Humanity Return
Ch. 53 – Youthful Scarecrow
Loud cheers came out from the people in the large stadium, excited to see the fierce fight of the new disciples.
The new students also knew how important this tournament was, given that the fight they showed would affect their position within the academy later on.
“Alright, I will repeat the tournament rules this time, once again”
Isaac's voice could be heard clearly from the gathering place of those teachers, this time only at the people in the middle of the arena who were about to fight.
The previous large stone arenas had split apart and shifted away from each other into four square arenas with a width of 25 meters.
“You can choose to fight with your Contracted Beast, alone or send your Beast alone to fight. If you fight alongside your Contracted Beasts and one of you cannot continue the fight, then you will be declared defeated”
Above the four stone arenas stood four pairs of people who were on two different sides of the arena.
A tense atmosphere can be felt, apart from one partner among them.
“Exit from arena will result in the same, and try not to kill each other”
A few white hooded people could be seen standing waiting not far from the arena, with serious expressions on their faces.
They were a medical group that would provide assistance when anyone was injured after their fight.
Those at the top of the arena began to grip their weapons more firmly, other than one who had already grasped his weapon with all his might since reaching above the arena while staring at his opponent.
“If you feel you can't continue the fight, give up. But remember, this fight will show your value in the eyes of your seniors”
A large light screen showing the couples who are going to fight today can be seen in the view of the audience around them and below are the first 4 couples who will fight today.
They had already put on a serious face, aside from one young man who looked to be yawning and scratching his head, looking bored.
“That's all from me. First group tournament today, starts!”
Ding!
Along with that loud bell sound, their fight just started.
One pair moved in tandem with their Beasts and started a melee fight, the other two pairs sent their Beasts to see the situation first.
“...”
One pair was left, the black-haired young man carrying the crystal ball in his hand and the other young man who was staring at him without blinking.
“...huh?”
“Hih!”
Leinn looked at the young man in front of him who was reacting to every little move he produced.
Leinn chose to bring Clear in this fight whereas the young man in front of him chose to fight on his own.
A terrified expression could be seen on his face and both of his fists were starting to change color due to his extremely strong grasp.
“Heh..”.
A bored expression disappeared from Leinn's face after seeing the young man in front of him point his trembling sword at her.
“Hei”
“Bueh..!”
A strange sound came out from his mouth when Leinn called out to him, his body also trembling increasingly stronger.
“Why didn't you bring your Contracted Beast?”
“H-huh?”
The young man still showed a terrified expression on his face, but his eyes also showed himself shocked by the sudden question. After gathering his courage for a while, he replied.
“K-because a-I t-not i-want d-he m-died!”
“Hah?”
His breathing seemed to stop for a moment hearing Leinn's changing tone.
“M-sorry!”
The fight in the other three arenas already looked increasingly fierce, but it did not affect Leinn at all.
“So, why are you still standing in front of me?”
The sharp question came out of Leinn's mouth.
The young man was seen shaking all over his body. He just stood there without saying anything for a while.
“A-me...”
Leinn saw the young man in front of him start to speak. The tremors at the tip of his sword were becoming clearer.
“A-I t-no... know?”
A wide smile appeared on Leinn's face.
Bham
The frightened young man's body leaped as he saw the black-haired young man in front of him drop the crystal ball in his hand onto the stone floor below, making a small crack in the arena.
“Hehe..”.
The spectators who saw them could not hear their conversation and only saw two people who only stood still for a short while after the fight started and the young man who released his strange Contracted Beast and let it fall into that stone arena.
Leinn began to step forward while pulling out his sword, leaving Clear behind him.
The frightened young man grew even more fearful, until when Leinn stopped five meters in front of him.
“Maju”
Whether it was because of those words or his feeling of fear reaching the top, the frightened young man leaped forward and swung his sword.
“Hyaaah!”
Slash Clang
“Huh?!”
Isaac leaped up from his seat when he saw that, most of the spectators in the arena also took a quick breath when they saw the black-haired youth slashing his opponent's neck without any restraint at all.
The other three couples who were fighting even stopped at the same time when they realized the changing atmosphere.
“Uh... uh..”
They saw the young man whose neck had been slashed start to step back while holding his neck.
The sound was gone from the entire stadium.
“...huh?”
“HAH?!”
This time almost everyone who saw the slashed young man jumped up from their seats.
The young man took off his hand and showed a clean neck without the slightest blood.
The people gathered there were no ordinary people and they could all clearly see the slash hit the young man's neck in a crushing manner.
“A-what..”.
The young man also felt it, even Isaac saw it as well. But the cowardly young man was still fine.
Leinn looked unconcerned at the changing atmosphere and began to step forward.
“Lagi”
“A-ah!”
The frightened youth launched a sideways slash without any preparation, which Leinn avoided with a single step back.
Slash
A swift slash once again passed through his neck, cutting him off.
The young man once again stepped back while holding his neck, and once again did not find a single drop of blood from his neck.
“Lagi”
“H-Huh?!”
This time the young man launched a stab with the weight of his entire body.
One sideways step from Leinn and the young man slid past him.
Slash
Slashing to the back of his neck, the coldness of the iron could be felt in that instant. He rolled forward from the rest of the attack power he launched and examined the back of his neck as well.
“Lagi”
“A-aaah!”
Slash Clang
The slash from above was repelled like before and the counterattack in the same place once again.
“Lagi”
“H-hiyaaah!”
This time Leinn did not let him rest and directly stepped forward, and the young man reacted by giving a quick slash.
Slash Clang
“Lagi”
The exchange repeated continuously for five minutes, increasing rapidly with each passing exchange.
The audience around them forgot to blink, not wanting to miss the sight.
Their curiosity did not allow them to let go of the two young men's attention.
“A-aaah!”
Slash
“H-hiyaaah!”
Slash Clang
After their exchange exceeded 200 times, the frightened young man's attack looks started to change.
Becoming faster and more precise.
“Hm..”
A small smile appeared on Leinn's face for the first time since the beginning of the act.
“Haaah!”
Clang
His attack was successfully repelled once more and the counterattack had already nearly reached his neck, once again.
Sla-pause
“Aaah!” the young man shouted with all his might!
Clangs!
“Oooh..!”
