I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 203: The Great Battle of the Dragons (12)

After the end of the quarterfinals, a day of rest was granted to the three semifinalists.

It was meant to ensure fairness with the previous tournament winner, who had advanced to the semifinals without a single match, allowing the others to recover from fatigue.

Of course, the only person who actually fought in the quarterfinals was Goetz, so the black-haired beast whined about taking care of it right away instead of dragging it out.

However, he had to back down with a pout in response to the Black Sword Corps’ firm stance that the rules were set.

Thus, a day passed, and on the seventh day, the semifinals were set to take place.

More spectators than ever gathered in the stands.

Among them, in the boundary area where the 49th and 50th batches met, Jerry casually approached Theresia and asked her a question.

“…How’s your arm?”

Jerry’s gaze was on Theresia’s arm as he asked.

Her right arm was slung around her neck, wrapped in clean cloth with a splint added.

Responding to Jerry’s question, Theresia calmly reached for Poppy’s ration bag with her left hand.

“It’s fine. It’s just a slight fracture.”

Rustle—

“I’m hungry!”

“I won’t take much. Just give me a little.”

Seeing her snatch some rations from Poppy, who whined as he pulled the bag away, Jerry carefully asked.

“You forfeited the quarterfinals… because of your arm, right?”

Jerry’s question was cautious, but Theresia simply munched on the rations without showing any reaction.

“Yeah.”

“That’s a shame.”

“Not really.”

“…Why not?”

Jerry looked at her with a puzzled expression.

Theresia answered without hesitation.

“I’m entirely at fault for being in this state. And I thought it was better to forfeit than to participate and not be able to give my best with this condition.”

Jerry gave her a curious look as she answered like it was no big deal. Noticing this, Theresia tilted her head.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You seem… different somehow.”

“Me?”

“Before, you were all about your fierce spirit, but now, you seem more… solid.”

“Really?”

Theresia looked confused as if she didn’t understand herself.

Then her gaze shifted slightly to one side.

“Oh, and to be honest…”

Trailing off, Theresia admitted with a regretful expression.

“…I also didn’t want to end up looking like that.”

Jerry turned his head to follow her gaze and frowned.

The place where their eyes landed was on Gunther, who was sitting blankly with hollow eyes.

“Heh…”

His face was still slightly bluish, showing that the poison hadn’t completely dissipated.

On top of that, he wasn’t fully conscious, as he was drooling, making it clear to anyone that his condition was not good.

Jerry muttered with sympathy.

“…Wouldn’t it be better for him to rest?”

The one who responded to Jerry’s muttering wasn’t Theresia but Arin.

“He’s actually much better now. At first, he couldn’t even open his eyes.”

Seeing Arin put a bib on Gunther, Jerry clicked his tongue.

“Still, if he’s like that, he should really be resting.”

“He wanted to watch this match, so I brought him.”

“…Who? Him?”

“Yes.”

“…Did he actually say that?”

“Not exactly, but he made it clear.”

“Really?”

It didn’t seem like he could communicate at all.

Wasn’t his mind completely clouded by the poison?

Jerry sent a questioning look, but he was the only one there who found it strange.

Theresia, Poppy, and the others all took Arin understanding Gunther’s intentions as a matter of course.

‘…Is it me that’s weird?’

Feeling a bit out of place, Jerry sighed and asked Arin.

“Why did you forfeit?”

“Why wouldn’t I forfeit?”

Jerry was taken aback by Arin’s incredulous look.

He spoke in a mock scolding tone.

“As a member of the Cradle, you made it to the quarterfinals. Shouldn’t you have at least given it a try?”

“I wasn’t going to win, and it wouldn’t have looked good anyway.”

“But you never know until you try.”

“Against who? Yuri?”

“…….”

“You should go first and see if you can survive, then come back and tell me.”

“…I’m sorry. I misspoke.”

Jerry quickly apologized and reflected on his words.

‘Yeah, facing that guy is worse than just ending it yourself.’

Fully understanding the situation, Jerry then asked Arin slyly.

“Hey…”

“What?”

“How did he… look?”

“He?”

“Yuri Holland, of course.”

“Why him?”

“Well… did he seem fine? Any signs he was unwell?”

“Hmm… This morning, he swore a bit less than usual, so I guess he didn’t seem in perfect shape.”

“W-What?! That can’t be good!”

Jerry’s eyes widened in shock at Arin’s response.

It was as if his world was collapsing.

Just then, the atmosphere in the spectator stands shifted slightly.

“Looks like it’s starting.”

At Arin’s comment, Jerry also turned his gaze toward the arena.

‘Finally… it begins!’

The semifinalists began to step onto the arena simultaneously.

Though Jerry was merely watching, his eyes, filled with tension, were fixed on the competitors as he pulled something out of his pocket.

Rustle—

It was a crumpled piece of paper that listed who he had bet on and how much.

Jerry clenched it tightly in his hand.

“…I’m counting on you, you crazy bastard! My entire fortune’s riding on you!”

His eyes were glued to Yuri, filled with more nerves than any of the participants.

From the north, south, east, and west, four gates opened, and the four semifinalists appeared.

Yuri Holland of the 50th batch.

Goetz Röthen of the 48th batch.

Susan Ripley of the 47th batch.

And finally, Gunther Ryder, who hadn’t shown his face once since the Dragonless Tournament began.

At last, all four semifinalists gathered in the center of the arena.

Whoosh—

The four stood at a measured distance from each other.

A peculiar atmosphere settled among them.

Yuri scratched his cheek.

“Hmm… I’m not used to this much love and attention.”

A tense air surrounded the four semifinalists.

It was because Goetz Röthen, Gunther Ryder, and even Susan Ripley were all staring solely at Yuri.

The reason for this atmosphere was soon revealed.

Whoosh—

Suddenly, a large figure appeared from the sky, landing right in the center of the semifinalists.

Boom—

Amidst the dust swirling around, the one who stood up was the one-eyed deputy commander, Duran Vikovich.

“You’re all here.”

He scanned the four contestants with a glance and spoke up.

“Then, the semifinals of the Dragonless Tournament will begin now. As always in the longstanding tradition of the tournament, the lowest-ranking participant gets to choose their opponent first. So…”

Duran paused briefly, his gaze falling on Yuri.

“Now, choose. Yuri Holland. Who do you want to face in this match?”

At Duran’s call, the eyes of Goetz, Gunther, and Susan all turned to Yuri.

Now fully understanding why everyone had been staring at him, Yuri smirked.

‘Oh, I see. The lowest-ranked guy gets to pick his opponent, and the remaining ones are matched automatically? So this is….’

His eyes sparkled excessively.

‘This is like hitting the jackpot!’

So, you’re telling me I get to choose?

What a sweet deal!

It’s so sweet it might rot his teeth.

No matter how much he tried to suppress it, a smirk kept creeping onto his face.

“Hehehe.”

Though it was just a smirk to him, to others, it sounded like a sinister laugh.

“Alright, without further ado…”

With a smile, Yuri extended his arm.

The crowd’s attention was drawn to him.

Yuri’s white hand moved slowly and pointed to someone.

“Hey, senior? How about a match with me?”

Wagging his finger provocatively, Yuri’s fingertip pointed to none other than Susan Ripley.

As soon as Yuri made his choice, the others’ expressions shifted in various ways.

Gunther’s face remained stoic yet intimidating.

Goetz showed a hint of disappointment.

And the chosen one, Susan…

“What an unruly finger you have, junior. Makes me want to snap it off.”

She smiled with a murderous intent.

The first match of the semifinals.

Everyone except for the two contestants left the arena.

Finally alone, Yuri glanced at Susan, who still hadn’t changed and tilted his head.

“When are you going to transform?”

“Transform?”

“You know, the black lips and nails.”

“…That’s not a transformation; it’s a bodily reaction when I unleash the dormant toxins inside me.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

Watching Yuri casually picking his ear, Susan’s eyebrow twitched.

To anyone without patience, his smug face would have been infuriating enough to attack immediately, but Susan remained calm.

“I’ve heard rumors… about you.”

“What rumors?”

“That you defeated Gunther Ryder. Is that… true?”

“What does my senior think?”

Yuri responded with a question of his own.

Susan’s eyebrow twitched again, but she stayed composed.

“Well, I’m not sure. But judging by your attitude… I doubt it’s true.”

“Oh dear, you lack faith.”

“It’s our first time meeting, so it’s natural to be skeptical. But tell me, why did you pick me?”

“For what?”

“Putting Gunther aside, did you really think I’d be easier to beat than Goetz?”

“Hmm… who knows?”

Yuri grinned slyly.

Susan glared at him with a fierce look.

“…….”

“…….”

There was a brief silence between them.

Then Yuri broke it by speaking again.

“Just curious, when exactly will you transform?”

“Hmm? It’ll happen eventually.”

“Really? By the way, I’m curious about something else…”

“You sure are curious about a lot of things.”

“There’s been this weird smell for a while. Is that… from you?”

Hearing Yuri’s question, Susan smiled faintly.

She stepped closer to Yuri and spoke.

“Do you know something?”

“No idea.”

“A skilled poison user can control the display of the toxins you mentioned without any overt transformation.”

“Really?”

“To be exact, they can adjust the coloring effects of the toxins. Seeing black every day… gets boring, right?”

Susan’s lips, now slightly more flushed than before, smiled softly.

It was a change so subtle that it was almost unnoticeable.

Yuri blinked and asked.

“So, are you saying this smell I’m picking up… is poison?”

Susan licked her lips and answered.

“The Hundred Flowers Poison. A blend of toxins extracted from a hundred different flowers, one of my most potent creations and my favorite in terms of color.”

“Extracted from a hundred flowers… No wonder it smells so fragrant.”

“It is, isn’t it? But if you get intoxicated by it, you might find yourself wandering forever in a dreamlike flower field…”

“Will it kill me?”

“Don’t worry too much; I’ve adjusted it so you won’t die. However… you’ll suffer quite a bit for several years.”

Susan, speaking softly, smiled and waved her hand lightly.

“So… have a nice dream.”

With her words, a streak of pinkish gas emerged from her.

The pink gas, moving as if it were alive, flew toward Yuri and hovered around him.

Of course, this entire process was visible only to Susan, who had trained her special vision techniques.

Swoosh—

The poison Susan wielded hovered around Yuri briefly, then eventually mixed with his breath and flowed into his nostrils.

Seeing this, a triumphant smile appeared on Susan’s face.

‘It’s over.’

After absorbing a large amount of poison, he would soon collapse.

Susan watched Yuri with that certainty.

But then…

“…?”

Something seemed off.

Yuri Holland, who should have collapsed…

“…What?”

He should have been sprawled on the ground, foaming at the mouth, but he was still standing there, completely fine.

No, he was more than fine.

His pupils weren’t dilated.

He didn’t seem to be struggling.

Yuri was staring at Susan with clear, bright eyes.

“…….”

“…….”

In the silence, their eyes met.

Noticing Susan’s clearly flustered expression, Yuri smirked and asked.

“Why? Something not working right?”