CH 254

254 – Fenix Party VS Ellie Party

There are many words used to describe me.

If I had to say some of it, there are the descriptions of an Adventurer who is ranked 95th in the world, The Undefeated Hero, and the『New Wave』.

「Lady Ellie.」

In response to the call, I opened my eyes that were closed until just now.

The White Sorcerer Kent was calling out while putting his hand on his chest.

A man with chestnut-color hair and an impression of refreshing water.

「What is it?」

「The person in charge has arrived and said that it’s about time.」

「I see.」

The second phase of the All-Heaven Festival Contest. The tournament of the red group. The first round.

The venue is a magical energy space set up inside the『Eastern Demon King Castle』.

There seem to be several types of waiting rooms and the place assigned to the 5 of us humans was an ordinary private room with nothing special in it.

The person in charge told us that it was time to enter the field.

「Well then, shall we go?」

「Yes.」

All 4 of them responded clearly.

Kent has a big fan and Jean who is also a White Sorcerer has a rolled-up red carpet.

The Black Sorcerer twins Lyner and Ryan carried a gorgeous chair until outside the waiting room.

Who has what varies from day to day.

We continued to walk down the aisle for a while.

A place where we can see a particularly large light that is different from the lighting.

Beyond that is where the battle will take place.

The name of our Party was called and I sat down on the chair.

The twins lifted it up and Jean rolled out the carpet. Kent gracefully fanned the fan.

In addition to the visual impact, this way of moving made it easy to tell who was the master and who was the servant.

When we reached the center of the stage, I descended as if I was flying.

Both the chair and the fan were blown out of the venue by Wind Magic.

― How many Adventurers are there in the world? How many Parties are there?

Perhaps even less than the number of a handful of sand in the desert is recognized and sought after by society.

So are all those who were not grabbed worthless?

No, they are not.

It’s just that the world is so vast, time is so limited, and entertainment is so plentiful that it’s hard for people to see all the talent and effort that goes into it.

This is an industry where even valuable things can be buried and many geniuses and hard workers disappear after a failure.

The only way to survive here is to adapt.

If you have the talent, how can you make it appealing?

If you have the ability, how can you leverage it?

What can I do to include myself and my comrades in the handful?

This is the answer I arrived at.

But we are just halfway through.

We can still go forward. We have to.

『Ranked 95th in the world, the Undefeated Hero Ellie Party is here!

Their leader, Contestant Ellie, has a Contract with a Lesser Wind Spirit. With her delicate magical energy manipulation that could be called artistic, she can use a wide variety of Spirit Magic. She is truly formidable!

In the「Impregnable Demon King Castle」raid battle, she appeared in the 10th Stratum and greatly tormented the industry’s best Adventurers! The people who supports her are ― 』

The introduction of the servants continued.

Continued to win in Dungeons, fought against strong people in the raid, and advanced to the second phase of the All-Heaven Festival Contest.

After piling up all those achievements, the commentator finally emotionally introduced the White Sorcerers and Black Sorcerers that are supporting me.

When we formed the Party and after we debuted, the people around us didn’t understand this Party composition.

They ridiculed and denied it.

With each achievement, the ridicules and sneers became fewer and fewer, but it did not disappear.

There is a way of thinking that only you should know what is important to you.

There is a sense of strength in that kind of thinking. I won’t deny that.

But that’s not how I am.

I’ll make them understand.

I’ll make them feel excited.

Only the excitement of seeing an exciting adventure cannot be faked.

We’ll make those who made fun of us unintentionally cheer when they see us in action.

When that happens, it’ll be our victory.

Hate us, ridicule us.

We’ll entertain them ― then turn them into our servant fans.

The cheers coming from the audience seats suddenly increased several times.

Because they entered the field.

At this moment, they are Adventurers who are more recognized by society than we are.

In the desert, they are not grains of sand, but jewels.

『They have entered…! Ranked 4th in the world!! The Flame Hero Fenix Partyyyy!』

The cheers exploded.

『Their leader, Contestant Fenix, is the first person in 130 years to have a Contract with the main body of the Fire Spirit!

Despite being a relatively young Party, only 7 years after its formation, they still managed to clear the「Northern Demon King Castle」!

After that, he challenged the「Impregnable Demon King Castle」, where he cleared and showed the 4th to 10th Stratums, greatly helping the later attackers!

Is it because of his overwhelming firepower that he is immensely popular among men and women of all ages!? Or is it because of his gallant appearance!? Or is it both!?』

When it became an enchanting entertainment, appearance was added to the Adventurer’s evaluation criteria.

Nowadays, appearance is also a great weapon.

In that sense, Fenix’s appearance is no less of a strength than his Contract with one of the Four Great Spirits.

『One of the people fighting alongside him is the Warrior Alba!

He and the leader have known each other since the Training Institution, so they show a breathtaking cooperation!

He boasts an agility that is unimaginable from his well-trained body, and the trajectory of his Extensible Magic Sword is unpredictable!

I’m sure there are many people who were excited by the sight of him using a blade-shaped storm to slice through his enemies!』

The Warrior Alba. Certainly, he has a good physique. In addition, he has a keen sense for combat.

I’ve seen a lot of situations where there is a surprise attack aiming for him that would normally send other people off the field immediately, but he somehow managed to avoid it with just his intuition.

However, for that reason, he was also an Adventurer who relied on his intuition for his style of fighting.

I don’t know if it’s youth or naivety and it doesn’t matter. That flaw of his disappeared after a certain point.

After the failure to clear the『Impregnable Demon King Castle』.

『The next person to join the Party was an elf, a very rare race as Adventurers at the time ― The Hunter Lily!

Because the leader of the Party was attracting a lot of attention, there was a lot of controversy over the addition of an Elf.

However! Contestant Lily silenced the naysayers with her abilities and charmed the world with her archery skills!

Her「Godspeed」that is unable to be seen with naked eyes is truly a superhuman feat!

As the Party’s world rank skyrocketed, the number of Elf Adventurers increased every year!

It can be said that she is a distinguished contributor to the industry, showing the world that it is possible for races other than humans to become Adventurers!』

The Hunter Lily. The power of her arrows is decent, but her aim is sharp. Even so, it can be changed to emphasize speed, and when she uses『Godspeed』, I can’t even see her appearance when she shoots the arrows.

Not so long ago, her fighting style looked as if she was showing her archery skills to someone.

This was corrected after the failed attack on the Demon King Castle and was completely resolved after the raid battle.

『In a Party that emphasizes speed, it is because of him that his comrades can concentrate on the battle! ― The Paladin Lark!

There are no openings in his offense and defense. He calmly defends against enemy attacks and goes on the offensive when the time is right.

The reason why Contestant Alba and Contestant Lily are able to move freely is because of his defense!

He is also famous for his cool job and sweet mask, which made him very popular with women!』

The Paladin Lark. He is tall and has long arms. After he deflects the attacks using his large shield, he will attack by swinging downwards. Unless his opponent is from a tough race, that opponent will probably be crushed.

His weakness was that his movements were too precise, but recently he’s been showing different styles of movements, such as daring to show an opening to invite an attack, or to interweave feints to attack the enemy while he is being unguarded.

Again, he changed after the Demon King Castle.

『And last but not least is this person! The up-and-coming Adventurer who was welcomed into the Party immediately after graduating from the Training Institution! ― The Frost Hero Bella!

After making a Contract with a high-ranking Lesser Water Spirit, she spent 3 years training to improve her「Freeze」Spirit Magic and joined the Party ranked 4th in the world!

Immediately afterwards, she began to display Spirit Magic that was sometimes delicate and beautiful and other times her magic is bold and flashy!

In a blink of an eye, she was accepted by the public and gained a lot of fans! She’s already playing an active role as an important fighting force in the Fenix Party!』

The Frost Hero Bella. In terms of near, middle and long distance, she is an Adventurer that is closer to a Wizard that can shine the most in middle to long distances.

Conversely, there is a hole in her close quarters combat ability.

I can’t say for sure that this is because of her experience at the Demon King Castle, but I can see that she is trying to improve.

What cannot be learned from experience is out of the question.

Nevertheless, it was too dramatic. If it was a sports team, it’s as if their objective has changed along with the coach.

I think someone said something that compelled them to change their mindset.

There are times when retired Adventurers mentor the current Adventurers.

To the point that there are stories about how the former 1st ranked in the world, the Unyielding Hero Altreed, and other Adventurers are constantly visited by Adventurers who would like to receive their guidance.

I’ve never heard anything about such a person in the Fenix Party.

Suddenly, the Floor Boss of the 10th Stratum in the Demon King Castle that is clad in black outfit popped inside my mind

The Black Sorcerer that is courageous enough to form an alliance with another Hero Party in order to repel the Hero Party during the raid.

「Today as well, I will wield my sword to get closer to becoming the best Hero. Everyone, will you lend me your strength?」

When Fenix said that, each of the members responded.

Some people in the audience seats were already standing up and making noise.

I was thrilled.

The achievements that the Fenix Party has built up produced this expectation and support. Isn’t it wonderful?

I shouted.

「My servants. Our battle stage is about to begin today! The audience is packed! Most of them are convinced that the other side will win! Isn’t this so fun?」

「Yes!」

「I’ll ask you again today. Who’s the most beautiful?」「Lady Ellie!」「Who’s the strongest?」「Lady Ellie!」「Then, who will win this battle?」「Lady Ellie!」

「You’re so stupid, the answer should be us.」

「Yes!」

「Good boys. Now, let’s keep on proving it. That the battle of Heroes is the most beautiful, the most exciting, the most fun, and the most intense. Let’s keep on proving it. That both black and white are the colors that make people stand out the most. Just a burden? No way! Those people with no sense are really troublesome, aren’t they?」

「Yes!」

The Fenix Party had a complex expression when they heard our conversation.

Did they remember the past when they kicked out a Black Sorcerer?

「We all understand that we have lost the best Black Sorcerer.」

Fenix said. At least it didn’t seem like he said that lightheartedly to just keep up appearances.

「Ohh?」

「Even so, we’re the ones who will win.」

There is no one among those who has come this far that does not go into battle without that in mind.

「Yeah, yeah, that’s right. After all, this is a competitive world, and there is always a future where we are defeated. But we will win. Because ― 」

「Because the Hero always wins in the end.」

「I’ll give that a perfect mark. But what should I do? There are Heroes on both sides.」

「I don’t see how that’s a problem.」

He’s already aware of it.

In a clash between Heroes, some Heroes will be defeated.

Nevertheless, we do our best to win.

Until the very end, to finish the battle as a Hero.

「Haha. That’s good. That’s very good. You’re great, the Hero Fenix.」

The match begins.