Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari (LN) - Volume 10 - Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen: Nadia 

After all was said and done, the coliseum schedule was changed so that we would fight twice per day, due to a relative decrease in the total number of matches. We had gone on to win for several days in a row now. The day after the ambush had been a win by default, as expected. It even made me consider the idea that going out and waiting around to be ambushed might be a surprisingly good strategy. 
Under normal circumstances, our competitors and their backers would be using all kinds of dirty tricks to interfere with our advancement. But I had the accessory dealer and the family of slave traders backing me. Their support also came with their extensive connections throughout the Zeltoble underground. 
Speaking of the accessory dealer, I’d dangled the topic of the materials we’d gotten from Kizuna’s world in front of him and he’d pounced on it. That guy could smell a profit from a mile away. I wanted to use him to my advantage and figure out a way to mass produce the items that emulated the drop functionality of the holy weapons and their ability to summon people to the waves.
 
The slave traders and the accessory dealer . . . Thanks to these two entities, the usual underhanded, roundabout efforts to get in our way had been nipped in the bud. Also, the slave trader had apparently heard some kind of strange rumor going around about everyone backing off of us, because we had ties to Nadia. 

We had gotten a lot more recognition and ended up being considered one of the more notable teams. We did tend to end our matches pretty much as soon as they started, after all. The guy that threw in the morning star, that had become Filo’s new toy, started rooting for us at all of our matches. He’d thrown in a different weapon just recently, too, and Filo had been flinging that one at our opponents as well. 
That pretty much summed up how we had been advancing in the tournament. Most of the competitors had already been eliminated, and with only a few fight cards left, we were now in the semifinals. 
“Who’s our opponent for tomorrow’s match?” 
“This is the featured fight card for tomorrow. Yes sir.” 
The slave trader wiped the sweat off his forehead as he handed me a piece of paper. It had our opponent for the next day’s match written on it. The name on the paper was . . . Nadia. It looked like she had been placed in the bracket as a seed. I guess the time to fight that woman had finally come. 
“Is that the participant that Rishia mentioned?” 
“Yeah, it is.” 
“Huh? The person we fight tomorrow?” 
Filo was staring intently at the paper in my hand, like she was really interested. 
“She uses lightning magic, but she’s not a magic user, so to speak. She’s a formidable opponent that can handle herself in close combat, too. She’s been fighting her way through team battle tournaments all by herself.” 
 
“I wonder just how strong she is.” 
Then again . . . The way we had been fighting up until now was pretty atypical, too. Defeating the enemy as soon as the announcer screamed “begin” was the norm for us. That was pretty much how all of our matches went. It was only natural that we would end up becoming famous. 
“If we can make it through this one, all that will be left is the championship match. The money to buy the village slaves back is almost within our reach!” 
“Yes! But . . . lightning?” 
“Fehhh . . .” 
“You’ve done a lot to make this happen too, Rishia. You and Raph-chan better be rooting for us.” 
“Rafu!” 
Raph-chan jumped up on Rishia’s shoulder and howled. There was no avoiding it. In the end, winning this match and advancing to the next round was our only option. 
The next day, we were getting prepared for our fight in the waiting room at the coliseum. Outside it had been erupting into cheers all day. Our next opponent was an infamous freak of nature that had fought her way up through the team battle tournament all alone. Still, surely she couldn’t be stronger than Kyo or the Spirit Tortoise, right? Even so, there was no denying that letting our guard down for even a moment could prove to be fatal. 

If we won today, tomorrow we would be fighting in the main event—the championship match. They publicized the event ahead of time. The schedule was ridiculous. 

“Maaaster! Can we gooo yet?” 
“I guess it is about time. Alright, let’s head out, then.” 
“Yes, and then if we win tomorrow, we can finally rescue the village children.” 
We had to be careful when facing our opponent today. There might be some kind of catch. I could think of several possibilities. 
Here’s one . . . What if there was some kind of unspoken rule about who would win that was decided from the start? We hadn’t really had to deal with any interference so far, since we had a pretty powerful bunch backing us. But you never knew what kind of obstacles might show up during the middle of a match. Like . . . what if some kind of ceremonial-level support magic was cast on Nadia during the fight? It wasn’t unthinkable. 
“Let’s not take any chances today. Let’s finish this . . . and let’s make it quick!” 
“Agreed!” 
“I’ll do my beeest!” 
We dashed out into the arena, which was surrounded by hordes of nobility, who had come in search of stimulation. They burst out into a roar of cheers. Nadia was already waiting in the arena. 
“Oh my, you ignored my advice and showed up anyway, now didn’t you?” 

“Sorry, but there’s a reason that I have to win this match and move on to the finals.” 

Before the match began, Nadia approached and extended her hand out as if to shake. 
“I guess there’s no choice then, is there? I don’t plan on holding back, though, so you better show me what you’ve got.” 
“I don’t plan on losing, even if it is you.” 
We shook hands, and Nadia gave me a friendly hug and whispered in my ear. 
“Might that reason be to buy the Lurolona slaves . . . I wonder.” 
Huh?! This woman knew all about my plan! I couldn’t imagine how the information had been leaked, but that meant that she knew what we were after. 
“This is the perfect chance if you’re looking to make a lot of money quick, isn’t it? I’m afraid I’m not going to let you win, though, darling.” 
She seemed to be under the impression that I was planning on buying the slaves so that I could resell them and make a profit. There was no point in correcting her. In the end, we still needed the money to get Raphtalia’s fellow villagers back. 
“You took the words right out of my mouth.” 
After I responded, Nadia gave me a quick nod and put some distance between us. 
“And now, a faceoff between Roooooock Vaaalllleeeey’s Party . . . and . . . Naaaaadiiiiaaaaaaa! Are you ready?!” 

The announcer was shouting like crazy. Every time it made me wonder if that screaming messed up his vocal cords. 

“I expect a fair fight, you two! Let the semifinal battle . . . BEEEEGGIIIINNNN!!” 
Gooooonnngggg! 
A huge gong sound echoed throughout the coliseum, taking the whole thing one more step over the top. 
“Alright then, darling, here I come!” 
Nadia held her harpoon up high out in front of her, about to cast her magic. 
“We won’t let yooouuu!” 
“That’s right!” 
Raphtalia and Filo moved in to strike first, just like we had discussed beforehand. The two of them moved simultaneously, closing in on Nadia rapidly. Raphtalia lifted her katana up over her head and swung it down hard, while Filo struck from the side with both of her claws in an attempt to get inside Nadia’s guard. 
“Careful now!” 
Nadia took several steps backward and . . . she dodged that?! She evaded Raphtalia’s and Filo’s attacks by a hair’s width, as if she had seen right through them. 
“We’re not finished!” 
“Take thiiiis!”

Raphtalia followed through with her katana, continuing the swing upward while thrusting forward. Filo crouched down, slipping in another strike. 

“Your swordsmanship sure is straightforward, isn’t it? Sorry, but swings like that won’t work on a girl like me!” 
Nadia brushed Raphtalia’s katana off to the side with her harpoon and then used it to vault up into the air, dodging Filo’s attack before spinning around and leaping over her back. 
“Wha . . .” 
“Oooohhh!” 
Raphtalia was at a loss for words, but Filo seemed genuinely impressed. The way Nadia responded to their attacks made it obvious that she was a highly skilled mercenary. There was a good reason she had become famous! She’d seen through all of our attacks so far. That was the only explanation for the way she moved. 
“Wow! Woooow! Master! I’m gonna do that thiiing!” 
“Go for it!” 
Filo quickly jumped up on my shoulders and began preparing to use haikuikku. In the meantime, Raphtalia continued to attack Nadia. 
“Hiyaaaaa!” 
But Nadia continued to dodge every attack at the last moment, as if she could easily predict the path of Raphtalia’s katana. 
“I can tell you’re not used to using a katana. Your lines are all too straight, like you’re fighting with a sword, you know? That poor katana is capable of so much more.” 

Just how strong was this woman? Damn! Did that mean our stats were too low to defeat her head-on? I guess I had no choice, then. With Filo still on my shoulders, I quietly began reciting the incantation for my support magic, Zwiete Aura. 

“As the source of your power, the Shield Hero commands you! Let the legends be revealed once more! Support her completely!” 
“Zweite Aura!” 
I would cast my support magic on Raphtalia to increase her stats and then wait for an opening to cast it on Filo, too, so that we could end this right away . . . or so I thought. I finished reciting the incantation and the instant the magic took its effect on Raphtalia . . . Nadia glanced my way and . . . cast a spell. 
“As the source of your power, I command you! Let the legends be revealed once more! Dispel the power that supports her!” 
“Anti-Zweite Aura!” 
“What?!” 
I realized that the Zweite Aura support magic I’d cast on Raphtalia had been erased. That’s right . . . I conjured the magic myself and successfully cast it on Raphtalia, and yet it had been shattered into pieces. 
Hold on now! I’d heard that even drifa-level magic could be obstructed, but to block zweite-level magic with such a short incantation . . . Just how skilled was this woman?! 
Nadia had rendered my Zweite Aura ineffective. It took a few seconds before I fully understood what had happened, and Raphtalia had also made her attack under the assumption that her stats would be increased, so she ended up missing by a long shot. 
 
“Wha . . .” 
“You’re wide open!” 
With her harpoon in hand, Nadia crouched low and thrust at Raphtalia. The attack was powerful and heavy, just like the one she had delivered to the mercenaries back when we got ambushed. 
“Ugh! Ahhhh!” 
The attack connected, and Raphtalia went flying and smashed into the arena wall, which let out a loud cracking sound. 
“Ra—Shigaraki!” 
That was close. If a monster skilled enough to nullify support magic figured out who we really were, there was no telling what kind of attacks she would come at us with. 
“I . . . I’m okay.” 
Raphtalia wobbled to her feet. She had her hand on her shoulder, where the harpoon had connected. 
“Ugh . . .” 
Nadia went right into casting another spell, as if to say she wouldn’t let an opening go to waste. 
“Should I throw jingle-jangle?” 
“Let’s not do that. It would be no joke if that weapon ended up getting used against us right now.” 
We were already struggling against a single harpoon. We could end up forcing ourselves into a corner if we let her steal that morning star from us. 
 
Right now, we had to focus on making sure Raphtalia could continue fighting. I pulled some healing medicine out of my pocket and ran over to Raphtalia. I rubbed it on her wound while casting healing magic. Surely healing magic cast at point-blank range couldn’t be obstructed, right? 
“Thank you, Mr. Nao . . . Mr. Rock.” 
“No worries. Anyways, that woman is a monster!” 
Our stats may have been lower than normal, but we were undoubtedly still far stronger than your average adventurer. And yet she had easily dodged all of Raphtalia’s and Filo’s attacks. She must have been ridiculously strong. I had expected the fight to end with Raphtalia’s and Filo’s opening attacks. 
I checked my status screen and several sections were blurred out. I’d suspected this might be the case, but apparently the arena area was under the effect of some kind of magic. I wasn’t sure if it was Nadia’s doing, something paid for by the spectators, or if the organizers were secretly interfering, but I guess I was going to have to get out in front and restrain Nadia myself. 
“Is it my tuuurn?” 
Filo’s question signaled that she had finished preparing for her haikuikku-Spiral Strike combo. 
“I guess so. It looks like we can’t afford to hold back with this one.” 
I’d hoped to make it through this thing without revealing our secret, but this wasn’t the kind of opponent that would let us off that easy. 

“Shigaraki, I’m going to use my shields to restrain the opponent. Once I do, you attack along with Humming. Got it?” 
 
“Un . . . understood.” 
Thanks to the healing magic, Raphtalia was still able to fight. We had to make it through this or it was all for nothing. There was no other choice. I walked toward Nadia slowly. 
“Oh? You’re changing your formation, I see. Is it finally time for you to make an appearance, little Rock?” 
“I guess so. They say you’re supposed to save the main performance for last, but I’m going to make an exception and personally put on a show just for you.” 
Up until now, Filo and Raphtalia had finished off all our opponents before I ever had to do anything, but that wasn’t going to work here, so I had no choice but to join the fight. 
“In that case, I’ve got my magic ready to go, so . . . How about I give you a little performance, too?” 
“Here I come!” 
I took off running with Filo still on my shoulders. My stats had been reduced by the curse, but I was still pretty quick. It felt like the rest of the world was moving in slow motion as I sprinted toward Nadia. Nadia was considerably quick, too, as she pointed her harpoon at me and cast her spell. I had no idea just how powerful her magic could be, but I’d show her I could withstand anything she could dish out! 
“You better not be thinking about taking this straight on, darling. You won’t survive!” 

“As the source of your power, I command you! Let the true way be revealed once more! Thunder and lightning! Eradicate those before me!” 

“Drifa Thunder Burst!” 
As I ran toward Nadia, she cast her magic and . . . an ultra-thick bolt of lightning came hurling right at me. The roar of the thunder and the flash of the lightning were so intense that I thought I might end up deaf and blind— that’s how highly condensed the magical power of her attack was. 
There was a ceremonial magic spell called Judgement that brought lightning down from the sky. It was the same one that the high priest of the Church of the Three Heroes used on me in his surprise attack. All by herself, Nadia had just hurled a magical attack at me that was pretty much on the same level as Judgement. This monster of a woman blew my mind. She was so powerful it made me want to lecture her about not showing up to help when we were out fighting enemies like the Spirit Tortoise. 
I hugged Filo close and protected her with my shield and cape as I kept running. The magic that Nadia had cast smashed into me with a loud crackle. Speed was everything when it came to lightning. Only an instant after I first laid my eyes on it, it was right there in front of my face. It was a formidable attack, and “burnt black” wouldn’t even begin to describe the damage it would have done to anyone other than me. 
“Eat this! Our true joint attack!” 
I could feel myself being electrocuted by the bolt of lightning, which I deflected with my shield, before hurling Filo with all my might. 

“Un . . . unbelievableeeeee! Rock Valley just took Nadia’s finishing move head-on and launched a counterattack of his ownnnnnnn!” 
 
The announcer was practically screaming at the top of his lungs, and the spectators erupted into cheers. Who cares about that! Right now, I needed to focus on defeating the enemy in front of me. 
“Take thiiiiiissss!” 
Filo channeled all the magic power she had stored and launched her haikuikku-Spiral Twist combo straight at Nadia. 
“Oh my! Impressive! That was my finishing move, too, you know?” 
Nadia shouted excitedly when she saw Filo flying at her at a speed even faster than her own lightning had been. I couldn’t tell if she was flustered or just happy. Surely there was no way she could outmaneuver Filo’s attack, right? 
“From what I saw in your other matches, she can maintain that increased speed in her movements for three seconds. That means she’ll deliver a powerful attack during that time, right?” 
“Yah!” 
“In that case . . .” 
She’d predicted that I would counterattack by throwing Filo? No, that wasn’t it. She must have realized that we would use the time she was casting her magic as our chance to launch an attack. Nadia hugged her harpoon close and began casting another spell. Yeah . . . She was practically announcing that she was going to reuse the thunderclouds that had appeared when she made her previous attack. 

Her incantation was fast—too fast! I’d never seen anyone use magic like that! 
 
“As the source of your power, I command you! Let the true way be revealed once more! Lightning! Become the force that protects and supports me!” 
“Drifa Lightning Speed!” 
Magic . . . Such a profound art. There was a thunderous roar, and lightning rained down onto Nadia herself, but the lightning enveloped and electrified her body as if it were some kind of support magic. Rather than facing Filo’s charge head-on, Nadia made a large, yet swift, evasive maneuver. 
This was bad. I was guessing Filo’s attack would continue on in a straight line. She could probably alter the path slightly, but haikuikku would wear off before she actually managed to connect with Nadia. It wasn’t likely that Spiral Strike on its own would be enough for a decisive blow. 
“Kyaahhhh!!” 
Filo made some kind of noise that sounded like a shriek as she hurled toward Nadia. Crackling charges of lightning were jumping from the electrified Nadia to Filo, just like static electricity. Ouch . . . Filo was spinning around in what was basically a special, lethal move, but even so, I’m sure getting electrocuted would still be painful. 
“Here I goooo!” 
Filo still hadn’t given up. In that case, there was only one thing for me to do. 
“Air Strike Shield! Second Shield! Dritte Shield!” 
I made sure Nadia couldn’t dodge, by placing my shields behind her, at her feet, and beside her, leaving her with no escape. The shields would protect Filo from being electrocuted, while also restricting Nadia’s movement, to make sure Filo’s attack landed. 
 
“Oh! That’s an interesting little trick you have there, isn’t it? You surprised little ol’ me!” 
“I have a few of those up my sleeve.” 
The only way she could go was to her other side or up. If possible, I wanted to keep her from moving sideways to help make sure Filo’s attack connected. As if to grant me my wish, Nadia crouched ever so slightly in preparation to jump to the side. 
“Not happening! Shield Prison!” 
I added my finishing touch by placing my Shield Prison to her side and sealing off her escape route! How did she like that! That was my shield interference combo that had cornered even L’Arc! My job may have been to protect, but I could still pull a trick like this off, too! 
All that was left was for Filo’s Spiral Strike to connect, and then Raphtalia could attack. 
“Oh my! You sure are impressive! But . . .” 
Nadia thrust her harpoon into the ground hard and used it to swiftly propel herself up into a back flip over the shield that I had produced behind her. 
“Waaahhhh!” 

Filo charged smack dab into my shield, and along with a loud crunching sound, all of her speed and power vanished into thin air. Damn! But I still had Chain Shield! 

“Cha—” 
Before I could finish calling out the skill name, it felt almost like the air suddenly began to cling to us. It felt like air resistance . . . Just trying to move my arm felt cumbersome. What was happening? 
As the question crossed my mind, I looked around and saw bubbles coming up out of the arena floor, as if we were at the bottom of the ocean or something. I could still breathe, so just what was this?! 
“Oh? I guess our exchanges were too fast for their liking. It looks like they’ve used magic to alter the playing field and slow things down.” 
What?! Hindering us at a time like this?! This coliseum allowed spectators to provide support by making a monetary offering. I guess this was just an extension of that. 
“The thing is . . . This is cooperative magic known as The Great Deep, and it artificially creates an underwater environment, which just happens to be where I fight best! I guess I really can’t lose this one now, can I?” 
“No way . . .” 
Raphtalia had leapt in front of me, with her katana readied to strike in a follow-up attack, but she blurted out in surprise. 
“Damn it! Chain—” 
“Too bad! You’re one step too late.” 
The situation felt like some kind of farce comedy, as Nadia used my shields to shield herself, while thrusting Filo away with her harpoon. She then used it to hold Raphtalia off after parrying her strike. 
 
Just how many fights had this woman been in?! I’d played my shield skill trump card to block her escape route, and she still dealt with the situation in a flash. Interference from the audience and our stats might have had something to do with it, too. But I had a feeling she was probably our most formidable opponent yet, when it came to pure skill. 
“Ughhh . . . That was ouchieeee . . . But!” 
Filo had smashed into my shield. Not to mention, she’d also been electrocuted by the lighting surrounding Nadia. But she pulled herself together and went to attack again. She was starting to look pretty beat-up. 
“We’re not done! Chain Shield!” 
I wasn’t going to just stand back and watch. But damn, I guess it was because of the artificial underwater environment. Nadia’s lightning was fanning out over a wide area now. It would have been one thing if we could nullify it, but apparently that wasn’t possible. So Nadia was hitting all of us with her attacks—with that formidable lightning! It was no problem for me, but that wasn’t the case for Raphtalia and Filo. Still, if I could just subdue this woman then Raphtalia and Filo could attack unilaterally! 
“Got you!” 
Chains now linked my shields, which then closed in on Nadia. I used the shields to bind her body tightly, restraining her movement. 
“Oh, little Rock! You naughty boy, you!” 
“Oh, shut it!” 

Despite being restrained, Nadia pointed a hand at Filo and quickly cast a spell. 
 
“Zweite Thunder Bolt!” 
“Again, not happening! E Float Shield! Change Shield!” 
Her attacks were still fanning out and proving to be a real pain in the ass, but I had to do what I could. I cast E Float Shield and willed it to move to where it could protect Filo. Then I used Change Shield to change it to Iron Shield, since that was a metallic shield that seemed like it would be conductive and thus absorb electrical-type attacks. 
“Oh my!” 
Nadia’s thunder bolt smashed into the shield, electrifying the shield but nothing else. 
“Don’t forget about me!” 
Raphtalia had backed off so that I could trap Nadia with Chain Shield, and now she lunged forward with her katana held high over her head. 
“You’re lively as usual, aren’t you? But you’re still full of openings!” 
“Huh? Ahh!” 
Paying no attention to the restraints I had placed on her, Nadia grabbed her harpoon with her free arm and used it to trip Raphtalia. Raphtalia attempted to regain her balance, but Nadia used that momentum against her as well and gave Raphtalia a light shove. It knocked her onto her bottom right in front of my eyes. Damn it. This underwater stage was nothing but trouble for us. 
“I guess that means you’re next, little Rock.” 

Even worse, the Chain Shield time limit had been reached and the effect wore off. It was just me versus Nadia now. 
 
“Give it your best shot!” 
I may have been cursed, but my defense rating was still the same as usual. There was hardly any magical attack that would leave me with more than a scratch. 
“Drifa Thunder Guard!” 
Nadia called the crackling lightning down onto herself. It seemed to be counteroffensive magic that would protect the user. That would work well in a situation like this, but it would take a lot more than that to hurt me. 
“Oh? Did you come prepared to deal with my attacks, then?” 
“You could say that.” 
It’s not like I’d devised a special countermeasure. I was just confident that I could withstand her attacks with my defense rating. 
“By the way, little Rock, are you not going to raise a hand against me?” 
Nadia seemed to be suspicious of the fact that I was fighting against her barehanded. Sorry, but I couldn’t use a weapon even if I wanted to. 
I wasn’t sure if it was more support for Nadia, but I felt magic flowing around the arena. We had been artificially placed underwater, and now thunderclouds began to appear overhead. Seeing clouds, while underwater, was the kind of peculiar sight that you could only experience in another world. 
Just how much support were they going to give Nadia?! 
“Ughhh . . . I can feel the sparklieeesssss . . .” 
Even worse, the electrical output of Nadia’s Thunder Guard was so high that Raphtalia and Filo couldn’t even attempt to attack. Even if I used Change Shield to switch my Float Shield to a shield that would give the electricity somewhere to go again, there was just so much lightning surrounding us that it wouldn’t even matter! 
 
“Ugh . . . Even for little ol’ me, this is a bit . . . much . . .” 
I looked over at Nadia. She was still smiling, but I could see a sense of urgency in her expression. I wasn’t sure if it was because she was taking damage from her own lightning or if Raphtalia’s and Filo’s attacks had taken their toll. 
“You’re not making this easy, you know.” 
Nadia stabbed at my back forcefully with her harpoon, but it simply made a loud thud and showed no sign of penetrating. The fact that she couldn’t use defense rating attacks, like the old Hengen Muso lady, was my only consolation. Otherwise, even I would have been in some serious trouble. 
“Here I go!” 
“Me toooo!” 
It wasn’t like Raphtalia and Filo had just been hanging out doing nothing, while staring at the wall of lightning—they had been preparing to use skills. They couldn’t really get close, so they would need to use either a ranged magical attack or a skill. 
“Wind Blade! Vacuum!” 
Raphtalia took a quick-draw stance before unsheathing her katana and hurling a blade of wind at Nadia. 
“Drifa Wind Shot!” 
Filo seemed to have fired off a highly condensed ball of wind. They were up against a dense wall of lightning, after all. It was obvious they had put some thought into choosing their attacks. Raphtalia’s skill made a loud cracking sound as it smashed through the wall, and Filo’s magic followed right behind. 
 
“Yeah! Nice work! Attack Support!” 
A dart appeared in my left hand and I stabbed Nadia with it. The stabbing itself had basically no effect, but the effect of the Attack Support skill would increase the damage of the following attack twofold. Would she be able to withstand that? 
“Oh?” 
Nadia raised her harpoon high overhead as if to strike down the oncoming attack, but apparently casting two spells at once was too much even for her. Raphtalia’s and Filo’s attacks were nothing to make light of, either. 
“I guess I have no choice, do I?” 
Nadia took her harpoon and . . . broke it in half?! When she did, the power inside of it . . . some kind of magical power came flooding out. I felt an explosion of magic power originating from the harpoon. 
I’d seen something like this in a game. There was an attack that had been some kind of finishing move and could only be used once because it required you to sacrifice your weapon. The trade-off for the power was that your weapon would be destroyed, and you could never use it again. To think a weapon like that existed in this world! 

“That could be dangerous if you let it hit you in the wrong spot, just so you know.” 

Nadia threw the broken harpoon at Raphtalia’s and Filo’s attacks, and it smashed right into them. In the same instant, a blinding light flashed and the harpoon exploded. 
“Kyaaaahhh!” 
“Ahhh!” 
Raphtalia and Filo were thrown backward by the force of the explosion. A protective membrane that must have been some form of support magic appeared around Nadia, and the explosion blew right by her like a strong breeze. I was standing by her side, and it was the same for me. 
This support from outside the match was a real pain in the ass! Damn them! All of their support had been going straight to Nadia for a while now, too! 
“You sure are tough, woman!” 
“You think so?” 
“We’re not done!” 
“Yup! Take thiiis!” 
Raphtalia and Filo sprung forward out of the cloud of dust, ready to strike. 
“Oh! I like your spunk!” 
Nadia use the remaining half of the harpoon—the piece that had been broken off by the lightning magic—to intercept Raphtalia’s katana. 
“Argh . . .” 

Raphtalia struggled against Nadia’s harpoon while being electrocuted, and Filo used that as her chance to attack. Nadia twisted around in an attempt to dodge the attack, but Filo’s claws dug into her skin.
 
“Oh my . . . Impressive!” 
Nadia’s harpoon had taken on the form of a lightning bolt. But she changed it for just an instant, which was long enough for her to swipe at Filo and send her flying away. 
“Kyahhh! Awww . . . I almost had heeerrrr!” 
“That leaves one more now, doesn’t it?” 
Raphtalia was still struggling with Nadia, who then used the remaining half of the broken harpoon to . . . deliver a swift jab to Raphtalia’s chest. The way she pulled off these ridiculous attacks, so casually, made it seem like it was all some kind of big joke or something. 
“Huh? Uhh . . . ?! Ahhhhhh!” 
A small explosion sent Raphtalia flying right in front of my eyes, as if she had been hit by a grenade. But Raphtalia broke her fall skillfully and sprung to her feet with her katana held out in front of her. 
“I guess expecting to finish you off with that would be overly optimistic, now wouldn’t it? I already used the bigger explosion earlier, unfortunately. Taking that one point-blank might have been dangerous, even for a girl like me.” 
To top it all off, Nadia had the nerve to use my cloak, of all things, to shield herself from the force of the explosion. 
“Ugh . . . You’re so strong . . .” 
Seriously! For a single person to be this strong, surely they would have to be some kind of monster, right? 
 
And then, finally, someone threw a couple of robes into the arena as support for Raphtalia and Filo. 
“What is this? I see! Fi—Humming! Put this on! It will nullify the lightning!” 
“Woooow! Neeeaaat!” 
Raphtalia and Filo threw on the robes that had been tossed into the arena. 
“Little Rock, you can’t just keep hanging all over me like this, you know? Don’t you think you should approach our relationship a bit more strategically?” 
“Shut up! I don’t have time for that kind of thing!” 
Luckily, she no longer had a weapon, as far as I could tell. This was a chance I wasn’t going to pass up. 
“Aww, that’s too bad. In that case, I guess I’ll make the first move.” 
Once again, Nadia seized the chance to begin casting magic while Raphtalia and Filo were busy putting on the robes. Damn! Was there nothing I could do to stop her? The woman never really made much of an attempt to attack me, but even if she had, my counterattacks were pretty limited. 
The Demon Dragon Shield had a counterattack effect called “C demon bullet,” but it didn’t seem like it would have much of an effect on Nadia. I don’t know if it was because it was categorized as a counterattack, but her Thunder Guard didn’t trigger it at all. I guess being able to counterattack counterattacks would just make things too easy. 
 
At last, it looked like Nadia had finally decided to focus her attacks on me, perhaps because I was restricting her movement. I was sure it would just be some ranged magic attack. In that case, I would just surround us with shields and have them all fire off counterattacks at once. 
Nadia began brazenly chanting her incantation. 
“Air Strike Shield! Second Shield! Dritte Shield! Shield Prison! Change Shield!” 
“As the source of your power, I command you! Let the true way be revealed once more! Lightning! Paralyze those before me!” 
“Drifa Paralyzing Thunder!” 
Wha?! She had cast a status effect-type spell that wouldn’t register as aggressive! I had completely miscalculated her intentions! I’d changed my shields expecting to produce a counterattack, but they showed absolutely no response. 
“Ugh . . .” 
The powerful paralysis magic loosened my grip on Nadia slightly. 
“Oh! Impressive! That would have paralyzed a normal opponent and rendered them completely immobile, you know.” 
While she was talking, Nadia took advantage of the tiny opening I had shown to escape from my grasp and put some distance between us. 
“I’ve had to grow tough to survive.” 
Thankfully I had increased my resistance to status effects. I’d figured I would never know what to expect in the underground coliseum, but . . . man, this fight was tough. Regardless of any differences in our stats, this Nadia woman was a ridiculously capable fighter. If we hadn’t been affected by the curse, winning wouldn’t have been a problem, but it still would’ve taken more than just brute force, most likely. She wasn’t the type of opponent that you could beat with lower or even equal stats. 
 
Even so, it didn’t make sense that we were having this hard a time. There had to be something else going on. It made me wonder if . . . maybe some kind of spell had been cast on us to lower our stats, and some kind of support had been given to Nadia to raise hers? Whenever I tried to check my status screen, something just felt off. 
Should I just use the Shield of Wrath and incinerate everything in sight? The thought suddenly crossed my mind. But I wanted to avoid relying on that shield, even for reasons other than reduced stats. Luckily, Raphtalia and Filo could still fight. Not to mention, robes that would nullify the lightning had been thrown into the arena to help them out. If I could get hold of and restrain Nadia again, surely things would go better this time. 
And just then, a second harpoon was tossed into the arena toward Nadia. Damn it! Did their support have to have such perfect timing?! 
“It’s been a while since I faced an opponent that pushed me this far, you know. I guess it’s time for little ol’ me to . . . get serious.” 
Nadia switched her stance to a shallow squat and the surrounding spectators burst into cheers. They were expecting something interesting to happen. 
“There it is! Nadia has finally decided to take off the gloves and turn into her animal form! Everyone! Feast your eyes on Nadia’s no-holds-barred coommmbbaaaatttttt!” 
 
Animal form?! If I remember correctly, therianthropes were basically demi-humans whose animal element was more prominent. Just recently, the slave trader had also told me that there were types of demi-humans that could change into their animal form at will. And their stats would skyrocket upon changing. In other words, all this time, Nadia hadn’t been fighting seriously. This was bad . . . 
Magic power began gathering around Nadia, forming something that resembled fog and making it difficult to see her. A black silhouette was probably a good description. Along with a bubbling sound, Nadia’s body began to swell up. I considered trying to stop the transformation, but it was happening too fast. It probably would have been over by the time I got anywhere close to her. 
Moments later, Nadia’s transformation was complete. Her new form featured a vivid contrast of white on black. Her face had become streamlined, and she had the kind of forked tail that would help a fish move around in the water. Although, it looked far more powerful than what a fish would need. Her skin was glossy—you might have mistaken it for rubber at first glance. She had a dorsal fin on her back that looked like a shark fin, but she didn’t look scary like a shark would. 
Well, I had seen this kind of animal used in foreign horror films, but not nearly as often as they used sharks. On the contrary, it was usually an animal that ended up forging friendships with young boys or something like that. 
“Huh?” 
 
Raphtalia uttered something that made it clear she was dumbfounded, but this wasn’t the time for that. We needed to pay close attention and be ready to respond. 
This animal was one of the more popular attractions at aquariums in Japan. Of course, since Nadia was a therianthrope, she had two arms and two legs, unlike the actual animal. Yeah . . . The animal I was familiar with that most resembled Nadia’s new form belonged to the infraorder Cetacea, parvorder Odontoceti, family Delphinidae, genus Orcinus . . . In other words, it was a killer whale. 
I had seen a variety of different therianthropes since coming to this world, but this was my first transforming killer whale. She looked like a real heavyweight that wouldn’t be able to move very quickly . . . but I was sure that probably wasn’t the case. She was about the same size as Filo in her filolial form. To be blunt, she was huge. 
“Alright then . . . Here I come!” 
Considering how powerful she was and the fact that she used lightning, I was imagining a therianthrope that was part raiju, nue, or some other magical creature. Or maybe a dragon? A tiger or something could have fit the image, too. But she ended up being an aquatic therianthrope. 
More important than that was the fact that she had been holding back until now. It was safe to assume that all of her stats had increased. That was evident from the way she was moving around the artificial underwater environment so effortlessly, with just a tiny wave of her tail. Yeah, I was sure we would regret it if we let her appearance fool us. She was probably building up speed to prepare an attack. 
 
Her strategy initially appeared to depend primarily on magic, but perhaps that was because she didn’t use brute force, until she had changed into her animal form. It was probably pretty rare for her to transform, so attacking in this form was something she saved for times when her opponent had some kind of equipment that enabled them to deal with her magic. 
“Umm . . . uhh . . .” 
Raphtalia was just standing there in a daze, staring at Nadia as she swam around. 
“Stop just standing there! You want to die?!” 
This wasn’t an opponent that we could finish off in one blow, you know! 
“Ra—Shigaraki! Let’s do this!” 
I tried to get her on board, but Raphtalia was in a complete stupor and had let her guard down entirely for some reason. 
“Big sis!” 
Filo tried getting her attention, too, but it was useless. 
“Here I come!” 
Nadia readied her harpoon, accelerated even more, and shot straight at us to deliver her attack. I jumped out in front to protect Raphtalia and put out multiple shields in front of us. Just as I was about to cast Shooting Star Shield . . . 
“Sadeena?”