Chapter 9:

Curse 9: A land slide victory

Mors Regina

"For a brat, you sure can talk a lot of shit, you know," the mohawk guy said, shrugging his shoulders. "I'll correct myself and say that you weren't the weak-minded fool I originally thought you were. You have skill, and you seem determined to fight for what seems right to you!"

Peri didn't respond, only staring daggers at him.

Seeing the sign, the mohawk continued: "In hindsight, if you were to continue to duel me regularly, you could've won. Your skill seems worthy of a knight. However!"

The mohawk grinned and aimed his blade at Peri. "Experience makes the difference! And that's why you'll lose!"

Leap!

The mohawk leaped into the air, his blade catching the sun to show how sharp it was.

"I'm not all talk! I've got at least a trick up my sleeve!"

With that final statement, the mohawk disappeared into thin air.

Boing! Boing! Boing!

The mohawk's body was bouncing around like a rubber ball, ricocheting unpredictably. Spreading everywhere, the mohawk guy made sure that Peri couldn't keep up with his eyes.

I see.

He was also smart and not making the same mistake again. Using your speed, creating afterimages of yourself, and making sure to get your opponent to second-guess?

I'd admit, I underestimated the guy a little.

The smart thing about his speed was that he stayed within the range of the field. Because if he touched outside the range once, the duel would go to Peri.

"I underestimated you. I should've gone serious instead of joking around. You have the eyes of a warrior. However, your strength is built on dreams. You won't be a knight if that's why you're battling. Sacrifices are needed!" The mohawk's voice echoed throughout the field.

"He's fast. I can't see him with my eyes." Sedatus muttered.

"He's a perv, but I could see that he could stand his ground if he's serious," Laetus admitted.

"Yeah, no doubt about it. I suppose he would've used force if I rejected his offer." I commented as well.

"Think you would've lost?" Laetus asked curiously.

"I wonder. Look at Peri to get your answer, Laetus." I smiled.

Laetus looked back at Peri.

She blinked, not seeming to understand what was going on.

Peri wasn't moving from that one spot. His eyes weren't trying to follow the mohawk fellow.

And there was a reason for that.

"See? Peri has already figured out his opponent. He's so amazing..."

Unlike me, he had dreams, goals, and had already made up his mind. The only thing I had was a goal.

No dreams.

No way to make up my mind.

But this wasn't the time to think about that. Peri was about to make his move. All he needed was one opening.

Boing! Boing! Boing!

The mohawk was jumping faster and faster.

He was practically a blur every time he appeared within our sight. The mohawk had years of training. He could control his speed without any magic.

However...

"Alright! Time to see if you can dodge this!" the mohawk shouted.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

"From behind," I spoke out loud.

"Huh?" Laetus and Sedatus looked at me.

"He'll appear from behind," I repeated.

And just like I predicted, he did appear from behind. And one might think that'd be all to the mohawk's attack. However, it was a fake-out.

Peri looked behind, moved his hand an inch.

That made the mohawk smirk and disappear.

"He's gone again?!" Laetus sounded shocked.

"No." I looked up. "He's just in the air."

"No way!" Laetus's jaw dropped.

"This guy might be tough to beat," Sedatus commented with his hands in his pockets.

"Indeed. For other people..." I whispered.

I looked back at Peri.

"But if I know Peri..."

Dash!

The mohawk seemed to stomp through the air and was coming as fast as a horse that had a magic crest installed on it.

"Where are you looking?!" the mohawk mocked Peri.

"Perfect," Peri said calmly.

"Huh?" The mohawk raised both of his brows.

Whoosh!

Peri swiftly raised the broken sword up in the air, aiming specifically at the mohawk's chest area.

The mohawk guy tried to cut his speed in half by flapping his arms like a bird. But unfortunately, it was a bit too late. Thanks to the weight of his muscles, his body was falling like a heavy boulder.

The mohawk's body hit the tip of the broken sword—

Boom!

It was a bit fast, but Peri used the weight of the mohawk guy and tossed him to an empty seating area of the stadium. Leaving nothing but a pile of smoke and dust.

To others, it was over in a blink of an eye.

But to me, I saw it clearly: Peri shifted his weight, let the mohawk's momentum carry him onto the broken sword, aimed for the empty seats, and hurled the man as hard as he could.

I glanced at the empty area.

The cloud of smoke seemed to be clearing out.

"Yup..." I began.

The cloud finally cleared, and we could all see the mohawk was unconscious. His eyes had turned fully white.

"... It's Peri's victory." I laughed.

'What?'

'It can't be?'

'That young lad used only the broken part of the sword and won?!'

'He must've used strong magic! He cheated!'

And, as expected, the knights in training were speaking nonsense to cope with the conclusion.

"Huh. So he was telling the truth about being ready to be a knight..." Sedatus gave a small smile.

"Whoa! It's like when we were kids once more! Peritia is one amazing guy!" Laetus's face was beaming, forming both of her fists excitedly.

"That's it! The duel is over!" The prince shouted with both hands in the air. He gestured with his right hand at Peri. "The winner is Sir Peritia!"

"Hmph!" Peri tossed the broken sword in the air lightly and then caught it easily. "Of course! What do you expect from a hero of justice?"

"And as promised, his girlfriend won't be married!" The prince shouted.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Peri blushed as he shouted angrily at the prince.

"Ah. Sorry, sorry!" The prince raised both of his hands as a sign of surrender and apologized to Peri.

Peri grunted and scratched his red, spiky hair.

He looked at me and gave a thumbs up.

I giggled and gave him a thumbs up as well.

But still...

I wondered where that person who pushed him went.

I looked back at the area where the mohawk guy had fallen.

Huh?

And to my surprise, I saw a person with long brown hair appearing in front of the mohawk. He then placed his palm on top of the mohawk's chest—and for a moment, the air around them shimmered.

"What's going on—"

"Hey, Tristis. Is something wrong?" I heard Peri's voice in front of me. That made me look at him.

"Huh? No, I'm just fine." I pointed at the empty area. "But I think the person who pushed—huh?"

The next time I looked at the empty area, the person was gone.

"What are you looking at?" Peri asked me.

I looked back at Peri. "That's funny. The guy from before had vanished."

"Really?" Peri looked at the empty area. "All I see is a perv that got what was coming to him."

"... I see."

I wonder what that's all about?

Oh well. If he's a part of the selection, then we'll see him again, I guess...

"But seriously, Peritia! That was such a wonderful way to beat the perv into next week!" Laetus bumped both fists into the air.

"I gotta say, you were looking pretty cool out there!" Sedatus said coolly and leaned back a bit.

"Thank you! Thank you! I'll be here all week!" Peri joked, bowing down to each of us.

I sighed and shrugged.

"Of course, you beat him. His experience put him higher than you, but since he was showing off while trying to beat you, you were able to read his movements."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Peri grumbled to me.

I lowered my brows and leaned closer to him, using the bar in front of me to keep my balance. "I'm saying that you should've struck him the minute he showed his afterimage!"

"Now hold on! I'm the one who was fighting! And I'm also the one who can fight against magic types as well, unlike you!" Peri stated. He then gave me a smug look and let out a small sigh. "For a girl who's great at fighting and can use any weapon, you suck when someone has magic!"

"T-that's just my current obstacle right now! I could totally fight someone who had magic with them!" I felt my cheeks burning hot.

"Stop lying! You can't even cast a simple fire spell! Which means I rock at something and you suck!" Peri stuck his tongue out at me.

That made my brows lower even more, and I hopped to the other side of the bar to meet this jerk face to face.

"For your information, it's mostly that I prefer not to waste my energy!"

I placed my hand on my chest, feeling even angrier for some reason.

"I'm the one who taught the three of you about basic elements and how to form those magic spells!"

Peri went closer to my face. "Said the woman who couldn't even step outside yesterday to talk to her friends!"

"I was doing incredible research, thank you very much! Something you lack along with your grammar!" I pushed my head against his.

"Who cares about that! I've got my strength to back me up!" Peri barked at me.

"Well, let's settle it on the battlefield, little Peri~!" I gave a smug look.

"You do realize that I'm physically taller than you, right?!" Peri hovered over my body.

"Makes it better to chop down this big tree!" I pressed my index finger on his chest.

"Um..." I heard the prince's voice.

Peri and I looked at him, dumbfounded.

"Can I continue the selection, please? I like both of thy energy, but the knights are getting angry at the two of you for stalling the event..." The prince scratched the side of his face.

Peri and I looked around, and what the prince mentioned was right.

All of the rest of the knights were staring daggers at us.

"... Oops." Peri and I said in a small whisper.

"They should really need to know when to hold back their banter..." Sedatus shook his head while holding it with his left hand.

"Hehe! How cute!" Laetus clapped her hands together in amusement.

Crap! I hope that didn't ruin my chances and make the king mad?!

I looked up to see if the king was angry.

But to my surprise, he was laughing instead of looking annoyed. Did he find Peri and me that funny?

"... Strange." I blinked.

Well, the more you know, I guess.

***

The prince coughed on his fist.

"A-ahem! Sorry about that! Moving on!"

The prince pointed at the sky. "The next duel will be picked by you guys! Just pick whoever you want to fight with, and you shall begin!"

"It could be with anyone?!" The short purple-haired guy asked, looking a bit annoyed.

"Yep! Thou can pick thy next opponent!" The prince nodded to the purple-haired guy.

"Perfect! Then..." he looked at me in anger. "I want her to be my opponent!"

"Huh?" Peri, Laetus, and Sedatus sounded shocked.

I, on the other hand, had gone through this already, so I prepared for that.

But still.

Magic will most likely be included in the match. What can I do to counter that?

I talked big game, but I wasn't sure how strong this guy was. I died in the last timeline before I could even fight him. All because of that Dark Cloak jerk—wait.

"'Visio Mortis'... that'll be your next power due to how close you're getting to your 'peace'."

I narrowed my eyes in frustration.

Goddammit...

There was only one option left before I could continue my match.

And in order to do that, I needed to go to the last place where I 'slept'.

With my hands still shaking at this stupid idea of mine, I slowly smiled and nodded to the purple-haired guy. "Sure! I'll be your next opponent!"

"Excellent!" The purple-haired guy smirked.

"However! I need to pee, so to the toilet for me!" I swiftly announced and quickly grabbed hold of Peri's hands. "Come with me, Peri!"

"H-huh?! What for?!" I saw Peri blush madly.

"Because I'm a defenseless woman that needs a brave knight~!" I said in an innocent voice.

"Right. Now tell me the truth." Peri said seriously to me.

I furrowed my brow at Peri.