After Kashimiya left, Rook and the others returned. It... didn't look like the issues between Marie and B3 had totally vanished, but at least they had nothing against partying up now. 

For the record, I didn't ask which one of them won. I felt like that would be like throwing fuel on some still-hot embers. Anyway, with all four of us here, we headed to the central arena.

"So Shu's been training you since then, huh?" I asked.

"Yes!" Rook replied.

"Ah, but... it was hellish."

He remembered something that made the smile on his face vanish. 

O, dear brother of mine, do not cast my friend into hell, I thought.

"After the battle training, I just did some powerleveling," he continued.

"What level are you now?" I asked. With my Superior job level now at 4543.

"My total level is 290. My current main job, High Tamer, is at level 40. I already maxed out Pimp, Tamer and Harlot."

"...Rook always gets stronger so fast that we don't even notice it,"

Uriel added, and I was inclined to agree. I could totally imagine coming back to find him with all his low and high-rank jobs maxed out... or perhaps even with a Superior Job.

His Harlot job made me raise an eyebrow, but apparently he'd taken it because it offered a passive skill which increased the success rate of Charm. 

That skill, along with his tamed monsters, was his lifeline, so I could understand his reasoning.

"During this round of powerleveling, I used XP-increasing items and traveled through high monster population areas with Babi and the others. I still had money from the incident a month ago."

"XP-increasing items... Didn't know they existed."

"Oh no no," said Marie.

"Just so you know, even with an XP boost, you never get levels as fast as Rookie did. If XP boosts were that powerful, Journalists would be in higher demand."

So they weren't that extreme, huh?

"I just had lots of free time. After the incident with Gerbera, I spent about five real life days not sleeping or resting so I could just hunt constantly... I'm actually kinda sleepy... right... now..." Rook said, his head wobbling like it had earlier.

"Hey! Take care of your body, damn it! That can't be good for the real you!" I cried out.

"I did some training to help me stay active for longer without sleeping. I'm totally finay and oke."

"Now you're not even speaking properly!" Nothing ever showed on his face, so you could never tell if something was wrong with him!

"I'm not getting much sleep, either," said Marie.

"I've been busy with preparations recently..."

"Preparations? You're gonna cover today's big duel?" I asked.

"No. This is for the DIN-sponsored... Oh dear, I can't say that yet."

"Well, that's fine, I guess. I did notice that you looked tired, though. So that's what it's about, huh? I assumed it was related to either the duel or Elizabeth's marriage interview."

Marie and Elizabeth were close, so I wouldn't have been surprised if she'd been asked to do something for the interview.

"There's some ordinary journalists covering today's duel... Wait. Hold on a second. What did you just say?"

Marie grabbed me by my scruff and glared at me. I'm scared.

"On my way back here, I was acting as Azurite's... the first princess' and the third prince of Huang He's bodyguard," I explained.

"During our chats, I learned that Elizabeth and the prince would be having a formal marriage interview."

At hearing this, Marie buried her face in her hand and threw her head back.

"Ellie's... going to a... marriage interview... engagement... marriage...birth... They're rushing things! Big sis doesn't approve!"

"You're the one rushing through this with all those predictions... And her big sis is Azurite, not you."

"GHAH!" Marie heard my response and collapsed where she stood.

"...I know you get along with Elizabeth, but does this really hit you that hard?"

And so, carrying Marie — who was mumbling something to herself — we went to the arena. We gathered into a box seat like the one we'd used last time and waited for the duel to begin. 

Marie was still moaning and mumbling, and I occasionally heard some terrifying words, like

"Third prince... assassination...engagement canceled..."

Please don't cause an international incident. Azurite will die inside, I thought.

"Also, you're already talking about engagement, but so far they're just at the marriage interview stage," I said.

"Ngh... I'll hope that Ellie has good taste in men."

...If she does, then you better prepare to congratulate them on their engagement. Canglong was extremely mature and stable for someone his age, and they would no doubt make a fine couple.

...As long as Marie didn't assassinate him, anyway.

"Well, this is a negotiation between a prince and a princess. All we can do is watch how it pans out."

"Nngh... Ellie..."

Marie groaned as she rolled on the ground, took out a sketchbook, and began drawing a portrait of a girl — most likely Elizabeth.

...Am I looking at a person with a strange kind of sister complex? I wondered.

"More like a lolita co—"

Uriel, some things need to be left unsaid.

Anyway, we had about half an hour until the main event started, so I decided to buy some drinks and snacks. 

Marie was still sulking, while Rook and Babi were napping. I didn't feel good about leaving B3 there all by herself, so I had Uriel in disguised keep her company. 

Couldn't let a lot of people know epically a loser in a lab coat find out more of my secrets like my Embryo type.

As I walked towards the store, I noticed the central arena's reception area. It was taking the final bets for the coming main event. 

The odds were 1.3x for Tom and 5.5x for Kashimiya. It reminded me of the odds I'd seen for The Clash of the Superiors, but those had been affected by Figaro being the local favorite.

The difference here was purely due to their battle history and abilities. Kashimiya had lost against Tom all four times he'd challenged him. 

Apparently, he was so unable to deal with Tom's ability to multiply and split that almost nobody had any hopes for a Kashimiya victory. 

Also, it was widely known that Kashimiya had been inactive for a time, so most were predicting that Tom would just win again.

...Since I was here already, I figured I might as well bet on one of them. The odds and the info available made it seem like Tom was the likely winner... but I couldn't help but consider what Kashimiya said to me. 

That had been no bluff. I could tell that he was at least confident in his victory.

"Well, I guess I'll bet on... him."

I eventually just let my intuition guide me and went through the betting process. Though, I did make sure to bet less than I had on Figaro.

"...Huh?"

After betting, I checked today's notice board and saw info about the semi-event, the betting for which was already over. 

I'd focused so much on the main event that I completely forgot the semi-event, which also happened to involve names I knew well.

Fallen Knight, Juliet VS Nobushi Princess, Rosa.

I returned to the box to see that the semi-event had already begun.

"TCH! It's really damn annoyin' how you're scamperin' about, Juliet!"

"Blackwing Requiem!"

Rosa was clad in the exoskeleton created by the ultimate skill she'd employed against us, as well. 

Juliet, on the other hand, was attacking her with dark elemental magic attacks from the air, where Rosa couldn't reach her.

We had experienced first-hand just how tough Rosa's exoskeletons were, but the dark elemental black orbs released by Juliet's feathers were dealing steady damage to her. 

The main quality of dark elemental magic was its anti-life properties.

It dealt nearly no damage to objects, but in exchange for not being effective against as wide a range of targets, it could ignore most physical defenses when it did deal damage. 

Apparently, it would fare differently against magical barriers or its natural enemy — light — but in this case, where the opponent was merely clad in tough armor, it bypassed that almost as if it didn't exist.

With Rosa being so focused on the physical defense from her exoskeletons, it was fair to say that this matchup was in Juliet's favor. 

Rosa, on the other hand, couldn't even bring Juliet down to the close range that she specialized in.

Her only means of fighting were jumping or throwing her spear, but that was far from enough to make up for the gap in mobility created by Hræsvelgr, which allowed Juliet to fly around freely. 

It was clear who had the upper hand in both offense and defense.

"...I can see why the odds were 1.2x against 5.6x."

Rosa had had a chance here. The Nobushi Princess ultimate job skill, A Kill Supreme, was the most damaging skill in Rosa's arsenal, and with duels disallowing Brooches, that skill could end it all right away. 

However, the fact that the battle was still continuing was proof that she had missed.

A Kill Supreme was a surprise attack skill, after all, so it was probably hard to land it from the front. 

Juliet still hadn't used her ultimate skill. She was fully focused on evasion and long-range dark elemental magic attacks.

"She looks used to this," commented Uriel.

"They're fourth and fifth in the rankings. I suppose they fight quite often?"

"They do. Rosa's challenged the Black Crow many times now," said B3.

"If she takes fourth, she'll be right next to Kashimiya in third, you know?"

"A wolf-eared musclebeast stalker shotacon to the core!!" Uriel commented

"...You added a new word to that!" I shouted.

"All of those words do apply to her, but I recommend against actually saying that in front of her."

Anyway, the duel continued, but Juliet still seemed to have the advantage. One of the reasons for this was Rosa's lack of composure. 

Like B3 mentioned, if Kashimiya won his battle today, he would be second in the rankings. Was she acting like this because she feared Kashimiya might be even further away from her if that happened?

Regardless, Juliet, being the skilled ranker that she was, was taking advantage of every opening created by Rosa's panic, slowly but surely chipping away at her HP. And once it reached a certain threshold...

"Corpse-Eating Bird — Hræsvelgr!"

...Juliet used her ultimate skill to finish her off. It created a black tornado combining the power of dark and wind magic. A direct hit from that quickly ended the fight... 

Or so I thought.

"That's... the skill from back then!"

Rosa's body, which had been bleeding within the tornado, had been replaced by a decoy before anyone realized it. That was the special reward she'd used when she'd attacked us, too.

"Aren't these kinds of items forbidden in duels?" I asked.

"You can't use Lifesaving Brooches, Dragonscale Wards, or consumable restoration items," B3 said.

"But special rewards are exceptions."

That reminded me that Figaro's Closer had worked just like that.

"More importantly, Rosa is now... there, eh?" B3 was looking behind Juliet.

Now without her exoskeleton, she was brandishing her spear — Gashadokuro.

"Backslayer!"

Rosa used an active skill which, according to B3, increased damage when attacking from behind, and thrust Gashadokuro forward. 

The damage was great enough to pierce even through the hardy armored gothic-style dress that Juliet was wearing.

Because she was still using her ultimate skill, Juliet couldn't dodge it. The tornado channeled through her arms vanished, and Juliet collapsed towards the stage. 

But just then, she grabbed hold of Gashadokuro with both arms.

"The Darkness of Valediction."

Once she'd used that skill, a black, mud-like darkness began to creep up Gashadokuro's handle.

The Darkness of Valediction was an active skill from the Dark Knight grouping, and it was basically the opposite of the Purifying Silverlight the Paladins had.

In exchange for some of the Dark Knight's HP, it briefly cursed the weapon they wielded. Since Dark Knights could overcome curses, it essentially allowed them to increase the power of their weapons...

"Shit! You got me with this one...!"

...As well as make an enemy's weapon completely unusable. Once cursed, Gashadokuro couldn't even be used by its Master. 

If Rosa tried, she would be subjected to curses that, among other things, limited her movements and continuously reduced her HP. 

I had been in some danger when Juliet had used it against me in one of our mock battles.

Being a vanguard build, Nobushi Princess, Rosa, didn't have Purifying Silverlight or any uncurse skill, and consumables like Holy Water weren't allowed in duels. 

Thus, the only way for her to deal with the curse was to let go of her Embryo.

"Tch!" Rosa let go of Gashadokuro and used Instant Equip to take out a spare spear, but then...

"Reverse Crusade!"

...A black light — dark elemental energy that chipped life away — surged out from the surface. This was the Dark Knight's equivalent of a Paladin's Grand Cross — their ultimate job skill. Caught in the torrent of darkness, Rosa lost HP and mobility all at once.

While that was happening, Juliet took out a small, bag-like inventory with her left hand, and cut it open with the sword in her right. 

Once broken, the bag released an enormous amount of cursed weapons, swathed in black or red auras. Either gathered by Juliet or simply cursed by her afterwards, they were all cursed blades... and her bullets.

"Cursed Phalanx..."

Juliet pointed the tip of the sword in her right hand towards Rosa, still bound and unable to move in the torrent of darkness.

"...DISORDER!"

She unleashed her skill, launching the many cursed weapons littered about the arena. This was the ultimate job skill of the Fallen Knight: Cursed Phalanx Disorder. 

It was a truly devastating, expensive ability that, in exchange for the user's HP and MP, animated those bloodthirsty weapons, setting them all on the enemy. 

It basically turned them into homing missiles. The cursed weapons were akin to crazed beasts, moving in chaotic patterns as they went to bite into their target — in this case, Rosa.

"UOAAAGHH!"

Rosa somehow jumped clear of the Reverse Crusade's torrent and used the spear she had equipped to try and fend off the cursed weapons coming her way. 

I couldn't tell whether she was just that good of a fighter or if she was simply being stubborn.

Even though she was wounded by many of the weapons, she managed to parry the ones that would have killed her. 

Which would give out first: Juliet's curses, or Rosa's HP? 

Beyond the curtain of cursed weaponry, Juliet stood, joining her hands as though preparing to use Corpse-Eating Bird — Hræsvelgr again.

"Huh...?!"

Rosa looked at her in shock, seemingly unable to believe that Juliet could cast her ultimate skill again after all that. 

It was just a bluff, though. 

Neither the cooldown nor her mana reserves allowed Juliet to cast her ultimate skill again.

The bluff was enough to distract Rosa, however. Using this opening, a single cursed weapon pierced her abdomen. 

It was none other than the newly-cursed Gashadokuro. For all I knew, she might've been unable to sense it coming because it was her own weapon. 

Regardless, the attack was fatal, and it paved the way for more weapons to strike home.

"Liberation!"

And then Juliet used the final skill, releasing all the curses within her arsenal and obliterating Rosa in a massive explosion. 

Thus, Juliet emerged victorious. Considering that she was above Rosa in rank and the matchup definitely favored her, this result was expected. 

Still, the ability, technique, and strategy involved in this battle was extremely high- level.

"She really made good use of her ultimate job skill, didn't she?" said B3.

"She did," I nodded.

"Though, honestly, she might've lost without it."

This was my third time seeing the Fallen Knight's ultimate job skill. The first time was during a battle when I was hunting people around Dendro for unique skills and abilities, the second time was when she'd used it to try and utterly defeat me in a mock battle.

Though, from what I could recall, that skill was what she called her "secret weapon." She'd told me that it was an ace up her sleeve she would eventually use against Kashimiya or Tom, and that she hadn't used it in any public matches. 

That was probably why she'd tested it in a mock battle against me — a non-ranker. Of course, she'd told me to be quiet about it.

"In regards to my most esoteric of powers, I seek nothing less than supreme silence. Exchange with me a blood vow that it shall never reach the ears of worldlings," she'd said, which basically meant,

"It's a secret! Pinky promise!"

The fact Juliet had used it against Rosa — a challenger — rather than someone who was higher in the rankings, meant that she'd been backed into quite a precarious situation. 

Rosa's substituting special reward and Juliet's ultimate job skill.

In a way, this was a battle where both sides bared their abilities to each other and fought as hard as they could. 

The performance was definitely worthy of praise and applause. And with the semi-event over, it was time for the match between Tom and Kashimiya.

"TO THE EAST! WE HAVE THE CHALLENGEEERRR! THE THIRD IN THE DUEL RANKINGS... THE UNSHEATH, KASHIMIYAAAAAAAAA!"

As the announcer finished, a plume of smoke appeared around the western entrance. 

The stage of the central arena had two entrances — one to the west and one to the east — and the east one was usually used by the challenger. 

During The Clash of the Superiors, Xunyu had entered through the east, as well.

Kashimiya now did the same. At his sides, Kashimiya had an odachi in a blue sheath and another sword about the same size in a green sheath. 

Since he couldn't use the red one in duels with barriers, he must've taken the green one as a substitute.

"TO THE WEST! WE HAVE THE SECOND IN THE DUEL RANKINGS... THE LYNX, TOM! CAAAAAAAAAAT!"

Tom entered from the west. He looked the same as he had in Quartierlatin, complete with the fat cat — Grimalkin — on his head.

Naturally, there was still just one of him. The two gathered on the stage, set the duel rules, and made some distance between them.

All that was left was to wait for the start of the match. Kashimiya's chains were already floating, and he was ready to draw his sword.

"Logically speaking, Kashimiya will move the moment the match starts," B3 said as we all waited