CHAPTER 113: SECOND PHASE FINAL PART

"Pfff hahaha this is way too easy," Sakura continues sending clones nonstop. But this magic I’m using doesn’t consume much mana, it doesn’t even come close to the amount I’m recovering, which means I can kill her infinitely without worrying about mana.

The bloody scenario that has formed seems marvelous. I’d love to be there to smell it and have a more privileged view I bet it’s intoxicating, although I couldn’t take a bite because there are people watching.

All I’ve done in these last moments is kill her nonstop, of course I’m still trying to figure out where the clones are coming from. Based on a pattern, I think I know roughly where the original is.

But I don’t need to go after her, it’s better to keep defending here. At some point, she’ll have to change tactics.

And when she changes tactics, I’ll frustrate her plans again. Besides, most of the monsters are still alive, so she’ll still have a lot of work to do to kill them all.

"The pattern changed... what are they doing?" A bunch of Sakuras appeared running without protecting themselves. They’re running across the bloody ground toward the monsters.

I quickly kill one of them, and suddenly her body explodes.

"She turned her clones into bombs... THE MONSTERS!" I start killing the clones as quickly as possible before they can get close to the monsters in the lake.

"DAMN IT" More than 90% of the monsters are dead, and now I only have 3 of them.

’She got me...’ I never thought she would turn her own clones into walking bombs, and the kind that activate when they die.

Soon another big wave of clones comes running, I activate all the magic circles, causing a rain of shots to traverse the entire area, killing a bunch, but there are so many that some go pretty far.

’Now I only have 2...’ There are so many, and the explosions cover my vision, so some manage to get through.

And she keeps repeating this, sending wave after wave of clones after a few minutes, and of course it becomes difficult to defend, I quickly end up with only 1 monster.

’I can’t believe I’m going to lose to that spoiled brat.’ I can’t protect the monster with a barrier from this distance, so I can only try to stop Sakura from reaching it.

I decide to try a different approach, although it will cost me more mana, I will fire many more spells. I soon activate the magic circle, knocking down all the remaining trees, leaving the space more open and visible.

I leave the magic active, so as soon as she arrives, she’ll enter a field of light shots raining down from the sky nonstop.

"... They went around... how could I have been so blind..." My desire to kill Sakura blinded me momentarily. One of her clones made a complete turn and literally hugged the monster and then exploded.

’I lost? TO HER? SERIOUSLY UNIVERSE?’ I can barely believe I lost. I couldn’t protect the last monster, though it’s true that I was more focused on killing Sakura than really protecting the monster.

But that’s no excuse, I should have paid more attention to the enemy’s plans. Going from behind was an obvious move that even a child could think of.

[The enemy managed to complete the elimination of the monsters. If you can remain undefeated for 20 minutes, you will win. Your goal is to defeat the enemy before the time limit.]

A note appears as I quickly read it.

"... 20 minutes... YOU’RE SCREWED, SAKURA!" All my anger at not being able to protect the monster is converted into fury. I’m going to beat her and win this damn competition.

...

...

...

"We did it, our plan worked," I tell my clones excitedly. I realized that my opponent was very focused on killing me for some reason, so I decided to use that to my advantage and sent a clone to go around. It took a lot longer, but it worked.

[You have eliminated all the monsters. Remain undefeated for 20 minutes, and you will be the winner.]

"This is easy," I say as I read the note, soon starting to run and leaving several clones behind. I just need to get as far away from my opponent as possible. The clones are well spread out, just to distract anyone who comes after me.

BOOOM

I freeze, not understanding the scene in front of me. A tree trunk just fell from the sky, almost crushing me. If I had been 5 centimeters further, it would have hit me.

I look back and see that several trees in the distance are being knocked down or thrown. They’re all in a straight line, as if whatever is coming is ripping everything in its path.

"W-What... is it a monster?" I run desperately forward, leaving as many clones as possible. I have no idea what’s coming, but it seems furious. It must be some kind of giant monster.

As I run, I share the vision of the right eye with a clone, so I can see its perspective while I flee quickly.

"W-What Pandora?" What I see in the vision is a Pandora with an angry expression who is running, ignoring all obstacles, tearing through trees with her own body. The trees are easily shattered as she keeps going, and the direction is strangely focused precisely where I am.

"She knows? How? And why is she so angry?" I generate as many clones as I can. I just need to hold out for 18 more minutes.

PSIU

Something flew by at an absurd speed, leaving holes through all the trees in front.

"Is she trying to kill me? Kyaa!" I jump to the ground as a hail of shots occurs, leaving many holes in the trees.

"Well, well, well, look what I found here," I hear a voice, and I look up to see Pandora.

’H-How did she get here so fast?’ The worst of the worst enemies I could have Celeste, Evangeline, and Pandora are the ones I least wanted to duel.

"P-Pandora, c-can’t we talk?" I say nervously while trying to see if there are still any clones alive. Fortunately, I have 7 of them.

"Of course we can," she says with a gentle smile, then snaps her fingers, and a magic circle appears, instantly killing 6 of my hidden clones.

"..." It’s disturbing to be face to face with her. I feel like I’m going to be sick. She’s not someone I can beat.

’Hana... what would Hana do?’ I can only think of what Hana would say in this situation.

"H-Hey Pandora, we’re friends, right? You wouldn’t hurt a friend... would you?" This makes me remember that during the free time after the first phase, Kaori was crying, and I heard murmurs that Pandora had severely injured her.

"...I don’t know? Who knows, but the only thing standing in the way of victory is you," she says sarcastically, while looking at me with disdain.

’It’s not worth continuing... it’s not like I need the extra credits, and besides, I heard the prize for the winners isn’t even that good...’

"I-If I give up, will you let me go?" I’m not sure if she would leave me alone even if I give up, but I don’t have much choice. I don’t want to get beaten by Pandora. I’ve never been hit in my life, and I don’t want that to happen.

"Okay, I’ll let this one slide... but I want a favor in return."

"Y-Yes, what do you need?"

"It’s quite simple..." She approaches me closely and leans in. The proximity is disturbing because I can see her red eyes staring at me intently. I feel like I’m going to pee myself with this closeness.

She then puts her hand around my neck, and I feel mana flowing and sticking.

"W-What did you do?"

"Nothing much, just put a mana collar on you. If you try to remove it, it will cut your head off. If you don’t fulfill your part of my request, it will cut your head off. And if you try to deceive me, it will cut your head off," Pandora says calmly with a malicious smile.

I quickly put my hand on my throat.

"YOU CAN’T DO THAT!" I shout in an irritated and desperate tone. I can’t believe I could die like this.

"Oh, but I can. I’m the Grand Duchess, and you’re just a summoned hero. I didn’t kill you, so I didn’t break any academy rules. But even if I did kill you, I could still escape the accusations practically unscathed," She’s right, and it fills me with despair.

Her position in this kingdom is too high, and being a student clearly doesn’t prevent her from using her influence. Just like I was influential in my world, I know how power works.

"W-What do you want?"

"Nothing too big, just tell me one thing: What is Tsubasa’s ability?"

"I-I don’t know what you..."

"I know you know. After all, you’re Hana’s lapdog, and Hana always tells you everything."

"!!!"

’H-How does she know that?’ I’m surprised by this. Where did she discover such a thing? Only me, Hana, and Tsubasa know, of course Takashi and my family do too.

But Takashi is dead, and my family is in the other world. Besides, I doubt Tsubasa or Hana would have told her.

’Is it some kind of ability?... W-What do I do...’

"The duel ends in 10 minutes. If you don’t answer me now, I’ll beat you until you’re a bloody pulp on the ground, just like your clones."

"!!!"

"T-Tsubasa has an ability called [Hero’s Influence]. Everyone Tsubasa saves acquires a feeling of gratitude and adoration that only grows to the point where if Tsubasa doesn’t accept the gratitude, the person can even become a slave who obeys Tsubasa’s orders."

"..." Pandora falls silent, as if thinking about something.

"Okay, I’ll let you go." I feel the mana in my neck dissipate.

"Phew..." I sigh in relief.

"HHYYYYAAAAAAA" Suddenly, I feel an extremely powerful electric current run through my body. I writhe on the ground, screaming and having spasms as the electrical tension begins to knock me unconscious.

"Thank you for your help, Sakura. Since you were so obedient, I’ll just knock you out with electricity. Be grateful." This is the last thing I hear before everything goes dark.