Noble Phantasm, Deploy

The Ganesha Familia members saw that Tavian still had no intention of backing down.

They immediately began moving the spectators away.

The spot where Raya and the newcomer stood was cleared into a rough circle, turning the city gate into the center of an improvised dueling ground.

When Raya saw that, he knew he could not afford to pull his punches.

"My name is Raya."

"I am a member of the Ganesha Familia."

"Brat, what's yours?"

Raya gave his name first.

"Tavian Ashford."

"Right now, I'm training to become a first-rate warrior."

When Raya heard the newcomer give his name, then heard that absurd goal, he could only feel that the kid in front of him had no sense of what he was getting into.

"Hmph. A warrior, huh? Then let me teach you what a warrior is," Raya said. "My companions will referee. For the record, the Ganesha Familia has plenty of experience handling fair duels in Orario."

Tavian did not rise to the provocation.

It was bait, nothing more.

At the moment, he was still starting with the basics of becoming a warrior.

But when the other man mentioned a referee, Tavian simply nodded. "Works for me."

One of the guards hurried out.

"Then I'll referee."

"This duel will be between Raya of the Ganesha Familia..."

"And Tavian Ashford, a newcomer who has just arrived in Labyrinth City Orario."

"Victory will be decided when one side falls, or when either participant verbally admits defeat."

"Any objections?"

The Ganesha guard serving as referee looked between his companion and the newcomer, waiting for both sides to agree.

Raya and Tavian nodded at the same time.

Neither of them had any objection.

The whole thing had sprung up too fast for anything more formal.

"Then the duel begins now!" the referee shouted.

The moment the order rang out, Tavian showed the first glimpse of his impossible ability.

"Noble Phantasm, deploy!"

His roar cut through the gate.

"What?"

Raya froze.

'What the hell? Why is he shouting that loud?'

Tavian ignored his sudden confusion and closed his eyes.

The chant spilled from his mouth.

"Artemis!"

"Lend me your power!"

With those two lines, a bright light ignited around him.

His body rose until he floated a meter above the ground.

High overhead, a beautiful goddess with white hair and a long dress slowly descended.

The crowd erupted.

"A goddess?"

"Impossible. He can call a goddess?"

"Artemis? You mean Artemis, goddess of the moon?"

Well, hell. So he could call down a goddess too.

The beautiful figure floating behind Tavian slowly reached out with both hands and wrapped them around his neck in an embrace so gentle it felt unreal.

At the same time, his chant continued.

"As long as I'm with you, I won't lose."

For an instant, he felt that soft embrace against his neck.

"Good. Now let's beat our opponent senseless."

"Artemis' Pure Love."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the daylight sky changed.

Across that pale blue expanse, the starlight of Orion began to shine.

Tavian's whole body turned into a streak of white light and dropped back to the ground.

When the glow faded, the goddess's figure had vanished.

He snapped his eyes open.

"Courage, unshaken!"

"Begin."

The aura around him surged after the Noble Phantasm opened.

Layer after layer of power flooded through his body.

Raya watched the scene and swallowed.

Only now did he realize that this newcomer was not remotely harmless.

The kid had shouted the true name of Artemis, goddess of the moon.

More importantly, the move he had called was Artemis' Pure Love.

Just listen to that. There was gossip baked right into the name.

Only, the moon goddess he had summoned looked strange.

Why had she disappeared the moment the chant ended?

"Hmph. I won't lose!" Raya shouted.

He could not surrender now. He was a child of Lord Ganesha. How could he lower his head to another god?

He charged straight at Tavian.

"Cosmic Martial Arts, secret technique!"

Tavian roared again.

If the chant before had been a goddess invocation, this sudden call of Cosmic Martial Arts, secret technique meant something else entirely.

"What?"

Raya could feel his thoughts struggling to keep up.

His body, however, was already rushing toward Tavian.

"Go!"

Tavian set his fist and threw one punch.

The blow never actually touched Raya.

The force generated by the fist struck first.

Raya was blasted off his feet and slammed into the city wall hard enough to lodge there.

Everyone nearby felt the pressure of the wind wash over their faces.

When they looked at Raya, embedded in the wall after being blown away, the referee, the Familia members, and the passing crowd all opened their mouths and stared.

The impossible scene left them frozen.

Damn.

One punch.

A Level 1 adventurer had been defeated in an instant.

And not just defeated. Flattened.

Before long, awe and fear crept into the way everyone looked at the newcomer.

Tavian was strong.

Strong enough to drop a Level 1 adventurer with a single punch.

And he was still a human with no Falna at all.

"The fight is over."

"Call it."

Tavian straightened his stance and looked toward the referee.

The referee flinched under that glance, then hurried to make the proper declaration.

"The fight is over."

"Winner!"

"Tavian Ashford!"

It was embarrassing, but the opponent was a warrior capable of summoning a goddess. A member of their Familia losing to him did not feel especially shameful.

With so many witnesses watching, the referee had no reason to announce an unfair result.

He swept his arm out and pointed to Tavian as the winner of the match.

"He won?"

"I feel like I'm dreaming."

"Same here."

The crowd still had not caught up.

It had been too fast.

The duel had barely begun before it was already over.

For a moment, no one could quite accept what they had just seen.

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