章 178: Ice and flame (2)
Lifting the axe behind her back, the girl began spinning in place, and the axe, tracing circles around her, sent icy waves at me one after another. I repelled a couple of waves and jumped under the dome, flying over the attacks and heading straight for Hilda. In the middle of the descent, I heard a dull clang; the princess slowed her rotation and gathered a concentrated aura of ice at the tip of her axe, meeting me with the full power of her magic.
Our blades clashed in the air, shaking the walls of the Colosseum. The fiery wave from the katana melted the ice on the axe, but it immediately regenerated. When the princess concentrated all her magic on her weapon, she was as formidable as a black dragon. I leaped back and struck again, but Hilda skillfully wielded such a bulky weapon and parried my attack. We exchanged a couple more blows, but they were all in vain. Hilda plunged the tip of the blade into the ground and abruptly turned, tracing a white circle around herself. I tried to jump as far away as possible from the path.
"Ice Hedgehog," Hilda held the axe with the blade facing downwards and swung it over her head. The blade crashed into the ground, and shards burst out of the earth with wild force, scattering in all directions.
I attempted to block the flying shards, but there were too many of them. Most of the shards melted due to the flames of my katana, but a few left deep cuts on my shoulders. This attack knocked me back, but it was just what I needed. There was no need to prolong the fight any longer; the seal was becoming unbearable, burning my skin.
"I think it's time to finish," I sheathed the katana and stood with a slight forward bend.
"What are you doing?" Hilda watched my movements. I stood with my legs wide apart, the left leg behind, and the katana behind my back. I held the katana's hilt with my right hand and supported the sheath with my other hand. "It can't be."
It seemed that the princess knew this stance and the power of the upcoming attack. Gathering all the remaining mana, she held the axe with both hands and pointed the blade downwards.
"Rose Bud," a rather beautiful name for an immensely powerful defensive technique. Hilda collected all the mana on the blade and thrust it in front of her. The earth trembled, and gigantic ice petals burst out of it, layer by layer wrapping the girl, enveloping her in new protection. Soon, half of the arena was occupied by a magnificent flower woven from blue ice. The girls in the stands gasped; it was a pity that I was about to destroy this flower with the next attack.
I collected all the available fire mana in my sword and prepared the appropriate spell. It was what I couldn't achieve during the entrance exam, but with such a reserve, it was entirely feasible.
"Fire Storm," with lightning speed, I drew the katana and, with the same speed, unleashed a huge flame twirled into a fiery vortex from the heated blade. The vortex, more than a meter in diameter, collided with the rose, easily breaking through the first layer, and the stream continued to crush the petals one after another, diminishing with each strike. Now it was just a matter of whose magic would run out faster.
The icy flower scattered into a million droplets, and my fiery vortex subsided. The princess sat in the same spot where she was before creating the flower.
"Did I really lose?" Hilda opened her eyes; my blade was at her throat. The flames and ice had completely dissipated, and nothing protected her anymore.
"Seems like it," I smirked and sheathed the katana. The battle was over.
"Now, that was a battle!!! Who would have known that he had such aces up his sleeve!!!" Vina burst with self-satisfaction. "All of you who bet against Krito, remember, no refunds! But you can console yourself with the thought that people like you contribute to my income, ehe-hee."
The discontented exclamations of the spectators didn't bother Vina at all; obviously, she had made quite a sum on this battle, but we didn't care, as we leisurely ascended to the balcony.
"Well, it looks like luck isn't on my side. Neither Asura nor you could be won over. But you gave your word that there's a suitable job for me in the guild," Hilda said.
"Yeah," I smirked maliciously, "the job is just perfect for you. Heh-heh-heh."
Hilda cast a skeptical glance at me but obediently followed us to our balcony.
"Kat, look, I found an excellent armorer for our guild!" I burst onto the balcony with a joyful smile.
"What?" Hilda's face wasn't too pleased.
"An armorer?" Katrina sized up the princess. "Don't you think that's too much for a girl?"
"I think it's just right! Just think, she might be good in battle, but she's hardly suited for teamwork, too selfish. Well, maybe if she trains with us for a while, she might learn to fight, but right now she won't be of much use. But you have to admit that we have no one to carry our things and trophies on missions, and she's perfectly suited for that with her immense strength."
"Hey, I thought I would be a warrior for you, not some carrier!" Hilda stamped her foot in indignation.
"What's wrong with being a carrier? It's an important role for the guild," Werner folded his arms disapprovingly; after all, he had performed the same role for Asura.
"But-but-but!!"
"But you agreed to any role! So now you'll be at Werner's disposal, and he'll teach you everything you need to know!"
"Arrgh," lowering her shoulders, Hilda followed Werner.
"One, two, check, hey Kuro, get that thing out of the bag," Kurone's familiar, high-pitched voice spoke. After a bit of rummaging, the girl pulled out the familiar crystal Vina had given her three days ago. "Well done, Krito, you brought another princess to our guild."
"I'm not exactly overjoyed about it," Hilda pouted.
"Heh-heh, that doesn't really concern me. Could you stand next to Seleria?" Vina said.
"What? Why?"
"It doesn't matter; I'll explain later. Stand to her left!"
Shrugging her shoulders, the valkyrie obediently stood next to the red princess, but it looked more like two statues placed side by side.
"Eeeh, it doesn't quite look right. Kat, stand to Seleria's right."
Also not quite understanding what was happening, Katrina followed the merchant's instructions.
"That's better, but something's still missing. RAGNI!!" The dragoness, who had been peacefully nibbling on a cookie on the sidelines, jumped up, almost choking on it.
"Damn it, don't scare me like that!"
"Stand next to them!"
"What are you trying to achieve?"
"You'll see, stand there, and I'll explain."
Ragni rolled her eyes but still joined the others. The princesses exchanged glances, trying to figure out what it all meant.
"Why are you standing there like strangers? Come on, hug each other, smile! After all, you're now guildmates and potential friends. How many years have passed since the three kingdoms united together?" Vina tried to gather the girls together, attempting to cheer them up, but surely, she had hidden motives.
"Hm, I don't know why she needs this, but...," Seleria briskly hugged Katrina by the neck and started gently caressing her cheek with a finger. "Kat, I still can't stop being amazed at how tender your skin is."
"Kyaa, Seli, stop it, I'm sure yours is just as good."
"I'm not arguing, but thanks to our scorching sun, mine is always tanned and thus a little rougher. But yours, even without any cosmetics, still..." Seleria smiled, hugging her friend, who blushed brightly.
"Ragni, Hilda, are you just going to stand aside?" Vina nudged the girls closer. Ragni wrapped her arms around Katrina from the other side, and Hilda hesitantly placed her hand on the red princess's shoulder.
"Oops," Seleria suddenly hugged the Valkyrie tightly and pulled her close. "Don't distance yourself from us. Hm-hm-hm."
Seleria started examining the northern princess up close.
"Well, what else?" she finally looked away.
"You have potential. We'll just make a few adjustments, dress you in a proper gown, and transform you from a rough, tomboyish barbarian into a beautiful lady," Seleria smiled amiably, though it didn't quite please the warrior.
"I don't need that," but she still blushed from the unexpected compliment.
This scene did indeed look like a reunion of long-lost friends, until it was interrupted by Vinila's voice.
"That's much better," her voice suddenly lowered. "Did you finish your sketches? Now go make them in real size."
"Hey, what were you doing there?" Hilda rushed to the crystal.
"Just thought that paintings of four lovely princesses who managed to become good friends in our troubled world would sell like hotcakes."
"I DIDN'T ALLOW YOU TO MAKE MONEY OFF OF ME!!!" Fortunately, in front of the princess, there was only a crystal and not the actual culprit.
"Really? You joined our guild, and I'm the treasurer. So, I decide how to earn more money!"
"WHAT?!" Hilda looked at Katrina, who regrettably nodded in agreement. "Now my mother will definitely kill me."
The girl fell to her knees, quietly sobbing.
"Well, your mother must be strict. But your father already ordered one tapestry with this painting, saying that his daughter hasn't had good friends for a long time."
The princess blushed and silently sat in the corner of the balcony.
"Krito," Ragni gave me an annoyed look. "Don't you think it was unfair to win the battle with borrowed power?"
"Well, most of the strength came from this katana," I carefully switched the stone in the hilt and handed it to its owner. "And I believe I wasn't the only one fighting."
I glanced ironically at the northern princess, and she just shrugged.
"He fought using all his strength. I see nothing wrong with that. Though, of course, it's a pity I couldn't fight all of you."
"Well, I think it's time to proceed to the second match," Vina addressed us from the crystal. "Vivi, Katrina, please step onto the arena."
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット