Dawn of the second day

“BOMB A HEAD, EY!”

“BOMB A HEAD, YO!”

“Ugh.”

“Now is the time to prove your mettle!”

“Don’t leave your stove, get a kettle!”

“No time to safe, no time to ****!”

“Yo, yo, yo! FIGHT! Ey, Ey, Ey! FIGHT!"

The extremely obnoxious melody grated at my ears. I blindly fumbled for my remote to turn this so called music off. I had to admit, it did made for a very effective alarm clock though.

“PAM PA RAM PAM PAM PA RAM!”

“PAM PA RAM PAM PAM PA…zup!”

Finally.

Blinking a few times to get my bearings I gazed towards the window. The sun was already up and today would shape up to become another bright early summer day to herald in the second day of the tournament.

“hmm...yo...yo...yo...fight...pam...pa..ram”

Aiju was softly mumbling in her sleep. She held me in a full body embrace, so getting out of there without waking her proved to be a challenge.

“Hm...Mari...?”

“Ah, it’s ok, go back to...” I managed to catch myself. I really need to be careful with my wording. “I have to prepare for my match. Do you want to come along?”

Aiju yawned once loudly as response. “Too tired for that.” And retreated back under the covers. I suppose her clingy nature does not apply when she’s sleepy. Still, I made sure to tell her to watch my fight on magic vision, so that if I, against all odds, would indeed become a **** she could escape quickly.

While I had the second fight of the day, this one would actually start over an hour later, compared to my match in the first round. This was due to the fact that a number of fights yesterday ended in a timeout.

Hence I had plenty of time for a much needed shower,(Aiju interrupted it) and a small breakfast before I made my way over the fighter’s way to my assigned waiting room. Beatrice was nowhere to be seen(good), but there was a girl in heavy knight's armor as well as an armored man with a comically huge shield.

Huh, so there are male fighters in the tournament. I almost thought they were a myth.

The two seemed approachable enough, so I decided to opt for some smalltalk.

“Wuah! Who goes there!” The girl shrieked and almost jumped back as I approached. “Approach no closer, evildoer! Or I shall smite thee!”

Oh. I was wrong. As everyone else in this tournament, these two where probably insane.

“Calm yourself, Sanakia”, the guy with the big shield had a rather refreshing voice, “You mustn't be so distrustful.”

“W-well, from my point of view, you are too trustful, Sir Mueller!”, the girl countered, eyeing me suspiciously. “Just look at him! He looks...evil.”

Geez, thanks.

The shield knight smiled gently. “Sanakia, we mustn’t judge others by their appearances. A villains countenance he may bear, but below that dastardly visage may beat the most noblest of hearts.”

I could not tell if this guy was mocking or praising me and I hated it.

“But Sir Mueller,” the girl objected further. “This is the amber assassin! He murdered his way into this tournament! I heard it on magic vision so it must be true!”

THANKS BEN.

“I am not an assassin”, I stated with as much grace as I could muster. “Believe me, I wish I was given any other title.”

“I do.” The Shield guy gave a friendly nod. “And I am sure, my companion will as well.”

The girl knight took a very deep breath. “Of course, I shall defer to your judgment, Sir Mueller.”

“I apologize if I startled you”, I lowered my head, hoping to ease the tension a bit.

“I-its fine”, the girl knight replied, somewhat flustered by my apology. “You do not appear to be a villain.”

Well, that was a complete 180. “I am not”, I confirmed. Although I do own a ****. Yeah, probably better keep that information to myself. “Mari Beta, I am happy to make your acquaintance.” I held my hand out.

The male knight immediately grabbed my hand with a bright, refreshing smile.“Sir Mueller of the Iron-Shield. May the will of the Goddess bring fortune in your battles, Mari Beta!”

“Sanakia, the steadfast!”, The girl replied with a proud salute. “Fortune favors you indeed, since you will not face off with either of us today. However, since you are in Bracket A, our blades may yet cross.”

“That they may”, I replied politely. the shield-guy was one thing, but I seriously doubt I would see the girl knight again after today. From the way she moved in that huge armor of hers to her nervous disposition. This girl was a complete amateur. She must have been extremely lucky with the draw, to even make it to round two.

A loud cheer erupted, highlighting that it was time for the days fighting to begin. Iron Shield lowered his visor and stepped towards the teleporter room. I decided to walk over to the large viewing window. As expected, there she was. Beatrice, my self proclaimed next opponent, if I made it through this round, stood proudly in the arena.

“A witch”, Sanakia didn't even try to hide the disdain in her voice. “A wicked fiend that uses cunning and trickery and lays with devils. It makes no matter, Sir Mueller is a true and noble knight. He will make short work of that wretched creature.”

I wasn't that optimistic. Witches are just about the worst possible match-up for knights. That clunky armor just begs to be pelted at with long range spells. Of course, I wouldn’t be against seeing that haughty witch be brought down a peg, so I am definitely cheering on Sir Mueller.

Ben was just as enthusiastic as yesterday as he announced the first match of the day. His outfit, for that matter, was even more outrageous as before. (a blue one piece school swimsuit for girls) I hate how I thought he looked kinda cute in it.

“Round Two Bracket A Fight 1 Iron shield Mueller vs the Witch of Miracles Beatrice!

“Begin!”

The fight opened as expected, Beatrice teleported herself to the far end of the arena. Iron-shield Mueller's response to that was to...charge directly at her.

“Here it is!”, Sanakia almost squealed. “Sir Mueller’s special technique: the gallant charge!”

I couldn't help but groan internally. Did he learn nothing from Gigantes fight yesterday? This guy is toast.

Beatrice herself seemed quite amused by that gallant, yet unbelievably foolish charge and casually charged up her Black Destruction Beam.

It was the same powerful blast that just yesterday penetrated 6 of the 10 magic barriers and send tournament safety officers into a panicked frenzy. It was absolutely out of the question that any iron shield would be able to withstand it.

Despite that, Mueller dug himself in and guarded with his shield.

A tremendous blast rang through the arena, as the beam impacted upon the shield. A large cloud of sand obscured everyone’s vision but when the spectacle was finally settled, Iron Shield Mueller stood tall and proud.

Beatrice's cry of surprise hailed trough the stadium.

“Foolish witch!” Sanakia beamed with giddy glee. It was kinda adorable actually. “This is the holy shield Excalibur! Blessed by the holy Pope Moulaloux on the holy island of Kawanakajima! Sir Mueller bravely painted it iron to gallantly flummox the wicked witch!”

Indeed, the paint that disguised the magic shield as mere iron had all been vaporized, displaying it's true form. A brilliant and dazzling gold.

“What a cowardly trick!” For the first time, I saw Beatrice lose her smug visage. She was careless. Well, from an opponent with a name like Iron Shield Mueller you probably don't expect all too much.

It felt very pleasant.

“Yield, witch!”, Mueller demanded. “Or I shall smite thee!”

Of course Beatrice did no such thing, but the Black Destruction Beam should have sapped a tremendous amount of her mana. She probably could avoid the knight for a while with teleporting, but that would hardly be enough to run out the clock.

“Very well, then!”, Mueller declared and charged once more. He attacked with his flail, Beatrice cursed and was just barely able to put a magic shield up. It held off his flail, but then Mueller swung his shield around that easily penetrated the barrier and knocked Beatrice to the ground.

“Excalibur belongs to my Lord, the chivalrous Sir D'artagan, the golden Knight”, explained Sanakia with zeal and adoration in her voice. “He occasionally lends it out to me and Sir Mueller so that we may scourge the scum of the continent. No evil magic shall penetrate it.”

That certainly explained how the plucky girl knight made it this far. And it was a grim reminder, that there really was no rule when it came to items. I clutched the black box.

At this point the mighty witch Beatrice was reduced to scurry to safety in the sand while Mueller slowly followed her. The audience held their breath in shock. Is this the end for the famous witch of miracles?

“How pathetic”, even Sanakia couldn’t help but chuckle. “Look at this pitiful agent of evil squirming on the ground! A fitting state for her!”

I had to admit, I felt a bit(ok, a lot) of satisfaction seeing the witch in this pathetic state. I wasn’t counting Beatrice out just yet, but this did look very bad for her.

Because even now Mueller remained vigilant. His shield might protect him, but that was only from one side. The witch might still attempt to teleport to his back for a sneak attack. As such he kept it tight in front of him, making sure to react to any movement. Under these circumstances there was simply very little Beatrice could do.

“Yield”, the knight demanded yet again as he closed in. “This fight is naught but over. Prolonging your suffering is not my desire.”

Yet still, Beatrice remained defiant. What is perhaps to be expected. Yielding would mean becoming his **** after all. Who knows what these church zealots would do to a witch? As much as I love to see her humbled, that was not a faith I wished upon her.

And so Mueller raised his flail yet again.

“Wait!”, Beatrice finally cried out with tears in her eyes. “I-I am willing to yield, but before I do, p-please, I beg thee, for but one boon”

The Iron Shield held his strike. “As the rules of chivalry dictate, I will grant you this boon, provided it is in my power. State your claim, oh witch.”

“Thank you, oh noble night”, the proud witch lowered her head in complete submission. “Please allow me to gaze upon the fair visage of the one who bested me.”

No.

“My visage you say?”

He wouldn't.

“Ha! Ha! But of course! Gaze! Gaze to your hearts content!”

Iron Shield Mueller lowered his shield, opened his visor and showed everyone his perfect jaw-line as well as his dazzling, refreshing smile.

He did.

With what was no doubt the last bit of her mana, Beatrice conjured up a Fire-Laser. While two levels down from Black Destruction Beam, from a short distance it was no less deathly.

It hit Iron Shield Mueller directly in the chiseled visage.

The brave(but very moronic) knight collapsed right then and there with his face melted off. Beatrice didn't even have the strength to stand up until the recovery magic set in and restored both to full vitality.

“The Winner is Beatrice!” Ben announced cheerfully as the witch cackled triumphantly. Her earlier grovelling but a memory.

“W-What fiendish trickery!”, Sanakia cried out in despair. “If the witch would have fought fairly, Sir Mueller would have bested her!”

Well, some would argue that painting your shield grey is pretty fiendish in itself.

But I had no time to debate the ethics of a **** tournament. My own fight was quickly approaching. Leaving the knight to her frustrations I made my way to the teleporter room.