Here’s the third.

The Preceding Hero and the Arena 3

「Uooooohhh!!」

「Nuuuuuuhh!!」

Fist and fist clashed with each other and, *Pahn*, an explosive sound resounded. And then, in the next moment after that, the explosive sound once again resounded.

The fists continually collided with each other. If this were to be done by an ordinary person, their bones would probably break and they wouldn’t be able to swing a fist. However, we, who were clashing on top of the stage, continued to keep on clashing.

Raising voices that couldn’t disappear in neither the shouts nor the roars, two men clashed.

And then, when a remarkably loud sound had rung, a large distance was opened between the two of us.

Then, Priest Ulgan nodded as if he were convinced of something.

「I see……」

「? What is it that you see?」

When I asked that, the priest in front of me made a forced sigh.

「Clashing with fists is fine but……Why don’t you use the weapon you’re specialized in?」

「Ah, so you really did know about it?」

「Of course I would know. It’s because, just now, we were truly talking with our fists.」

「It’s not like I wasn’t making a serious effort but……I got it. I’ll respond with all my strength.」

It was probably something of one of the fighters participating in the Magic Clad Martial Arts Demonstration. I pulled out a long sword that had a length of about 90 cm that was stuck in the ground nearby.

「Fumu, as I thought, a sword, huh.」

「Pretty much. As I thought, the standard is the best.」

Twisting the upper half of my body making look like my back was in front from my opponent’s point of view, I took a stance that made it seem like I was trying to hide my sword.

「Your stance is not one of the basics?」

「Hehe. It’s self-taught.」

「Well, it’s fine. For progress, there’s nothing to do but gain total control.」

What came out of the priest’s mouth was words that I wasn’t expecting to come from a priest.

I strengthened my grip on the handle and bitterly smiled.

「Try taking it, this attack of mine!」

「I’ll respond to it, that attack!!」

In the next moment after we exchanged those words, the hard fist that could smash even rock drew closer before my eyes.

*Gou!!*

The hard fist passed by right in front of my face together with a roar.

「What!?」

「I’ve got you!!」

That extended arm and his fist only ended up sweeping over me.

Holding back the guy’s right shoulder with my left foot, I earned a moment before the instant the fist would reach me, and in the time of that moment, I turned the upper half of my body away with only the other leg and I evaded that guy’s attack.

In the middle of my bad position to try and cut off that guy’s extended arm, I raised my sword overhead.

But,

「Guh, uuh!?」

I promptly moved not the sword but the shield, and defended against the left fist that the guy threw at me from the side.

No, I tried to defend against it.

「っ, Gah!?」

The shield broke, and while the bones in my right arm were breaking, that guys’ intense body blow struck me.

My consciousness flew for an instant due to the intense pain, and in that instant, I was struck all the way out of the ring.

(Sho……!)

Faster than I could think “Shoot”, I kicked off the wall outside of the ring, the audience stands, and sprang back towards Ulgan.

「I’ll knock you down!!」

Having greatly twisted his back, it was the thrown out attack of the destruction priest.

It was an attack that made it seem like you’d be blown away just from the wind pressure that is created at the time it was released.

「What in the worlddd!!」

Getting on that fist, and running up the arm, I threw a sharp kick at that guy’s, at Ulgan’s head as if I were trying to kick a ball and make it fly.

「……！」

Maybe because he had fallen from that one attack, the large build that surpassed two meters made a sound and collapsed.

「Jeez, the world really is vast, seriously.」

If in terms of offensive ability while empty-handed, there’s no mistake that this priest is of the strongest class among mankind.

I was surprised that there were still guys like this around.

「Now then, I wonder if Bernadette finished things up? ……」

Catching my breath, at the time when I tried to turn my senses to where Bernadette was, I finally noticed the strangeness of my surroundings.

Right now, on top of this arena, there was only one group fighting.

It was Bernadette and the fox jerk.

And then, the number of people remaining including me was four people.

「I’m surprised……That number of guys, Ossan, did you defeat them all by yourself?」

On top of the ring, in a place away from Bernadette and the fox boy that continued to fight, having his hands resting on the pommel of a sword that was thrust into the ground as if he were waiting for me, there was a man on standby.

That man, who had a worn out knight’s helmet and armor and an appearance that could either be described as being past his prime and being slightly aged or being middle aged, together with a smile, shot through me with those hawk like eyes.

「No, hahaha. Half of them were from the aftermath of the fight between you two.」

Not jumping in to interrupt, the middle-aged knight waited for the fight between me and the priest to end.

That appearance that made you feel his age and, moreover, that disposition that didn’t try to hide the “fighting spirit” that seemed to be inversely proportionate to his appearance and made my skin prickle.

There’s no doubt about it. This guy is also a battle maniac just like us.

Loving to fight and looking like he’d go to fight with guys stronger than himself, he was a man skilled in battle.

「In other words, the other half was done in by you, right?」

The current me was probably expressing a provocative smile that the usual me would probably not show.

However, I can’t keep it down. A series of battles with formidable enemies! This excitement, if you’re a man, there’s no way you could hold it down!!

「I had participated with no intention of going to the main competition and only had a spirit at the level of testing my abilities but, ……At that time, your fight was shown right in front of me. Even I’d want to make an outburst of anger.」

So he sent out about half of the participants outside of the ring in an outburst of anger.

It’s probably not my place to say this but, this person is also pretty strange.

「I’m sure you are inconvenienced from being able to use only one arm. ……However, this Falhart Enhans, even if you call me a coward and speak ill of me, shall knock you down!」

「That’s just how I want it!!」

Holding the long sword with both hands and taking a knight’s stance, Falhart roared, and I, as if in response to that, also shouted.

「Have at you!!」

*Dah!*, kicking the ground, the knight brandished the silver sword over his head.

「This guy……A magic sword!?」

The swung down silver sword. I understood that it was a magic sword in an instant from that sword’s heterogeneousness.

――*Giin!!* (Clang!!)

I defended against the swung down Magic Sword making it look like I exchanged blows with it with the sword I gripped in my left hand.

Together with a high-pitched sound, the impact was transmitted to my arm, and, at the same time, I understood the Magic Sword’s ability.

「っ, Cost Down, no, that’s not all……This sensation is Impact Drive!!」

「Haha, so you’ve seen through it.」

It was a rustic sword with no showy ornaments. The power hidden within that sword was an ability that reduced the weight burden for the possessor. And then, the ability that increases the impact given to the opponent, Impact Drive.

With these two abilities operating together, a tremendous impact was transmitted to me.

Though, if it’s an impact of this level, that time I received an impact from Terakio was still higher. ……However, even if I could endure it, the low quality sword I was using made a *Pishiri* sound as if it were raising a scream and collapsed.

「Magic Sword 『Sherazard』. It’s a Magic Sword that a once famous blacksmith forged for the sake of a person they cared about. ……It is also my house’s treasured sword.」

With the blade of my sword smashed, I threw away the now useless sword. Then, the knight, without pursuing me, thrust his rustic Magic Sword into the ground.

And then, just like how he was waiting for me at the beginning, the knight placed his hands on the pommel and looked at me.

「You possess one as well, don’t you. A sword that either surpasses or is not inferior to this sword. ……No, an expert such as yourself, a user of the sword, there is no way you wouldn’t possess one.」

It was already decided. However, in those words, conviction could be perceived.

That knight “noticed” that I possess a Magic Sword, without a doubt!!

「I want, to have a good match.」

And then, from that one phrase, the small anxiety of the fear of 「being exposed」that was in my heart was blown away.

「Treasured Sword 『Crystal Venom』. ……It’s my magic sword.」

Thrusting my blue and green jeweled pair of swords into the ground, I confronted the knight Falhart.