CH 141

[Madeline’s Fierce Offensive]

Was Joel, Madeline’s twin brother, involved in her disappearance?

I was initially focused on that question—but it disappeared as I followed the match.

Strong.

Madeline Halman was going toe-to-toe with Raul, who had released the power of his Demon Sword and could wield it almost at will. She had the upper hand, in fact.

“Haa!”

“Gh?!”

Even now, Raul continued to be pushed back by Madeline’s offensive.

It seemed like it took him his everything just to defend against her attacks.

“Raul?!”

I had watched Raul fight several times during exercises, but… I couldn’t believe the reality of what was happening in front of my eyes.

“R-Raul…” Eureka, his supporter, was stunned.

At times like this, it was her duty to give him instruction and a piece of advice, but it seemed that seeing her boyfriend, Raul, struggling, her thought came to a halt.

…This was bad.

Since he didn’t receive a direct hit, Raul didn’t receive much damage, but his HP was continuously getting shaved. If things kept going as they were and he couldn’t counterattack, he would lose without anything to show for it.

That was the last thing Raul wanted.

Winning was, of course, the best way to get into the knights’ good books, but even if you lose, as long as your performance caught their interest, the Order of the Knights would open their door for you.

However, Raul’s performance so far hadn’t been very noteworthy, to say the least.

Tayte and Jarvis looked like they wanted to help him somehow, but we could do nothing but watch.

Raul had already lost half of his HP.

If this continued, he would—

“Raul!”

Eureka shouted when the word ‘lose’ flashed in my mind

Has she come up with a plan to get Raul out of his predicament? Expectation swelled in my chest—but…

“Don’t lose!”

What came out of her mouth wasn’t some sort of strategy, but a wish.

――However, those words were what Raul needed the most right now.

In his eyes that were visible behind his sword raised in guarding stance, light still dwelled.

Raul hadn’t given up.

He was waiting for a chance to turn the tables.

“““Hang in there, Raul!”””

The rules forbid anyone other than the supporter to advise the fighter, or else they would be disqualified.

Tayte, Jarvis, and I could only cheer for him.

That was why we shouted with all our might and cheered for Raul.

“—!”

Did our desperate cheering reach Raul? Raul’s eyes grew sharper then he parried Madeline’s attack and sent her flying.

“Wha?!”

Madeline unintentionally raised her voice in surprise at the unexpected counterattack.

Raul didn’t miss the momentary opening to jump back and further widen the distance between him and Madeline.

“Nice, Raul!”

Now he had room to catch his breath.

Madeline’s power and speed should have been firmly engraved in Raul’s mind now. And based on that, he could plan his attacks going forward.

However, the situation was apparently completely different from the surrounding people’s assumptions, including mine.

Raul, who had been under fierce attacks, seemed pretty relaxed, although his HP had been reduced by quite a lot. Madeline, on the other hand, was breathing heavily, heaving her shoulders up and down. Looking at the scene, it seemed as if Raul was the one who had the upper hand.

“I see… Madeline has been going all out from the beginning.”

“What do you mean, Barrett?”

Asked by Jarvis, I explained the strategy that Madeline seemed to have taken.

“Madeline wanted to avoid a drawn-out fight. If the match drags on, Raul, who has the Demon Sword, will have the upper hand. Hence why she tried to finish the fight as soon as possible.”

“So that’s why she was attacking so fiercely.”

“B-but Raul seems quite fine?”

Tayte’s doubt was valid.

I had also thought Raul was one-sidedly beaten, but…

“Raul realized what she was up to halfway through the match. That’s why he went on the defensive. He was waiting for Madeline to eventually run out of stamina and create an opening.”

“And Raul’s patience won out in the end,” Jarvis said.

“Yeah…”

That was the conclusion I came to.

But… I wonder why?

I felt like Madeline was still hiding something…