it seems you’re not running away.”

“I can’t run away. I will win and prove it. That, Grandpa, Ain Freiheit, was a trash amongst human being… “

Ain Freiheit…

Is that his real name?

“――Is that so? I see. I don’t think even if you win, you can decide your grandfather’s personality as you wish.”

“That’s true. Then, I’m not going to proof but I’ll deny it. I deny. Deny the technique of that person… I will crush that devil’s technique that he got from human experimentation, with this hand.”

“If you can do it… do it. I’ll seal you together with that silly delusion of yours.”

Layla glares at me.

So, I glare back at Layla and step forward,

Then, a cute voice “Yeah! Just like that!” echoed behind me. Unfortunately, it’s a voice I’ve heard a lot.

“Keep going! Raise your middle finger there! Like this! THISS!”

“Shura …”

Shura raised her middle finger and sticked out her tongue.

I turn to the back and approach her.

There is a step between the stage and the audience seats, forming a groove. and Shura was there.

I bend down from the top of the stage and adjust the height of my line of sight to Shura who touches the stage.

“Why are you here? Go to the audience seats. You’re so noisy “

“Huh!!? I’m your second! Your Second! You should be thankful that I’ll be giving you the right instructions! “

“I only have a bad feeling about this… hmm, Sorry shura, but can you take the hemp bag that has fallen there? “

“Hmm? This?”

Shura grabbed a jute bag that is the size of a sack, held it with both hands and placed it on the stage.

I grab the hemp bag and say, “Thank you”

Then I turn my foot toward Layla again and start walking.

About 20 steps away from Layla, I stopped.

“What is it I wonder? Inside that bag…”

“It’s a secret weapon that’ll surprise you. Please look forward to it. “

About thirty seconds before the bell rang, Pearl, who was standing outside the stage, shouted.

“Then I will explain the rules! If you admit defeat, or out of the ring, or admit that you can’t continue the battle, you lose! “

While listening to Pearl’s explanation, I untie the jute bag.

“Hey Layla, one thing before fighting―― Can I make a prediction?”

“Okay, tell me.”

I grab the mouth of the jute bag with my right hand and lift it.

Then thrust my left hand into it and tell her with a provoking tone.

“This battle, I will definitely take the first hit.”

“… what a funny joke.”

“Then, let’s fight each other fair and square! That’s all――”

――The sound of the bell echoed throughout the city.

We start to move with the voice of Pearl, “Begin!”

I grab both ends of the jute bag and shake it with all my might, throwing the contents over Layla’s head.

The contents of the jute bag, that is――

“Rubbish……?”

It’s a lot of rolled paper.

It’s a crumpled paper ball. At first glance, it’s just garbage, but …

“――Ah, it’s not!”

For those who know Sealing Technique, it’s a pile of weapons.

Layla changes her expression.

Yeah, Layla immediately noticed that each piece of paper had a weapon in it.

” “O Flame, rise up” !!!”

Layla accumulated Green Mana at her fingertips and lit a flame on her finger.

Ah, she plans to burn the scraps of paper before I get to use it.

“……won’t let you”

I put my right hand on the ground and cast a spell.

“―― “CLOSE” “

A pentagonal red letter that appears from my right hand to Layla’s feet.

――It’s a Mana Sealing.

Yesterday, I came to this stage and drew a letter in a color that was as close as possible to the color of the floor, and covered it with sand from above.

If you put in Mana, it will give off a color and stand out, but if you don’t put in any Mana, it won’t be noticed.

I came to this stage first to guide Layla to the east. If I wait on the west side, Layla will naturally stand on the east side where the trap is set.

It’s not a foul. There is no rule that you shouldn’t set a trap beforehand.

“Mana Sealing!?”

As expected, Layla knew about Mana Sealing. But it doesn’t matter. She’s already one step behind.

The Mana Sealing I set is activated against Layla, who is in the center of a huge pentagonal character seal. This was the size that’s barely enough to cover her. If the character stamp of the Mana Sealing is too large, the performance will be weakened. Therefore, with this size, the limit is to disturb the Mana is still at its best.

“No way, you, in advance――! “

The flames on Layla’s fingertips are disturbed and extinguished.

Garbage scraps are flying in the air.

When the trash is above Layla’s head, I cast more spells.

” “OPEN” “

The things that came out from the trash, Seven blue crystals of “Corral Cracker”..

It falls at Layla’s feet. As an impact shocked the “Coral Cracker”, it’s started to filled with light.

“――!?”

“My prediction, is right …”

A bursting coral, a blast that rolls up.

But, it’s not the end.

I put my hand on the ground and kept sending Mana to the pentagonal mark.

At the same time, the ground with the pentagonal character engraved on it cracks due to the explosion, and the Mana that was sealed on the ground is released and bursts.

Yeah, triggered explosion, a two-stage explosion for the first strike.

A smoke from the blast covered the arena.

The roaring sound made the audience’s swearing completely gone.