Heroine Hunter

[Rellia]

[Occupation: Empress of the Lorelein Empire/Chairwoman of the Imperial Women Bureau]

[Dane Lorelein]

[Occupation: First Prince of the Lorelein Empire/Demon Worshiper] 

‘What?’  

The First Prince was a demon worshiper?  

That wasn’t the case in the original story.  

‘Wait. Could it be?’  

In the novel, a succubus approached the exiled Princess Evangeline and led her into dark magic.  

In this timeline, the succubus never approached Evangeline, or couldn’t.  

What if that succubus went to the First Prince instead?  

‘This butterfly effect…’  

This might make things easier than I thought.

Before the matches began, the Emperor rose and gave a brief speech. 

His voice echoed throughout the arena after getting amplified by magic.

“I am truly amazed to see such remarkable talents in our empire. Skill is, of course, essential. However, regardless of the outcome, it is equally important to maintain the dignity befitting an imperial knight until the very end. Those who do so will be rewarded accordingly, regardless of victory or defeat. Now, show us a splendid match.”

“Whoa—!”  

The short and straightforward speech elicited a cheer from the citizens.

The announcer began introducing the match. His voice resonated throughout the arena.

“The first match of the Round of 16 is about to start.”  

The bracket on the screen was enlarged.  

Kaskal ┐__________

Delpier ┘

In the spacious, oval-shaped arena, two people faced off. 

The announcer flamboyantly introduced the two.

“The ace of the Northern Wind Mercenary Corps! A man who can sever his opponent’s neck with the speed of the wind—Kaaaskal!”  

It was the scrawny guy who had been sitting in my seat earlier.  

“Whoa—!”

He showed off some flashy moves with his dagger and appeared to be responding to the cheers of the crowd.  

I recalled the setting in this world: knights weren’t just horse-riding soldiers but combat machines capable of taking on hundreds at a time.  

“And facing him, the rising star of the Imperial Knights! With reflexes so sharp he can dodge arrows and wield a greatsword with overwhelming strength—Deeelpieeerrrre!”  

“Whoa—!”  

The cheers grew even louder.  

The Imperial Knights were no joke. 

It seemed the crowd was cheering for whoever they had bet on.

Thinking about how my introduction would go made me feel a little dizzy.  

‘By the way, where’s that pig guy?’  

Not seeing the pig beastman among the seated contestants, I figured he must be Dodoria Pigman.  

He was probably warming up for the next match.

The referee raised a red flag between Kaskal and Delpier before stepping back.  

The duel began.

The two men charged at each other with a resounding crash! 

Dust rose from the arena.  

“Wow.” 

I couldn’t help but be impressed.  

Clang! Clang! 

The sound of clashing metal echoed.  

Sparks flew from within the dust cloud.  

As the dust slowly settled, the dagger and greatsword were seen colliding at a rapid pace.  

The large greatsword was blocking the swift attacks of the dagger.  

Occasionally, the greatsword would seize an opportunity and swing broadly, but Kaskal would vanish, leaving only an afterimage, swiftly evading the attack.  

The audience was utterly engrossed in the match.  

Only the voices of the commentator and the announcer occasionally broke the silence.  

To the people of this world, this must be like the Premier League or the World Cup.  

‘My match is probably going to be boring.’  

I felt a bit guilty.

In the midst of the fierce exchange, Kaskal’s silhouette appeared behind Delpier, slashing his dagger across the back of Delpier’s neck.  

“Urgh.”  

Delpier clutched the back of his neck and collapsed.  

Despite the protective magic, the impact seemed significant enough that he dropped his greatsword.  

He tried to get up but fell to his knees again, unable to stand.  

The referee ran over to check on him.  

The referee waved his flag back and forth.  

It looked like Delpier had surrendered.  

The announcer went wild.  

“The winner of the first match iiiiiisss! Kaskaaaal!”  

“Whoa—!”  

If I won this round of 16, I’d have to fight that guy in the quarterfinals.  

It could be a good chance to test out my Invincible Body.  

The guide approached me.  

“Mr. Castoloni, please come and prepare for the next match.”  

I followed him to the athletes’ entrance.  

The announcer and commentator’s voices echoed through the arena.  

“There’s a lot of concern about the second match.”  

“Indeed. It’s a fight between a human and a beastman known for his tremendous strength. It seems like a one-sided outcome is expected.”  

“I actually watched Mr. Castoloni fight in the preliminaries.”  

“Oh, really? How was it?”  

“Well, to be honest, I thought it was going to be a joke since he’s just a sex toy shop owner, but he was tougher than I expected and fought quite well. He even received the Brave Imperial Citizen Award recently for taking down a demonized orc with holy magic.”  

“Yes. But in this match, magic is forbidden. Plus, his opponent is the continental champion of the Beastman Martial Arts Tournament. The players are ready to enter the arena. Let’s see how this unfolds.”

The tournament official next to me asked with a worried expression,  

“Mr. Castoloni, are you really sure about this? Without any armor…”  

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

I stood there, shirtless, holding just a wooden stick.  

The announcer yelled.

“The undisputed champion of the Continental Martial Arts Tournament—Do~doria~Pig~~~man!”  

At the opposite end of the arena, the pig beastman was making his entrance.  

“Wooooo!”  

The crowd erupted in tremendous cheers.  

The official beside me gave the signal for my entrance.  

“And his opponent—The Saint of Pisac Dildo, Ian Castollini!”  

Damn it. The variations on my nickname keep growing.  

I stepped into the arena.  

“Woooooo!”  

I could hear the cheers of the few die-hard underdog supporters. 

Bless them.  

I stood facing Dodoria Pigman, only about ten steps away.  

He was decked out in heavy armor, wielding a hammer large enough to flatten a head in one blow.  

The voices of the commentator and the announcer echoed around the arena.  

“What’s that? He’s not even wearing armor and is only carrying a wooden stick. Has Saint Dildo already given up on the match?”  

“Ah… Unfortunately, it seems that way. He’s up against Dodoria in the round of 16, so his draw wasn’t exactly favorable. I’m guessing he picked that stick as a last-ditch attempt to advertise his shop, using it as a dildo prop?”  

“And as we speak—”  

I calmly brought the wooden stick between my legs, positioning it like a cock, and spun around to face the crowd.  

“Oh, my! What is that? Is he taunting? Or is this some sort of shop promotion?”  

Boos echoed from the crowd.  

“Boooooo!”  

The commentator said coolly.

“Honestly, using a highly anticipated match as a personal advertisement opportunity isn’t the best sportsmanship, is it?”  

I now understand why home teams usually have the advantage in sports.  

Being booed by tens of thousands definitely makes you feel like shrinking back.  

Still, I felt I owed this little performance to the few who had bet on the underdog—me.  

I turned to face Dodoria Pigman.  

The referee stood between us.  

He glanced between us, as if asking if we were ready.  

Pigman spoke up.  

“What are you doing? If you’re done with your promotion, just forfeit.”  

I tilted my head.  

“What are you talking about? Beating you is the best promotion.”  

He burst out laughing.  

“Hahahahaha!”  

The referee glanced nervously between us.  

Pigman tightened his grip on his hammer.  

“Even with the protection spell, getting hit by this hammer could still crack your skull, human.”  

“Yeah? Then take it easy on me.”

I nodded at the referee.  

“You signed the waiver, right? Don’t hold a grudge if you die.”  

The pig beastman nodded at the referee.  

The referee raised the red flag and stepped back.  

The commentator shouted urgently,  

“What’s happening here? It’s not a forfeit. The match has begun!”  

I brought the stick between my legs and raised it.  

“They say pig beastmen are strong, but they’re really small down there. Maybe that’s why we don’t sell pig beastmen dildos at our shop.”  

“You son of a—!”  

He charged at me, eyes filled with murderous intent.  

In an instant, his giant hammer cast a shadow over my face.  

[Indestructible Body]  

I swung my fist straight into the flat end of the hammer aiming at me.  

Thud—  

A metallic clang echoed.  

The hammer bounced off.  

When I stopped his massive hammer with my fist, Dodoria Pigman’s face twisted in disbelief.  

Using the momentum of my punch, I spun around and swung the wooden stick directly at his jaw.  

Crack! 

The sound echoed as the wooden stick shattered.  

“Ugh.”  

Pigman was hit square in the jaw, lost his balance and collapsed onto his knees.  

Thud. 

His hammer fell to the ground.  

I grabbed him by the collar of his armor.  

The iron bent and twisted like cloth, molding perfectly to my grip.  

I lifted his massive body effortlessly and slammed him into the ground on the opposite side.  

Boom.  

Dust rose into the air.  

I spoke to the beastman whose face was buried in the dirt.  

“Surrender.”  

“Urrrggghhh…”  

His limbs trembled.  

It seemed he still had some consciousness left, thanks to the protection spell.  

I lifted him again and slammed him down on the other side.  

Boom.  

Pigman’s lips barely moved as he lay sprawled on the ground.  

“S-Surren…der…”  

Dust clouded the scene, making the referee hard to see.  

“What? Can’t hear you?”  

He had to pay the price for disrespecting the Empire’s Saintess and Princess.  

I started slamming him back and forth across the arena.  

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

The only sound echoing through the arena was the heavy thud of impacts.  

In the spectator stands, they likely saw only shadowy figures moving within the thick dust cloud and heard those thudding noises.  

I heard the referee running over.  

“Ian Castoloni! Stop! Stop! Stand down!”  

Before the referee could reach me through the dust, I hurled the beastman toward the section where the First Prince was seated.  

Pigman soared through the air in an arc.  

Crash!  

His heavy, armored body smashed into the outer wall of the arena, breaking it down as debris collapsed over him.  

The dust slowly settled.  

I looked around the arena.  

The venue was still enveloped in silence.  

I calmly picked up the broken wooden stick. 

The stunned announcer regained his composure and shouted,.

“T-The winner iiiiiis! Iaaaan! Castoloni!”