Chapter 274: Contradiction
The second semifinal was set: offensive Mika versus defensive Marjis—a true clash of opposites. Honestly, it was impossible to predict the winner.
I hadn’t expected Marjis to gain such a high reputation, but after seeing his performance so far, it was impossible not to respect him. As Yato mentioned, Marjis fits the rules of the mock battle tournament perfectly. Among similar types, he’s closest to Shoji, but unlike Shoji, his lack of aggressive tendencies makes him harder to break down.
On top of that, his size gives him long reach, allowing him to transition into attacks from anywhere. Listing his strengths makes him seem nearly invincible—but his opponent this time was Mika.
Mika’s attack variety, speed, and power are top-class, surpassing even Ren in raw offense. On top of that, her sixth sense allows her to land surprise attacks with high accuracy at critical moments.
Even for Marjis, defense seemed difficult—but there was also the possibility he could block her attacks and defy expectations.
The match began, and of course, Mika moved first.
With a wide smile, she started with probing attacks to gauge Marjis’s responses.
Her attacks were slow, measured, and seemed designed to expose weaknesses. Marjis could even respond, as if Mika was intentionally letting him counter while gathering information.
Sure enough, as Mika increased her attack tempo, Marjis started to feel constrained. Previously, he had relied on footwork and experience to corner attackers, but now Mika was striking precise weak points. Marjis’s counterattacks halted completely.
Seeing this, Mika gained momentum. Her movements became unpredictable, almost dance-like, and she unleashed a flurry of blows without pause.
Marjis barely blocked her strikes, but a sudden, simple attack landed cleanly. The disrupted tempo allowed Mika to land a second clean hit immediately after.
Marjis, who had relied on meticulous defense until now, suddenly received clean hits with shocking ease. In an attempt to regain control, he activated Dragon Form and switched to offense—but in an offense-vs-offense clash, he was at a disadvantage.
Mika’s thrust struck Marjis’s abdomen before his sword could come down, ending the match.
In hindsight, if Marjis had attacked with Dragon Form during Mika’s initial probing phase, the outcome might have been reversed.
The final result was a complete victory for Mika, but both fighters delivered a spectacular performance deserving of applause.
Although I wanted to hear from Rose and Marjis about their semifinal matches, the final would begin immediately after a 10-minute break. Conversations would have to wait until after the tournament; for now, all attention turned to the final.
The final matchup was identical to last year’s: Lime seeking revenge versus Mika, who aimed for a second consecutive championship.
Despite many upsets throughout the tournament, the fact that these two reached the final proves their undeniable skill.
“Thank you for waiting! The final of the 3rd Mock Battle Tournament begins now! Lime, Mika, please enter!”
At Sam’s call, both slowly appeared in the arena. The crowd erupted with applause and cheers, reaching the highest excitement of the day.
“Lime, same matchup as last year! Hehe, I’ll take the championship again this time!”
Mika declared, while Lime trembled slightly, signaling he would win.
Mika had grown stronger, but so had Lime—evolving into a Gold Slime. Even with the same matchup, the outcome was completely uncertain.
“Begin!”
At the referee’s signal, Mika moved first, determined to prevent Lime from even splitting. She closed the distance instantly.
It looked like a one-sided flurry of attacks could overwhelm Lime—but this was completely different from previous battles.
Lime’s body glimmered brilliantly, then vanished from sight. At first, it seemed like his usual invisibility, but Mika, expecting an attack, was suddenly blown backward.
Where Mika had just been, a dazzlingly bright Lime appeared, signaling his counterattack. A stunned silence gave way to roaring cheers from the spectators who realized what had just happened. It was thrilling not only because of the excitement but also because the monster Lime was being cheered on.
“Wow! I managed to block it, but he can really attack with zero motion!”
Mika muttered as she got back up. Lime had always needed to extend his body like a spring before attacking, but now he could strike without any wind-up.
Attacks with a wind-up can be predicted—but no-motion attacks made it dangerous for Mika to approach recklessly. At this point, the outcome of the final became completely unpredictable.