Chapter 38: First Showdown
The masses cheered, their echoes reverberating throughout the capital. Feet hit the floor rhythmically, the crowd's impatience palpable. They wanted just one thing—for the first fight to begin.
As the sun hit its zenith, sweat slowly built up in the empire's grand arena, a colosseum of extreme proportions, allowing thousands of people to watch the tournament for the title of Martial Lord.
Momon could hear the voices. Shouting, screaming, whistling, and other unidentifiable sounds.
Before him stood the grand gates leading into the arena's grounds. He was among one of the first fighters to enter, alongside his opponent for today.
"On our right, we have a famous fighter from the Slane Theocracy, one who has made himself a name as a worker here in the empire! Welcome, Erya Uzruth!" The commentator screamed as the gates opened to reveal a young man, seemingly well-kept. His blonde hair was combed back. His face was free from any scars or injuries, his handsome features on display.
He wore a white dress shirt parting just over his stomach, white trousers, and midnight black armor plates with gold trims on his shoulders and hips. Overhaul, his appearance suggested a speed-over-protection build, allowing quick and precise attacks with his nagamaki.
He smirked, waving to the masses as he enjoyed their cheers.
"His opponent for today is someone who made his name in the kingdom, defeating a horde of undead in E-Rantel and battling the criminal organization Eight Fingers, the adamantite adventurer Momon the Black!"
The crowd applauded, chanting Momon's name repeatedly.
The gates opened, revealing a huge knight in black armor, two oversized greatswords on his back. No skin was visible. Every part of Momon's body was well-protected by his armor, appearing like a hero from legends.
Without acknowledging the crowd, Momon walked toward the middle of the arena, halting meters before his opponent.
Erya smirked arrogantly, making a strong contrast to Momon's stoic demeanor.
"Rejoice in being defeated by the great Erya Uzruth!" The man proclaimed, claiming victory already. Still, the man didn't unsheate his sword, simply resting his hand on it.
'His techniques must be similar to a samurai. Still, I wonder how my culture arrived in this world in the first place. They wouldn't know how to make katanas if they never saw one.' Ainz thought, scrutinizing his opponent's gear.
This was his first-ever professional fight, but Ainz felt no great pressure. After all, if he wished, he could destroy this whole city with a blink of a finger. Public embarrassment should be the least of his concerns.
Removing the two greatswords from his back, Ainz went into stance as Cocytus had taught him.
"Be prepared for an epic encounter between a lightweight striker and an armored giant! The fight will begin in 3, 2, 1, go!" Just as the fight began, Erya disappeared in a blur.
"[Shukuchi]!"
He had used his technique to rapidly close the distance between him and Momon. He slashed at Momon's chest, aiming to end the fight quickly and underestimating his opponent.
Yet Ainz had enough time to react, blocking the strike before it could hit him.
Surprised, Erya stepped back, expecting to land his blow, yet Momon had intercepted.
"I am impressed that you dodged a normal attack from me. Not many did and survived." The man said, talking more than fighting. "Now I-"
Without waiting for the man to continue his monologue, Ainz attacked the swordsman, slashing his swords from both sides at him.
Quickly, Erya reacted, activating another martial art.
"[Shukuchi Kai]!"
He disappeared from the spot, Momon's swords hitting empty air, reappearing a few meters behind.
Only now did he realize he couldn't fight comfortably. Momon wasn't an easy opponent, and he almost found it out the hard way.
"[Ability Boost]! [Greater Ability Boost]!" His body was now faster and stronger than before. Just then, Momon threw one of his greatswords at him. His eyes widened, surprised by the speed.
He had no time to activate his movement-martial art, relying on his boosted agility alone.
He narrowly dodged the sword, a bit of hair having been cut on the side.
'What a fool! Now he has only one weapon to fight with!' Erya thought, grinning. The dark knight stood still, awaiting an attack, now having both hands on one sword.
"[Shukuchi]!" Erya moved forward without moving his feet, yet not in reach for Momon to attack him.
"[Void Cutter]!" He slashed the air before him, sending an air slash at Momon. While it did less damage the farther away a target was, Momon was still in reach of receiving good damage from it.
"[Resilient Form]" Momon said, activating something resembling a martial art for the first time in public. His armor glowed momentarily, and as the attack hit him, he did not even move him an inch.
'What was that? I never heard of a martial art like that!' Erya panicked. Momon's abilities were unknown to him. The only thing he knew was that because of his armor, he shouldn't be as maneuverable as he was, but that was untrue.
Yet Erya had little time to think as Momon closed in on him. He thought he had enough time to activate his martial art again, but Momon was much quicker than before, already swinging his sword at him.
"[Power Strike]," Momon said, his sword glowing red as it approached Erya. He went to block, making his first mistake. The energy from the sword transferred to him, being so great that it sent him flying a couple of meters back, his mouth tasting the rough sand.
When he got up, Erya felt no pain at all. He had thought that the blow alone would bruise most of his limbs and even fracture some bones, but no, he felt great.
'Another martial art I do not know of. But it seems to simply deal a lot of knockback damage.' Erya had enough of this. While he was not as strong as Gazef Stronoff or Brain Unglaus, he was still a top-notch warrior. 'I still have my ultimate technique!' He smirked. Using this technique was risky. Even executing it wrong he could miss his target. Every millimeter counted.
Momon walked casually to his opponent, raising his sword high as he prepared to throw his second weapon at Erya.
"[Evasion]!" Now that he had time to execute a martial art, he easily dodged the sword.
'Now that you have no weapon, you're dead!' Erya mused.
"[Shukuchi]!" This time, Erya appeared right before Momon, ready to execute his greatest attack.
"So…ku…shi" He tried activating it, yet somehow, it didn't work. "Sokushi!" He tried again, but still nothing.
"That is the effect of one of my abilities. It allows me to make the enemies that I hit believe they are still in perfect shape to fight, but when, in truth, they are not." He explained, widening Erya's eyes.
"Such a martial art… unheard of." He said before he collapsed on the ground, making Momon the winner of this round.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have our first winner of the tournament! Momon of Darkness, the Raven Black Hero! Defeating his opponent without even touching him! What a great display of strength, ladies and gentlemen!" The commentator voiced, and the crowd cheered, chanting Momon's name as he slowly walked to get his swords before leaving the arena.
The other participants had watched the fight with open mouths. While Erya had his flaws, mostly his personality, he was still a good fighter, and Momon made quick work of him.
"That was quite a dangerous move, risking it all on betting his opponent would collapse like that." Parpatra commented.
"There must be more to it. Erya was sure of his victory. He's arrogant but not delusional. He would know if he hadn't enough strength to attack Momon. Perhaps the attack from before, the one where Momon's weapon glowed, gave such a great shock to his body that he didn't feel it until after." Hekkeran replied, sitting aside Parpatra.
"True. Meaning he finally used martial arts. The first one being the hardening of his armor." Parpatra said.
"It wasn't [Fortress] and no other martial art I know of. The second one he used isn't one I'm familiar with either." Gringham, sitting on the left of Parpatra, added.
"A mystery indeed. But the properties are clear. One does enhance the resistance of his armor while the other increases the strength of his attack." Hekkeran said.
"Precisely. But I think you missed one." A voice came from behind. The three warriors turned around to see a tall, imposing man standing behind them, hidden in the shadows of the balcony entrance. One could see his muscular build from his silhouette alone, a physique only a warrior could be capable of.
Stepping into the light, one could see his sharp, angular features and piercing crimson eyes, which seemed to glow with an inner fire. His jet-black hair was kept short and tousled, and he appeared clean-shaven, showing off his remarkable jawline.
His clothes matched the background, a dark, form-fitting combat suit adorned with crimson accents and a long, flowing cape.
On the right side of his belt was a longsword adorned with intricate runes that shimmered in the light.
"From your appearance, I guess you must be Optics, the leader of Blazing Crimson from the Dragon Kingdom." Parpatra commented, and he seemed to be right as the man nodded.
"That I am." He said, getting a seat of his own. "None of you saw it, but I did. The moment Momon used that powerful attack, he also did something else. Don't know exactly how, but he made it so that Erya wasn't feeling any pain at all."
Their eyes widened at that statement. Such a thing was unheard of in the fighting world and only possible with poison and the such. And Momon did not seem the kind to use narcotics in his fights.
"Meaning Erya thought he was still in top form, went to exhaust himself, and fell unconscious, just as Momon planned." Hekkeran caught on.
"Exactly."
"But why tell us that? You could've easily kept that a secret and gotten rid of anybody who would fight Momon until you." Hekkeran inquired. He knew information was valuable, and seeing someone give it for free confused him a little. Gingham agreed.
"Because he sees Momon as a threat and wants us to know as much about him as he does." Parpatra enlightened. "Isn't that right, Optics?" He stated, and the man grinned.
"Not bad for your age. Let's say I just want you to have a chance at beating him." Optics answered, standing back up. "Now, if you excuse me, I'll have a tournament to win." He said, leaving the three alone again.
"Who is he fighting?" Hekkeran asked.
"I am not sure, but Gringham, didn't you say you're in the second round?" Parpatra mentioned, making Gringham gulp loudly.
"Ah, damn it! I know I have no chance of beating Optics. From what I've heard, he knows his opponent's every move." He said, getting up from his seat. "But I guess I'll try my best, don't want to embarrass myself. I'll at least go down with a fight!"
"That's the spirit." Hekkeran said.
"Now, if you excuse me, I got an armor to put on." Gringham said, sprinting away.
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I'm back from vacation, so here's the next chapter I was working on.
Optics is a character I like to introduce in the following chapters. He isn't well known among the fandom since he is rather an unknown figure in the novels, but I find him pretty cool. He has some cool abilities in my fanfic.
-He can see buffs and debuffs/effects of his opponents, but only the effects it has on someone, not their name, origin, or how to remove a buff or debuff/effect.
-He can predict the movements of his opponents to a crazy degree.
-Other related abilities with sight