Side Note

Hi, hi, it's me, the most beautiful of the shadow clones that wears a butler suit, Darky Ryan. Like I said back when I explained the timeline out of boredom, I have an announcement to make! Too bad it got spoiled by the title… well, I guess I'll just skip to the introductions part! I even had them tied to wooden chairs to give off a kidnapping feel! Eight pairs of competitors, sixteen different bodies, a number of rounds that I'm too lazy to math out, and a shit ton of Shadow Madeleines as spectators. I filled out a gladiatorial arena with them! I also hijacked a gladiatorial arena, but it's alright. It was run by slavers, so I have the moral high ground.

Anyways, onto the introductions. Worry not, my dear fans (You better be my fans, or I'll be the worst thing to happen to Side Note since the idiot who sent assassins after Madeleine), they're all familiar faces since seven of them are my fellow sisters! It's time for the Madeleine Royale! Man… I am so getting banned from future family dinners again.

The first pair is obviously our beloved main characters, Madeleine the Maid and Melanie Arcus, the archer with a nice ass! Any words you two want to say?

"Ooh, ooh, I know! I will win this tournament, then kiss Mel on the podium!"
"Why are you only ever proactive in weird ways?"
"Because you are way too good at leading me!"
"..."

Geez… is this what it feels to walk in on your parents? God, that was hard for me to watch. I'm sure you guys thought it was tame, but I can see them blushing and staring into each other's eyes… fuck. I should've brought my wife here.  

Whatever, next pair. It's the only friendship with a male that exists in this story if we ignore the fact that Madeleine is technically friends with the Judge of Souls, Captain the Harem Master and Oceana the Stranded! Will the Captain's strength and charisma and Oceana's many hands help them reach victory? Let's hear what they have to say!

"Your family is… peculiar, Oceana."
'That's just Darky.'
"Ah, I see. Every family has that one member."
'We have two. Luckily, the Weird One isn't here.'
"She isn't the Weird One?"

Yeesh, bringing up shadow clones who aren't here and gossiping behind their backs. Shame on you, sister, shame on you. By the way, the Weird One is… well, she's unimportant. Onto the next one! It's the Goddess of Light, Xul, and her champion, Light the Blessed! Very subtle on the names. Did you know light in Latin is lux? Anyways, do the bright duo have words for the audience?

"All of our opponents are made out of shadows. Is that correct, beloved?" 
"Yes."
"Then this tournament has already been decided."
"The darkness shall be drowned in our light."

Ooh, very confident. I guess it makes sense. Light and Xul both one-shot every shadow clone that isn't named Darky… maybe the Ark clone could survive with enough insanity. That's enough about that, let's go to the fourth pair! It's the folks who are technically still enemies with the previous pair since their stupid war is still going on, it's the Demon Lord of Greed, Mammon, and her precious wife, Ava the Stealthy! What do you two have to do?

"With my Daemon Magic,"
"And my stealthy skills,"
"We'll beat Xul to a pulp,"
"And stab Light in the back!"

Geez, what a violent couple. I guess living in Hell really does things to you… although I'm worried about Medya's upbringing. They are still better parents than Merida, though. Haha, I know you can see this, you soup fucker! Now, the… fifth pair? I suck at counting. Recovered straight from the Abyss, alongside the pair after them, it's the Mila the Prodigy and her "Goddess of Victory", Kine the Thoughtful. Say your Madeleine fanatic tangent, Mila!

"So this is the Shadowrealm Kine told me about? Exquisite, excellent, exhilarating! So many copies of Madeleine, so many minds to analyse! And this tournament! A wonderful opportunity to see Madeleine's combat capabilities when against an equal or greater foe. I cannot wait."
'We're here to participate, not observe.'
"Hmph. Do you think I cannot participate and observe at the same time? I will put in my very best to do such a feat. After all, it is for the sake of my entertainment. I do have a query… why is my aunt here?"
'Your aunt? Where?'

Okaaay then, ignoring that. I forgot how much of a fanatic of Madeleine she was because of her recent apathetic streak. I kind of liked it. It was pretty hot… do we Madeleines have a thing for piercing gazes? I know Mel has a really good one. You know what, that's off-topic, back to the introductions. The other duo I had to fish out of the Abyss was Rio and Deja the Trapped, who we'll skip right over.

"What the hell! You dare skip the great me!"
Deja facepalms.

The next pair are surprise entrants! I didn't think I'd get competitors when I took control of this shitty arena, but I did! It's Mila's aunt and undefeated champion of this arena, Sherry Phobos, alongside her shadow clone companion, Kyrie the Gladiator!

"Kyrie isn't my name?"
"I like it."
"I guess it's my name now."
"Also, since when could you talk?"

Just a little gift I wanted to give her. By the way, folks at home, they know when to talk because I am broadcasting my thoughts with telepathy. When did I get that? When I fucked your mother, of course. With consent. Consent is important, kids. Anyways, the last pair and absolute juggernauts of this tournament, who are the crowd favourite to win… Madine the Initial and Speedy the Solo Bandit King!

…

Oh yeah, they got character-assassinated and actually assassinated alongside Merida off-screen. Whoops. Also, not sorry for nonchalantly saying that. It's not like they're actually dead anyways, you haven't seen their bodies. The last pair are actually Jasi the Solver and her detective girlfriend Shay, who are this tournament's jobbers. There's even a bet that they might get accidentally killed, which shows how weak they are. They don't have to worry about being purposely killed, though.

"Wow… you know what, Jasi, let's show them!"
"Yes!"
"Do you have a game plan?"
"Nope!"
"We're fucked!"
"Eeyup!"

And to end this chapter, I will not announce the rules or the bracket or anything that would make this tournament easier to understand. Why won't I do that? Because I'm obviously a bad guy. Anyways, here's a Sacred Power:

Wow, what an obscure reference. Good job, grandma.

Character profile: King

Sacred power: Monster Summoning

Favourite monster: Dullahan

Description: The self-proclaimed King of Mendass. King owns a sizable number of underground caves, which is where he resides and stores his legions of monsters. One day, he plans to release all his monsters onto the world and claim it as his own. Unfortunately, his plans were stopped when a butler with bright blue hair destroyed all his troops and took his eyes, leaving him blinded and alone in his caves. He'd swear revenge but gave up after realising he couldn't escape his network of underground tunnels.

Chapter namesake: Tournament Arc by Sleepy Fish

pojlk

Remember a few chapters ago when I said I had the urge to start a tournament arc? Yep, we're doing that, all of a sudden. Look, right after a major antagonist's reveal is the best time to start a tournament arc that ignores the going-ons of every other part of the world. Anyways, it's chapter 150, which means it's been another 25 chapters, and you know what that means! It's a Q&A! You'd think after not getting questions in these, I'd stop doing them, but goddamnit, I'm committed to this bit, okay! So as always, feel free to ask any kind of questions and I'll answer them to the best of my ability. On an unrelated note, Side Note will be getting a new cover soon! As much as I love the current one, I sure as hell like the new one that will be going up. It's still being worked on, but you should see it within a week or two.

Now, usually I do a really long author's notes during these 25th chapters, but I've got nothing. Eh, doesn't matter... maybe I'll ask a question then dip. So, who is your favourite one-off character? Mine would be Sol the Round Bandit, mainly because he's the character who I thought of the coolest combat moves for. Man, I wish I was better at writing action. Maybe this tournament arc will be good practice.