“Do you think it makes sense for everyone to move on like this?!”
She looked around and shouted.
However, the Lords reacted with disdain.
“Isn’t it something that has already been decided? And he paid the price in a different way, rather than just leaving it like nothing.”
“…This is unacceptable! A Lord has been murdered at the hands of another Lord! It is a felony among felonies that can only be paid for by death!”
“Oh, that’s over and done with, right?”
The Beast King clicked her tongue.
The chief of staff intervened and said.
“In the event of a battle between Lords, or when a Lord kills another Lord, it is enacted in the Constitution to determine the level of punishment under the authority of the Overlord through an emergency call...”
The Thunder Lord turned her gaze to look at the Chief of Staff, then looked at the Overlord.
Even with her gaze full of protest, the Overlord just put a smile on her lips without saying a word.
She said, biting her lips.
“Someone who was just enthroned like this was already causing such a commotion.”
“Thank you for thinking so passionately about Calderic’s future, Second Lord.”
“...”
“Still, I didn’t decide this on my own. It’s a matter that everyone decided by a majority vote, right? We have to admit what we have to admit.”
The Overlord’s voice, which seemed to admonish, contained pressure that was hard to resist.
“Yes, Second Lord. I don’t like it either, but what can I do? It’s not like the little kid arguing would change what had already been decided.”
The Beast King burst into laughter at the sarcastic tone of the Black Sea Empress.
Little kid, that’s what the Beast King called the other at the Lords’ meeting before.
I knew why the two of them were making fun of the Thunder Lord by calling her that.
Because she’s the most recent Lord aside from me, and she’s also the youngest.
She’s only been sitting in her seat for a few years, so it might sound like a joke to them.
Well, her family was one of the oldest in Calderic though…
“This...!”
The Thunder Lord, who had been glaring at the two of them, closed her eyes tightly and exhaled. It looked like she was suppressing the anger that was about to explode.
Soon after, she opened her eyes again and looked at me with cold, subdued eyes.
“Please allow me this time, Overlord.”
“Yes?”
“I want a formal duel with the Seventh Lord. I will check if he really has the skills to make the remarks that he did.”
At that, I sighed inwardly.
...Again?
She did the same thing at the last meeting, and she’s doing it again this time.
No, why was this woman so eager to take a bite off of me?
Did she still hold a grudge because of the argument that had happened last time?
“Um, a duel…”
The Overlord shook her head and looked back and forth between me and the Thunder Lord.
“Well, if you want to understand something, I have no intention of stopping you…”
Then she smiled and asked me.
“How about it, Seventh Lord? Hearing those words earlier, I also wanted to see the Seventh Lord’s skills in person.”
“...”
Fuck.
I swore to myself. I could already feel a headache coming.
Last time, I managed to somehow get over it, but this time, the Overlord seemed to have no intention of letting it go.
Because I just passed the crisis of execution, and I was in a situation where I did not have the right to speak.
“Oh, then me too! I want to fight the Seventh Lord too!”
When the Overlord’s permission fell, the Beast King shouted with her eyes shining.
Please shut up.
I shook my head and came up with a solution before things got even worse.
The duel here was, of course, a duel in which the opponent was suppressed, not killed. In other words, there was no way for me to win because I couldn’t use [Instant Kill].
Because the Tyrant was a vampire, that’s why I was lucky enough to be able to use Gascalid’s [Blood Art], but this time that wasn’t the case.
At best, all I had to do was defend with a [Floating Veil] and dodge with a [Space Leap]…
...Ah.
Yes, would that be okay?
“Let’s do it like this.”
I said, looking at the Thunder Lord.
“Like I said, I’m not very good at being moderate. If I kill another Lord after killing the Sixth Lord, I'll be in trouble.”
“Ha! I don’t think you’re going to avoid a duel with that kind of excuse again…”
“So I’ll just defend.”
“...I beg your pardon?”
“I mean, I’ll just stand still and defend against attacks.”
Perhaps it was an unexpected proposal. The Thunder Lord paused for a moment and then exploded angrily.
“Are you doing your best to insult me, Seventh Lord? Your arrogance knows no bounds. You’re only going to defend yourself against my attacks?”
“Yes.”
I answered calmly.
“Second Lord—the Thunder Lord, the Elementalist of Thunder. Supposedly, you have the best destructive power among the Lords.”
“...”
“If I completely block all three of your attacks, it’s my victory.”
Turning my gaze to the Overlord, she had a face showing that it terribly intrigued her.
Conversely, the Thunder Lord was trembling up to her ears and seemed unable to control her body full of anger.
[Lv. 95]
It wasn’t an incomprehensible reaction.
Among the elves that existed on the entire continent, she was almost the strongest elemental mage.
I had declared that I would just stand still and block her attacks like that.
Especially if she had a strong personality. Wouldn’t she feel that what I did was simply a big insult to her?
“...Good.”
Soon after, she said in a ferocious voice.
“Instead of proceeding with the duel, as you said, I will add a condition. If the Seventh Lord loses, get down on your knees and apologize to me for your arrogant words and deeds.”
“I will.”
...Done.
I nodded my head in joy.
“Tsk, what kind of duel is that? It’s not fun…”
The Beast King, who had just been brimming with energy, luckily, had her excitement died down.
The Overlord cleared the situation.
“Well, the Seventh and Second Lords are going to have a duel according to those conditions? Let’s go to the right place right away.”
The place they moved to from the conference hall was a gigantic gymnasium on the other side of Overlord Castle. At first glance, it appeared to be several hundred meters in diameter.
The Thunder Lord and I stood facing each other at a reasonable distance in the middle of the arena, while the other Lords stood around watching the spectacle.
Tsutsutsu.
Blue sparks erupted all over the Thunder Lord’s body.
There was no need to delay, and she was ready to start the duel right away.
“It’s still not too late, so it doesn’t matter if you change the conditions, Seventh Lord.”
I folded my arms without answering her words, which seemed to be mixed with a little sneer.
She looked at me with contemptuous eyes and smirked, raising her energy even more.
Tsutsutsu.
Soon, a blue figure like a giant eagle appeared above her head.
I knew what that was. Kogos, one of the many Thunder Spirits who made a contract with her.
Was that spirit about in the middle of all her spirits?
It didn’t look like she was going to come out with all her might from the start.
As I watched the surrounding thunderbolts grow stronger and stronger, I leisurely spread the [Floating Veil].
The eagle spirit that flapped its wings once flew towards me with its mighty thunderbolts wrapped around it.
A thunderbolt exploded, and for a moment, it dyed my vision with a pure blue light.
However, the eagle was completely blocked by the veil and vanished in vain, giving no damage.
I removed the veil and looked at the Thunder Lord.
With her hands removed, she said, narrowing her eyes.
“Now, this is the true start.”
Quarreung!
The next form that appeared along with the ferocious thunder… Pegasus?
It was a horse with a pair of wings on its back and huge horns on its head.
'Is the name Requisacron?'
There were so many spirits that the Second Lord had a contract with, so I could only remember some vague names.
Still, I knew it was the closest to the highest spirit among the spirits of the Thunder Lord.
The lightning that spread around her became much stronger than before.
It engulfed the Thunder Lord that I could barely see her form.
There was only a confident smile on her lips.
Tsutsustu!
An energy in the form of a sphere gathered at the tip of the spirit’s horn.
I took a breath and opened the [Floating Veil] once more.
Soon, a flash of light exploded from the massive sphere, and at the same time, a formidable thunderbolt rushed in.
My vision was dyed with a much stronger light than before, but this time, too, it was not enough to cause damage.
Shoo woo.
I removed my veil and looked around the ruins.
I hadn’t even exerted my power yet. Was this enough?
Inwardly admiring, I shifted my gaze to the Thunder Lord again.
She also seemed a little embarrassed this time.
Even though she had done this far, she hadn’t been able to scorch even a single trace of my clothes, so that’s understandable.
“Now there is only one left.”
At my words, she bit her lower lip.
“...At least you seemed to have a slight ability to back-up your words.”
Her hair slowly rose upwards.
And a powerful energy that could not even be compared with the two spirits just before blew like a storm.
Kwurrrrrrrrrrrrrrring!
The Thunder Lord was so strong that it covered the whole area with blue light. I could not see the surroundings at all, as if trapped in a barrier.
I felt a tingling sensation all over my body and stared blankly at the humanoid spirit that appeared in the air like a giant.
Finally, she took it out.
The strongest thunder spirit she possessed, Laxia.
An elongated spear was formed in the giant’s hands, and energy slowly gathered together.
The giant held the spear in the opposite direction and aimed it as if it was about to throw the huge spear directly at me.
The same technique that was the ultimate skill of the Thunder Lord in the game.
'Wait a minute, this…'
As I opened the [Floating Veil], I couldn’t help but feel a sense of creepiness.
'Is it impossible to stop it?'
In the first place, I didn’t even think that I was going to lose.
No matter how powerful the attack was in the game, there was no attack that could break through the [Floating Veil], which was an invincible defender.
…But seeing this in person was no joke.
Moreover, the ultimate skill of the Thunder Lord was an instant death attack that inflicted fixed damage in the game, so I had no choice but to feel threatened.
Anxiety arose in my mind as to whether the [Floating Veil] would break.
“Come on, stop this without avoiding it!”
The Thunder Lord shouted like that and stretched out her hand.
In the end, I chose my instincts. I removed the veil and used [Blood Art].
Drops of blood flew towards Laxia, who was about to throw the spear, and as soon as it touched the spirit, it burned and disappeared in an instant.
Coo coo.
And like that, along with the drops of blood, Laxia also disappeared in an instant, as well as the huge energy surrounding it.
“...Huh?”
The Thunder Lord, who was about to launch an attack with great force, uttered a confused voice.
