19 Chapter 19: 1v3

[Marie's POV]

'No, no, no, nononono!! Not like this! This is bad! So bad!'

She was freaking out right now. She didn't expect even Greg to be taken down so easily.

The monster, with his frightening strength and speed, manhandled him.

'And he was supposed to be the best fighter in the group. Damn it!'

"Ugh."

Feeling the tears had to control, she tried to cover her mouth, not wanting to leak any of the thoughts that were going through her head.

'It's over. All of my hard-earned money… It's gonna get taken away from me… noooo….'

"This is… bad."

She turned to see the long green-haired man mutter audibly. The prince replied.

"He's… strong. Much stronger than I expected. I see now why he's even sought after by his father. Greg was possibly the most experienced and honed fighter in our group and possibly the entirety of the first years, but even he didn't stand a chance against Leon Alpenwind. To be so adept at both magical and physical-based combat. His title is befitting his name."

'Stop praising him, damn it! You are his opponents! You're losing! AND I'M LOSING ALL MY MONEY!'

She wanted to scream at the prince who seemed to be in awe but knew better.

"Your Highness, this is problematic. We mustn't forget that we are currently losing this fight. Technically speaking, if he wins the next round, he can declare himself the victor since he won the majority of the duels."

The long green-haired one, Jilk, spoke again giving her some hope.

She couldn't think of any way to get around this situation, but maybe they had a plan…

"True. But in that case, we are left with little choice in the matter."

The prince spoke, sighing in resignation. After a small period of silence, he declared.

"I'll fight in the next round."

Hearing the prince's sudden declaration, the other two were surprised.

"What? No, Your Highness. We can't let you do that!"

Jilk protested.

"I should be the one to face him. I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but out of the three of us, I have the most adept swordsmanship. Jilk is a long-range type and with our opponent's speed and the plain field, it'll be near impossible for him to outrun and shoot him down. Not to mention our opponent is wearing some kind of unique armor that negates magic and can use a strong barrier spell. That leaves only His Highness and me. And I do believe I have a greater chance here with my swordsmanship."

The bespectacled light blue-haired boy, Chris, the son of the Sword Saint reasoned.

'Right, he does make a good point. Out of the three, he's our best option. But if he too loses… then, we're (I'm) fucked.'

"I… hate to admit it, but you are right, Chris. Out of the three of us, you are our best bet. Please, for Marie and our fallen team members, win this next fight!"

The prince, with his ever-charming face, spoke to his friend who simply nodded with a determined frown.

'This is good. But… even if he wins, we'll still lose if the opponent can fight and wins the next round.'

"Chris, I sincerely believe in you! Please avenge Brad and Greg. I know this fight is difficult, but I still believe in us. We will overcome it together!"

She spoke, trying her best to say the right words from her memories to boost her champion's morale. But inside, she was close to losing her shit.

'Waaah! Please win! Please! You're my last hope, Chris. Don't leave him in a state to fight the next round!'

… Why did that monster have to be their opponent? He was going to destroy her life and happiness.

'Give me a breeeaaaakkkk!!'

***

[Angelica's POV]

"I hope they didn't get hurt too much."

She turned to see Olivia mutter with a sad face.

"Are you talking about Greg?"

She asked, slightly taken aback.

"Um, yes. He didn't look so good. I know it's normal to get hurt, but Ian's punch seemed to have given him a lot of pain. He was making a very pained expression. Poor guy."

'She's caring for even the opponents. Huh.'

"He certainly didn't look good. But he'll be fine. Don't bother yourself with that worry."

She calmly spoke. But she had to admit, that fight in particular felt a little cathartic.

Greg insulted her publicly when she was abandoned by everyone at the ball. His words at the time had hurt a lot and she couldn't do anything then, not even find a proper reply. But now the same man was shown his place.

For someone so proud of his strength and fighting prowess, he was manhandled so easily by Leon.

A short smile graced her face as she remembered that fight.

She couldn't help but feel grateful to him. He had not only saved her from great shame but was also delivering his promise to win this fight for her. It reminded her of one of those fairy tales where a knight saves a distressed princess…

Shaking away the unnecessary thoughts, she waited for the next round to begin.

'Our victory is secured if he wins the next round.'

Everything was in place and she was bound to win thanks solely to Leon's prowess.

It felt good, it did. But…

'*Sigh*… Why do I still feel so empty now?'

"Hey, Your Highness! I have a proposition. How about I take all three of you together in the next fight?"

But when the man in question suddenly said those words, she, along with everyone else in the arena, was taken aback.

'Eh?'

This… wasn't what she had expected. What was Leon thinking?

[End of Angelica's POV]

***

After fighting Greg, I kinda sorta lost all interest in the fight. It was way too easy, but then again, it was bound to be so.

It wasn't as if they'll suddenly get some massive boost in their power or abilities. This wasn't a shounen battle manga, for goodness' sake.

But that hadn't stopped me from having a very small expectation that it might happen. Greg seemed to resist and not give up, but in the end, he couldn't do anything and was disqualified.

'The purple ranger was a disappointment and the red ranger was downed in two attacks, in which I held back greatly so as to not blast his intestines and accidentally kill him. Hmm. Since it's so lame anyway, I might as well finish it in one go and start preparing for my trip. If anything, this should give them a better fighting chance.'

With that thought in my head, I looked toward the place where the opposing team was. They seemed distressed and were in the middle of some sort of discussion.

Focusing a bit, I saw Marie and…

'Woah, she looks like she's about to cry. Welp, sorry not sorry. It was bound to happen. Take the L like a good girl and I'll maybe throw you a bone later if I feel like it.'

"Hey, Your Highness! I have a proposition. How about I take all three of you together in the next fight?"

I shouted, causing everyone to gasp, mutter and yell in surprise.

"Wha?"

The prince replied(?), confused.

'Do they not have any other reaction? I think this is my third 'Wha?' of the day.'

"As I said, let's have this next round the three of you versus me. I am (not) sorry to say this but it is clear that there's a vast difference in our abilities. And I feel wrong taking you guys down one by one. It doesn't feel right. So, I believe it'll be beneficial for both parties and level the difference if the next round is 3v1."

"That… I can't accept that, Leon Alpenwind."

The prince stated.

'Just accept it, bitch.'

"Your Highness. I'll say it openly. This won't be against the rules and it should by no means be unfair to me. In fact, it'll make things a bit fairer."

I turned to look at Angelica. I kinda sorta took that decision on my own, but I had to get her permission still.

"Do you mind, Angelica?"

"Eh? Ah, no. I don't mind."

"Great."

I turned back to the prince and his buddies.

"See? Even Angelica here has no issues with this arrangement. Let's show our audience a proper duel. What do you say, Your Highness?"

The prince still seemed hesitant, but the main person seemed to have finally caught my bait.

"W-We accept!"

Marie spoke, momentarily losing her façade to shout. She did realize the slip-up and quickly wore her mask back though.

"M-Marie!?"

The prince seemed to have been taken aback by this sudden turn of events.

He turned to look at the small blonde in shock and surprise.

"Marie, why did you accept? This wouldn't look nice if the three of us ganged up on him."

The green ranger spoke in his usual gentle tone.

"I agree. I am prepared to face our opponent. I shall not lose!"

The light blue ranger, I think Chris was his name, declared.

"Everyone… I…"

The girl, now being looked at by the three boyband members seemed to fidget in her place, but she did eventually speak up.

"… I can't see anyone of you get hurt… I am sorry… This duel… Seeing Brad and Greg so hurt… I-I can't take it anymore…"

She sniffled, tears falling down.

It seemed to have a great impact on the three boys, who suddenly seemed distressed and worried for the girl.

'Wow, she has them under her belt, alright. I gotta admit, she's fairly good at acting. At least in front of idiots like those five.'

Her <Observe> page showed completely different emotions. One of which was fear of me, interestingly. My little outburst seemed to still affect her. No wonder she tried to avoid me like a plague whenever we were close to each other.

Thanks to her little drama though, the three remaining boyband members reluctantly agreed to my suggestion.

Before long, I was facing the green, blue, and light blue power rangers who stood before me in a V formation with the prince taking the lead and Jilk and Chris on his left and right flank respectively.

'Are they gonna do the pose?'

I idly wondered as they readied themselves.

"Leon Alpenwind."

I heard the prince call my name.

"Yes, Your Highness?"

"May I ask something?"

"Sure, go ahead. I'll try to answer it if I can."

I nodded.

"Why are you fighting this duel? Did Angelica coerce you?"

I blinked, hearing his question.

"Oh, no. She didn't. She only requested me to, and I accepted for reasons. Please, don't take it personally, Your Highness. I have nothing against you or your relationship. In fact… I might be going on a baseless whim here, but even Angelica has started to regret her actions. This whole incident has done nothing but ruin her life and cause strife between the Royal family and the Redgrave Dukedom."

Hearing my words, he frowned.

"Yet I don't see her stopping this duel still. I can't help but not see her point of view."

"It's simple, really."

'You're blind. And she's too proud to back down.'

"She CAN'T back away now. Do you know? She's been under a lot of pressure from her family and has been abandoned by pretty much everyone in the academy. Her mental state is in disarray. It's honestly a little sad. But anyway, that's none of my business. You asked me for my reasons, right? It's because I ended up making a promise to her. A promise that I'll be her champion and win this duel. That's it. Simple."

The prince didn't say anything for a while, but then he nodded.

"I see… In that case, this is a fight to show whose resolve is stronger. I—no, WE won't lose!"

'Hn?'

My bullshit-no-jutsu might have had unexpected effects on the prince who seemed to now look at me with mild respect for some odd reason.

"Okay?"

Seeing our ready state, the referee announced.

"Ready? Begin!"

Immediately, as if pre-planned, the prince and his bespectacled light-blue-haired companion charged at me, side by side, while the green-haired one started making some distance. A rather large green sniper rifle in his hand.

***

A/N: You thought it was the continuation of the fight, but it was me, Cliff-kun! Suffer, mongrels! Muahahahaha … Or at least I would have laughed at your face like this if I wasn't planning to release a double chapter today. Be grateful to me, my little piggies!

A/N 2: Long rant in the Author's Thoughts including the reason for the delay.