Нэйко
05.03.297 — tournament in honor of the birthday of Deus Mariarnelia
VI
Opponent — Milady Alaria Doran, Knight of Catharsis from Lamento, servant of Lord Kaleido Cartridge.
At the start of the battle, it seemed as though all the odds were in my favor. Alaria was throwing knives at Zephyr, while I shot at her with my bow.
Initially, the opponent's tactic wasn't working, and Zephyr and I managed to successfully dodge her attacks. But gradually, while my arrows barely grazed her body through her armor, the Knight of Catharsis managed to achieve her goal and knock the pegasus out of the fight, turning the poor creature into a pincushion for knives.
Now Alaria was trying to repeat this trick with me, simultaneously closing the distance. All I could do was dodge her attacks and keep shooting back. For a while, I managed to hold my position, forcing the opponent to retreat and use a healing potion until her supplies ran out.
At first, it seemed that luck would now be on my side. However, the exact opposite happened. Alaria went berserk, sharply closed the distance, and began striking me with her blade. Almost every one of her attacks risked being lethal, and now I had to take sips from my flask, hoping to hold out.
At some point, the opponent surrounded herself with a barrier, causing all my shots to hit it instead. The problem was that I could no longer protect myself. All I could do was keep dodging for as long as I managed to.
Finally, when the barrier was broken and I once again had a chance at victory, Alaria cast a spell. It not only partially healed the Knight of Catharsis's wounds but also restored the barrier she had.
This did not shake my fighting spirit in the slightest, and I continued shooting, but by some miracle, the opponent managed not only to avoid my attacks but also to land hits on me. In the end, the final swing of the Catharsis blade decided the outcome of this duel in her favor. She expended a great deal of energy for the remaining battles, while I lost my chances at a prize-winning place.
Note: to expend almost all of her energy on just me, only to have no advantage over others afterward. Was it worth it? Probably, the fame of the Knights of Gildaria precedes them. I also allow for the possibility that the opponent from Silverdale had some personal motives or animosity toward me or our glorious region. In any case, it's unlikely anyone will provide answers to these conjectures.
