Chapter 350- Unexpected Encounters

“Ah…”

“Huh?!”

When I entered the waiting room, my eyes met with a man, and both of us stopped in our tracks. He seemed like an enthusiastic beastman, almost on the verge of transforming, even at this stage in the waiting room. However, he wasn’t in a state of transformation. This man was a demon.

Anyone who knows both beasts and demons to some extent would be able to tell the difference.

“…Let’s both do our best.”

“Y-Yeah…”

The demon had been watching me with caution, which drew attention from other beastmen in the waiting room. So, I decided to approach him normally to show that I had no intention of fighting. Then, as if nothing had happened, I moved away and took a seat, waiting for my own match.

“Kenta-san, it’s your turn to compete.”

“Understood.”

It seems the demon is up for the next match. He glanced at me briefly and headed towards the stage.

“Haa…”

With the demon gone, I let out a deep sigh. I was quite nervous, to be honest. Well, there were about five people in the waiting room, so there was a possibility of encountering someone, but I hadn’t thought about it.

If I had instinctively drawn my sword and stayed on guard, what would have happened? If I had started a commotion here, the spectators who came to watch the matches in the arena would have been affected.

By the way, what kind of demon was that? He had legs like a horse, but his upper body was human-shaped. Based on my past experiences, demon names often derive from the type of monster they resemble. Kenta… could it be a centaur? Centaurs are extremely fast and classified as A+ monsters. If he is a centaur, he’ll be quite formidable.

“Zeros-san, it’s your turn to compete.”

“Yes.”

For now, I set aside thoughts of the demon and closed my eyes, focusing my mind. Before I knew it, it was my turn. I headed toward the stage.

“This is our second encounter.”

“Yeah, I didn’t know your name last time.”

“My apologies. My name is Zori.”

“I think you already know, but my name is Zeros.”

This was the first time we introduced ourselves.

“…By the way, I feel like we’re meeting for the first time.”

“That’s because my equipment is different from last time.”

Zori had already transformed into a beast before coming to the stage. I see, it must be because it’s quite common for demons to transform in the waiting room, despite the fact that a demon was present in the waiting room and no one seemed to be on guard.

As for Zori’s equipment, he was clad in a suit of metal armor from head to toe. Furthermore, he wielded a massive shield that could hide his nearly four-meter-tall body.

“Beastification.”

This time, I increased my tail to five. Then, I drew my sword and prepared myself.

“…If you deliberately dulled that blade and can restore it, you can do so. However, no matter what you do to the blade, it won’t be able to cut through this shield and armor.”

“Thank you.”

It seemed that Zori had anticipated my actions and made a considerate remark. Trusting Zori’s words, I restored the blade to its original sharp state.

“Begin! 』

The moment the match started, I sprinted forward and launched a frontal assault.

“Tch…”

However, that attack was easily blocked by the large shield.

Afterward, I continued to move around and launch surprise attacks, but each time they were effectively blocked by the large shield. Whenever I tried to forcefully break through the shield, I ended up being struck by it.

By the way, my sword didn’t leave a scratch on the large shield. It must be quite sturdy.

“Zero-kun.”

“Zero.”

“Understood.”

I was just thinking that if things continued like this, I would have to aim for a time-out victory. Although a time-out victory would be guaranteed based on the previous match results, I didn’t want to win by a time-out if possible.

With encouragement from Yug and Zeal, I increased my tail by one more.

“Hah!”

My speed and power increased compared to before. Moreover, the power of my devil power strengthened.

Thanks to the increased time I could temporarily stop Zori’s movements with my devil power, occasionally my attacks managed to penetrate through the shield and reach the armor. The armor, while not as durable as the shield, showed visible signs of damage from my attacks.

“Hmph!”

“Ah!”

Zori slammed the large shield onto the stage. I distanced myself and dodged it. A significant dent was left on the stage.

“Earth Armor.”

While I created distance, Zori activated his beast armor. As expected, as a guardian of the king, a beastman could use beast armor. It seemed he was now covered in soil, further enhancing his defense. How much did he allocate his stats to defense?

“Lightning armor.”

I also enveloped myself in lightning. Moving around, my body became completely warmed up. This is where the real battle begins.

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