Chapter 92

Well, this sucks. I'm going against Geld. I would have preferred to go against someone who wasn't from here, but I guess this is how things are. And if you're wondering why I didn't change the match-ups, it's because I didn't want to. That would be more unfair than what is going on right now. And I wanted a bit of a surprise. 

I think the hardest part of trying to act like Nero is being arrogant. Sure, I may have had my arrogant moments, but there's a difference between having a moment of arrogance, and being arrogant. I'll just need to try my best and remember not to try too hard. 

"Fight!" Gabiru screamed as he jumped into the air and started to spectate from above.

Immediately, I dashed forward, kicking up dust, as I swung my sword at Geld. Of course, I'm trying to kill him, but I'm also a bit curious about how good he is. I know he's strong and very tough, though. Let's see.

Geld raised up his shield and blocked my sword. It created a vibration and wave that shuck up the ground and raised even more dust. Not bad. Unfortunately for him, he was going up against me.

"Not bad for an orc. But if the only thing you can do is defend, then you'll be a good training dummy for me." I swung even more as he kept defending with his shield. His strength is good, I wouldn't say I'm completely holding back, but these swings would still kill almost anyone else. I could see sparks flying from the clash between my sword and Geld's shield. 

"Your words won't get through to me." Geld swung his shield as he attacked with his cleaver. I dodged to the side without his shield and thrust my sword, but with an agility that defied his size, he quickly moved away.

"If you have to say that, then maybe it already has." We stared at each other for a few moments before I rushed at him again. This was quite a disadvantage for him. I'm faster and more mobile, and though his size is deceptive, there's a limit. I'll go faster and faster until he can't keep up. 

/\\//\\//\

Milim was looking at the fight between "Nero" and Geld, but her eyes were glowing as she looked at "Nero" who was fighting, and Artoria who was in a viewing booth. At first, she was a bit surprised, but upon further inspection, she figured out what was happening. And when she did find out, she smacked her head wondering why she hadn't thought of that. If she thought of that, then she could've been fighting instead of Carrion. Once again, Artoria beat her. At least to her, that's how it felt.

Milim needed to get a win over Artoria in some way. She hasn't won a game against her in what seemed like forever. And if she couldn't fight in this tournament, then she'd do it in something else. She thought about it and then remembered there was a card game being played for some award money. That was her chance. All she needed to do was to see the rules. It was just a card game, how hard could it be to learn?

/\\//\\//\

"Wow, it's not looking good for Geld. He's slowly getting overwhelmed. Nero, and I still can't believe that she's supposed to be a Roman empress, is actually a very good fighter. She probably blew up everyone's bet on Geld with this. Also, what's with her saying 'Umu'?" Rimuru watched as "Nero" got faster and faster with her attacks. Geld spent most of his time defending and trying to find a good opening, but "Nero" wasn't giving him a chance. She was slowly whittling him down.

[Nero saying "umu" is most likely a verbal tic. From observing this battle, the chances of Nero winning are almost guaranteed.]

"Wow, this is certainly an entrance. It still seems like she came out of nowhere."

[I wonder why]

"Do you know something?"

[No]

"Hmm, I don't like the way you said that no, Raphael."

[It's your imagination.]

/\\//\\//\

"Just surrender!!" I pointed my sword at Geld, who was clearly struggling to keep up. His shield had dents, some of the edges were chipped off, and there were slight cracks on it. 

"No."

"Have it your way then." I rushed towards him again, but this time I used magic. A little bit of a mana burst if you will, but I toned it back. Just a bit. I thrust my sword directly at his shield, a slight yellow glow around it, and as it made contact, a small explosion shattered his shield into pieces and threw him backward as he rolled across the floor. I followed up and placed my sword on his neck. 'I feel a bit bad, Geld, but you fought good. I should knight you one day. It's a bit overdue for another knighting ceremony.'

I looked down at him with a smirk on my face. I was figuratively and literally looking down on him. "So? What now?"

"I yield."

"Umu. Good choice."

"And there you have it, everyone! Our winner in the first fight is Nero!" I looked up and saw Gabiru screaming to everyone in the audience. I looked around and I could see some people shocked at what they perceived to be an "upset". I could see some people grieving over their lost bets, but hey, that's life sometimes.

/\\//\\//\

Artoria who got out of her Nero disguise made her way to where Shuna was. Of course, they planned for this, and the fake Artoria went away and was replaced by her.

"Did you have fun?" Shuna said as she looked over at Artoria, who was already eating, from her seat.

"Yeah, I did." "Artoria said she ate a donut.

"I think you didn't need to do what you did at the end with Geld. It seemed a bit too much."

"Maybe, but as long as Geld learns something from the fight, then it's not a loss, but a learning opportunity."

Shuna nodded her head slightly. That was a good outlook. "Did you come up with that yourself?"

"No, most likely not. I'm sure someone out there has said the same thing or something similar to it. More than one person can think of the same thing. Let's see the rest of the fights."

They were about to sit down until they got interrupted by Rimuru. Artoria assumed he rushed over here after the fight to talk to her.

"Hey, Artoria, we need to talk!" Rimuru yelled as he barged into Artoria and Shuna's private booth.

"Rimuru, please knock. We don't you to be another Milim. Also, you do know this booth is private for us, right? Like, very private. We can shut things down in here for maximum privacy."

"What? What are you implying?"

"Nothing. I didn't expect you to understand. So, what brings you here?"

 "It's about Nero! You have to explain things to me! Why is there someone out there that looks just like you?!" RImuru got straight to it, not beating around the bush. 

"It's all just a coincidence." Arttoria waved off Rimuru's question. 

"What? Come on, that can't be it!"

"It is. Anyway, that was a pretty good fight, wasn't it? Nero is really good with a sword. Maybe I should fight her when I get the chance."

"Yeah, it was a good fight, I wasn't expecting that. It might be the biggest upset in this whole competition. For someone unknown to beat Geld, one of our better fighters."

"Maybe. But there are much bigger upsets in sport. Like Appalachian State vs Michigan. I think that might be the biggest upset in all of sports."

"Who?" Rimuru was confused. He didn't know who any of those teams were or what sport they played.

"Oh, I forgot. You're from Japan. I think only people in America would say that. Just think of the biggest upset in sport you can think of. That would be the equivalent of what I'm talking about. Probably. Actually,, maybe not."

"Um, ok. So, this all just a coincidence?"

"Yes, Rimuru, how many times do I have to say it?"

"Fine. But it's still so weird."

"You'll get used to it. And I'm pretty sure there are much more weirder things our there than finding someone who looks like you."

"Like what?"

"Hmm, well, did you know that according to some quantum physics theories, actions in the future can affect the past? And it might be something that is already happening?"

"What?"

"Alright, please leave, Rimuru." Artoria slightly nudged and pushed Rimuru out of the room before closing the door. 'Finally. Now it's just me and Shuna.'

For now, she planned to keep fighting. But only until she faced Masayuki. If she did, then it would be the perfect excuse for her to lose. Nobody would ever doubt the "Lightspeed Hero", although Artoria thought that was an unfortunate nickname in a certain sense.