Chapter 51

I waited in front of the waiting room and soon enough the door opened and Ray came out .

Yo .

Rays smile seemed a bit troubled after seeing me and Misa .

I thought you might turn a blind eye Arnos .

I was going to . Whatever your circumstances are, you have decided not to rely on me and it would have been rude to ask, however, my subordinate wants to know .

Misa walked in front of me and spoke to Ray .

Has the royal faction said something to you?

Who knows? Perhaps they offered me enough money to last a lifetime or perhaps they recommended me to be a demon emperor .

I dont believe you to be a person that would move for such things .

Ray laughs .

You overestimate me . You should be careful with that . A lot of people say crap that the world wants to hear .

Misa doesnt seem convinced by Rays words .

. I know that . But you Ray-sanyou arent like that .

Weve not long met . I wouldnt trust me that much . Ray says with a gentle smile .

Doesnt seem like hes going to say what his real intention is .

Misa bites her lip in vexation . Looks like shes got nothing more to say .

The Lognoss magic clinic was built by Elio Roodwell using his own money so its basically a facility belonging to the royal faction .

Pretty much . Ray answers without breaking his smile .

Is your mother healthy?

Yeah . Like I said before its nothing serious . Shes getting better .

Id like to meet her at least once .

Shell be leaving the hospital soon . You can meet her then .

Fumu . Is that so .

That reminds me . After looking at the upcoming matches it seems like well be meeting in the finals .

Its a shame we cant fight at our full power .

Ray looks at my sword .

You might not be able to feel any magic power but this sword was forged by a true master craftsman . Its power rivals that of your demon sword so you should challenge me without holding back .

Ray laughs .

Really?

Aah .

Ray starts heading to the audience seats .

Ray-sanerrrm .

Sorry . Im part of the royal faction now . Seems like we wont be able to get along any more .

Ray walks past us then stops .

Oh, I forgot something Arnos .

What?

Ray looks over his shoulder .

. . Ill kill you .

I just laughed .

If you want to kill me then youd better prepare yourself for death .

Its not a threat . Im already prepared for death .

Hou . If youre already prepared then want to try?

As I finished speaking I disappeared and reappeared behind Ray .

I can see you Arnos .

Ray swings Initeio around in a circular strike .

Although Ive applied anti-magic and magic barriers his sword easily slashes through them and bites into my left arm .

A pure white blade digs into my left arm and blood flows .

Fumu . To be able to cut my arm . How wonderful .

. . I had intended to get your head at the same time as your arm

Ray vomits blood due to my right arm thats pierced his chest .

And I had intended to crush your heart but your body is pretty robust as well .

Misa shouted out after watching our battle .

Arnos-sama, Ray-san . ! You dont have to do this!!]

Misa looks really worried .

Dont worry . Im only checking his resolution . I dont forgive anyone who challenges me no matter who they are . If youre looking for mercy from a friend then you wont find it here .

Im relieved . If you are that serious then I can cut you down with no hesitation .

Ray smiles his refreshing smile .

Well then .

Ahh, see you in the finals .

Ray left and headed to the audience seating .

Arnos-sama

It seems hes been collared somehow .

Misas eyes rounded as she looks at me .

I tried to confirm it through direct contact . Some type of magic tool has been embedded in his body .

. . It was only an instant . Did something like that happen . ?

That was the point of our little exchange .

The magic tool buried in his body is synced with his magic so its hard to see . I can tell by using my demon eyes that whatever is stuffed into Ray is quite a powerful thing .

. . When did you notice a magic tool was embedded in him . ?

Ray gave out some hints like when he said he was already prepared for death . I had thought that he meant he was ready to die when we fought but he meant his actions are being limited by a tool that can kill him . Im guessing that if he was to ask for help hell be killed .

Ray is most likely being monitored by magic or by that tool .

If he was to ask for help his observer will probably activate that device in his body and kill him .

I know he said he was prepared to die but thats it . . ?

He also said we couldnt fight at our full power and that he was going to kill me . Those bits bothered me as well . Hes the type that doesnt get wound up by his enemy and just nonchalantly cuts them down . It was too provocative so I started thinking . Also, when he cut my arm he deliberately left his chest open so I pretended to go for his heart and checked .

Due to that, I was able to find the tool .

It must have been the only tactic he could come up with to let me know something was wrong without alerting his observer .

If it had gone wrong would his life have ended?

. Im amazed . . all I saw was Arnos-sama and Ray-san quarrelling . . both of you are amazing

These type of things used to happen a lot back in the old days .

Things were a lot more sly and tricky 2000 years ago .

. Is it the work of the royal faction . ?

Its reasonable to think so .

Or is it the work of Avos Dillheavia?

Wouldnt you have to be a skilled master to embed a magic tool in Ray-sans body?

There is that possibility, however .

Rays mother must be involved .

I thought she was in that magic clinic?

Aah, she is . Thinking about his words though it was probably a message for me to do something .

It adds up if you assume his mother is a hostage and thats the reason he allowed the tool to be embedded in his body .

That man asked for my help in a very tight situation . Theres no reason not to respond to his request .

What are you going to do? Misa asks with words loaded with anger . I cant forgive people who act this way . Ill show them they cant do what they want just because they are royalty .

Then come with me . I dont know who they are but they put their hands on my friend . They will not get away with this .

Yes .

As I start to head off to the magic clinic I remember something and stop .

That reminds me, isnt the second round about to begin?

If I recall correctly, everything except the final match will be held today .

Fumu . Please wait a while . I need to clean up the remaining small fry first .