Oh no... I dodged it by accident.
The arena, transformed into scorched earth in an instant by a large-scale offensive spell. Amid the swirling clouds of dust, Little Fox stood at a loss, not knowing what to do.
Clahi's offensive spell had been incredibly powerful. Little Fox wasn't particularly skilled in that area, but everything about it came together perfectly. As far as offensive spells used against humans went, it was exceptional.
The mana residing in Clahi's body was specialized for lightning magic. That meant he shouldn't have been able to use magic of other attributes very well.
His Treasure Weapon staff was specialized in amplifying lightning mana. If he tried to use other magic with that staff, not only would the spell fail to activate — he'd suffer a painful backlash.
And his magic was extremely efficient at generating lightning by disturbing the atmosphere. It had absolutely no precision, but the fact that he could continuously cause destruction on this scale was precisely because the technique was extremely efficient in that regard.
In that sense, Clahi Andrich was, from start to finish, nothing more or less than a lightning Mage.
Despite having wrought such destruction, Clahi looked bewildered, opening and closing his palm repeatedly.
"No — there's a discrepancy in my control? My body might be... hesitating to defeat you? But lightning magic should still hit even with some margin of error... Guess there's no point thinking about it."
He should have been defeated, under normal circumstances.
Clahi's attack was more than enough in both power and range from an outside perspective. The moment he'd declared himself an impostor, he should have gone down.
It was pure reflex. Little Fox actually wasn't very good with lightning. That was an instinct she'd possessed as a living creature, before being reproduced as a Phantom.
Moreover, Little Fox wasn't in peak condition. The outside world had far too little Mana Material. Getting hit by that lightning would have hurt quite a bit.
Clahi Andrich spun his staff in a circle, pointing it toward her.
"If ten lightning strikes are dodged, then a hundred! If a hundred are dodged, then a thousand! Take this! Lightning Flowers that Fill a Thousand Skies!"
As if answering his voice, light and sound descended from the heavens. Being able to read her opponent's heart, Little Fox understood.
This man — he wasn't aiming for her.
He intended to burn the entire arena with lightning. Who knew humans could be such terrifying creatures — even a divine mother would at least aim at her enemy.
Weren't humans supposed to be creatures of wisdom?
Still, she couldn't counterattack. Little Fox had come here intending to deceive, and besides, she barely had any means of attack to begin with.
The purpose of the Phantom of the Wanderer's Lodge was to confuse, not to kill. Even if killing happened as a result, it couldn't be one-sided or direct.
Attacking was definitely out. She had to find another way — Somehow... somehow, she had to avoid defeat. She had to hurry, or the technique she'd used on Kikikan would wear off.
Facing the clearly excessive lightning that filled the world, Little Fox stepped forward in desperation.
§ § § As if their earlier, nonsensical exchange had been a lie, the battle was now a breathless exchange of blows.
Everyone stared intently at the dust-shrouded arena. The first lightning strike had been one thing, but the continuous lightning that now rained down over the entire arena looked more like divine judgment than the technique of a single Mage.
Tino had initially been confused — first by the confident impostor, then by the Master who'd apparently declared himself an impostor for some reason. But witnessing this battle firsthand, those extraneous thoughts naturally melted away.
Clahi Andrich. He had a name strikingly similar to the Master's, but he was no ordinary fighter. Both his attack speed and power were top-class, as expected of someone permitted to compete in the Martial Emperor Festival. If Tino were to fight him, it would come down to a race — whether Tino could land a kick on Clahi before Clahi finished casting a spell.
In terms of pure lightning power, he was undoubtedly stronger than Arnold from the other day. Give him even a single opening and he wouldn't let you close the distance.
But the Master's response to all of this was nothing short of extraordinary.
Hard to see through the dust, but the Master had — moved forward.
"He's... dodging the lightning?"
It was an absurd sight. The speed of a lightning bolt was, sure, slower than light, but it wasn't something human reflexes could dodge. Simply avoiding it by a hair's breadth shouldn't have been enough to escape the shock damage alone.
Yet the Master ran calmly through the falling lightning. From the outside, it almost looked like the lightning was dodging the Master. It was precisely the kind of technique worthy of a Level 8 — a feat that surpassed even the cleverest strategies.
Clahi's magic had exceeded expectations, momentarily surprising her, but the advantage still lay with the Master's side.
As Tino seriously considered this, Citry-nee-sama, sitting nearby, spoke up: "Mm... That's the impostor, isn't it? I see — the impostor from the kitchen that time was for this purpose—"
"Huh!?"
Tino's eyes went wide, and the onee-sama sitting next to her voiced her agreement.
"Right? Kurai-chan wouldn't run like that. Kurai-chan doesn't really like running."
"Interfering with the opponent's technique...? Deflecting them? ...How could someone do something like that? It doesn't seem like magic—"
"That's gotta be from training! I could handle taking hits, but dodging lightning is awesome — I wanna learn that too!"
"......Mm-hmm."
From the opinions of Onee-sama Lucia, Big Brother Luke, and the others, it seemed that really wasn't the Master.
Tino checked the arena once more. From a distance, it looked like only the Master to her eyes. The godlike quality of the movements was just like the Master too, but if the onee-samas said so, then it probably wasn't.
Her mind went blank for an instant. And the words that naturally escaped her lips carried a note of resignation.
"Ah... So this is the trial for this round..."
Master, the Martial Emperor Festival has a strict no-substitute policy... What a grand stage to waste on a stand-in. Not to mention, substitutes are absolutely out of the question at any tournament.
But now that it was mentioned, the Master had said, "I won't be participating."
She'd thought it was some kind of metaphor, but apparently he'd meant it literally — Mastaa, where on earth did you find someone who looks so similar?
She leaned forward, straining her eyes.
But the Master's substitute was performing surprisingly well. As if by a miracle, the impostor Master dodged the lightning while closing in — and Clahi Andrich actually laughed.
"That's it — give it everything! Can you dodge this?! 'Arrow of Lightning'!"
Without a moment's delay, countless lightning magic arrows materialized and struck at the impostor Master.
Arrow magic was among the most basic offensive spells. But lightning magic was difficult to begin with, and Clahi was firing arrows while simultaneously calling down lightning.
The similar name was annoying, but she could understand him calling himself the Lightning Emperor — he was that skilled with lightning. Even Ark Rodan probably couldn't manipulate lightning to this degree. Well, he was a magic swordsman, so it was different from a pure Mage— The impostor Master dodged the arrows flying toward his feet at high speed by leaping. But that was clearly a bad move.
No matter how powerful you were, dodging an attack midair was — supremely difficult.
Clahi had probably anticipated this very scenario. The tip of his staff was aimed at Kurai in midair. And Clahi shouted, his voice brimming with emotion: "I've been waiting for this moment, Kurai! Accept the power of heaven — 'Lightning Spear of Heavenly Extinction: Divine Blossom'!!"
"...An original spell, I see," Onee-sama Lucia muttered, exasperated.
A spear materialized at the tip of his staff. A spear of lightning, wreathed in purple arcs. But its texture wasn't that of mere energy — it gleamed like metal.
A compressed mass of mana. Just as Mana Material converged to create the substance known as a Treasure Weapon, the power had been compressed so extremely that it generated a physical texture.
A spear that radiated a mystical glow. If it already possessed more than enough destructive power at the lightning bolt stage, how devastating would it be compressed like this?
Even a high-Level Hunter who had allocated Mana Material to defense would surely die if they took that hit head-on.
The lethal blow was fired without hesitation toward the Master in midair.
And — the impostor Master created an identical spear to meet it.
"!?!?!"
Inside the dust clouds, glowing spear collided with glowing spear. The clash and aftershock of destructive energy caused Tino to distinctly hear the barrier protecting the spectator seats crack with a fragile sound.
Screams rose from the stands but were quickly drowned out. The energy's aftershock — light, impact, and heat swept over the audience. Anthem, the other Hunters in the front row, and the operational Mages on standby rose up to suppress it.
The dust clouds blew away. The lightning had already stopped. Swirling clouds hovered overhead.
And what came into Tino's view was— "No way... You replicated my original magic in that instant? The same timing, and without a staff — how incredible are you?"
There stood Clahi Andrich in the center of the scorched, battered arena, and the impostor Master collapsed against the wall.
The screams from the audience subsided. Clahi Andrich looked at his staff and said, his expression serious: "Did you copy my original magic in that single instant? Without this staff — I would have lost. It's as if you're my mirror image. ...No, that's rude of me to say."
Ah, Mastaa... My entire fortune really is going to disappear this time, isn't it?
The audience was in an uproar over the violently intense battle that had unfolded since the first round. Klyus, who had bet his entire fortune alongside Tino at her suggestion, had gone pale.
But the match was already decided. Even if it was the impostor, she couldn't imagine anyone standing back up after taking that hit. In fact, the impostor Master apparently hadn't been able to transcend lightning attacks the way the real Master could.
If the real Master had been competing, he would have won for sure... It was frustrating, but she couldn't expose the impostor. Sending a substitute was — probably more disgraceful than the real thing showing up and losing.
Clahi called out in a clear, carrying voice: "Referee. He can't get up anymore. He cancelled out my attack — but only because his form held. Truly impressive. Kurai fought well. Get a doctor over here."
At his words, the referee finally stirred as if remembering his duties. Standby doctors and Mages rushed to the collapsed impostor.
And then Tino saw— —The entrance. From behind a pillar, the real Master peeked out just his head, blinking rapidly.
The impostor lay collapsed on the ground, surrounded by medical personnel. Two Mastas. Which one was real needed no explanation.
The real Mastaa was, unusually, looking flustered. She had no idea what he was doing showing up now, but he was looking around shiftily, his behavior suspicious.
Was he panicking? Searching for something? Or could it be that he hadn't expected the defeat either?
In the lingering aftermath of the fierce battle, no one had noticed yet, but it was only a matter of time before someone did.
"Oh, it's Kurai-chan."
Onee-sama had noticed too, speaking in a light tone. She'd been looking forward to the Master's fight as well, yet there was almost no exasperation in her voice.
But Tino was different.
Mastaa... This time, you'd better reflect properly! I'll say what needs to be said when it needs to be said! I absolutely will!
She might get half-killed by Onee-sama for it, but this time, she was going to speak up. Tino had truly been looking forward to watching the Master's fight.
But looking at it now, the real Mastaa was the Master through and through. Thinking back, the impostor's attitude had been just a touch too brazen compared to the real thing.
Of course, she didn't dislike a brazen Master, but when you compared them side by side, the difference was clear as day.
How did he plan to wriggle out of this? Showing up now — was there some deeper strategy? He wouldn't appear without reason. It wasn't like he was here for a rematch— —That was the moment "It" fell from the sky into the arena.
It appeared without any attempt at concealment. Amid countless stares, it descended like a falling leaf and alighted soundlessly on the ground behind Clahi.
Confusion rippled through the audience, still buzzing from the white-hot battle.
It was a human. A tall figure in jet-black robes. But an ordinary human didn't simply fall from the sky.
Its face was — covered by a white fox mask.
Sensing the presence, Clahi turned around.
For an instant, his eyes widened at the suspicious intruder, but Clahi showed no hesitation as he approached the man and spoke: "What's this? Who are you? Where did you come from? Sorry, but the next match is—"
"Enough... talking. There's no need... to say anything more. 'Thousand Transformations.' Now... die."
The fox-masked man in tattered black robes swung his arm high.