I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated (LN) - Volume 17 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Grand Finals

IT WAS FINALLY the day of the grand finals.

Fran looked excited as she walked down the hallway which led to the arena.

The atmosphere in the coliseum was so intense that it looked like a heat haze was coming out of her body. It wasn’t just that she had warmed up, it was a representation of her true fighting spirit.

How are you feeling, Fran?

Hm. Perfect. Not fatigued at all.

I see. What about you, Jet?

Woof, woof!

Fran had recovered from her intense match. I was feeling great and so was Jet. We should be able to give it our all during the final match.

Shame about the third-place match, though.

Hm. Real shame.

Dias and Knighthart had both withdrawn, eliminating the third-place match altogether.

They both cited mental exhaustion as the reason. Even if they were physically healed, the same didn’t go for their minds. Dias was old and Knighthart had died a gruesome death. I could easily imagine them still being exhausted by that.

But it still didn’t sit right with me that they had readily dropped out of the tournament like that. I guess you couldn’t force them to fight, but… In any case, it had been decided. Too late to change anything now.

Let’s go over our plan again. No using Unleash Potential or Skill Taker. Open with teleport. That all right?

Hm. Hilt’s strong. I’m gonna try to beat her before she can get started.

You’ll be up from the start today, Jet.

Grr!

Based on her previous matches, Hilt would probably begin by watching Fran’s opening gambit. She wasn’t hooked on fighting like Fran was, and as successor of the Dimitris Style, she was likely to let Fran make the first move. It was tied to her pride as the best disciple of the greatest combat school in the world. We would take full advantage of her hubris.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the time has finally come for the grand finals! First up is the strongest B Rank! The strongest girl! The strongest Black Cat! Black Lightning Princess Fran! Will she be able to shock us again this year?!”

Fran entered the arena to the loud cheers of the audience. Her eyes were locked onto Hilt, who was also stepping out of her side of the arena.

“Her opponent has also stepped into the arena! Dimitris Style successor and A-Rank adventurer! Give it up for Hiltoria of the Piercing Fist!”

The audience got just as hyped for Hilt, I think. Unlike Hilt, Fran only had a single year’s time to collect fans. Even so, both sides were nearly tied for intensity.

I could still hear some middle-aged man scream Fran’s name. They treated her like an idol, and for their own sakes I hoped that was all they saw her as!

“So here we are.”

“Hm.”

Whoa! I needed to focus on the match!

“…I’ll be taking this match.”

“Same.”

Hilt was overflowing with fighting spirit. Of course she was…her future was on the line.

I don’t think she was that interested in becoming the head of Dimitris Style, but her love for Colbert was a different story. As head, she would have the right to choose who she would wed.

As much as I wished her the best, we couldn’t afford to lose.

Fran, Hilt’s not at her best.

Really?

Yeah. Her stats are slightly down. She hasn’t fully recovered from her match with Knighthart.

Oh…

Like Fran, Hilt had lost a lot of blood and used abilities which took a toll. Two days wasn’t enough for a full recovery.

This was a huge opportunity for us, but Fran seemed genuinely disappointed. Would this affect her motivation to fight?

Even so, it still won’t be easy, though. She’s still stronger than we are, remember.

Hm!

That cheered her back up.

“Will the fangs of this young tiger maul the fists of the ultimate heir?! Or will the elegant fists of the successor break the teeth of the tigress?! Only one will stand victorious!”

Already Awakened, Fran drew me in a huge arc. Hilt also readied her stance.

“Flashing Thunderclap.”

“…Garuda.”

They both spoke at the same time. 

And Garuda? That was the move she’d used against Knighthart. Hilt used it to help herself get back on her feet. It seemed more suited to support than full-on offense. Was she going to use it to boost her movement today?

“Let’s not waste any more time! Let the grand finals…begin!”

At the commentator’s signal, I used Short Jump.

Teleportation into Skycutter was what we were going for. But Hilt was already gone by the time we warped back in.

Fran stared at the empty space as she swung me into nothing and then immediately jumped to the side.

She felt something behind her back.

WOOSH!

A ball of energy sliced through the air, grazing the side of her body.

“Hm!”

Fran turned her head to see Hilt approaching her at breakneck speed. She was fast—much faster than when she fought Knighthart the other day.

Hilt was using mana thrusters on her feet, an effect of Garuda.

Fran still had her back turned to her opponent, but she remained calm.

“Black Lightning Strike.”

She activated a signature skill to deal with Hilt’s attack. She went around Hilt’s back and returned the favor with a Pressurized Quickdraw. She released the air charged in her sheath, amplifying my speed.

The sharp slash was aimed at Hilt’s neck, but it was stopped by an invisible hand. Hilt had activated her mana arms.

Not only did Hilt deflect Fran’s attack, she redirected the flow of her energy to knock Fran off balance. Hilt would normally control her opponent’s attacks to break their posture. But we had foreseen this tactic.

I supported Fran’s body with telekinesis, keeping her upright. Hilt immediately read our counterplay and got out of our range as fast as she could.

“Grr?!”

Jet’s ambush also failed. There were no breaks in Hilt’s movement that he could exploit. She had probably worked out a plan to counter Jet’s attacks after watching Fran’s matches.

Catching her with teleport had proven impossible because of its delay. In fact, she might be waiting for us to teleport again so she could exploit this very weakness.

Hilt completely read our ambush. She was a monster even in her detection abilities!

“Jet, no more ambushes. Switch to magic.”

“Grr!”

Teacher, suppress her with spells and keep an eye out for any hidden attacks.

Got it.

The match had only just begun and the struggle for advantage was already underway.

“Here I come!”

“Come on!”

The battle intensified.

“Haaa!”

Multicast Thunderbolt!

“Groooar!”

Fran went in with physical as Jet and I hit with magic. We pressed our offense relentlessly with Jet circling behind Hilt, casting shadow spells at her.

But Hilt had yet to take significant damage.

She didn’t have the superhuman defense of Sibyl, though I guess everyone would be cardboard next to her. By ordinary standards, Hilt’s spirit armor made her a very tough opponent.

As someone who fought with her fists, she would need some way to bolster her defense. Monsters possessed all sorts of elements: flame, thunder, even poison. Getting in close to hit them with your fists without a plan was a surefire way to get killed.

Even the black lightning I was wrapped in didn’t seem to be doing much damage. I was currently something like a powerful stun rod, strong enough to knock out a goblin with just a light touch.

But even black lightning was having a difficult time getting through Hilt’s spirit armor. All it seemingly did was add a bit of extra burden to her mana consumption.

More dangerous than her defenses was the sheer number of moves she possessed. She had managed to perfectly deal with our attacks, knocking Fran’s slashes away with her mana arms, crushing my spells with Air Crush, and reacting to Jet’s ambushes like she had eyes on her back.

Even if Hilt was currently our opponent, I couldn’t help but be impressed at how she was dealing with our attacks while moving at such a high speed.

And she was still exhausted from the fight with Knighthart! Fran should have been faster with Physical Body Manipulation, and yet Hilt showed no signs of slowing down.

“Sei!”

“Argh!”

She even managed to land a few counterattacks here and there. The impact rattled Fran enough that it slowed her down, even when she was buffed with Skills and magic. Good thing her recovery was enough to cover her for now.

But Hilt was also recovering from most of Fran’s attacks, making it look like neither side had taken much damage.

Having both contestants more or less unharmed despite the intensity of the battle was a rare sight.

“Taaah!”

“Cheryaaa!”

Their weapons clashed, letting out a loud rumble. Hilt’s knuckle dusters were made of sturdy stuff, remaining intact even after clashing with me many times.

Can you slow her down, Teacher?

I can try. Jet, get ready to attack with Fran.

Woof!

I drew power from Wisdom God’s Grace and activated Transmogrify.

Yes! I knew it! It’s much easier to use than before!

Transmogrify was much easier to use thanks to my greater magic control. I knew I should be able to control myself with greater precision than ever before.

Raaah!

I split my decorative strip into twenty pieces, each as thick as a tug-of-war rope. My thin strip wouldn’t be able to penetrate Hilt’s defenses, so I thought a spear would do the trick.

The twenty amorphous spears surrounded Hilt, assaulting her from all sides. The added thickness allowed for better mana conductivity, and they were imbued with Fran’s black lightning. This wasn’t a spear art from a rookie lancer.

“You can do that?!”

Hilt immediately sensed danger and dodged my attack. It missed by a hair, but would that be enough?

There!

The strip spear bent and morphed into a whip. I was thinking about Amanda’s whip here. It was nowhere near as strong or precise, of course, but the quantity had a quality of its own…

Twenty strip whips assaulted Hilt.

“Ugh!”

It didn’t do a lot of damage since I didn’t have Whip Mastery, but I succeeded in throwing her off balance. It worked, but I wasn’t about to take any chances…

Earth Hole!

I used a land spell to open up a rift under Hilt’s feet. Hilt’s eyes widened when she felt the ground beneath her vanish. I also added telekinesis and wind magic to push her down into it. The whips were still going after her, too.

But Hilt did not fall.

A blast of mana came out of her feet, accelerating her out of the pitfall. It was so powerful that my telekinesis couldn’t hold her down. Garuda again.

It was an impressive maneuver, but as I was keeping Hilt busy, Fran and Jet had finished prepping for their attack.

Hilt sensed danger again and turned her attention to Fran. But this was a fake.

“Groooar!”

Jet leapt at her from behind. Wrapped in deep darkness, he was now faster than Fran and charged at Hilt.

Dark Embrace launched Jet to the upper tiers of B Threats. A direct hit from him in this state would leave a mark.

“Hmph!” Even with her back turned to Jet, Hilt responded calmly.

Fran wasn’t just going to stand by and watch, however. She chased Hilt down and swung me into her most powerful attack: Skycutter.

“Haaaa!”

A Black Sky Tiger in front, a shadow wolf behind. Sword and fang closed in on the A-Rank adventurer to take her life.

It was the most desperate of desperate situations.

But Hilt looked perfectly calm. She looked quite at ease as Fran was bringing me down on her.

Had she given up?

No way.

She had just made her mind up to do something.

“Raaaaah!”

An immense blast of magic erupted from Hilt’s body. Was it Sky? The ultimate attack she used against Knighthart?

But it was too late now!

She couldn’t escape no matter how fast she was, couldn’t defend herself no matter how thick of a barrier she put up.

Jet’s charge and Fran’s Skycutter collided into Hilt at the same time—

Huh?

“Hm?!”

“Grr?”

Just as I thought we had her on the ropes, something felt off. Losing her target, Fran stumbled. Jet whizzed past us, crashing into the barrier.

What just happened?

We used our killer moves at the same time. But we didn’t make contact with her. Did she dodge it?

How?

Urgh!

Sensing an attack coming our way, I teleported us out; there was no time to think. A ball of mana blasted into the place we’d just been standing.

I thought Hilt would give chase, but she didn’t. She stood glaring at us, propping up half of her body. A deep gash ran down her right arm while her left arm was bent and broken. Blood streamed out of her eyes and nose.

But she was still standing where she was. How on earth had she avoided our attack?

Having read Fran and Jet’s attack, Hilt likely spun her body to attack them both.

It was all so simple. Hilt simply twisted her body counterclockwise, deflecting my blade with her right hand and avoiding Jet’s charge with her left elbow. Simple, but impossibly difficult.

This is not an impossible maneuver with the help of Dimitris Ultimate Arts: Sky. However, it carries only a twenty percent chance of success.

Hilt bet her life on it and won.

Yes. But her arms took most of the damage since she couldn’t execute it perfectly.

Not that bad of a price if it meant she could evade our most powerful attack…

And the tears of blood and nosebleed are also because of her gambit?

Likely an effect of using Dimitris Ultimate Arts: Sky.

But she didn’t end up that way when fighting Knighthart.

It is likely that the ability takes a great toll on her body. Unable to recover in two days, she now pays an even greater price than before.

Apparently, Dimitris Style had a double-edged move like our own Unleash Potential. It would probably shave off years from your life if you used it repeatedly. But Hilt wanted to win, and this was proof.

As an adventurer… As a martial artist… As a woman… She wouldn’t lose.

Fran felt it, too.

“…Wow,” she whispered, full of admiration of Hilt’s determination and combat capabilities.

Their eyes met. But Hilt wasn’t moving.

Maybe she couldn’t move because of her ability. Maybe she’d switched back to watching and waiting. Regardless, her body was still wrapped in overwhelming energy. But the damage was done.

Her right arm wasn’t regenerating because of the divine element imbued into Skycutter.

Despite her dodging our best attack, we had the advantage. Fran refocused herself and readied me again.

Teacher, Kanna Kamuy!

You got it! To the shadows, Jet!

Woof!

Grasping for victory, I multicast Kanna Kamuy, one of our trump cards which left even Dias in a critical state. The swirls of white lightning fell down on Hilt.

And she showed no signs of dodging it. She maintained her stance, lifting up her right arm as if to receive the falling lightning.

Was she seriously going to defend herself with that?

“Aaaah!”

She let out a blast of spirit which crashed into Kanna Kamuy. The two sides seemed evenly matched for a moment before the momentum of the lightning won out and engulfed Hilt in a blast of white.

The same explosion and rumble as the fight with Dias. Electricity ran throughout the barrier.

The epicenter could not have remained in one piece. I didn’t know whether we had won, but we certainly did damage.

Let’s go!

Right!

A look of determination upon Fran’s face. She would end this now. She rushed headlong into the winds and rumbling electricity.

And then it happened.

“Urgh!”

A dull sound followed by Fran’s ankle being crushed.

Yes, crushed.

It looked like it had been pulped in a giant vice. Fran lost her balance and fell forward. I quickly steadied her with telekinesis and set up a barrier. A powerful shockwave immediately rattled the shield.

It’s Hilt’s Air Crush!

No doubt about it. She had managed to attack us even in this situation. And that wasn’t all.

Something’s coming!

Hilt’s presence was rushing toward us in a straight line, straight out of the rushing violence of Kanna Kamuy. Her speed was insane.

“Haaa!”

“Hm!”

By the time I noticed, Hilt was already in front of us. Her face was that of a demon, her body broken and battered.

She’d suffered burns from the explosion. Bruises and lacerations from the debris. A third of her beautiful face was burnt while her right eye and eyelid were charred to ash. But even now she was still beautiful, probably because of her overwhelming presence.

Her right arm which clashed with Kanna Kamuy was gone to her shoulder.

She didn’t defend herself with her right arm as much as use it as a shield to keep her from dying.

As long as she was alive, she was still in the fight… That was probably the thinking behind it. Hilt would tank her opponent’s powerful attack to make them drop their guard. Despite being stronger than Fran, she wasn’t above using this strategy.

Still exhausted from her fight with Knighthart, Hilt was prepared to give it her all right from the beginning of the match.

She focused all her energy into healing her left arm. Her bones were already set again.

Fran gasped when Hilt came at her, faster than ever before.

“Dimitris Ultimate Arts: Dragon!”

The move was quite simple for an ultimate art. Hilt coordinated herself so that she could thrust out her left arm in a twisting motion with the full weight of her body. But she now had incredible speed on her side and a concentration of divine element on her palm.

It was an attack which utilized the enhanced state of Sky along with divine element. The most powerful in Hilt’s arsenal. This was Dimitris Ultimate Arts: Dragon.

Divine element might have been the reason behind the Sky’s exhaustion.

Hilt’s palm heel easily broke through my barrier, slamming into Fran’s stomach.

WHACK!

An unbelievably low sound was heard—not the sound normally created when hitting another human being—and Fran was flung sideways without a chance to scream. She was going so fast that it felt like she would break the speed of sound.

Crashing into the barrier would kill her. But a black beast intercepted Fran midflight.

“Wuff!”

“Eegh…!”

Jet used himself as a shield to protect her. It was better than hitting the barrier, but Fran and Jet were both injured by the move. Fran wheezed, the sound of broken bones louder than her voice. Blood and bile poured out of her mouth like a fountain.

Jet was much the same. No, he was worse for taking most of the force of Fran’s impact. All of his legs were broken, and he could barely breathe. His organs and bones were probably a mess too.

“Gaah… Blurgh…”

Jet! Get back in the shadows and heal yourself! It’s too dangerous here!

Arf…

With that, Jet retreated from the battle. Fast Regeneration should have him fixed up in under an hour, but he was not likely to come back to this fight.

Fran wasn’t dead…yet. She was on death’s door. But she refused to go down.

“Aah… Guh…”

Her eyes were blurry, but she still directed them to where she felt Hilt was standing. Her feet wavered as she took a step forward.

I could feel her hand squeeze me slightly.

Fran, can you use Instant Regeneration?!

I can… I can still…

She didn’t hear me. She was barely conscious now.

I used healing magic on her, but divine element was difficult to recover from. If she couldn’t regenerate, it would take time for her to be out of the danger zone.

Win…

Fran kept walking.

Hilt was frozen, palm heel still extended in front of her, and she watched Fran stagger toward her, zombie-like. She was clearly shocked.

Her ultimate attack had failed to finish her opponent. Divine element was the ultimate element, in a sense. In a fight against humans, who generally had less health than monsters, one solid hit should result in victory.

But we hadn’t just stood there like a statue when Hilt attacked us. Fran managed to jump back, reducing the impact, and I pushed as hard as I could against Hilt’s strike with telekinesis.

Maybe it wasn’t much, but it was enough to save Fran’s life.

I continued casting recovery magic on Fran, but she was still hazy. She was no longer Awakened or in Flashing Thunderclap, the damage she suffered being too much for her to maintain her state.

Yet her fighting spirit remained, and it propelled her forward.

“You…are quite the monster.” Hilt swallowed. Even an elite adventurer like her couldn’t help but be astonished. “But I can’t lose now…!”

Hilt’s will to fight was also still present. She cast a stern gaze at Fran.

But Hilt still stood motionless. Or moved very slowly, to be exact. It was like she was moving in slow motion.

The recoil from her ultimate skill and her injuries must have been keeping her from moving properly. Her movements were sluggish, and the powerful spirit wrapped around her body had faded away.

It would be very easy to defeat Hilt now. I just needed to attack her by myself. The battle had exhausted most of my mana, but I had enough for a Telekinetic Catapult and one more Kanna Kamuy.

But I wouldn’t dream of doing that.

Win or lose…this battle was Fran’s.

“…”

“…”

Hilt steadied her breath, composing herself as best she could as she strode forward. Fran swayed left to right, somehow managing to walk forward on her uneven feet.

The arena was disturbingly quiet.

Hilt made the first move. While she still looked awful, she at least managed to control her breathing. She had been hyperventilating up to this point, but now she was breathing like she was cooling down from a sprint.

“Huff… Huff…”

She breathed out painfully and slowly thrust out her left palm at Fran. She lowered her hips to reassume her stance. It looked like she was waiting to counterattack instead of initiating. Her legs were shaking slightly. She probably had no strength left to rush us.

Meanwhile, Fran carried on staggering her way toward Hilt.

As our distance slowly closed, I felt myself change.

What…?

Transmogrify had activated, turning my shape into that of a katana.

What surprised me the most was how different it felt compared to when I used Transmogrify on myself. But I didn’t feel like I was being forced into the change, either. Fran’s will had flowed into me, and I had responded by allowing her to Transmogrify me.

A strange feeling.

It reminded me of when Fran used Sword God Form, but I felt more united with her now. Sword God Form was overwhelming, and it was clear that the one using me was someone far greater than we were.

But I knew that Fran needed me now. Not as a familiar, but as a comrade in arms. The powerful bond between swordsman and sword had never felt clearer.

This is…

Blue light emanated from both me and Fran. The warm strength whenever Fran and I were united. It had saved us many times over.

This time, it was healing a little bit of Fran’s wounds.

Teacher…

Fran! Can you hear me?

Let’s go…win this…

No. Even with her wounds healed, her consciousness was still hazy. And yet—or perhaps because of that—she unconsciously took the best possible course of action.

As dire our situation was, I felt pleased. Even if she wasn’t fully conscious, she was relying on me. As her partner. As her teacher.

And it made me happy.

Yeah, let’s win this!

Hm…

I didn’t know whether she could hear me. I just saw her nod slightly.

Her steps were as slow as ever.

Ten seconds. Twenty.

The passage of time felt suffocating. The audience swallowed, leaning on the edge of their seats with bated breath.

Another five seconds, and there was now only five meters between Fran and Hilt.

“Ah…”

Fran’s eyes were unfocused, unsure of where or what to look at, but she somehow found her opponent. At the same time, her body moved.

Moved and cut. That was all there was to it.

But it was so fast and precise that it caught Hilt completely off guard.

Even I only realized Fran had attacked after I felt myself going through Hilt’s flesh and bone.

Fran owed her sudden acceleration to Mana Thruster. Limping, she had moved her body with the Skill without so much as flexing a muscle.

She didn’t just push herself from behind, either. She used Mana Thruster on her elbow to raise her arm and another Mana Thruster on her shoulder to bring it down. She added to the acceleration by applying it to her knees, hips, and heels. 

She did it all at once.

It was reminiscent of Hilt’s Garuda, only Fran’s was much more roughshod—certainly not a high-level ability. You could say it was the perfected version of the imperfect move Colbert used on Sibyl.

Hilt observed her opponent’s muscular tension, their shifts in weight. It was because of her precision that she couldn’t see what Fran was doing.

Fran’s perfect mana concealment played a huge part, of course…but the attack was a culmination of everything we’d learned during the tournament.

The speed itself wasn’t all that fast—flashing Thunderclap was much faster. What made it surprising was that it was produced by a half-dead Fran, and that was enough to throw anyone off guard.

Hilt couldn’t react to it.

She had a look of confusion on her face as she looked into Fran’s unfocused eyes. Her mouth was agape as she finally realized that she had been cut down.

“Huh?”

That was all Hilt said before blood burst out of her. She fell to the ground, and the light of time engulfed her.

“Wh-what a quiet end to an intense match! The thirteen-year-old Flack, er, Black Cat Fran is your champion! She is without a doubt the youngest winner of the tournament to date!”

The commentator could barely contain his excitement, so much that he stumbled over his words.

I listened, still in a dream-like state.

Fran won? Really?

I couldn’t believe it. But it was true.

Fran was knocked out, after all.

F-Fran, are you okay?!

“Uhh…”

She was almost dead.

I did my best to heal her, but her wounds weren’t closing. Divine element made it difficult for my magic to take hold.

Physicians rushed to the arena and carried her off to the infirmary.

“Th-this is awful! Get to healing, people!”

“Yes sir!”

“We can’t have the champion dying on us after she won! Drain all your mana if you have to!”

The three healers did everything they could to bring her back from the brink, but she still took forever to stabilize.

“Even Greater Heal isn’t working!”

“Same goes for life magic!”

“What is going on?! Chug some mana potions and keep healing! It’s just going to be slow!”

“Yes sir!”

Their leader, a veteran mage, didn’t seem to have much experience when it came to divine element damage.

They cast a lot of spells, thinking that it was poison or some kind of curse, but Fran’s recovery was stalled out. Still, she had three top-notch mages looking after her. She was probably out of the danger zone. That was my only consolation.

How are you feeling, Jet?

Wurf…

With Fran in the hands of expert healers, I turned my attention to taking care of Jet. He was also beat up after giving it his all.

His injuries were mainly from having to cushion Fran, who’d slammed into him like a cannonball. He was already recovering, but it wasn’t something that would mend overnight.

I cast Recovery Magic on Jet while he was in the shadows.

You saved Fran at the end there. Good job.

Woof… Urf.

Calm down! You’re still ready to go even when you’re beat up, huh?

Ruff…

I’ll treat you to something nice later.

Arf!

The door to the infirmary opened. A familiar face walked in.

“How is Fran doing?”

“Miss Elza. It’s not looking great. It doesn’t look like she’s waking up any time soon.”

“I see… I guess it can’t be helped after that kind of match. It appears the champion won’t be present for the closing ceremony this year.”

In a tournament where the winner wound up being the most injured contestant, this sort of thing happened every few years. With the intensity of the grand finals, it was unavoidable. 

Postponing the closing ceremony, on the other hand, was impractical. Most of the honorable guests had busy schedules to keep, and holding a ceremony without them would be seen as demeaning. In the event there wasn’t no one present to accept the prize, either the viscount or Adventurers’ Guild would take the money for safekeeping. Still, this tournament was more about bragging rights than the money.

“Try to get her to the award ceremony if she wakes up.”

“Understood.” 

Elza left. Making it to the award ceremony was going to be tough. Fran had been fighting hard for the last few days. Moving about was going to be difficult if she wasn’t fully healed.

And then another visitor came to the infirmary. One whose presence I couldn’t sense.

“S-Sir Dimitris?” the healers yelped in surprise. The S-Rank adventurer had come in through the door.

He approached slowly. I thought he wanted to take revenge for his disciple, but I didn’t sense anything malicious in his mind.

“I see she isn’t healing… May I help?”

“Huh? B-but…”

“Damage done by dragon energy takes time to heal properly.”

“Dragon energy?”

“I fought a dragon once who was cloaked in the stuff… Now it’s one of my school’s ultimate techniques.”

Was he talking about divine element? Dimitris apparently referred to it as dragon energy. No wonder the ultimate art was called Dragon.

“C-can you help her?”

“Not much…but yes.”

Dimitris wasn’t lying. He had really come to help Fran without any hostility or malice. There was almost something like tenderness in his eyes as he looked at her.

“B-but she defeated your successor…”

“What is one loss? It would be a waste to see such talent snuffed out at such a young age.”

“O-of course… She’s in your hands.”

“Hrmm.”

I watched Dimitris work. He had no wish to harm Fran. In fact, he apparently knew how to heal the damage done from divine element.

He breathed deeply and placed his hands over Fran’s stomach and head. Spirit slowly flowed out of his hands and into Fran.

And that wasn’t all.

Is this divine element?

Dimitris’s energy had a trace of divine element inside it. But it didn’t feel offensive. In fact, Fran’s face softened in what looked like relief.

A few minutes later, Dimitris finished his treatment. I could tell that the S Rank was exhausted. Maintaining the flow of divine element was just that difficult.

“Now heal her.”

“A-all right.”

Surprisingly, the healing spells were far more effective now. They still lacked their usual potency, but considering she was suffering from divine element, this was much better than before.

With the three healers working in tandem, she would be feeling better in no time. If nothing else, she was no longer in the danger zone.

Using divine element to deal with the wounds inflicted by divine element… There was still a lot I didn’t know.

“I’ll be going back to the closing ceremony. Take care of her.”

“Y-yes! Thank you very much!”

“Hrm.”

A few minutes passed.

Jet was mostly healed, and I was now secretly helping the healers with healing Fran. The healers got excited, thinking that she was taking their treatment much better. I felt a bit bad about it.

And then we had yet another visitor.

“My, my. She really can’t move, can she?”

“A-and you are?”

“Oh, no one important. Hee hee hee.”

The man slithered into the room, a noxious smile on his lips.

Abbav. The B-Rank adventurer who lost to Dias in the semifinals and Eiworth’s student. What the hell was he doing here?

He looked at Fran with his unsettling snakelike eyes.

“Hee hee hee hee!”

He definitely wasn’t here to wish her well.

Sensing trouble, the old healer approached Abbav.

“Th-there are supposed to be guards outside.”

“Oh, them? They were sleeping on the job…so I just helped them sleep forever!”

“What?”

The next moment, Abbav swung his sword at the healer leader’s neck—a killing stroke.

Fortunately, I was around to deflect it with telekinesis!

With that much bloodlust, it was easy to predict what he was about to do. He also had his guard down among the unarmed healers, so disarming him was easy as twisting a goblin’s wrist.

“Wow! You’re quite good to block my attack!”

“Huh? What?”

The three healers had yet to grasp what was going on. As notorious as Abbav was, he was still a tournament competitor and a high-rank adventurer. They couldn’t believe he would just attack them out of the blue like that.

“Shiiiya!”

“Eeek!”

The old healer shrieked and covered his head when he saw Abbav raise his sword. This was no combat healer. A sadistic smile crept onto Abbav’s face as the thrill of killing surged inside him.

But his sword was foiled again, this time by a well-placed barrier.

Give it up, chump! Your sword’s not going through my shield!

“Wh-what are you doing?!”

“…Are you pretending to be helpless? You’re quite the actor if you are. No matter. I don’t have time. Hand over the girl.”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“My client is looking for powerful adventurers, you see. And you have a monster who could crush me under her heel just lying asleep there like a baby. It’s the perfect opportunity.”

“H-How could you…”

He was after Fran! He might have been looking to enslave her now that she was weakened.

Grrr…

Don’t kill him, Jet. We’ll make him talk first.

“Groar!”

“Eegh! What the…?! But she didn’t summon you!”

“Bark!”

“And those wounds are already gone…?”

Knowing that Jet was Fran’s familiar, Abbav hadn’t expected him to show up with her still asleep.

Jet had also been heavily injured during the fight with Hilt. He should have been out of the equation. He was at about fifty percent power…which was more than enough to deal with scum like Abbav!

“Gaah…” Abbav screamed as Jet chomped on his legs from the shadows.

But the B-Rank adventurer took a potion out of his pocket, even as he suffered a lethal blow. Seven Winks. The poison he used against Dias. Switching tactics to protecting your own life was the mark of an experienced adventurer.

“Damn it! I have to use this now…!”

“Bark!”

“What?!”

But Jet leapt from the shadows, biting off Abbav’s hand along with the poison. Jet’s poison immunity meant that Seven Winks was just a bit of bitter water.

“Impossible…!”

Abbav looked dumbstruck as he watched Jet spit out the gas of Seven Winks. A look of despair soon followed.

He knew that his poisons wouldn’t work against Jet. And Seven Winks was probably the most powerful poison in his arsenal.

“Grrrrr…”

“Ugh.”

Jet growled, intimidating Abbav. Maybe it was just me, but I had a feeling that Jet was angrier about drinking the bitter poison than at Abbav’s attempted kidnapping.

In any case, we could now start questioning him.

“That’s enough, boy.”

“Woof.”

I showed up in the guise of my doppelganger—something I hadn’t done in a while.

“Wah! Wh-who are you?!”

“When did you get here?!”

I introduced myself apologetically to the healers for startling them. “Uhh, I’m Fran’s teacher. Isn’t that right, Jet?”

“Woof!” Jet leaned into my hand, rubbing his head against it.

“I-I see.”

My familiarity with Fran’s familiar was proof of my identity. The healers breathed a sigh of relief while Abbav’s face twisted hatefully.

He looked frustrated, sensing that my doppelganger wasn’t that strong. But knowing that I was Fran’s teacher, he seemed to suspect that I was very good at concealing my strength. In fact, he’d been right the first time—my doppelganger was pretty weak.

“Shit…”

“So, are you gonna talk? I’ll just let the guild deal with you if you do.”

“And if I don’t?”

I squatted over Abbav, looking straight into his eyes. “You won’t get out of here in one piece after trying to lay hands on my beloved disciple.”

Abbav sighed. “So much for an easy capture… Very well. I’ll tell you everything.”

He looked at me, having clearly given up. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to outrun me and Jet. Yet I suspected that his cooperation was likely a pretense. He was probably looking for an escape route as we spoke.

I pointed a weapon at him and started my interrogation.

“Who are you working for?”

“A Raydossian unit called the Black Bones,” he answered easily. I guess he wasn’t obliged to keep his mouth shut under duress.

“The Black Bones!”

“You are acquainted?”

“Kind of. We have some history together.”

“…They didn’t tell me about you.”

Apparently, Abbav had been kept in the dark about our previous encounters. Did they consider him expendable?

“What are you going to do with Fran?”

“That I do not know. They just told me to capture her.”

“Uh-huh… They probably have other plans, too. Well, what are they?”

“They wish to increase their ranks.”

“So, they’re recruiting? Were they going to enslave Fran or make her an undead?”

Abbav’s eyes widened with surprise. “You really are acquainted. Yes, that’s right. They are capturing powerful adventurers to turn them into undead. Hee hee hee! Isn’t it a wonder!”

“…Any casualties so far?”

“Yes, indeed! We’ve had twenty taken from the tournament contestants alone.”

Leaving town after a defeat wasn’t uncommon, and there were too many people going in and out of Ulmutt to keep track of everyone. People wouldn’t notice a few missing adventurers here and there. Besides, their party members would be the only ones looking for them—Ulmutt was too short-handed at the moment. Organizing search parties was just implausible.

Which made tournament-season Ulmutt the perfect grounds for kidnapping.

Security was usually well organized, but things were slightly different this year: the undead breakout, the Chalusian troublemakers, and there were even more fights among thugs this year.

“So, the undead breakout outside of town…”

“Would be the Black Bones’ doing. We want to reduce the number of guards in town!”

“What else?”

“Let’s see—” Abbav continued to lay out the Black Bones’ plot. All I could do was sigh.

“So Raydoss is behind the thugs and the assassins sent to the contestants.”

“Even if they were all amateurs, the city would still need to deal with them. Eventually, they would have to split their forces.”

They seemed so well-prepared. They’d even devised a plot to thin out the ranks of the guard. It seemed a bit excessive just to kidnap a few strong adventurers.

“Hee hee hee. Our real goal is to capture powerful people.”

“Powerful people…?”

People. Not necessarily adventurers. That meant—

“The important people who have gathered in Ulmutt!”

“That’s right. Aurel, an evolved beastman with both political and combat power. And Dimitris, the most powerful adventurer alive. These two are the main targets.”

I wasn’t expecting that. Those two were incredibly strong. Even if security was lacking, they still had their own personal bodyguards.

Dimitris didn’t seem like he would even be fazed by an assassination attempt. You needed to throw several Frans at him for it to be a real fight.

“They’ve unleashed their forces both inside and outside the city. Guards and adventurers should be dealing with them as we speak, leaving the closing ceremony defenseless.”

“And you were waiting for the closing ceremony to launch your plan?”

“Outsiders would stick out after the tournament is over. And it would be more mud on Granzell’s face if we captured some extra nobles and politicians along the way. That must be another goal of the Black Bones.”

“I see. Just one problem. The guards don’t matter, since they’ll be up against Dimitris.”

“Hee hee hee. The thinning out of the guard was to facilitate easy infiltration and exit. We have devised a separate plan for capturing Dimitris and Aurel. I believe you’ll find it to be quite effective.”

Abbav seemed very confident about that last statement.

“How?”

Abbav smiled and laid out their plans.

“Did you know that Dimitris and Aurel have grandchildren? They are absolutely adorable. Hee hee hee!”

“Hostages!”

Dimitris’s granddaughter Nilphe and Aurel’s granddaughter Kaitley. These two had bodyguards…but they would be far easier to deal with than going up against their grandfathers.

Judging by his relaxed demeanor, they must have already kidnapped them.

Should I send Jet to sniff them out? Should I tell the guild so they could start looking for them? I couldn’t leave Fran’s side as long as she was still asleep…

“…Kaitley’s in danger?”

“Fran! You’re awake!”

“Teacher.”

Fran slowly opened her eyes. The recovery magic had done its job. Still, simply getting up was an ordeal.

“I’m going to save them.”

“Absolutely not! Don’t be stupid!”

“No. We’re going.”

“…”

I couldn’t turn her down when she looked at me with pleading eyes.

“Where are Kaitley and Nilphe now?”

“I helped secure them, but I do not know where they went after that.”

“Jet, can you find them?”

“Woof.”

Not from here he couldn’t.

“Let’s start with your hideout. Where is it?”

Abbav told us the location of the hideout. They were using a house close to the coliseum. It seemed like we would have to get there on Jet-back.

There were other questions, but now wasn’t the time. Best to hand him over to the guild so they could lock him up.

As we were tying up Abbav and preparing to leave, another figure barreled into the infirmary.

“Fran! Are you okay?!”

“Colbert?”

“Some weirdos started causing trouble, so I got worried—Huh? Whaaa?! Curry Master!” 

Colbert was shocked. Of course he was. He’d thought I was dead.

“Curry Master! H-how…? I-I thought you were dead…!”

I wasn’t expecting to run into him here. But now wasn’t the time to sort out misunderstandings. I gave him my best ‘No, I don’t believe I am’ look.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Huh? Th-then—”

“Colbert, what happened?! I heard screaming!”

Another familiar face entered the infirmary after Colbert.

“Hi, Judith.”

Judith, leader of the Crimson Maidens. She looked confused when I said her name out loud.

“Uhh…oh! You’re Fran’s master!”

My chance encounter with Colbert threw me off. I had seen her in Bulbola and Ulmutt many times but as a sword. I think she’d only seen my human form once. I was just another unfamiliar face to her. Fortunately, she seemed to remember me.

“Listen, we’re a bit strapped for time. Can you tell me what’s going on outside?”

“Oh, sure!”

Judith and Colbert (having returned to his senses) explained.

Undead and thugs had come out of nowhere, attacking everyone in sight. While not much of a threat on their own, the sheer number of them created chaos in the city.

A similar event occurred right outside the coliseum. Adventurers and guards had been dispatched to deal with the situation, but there were already casualties.

I told Colbert and Judith what I had learned about Abbav’s plan so far.

“They kidnapped Miss Nilphe?! The cowards!”

“Hee hee hee. She got hurt during the process, too. We applied some first aid, but considering her injury… Why, she might be dead by now.”

“Bastard!”

I quickly grabbed Colbert as he lunged at Abbav. Nilphe was hurt, sure, but that she was dead was a bald-faced lie. She had been in no danger of death when Abbav left her, in any case.

Whether Abbav lied out of retaliation or to cover for his comrades, he succeeded in clouding Colbert’s decision making.

“A hostage is no good to them dead. They’ll keep her alive.”

“Y-you’re right. Sorry.”

“Anyway, we must save them as fast as possible. We’ll need your help.”

“Of course!”

“Judith, take the others and secure this man.”

“U-understood.”

Lydia and Maya were outside standing guard. They could carry Abbav off once he was disarmed.

We knocked him out, stripped him of his equipment, and tied his entire body up with rope. He would no longer be a threat now.

“Colbert, you and Fran go look for the kids.”

“Roger that! But what about you, Curry Master?”

“I have other things to attend to. I’ll leave you guys to it.”

Honestly, my doppelganger was just running out of time. Much easier to just end it now.

But the others misunderstood me and thought I had a greater mission to carry out. Fran’s master was super strong, therefore he must have some super important quest to accomplish.

“I-I see! You have other plots to thwart!”

“Uhh, sure. Yeah.”

“I’ll take care of Fran for you! I won’t let those bastards lay a finger on her!”

“T-thanks. Catch you later.”

I had to leave before Colbert brought up the Curry Master thing again. I made a show of teleportation before my clone faded.

Phew. Fran, I know Colbert’s with you, but nothing too reckless, okay?

I know.

Fran got on Jet and led the way out of the infirmary. As we left the coliseum, we could hear noises of fighting in the distance. But the commotion seemed to have settled down here.

“It’s a weird time to say this, but congratulations on your victory, Fran,” Lydia said, filling the silence of our mostly quiet trek. Colbert looked like he was having mixed feelings about it. 

But Fran tilted her head. “…I won?”

“What?”

“I don’t remember what happened at the end.”

“Y-you don’t…?”

“I cut down Hilt. I know that for sure…but the rest is hazy.”

I’d had a feeling Fran might not remember the final moments of the match. Her consciousness was already fading by then.

“W-was the battle that intense?” Lydia asked with a horrified look.

As I looked at her, I remembered her Knowledge God’s Grace. Was that a different god from the Wisdom God? Their names were kind of similar…

P.A., what’s the difference between Knowledge God’s Grace and Wisdom God’s Grace?

The gods have many faces. The Beast God—origin of the beastmen—for example, is known both as the Animal God and Insect God.

Different names, same divinity? So, it’s their realm of power, then.

Yes. For example, possessing Beast God’s Grace might give one access to the graces of Animal God and Insect God, as well. The more powerful the divinity invoked, the stronger the blessing.

So, the Animal God has lower standing than the Beast God.

Yes.

Meaning that Wisdom God and Knowledge God might be the same god but with slight differences. And Wisdom God’s Grace is of higher quality?

That is a good way of thinking about it, yes.

As I talked about the nature of graces with P.A., Colbert stopped.

“Is that Dufaux? Rachid and Dolhan are with him too.”

“You know Dufaux?”

“Yeah. He’s doing pretty good in Bulbola.”

Dufaux, together with some other adventurers and guards, was fighting off zombies near the coliseum entrance.

Fran had completely forgotten about Dufaux, but we had actually met him and his party once. Naria and the others were Bulbolan rookies who’d had the privilege of Fran beating them up in practice. They were all in town for the tournament.

But there was a martial artist among them whom I didn’t recognize. The young man was apparently called Dolhan. He must have been one of Dimitris’s students.

Although now that I thought about it, hadn’t Dufaux left town?

Colbert approached Rachid and called out to him.

“I’ll back you up.”

“Colbert! And Fran, too!”

“Hm?”

Rachid was surprised to see us, but he gladly accepted our help.

After all the zombies were dead, we asked him about the situation.

After losing in the tournament, they had taken quests in Ulmutt to help pay for their travel fees. Among them was a quest to investigate murders which were happening in town. The town guard led the investigation while the adventurers were hired in case things got violent.

“I wanted to take on the undead extermination quest, but they insisted that I was needed to help with the investigation in town.”

The guards were more concerned with the murders. Mainly because of how the victims were killed.

“They were brutally killed with a bladed weapon and had their blood sucked dry.”

As grotesque as it was strange. The murders didn’t attract a lot of attention due to how much was already going on; normally, they would’ve caused a lot of distress among the townspeople.

As the investigation went on, they made another unsettling discovery. Nothing too shocking by itself, but it raised a lot of concern with the murders in the background.

“We found these guys tied up in some rich guy’s rented-out mansion.”

Dufaux, Dolhan, and several others had been found in the basement. Dufaux had been thought to have left town, and Dolhan was at liberty to go where he wanted. That was why no one reported them as missing.

They had, in fact, been kidnapped. The powerful adventurers had been ambushed by powerful undead and defeated.

Colbert looked startled.

“You lost just like that, Dolhan? Fran, I know he’s young, but even Miss Hilt has her eyes on him. He’s already a C Rank.”

Dolhan scratched his head, flattered by Colbert’s compliment.

“Aww shucks, Colbert. That’s a lot coming from a B Rank. Besides, I think Lady Hilt only has eyes for you.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Colbert tilted his head. The younger disciple of Dimitris let out an exasperated sigh. Even the students were aware of Hilt’s feelings for Colbert.

“I was just a betrothal candidate. Charlie is a far better fit for Miss Hilt.”

“But what are your feelings for her? Don’t you like her?”

“I guess? She’s ten years younger than me. I can’t look at her like that; it’s rude.”

Colbert really didn’t seem to have an eye for romance. He liked her, but not in any romantic capacity. Dolhan pumped his fist, as if wishing Hilt the best with her love life.

“Now is not the time.”

And Fran was right. As much as I wanted to know the juicy details, now was the worst time to stand around gossiping!

“Right! We must go after the bad guys!”

Rachid looked at the device in his hand. He used it to inform the guard that there was a connection between the strange murders and kidnapped adventurers. As important as the matter was, we couldn’t really help them.

But was Raydoss really involved in all of this?

They were kidnapping adventurers to turn them into undead. Dufaux and the others would’ve died if Rachid hadn’t found them. But I decided not to bring up Raydoss just yet.

That would only complicate matters. And we didn’t have any positive evidence linking their connection yet.

“As much as we’d love to help, we have to go. There are other troublemakers to deal with. You guys be careful, too.”

“R-right. Thanks for the trouble.”

We parted ways with Rachid and the Crimson Maidens and began our search for Nilfe and Kaitley. Our first stop was the hideout near the coliseum. It was where our mastermind was supposed to be, but…

“I knew it. They’re gone!”

“Kaitley’s not here, either.”

As Abbav had predicted, the hideout was empty. I knew it would be, but it was best to verify that as fast as we could.

“There are no signs of where they might have taken Miss Nilphe…but that’s where your nose comes in, Jet.”

“You can do it, Jet.”

“Woof!”

Jet started sniffing the area, Fran still on his back. He’d managed to track down undead miles away just yesterday. We could rely on him today.

He paced around the hideout, sniffing the ground as he went. He stopped here and there, taking a deep whiff of the air.

“Woof!”

After a few minutes of sniffing, he broke into a run. We followed him through the streets of Ulmutt.

There’s not so much chaos as there is unrest.

Hm.

The thugs and undead running rampant through the city had already been defeated. Adventurers could be seen standing triumphantly over their defeated enemies.

Even with the guards falling behind, there were a lot of adventurers roaming the streets this time of year. Considering this plan was cooked up by adventurer-ignorant Raydossians, it’s no wonder the attack was put down quickly.

As we ran through town, Colbert spoke up with a conflicted look on his face.

“Fran.”

“Hm?”

“Congratulations on winning. I didn’t think you could beat the miss.”

Even though he was a former student of Dimitris, he still had affection for the school. But that wasn’t the only reason why he’d thought Fran would lose.

“The difference of experience between you is astounding. The miss is an expert at fighting swordsmen. Not to mention the specialization. Dimitris Style was developed to dominate one-on-one encounters. I mean, the master is pretty much invincible on all fronts, but…it’s still the best combat style for dueling.”

The defensive maneuvers were developed to deal with armed humans. Although still useful against monsters, they shone best against people.

“I know that you’ve beaten other A Ranks. I saw you beat Gaudartha myself last year. But he specializes in fighting armies and monsters. Different A Ranks have different specialties.”

The battle against the rhino beastman Gaudartha was one where Fran ran circles around him while we pelted him with our most powerful attacks. He was like Biscott in a way, but tougher and stronger.

“It’s only been a year since then. There’s no way that you could beat the miss in the tournament…or so I thought.”

Having the utmost respect for Dimitris Style, Colbert felt conflicted about its successor’s defeat. He wanted to celebrate his friend’s victory but felt a bit bad about doing so. The only thing he knew for sure was that he had no romantic feelings for Hilt.

She was his master’s successor, a former compatriot who was far more talented than he was, a comrade he respected very much… That was all she was.

And with Fran’s victory, Hilt would remain a successor for a while longer.

Oof… Good luck, Hilt!

Teacher?

Oh, nothing. I was just wondering how Hilt was doing.

Uh-huh.

Ten minutes passed as Jet led us on the trail.

“Woof!”

He suddenly increased his speed. While not at a full sprint, he was at least as fast as a regular dog.

Are you getting close?

Bark!

He turned a corner, cut through a street, and ran at full speed. Was this really the right direction, though? It looked like Jet was leading us back to the coliseum.

Are you sure this is the way?

Woof!

Apparently so.

Then Jet led us right back to where we started.

This is the coliseum.

“Arf…?”

Jet tilted his head slightly as he looked at the coliseum. He twitched his nose and looked confused.

“Jet?”

“Woof.”

He barked again, eyes still fixed on the coliseum.

“Are they somewhere inside the coliseum?” asked Colbert.

“Bark!” Jet confirmed.

They must have been preparing to use Kaitley and Nilphe as hostages against Dimitris and Aurel. Perhaps as human shields.

What if the Black Bones had brought them into the coliseum as soon as we left? Damn it! They were under our noses all along…!

But now wasn’t the time to second-guess ourselves. Jet took point again and led us inside the coliseum. 

No undead in sight. They must have been defeated already, but there were adventurers lying on the ground being tended to. The undead must have put up quite a fight.

As we walked down the hallway, we heard a shout somewhere in front of us. The guards were panicking.

“Hey! Something’s happening at the closing ceremony!”

“Well, what is it?!”

“I don’t know! Whatever it is, it makes those undead look like a cakewalk! Come on!”

“A-all right!”

“Damn it! The troubles outside have us stretched thin!”

The Black Bones had interrupted the closing ceremony. We needed to hurry before things got ugly.

“Let’s go, Jet.”

“Woof!”

Jet ran again, following the guards. They got spooked when they saw him run on the walls. Sorry…but we were in a hurry.

“Bark, bark!”

Jet led us through several branching paths until we found a familiar hallway. Up ahead were the bleachers.

But I could already tell that something was off. Despite it being the closing ceremony, things were awfully quiet.

“Wait! Stop, stop!”

“Arf?”

Colbert halted us and lowered his voice to a whisper. “We won’t know what’s going on if we just barge in like this. Let’s observe the situation first.”

“I see.”

“Woof.”

Good point. We wouldn’t know who to target if we just charged in guns blazing.

But Fran and Jet had a look on their faces that said, “Oh yeah, that’s just how we want it!” They really would’ve rushed through if Colbert hadn’t stopped them.

“Are Miss Nilphe and the other girl here?”

“Ruff.”

“What? They’re gone? Both of them?”

“Arf.”

Colbert started asking Jet questions. It took a while because of the yes/no format, but we eventually got a handle on the situation.

Their scents had diverged. Kaitley was still somewhere ahead. Nilphe had been taken somewhere outside the coliseum. They must have been holding them in separate locations to make rescuing them more difficult.

“We’ll split up. Jet, Colbert, go get Nilphe.”

“Wait! You can’t just go out there alone…!”

“I’m fine. I won’t be reckless.”

“But… No, you’re right. Miss Nilphe would be more reassured with me around… All right. We’ll take care of her.”

“Woof!”

Jet and Colbert left to look for Nilphe. Fran and I would go after Kaitley.

I was going to have to do most of the heavy lifting considering Fran was still in poor condition. It was time for Swordacting (not a real Skill) to win the day!

I’ll have a look at the closing ceremony.

Thanks.

Just wait one second…

I turned my strip into a thin bit of string and extended it from the hallway into the bleachers. This string was sufficient to be my ears and eyes.

“Now put this collar on your neck, Dimitris!”

Down at the arena, a man with an iron mask was shouting triumphantly.