660 That lonely flower (1/2)

There was no need to draw random lots to determine the teams. The Bloodwine Spirit automatically split all the tournament participants into Red Team and Blue Team, along with splitting the two teams into two different starting sections of the island.

The tournament participants had some time to prepare before heading to the starting section.

Seiji and Shika were put on the Blue Team.

Seiji contacted Izawa using a spell and learned that he and Kanna were also put on Blue Team. They then decided to meet up and stick together.

The four of them soon met up and swiftly moved to an ordinary abandoned house in the Blue Team's starting district.

After finishing their preparations, they waited for the battles to begin.

”Sigh… I want to just give up and surrender.” Kanna Fujihara's head was dropping down as she spoke dispiritedly, still in her state of being an idle fish. ”According to what you told me, Seiji, things are going to get pretty bad in this tournament. Shouldn't I just directly surrender for the sake of protecting my life?”

”Master, please be a bit more spirited. It's not allowed to surrender without even trying to fight.” Izawa spoke up before Seiji could even respond.

”I don't like surrendering, either! But didn't Seiji say that things were really serious!? There's even a warship! Who the hell knows just how terrible things will become! Perhaps even this entire island will be sunk by bombs!!” Kanna suddenly snapped in anger.

Izawa looked towards Seiji.

”I don't think so…” Seiji rubbed his chin in contemplation. ”This is a pretty large island. Sinking the entire island shouldn't be that easy.”

”Then it's also possible that the entire island will be bombarded with bombs or even nukes!”

”In the worst-case scenario… perhaps that's possible. But before that happens, there should at least be time for us to escape.”

”I don't want to be like the main character of an action movie, always escaping for my life in the middle of explosions! I'm not someone with the aura of a main character. I'll die! I'll definitely die!” Kanna kept waving her hands wildly. ”I've decided, I'm going to surrender, I'm going to admit defeat right away! No matter what punishment I receive, my life is the most important!!”

”Master…”

”Don't stop me, Ryuuno! I've made up my mind!”

”That lonely flower, standing alone yet not lonely, stubbornly blooming in her beauty…” Izawa suddenly started speaking poetically a line that sounded like it was from some poem.

Kanna's body instantly froze up.

”Even if she is ignored, disdained, looked down upon by the icy wind, she still has her lonely pride, just like myself…”

”Ahhhh! Stop reading that poem!!”

Kanna made pitiful noises as if she had received a severe mental attack.

”Ahhhhh grahhhh!!!!”

Kanna clutched her head with both hands and squirmed all around, making strange sounds as if she was breaking down.

Seiji was stunned by the sight, while Shika simply watched calmly.

”This is a poem that my master wrote when she was young.” Izawa paused in his poetry recital and explained, ”This poem's name is—”

”Ahh gahhh shut up!!!”

Kana furiously rushed towards her own Spirit-branded Retainer, yet Izawa stopped her easily by simply pushing down on her head.

”If Master doesn't become spirited, I shall be forced to continue my poetry recital.”

”Ryuuno!!!”

”On yet another sorrowful autumn…”

”Ahhh I get it I get it stop reciting!!!”

The Fujihara Family young lady was defeated by her own embarrassment.

'So, 'necessary measures' was referring to this? How scary,' Seiji exclaimed in his mind.

”Actually, I think that it's well written.” While exclaiming, he decided to pour salt onto Kanna's wounds.

”Shut up!!!” Kanna was becoming teary-eyed.

Under the threat of this mental attack, Kanna gave up on surrendering the tournament… at least on the surface.

If Kanna truly wanted to surrender, then it wouldn't have mattered no matter how many old poems of hers Izawa recited out loud.

Actually, Kanna was just venting her emotions, while her loyal Spirit-branded Retainer was cooperating in allowing her to do so.

Everyone fell silent for a moment. That's when Seiji noticed that something was wrong.

Mist had started spreading everywhere.

Yet, this was no natural weather phenomenon!

The mist swiftly became even thicker, to the point where it limited one's field of vision. It was impossible to see through even when Seiji used [Astral Vision].

Bright-red cluster amaryllis flowers then started appearing and blooming brilliantly everywhere!

”It's started…”