The legend of the Crimson Demon clan started from Suqing

#440 - 5 wins, 1 draw, 4 losses

"Here, water and a towel."

"… … Thank you."

Seeing the cleaning supplies handed over, which had been procured from who knows where, Erica hesitated for a moment before accepting them.

For girls… for ladies, being covered in dirt and grime all the time isn't polite.

Silently, she wiped her face.

The mountain boar had already been annihilated, burned to ashes by the giant dragon's furious breath. But strangely, the ashes were swept up into the sky by a strong wind and quickly disappeared.

And as the giant beast ceased its rampage, the chaos on the streets finally subsided.

But what remained was a hellish streetscape, with rubble everywhere, a raging fire at the docks that had yet to be extinguished, and people in disarray.

In the distance, faint cries for help could still be heard, but the female knight beside her was too weak to offer assistance, as she herself was deeply shaken and despondent.

The two of them were still sitting on the bench where they had parted ways earlier.

Perhaps it was good luck, but with the surroundings utterly destroyed, and even the takoyaki food cart not far away crushed, only the bench had miraculously survived.

"… … Why did you save me?"

The girl suddenly asked this.

"Because of a meal's worth of gratitude! … … Just kidding, I just happened to catch you, and then that mountain boar, for some reason, went berserk and charged at me when it saw me, so I took it down in a fit of anger."

"What, that kind of explanation isn't very gentlemanly at all."

"That depends on the person."

"Are you saying I'm not a lady?"

Zun Zun remained noncommittal.

He said nothing, yet he said everything, making the somewhat proud girl a little flustered.

Look.

When a confident and strong girl suffers an unprecedented blow, revealing a vulnerability that no one has ever seen, a boy can completely use his status as her savior to comfort her, and then tell her that she has already done great, it's just that the opponent is overwhelmingly strong, and it's not her fault.

… … Something like that.

Doing so would probably earn him a great deal of goodwill. However, Zun Zun had chosen the wrong options twice in a row, even deliberately so.

"I want to ask one more time, was it really not you who did it? That divine beast, isn't it part of you?"

"No."

"Is that so."

Erica nodded, seemingly finally believing Zun Zun's explanation, but her change in attitude from her previous stubbornness was rather strange.

"Although I still harbor some doubts, I want to believe the person who saved my life."

"Oh my, an unexpectedly proper lady."

"Please say 'knight' at a time like this."

This was the girl's title, and also her pride.

However, this time, a bitter smile appeared on the girl's face—she was clearly a 16-year-old Great Knight, who had even inherited her uncle's title of 'Crimson Devil,' yet she had still been utterly defeated without resistance in the face of a disobedient god… or even a divine beast.

Really, it was too embarrassing.

Looking at the person of unknown origin beside her…

"Even if you're not a god, you must be a magician."

"Don't use 'magician'; it's a derogatory term where I come from. Please call me Grand Magus, thank you."

"Grand Magus…"

Erica kept chewing on the title. She felt that it was probably the same as her title of Great Knight, except that if they were really to be ranked, her own level would be too low.

"Don't be so humble. I'm also an anomaly where I come from. You're a normal Great Knight, Erica."

"… … I can't be happy at all."

Precisely because she was a normal Great Knight, she couldn't resist in the face of absolute power, and couldn't even hinder it.

Just as Zun Zun was about to leave—

"I smelled a peculiar scent, so I came here to take a look… Would you mind if I spoke with you?"

A young boy emerged from the collapsed wall.

He was probably 14 or 15 years old.

His black hair reached his shoulders, his skin was ivory-colored, and most importantly, he was very handsome, on par with Zun Zun.

The clothes he wore were a bit ragged, a slightly dirty and messy tea-brown color, and rather than being attire from the port city, they looked more like clothes that would be worn in the desert.

"Are you an ordinary person? It's very dangerous here; leave quickly!"

Erica warned him.

No, no, no, at a time like this, it should be—a strange boy has appeared in such a dangerous place, he must be suspicious! … … That's what I should be thinking, right?

"Don't worry, young lady, I am not afraid of danger."

The boy said this while looking at Zun Zun next to Erica, seemingly hinting that 'your companion doesn't seem to care' with his eyes.

Erica moved her lips but said nothing.

"Well then, although I am also slightly curious about you, I now want to talk to the boy next to you more."

It was as if he was extending an invitation.

The boy smiled gently, his slender eyes becoming even more so, and his lips curved upwards. It was an ancient-style smile, a completely different style from Zun Zun, a smile like smoke.

"Of course, actually, I'd quite like to chat with you too."

The boy said nothing, but his eyes expressed that you don't seem like you do.

"No, I was just testing."

Zun Zun also didn't say what he was testing.

The truth was, the mountain boar had charged at him, and perhaps other divine beasts would come looking for him as well, so Zun Zun hadn't actively sought them out.

Just like Aqua's constitution attracting the undead, he might also be generating some kind of attraction to these beings.

And the result—

"Regardless of the circumstances, we've met after all, haven't we?"

"—Indeed."

The boy deeply agreed.

"Then, may I ask what business you have with me?"

"I want to fight you."

"—! ?"

Erica tensed up, standing in front of Zun Zun, even though she didn't have much strength, she still actively faced the enemy. She probably sensed that the boy in front of her was no ordinary person.

However, the boy seemed to completely ignore her, and she was no longer in his sight.

"I am the victor; victory is always in my hands, that is my essence. No matter what kind of conflict I encounter, facing any enemy, my victory will not change, it cannot be shaken."

The extremely arrogant declaration came calmly from the boy's mouth, as if it were as natural and righteous as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.

Zun Zun had no expression.

The boy continued, "That's how it is, so I have always wanted to experience the taste of defeat, but no one can defeat me. Now that I think about it, I lose myself as soon as I start fighting, and I can't help but get serious…"

It was as if he was lamenting that he didn't know how to hold back.

Then, the boy extended an invitation.

"How about it, are you interested in competing with me? It would be good if you could play with me for a while. Anything you're good at is fine."

"Of course not possible—"

"Swimming, martial arts, wits, horseback riding, anything is fine. Oh, right, I also played baseball and soccer just now, those were quite interesting too."

"… … Eh?"

Erica was stunned.

She had thought it would be a battle between magicians or something, but she hadn't expected it to be this kind of game that tested intelligence and physical strength, making the mentally tense Great Knight unsure of what expression to make.

"Okay, I accept."

"Very good, it seems you are also someone who craves battle! You are undoubtedly an excellent warrior!"

The boy revealed a battle-hungry smile.

"Please call me Archmage, thank you." Zun Zun then took out a coin and said, "Actually, although I'm quite good at other sports, if you ask me what I'm most confident in, it's definitely my own good luck."

"Good luck?"

"That's right, I've been bombarded by meteorites twice, you know."

"…Is that good luck?"

The boy was momentarily speechless.

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Even Erica looked at Zun Zun with an expression that said, 'What are you talking about?'

"Heh heh, that's good luck."

Zun Zun chuckled softly.

"Forget it, that's not important. Since you say you're confident in your good luck, you must have thought about how to compete, right? Let's start quickly!"

"Is it okay to use luck, such an ethereal and uncertain thing, to determine victory or defeat? Most people wouldn't accept that, right?"

"I've said it before, I am the strongest, the one who defeats all opponents. Whether it's luck or anything else, I will achieve victory!"

The boy still issued his declaration of being the strongest.

Then, the two began to compete, in the form of a coin toss. To maintain fairness, the two took turns tossing the coin, for a total of ten times. While one person tossed the coin, the other guessed; guessing correctly meant victory, and vice versa.

Although the boy said that all ten tosses could be given to Zun Zun, giving him the initiative, Zun Zun refused on the grounds of fairness.

"Young lady over there, can you be the witness?"

"Certo!"

Erica readily agreed.

—

As the coin was tossed repeatedly, the two took turns calling heads or tails. Initially, Zun Zun had four consecutive wins, almost reaching victory. But from that point on, he quickly suffered four consecutive losses.

Score: 4-4

"I've never seen such a contest before."

Erica found the two's contest, which seemed like child's play, strange. It was clearly just a simple coin toss, but both of them had serious eyes and expressions, as if they were giving it their all.

This was just a competition of luck, just luck.

Invisible, intangible, and not even known to exist, it was just a sentence of being glad for good luck, or complaining about bad luck, just a casual remark.

It was just an insignificant word, and no one would truly attribute everything to luck.

"As expected of you, you quickly caught up with luck."

"You're not bad either, you almost touched victory. Your sneak attack tactic was very useful."

"It's not a sneak attack, please say it's a fair and square showdown."

After the boy tossed the coin, Zun Zun said, "Heads."

As if truly listening to his words, the coin tossed by the boy bounced once on the floor, then stuck firmly to the ground, motionless, as if it were a fixed match.

The result was heads.

Good luck finally stood on Zun Zun's side this time.

"Alright." Zun Zun's eyes shone with a bright red light, and the smile on his face was extremely arrogant. He stared straight at the boy in front of him, "5-4, you can't win against me anymore."

This was undoubtedly contempt for the boy.

After all, he had just said that he was the victor, and now he couldn't win, wouldn't that be slapping his own face?

However, the boy was not ashamed into anger.

"Hahahaha—"

He laughed, not the faint smile from before, but a very ferocious laugh, as if he had seen something interesting, laughing like he was eager to hunt.

This was the first time the two had seen him laugh like this.

An inexplicable aura of danger constantly permeated the air. Both Erica and Zun Zun subconsciously tensed up.

The boy didn't attack, but with his own aura alone, he made people feel like they were facing a formidable enemy.

That high fighting spirit emitted by a battle-hardened warrior, Zun Zun had only felt it on the bodies of the strong.

Erica's legs softened slightly, and she subconsciously leaned on Zun Zun's body. The powerful aura was dispelled, and her pale face eased somewhat.

It was as if a storm was constantly brewing.

Then, it suddenly burst open before reaching its peak.

Erica's face paled again. She really wanted to ask: Is this really just a coin toss game?

"Good! Good!! Good!!!" The boy laughed loudly to the sky, his voice excited and high-pitched, shouting like a declaration, "I acknowledge you! As expected, my feeling was right, you are strong, you are my good opponent!"

"Yes, yes, so, shall we continue the game?"

"Of course!"

Facing Zun Zun's question, the boy answered without hesitation, saying, "Although you have already taken the lead with a crucial point, I don't intend to hand over victory, that's not what a warrior should do! And... you haven't completely won yet!"

"...I see, you want to tie?"

Zun Zun nodded.

Tying the score to 5-5 would mean there would be no loser, and of course, no winner. The boy wouldn't be considered to have lost the match.

"To think you'd exploit a bug... as expected, it's a drawback of the game."

"Then—"

The boy didn't care about any of that. He signaled with his eyes for Zun Zun to quickly start the last round. After Zun Zun picked up the coin from the ground, he tossed it upwards again.

"—Tails!"

The boy decisively chose tails.

But it didn't seem like he was carefully considering and deliberating before making a choice in the limited time, but rather, he randomly chose a side as if to confront and antagonize Zun Zun.

Tossing a coin may seem like it depends on luck, but it doesn't entirely depend on luck. Technique and observation are also being tested.

However, the other party seemed determined to use luck to achieve victory.

At the same time, he looked at him provocatively.

Zun Zun would tell the boy that the Crimson Demons never fear provocation!

Headgear, activate!

The constantly shrinking headgear made Zun Zun's cheeks twitch, and his face was pale. On the other side, the boy also stared at Zun Zun with burning eyes, and the robe on his body kept undulating.

Two gusts of wind constantly collided, and became more and more intense, until they turned into a strong wind, a gale.

And the coin on the floor was still spinning, as if it would never stop—no, it wouldn't stop spinning until the two of them determined the winner.

"Haaah—"

"Haaah—"

Clearly it was just a coin toss game, but the two of them seemed to be mustering all their strength, not relaxing in the slightest because of this seemingly childish coin toss game, as if they could really use this method to increase their own luck, neither of them giving way to the other.

Finally—

The coin stood straight up on the stone slab, with no sign of falling down at all, and the final outcome of the coin toss was fixed at this moment.

5 wins, 1 draw, 4 losses.

It was Zun Zun's victory!

"Good—!"

As if he had really experienced a heated battle, Zun Zun raised his fist high, proclaiming his victory.