Chapter 31: The blazing torch

Momiji let out a small sigh as her friend happily stuffed away the varis she had won in a bet she had with one of their fellow spectators, one that she had goaded into making after they had mocked Drake and the Hecate Familia in a whole.

"Oh, don't give me that look." The hume bunny said to her in response to her flat look, "You enjoyed it just as much as I did."

While the renard wasn't too keen on the prospect of gambling with the lives of the ones that saved them from their hellhole of a Familia, she would admit that seeing that Adventurer's face fall when Drake won was rather satisfying.

Not that she would ever admit to such a thing.

"Uwah… I hope Drake is going to be alright…" Coco noted worriedly.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Kaede told the pallum, "The Ganesha Familia got to him fast, didn't they?"

"They do work fast." Momiji pointed out, "Most of the damages were already fixed."

"Whoa, you're right! Damn, they are quick!"

"At any rate, we shouldn't have to worry too much about them with the Ganesha Familia watching."

"I…I guess so…"

The renard was glad to see Coco calmed down a little, the pallum was full of nerves and worry when Drake was getting thrown to the ground by the amazoness.

Not that she didn't understand the feeling, her own heart nearly stopped when Akran started pummeling him when he was down; she couldn't believe how relieved she was when he managed to turn the situation around.

'To think their first opponent would be that tough… the Aeshima Familia really isn't one to be trifled with…'

"You idiot! Gah!"

Akran barely flinched as her god slapped her face, before immediately regretting doing so and let out a hiss of pain from nearly injuring his hand.

"Grgk… you damn fool!" Aeshima shouted at her, "How could have you lost that damn archer!?"

The amazoness bowed her head to him in apology, "I…I have no excuse…"

"Tch! And after I managed to get an amazoness with a dwarf's toughness… to lose to one of hers like this…!"

Enoch let out a condescending laugh, "Quite a spectacle you have made of yourself, Akran. Even after going so far as to use that berserker spell of yours, too."

"My apologies, Captain. It…It won't happen again."

"Damn right, it won't. Now get out of my sight, weakling."

The amazoness kept her head down and remained silent as she slowly walked away from him, the eyes of the other chosen combatant staring into her as she walked past them.

Their patron god let out a frustrated growl while punching the wall behind them. Aeshima was absolutely livid at the result of their first fight, the fact that one of his best works had lost to some nobody from the Hecate Familia,

'He fought with a bow of all things!?'

While his Familia Captain Enoch was what he would consider his current magnus opus, the many other successful results of many years of breeding with various races were just as strong and skilled to outclass many of their generation.

Yet one of them, one he had taken almost many decades and a dozen of different pairings to breed, had just lost to a cowardly chokehold of all things!

'She hasn't made a move in years, so how could her Familia's weaker members be that skilled…?'

"Pardon me, Lord Aeshima."

The god stopped his tantrum as when a member of the Ganesha Familia walked up to him, the masked man in a simple robe stood in front of him with his arm raised in a polite salute.

"The ring has just been repaired, so please send in your next fighter."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Setan!"

Said fighter stood up with a mock salute and a wide grin, "Right away, Lord Aeshima!"

"You better win, Setan." Enoch told him, "As a member of Lord Aeshima's Familia, losing to a no-name Familia a second time is not an option."

"Geez, you need to lighten up, Captain…"

Jirou gave Drake's bandaged back a smack, "Nice work out there. Really show them who's boss."

The archer let out a grunt of pain in response before glaring at him, "I'm injured, you know."

"Eh, the Ganesha goons have patched you up enough. Not to mention you still have that healing magic of yours."

"Even then, it still hurts…"

I let out a small laugh before lightly patting him on the shoulder in silent congratulation alongside Kyumaru, the renard doing the same on his other shoulder while giving him a thumbs-up.

It truly was a close fight, especially at the end when Akran pulled out that berserker spell and nearly ended the match and Drake; even before then, she was really strong and resilient to take all those arrows and not even flinch, and that was before she become immune to them.

"We currently have the lead, but we can't afford to be complacent." Jeanne warned us, "That amazoness might not be the only special breed among their chosen fighters."

"That amazoness sure is tough for a Third-Class Adventurer." Lisa pointed out, "I'm almost convinced that she really is tough as a dwarf."

"Yeah, she took all those arrows like they were nothing!" Tetra noted.

"The announcer did say that she had the strength of a dwarf." Tris pointed out, "Maybe there's some truth to that statement."

Hecate let out a hum as she rubbed her chin with her finger, "Aeshima's little breeding project have more successful results than I imagine… I guess there is some truth to his words, after all…"

"Do you think the others are the same?" Garos asked her.

"Probably, though it might be to various degrees…"

"That's rather concerning… we should be careful about the rest of them."

"Who's up next?" Kyumaru asked.

"That'll be me." Tris noted with a small grimace, "And the one I'm up against is…"

"He's a pallum, right? If Akran is as tough as a dwarf, then maybe…"

"Excuse me."

Our discussion on the Aeshima Familia's chosen fighters was interrupted when one of the Ganesha Familia's members walked up to us, the masked woman stood in front of us with her hands together.

She then told us, "The ring has already been fixed. Please send your next fighter."

"Ah, coming! Wish me luck!"

"Go kick his ass, Tris."

As I gave her my best wishes, Tris quickly picked up her weapons and quickly dashed out of the tent towards the raised platform in a hurry; her opponent was already on the platform waiting for her while tapping his foot impatiently.

"Now that the arena has been fixed, let us continue on with our second duel!" Iblis called out.

The spectators roared in a cacophony of cheers filled with anticipation and excitement, even more than they had in the previous match, with even the more reserved of the bunch actively joining in.

"From the Aeshima Familia! Don't let his size fool you, or you will be in a world of hurt! This new rookie is rising up the ranks! It's Setan!"

"Oh, it's a rookie this time?"

"Is he trying to emulate Braver?"

The pallum spun his spear in the air before slamming it onto the platform with a loud thud, a hand combing through his bangs with a smirk on his face, his red eyes glimmering with confidence.

Dressed in a blue tunic and brown pants with a pair of simple steel-toe boots, his outerwear consisting of only a pair of bracers and a white scarf, he definitely gave off the impression of an up-and-coming newcomer.

"And from the Hecate Familia! A rookie of their own! An ordinary young girl with nothing but a mace and a shield! But don't underestimate her either, or you will regret it big time! Tris!"

"She doesn't look that ordinary, though?"

"A rookie vs rookie match, huh?"

Tris let out a shaky sigh as she ignored the many half-hearted cheers and focused on tightening the leather straps on her chestplate while looking over the ones holding her shield to her arm.

She then adjusted her grip on her mace, giving it a lazy swing before locking eyes onto her opponent, neither breaking eye contact as she tried to figure out if the pallum was a special breed like Akran.

The pallum let out a chuckle, "Like what you see?"

"…You're like that amazoness, right? Another of Aeshima's success?" Tris asked him.

"Nope; I'm just a new recruit. Another rookie, like you."

"Oh, really? I thought all of you would be like her."

"Ah, but I assure you, I'm more than worthy to be part of the Familia best; so don't you underestimate me."

"No, that's not what I was insinuating—"

"On that note, why don't we have a little bet?"

"Huh? A bet? On what?"

The pallum glanced behind as his grin widened, "If I win, you'll introduce me to your lovely friend over there."

"Friend—wait, are you trying to score a date!?" Tris cried out angrily, "Now!? Here of all places!?"

"Of course, I am! There's no better options available! Ah, what I wouldn't give to be between those lovely legs…"

"You…You perverted bastard! Like hell I'll let you anywhere near them!"

"To your stances!"

They stopped their little banter when the referee got between them with both hands raised, the masked Adventurer noticeably more on edge from the unintended tension.

Both of them each had gotten into a battle ready stance, Setan had his spear raised slightly and aimed towards his opponent, while Tris moved her shield in front of her with her mace to her side at the ready.

"Whoo! The match isn't starting and already we can see the sparks flying! It looks like we might be in for an intense match here!"

The referee took a good look at them, before lowering one hand while raising the other above his head. After a tense moment of silence from both the combatants and the spectators, he chopped his arm down with a loud cry.

"Begin!"

Setan made the first move, dashing towards Tris and stabbing towards with his spear; she lowered her body in response and moved her shield into its path, allowing the sharp blade to strike metal instead of flesh.

The force behind the strike, however, did cause her to skid back a little, her lips closed as she forced herself not to grunt from the pain in her arm.

"Oh, denied!" Iblis laughed, "Looks like our pallum friend here isn't drawing first blood!"

"She reacted well for a rookie." Shakti noted with a nod.

Ganesha jumped onto the table and flexing his biceps, "And I am Ganesha!"

"There's no need for that gag, Lord Ganesha…"

"Boo, Shakti, you buzzkill…"

"Haha…"

The pallum let out a whistle, impressed at her reflexes before swiftly following the initial strike up with a fast flurry of thrusts, many of which was blocked with her shield as Tris stayed rooted in a defensive position.

She didn't remain there for long, as she allowed one of the spear thrust to slide across her shield before knocking it away with a swing, leaving Setan open for her to rush in and swing her mace at him.

The attack whiffed over the pallum's head when he ducked under it, Setan quickly darting back while swinging his spear at Tris, she barely managing to block his attack with her shield.

Tris immediately gave chase, desperately closing the distance while fending off his spear and swinging her mace at the pallum whenever she was able to get close to him.

And much to her frustration, Setan always managed to dodge her attack every time before retaliating with his own attacks, even if those attacks would get blocked each time.

"Looks like we have ourselves a stalemate, ladies and gent! Neither had been able to land a hit on the other!"

"That Setan pallum sure is using his own race speciality to its fullest potential."

"A complete opposite of the previous match!"

Even then, the stalemate wouldn't hold for long, as Tris suddenly stopped chasing the pallum, much to his confusion which only grew when she instead swung her mace down on the arena.

"Counter!"

Her weapon glowed as her Skill was activated, all the force she had stored up till now was released all at once into the arena, smashing into the stone tiles and had the whole platform shaking badly from the aftershock.

Setan nearly lost his balance from the sudden shaking, but could not recover his footing quick enough as Tris had taken this chance to charge at the pallum, slamming her shield right into his face.

Left stunned and disoriented from the sudden shield bash, Setan was unable to defend himself when Tris took the chance to swing her mace at him, its heavy mass slamming into his side hard and breaking ribs in the process.

"Bwuah!"

A pained cough left his lips as his body bent around the mace before being sent flying across the arena, the pallum tumbling all over the broken stone tiles before managing to reorient himself, feet landing on the floor as he skidded to a stop.

"Ooh! Finally, a hit! And it looks like it really hurts!"

"Stunning him before striking… that's a clever move."

"And I am Ganesha!"

He flinched as he felt the throbbing pain of the bruise and the few broken rib bones moving uncomfortably under his skin; it was a small mercy that they hadn't pierced his lung.

But he didn't have the time to properly examine his injuries properly, as Tris had noticed the effect her attack had done to him and decided to charge right at him, swinging her mace down on him.

The pallum barely managed to block the strike with his spear, his knees almost buckling from the force behind it before redirecting the strike away and countering back with a swing of the end of his weapon.

She blocked the attack with her mace's shaft, before swinging and slamming the edge of her shield to his temple as hard as she could, stunning the pallum and leaving him open to be struck once more.

This time, it was a thrust and the mace's head was slammed into his chest, bones cracking under the strike as he was sent flying again, this time his feet was on the ground so he quickly skidded to a stop.

"And another direct hit! Things aren't looking good for Setan!"

"Looks like Tris has the momentum now."

He let out a pained cough as he glanced at Tris, the girl had raised her shield in front of her as she was charging towards him again, her mace raised and ready by her side for another attack.

'I guess I underestimated her too much… not any more…'

"My wounds are my power, so let it be used against my enemies; Leointe Morrigan."

Setan got into an offensive stance and chanted his short-chant spell, which immediately got Tris to halt her advance and got into a defensive stance in preparation to what kind of spell it would turn out to be.

The injured parts of his body then started to emit a soft glow, which travelled to and down his arm until it reached his spear, where it enveloped the entire weapon perfectly and began emitting a flame-like aura.

Tris's instinct immediately warned her as she quickly adjusted her shield positioning, just as the pallum took a step forward and thrusted his spear.

The spell's chant immediately became clear as the similarly fiery aura was shot out of his spear in the form of a javelin that flew right for Tris.

She braced behind her shield as the magic attack struck it, only to realise that the protective equipment to be useless against it when the magic attack shattered it upon impact before stabbing through her shoulder.

"TRIS!"

"What a comeback by Setan! He has just taken out one of Tris's arms!"

"Looks like it's a spell that converts his injuries into a kind of power, which he later unleashed at his opponent."

Welf nearly dropped his fork when he saw the magic attack shattered Tris's shield like it was but a porcelain plate, he had shot up to his seat moments later with his gaze remaining ever focused on the Divine Mirror.

He couldn't even began to imagine the kind of pain his friend was going through right now, especially with that massive hole in her shoulder.

"Damn, and here I thought she might be able to win."

"Guess she isn't all that crack up to be, huh?"

"Setan have this one in the bag!"

It took the redhead all the restraint he had not to pounce on the ones that said that, his fists clenched so tightly around his fork that the metal utensil was starting to bend under his fingers.

He knew that making a ruckus here wasn't going to help her. The only thing he could do now was to have faith that his friend would at least make it out of that match alive.

"So, your friend is Tris?" Otto pointed out.

"…yeah…" Welf noted as he sat back down and took a swig of his mug, "I should have at least made her a shield to go with that mace."

"…Were you two former lovers?"

"Not even close."

"Yeah, I don't buy that act at all."

"I'm serious, man! We're not like that!"

Otto let out a chuckle as he took a swig of his own mug, "Must be killing you to be unable to help her, huh?"

"A…A little, yeah…" Welf grumbled.

"Then at the very least cheer her on. Even if she couldn't hear you right now, it is the thought that counts."

"Hm… I guess that's true…"

Welf's gaze remained ever focused on the Divine Mirror, his fists clenched tightly as he watched his friend stumbling back with one arm hanging limply.

'Hang in there, Tris!'

"So, are you sure you two didn't have a relationship at one point?"

"Just let it go, dude…!"

Tris let out a grunt as she tried to move her injured arm, only for said arm to remain limp and unmoving, as blood from her wound flowed down it and dripped off her fingers onto a growing puddle under her.

Though she was able to wiggle her fingers a little, so her arm wasn't completely unsalvagable.

Setan let out a chuckle, "Now you don't have your shield to hide behind with."

She grimaced at his taunting words, well aware of the truth behind them; it was due to her mastery of the shield that she had been able to fend off his spear strikes in the first place.

Now that said shield had been shattered by that magic attack and she had also lost the use of one of her arms, the fight was going to be difficult moving forward.

'Still, he also suffered from some broken bones… that should slow him down a bit—'

"Hah!"

"Hrgk!?"

Tris couldn't react to the pallum's sudden stab, his spear's blade grazing her cheek as it shot right past her head; the searing pain only registered moments after he had struck as she quickly darted back in a panic.

Setan gave her a teasing grin as he nonchalantly spun his spear, "These are merely flesh wounds."

His figure suddenly blurred as he suddenly right in front of her as he swung his spear into her, she barely managing to raise her mace to block the strike and got sent flying back, skidding to a stop some distance away from him.

The pallum immediately chased her down, all the while thrusting his spear at her in a speedy blitz of stabs, many of which Tris was struggling to defend against with just her mace as she tried to move away from his range.

She was unable to defend against all of them as the few that she was unable to block left several wounds all over her body, ranging small grazing cuts to proper stab wounds that left blobs of blood in her clothes.

Thankfully, none of them had been as bad as the one in her shoulder, on account of her quickly shifting her stance so that only her side was facing the pallum, thus decreasing the area he could attack.

"And now it's Tris's turn to get overwhelmed! Talk about your sudden turnaround!"

"I'm more surprised that Setan is still that fast even with broken bones."

Tris barely managed to take in some needed air from the intense exchange, before quickly raising her mace and blocking Setan's spear as he swung it into her with all his strength.

The attack had her stumbling back from the force behind it, though she quickly regained her footing just as the pallum leaped into the air before swinging his spear down on her.

Her mace just barely blocked the incoming strike, which forced her knees to buckle upon impact and leaving her opened for the butt of the spear to slam into her temple.

The strike left her stunned for a moment, which was more than enough time for Setan to charge forward and thrust his spear towards her with a stab aimed for her gut.

"Whoa, would this be the end!?"

TING*

"Tch!"

"Ah, it doesn't look like it!"

"She has quite the reflexes."

Just before the spear could reach her, Tris regained her senses and had barely managed to raise her mace right in front of her, the sharp blade was trapped between the her mace's many flanges.

Setan reeled back his spear, pulling the spear tip out of the flanges and thrust forward at her once more, only for her to let out a loud cry as she swung her mace at the spear, knocking it up into the air.

The pallum stumbled back in shock from the sudden shift in weight, leaving him open for her to charge at him, unable to defend himself as she thrusted her mace right at his solar plexus.

"Counter!"

"Bwah!"

Her Skill activated as her weapon glowed and all the force of every attack she had managed to block was released into his chest, knocking the air out of him as his ribs caved in upon impact.

The pallum was sent flying moments later, his body soaring across the ring and tumbling on the stone tiles before falling off the edge of the platform and down the stairs, rolling to a stop on the dirt while he remained motionless.

The coliseum was silent and in shock over the complete reversal, but the spectators soon erupted into cheers the moment the referee declared the end of the match.

"Ring out! Winner, Tris!'l

"What an insane turnaround, folks!" Iblis called out, "Just moments away from defeat, Tris turned things around with a crazy counter! What are your thoughts on it, Captain Shakti?"

"If I'm guessing it right, she has a Skill that allows her to store the force of any attack she blocks." Shakti noted, "And she can unleash it all of it on command."

"Oh, a counter, as they said?" Ganesha quipped with a cheeky grin.

"…"

"…"

"…Way to be a buzzkill…"

Panting from both physical and mental exhaustion, Tris looked down on her mace, the weapon had obtained many scratches from blocking all the spear stabs, as the memory of its flanges being the very things that protected her from that fatal stab.

'Your weapon really came in clutch, Welf. Now if only you could name it better…'

"Way to go, Tris!"

"Yay for Tris!"

She then turned her head towards to the tent housing her Familia, where many of them were loudly cheering at her hard-earned victory with Tetra in particular jumping up and down while swinging her staff around.

A chuckle left her lips as an idea came to mind, she sluggishly turning towards the announcer booth and tightened her grip on her mace.

Before raising it up into the air with a loud roar.

"Hell yeah!"

Welf's loud shout of joy echoed across the tavern the moment the referee announced his friend's victory, and unknowingly drawing the attention of every customer and even the many waitresses.

The moment he realised the eyes on him, the redhead quickly sat back down and continue with his drink, all the while his drinking companion was giving him a raised eyebrow.

"Not lovers, huh?"

"Just shut up, man."

…
To be continued…

And that's the second battle down! And with the final episodes of Season 5 finally airing!

So, this battle took some brainstorming to get it done right, as I really didn't want this to be a rinse and repeat of the previous fight.

Hopefully, I am able to make this battle right and not make it feel like Tris has some plot armor to win it.

Also, yes, Setan is basically Setanta, or Cu Chulain; specially the FGO servant variant.

As for why he is, because I thought it would be fun to have another Celtic hero be referenced in another character, and I really like Cu as a character.

With that, I thank you all for reading this!