I sheathed my sword and then looked at Sir Ra... whatever-his-name-was, being carried away on a stretcher. As promised to the Black Prince, I didn't kill him. I just came pretty close.

I wasn't worried. The kingdom's best doctors and priests would be on standby. He'd come to his senses soon enough from something like that. He was still young, so his severed arm would reattach just fine.

I have my plans. It was a clean cut made with those calculations in mind. It wasn't a reckless slash. Well... there's also the fact that I'm a merciless man by nature.

"How does the Crimson Flash taste?"

I muttered softly.

Of course, it couldn't compare to the Golden Flash. If that guy hadn't let his guard down, he could have easily dodged or parried it. That's how scary carelessness is. Of course, my acting skills played a part in making him so defenselessly careless.

Even the Heavenly Demon praised my acting.

[You looked quite like a moron.]

This is why geniuses are what they are. They had a weakness they couldn't hide. Carelessness. They need to learn humility by hitting walls and being broken, but those guys grow up so fast they don't have the chance. A genius is rare, but a humble genius is even rarer.

Still, it was true that my Crimson Flash had improved a lot from the mere imitation it was the day before. This was because while I was sitting cross-legged all night designing my own ultimate skill, I had also worked on the Crimson Flash.

The stance is as low as possible to reduce air resistance, and the internal energy is gathered in one place and then exploded in an instant by stomping the ground. I said explosive, but I couldn't really make it explode like Sir Ashley, so it was more like forcibly gathering the wind of the Floating Step and then releasing the restraining force all at once to create a similar imitation... but it wasn't bad.

"...."

I leaned on my scabbard like a cane and looked across. The expression on the First Prince's face was quite a sight. Seeing his face, a sense of pride welled up in me. It felt like I was being compensated for all the frustrating years I had spent wearing a blindfold. Of course, I could see more clearly and in more detail in a different sense through my ki sense, but there was a clear difference from seeing with my own eyes. I'm human too, so what's familiar is comfortable.

"...You little brat. So surprised."

I gave him a grin and then checked behind me as well. The Black Prince also seemed quite surprised, his mouth half-open. Fluffy was staring at the beef jerky that had fallen on the floor as if it were a waste.

Murmurs could be heard from all around. Most of the audience didn't seem to have properly grasped what had happened. It was the delightful rebellion of a blind swordsman, I tell you.

Having succeeded in my rebellion, I put the thrilling feeling behind me and focused on the one clanking up the stage. It was the one presumed to be the Silent Victor. I hadn't realized because he was standing next to a giant over two meters tall, but now I saw that this guy also boasted a rather large frame.

He too was wearing a helmet like Rutie, but this guy originally wore a helmet, so I didn't think I would be able to recognize him even if I saw his face. However, it was impressive that he was wearing a different helmet from the one I had seen the day before. He seemed to have paid some attention to his disguise.

...Well. That's probably why he also changed his weapon to something other than his main one. Still, I felt a sense of pride that he was at least making an effort to disguise himself.

Sir Victor, boasting a dark-colored full-body armor, clanked his way to my front and stopped.

"...."

True to his nickname "the Silent," he didn't say a word and just stared at me silently. Not to be outdone, I also faced him without a word. I didn't really have anything to say either.

His helmet only had a thin, thread-like eye slit, and even up close, I couldn't see his eyes. Now I saw that he was hiding a pair of menacing hand axes behind his back. So, he was a dual-axe wielder.

'A knight with dual axes?'

I was slightly taken aback, but I decided to let it go. For some reason, it suited him well.

'What weapon was he holding before...'

I couldn't remember well. It was probably because the weapons of the other two knights were so distinctive. A slightly curved Dao and a giant spear well over two meters long. Since I didn't have any particular memory of it, it must have been an ordinary sword.

As we were observing each other and exchanging glances, Aron Hobas spoke.

"You two. Are you ready?"

Victor gave a simple nod, and I drew my sword from its scabbard and said.

"Ready."

Aron looked at us once as if to confirm, then shouted into the short staff he was holding.

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