ALL NOVEL Chapter 83
83. Signal Of Reversal
“Here I come! Just hurry up and die already!”
A bold sweep. The sword swiftly swung towards my torso.
I narrowly dodge, readying myself for the next attack. How many times has it been now?
“Tch, persistent… for a mere lackey, you sure are tenacious!”
Ferocious and relentless, like a beast. Not a single opening is overlooked as they come at me, akin to a bird catching a fish breaking the surface of the water.
This time, a diagonal slash. The sword grazes my shoulder, slicing through the air.
“I get it already! What’s the point of going this far!?”
“It’s not over yet! Irena will definitely come! That’s why I believe and fight!”
“Believe it or not, it’s pointless! Whatever you do, the result will be—”
“Arkus!”
At that moment. Her voice hits my ears.
“Irena!? Did you make it!?”
“Yeah! Sorry to keep you waiting! Take this!”
In her hand, a sword sheathed in black. That must be the sword she made.
“…Unbelievable.”
As I move towards Irena, Barry mutters quietly.
“No, wait! You need to show the sword to the organizers beforehand! Using that sword would be cheating!?”
Replacing Barry, Elgen protests desperately.
He’s right, I can’t use the sword like this. But if my hunch is correct.
“Is that really so!?”
A voice rises from the audience. Three girls stand there.
Ryze, Sierra, and Shino. The three of them.
“What do you want!? What are you trying to say!?”
“That sword is said to be the first one. You’re the ones cheating!”
“What evidence do you have for saying such a thing!?”
“If you insist, I’ll show you! Irrefutable evidence!!”
Ryze tells Shino to “do it” and taps her on the shoulder. Shino bows politely, then lifts up the slime at her feet.
It’s a slime with a stamp on its head. It’s a copy slime.
“Well then, I shall commence reproduction.”
“Hey! What’s going on!! Why is that lackey advancing!? There shouldn’t be a sword!”
“T-That’s what I want to know! It’s unprecedented to advance in the tournament without a weapon…”
The venue stirs. The voice emanating from the copy slime clearly belongs to Barry.
[Hey, isn’t that Barry’s voice? He’s talking about a lackey?]
[Who’s he talking to? It couldn’t be the organizers, could it?]
Speculations abound among the spectators. Then, decisive words come from the copy slime.
“I’ll confirm, did you properly break the sword according to my orders? If you held back…”
“I-I did it properly! You saw me snap it in two, didn’t you!?”
The commotion in the venue reaches its peak.
[H-He just said he broke the sword just now!]
[Come to think of it, Irena’s sword was broken! Does that mean.]
As the reproduction finishes, the venue falls silent. Ryze coughs.
“This is a conversation between the tournament’s organizers and Barry. With conclusive evidence, their cheating is confirmed. And the broken sword should be null and void!”
Next, Sierra steps forward.
“And just now, three adventurers stormed into the Dantzel Armory! Upon my inquiry, three B-rank adventurers confessed to attacking under Barry’s orders!”
The misdeeds are laid bare. The male host starts to panic.
“Um, ladies and gentlemen of the audience! We’ll be conducting an investigation, so please take a short break…”
“No, we don’t need it.”
Interrupting the host’s attempt to regain control, Barry speaks.
“Hey, Elgen. Let’s do that.”
“…Understood. Is it okay?”
“We’ve come this far, there’s no turning back. Let’s destroy everything.”
The two exchange a somewhat fumbling conversation, then glare back at me.
“Watch out, Alcus! That teleportation from before, it’s probably Elgen’s skill! There’s no reason for those two not to cheat anymore!”
So that’s it. I wasn’t moving swiftly with the
“The tournament victory is already out of reach. But losing to you is intolerable. I’ll crush you here.”
The battle resumes. With Barry enhanced, memories of my previous defeat come flooding back.
But this time, it’s different. I have Irena’s sword with me—!!