Actually, I should be talking our unknown Nightzmora! Can you believe this is his first Major appearance, and he's holding his own against a champion?!
Greatmouth Mob
The clash of blood-red armor on the field tonight will eclipse the moon!
Greatmouth Mob
The audience is definitely feeling it too! Tola, 'Scourge of the Prairie,' Nightmare Knight! His crazed determination is addictive and intoxicating!
Greatmouth Mob
Nightmare Knight's been surging in the polls since his duel with the Radiant Knight! Will he add another page to this story?! A rise to grand knighthood?!
Greatmouth Mob
By the way, Ancients Entertainment is holding a 'Knightly Title Trivia Game!' Guess the knightly titles and win fabulous prizes!
The Blood Knight
Where'd your bravado go, Nightzmora?
Nightmare Knight
Ngh...
Nightmare Knight
Minoan, in the times when my ancestors flayed the land, your heroes had all become naught but words on the lips of poets.
The Blood Knight
You waste your breath.
The Blood Knight
Where's your Khagan now? What happened to those proud kinsmen of yours?
Nightmare Knight
......
The Blood Knight
One who lives in a bygone nightmare is a pitiful man indeed.
Nightmare Knight
Minoan, Infected. What are you fighting for?
The Blood Knight
Survival.
The Blood Knight
They made me the hero of the Infected... They enshrined me in the annals of history. But I just wanted to survive.
Nightmare Knight
The hero of the Infected?
Nightmare Knight
I see... Do you not also fight for your people?
The Blood Knight
My people...? No. We don't share the same bloodline, nor were we born in the same place. We are just unfortunate enough to suffer the same disease.
The Blood Knight
I pitied their plight, so I went to deliver them, to find a way out for them.
Nightmare Knight
You say they're not your people... But you still want to save them...
Nightmare Knight
Laughable.
Nightmare Knight
You are mighty, without a doubt. But, have the prairies of Kazimierz been carved up by the Infected and foreigners?
Nightmare Knight
The Kazimierzians, the Kuranta... Where are they?!
Nightmare Knight
Did I cross thousands of miles to the country of knights, only to fight against the Infected, Minoans, and my own kinsmen?!
Woaaaahh... S-So, this is Kazimierz's commercial hub?
Gravel
Strictly speaking, this is just one of hundreds of commercial centers across the Grand Knight Territory.
Gravel
I recommended this particular one because it's close.
Hibiscus
But there's way too much junk food everywhere! Just one look around and I count three popcorn stands, two pizzerias, and four burger shops!
Hibiscus
This is unacceptable!
Amiya
Haha... Is this because there's a competition venue nearby?
Gravel
Of course. The arena lies at the heart of every center of commerce.
Gravel
All businesses revolve around the knights' glorious blood sport. It's the way things are done here.
Nightingale
......!
Nightingale
Is this... a Nearl doll?
Hibiscus
Aww! It's so cute!
Amiya
Wait a minute, this shop... Is it all dedicated to...
A Shopkeeper
Yo! Are you folks fans of the Radiant Knight too?
A Shopkeeper
Then, you've come to the right place! This is a specialty store for everything Radiant Knight! Clay figurines, plush dolls, Nearl family crests – you name it, we've got it!
A Shopkeeper
By the way, if the Radiant Knight manages to defeat the Wind Knight and advance to the finals, our supplier is considering making exclusive commemorative medals from refined Originium! Want to put in a pre-order?
A Shopkeeper
I mean, the Radiant Knight's pretty much sure to win! Hahaha!
(Buy the doll for Nightingale.)(Ask how much the pre-order is.)(Rhetorically ask if the store would consider a shield used by the Radiant Knight its greatest treasure.)
A Shopkeeper
Thanks for your patronage!
A Shopkeeper
Oh, uh... You only have foreign money? Lungmen Dollars? Err, you'll have to go to the bank first.
A Shopkeeper
Let me do the conversion for you real quick... That should be about 1.3 million LMD?
A Shopkeeper
A shield? Since when did the Radiant Knight use a shield?
A Shopkeeper
But we have warhammers, double-bladed swords, and even the latest model of swordspears. Want to take a look?
It's hard to tell what's going on! Nightmare Knight's ferocious attack was again repelled by the Blood Knight, and the former champion is slicing through the artificial turf as if it was tofu!
Greatmouth Mob
It's already been ten minutes, but the tempestuous exchange of blows continues! Who will be the first to show signs of fatigue in this seemingly endless battle?
Greatmouth Mob
––As I speak, the champion is readying his Arts again! He evades a sweeping strike from his opponent!
Greatmouth Mob
After all that, are the two sides only feeling each other out?! Neither the champion nor the Nightzmora seems to want to take the initiative and cast the first Arts––
Targets: the two leaders of Rhodes Island - one hooded person of unknown race, and one Cautus.
Monique
Mood... Very bad. Because every time I try to do my work, someone gets in my way.
Shining
......
Monique
Addendum. Extremely bad mood.
Shining
Do you have a habit of keeping a diary?
Monique
Who would deliberately write these things down? Might as well send it to the Adeptus Sprawiedliwi Kazimierz and ask for a speedier sentence.
Shining
By the looks of things, you're the type of person who brings her baggage with her to work.
Monique
Confessarius, the Radiant Knight, and that Cautus who gives off strange vibes.
Monique
What the hell is Rhodes Island supposed to be anyway?
Shining
I never had a chance to ask you before, but... You people...
Shining
Where did you hear the name 'Confessarius'?
Monique has seen the skills of the Sarkaz before her.
Excellent swordsmanship. Complex, seemingly incomprehensible Originium Arts - perhaps witchcraft. Along with the Radiant Knight, she was able to block a Darksteel arrow.
She had a suspicion at the time, that perhaps... 'blocking arrows' was not the full extent of the Sarkaz's abilities.
But now, she is convinced of one thing.
Monique
...I can't tell you that.
Shining
I'm also not so kind-hearted that I can just watch an assassin take aim at the Doctor and Amiya, and then let her walk free.
Shining
Besides, the last time we met, we didn't get a chance to introduce ourselves properly. A bit rude on both our parts.
Monique
An aura...?
Monique
Why are all of the Radiant Knight's buddies so shiny and sparkly? I'm getting tired of that aesthetic.
Monique
(It's a comforting glow... Almost no hints of aggression... Is this Sarkaz witchcraft?)
Monique
(No...)
Monique
(Her expression... Does she lament drawing her sword?)
Shining
......
Monique
Not in the mood to chat?
Monique
Very well then. Let's find out just what you're worth.
The sight of you and the Radiant Knight blocking Darksteel's arrow made a deep impression. Even a Silverlance Pegasus would have trouble withstanding Darksteel's punishment.
Monique
My sources tell me you and the Radiant Knight call yourselves the 'Followers,' an organization that treats the Infected.
Monique
A 'physician,' huh? Looks like I need to toss that informant of mine into the gloompincer cage.
Shining
Unfortunately, I'm not fond of fighting.
Monique
Is that so?
Monique
I used to be in the Victorian army.
Monique
Because I was just a commoner without noble blood, I couldn't become an officer. The K.G.C.C. ended up poaching me during a joint military exercise.
Monique
At that time, my old bosses were still rejoicing over one fewer thorn in their sides.
Shining
......
Monique
So, I'm quite confident in my aim.
Monique
From this distance, take three of my arrows head on, and I'll drop my plans for Rhodes Island. Deal?
Shining
Why should I trust you?
Monique
Whether or not you do is up to you. The Armorless Union has no shortage of ways to deal with Rhodes Island.
Monique
For example, we could've applied some volatile chemicals to those dolls that they're clutching so unsuspectingly right now...
Shining
......
Monique
Don't give me that look. Anyone could arrange something like that.
Shining
Three shots.
Monique
Three shots.
Monique
(Exhales) ...
Monique
Number one.
Monique draws her bowstring. A picture-perfect Victorian form.
Back in her military days, the young Monique could pierce a willow branch at a hundred paces. She was famous for it.
Monique
......!
Shining
Didn't draw enough for that one.
The Sarkaz before her didn't even draw her sword.
The unexpected result sends a stifling heat through Monique's chest, the unwanted sensation rushes toward her heart.
Monique
Number two.
She draws her bow taut a second time.
On a rainy night, Monique once attacked a first-order campaign knight.
The opponent was not some famous hero, but a true veteran of the Ursus-Kazimierz War.
His quick reflexes spared him the arrow from the darkness, and the two ended up locked in combat until they plunged off a cliff.
The forests of Kazimierz were cold and steep in the early spring, and the chase through the dense woods lasted seven days and nights.
At the moment when the pain in her limbs and the ringing in her ears were almost intolerable, she drew her bowstring back and nocked her arrow once more, finding her target as he stopped for water.
Shining
Her stance changed, as has the look in her eyes.
Shining
Like a hunter, waiting for an opening.
Monique
—!
The arrow split in two in midair.
One segment embedded itself into the ground. The other disappeared into a grassy clearing, where it startled a few chattering fowlbeasts.
Shining
But I have no intention of becoming your prey.
Monique
Are all Confessarii all as skilled with the sword as you?
Monique
Or rather, are there a lot of other people at Rhodes Island like you?
Shining
......
Monique
(Should we redo Rhodes Island's risk assessment?)
Monique
To be honest, getting rid of Rhodes Island should be the responsibility of the Board.
Monique
But soon enough, I won't be acting on their orders.
Shining
......
Monique
You don't believe me?
Shining
No... Actually, that doesn't come as a surprise.
Shining
Our leader has also foreseen this possibility.
Shining
So what's the point of you saying this? That this duel is solely a matter of your pride?
Monique
The point is... You should give this everything you've got, Sarkaz.
A stunning reversal! In a single heavy blow, the Blood Knight has dissipated the heavy mist lingering in the arena!
Greatmouth Mob
His momentum sweeps right through Nightmare Knight's illusions!
Greatmouth Mob
Too bad for you, Nightzmora! You made one miscalculation! In the face of the Blood Knight and his mastery of Blood Arts, you underestimated his skills in a melee!
Margaret
Was that really an illusion? It seemed like... an entire war.
The Blood Knight! The Blood Knight! The Blood Knight!
Greatmouth Mob
Umm...
Greatmouth Mob
(The professional thing would be to not interrupt the audience when they're in an uproar, but most of them seem like they're Infected... so maybe it's fine?)
The Blood Knight! The Blood Knight! The Blood Knight!
Spokesman Malkiewicz
So that's the hero, the Blood Knight. So much fanfare for that name.
Spokesman Malkiewicz
Though the Radiant Knight is a paragon of defiance, the one who truly managed to carve out a space for the Infected... is the Blood Knight, Dikaiopolis.
Spokesman Malkiewicz
But... it has been a long time since he bowed his head to us.
Spokesman McKee
In my capacity as a media man, I deeply appreciate your proposal, Mr. Malkiewicz.
Spokesman McKee
But as you know, this... public opinion, is just a thin layer of assurance. To make sure things go smoothly, we'll have to prepare to play hardball.
Spokesman Malkiewicz
Of course.
Spokesman Malkiewicz
I just don't want everyone to end up... with no way back.
