Chương 166: Mr. Brown's funhouse [8]

"Here I come!"

There was no answer for the dragon as she started sprinting forward, as the pressure she still exuded was already enough for Stella's legs to begin to falter a bit. She was most likely trying her hardest just to stand up right now.

'Haaa... I guess that even if she has matured in a lot of ways, she is still the same old Sophie.'

Even if it was in bad taste to shout and support someone in a duel, a part of me honestly didn't care. Scratch that, there wasn't a single part of me that cared about it, but there was a part of me that desperately felt like doing something for the girl that had 'saved' me during my duel.

"STELLA! C'MON! YOU CAN DO THIS!"

'Huh?'

Somehow, without me realizing it, my fists were already tightly clenched, and the words that I was going to yell out with a moderate volume had come out as a full-on scream. It was even to the point where I saw Sophie stumbling a bit, and the rest of the students turned their heads toward me instead of focusing on the duel.

I felt my cheeks flush as I realized what I had done, the result of how one of the impulses that Zero sent out had gotten the best of me. It wasn't that I had been opposed to his 'suggestion', I also felt like it would be quite scenic if I returned the favor. However, I hadn't been ready for the level of intensity I inadvertently brought out.

Still, it wasn't all bad. Showing me that my words had at least some effect, I saw Stella's legs stabilize a bit after she took a huge breath. Now, unfortunately for her, Sophie was still letting out her pressure, but at least it appeared that Stella wouldn't just fall without a fight now.

Raising her shield, she was finally ready to clash with the dragon that had recovered after my little outburst, now once again dashing forward, her blue hands sparkling from the stadium lights.

It didn't take long until they were head to head, with everyone knowing who would be the one to start the offensive. *BAM!*

A loud, metallic sound reverberated around them as Sophie landed her first punch on the shield, making Stella slide back a couple of feet. Her face showed just how heavy the attack had been, as there was not a trace of confidence left in her.

And the worst part was, 'Sophie is holding back... A lot...'

Even that punch, where Sophie was making sure she wouldn't end the fight in one strike couldn't have held more than 50% of her full strength and it was still incomparably stronger than what Thomas had shown us a bit before.

'I feel like she is at most [C]-rank... But that strength is something else. Maybe it's even comparable to someone of [B]-rank? Maybe even a bit higher?'

Then, Sophie stopped her advance, as she realized something.

"Ah! Stella, if you wouldn't mind, could we switch places? If we continue like this, there is a high risk of you going out of bounds."

"O-oh... O-Okay..."

While still struggling to keep the strength in her legs, she for some reason followed what her upper-classman told her, now acting like a pet that didn't want to disobey her owner. 'Ah... So that's what she's planning on doing.'

At that moment, I realized what was going through Sophie's mind to some extent, and what that nod earlier might have meant. And, sure enough, as soon as Stella had gotten into position, with her back now facing the center of the arena, Sophie started proving my little theory.

*BOM!*

Yet another draconic fist landed on the shield, this time making Stella slide slightly further back, *BOM!*, and again, *BOM!*, and again. *BOM!, BOM, BOM, BOM!* Over and over, the dragoness piled up punches against the shield, now filled with dents and scratches from the scales, slowly increasing her strength a tiny bit between each strike.

And right then and there, Stella also realized what was up. This wasn't Sophie trying to guide her, nor was it her having a good time. She was merely sizing her up, trying to see how strong she was.

Why did she do that? My only guess, albeit quite narcissistic, was that she wanted to see if she would be strong enough to protect me. The nod before the 'fight' started had been her showing me that she was doing this for my sake, making my heart feel eerily heavy.

Once again, my emotions quickly started getting the better of me, growing like a seed from the depths of my being into roots that took hold of me, constricting me. Before I knew it, I had lost control of my body, and sub-me couldn't react in time to save the situation this time.

'Please stop...'

*BAM!*

At this point, the fight wasn't amusing to me at all anymore. It wasn't 'fascinating', nor was it 'interesting', all it did was present me with anxiety and pain. Pain from seeing the now bruised up and weary Stella still trying her best.

'I don't want to see this...'

*BAM!*

"Hrrgh!"

'This is not how it should be!'

Another punch and another slide backward, now making a small stream of blood start flowing out of Stella's mouth.

*BAM!*

"Gah!"

The knight's legs now visibly shook again, forcing her to plant the shield on the ground to support herself, to keep herself from falling. Her eyes seemed to be screaming for it to end now, for the dragon to stop playing with her prey, to stop showing off her overwhelming dominance.

*BOM!*

"Argh!"

After yet another attack, everyone could see that the fight was over. No, it hadn't ever been a fight from the start. It had been a stupid test for the sake of someone who wasn't supposed to be protected, for someone who should have been the one protecting.

'Someone! Just stop this!'

This was merely the act of a dragon, seeing if the human in front of her was strong enough to protect one of her belongings, someone she had decided to keep alive. And now, she should have already gotten her answer.

However, the duel wasn't stopping. None of the teachers opened their mouths and declared a victor, both of them foolishly abiding by the rules they had laid down for us. And then, I lost whatever trace of control I had left, as I saw Sophie calmly walking over to the trembling Stella again with a smile.

From the bottom of my stomach, I collected as much power as I could, even unconsciously adding mana to the voice I let out.

*DON!*

A huge wave of blue, ethereal mana surge out from my body, carrying my voice around the stadium so that there was no chance of anyone missing a single word of what I said.

"IN LINE WITH THE AUTHORITY OF THE CHURCH OF THEIA, I WILL DECLARE THIS DUEL CONCLUDED! THE WINNER IS SOPHIE RED!"

Everything stopped, as they saw me slowly walking forward, not caring about any of these foolish traditions or rules, not caring about the laws of this world or about what was expected of me. Enveloped by silence, the only sound that could be heard was the small crunch underneath my soles in time with the steps that moved me forward.

In front of me, there stood two women, both of which I had no choice but to accept that I cared a lot for. One of them, I had known for a somewhat long time, at least long enough for me to feel guilty about throwing her into a very chaotic situation.

The other, I barely knew her at all. Two days wasn't enough for someone to connect to another human being. Or at least that was how it should have been. It turns out that during these two days, she had given me more support than most people had done during my entire lifetime, and Zero wasn't a person that would take that for granted.

*Thud*

Still trembling with fear, tears started coming from her eyes, as she finally let go of her shield, a dull sound echoing out as it touched the ground. Ignoring the pink-haired girl that was looking at me as if she was a child that had done something bad, I moved passed her and made it to the girl I needed to protect.

"Zero..."

When she looked down to meet my eyes, I just did what I always did when I was speaking to her. I smiled brightly. "You did great, Stella. You can rest now."

A surge of my blue mana once again emerged from my body, quickly finding its home around the crying girl. I had no idea what Zero was doing, but it didn't take long for her body to relax, falling to her knees.

Just before her body hit the ground, I caught her in my arms, still smiling, while patting her back.

"W-winner is Sophie Red..."

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