Chapter 101: Coming to the End

Dean blinked. "That's direct."

"I've heard your name too many times."

"That's not really my problem."

"It is now."

The bell rang, and Caliel attacked immediately. His sword came down with enough force to make Dean raise his spear and block the blow, but the impact drove his feet deeper into the sand. Before Dean could properly recover, Caliel attacked again, forcing him to raise the spear above his head. The second impact was worse, sending pain through Dean's shoulders. Caliel's strength was absurd. It wasn't enough to completely overwhelm Dean, but it was more than enough to make blocking every attack impossible.

Dean moved to the side just as another strike smashed into the ground. Taking the opportunity, he stepped around Caliel and struck the side of his armor with the spear. The weapon barely scratched the surface. Caliel turned and immediately struck Dean with one of his wings, sending him flying across the arena. Dean landed badly, his shoulder hitting the ground first and sending pain through his arm, but he forced himself back onto his feet.

Caliel raised his sword. "You're disappointing."

Dean rolled his shoulder and winced. "Give me a minute."

Caliel attacked again.

This time, Dean changed his approach. He stopped trying to overpower him and instead focused entirely on movement. Every time Caliel swung, Dean moved around him, looking for openings rather than trying to break through his defenses. The armor was too strong to damage easily, so Dean stopped aiming for the chest. He targeted the knee, then the elbow, the wrist, and finally the joints connecting Caliel's wings to his body.

Caliel slowly became more irritated. His attacks grew heavier as his patience disappeared, but they also became less controlled. Dean noticed the change and waited.

The next swing came too wide.

Dean immediately stepped inside the attack and drove his spear into Caliel's wrist. The sword slipped from his hand and fell into the sand. Caliel tried to grab Dean, but Dean ducked beneath his arm and drove the spear into the back of his knee. Caliel stumbled, giving Dean enough room to strike the wing joint. One of the angel's wings folded against his back.

Caliel roared in pain.

Dean struck the same knee again, then the opposite one. With both legs weakened, Caliel finally dropped onto his knees. Dean stepped in front of him and leveled the spear at his chest.

For several seconds, neither of them moved.

"Still disappointed?" Dean asked.

Caliel stared at him before remaining silent for several seconds. Then, unexpectedly, he laughed.

"No." He lowered his head. "I surrender."

"And Decanus wins!"

The crowd erupted.

Dean finally allowed himself to take a longer breath. His shoulder hurt, his ribs hurt, and blood was running down his side, but he remained standing. Before he could enjoy the victory for long, the gates opened again.

Another opponent entered.

Then another.

The next was a human swordsman who could create copies of himself. Dean spent several minutes trying to determine which body was real while the false copies attacked from every direction. Eventually, he noticed that the real swordsman's shadow moved slightly differently from the others. Dean waited for the opening, struck the correct body, and sent him unconscious into the sand.

"And Decanus wins!"

After him came a beastwoman covered in bronze scales. She fought with claws and moved fast enough to leave faint afterimages behind her. Dean took two cuts across his chest before catching her arm during a charge and using her own momentum to throw her into the arena wall.

"And Decanus wins!"

Then came a demon carrying a chain wrapped in blue flame. He managed to disarm Dean once, forcing him to fight barehanded for almost a minute before Dean could retrieve his spear. The demon nearly caught him twice during the struggle, but Dean eventually managed to close the distance, knock him off balance, and finish the fight.

"And Decanus wins!"

Another angel entered.

Then a mage.

Then a creature Dean couldn't even identify.

The fights were getting longer now, and the opponents were becoming harder to defeat. None of them were easy anymore. Dean was no longer walking through his opponents with one or two strikes, and the arena floor showed the evidence. Craters covered the sand, pieces of broken weapons were scattered everywhere, and small streaks of blood marked places where both Dean and his opponents had been wounded.

Still, the result stayed the same.

"And Decanus wins!"

Another gate opened.

Dean looked toward it.

A woman entered wearing simple white clothes. She carried no weapon, wore no armor, and displayed no visible magic. Dean immediately disliked her appearance. The fighters who looked harmless were usually the ones he needed to worry about most.

She stopped across from him.

"Decanus."

Dean adjusted his grip on the spear. "Here we go."

The woman smiled. "My name is Sena."

The bell rang.

She disappeared.

Dean barely had time to react before something struck his stomach. He folded forward, only for another hit to catch him across the face. A third strike hit his ribs and sent him stumbling backward.

Sena appeared several meters away.

Dean stared at her for a moment. "Okay."

She smiled. "Too fast?"

"A little."

She vanished again.

This time, Dean closed his eyes.

The audience became quieter as Dean stood completely still in the center of the arena. He ignored the noise and concentrated on everything around him. His breathing, the shifting sand beneath his feet, and the faintest sounds coming from his opponent.

Footsteps.

Barely audible.

Left.

Dean turned at the last moment and blocked with his spear. Sena's fist struck the shaft, and her eyes widened when Dean caught the attack.

Dean opened his eyes.

"Found you."

He pushed her arm aside, stepped forward, and struck her shoulder. Sena twisted away, but Dean followed her movement rather than allowing her to create distance. For the first time, she was forced backward.

Sena attacked again.

Dean blocked.

She changed direction, but Dean followed.

Another strike came, and this time Dean caught her wrist.

Sena immediately tried to pull away, but Dean didn't let go. He dragged her forward and struck her stomach with his knee. She gasped, and Dean released her before sweeping her legs out from underneath her.

Sena hit the ground.

Before she could move, Dean's spear was beside her neck.

She stared at the weapon, then laughed.

"Fine." She raised one hand. "I surrender."

The announcer lifted his staff.

"And Decanus wins!"

The audience stood again, their cheers echoing throughout the arena.

Dean remained still for a moment, breathing heavily. His body was beginning to feel the accumulated damage from the previous battles. His shoulder was still hurting, his ribs were sore, and every breath made the cut on his side sting. He lowered his spear and looked toward the gates.

They were closed.

For once, no opponent immediately entered.

Dean looked toward the announcer.

The announcer smiled.

"Decanus!"

The crowd cheered at the name.

The announcer waited for them to quiet down before continuing. "You have passed another section of the tournament!"

More cheers erupted from the stands.

Dean lowered his spear slightly.

Finally.

A break.

Maybe.

The announcer raised his staff again. "However, your next opponents will be considerably stronger!"

Dean stared at him.

The crowd cheered even louder.

Dean sighed. "Of course they will."

Somewhere in the seats, someone laughed.

Dean looked toward the sound, but he couldn't find the source. The feeling returned again, that same strange sensation he had experienced earlier. Someone was watching him. Not merely watching the tournament, but watching him specifically.

Someone who knew more than they should.

Someone who had somehow spread the name Decanus before Dean had even arrived.

Dean looked around the arena, searching through the countless faces in the stands. There were demons, angels, humans, beasts, nobles, merchants, warriors, and spectators from countless races. Any one of them could have been responsible, yet none stood out.

Then Dean noticed something.

The crowd was cheering for him, but there were a few people who weren't.

They weren't booing him either.

They were simply watching.

Three figures sat together near the upper section of the arena. Their faces were mostly hidden beneath their hoods, and unlike everyone around them, they didn't seem particularly interested in the fights. Their attention remained fixed entirely on Dean.

The moment Dean looked toward them, one of the figures stood.

Dean's eyes narrowed.

The figure didn't wave or react. Instead, they simply turned around and disappeared into the crowd.

Dean kept staring at the empty seat.

Interesting.

"Decanus!"

The announcer's voice brought his attention back to the arena. "You may rest for a short while before the next section begins."

Dean nodded and walked toward the edge of the arena. A few attendants approached with water and basic medical supplies, but Dean only accepted the water. He poured some over his face before drinking the rest.

His body was exhausted.

But his mind was strangely calm.

The fights had taught him something.

Strength alone wouldn't carry him through the tournament. The stronger his opponents became, the more important his ability to observe them would be. Caliel had been stronger than him physically, but Dean had won by attacking his weaknesses. Sena had been faster, but Dean had adapted by relying on his hearing rather than his eyes.

That was what the tournament was really giving him.

Experience.

Every opponent forced him to learn something new.

Dean looked down at his spear.

He still had a long way to go.

The announcer began speaking to the crowd again, explaining the next stage of the tournament. Dean only listened halfway. His attention remained on the gates.

If the announcer wasn't exaggerating, the next opponents would be far stronger than the ones he had just defeated.

Dean tightened his grip around the spear.

Whoever entered next, he would deal with them.

And if that mysterious person was waiting for him somewhere beyond the arena, they could wait a little longer.

Dean wasn't leaving yet.

He looked toward the closed gates and smiled slightly.

If the next group really was stronger than this one...

Good.

At least he wouldn't be bored.