Volume 2 Chapter 6 (1/2)

Even in the e heat and activity were obvious from the outside

The special stage this ti area of the harbor sightseeing district

The elliptical wall surrounding the entire stadiuates, but I wasn't led to any one of them I used a staff entrance

The stadium could hold more than 4 million people

And that meant this Colosseunition to fill those seats

Instead of the stands up above, ere in a space that see practice space and continued into the team locker room

Lockers lined the walls and a bench ran down the center

Itou Helen aiting in her witch outfit and with her glass wand

”Itou-san”

”…Senpai”

I doubted it was just the cheap fluorescent lightsher face look so pale I didn't even need to see the cold sweat on her sh The dae in the 2nd round had reached the core of her body and it had stuck with her

”It'll be over soon,” I said

I sensed that I needed e her

”I've found the Bright Cross's Achilles' heel I can et through the 3rd round So, Itou-san, be honest with me …How bad are your injuries?”

”I'm fine I-…”

I didn't let her finish

Without warning, I lightly touched her side through the cape wrapped around her body That here Hanesaki Minori had beaten her so harshly the night before

The touch was as light as the stroke of a feather

But Itou Helen's shoulders reacted by dra upwards

”Ah, ghhh!?”

”…I knew it”

I did my best to keep the emotion from my face as I spoke slowly

”That must hurt a lot Is this…broken?”

”…I-it's better than it could be The ribs are at least properly connected”

The sirl tearfully answered

So was it like the grooves in a chocolate bar? They were connected, but it wasn't perfect, so even the slightest shock would cause them to break

”Does anything else in particular hurt?”

”Not really…”

”If you won't tell me, I'll touch all over your body to find the answer”

”O-okyay! I'll tell you!!”

Itou Helen blushed, rubbed her risqué bare legs together, and trembled as she counted off each injured place with her slender fingers

There were a lot of them

In fact, her red- two metal clubs barehanded was too much even for a witch

And when her life was on the line, the dark elf's teaain and again

…As would the siht Cross

”Maxwell”

”Sure Without accurate equipment, I can only base this on her self-analysis, but Itou Helen can likely only produce 65 of her physical ability”

The nuht not mean much to you, but thatfull speed would not look at all like full speed If she grappled with soht just collapse from within

”So I guess we can't let her get close to Muramatsu Yukie the Dark Elf”

”Sure Also, her opponent will likely actively target the injured areas But if we know that in advance, we can take advantage of it”

”Oh, I get it If she puts a poison stinger there…”

Of course, it would be best not to take any e to those injured areas But if that was not an option, ould need to knock out our opponent as quickly as possible And if the other side learned about the poison stingers, she ht hesitate to attack

The blue bunny girl's voice rang from the speaker on the wall

”Pin pon pon poooon! Okay, okay All related individuals, please hurry to the special stage Let's go all out and provide the hottest form of entertainment around!!”

”…This isn't going to be an easy battle,” I honestly admitted ”But if they set up this ridiculous situation, it ht Cross are the ones in a bind here So let's overcome this 3rd round”

”Right If you say so, Senpai”

An official guided us down a long, long passageway

Our information on the dark elf felt inadequate because I had been so focused on the supercomputer And unlike vampires or zombies, the amount of texts on theiven me were elflock and elfshot

Tying up a person's hair or a horse's mane

Wielding an invisible flint arrow or fire iron to cause mysterious, intense pain

”Is that so…?”

The blonde girl in a witch's hat sounded impressed, but to be honest, this poould not have see had Itou Helen been healthy A potion that rehtening

The lingering dae was the worst part by far

The Five Battles Precipice The dened that weighed on me like a heavy shadow

Then we arrived at the stadiuate

We had yet to enter, but the loud cheering reached us as a vibration The blue bunny girl was probably getting the croorked up with her ularly rising and falling like a wave

”Let's get started”

”Yes Let's do this, Senpai”

We faced hell together

The Colosseuht to the death with Mura

”Ladies and gentlemen! If you look in this corner, you'll see Itou Helen the Witch who is our repeating chairly face when she started!? Now all I see is awitch! I hope you're all ready to fill your wallets tonight as well!”

The light was dreadfully bright and the deluge of sound shook iant die-shaped bug cage in the center of the field and she held a mic to her hot mouth to increase the madness of the audience

I glanced over at Itou Helen

She pulled her feathered witch's hat deep over her eyes to hide her expression This was not soet used to I could tell her s crushed by thepassionate cheers of the audience

”And in this corner we have Muramatsu Yukie the Dark Elf! Will this unknoco to happen in the world of ga broke But either way, let's see what happens!”

The concentrated fire of the bright spotlights revealed a sirl She had brown skin that looked well-tanned and long, silver hair She wore a thin, white sleeveless blouse and a tight skirt The fabric must have been really thin because the brown of her skin showed through the white in places For shoes, she wore long boots that rose past her knees …And her ears were as pointy as you would expect She must have been able to move them at will because they would sometimes shake and point this way and that like a cat's

She carried a quiver at her hip and her left hand held a cobow that looked like a combination of wood and animal tendons

So they weren't even bothering to hide their weapon this time

But as this? The quiver didn't have any of the crucial arrows inside?

The second was a plue I was hardly one to talk, but I had trouble telling what their connection was But if he had made an ene, he couldn't be a bad person They looked nothing alike, but it was possible he was her father or another relative

”By the way, you outdid us again last ti the Archenemy's death”

…Not again

”Froasoline and set alight The corpse rotesque when you take it with you, but you don't mind, do you? It's just a corpse, after all!”

I didn't have the right to object either way We would have to find a way to take advantage of that condition to overcome it

But why?

They could always forbid all tricks or siht to take the corpse with us Why did they leave any possibility at all? Of course, I wasn't about to ask that because I didn't want those big, round eyes to light up as she said, ”Nice idea! Then we'll do that!”

Or were they leaving a gliet more badly injured?

”Senpai, in that case…”

”Yeah Let's overcome it this time too”

I handed her the small earpiece and watched the s behind her

The brown-skinned Archenee

It bothereda hand to one ear

…An earpiece?

The fighter was one thing, but the second shouldn't need one And he didn't seeiven it to hiame was hardly fair, but lives were on the line I wasn't confident I could have resisted the temptation had I been in his shoes

”Warning: I have detected a cyber attack on your s it back”

”Already? Maxwell, how long can you last?”

”It is hard to say In addition to the simple difference in specs, the device cannot be entirely isolated because the line between the smartphone and me and the connection to Itou Helen's earpiece must remain intact”

”Put a pi trap in the blank space of the packets Make it so an atteet them stuck in an infinite calculation”

”Sure Although this will have little effect if the Bright Cross ht and not just simple calculations”

Inside the bug cage, Itou Helen and Muramatsu Yukie faced each other from a distance of a few meters

The blue bunny girl placed a hand on her skinny waist, peered down at the living sacrifices froh the mic

”Now, let's get this night started! Who in: the witch or the dark elf!? The Colosseuins now!!”

A low and deep buzzer sounded like when a cell door opened in a prison

The first to move was Muramatsu Yukie

She took a few steps back and did not hesitate to draw the bowstring All of her htly back

But she didn't seem to have an arrow nocked…?

It was al, but we did not have tilass as not a cane that an old person used to take a walk It was possible that boas in its completed form It could be an occult weapon that borrowed some cruel power for the dark elf

And only one thing came to mind:

”The flint arrow! Elfshot!”

Firing an invisible arrow caused intense pain of unknown cause in whoever it hit

It could split the skin, paralyze the entire body, or create bruises where you don't re

”Maxwell, ht lines and curves!”

”Sure The arrow cannot be visually confirmed, but its size can be calculated fro is drawn There are 5 patterns in all I have discovered a safe spot that dodges all patterns I will display it on the screen footage”

”Itou-sa-…!”

I trailed off as I shouted her name

Itou Helen tried to cautiously move back, but then she tripped

It was obvious what had happened

The straps of her shoes had gotten tangled together like uned cables It was almost like a small child's prank But a skill that prevented anyone fro was too perfect a combination with a projectile weapon!!

”Elflock!? Dammit!!”

It didn't matter how much we predicted if Itou Helen couldn't move

Then soh the air

The reverberating roar sounded like a giant balloon had been pierced by a sharp needle

The blonde girl's s on her back, her body rose more than 20cm from the floor

What…was that?

Not even kicking her in her wounds would cause that dramatic a reaction!

As I watched Itou Helen crash back to the floor, screa to tear her dress, Maxwell gave a warning

”Itou Helen is showing a certain pattern to her ht to protect her right side”

”Oh, no…”

If we could tell that, so could the dark elf's side via the Bright Cross's simulator They would focus their attacks there!

For a brief moment, brown-skinned Muraht skirt to firrip on the bow But we could not ain, she drew the bowstring without nocking an arrow and took accurate aim

This was the elfshot that used a flint arrow

There was no visible blood, but it had to provide an iun This was a horribleher injury

”Maxwell, it doesn't matter if we can see the arrow or not! Find every possible ballistic path Muramatsu Yukie can use from here Then search for a nearby safe zone Itou Helen can roll to in order to avoid them all!”

”Sure I will provide the coordinates”

We supposedly had an accurate evasion spot

I supposedly passed that onto Itou Helen

The witch supposedly worked hard to do as told

And yet

The night out once more Itou Helen's body rolled over, her back arched, and her mouth opened beyond the lis thrashed wildly around

”What happened, Maxwell!?”

”No My ballistic calculations were certain and Itou Helen moved as instructed If she was still hit, then the initial conditions rong Is your opponent using a les?”

If so, there was nothing we could do She was already using invisible arrows, but did this mean they could unpredictably turn any which way as they pursued Itou Helen? There was no e could beat that!

Meanwhile, the dark elf with long, silver hair maintained her stance even in her superior position She kept her distance, spread her legs, and drew the bowstring There still was no arrow No, I just couldn't see it All I could do was glare resentfully inside the bug cage

But, no, wait…

”Maxwell, have you recorded all of Muramatsu Yukie's actions so far? Reanalyze her actions up until she draws the bow We don't have time, so hurry!”

”Sure If you have tiless demands, then please provide more precise instructions”

”Shethe that looks like a quiver She also doesn't reach toward her hips or back The dark elf just reaches for the bow She ignores the part where she grabs an arrow and pulls it out!”

I had no proof of anything

But all I could do noas look into any theory I had

”Perhaps drawing the ic arrows to appear,” suggested Maxwell

”Perhaps But isn't there another possibility? Mura an arrow out of anywhere In fact, there ht not be an invisible arrow at all”

My chat with the Class Rep replayed in the back of my mind

English elves used invisible arrows made of flint to cause mysterious pain in people There was a wide variety of results: cutting the skin like a Ka the body, or mystery bruises

But why that wide variety?

If those were just le phenomenon…

”Maxwell, pay special attention to Mura it Is there some kind of liquid or powder on them?”

”Sure Your smartphone camera is not the most reliable source of infor white on Muraers”

”It could be salt or iron sand It's probably so that conducts electricity”

That would explain the unnatural way Itou Helen moved in response

”The dark elf fires the fine dust she's rubbed on the bowstring and she sends electricity out over that ballistic path! That could suddenly cut the skin, paralyze your body, or create bruises fro It fits all of the Class Rep's info It was an electric shock! That's why your ballistic predictions failed! Recalculate it using a powder and a high-voltage current!!”

The exact voltage and ae current would cause irregular ans and muscles That was obvious from the fact that they were used in medical AEDs And AEDs would warn you not to use thee to their sternum At this rate, Itou Helen's involuntary ans with her own ribs!

”Itou-san! Can you fight back as a jellyfish like we discussed!?”