"What kind of candy are you eating?"
Dark turned his head and sniffed the air.
Diana pulled a brown-wrapped candy from her pocket and waved it in front of him. "Sour plum candy—"
Then she unwrapped it and popped it straight into Dark's mouth without ceremony.
Dark opened his mouth a little and bit down. A thread of sweet-and-sour flavor spread between his teeth, carrying with it an unexpected coolness that pushed back the summer heat.
"Well? Bear Candy House's cooling sour plum drops — feel that chill right down to your bones?" Diana leaned in and asked.
Dark savored it thoughtfully. "Is there mint in this?"
Diana shook her head. "Nope. It's ice-heart grass. The coolness lingers a long time — good for beating the heat."
Dark focused on the sensation again, surprised. "Huh, it really does."
"Right?" Diana said smugly. "I love these things."
While the two of them talked, the Vampire Young Lady, seated on Dark's right, had been staring intently at Diana's pocket the whole time.
Diana noticed, took out another sour plum drop, and pressed it into the Vampire Young Lady's palm.
The Vampire Young Lady closed her fingers around it — then raised her other hand.
Diana blinked, then pulled out one more candy and pressed it into her other palm as well.
"Thank you, Big Sister," the Vampire Young Lady said, breaking into a bright smile. Then she passed one of the candies back to the girl beside her.
The stern-faced Phoenix Maiden took the candy and popped it into her mouth without a word.
Just as Diana glanced this way, Aurora, seated to the Vampire Young Lady's right, leaned forward and asked quietly, "Big Sister Diana, do you remember me?"
"Of course — my little cousin!" Diana immediately scooped up a handful of candy and pressed it into Aurora's hands.
She'd leaned all the way from Dark's left side to his right, practically draped across him, without a trace of self-consciousness.
Aurora accepted the handful a little awkwardly. Remembering that Diana had only given the Vampire Young Lady two pieces, a small warmth stirred in her chest.
"Thank you, Big Sister," she said gratefully.
Diana straightened up, puffed out her chest, patted it, and struck the pose of a proper big sister. "Well, I am the big sister, after all!"
Having a little sister felt amazing!
She'd always been the one looked after — now, finally, there was someone who needed looking after by her. That feeling of satisfaction was beyond words.
…
Aurora had no idea what was going on in Diana's head. She simply thought her cousin was wonderful — someone she could lean on.
In this place so far from home, with Aunt Camilla often nearby and now an adorable cousin she could depend on, the fear she kept buried deep inside had eased considerably.
…
While the two of them got along so well, Camilla had brought her own group's members to pause at the door, waiting for Alvit and Claire, who arrived shortly after.
With that, everyone who needed to be present had gathered.
Alvit had never been a strict mistress of the house, so the atmosphere within the duchy's estate was nowhere near as stiff as in some other noble households. As for the maids coming to watch the match, she'd tacitly approved of that as well.
But as a duchess, it wasn't quite fitting for her to preside over the match herself, so she left that duty to Claire.
Claire hoisted Galileo by the scruff of the neck — the plump cat's limbs dangling limply — and tossed him aside with a casual toss before stepping onto the stage.
Then she pulled a pre-drawn bracket sheet from her bag and pinned it to the wooden wall.
The lettering was large; anyone who paid a bit of attention could read it clearly.
Dark glanced at it and sighed. "Here I was thinking today's duels would be randomly matched. I was too naive."
"Eh, why's my name up there?" Diana alone looked utterly baffled after reading the bracket.
Clearly, Camilla hadn't told her she'd be participating.
Dark explained helplessly. "Aunt Camilla said she wanted to check on your month of training while she was at it. Come to think of it, you've been learning qi too?"
"Mm-hm." Diana nodded repeatedly. "Though honestly, learning it feels about the same as not learning it. No real difference."
Dark rolled his eyes again and turned back to the bracket.
Eight competitors were entered in today's duels.
The format was simple single-elimination.
Winners advanced, losers were out.
The eventual champion would receive a mystery prize.
The bracket had already been set. The matchups, in order, were:
① Dark vs. Hawlucha
② Diana vs. Meowth
③ Gatomon vs. Leomon
④ Aurora vs. Honedge
…
It was clear that Alvit and Claire had a very thorough read on Dark's abilities, since they'd mercifully picked him the one opponent he might actually have a chance against.
In other words, if he lost even to this one, that would be entirely on him.
But if he somehow won…
Even with Meowth's grasp of swordsmanship, it was doubtful he'd be a match for Diana.
Besides, Meowth had only picked up the small tricks quickly — he'd merely mastered the basics.
So if Dark won by some stroke of luck, chances were he'd next be facing the Great Demon Diana!
"There's no way to win this…"
Dark couldn't help but frown.
He'd already been mulling this over the night before, and he still hadn't found an answer.
In a match restricted to martial techniques alone, there was simply no way he could beat Diana.
"Hawlucha!"
Suddenly, Hawlucha's spirited cry rang out from across the field.
Dark turned to look, and his eyes met Hawlucha's fighting spirit head-on — a jolt of energy shot through him.
"Well, if I can't even be sure of beating Hawlucha, there's no point worrying about anyone else. Let's give it everything."
Thinking this, Dark tapped the hilt of the sword at his waist and gave Hawlucha a provoking look.
— Taunting one's own Magic Guide Spirit like this was probably a habit unique to him in all the world.
"My opponent's Meowth," Diana said, eyes wide as she stared at Meowth across the way — though what filled her mind wasn't strategy for battle, but schemes for how to catch him.
As for Aurora, her expression turned slightly serious.
Having trained swordsmanship alongside Honedge all this time, she knew exactly how formidable he was — an opponent not to be underestimated.
Gatomon and Leomon merely exchanged a glance before each turning away, hands resting on the hilts of their swords.
Though Leomon carried the ancestral demon blade Shishiomaru, he'd been practicing with an unsharpened training longsword like everyone else, standing on equal footing.
His base attributes were very close to Gatomon's — this bout would come down to whoever had the better command of swordsmanship.
…
Seeing the fighting spirit already blazing among the competitors below, Claire brushed back her long hair and smiled. "Everyone knows the rules by now, but I'll go over them once more. No weapons other than the training longsword. No magic. No Magic Guide Cards. No Ultimate Moves."
"This match is a pure contest of strength and skill. Not a fight to the death — only to determine the winner. So then, let's have the first pair step up — Dark and Hawlucha, please take the stage!"
Before she'd even finished speaking, Claire had already begun applauding.
The maids in the audience responded at once, applause swelling and echoing out through the open ceiling above.
Dark rose from his seat and walked toward the center of the field.
Hawlucha, having received Camilla's final instructions, stepped onto the field as well.
As Magic Guide Master and Magic Guide Spirit, Dark and Hawlucha were about to face off — the opening match of the day!
"Hawlucha. I look forward to it."
"Hawlucha!"
Man and spirit bowed to each other, then each stepped back, keeping about ten meters of distance between them.
Dark had already drawn his training longsword, feet spread slightly, blade held level — his stance rock-steady.
Talent, perhaps. Or perhaps simple hard work.
Either way, he hadn't slacked off in the slightest on his sword basics, and by now he already carried himself with something of a swordsman's bearing.
He carefully sensed the flow of the three chakras within him, gradually clearing away distracting thoughts, focusing his entire mind on the duel ahead.
It felt just like standing on a magic dueling platform in the instant before the countdown began — nothing left in his mind but the fight itself.
Across from him, Hawlucha settled into a matching stance.
But there was no weapon in his hands — he fought bare-handed.
Truly hopeless with a blade, he'd given up on swordsmanship after only a brief attempt, choosing instead to study fistwork under Camilla.
His talent for combat was immense, and he'd always trained on his own — but now, with Camilla's systematic guidance, his progress had been nothing short of explosive.
Just from the stance alone, a fierce presence rose off him.
It felt like watching a hawk dive from the sky — savage, unstoppable.
…
The maids' chatter gradually died down.
Even those cheering for their young master fell silent.
This first duel had turned unexpectedly serious.
Alvit and Camilla stood together, watching with intense focus.
Camilla asked quietly, "Alvit, who do you think will win?"
Alvit's brow furrowed slightly. "Dark has the better odds."
"That's not so certain," Camilla said, the corner of her mouth curling upward.
Alvit immediately grew more alert.
…
Seeing that both fighters had entered their combat stance, Claire barked out sharply, "First strike only — begin!"
The instant the words finished echoing—
Both figures in the ring exploded into motion like thunder!
Dark had never fought using his own body before, but his combat experience in other respects was extensive enough to make up for the gap, leaving him without a trace of nerves as the fight began.
Hawlucha, born for combat if any creature ever was, spread his wings — without taking flight — and abruptly accelerated, his right wing sweeping flat like a drawn blade, cleaving the air in two.
As the distance between them closed to a certain point, Dark suddenly stamped his foot, and a whirl of qi burst beneath his heel.
The three chakras within him began spinning at high speed, and the qi stored within them erupted all at once, surging through every limb and joint in an instant.
Boosted by that qi, his physical prowess had suddenly become nearly equal to Hawlucha's own!
It was the kind of intoxicating sense of power that would leave a first-timer at 'venting qi' utterly dazed.
But Dark had already been through the experience of armament evolution into the 'Moon God' — power on this level was nowhere near enough to cloud his mind.
His thoughts stayed clear as a mirror, and his training longsword shot forward in a subtle, unexpected angle.
But Hawlucha suddenly ducked his head, his already-short frame dropping even lower in an instant.
His long-charged right wing became a blade skimming the ground, slashing without mercy straight at Dark's ankle!
Never expecting Hawlucha to go straight for his lower body, Dark's footing scrambled in an instant.
He threw himself into a desperate sideways spin, trying to circle around the attack.
But in that split second, his left ankle took the hit.
A wave of searing pain shot through him, and his face went cold.
Still, he gritted his teeth and swung his sword down hard, aiming for Hawlucha's back.
Hawlucha had nowhere to dodge that strike and staggered forward off-balance.
But he went with the momentum, dropping and rolling, and slipped clear out of Dark's reach.
Dark wanted to press the attack, but the pain in his left foot made every step agony.
"Hah!"
Against the odds, Dark's fighting spirit only burned brighter.
He immediately funneled more qi into his left foot, dulling the pain enough to force his leg into motion, and lunged once more at Hawlucha.
His sword swing came faster than any he'd ever managed in practice.
But Hawlucha's combat instincts were razor-sharp — even off-balance, he raised his left wing to block. The impact was massive, but he held firm.
And his right wing never stopped moving, lashing out again at Dark's ankle.
…
"Did you teach him that?" Alvit couldn't help but ask suspiciously from the sidelines.
But Camilla, who'd been so full of confident talk just moments ago, flushed slightly. "How can you accuse me out of nowhere? I didn't teach him that."
At this, Alvit shook her head. "It's the best possible strategy for the fight. Nothing shameful about it."
Camilla insisted, "I really didn't teach it to him!"
…
Turning a height disadvantage into an advantage by striking low where the opponent wasn't guarding.
Hawlucha's mind only ever moved this fast in combat — he knew that without the element of surprise, this second strike wouldn't land on Dark's ankle again.
But all of this was only cover for the real killing blow.
And sure enough.
Just as he'd predicted, Dark immediately retreated in a sharp backward step.
That broke off his offense entirely.
Hawlucha's eyes flashed. Planting both feet, he surged upward with tremendous force, his whole body launching from below to strike straight at Dark's jaw.
If Dark retreated or leaned back now, Hawlucha could press the advantage relentlessly and drive him into a corner with no way out.
But Dark didn't do what was expected. He didn't even try to dodge. Instead, he snapped his longsword back and raised it high, both hands gripping the hilt, and brought it down in a thunderous chop!
There was nothing hesitant about that strike.
But the blow landed like it had struck cotton wadding.
Hawlucha had used both wings at the last instant to shield his head, barely protecting his vital point.
Still, his body, airborne mid-leap, was slammed back down and crashed heavily to the ground.
Having completely overcome his fear in the heat of battle, Dark swept his sword up, cold-eyed, and pointed it straight at Hawlucha's throat.
Hawlucha lowered his hands, thoroughly beaten and accepting it.
The outcome was decided!
…
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