Grey Bell
The owner of the Grey Consortium, the mastermind who tricked Irene into having Yuren create a game, and the archmage who failed to assassinate Prince Lethers and incite a military clash between the Empire and the Kingdom of Ra, only to lose his territory to Yuren.
After losing his territory, Grey found himself in a very difficult situation.
One of the strengths of the Grey Consortium was its ability to produce battle-oriented magical tools at a lower price than other companies, thanks to resources sourced from its territory.
However, having lost that territory, the Grey Consortium lost this advantage, ultimately leading to its collapse.
Yet, for now, they managed to hang on.
The Grey family was a lineage of magicians who created “Berya (Dark Magic),” relying on their expertise in battle-oriented magical tools to somehow keep the company afloat.
But then, Yuren’s Eternal Fantasy went viral.
From the popularity of Eternal Fantasy came the rapid-fire attack magical tool, [Shotgun].
Prioritizing speed and accuracy over power and range, this innovative magical tool beat out Grey Consortium’s Berya Dagger in securing contracts with the Imperial Army for their “small magical tools,” delivering another heavy blow to the Grey Consortium.
“YUREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
As a result of this, the Grey Consortium was decimated, and Grey, filled with rage, screamed—only for those words to never reach Yuren.
While Yuren was too busy focusing on game development to care about Grey, he had heard the news that Grey was seeking revenge for losing his territory and that the Grey Consortium was falling apart.
However, Grey was different.
He suspected that Yuren, from behind the scenes, was intent on killing him, thinking he could no longer endure this humiliation.
Amidst this chaos, a new magical tool bid announcement came from the Imperial Army.
With war gone and large-scale battles nonexistent, the Imperial Army focused on “small-scale engagements.”
In warfare, mass destruction spells had been the norm.
But with the absence of war, small magical battles against foreign magicians, criminals, or high-level monsters were taking place.
The previous system of magical battle, which focused heavily on mass destruction, was clearly no longer applicable and needed improvement.
What the world needed were magical tools with much higher power than shotguns, yet far more specialized for personal combat.
The Imperial Army bid a significant amount on this project, and ultimately, the Grey Consortium’s [Dark Sword] and the Edward Consortium’s [Shotgun] were the final contenders.
And then…
“The imperial army’s personal combat magical tool… has been selected as the Edward Consortium’s [Shotgun].”
Boom! Boom!
At that moment when the magical tool bid was decided, Grey felt the sky fall.
If he couldn’t win this bid, the Grey Consortium would face extinction.
Feeling the despair that Yuren and Irene had experienced, Grey lost his composure and yelled.
“This is absurd!! I cannot accept this!!! I contest this!”
Grey rushed forward to contest the decision, and people tried to stop him.
“What kind of madness is this! Grey!!”
“Our Grey Consortium has supplied battle magical tools to the Imperial Army for the past 200 years. I cannot believe that our magical tools are inferior to some strange gaming device.”
Grey’s words raised the blood pressure of the Imperial Army judges.
Just like in other worlds, the arms industry was heavily reliant on connections.
Naturally, the networks of the Grey family and the Edward Consortium were involved.
Grey’s statement was like an insult to the judges from the Edward Consortium.
“Are you mocking the judges of the Imperial Army!?”
“I am not mocking them. I simply believe the result is unjust.”
However, the judges had their own points to make.
It wasn’t just connections; during performance testing, the shotgun had clearly displayed meaningful effects in personal magic combat, which was why it had been selected.
But Grey couldn’t accept that and ultimately decided to take drastic measures.
“I, Grey Bell, request a ‘Duel Trial’ against the person responsible for the shotgun. If the shotgun truly is a useful combat magical tool, it shouldn’t be hard for you to defeat me!!”
Duel Trial
A type of trial where disputes are resolved through combat, believed by the Zers Empire to grant victory to the rightful one by divine will. Particularly in the Imperial Army, related to the war god, rejecting a duel trial was close to blasphemy, and thus the functionality of magical tools was ultimately validated through this trial.
But there was a problem.
“Who will we bring in as the person responsible for the shotgun?”
The one responsible for the shotgun project was ‘Rebic Edward,’ the head of the Edward Consortium’s magical tool division.
However, he was merely the head of the project; the actual owner of the shotgun’s license was someone else—someone who introduced the shotgun to this world, that being Dune.
The real person responsible for the shotgun was none other than…
“So I have to duel with ‘Grey’?”
“Somehow it came to this… I’m sorry, Yuren!!”
“Sorry. Yuren.”
Rebic and Sylvia bowed their heads apologetically to me.
Rather than being angry, I just found it ridiculous.
What is this? I had been minding my own business after losing my territory, and now I was stepping into this mess voluntarily. Was I that bored with life?
“Well then, what happens now?”
My master, who had been listening, asked Sylvia, who answered.
“If Yuren accepts the duel trial, he will fight in front of the Imperial Army observers. Of course, Yuren isn’t obliged to accept this duel trial.”
“We’ll conduct another magical tool review, but that’s something we’ll handle, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
Rebic seemed to not speak out for me, but I understood everything.
If I were to refuse the duel trial, the shotgun would likely have a tarnished image for being the “fleeing magic tool,” severely affecting its chances in the next review.
The problem was my master.
This was a great opportunity for revenge against Grey, but my kind-hearted master might oppose it.
Hmm… what should I do?
While I was pondering, my master took my hand and spoke.
“Yuren…”
“Yes, Master.”
I looked at my master, who suddenly stared at me with an unfamiliar icy expression.
“I hope… Grey suffers a bit more.”
Well, if that’s what you want, things can go quickly now.
My master declared a holy war.
It’s war!!!
*
A week later, duel trial day arrived.
Instead of game development, I was engaged in magical training for battle before heading to the duel trial arena.
It seemed that rumors of my duel trial against Grey had spread, as a huge crowd had gathered to watch.
And at the center of the trial arena, Grey was already waiting.
Unlike the black dress I had seen previously, Grey was now clad in a dark battle cloak equipped with what appeared to be his consortium’s magical tool, a black sword.
It looked like the magical tool Dark Sword made using that “Berya (Dark Magic).”
Seeing me, Grey approached with an unusually tense, stiff expression.
“It’s been a while, Yuren.”
“Are you not calling me the kid anymore?”
I approached him holding the shotgun.
Grey only glared at me coolly, lacking the previous confidence he had shown.
“I have to admit, you definitely landed a solid hit on me.”
“Gee, thanks a lot.”
Grey seemed quite frustrated and tightened his grip on his sword, glaring at me.
“But remember, a wounded beast is the most dangerous.”
I didn’t know what Grey had been through, but he spoke as if he were the victim.
It was ridiculous.
All this had started with her little prank.
“Can I say something too? Back in the place I used to live, there was a saying: [If you mess around, you might lose a hand.] So, be careful with that hand…”
With that last remark, I took my position.
After both Grey and I had taken our designated spots, shortly after, the judge of the duel trial entered.
Dressed in the attire of a cathedral officiant, the judge declared to us.
“Now, we shall commence the sacred duel trial. May the divine aid be with the true victor…”
With those words, the judge tossed a coin into the sky.
The duel trial would officially begin the moment that coin hit the ground.
Both Grey and I focused on the coin and each other as it slowly fell.
The coin landed.
Ping!
And the moment…
Bang!!!
Flames erupted from my shotgun as the duel trial began.
Now… the time for judgment had come.
