Neidhart continued to dodge Hilt’s long-range attacks, but soon launched a counterattack.

「Shryaah!」

While shrieking, in less than five seconds, Neidhart’s arms transformed dramatically.

From the upper arm to the tip, his hands have transformed into huge scythes of a praying mantis that is long enough for the tip to touch the ground.

Moreover, compared to the scythes of a praying mantis that exist in the wild, his scythes look more vicious.

Like a series of countless knives were attached to it, his scythes were covered with numerous short, sharp thorn-like spines.

The green carapace, glistening in the sunlight, hinted at the fact that it must be as hard as metal.

As I thought, Insectification was capable of transforming his outer appearance too.

After cloaking both of his own scythes with magic power, Neidhart began to swing them around in rapid succession. It may seem like he’s blindly attacking the surrounding at first, but that was not the case.

It is apparent that he was able to detect Hilt’s Void Grasp and blocked it before it hit him. Moreover, he was also able to immediately connect his block into an attack.

From his arm, he shot out a blade of magic power and attacked Hilt.

「Tsk!」

She was forced to move from her spot to evade his attack, but she’s able to keep firing her Void Grasp while avoiding Neidhart’s flying blade.

The two sides launched long-range attacks on each other, but after a dozen or so seconds, they stopped attacking at the same time.

Both sides must have realized that they would get nowhere by continuing with their back-and-forth attacks.

From one end of the stage to the other, the two sides stared at each other.

After a moment of silence, as if an explosion had occurred, the audience cheered loudly.

『T-That was terrific! We couldn’t grasp it all, they’re just too fast! But we do know that an incredible fight must have been taking place~! At first, Hiltoria, the heir of Dimitris-style School and an A-Ranked adventurer, seems to have the advantage, but the leader of the mercenary group, Neidhart the Flash Sword, is not giving her any slack!』

After the commentator’s exclamation, Neidhart mutters.

「Fuh, I’m no longer a leader though」

「Heh? I wonder if you got kicked out?」

「Hahahah. Well, at the very least, I’d say that it was my own decision. I wanted to retire before entering this tournament, but everyone was against it. Still, I pressed my way out of my post. Yesterday, I got a message that everyone agreed, so I’m a freelance mercenary now」

His voice was muffled by the cheers and the audience probably didn’t hear him.

But for him to quit being a leader, I wonder why? Hilt seems to have thought the same thing I did and asked back.

「Why? I don’t think you need to retire to enter the tournament though」

「Well, I’m at that age already. I have to pass my spot to the next generation」

「That’s nice of you」

Mutter Hilt with a somewhat distressed expression. As Dimitris’ successor, she may have something in mind about Neidhart’s words.

At first, they may seem like they’re engrossed in their small talk, but of course, that can’t be the only thing they are doing.

It is clear that they are building up their power while looking for an opening.

「I don’t really want to use this because it’s still a little crude… But it can’t be helped」

The first to make their move was Neidhart. A few seconds after his mutters, his back began to bulge. Then, “something” large burst out through his equipment and revealed itself.

Like his previous orichalcon armor, as if to not get in the way when that “thing” grows out, his current armor also has a large opening on the back.

That “something” was a pair of wings. His wings looked just like that of an insect.

Moreover, his torso, which was visible through the gaps in his neck and armor, could be seen to be covered with a green carapace. The lower half of his body has also became significantly enlarged.

However, the biggest change was in his atmosphere. It wasn’t just an increase in intimidation. Mixed with the sharp killing intent emanating from his body, as if he were facing his prey, there was clearly a strong sense of hunger emanating from him.

With his newly gained savage appearance, he looks just like a magic beast.

「Gyiiaaah!」

「!!」

Hilt looks a little surprised at the cry of the seemingly reasonless magic beast. She was probably bewildered by the disparity between the gentlemanly Neidhart and his current appearance.

The audiences are also taken aback by Neidhart’s transformation.

Silence then enveloped the arena, and at that moment, Hilt was slammed into the barrier.

Before she could notice, Neidhart had approached her and attacked her with his scythes.

Fast is not the word that would suffice to describe the tremendous speed at which he moved. By the time the audience realized what was happening, he had gone from one end of the stage to the other.

Neidhart’s speed in his fully transformed form had reached the realm where even the current Fran and I couldn’t hope to match.

「Ghah…」

Hilt’s left-hand hangs limp in the air.