Ryuushin lost to Cain.

That brings our clan, [Familia], to one win and two losses against Mother’s clan, [Silveray]. Since the first to six wins takes the match, we still have plenty of chances to make a comeback. The remaining members on their side are Mother, Leo-Nii, Char-Nee, Dairon, Sarion, and Soryuu-sama.

Yeah, I think Soryuu-sama is seriously terrifying.

Do we even have anyone who can take him down?

Mother seems set on fighting me, which means I won’t be facing Soryuu-sama. If anyone has a shot at beating him, it’s Akari or Citri. But if we want to win as a clan, it might be better to have those two fight other opponents instead.

Also… why did Mother only gather eight members for her clan? Even counting herself, that’s just nine people. Does that mean she’s already planned for six of them to win, no matter what?

Curious, I glance over at Mother.

She notices my gaze and gives me a bright smile.

And that tells me everything.

My instincts make it clear.

She doesn’t care about winning or losing, she just wants to fight me.

In other words, the moment I step into the match, she’s going to step in too. She doesn’t seem to care when that happens, whether it’s early on or later. She’s not even thinking about the overall hype of the event. I mean, come on—starting the whole thing off with a battle between the Celestial Spirit King and the other Spirit Kings was already insane. Then, in round two, an actual god showed up. Round three was human vs. Dragonian, which also got the crowd going wild.

But if I step up in round four and Mother gets her fight, this whole match might just end right there. Leo-Nii and Sarion don’t seem all that eager to fight in the first place. My gut feeling is telling me that once my match with Mother is over, Silveray is just going to forfeit the rest.

I’d rather not watch my family get beat up if they don’t want to fight, so if no one else wants to step up, I’ll just end this now.

“Anyone want to fight next? If no one’s up for it, I’ll go.”

And that’ll probably wrap this whole battle up.

“Uh… can I go?”

Luke steps forward, looking a little nervous.

It’s rare for him to want to fight.

“Of course. Give it your best shot, Luke.”

“Luke-san, please don’t push yourself too hard.”

 Lielle, his wife, says, worried. Maybe, like Ryuushin, Luke wants to show off for his wife?

That’s what I thought at first, but it seems like his reason is a little different.

“Lord Dairon! Would you honor me with a match?”

Luke steps onto the arena and calls out Dairon, the first King of Alheim.

For the preliminaries of the Ultimate Clan BattleUltimate Clan Battle, there’s no set order for fighters. You can decide who goes in after seeing who steps onto the arena first. Even if someone calls out an opponent, the other person doesn’t have to accept.

That said, this tournament is full of proud, battle-hardened warriors. Most won’t back down from a challenge.

“You know who I am and still want to fight me? I like your spirit! I accept your challenge!”

Dairon grins and leaps onto the arena. He looks thrilled, not because of pride, but just because he’s been called out for a fight. Then, suddenly, he freezes and glances back at Mother.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t ask first… Is it cool if I go next?”

“Of course. Do your best.” 

Mother says, smiling as she cheers him on. Yeah, she really doesn’t care about winning. As long as the fighters enjoy the match, that’s all that matters to her.

Luke and Dairon face off in the arena.

“It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Luke Vel Ifrus.”

“Ifrus? That name sounds familiar… Wasn’t there a sage by that name?”

“That’s probably my grandpa.”

“I see. So you’re the grandson of a sage.”

Technically, Luke was simply known as “the sage’s grandson” previously, but he’s been with us for seven years now. He was already a natural with magic, and had been training under Tina, fighting alongside us, and taking on demons and majins.

“Indeed, it is as you say, I am the sage’s grandson. Ah, but I’m also a sage myself.”

A surge of mana explodes from Luke.

The air trembles under the sheer force of it.

“To reach the level of a sage at your age, I see now why you challenged me. Seems like this fight might be more fun than I expected.”

Then, Dairon suddenly opens a hole in space. I’m surprised to see that he can use spatial magic now. He really wasn’t joking about his time adventuring through the Demon Realm.

But then, in the next moment, I’m even more shocked by what he does next.

“Halt! I want to go all out! I’m borrowing that sword!!”

Dairon reaches into the spatial rift and pulls out a massive broadsword, nearly as tall as a person.

“Wait…No way?!”

I know that sword. A thousand years ago, Soryuu-sama gave it to me. Later, I entrusted it to Dairon, who passed it down to his son, Sairos, the current king of Alheim. Then, when I saved Alheim, Sairos returned it to me. It’s no other than [Hakoku].

I’ve been keeping it sealed away in the Spirit Realm with my teleportation magic, yet somehow, it’s now in Dairon’s hands.

“I placed a spell on it so I could always locate it—just in case it was ever stolen, I’d be able to take it back. All for you, Ernol. I knew someday I’d return this blade to you.”

“O-oh… I see…”

So, this dude just sensed Hakoku inside the Spirit Realm and casually pulled it out with spatial magic, huh. That’s crazy. I remember him being more of a physical fighter back in the day, but it looks like his magic skills have seriously leveled up.

…Luke, you gonna be okay?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep