A few days had pa.s.sed since Prince Leonard"s party left Avalon.
Fearing the worst, I had ordered R"lyeh Diva and two Ocean Singers to hide in the other dimension and follow the prince so that they could observe and, if need be, protect him.
Furthermore, I had arranged to send five Avalon-Ritters via air transport to the outskirts of the Axela capital and have those units hide there until Ruru felt the need to summon them via a transmitter.
With these preparations in place, so long as it wasn"t anything too major, Prince Leonard would remain alive and safe. Even if countless a.s.sa.s.sins were dispatched after the prince, none would even notice.
According to Ruru"s reports, the prince"s preparations seemed to be going well.
As for me…
I was in my room, readying myself for my trip out with Kuina.
"Today"s the day Kuina"s gonna fight Fel-chan!"
"I"ve already told you this yesterday, but I"m going with you today."
"Yay~ ♪! I"ll show Oto-san lots of cool things!"
Our destination today was the [Time] Demon Lord"s Arena where Kuina was doing her special training.
Kuina was Avalon"s strongest combatant, so it was undoubtedly important that I see for myself the new strength she had found.
To my knowledge, her training consisted of regular fights with Fel, one of the [Time] Demon Lord"s monsters.
Considering that the [Time] Demon Lord"s Arena could turn back time and reverse all wounds, they could go all out without fearing any risks. And since they didn"t have to hold back—which they had to do when sparring the normal way with others because they were just too strong—it apparently had led to tremendous growth for the two.
"Kuina"s just ahead by one win! If Kuina loses today, it"ll be a tie again, so Kuina has to absolutely win!"
Perhaps it was a sign of her motivation, but her beautiful fox tail pointed skyward. Finding that to be amusing, I smiled wryly.
While we were like that, a knock came from the Carriage"s door.
"Kuina, I"ve come to get you! You better be thankful."
Speak of the devil.
It was Fel, the girl who looked exactly like Kuina except for her wolf tail and ears.
When she saw me, a great smile appeared on her face.
"Master, it"s been a while! Kuina told me you were coming today. I"m gonna show you lots of cool things!"
She said the exact same thing Kuina said.
The two really are like sisters.
I thought so and laughed.
"Haha. I"ll look forward to it, then."
I was of course rooting for Kuina, but there was no need to voice it out.
Fel had been coming every week to fetch the Avalon wine I had promised to the [Time] Demon Lord and some other items made from the First Tree"s golden apples.
Today was the next scheduled day for such a delivery.
I had been occasionally exchanging letters with the [Time] Demon Lord so I knew he himself had been enjoying and consuming the wine being sent to him. That being said, according to him, less than half of his acc.u.mulated stocks remained after the frequent visits made by the [Dragon] Demon Lord.
At any rate, it was time to go.
As planned, the crow monster that came together with Fel was going to transport the three of us to the [Time] Demon Lord"s Arena.
"Kuina, Fel, wait. I"m also coming along today."
The other person was Rorono.
"How about your work, Rorono-chan? Are they finished?"
"No, they"re not. But coming along with you today is important work as well. Here, take this, Kuina."
What Rorono handed to Kuina was something long that was wrapped in cloth. After receiving the item, Kuina, undid the wrapping.
"Could this be…"
"Yes, I"ve completed it. It"s the EDS-05S Claíomh Solais, the latest shotgun model specially made just for you, Kuina. It"s a weapon specialized for you, to the point that only you can use it."
And so, the thing Rorono handed was a shotgun. It had a certain shade of silver, a sign that it was made with an alloy composed of orichalc.u.m and mithril.
Unlike the previous ED series shotguns which were progressively getting bigger and bigger, this one was rather slender.
"Rorono-chan, I can feel amazing power coming from this kid."
"You"re not the only that has grown, Kuina. I"ve gotten stronger too from the many battles I"ve had. And the stronger I get, the more I can do and make. This weapon was made using that new-found strength. …also, like I said, this weapon was made with you and just you in mind. I focused on increasing the power, but in exchange, handling it has become much more difficult than previous iterations. If it"s you though, I"m sure you"ll manage."
"Yay~ ♪! Thank you, Rorono-chan!"
Kuina said so and then embraced Rorono.
Due to the difference in their physiques though, Rorono was put off balance and they fell down.
"Thank me later. That brings me to why I"m coming along today: I need to verify its performance in an actual battle. Kuina, use it as you wish. Don"t hold back."
"Understood! Leave it to Kuina!"
"Would you like some explanations about it?"
"Nope, I"m good! The moment I held it, I heard this kid"s voice! It wants to go wild!"
"Mhm. Then, as you said, I"ll leave it to you."
The new weapon Rorono made certainly made things more exciting.
What kind of effects does it have? I have to see it with my own eyes.
Meanwhile, Fel looked envious.
I wanted to make her happy, but obviously, making and then handing out another weapon wasn"t a real option.
Nevertheless, Kuina"s new shotgun gave her quite the advantage in their upcoming fight.
◇
And so, the crow monster transported us to the hidden room in the [Time] Demon Lord"s dungeon where the interconnecting Transfer array was. From there, the crow monster used Transfer again, this time transporting us to the Arena.
There, a gigantic stone stage was set in the center, serving as the ring for the combatants. Audience seats were also prepared around the said ring. It was completely like the Colosseum.
Stretched around the ring was a powerful barrier. By activating it, everything except the memories of those within would revert back to their state when they entered the ring. Due to that, the combatants within could fight even to the death at no risk at all. To top it off, they were able to learn and gain valuable experience from such a fight.
"I"m as envious as ever."
I wanted one in Avalon, but it was just impossible. The barrier was a product of the [Time] Demon Lord"s ability. There was no way we could replicate it.
"Kuina, let"s go!"
"Okay! Oto-san, we"re going!"
Like that, the two that were like sisters headed to the ring with their tails swinging. Kuina with her light brown fox tail and Fel with her white wolf tail.
Even though they were about to fight to the death, the two were still very friendly to each other.
"Master, let"s go as well. To the spectators" seats."
"Yeah, we have to properly watch Kuina and your weapon"s performance, after all… nevertheless, there sure are many monsters who have come to watch, aren"t there?"
The spectators" seats were overflowing with the [Time] Demon Lord"s monsters. I knew there were going to be other spectators but I didn"t expect it to be this many.
Among them were some tough-looking men that were cheering for Fel while waving a flag that had her face on it.
"Fel-tan, do your best!!! Ojii-chan"s cheering for you! If you win, I"ll give you lots of candy!!"
I feel like I"ve seen him somewhere… ah, it was the old dragon that Fel called annoying.
Or more formally, it was one of the [Chronos Knights].
Fel looked to its direction and made a displeased face. I know how it feels to be on the receiving end of that expression.
This monster might appear to be miserable at the moment, but without a doubt, it was hiding tremendous power within.
The other monsters in the spectators" seats also held tremendous power that was enough to intimidate me just by looking at them.
Just by sight alone, I could tell that the other monsters in the spectators" seats also held tremendous and intimidating power.
Did the whole of the [Chronos Knights] came to cheer? But then, wouldn"t it be better to rename their group into the [Fel Fan club]?
While I was thinking of such, I felt a presence behind me.
"Are you surprised, Procell? Felsias is popular among my monsters and your Kuina has been getting popular too as of late. The two aren"t just cute, they"re spectacular in battle too. It"s to be of no surprise then that my monsters are so engrossed in watching the two fight, don"t you think? At any rate, the two have been greatly helping and supporting each other. For helping Felsias grow, you have some of my thanks."
When I turned around to look at the source of the voice, I found that it came from [Time] Demon Lord Dantalian.
He was dressed more casually than usual, wearing trousers and a black, stylish shirt.
"Oh. Dantalian. You came to watch too?"
Typically, I spoke respectfully toward older Demon Lords. However, according to the [Time] Demon Lord himself, a rival to Marcho speaking to him in such way made him feel uncomfortable and he rather I spoke to him casually.
"I won"t miss such a fun show. I heard you were coming today, so I prepared us some special seats. Why don"t we enjoy our daughters" fight from there?"
He asked so and smiled.
◇
The special seats were located in the uppermost section of the audience seats.
Thanks to magic, we were able to listen to the sound coming from the ring, so the watching experience was very immersive. Binoculars proved helpful too.
"Now then, Procell, shall we bet on who wins this fight? Let"s see. How about whoever wins the bet gets to ask the loser any question?"
Even if I wanted to, I knew I couldn"t refuse to partic.i.p.ate.
Well, I wanted to ask him something about the [Black] Demon Lord, anyway.
"Sounds fun. I"ll play."
"Naturally, I"ll bet on Felsias."
"And I on Kuina."
It was the only choice for both me and Dantalian. We both believed in our daughters and expected them to win against the other.
And then, I suddenly asked him something that I had been curious in for quite some time.
"Is Fel part of the [Chronos Knights]?"
The [Chronos Knights] might seem like a pitiful group of monsters cheering for Fel, but originally, they were the [Time] Demon Lord"s most elite corps.
As such, it just seemed natural that Fel was one of them.
"She will be soon enough. You see, to become one of the [Chronos Knights], one must first defeat a current member and take their spot. Felsias has already tried and failed though. Which couldn"t really be helped when she has challenged the strongest of them. Once one has failed to win, they would have to wait half a year for another chance. In that next try half a year later, Felsias will doubtlessly challenge the strongest again. I fully believe that next time, she will prevail."
He said so while looking at Fel who was focusing on her upcoming fight. His eyes as he looked at her were filled with love, tenderness, and expectations.
I wanted to criticize him for being such a doting parent, but that would have made me a hypocrite as I was quite one myself.
"Please notify me when Fel has become a member of the [Chronos Knights]. I"d like to congratulate her."
"Understood. I think Fel would like that, so I"ll do as you say. But let me make things clear: if you use celebrating as an excuse and do something weird to her, I will f.u.c.king kill you."
His eyes were serious.
I had already proven myself guilty of such a thing, so there was really nothing I could say.
"The fight"s about to begin soon. Let"s find out whether it"s my Felsias or your Kuina that is stronger."
Just as he said, Kuina and Fel had just finished their preparations for the fight.
Their willpower and magic power were already clashing in the ring.
The two were special S rank monsters who were both made using three original A rank medals.
It was strongest versus strongest.
The fight I was going to see was most likely beyond human imagination.
I myself could hardly hold down my excitement for the fight.
And so, a sound rung in the [Time] Demon Lord"s ring, signaling the start of the battle between the world"s strongest sisters.