Shadow Slave

Hearing the thunderous cheer, Sunny almost flinched.

The last duel of the tournament was different from all the rest. The courtyard had changed slightly, somehow becoming even more magnificent. The grandstands were extended, with dozens of thousands of spectators crowding the stone seats. Their cheers blended into a deafening, excited roar that rose and fell rhythmically, like the sound of a turbulent sea.

Rose petals were raining from above, covering the arena in a beautiful carpet.

…No matter how cynical Sunny wanted to be about the whole thing, it was hard not to feel his blood boil at this scene.

He turned his head slightly, taking in the sight of the chanting crowd. Then, his sight lingered for a few moments on a tall tribune that loomed above the arena, decorated with the vibrant vermilion banners of the Great Clan Valor. Since this was the final duel, very special people were going to spectate it in person.

Sunny easily recognized the creator of the Dreamscape, who was dressed in ridiculously colorful silken robes and looked like a parrot that had taken a bath in a tub of face powder. He still couldn’t believe that this gaudy clown was an actual Saint…

The person near him had to be the representative of Valor, then. Sunny couldn’t see much, and just noted that it was a young woman with dark wavy hair and alabaster skin. She wore an intricate suit of lusterless, black armor and a red cape, which was the same color as the banner of her clan. Her sharp and austere appearance was in stark contrast with the Saint of Dreamscape.

The tribune was too far away to see any details, but Sunny wasn’t inclined to stare at a Legacy from a Great Clan, anyway. He was already uncomfortable knowing that she would be observing him fight.

On the other hand…

‘I better put up a good show. Who knows, maybe if that girl likes it, I’ll receive an extra good Memory!’

Throwing these thoughts out of his mind, Sunny finally lowered his gaze and studied his opponent.

Since Sunny knew some of the best fighters of his generation, he had entertained the idea that he might have met the formidable Queen Bee outside of the Dreamscape already. But no, she didn’t seem familiar.

The famous duelist was seemingly in her thirties, and even though the lower half of her face was hidden behind an elegant half-mask, he was sure that he had never seen her before. She stood calmly in the center of the arena, as if not affected by the cheering crowd and the esteemed guests in the audience at all.

From just one glance, Sunny knew that he was looking at a combat master. Everything about the regal woman spoke of skill, grace, and resolve. She wore a light metal armor and wielded a slender estoc, its blade long and sharp. There was a strange serenity about her that somehow seemed simultaneously alien and familiar…

‘…Clarity? This is the same vibe Neph sometimes gave off…’

Indeed, it was the same type of clarity that Nephis, and Sunny himself, possessed. But while Changing Star was sharp and inevitable like a striking sword, Queen Bee was not. On the contrary, she seemed deceptively placid.

‘What a weird contradiction.’

The woman studied him, too, allowing Sunny to look her in the eyes. They weren’t blue, grey, green, or even purple, and instead seemed to shift from one color to another, as if reflecting her mood. The strangest thing about them, though, was that… those weren’t the eyes of a killer.

Sunny knew how to recognize one, because he was a killer himself.

He suppressed the desire to scratch the back of his head.

‘Huh… combat master, but not a killer? Don’t tell me that this is really just her hobby…’

What kind of a hobby was that?!

In any case, this was going to make things a little easier for him. Sure, Queen Bee might have been a prodigal duelist — she wouldn’t have gotten to the finale of the tournament otherwise — but without the killing instinct, defeating someone like Sunny would be nearly impossible.

For him, combat was not something interesting or engaging. It was not something he did for fun, or even his profession. It was simply his life.

God of War was not called the God of Life for nothing. Life was a constant, brutal struggle, and Sunny knew it better than most. That was why he was such a vicious and cruel fighter, never missing out on the tinies chance to destroy his enemy.

…That was not to say that the duel was going to be easy. Killer or not, Queen Bee was still a fearsome opponent.

With a sigh, he summoned the black odachi, put its blade on his shoulder, and walked forward.

***

The trumpets sang and the voice of the Dreamscape announced the names of the fighters, lunging into a solemn speech afterward. Sunny didn’t listen to it and simply approached the middle of the arena, then hesitated and performed a small, awkward bow toward the graceful woman.

He wasn’t a courteous person, but in this situation, bowing seemed somehow appropriate.

Queen Been looked at him calmly, and nodded lightly. Then, she raised her estoc into position.

‘This is going to be tricky…’

He sighed, gripped the hilt of the Soul Serpent… and lunged into a lightning-fast attack.

What was the point of wasting time?

Sunny was trying to overwhelm his opponent in one fell swoop, but of course, he failed. The long blade of the slender estoc flew with incredible speed, preventing him from approaching Queen Bee to deliver even a single strike. For a few seconds, nothing but the ringing of steel could be heard above the arena.

Even the audience grew quiet, looking at the incredible fight with bated breath.

Unlike the previous duels, there was nothing flashy or particularly spectacular about this one. It wasn’t as brutal as the battle between Mongrel and fearsome shapeshifter Dynisor, nor was as strange and exciting as his fight against the gravity sorcerer Everain. There were no fascinating Aspect Abilities flying around, and instead, it was all about skill, steel, and technique.

However, people who knew even a little bit about combat couldn’t take their eyes off the intense confrontation. Every strike, every block, every step the fighters took was full of flawless precision, insight, and clear resolve. This was a battle of two masters, and thus it was much more thrilling and breathtaking than anything else they had seen in this tournament.

…Sunny, however, was having much less fun than the audience.

In fact, he wasn’t having any.

‘What the hell?! What is going on?!’