As the "spokesman of God," Ed is in the best position. The Colosseum was an almost round oval with a slightly protruding platform on the inside, and Ed sat in the middle of the front row, which usually belonged to the king.

Therefore, he was forced to sit between Queen Kazia and Sercio. The queen nodded reservedly and indifferently, her gaze not falling on his face at all, and Sercio belatedly smiled at him weakly, and even said a few words, but Ed forgot what he had said in an instant...... I also forgot if I said anything.

Whether it was this much-anticipated position or the eerie atmosphere between mother and son around him, and everything he was about to face, Ed stiffened. His only movement was to look back for his friends - Eren and Nalya sat in a row behind him, giving him only an encouraging smile. Beside Allen sat Selene Green, and the countess covered her face with a black veil, but Ed suspected that her face would not be much better than his own.

Others sat with the common people, the crowd of heads making Ed dizzy, and he couldn't have found them if it weren't for Akan's unusually large man, for Tess's red hair dancing like a flame in the sunlight and her hands waving high.

Norway once again relied on Is's spells to give himself a pair of human ears, and, this time, his own face.

Friends are here, Ed calmed down a little, but a heart still hangs in the air, and the whole person is in a trance. The early spring sun carries a gentle warmth. But his palms were cold.

Gilbert sat right behind him, whispering a reminder of what to do. As is customary, it is up to Ed to announce the beginning of the joust. and pray for a just judgment from God. But Gilbert, apparently aware of the young priest's nervousness and uneasiness, thoughtfully decided that he would do it himself, and that Ed would only have to stand up at the right time to signal to everyone that he was here.

Ed is grateful for that. And he hoped that he would have enough strength to stand up by then......

His heart rose and fell as the bell rang, pounding heavily on his chest, bringing with it a dull ache and endless panic.

Everything seemed to begin to recede in a blinding white light, buzzing in my ears. Then there was a shrill chirp, as if instinctively rejecting the sound that came to his ears.

But he still heard Borena's name. He couldn't tell when he heard the terrible charge, when he heard the shouts of all the people - or the roars. He also heard Behring's name, and then his own. and the name of the god of water......

Can you hear all this, O Nyor, gentle and great goddess, and will you be angry or sad about it?

Ed got no answer.

He scrambled to his feet, feeling as cold and stiff as a corpse in the cheers of the waves crashing against him, sinking to the depths of the dark waters.

He's not God's spokesman at all, he's not some damned witness, he's just a puppet who can't help himself.

His gaze fell blankly on the field. He saw Borena, the man who didn't even wear armor and raised his sword and saluted respectfully in Ed's direction. He picked the corners of his mouth apologetically, as if apologizing for involving him in this farce.

Then he spun around and spread his hands to everyone with a little exaggeratedness. He smiled fearlessly, even a little carelessly, as if he was not standing on the ground that had been soaked in the blood of countless people, but on his own stage.

Ed took a deep breath and forced all his internal organs to ...... and his soul, back to their original place. If only Borena could be so calm. He should at least have the courage to see the end.

-- At least the courage to still have hope.

Borena won real cheers for himself, but even bigger cheers were given to Belin Gryan. The young knight raised his visor. There was not a hint of a smile on the tense face.

He was silent, raising his sword with meticulous etiquette to salute Borena as if he were facing a respectable enemy on the battlefield. As Borena raised his sword in return, Kezia snorted coldly.

"Hybrids. She cursed under her breath.

Anger rushed into him, and Ed gritted his teeth lest he could say something offensive uncontrollably.

He had never been so truly disgusted with a person, even if she was so noble and beautiful.

There was a sudden silence in the field, red wine spilled like blood from the golden cup in Gilbert's hand, and the first soft sound of the sword clash caught Ed's attention.

Borena knew it wasn't pretty—he was on the run almost from the start, and the occasional foliage and counter-attack seemed inadequate. People started cheering him on, which was completely expected, so it didn't make a difference to him.

What really made a difference was every blow from Behring Grion. The young knight seemed to have a genuine desire to kill him, and his strength was unexpectedly great, worthy of being the descendant of Grian the Hammer.

Borena had expected Behring's moves to be more cautious and old-fashioned, a speculation based on the feeling the young man had given him, but in fact, Behring played quite ferociously, with a kind of reckless brutality and decisiveness, and even the shield was almost entirely used for attack, not defense.

The tilted shield unloaded another heavy slash, and the numbness felt in his arm made Borena grin. He had to rejoice that he had decided to take the shield in the end.

He had used all his experience and skill, trying not to put too much effort into a head-on confrontation with Behring, but instead spun around and moved his feet skillfully, waiting for his opponent's agitation and exhaustion. But he feared that until then, he would lose the power to fight back.

There are no barriers on the open field that can be used to maneuver. Behring's longsword suddenly shifted slightly as it slid away from his shield again, cutting into his shoulder.

Borena rolled to the ground without a figure, dodging the sword, kicking up the sand on the ground to obscure the young knight's view. It's quite a rogue move, especially against knights who are younger than himself, but he can't handle that much now.

As he expected, Behring did not retreat to dodge, but rushed through the flying sand with a shield and slashed a sword again.

Borena hadn't gotten up from the ground at all, and with the support of the ground, he was able to block the sword solidly, successfully kicking Behring into the right leg that was taking a step.

There was a burst of exclamation from the people in the stands.

It didn't do much damage, but it was enough to cause the knight in full armor to lose his center of gravity and fall heavily to the ground, and it would be much more difficult for him to roll over and get up quickly than Borenna.

For the first time since the start of the game, Borena had the opportunity to attack actively. The sword slashed at Bellin, who fell to the ground, and the first blow successfully pierced the back of the knight's knee, where only the chain mail was covered. The wound was not deep, but it was enough to affect Behring's movements.

The next two swords were blocked by Behring with his shield. Before Borena could breathe a little, the young knight's shield flew out of his hand and slammed into his head.

Borena had to avoid the whizzing murder weapon, and Behrin took the opportunity to get up on his knees, swing his sword to force him away, and stood up.

The young man didn't even bother to retrieve his shield, but silently took the longsword for a two-handed sword and slashed fiercely at Borena.

However, there is a reason why humans have forged different kinds of swords - one-handed swords, which are mainly stabbed and used for slashing, will lack strength and range, Behring's strength can make up for it, but his impatience and leg injury become Borena's strengths.

Within a few rounds, Borena found a chance to retaliate. The swung shield slammed into Behring's chin, and the young man staggered, falling backwards again, his helmet rolling into the dust. When Borena swung his sword down, Behring suddenly let out a roar of rage, clenched his sword in both hands, and struggled to block it.

The force of the blow was so great that Borena's arm went numb, and the long sword came out of his hand and flew far away.

But instead of backing down, he stepped forward, parrying Behring's sword with his shield, and pulled a dagger from his boot - yes, he didn't just have a weapon with him.

This is not against the rules. Martial arts in front of the gods are allowed to bring everything you feel you can use, except that spells and poisons are not allowed.

Borena believes Belin will have an entire arsenal for him to choose from, and not bringing enough weapons was a mistake on the part of the youngster. After the "inspection", Borena was presented with only a suit of armor, a round shield, and a long sword, but the person in charge of the inspection missed the short sword that Falbo habitually inserted in his boots, and Borena unceremoniously borrowed it.

The dagger was unpretentious and sharp—Falbo was polishing it when he was fine. As it pierced the air and pierced Behring's bare neck, Borena saw fear in the young man's eyes for the first time.

Borena hesitated suddenly—it wasn't against the rules, but it wasn't honorable. After all, this is a contest in front of the gods rather than a battlefield of life and death, and the young man in front of him has no grievances with him, maybe he should have let everyone know that he brought two swords in the first place......

Countless thoughts swirled through his mind for a moment, until a burning pain in his abdomen drove it away.

He looked down in amazement and saw the blood flow down his sword to Behring's hands.

His blood.

More than half of the sword sank deep into him, almost from his abdomen to his chest.

He felt the cold hands of the Grim Reaper...... Ice is also gentle, too. All the temperature disappeared with the blood, life was fleeting, but Borena wanted to laugh out loud.

He thought that Behring would give him a chance to win because of the knight's sense of honor...... But he never thought that the damn sense of honor was still deep in his heart.

He should have smiled and praised the pale young man, he should have prayed that the gods would at least let his soul return to Klitschs once more, he should have said sorry to Ethan, and Ed, Gunna, Falbo, Sonoen, Hayes......

But he couldn't make a sound anymore.

(To be continued)