Chapter 102: Most of All

Dean remained near the edge of the arena while the attendants worked on repairing the battlefield. The damage from the previous fights was considerable, with several craters scattered across the sand and pieces of broken weapons buried beneath it. Workers moved quickly, filling the deepest holes and clearing away anything that could interfere with the next battle. Dean used the opportunity to drink some water while one of the attendants wrapped the wound along his side. His shoulder still hurt from Caliel's attacks, and his ribs ached whenever he breathed too deeply, but neither injury was serious enough to keep him from continuing.

The crowd remained loud during the short break. Thousands of spectators were discussing the battles they had just witnessed, and Dean could occasionally hear his arena name being mentioned among them. "Decanus" had become surprisingly common. Some spectators were arguing about which opponent had been the strongest, while others were already discussing how far Dean might make it through the tournament. Dean paid little attention to them. He had become accustomed to people talking about him without actually knowing anything about him.

Instead, he looked toward the upper sections of the arena.

The three hooded figures were gone.

Dean narrowed his eyes slightly. He hadn't imagined them. They had been watching him throughout the previous battles, and there had been something unusual about the way they behaved. They weren't cheering, booing, or discussing the fights with the people around them. They had simply watched him. Whoever they were, they clearly had some reason for being there.

A loud metallic sound echoed throughout the arena as the announcer stepped forward.

"Honored guests! The next stage of the tournament shall now begin!"

The crowd immediately quieted down, and Dean turned his attention toward the center of the arena. The announcer raised his staff, causing a large magical display to appear above him.

"The previous rounds tested the participants' individual strength, adaptability, and endurance. However, the next stage will test something entirely different."

Dean waited.

"Teamwork."

A wave of murmurs spread through the stadium.

"Participants who have successfully advanced will now be divided into teams. Each team will fight another team, and a team shall be declared victorious once all opposing members have been eliminated or surrendered!"

Dean stared at the announcer for a moment.

Team battles.

That was certainly different.

Several gates opened around the arena, and the remaining participants began entering. Dean recognized quite a few of them. Caliel had returned with his armor repaired, while Sena walked into the arena with the same calm expression she had worn during their previous fight. The bronze-scaled beastwoman and the swordsman capable of creating copies were also present, as was the demon who fought with the blue-flamed chain.

Dean wondered how many of them had survived the previous rounds.

A sphere of light appeared above the announcer, and names began moving across its surface. One by one, the participants were divided into groups. Dean watched as the names stopped moving and looked toward the people assigned to his team.

Sena.

The bronze-scaled beastwoman.

A young mage wearing green robes.

And a large man carrying a hammer that appeared heavy enough to break through a stone wall.

Dean looked at them for a moment before giving a small nod. "Could be worse."

The hammer-wielding man looked at him and laughed. "You're Decanus, right?"

"Apparently."

"I've been wanting to see what you can do."

Dean glanced at the enormous hammer resting against the man's shoulder. "You might get the chance."

Across the arena, the opposing team gathered. Dean's expression became slightly more serious when he saw who was standing among them.

Caliel.

The chain demon.

The illusion swordsman.

A silver-haired archer.

And a woman carrying two short daggers.

The announcer raised his staff again.

"Prepare yourselves!"

The audience erupted.

Dean adjusted his grip on the spear as everyone spread out across the arena. He could already tell this wouldn't be anything like his previous fights. There were too many variables, and an opponent didn't necessarily have to defeat him directly to create a problem. They could attack one of his teammates instead, forcing him to react.

"Begin!"

The silver-haired archer fired first.

Three arrows flew across the arena almost simultaneously, forcing Dean's team to scatter. Dean shifted sideways as one arrow passed beside his head, then deflected another with the shaft of his spear. The third struck the ground where he had been standing a moment earlier, burying itself several inches into the sand.

At the same time, the chain demon charged forward, his weapon already wrapped in blue flames. The hammer-wielding man stepped in front of him and swung his weapon, meeting the chain with a loud impact that sent sparks across the arena. Caliel moved toward them immediately, forcing the hammer warrior to divide his attention between two opponents.

Dean noticed the illusion swordsman moving toward the mage.

He reacted without hesitation.

Dean crossed the distance and struck one of the approaching copies with his spear, causing it to disappear instantly. Another copy attacked from his right, but Dean turned and blocked it before sweeping the spear across the swordsman's body. The copy vanished as well.

There.

Dean had found the real one.

The swordsman smiled and created another group of copies before retreating.

Dean didn't pursue him. He had already realized something more important.

The silver-haired archer was controlling the battlefield.

Every time someone tried to help another teammate, an arrow forced them to change direction. The archer wasn't simply trying to kill anyone. He was restricting movement and preventing Dean's team from working together properly.

Dean looked toward Sena.

She was already looking at him.

Neither needed to say anything.

They moved at the same time.

Dean advanced directly toward the archer while Sena disappeared from sight. The archer noticed Dean approaching and immediately fired several arrows, but Dean kept moving while deflecting them. One grazed his shoulder, leaving a shallow cut, but he didn't slow down.

The archer fired again.

Dean knocked the arrow aside.

Another followed.

Dean turned his spear and deflected it as well.

The archer began backing away.

Then Sena appeared behind him.

The archer reacted quickly and twisted away from her first strike, but Dean had already reached him. He swung the spear toward the man's legs, forcing him to jump over it. Sena attacked from above, leaving the archer with nowhere to retreat.

He landed awkwardly.

Dean struck his shoulder with the blunt side of the spear, while Sena followed with another attack that sent him stumbling toward the edge of the battlefield.

The archer tried to recover, but the bronze-scaled beastwoman suddenly appeared beside him. She slammed her fist into his chest and sent him flying beyond the boundary.

The announcer immediately raised his staff.

"First elimination!"

The crowd cheered.

Dean looked around the battlefield.

Their teamwork was already improving.

The mage had begun using his magic to restrict the opposing team's movement, while the hammer warrior kept Caliel occupied. The beastwoman was fighting the chain demon, whose blue flames were spreading across the sand every time he swung his weapon. Sena was keeping the dagger-wielding woman occupied, preventing her from reaching the mage.

Dean turned back toward Caliel.

The angel was fighting the hammer warrior, and the difference in strength was obvious. Caliel was slowly forcing him backward.

Dean moved toward them.

Caliel noticed him almost immediately.

"You again."

Dean smiled faintly. "Seems like we're becoming regular opponents."

Caliel swung his sword toward him. Dean stepped aside rather than blocking directly, allowing the blade to pass by before striking Caliel's wing joint. Caliel immediately turned and blocked the second attack.

"You've improved," Caliel said.

"So have you."

Their weapons collided again. Dean could feel the difference between their first battle and this one. Caliel had learned from their previous fight, but Dean had as well. He knew where Caliel was strongest and which movements he favored when attacking.

Caliel attempted to force him backward with a series of powerful strikes, but Dean kept moving around him. Instead of meeting his strength directly, he redirected each attack and looked for openings. The hammer warrior continued attacking from the side, forcing Caliel to divide his attention.

Then Dean noticed the mage raising his hands.

Green light spread across the arena.

Roots suddenly burst from beneath the sand and wrapped around Caliel's legs.

Caliel tore through them almost immediately, but the brief hesitation was enough.

Dean attacked the wing joint.

Caliel blocked.

The hammer warrior struck his side.

Caliel staggered.

Dean followed with another strike toward his knee.

This time, Caliel caught the spear.

For a moment, the two stared at each other.

Then Dean released the weapon.

Caliel's eyes widened.

Dean stepped forward and drove his shoulder into Caliel's chest, forcing him backward. The angel lost his balance for only a moment, but the hammer warrior was already there. His weapon slammed into the ground beside Caliel, forcing him to jump away.

Dean retrieved his spear and moved with him.

Caliel looked at the two of them before lowering his sword.

"It seems teamwork suits you."

Dean shrugged. "I'm learning."

Caliel laughed quietly.

"I surrender."

The announcer immediately announced his elimination, and the crowd erupted again.

The remaining opponents lasted considerably less time without Caliel and the archer supporting them. The chain demon fought fiercely against the bronze-scaled beastwoman, but the mage eventually trapped his legs with roots long enough for her to knock the chain from his hands. He surrendered soon afterward.

The dagger-wielding woman gave Sena a much harder fight. She was fast and precise, and for several moments Dean couldn't even follow their movements properly. Sena eventually caught her wrist and threw her to the ground, forcing her to surrender before she could continue.

The illusion swordsman remained.

He created dozens of copies and attempted to overwhelm the remaining members of Dean's team, but Dean had already learned his trick. Instead of attacking the copies, he watched the shadows beneath them. Only the real swordsman cast a shadow that moved naturally with his body.

Dean struck him once.

The illusion disappeared.

The swordsman stared at him.

"How did you know?"

Dean lowered his spear.

"You kept making the same mistake."

The man looked down at his shadow.

Then he sighed.

"I surrender."

The announcer raised his staff.

"Victory!"

The crowd erupted so loudly that Dean could barely hear anything else.

He stood in the center of the arena with his teammates while the announcer declared their team the winner. Dean was tired, but surprisingly, the fight hadn't felt as exhausting as the previous series of individual battles. Fighting alongside others had allowed him to conserve energy, and more importantly, it had shown him another side of his own abilities.

He was learning how to fight around other people.

That could become useful.

Sena approached him once the announcement ended.

"You weren't bad."

Dean looked at her. "That's high praise."

She smiled. "Don't get used to it."

The bronze-scaled beastwoman walked past them and gave Dean a brief nod before leaving. The mage followed shortly afterward, looking considerably happier than when the battle had started. The hammer warrior remained behind for another moment.

"Decanus."

Dean looked toward him.

"If we end up on opposite sides next time, I'm going to hit you with this."

He lifted his hammer.

Dean glanced at it.

"I'll keep that in mind."

The man laughed and walked away.

Dean was about to follow when something caught his attention.

The upper seats.

The three hooded figures were there again.

Dean stopped.

They were watching him.

One of them slowly raised a hand and made a small gesture.

It wasn't a greeting.

It looked almost like a warning.

Dean's expression hardened.

Before he could do anything, the figure turned away and disappeared into the crowd.

Again.

Dean stared at the empty seat.

Someone knew about him.

Someone had been following his progress from the beginning.

And judging by the way they were behaving, they weren't simply curious about the tournament.

They wanted something from him.

Dean finally turned away.

Whatever they wanted could wait.

The announcer had already informed the participants that the next stage would begin tomorrow, giving everyone the opportunity to recover before the tournament continued. Dean walked toward the exit with his spear resting against his shoulder, listening to the crowd still chanting his arena name behind him.

"And Decanus!"

The sound followed him through the gate.

Dean couldn't help smiling.

The tournament was becoming harder with every stage, but that was exactly what he wanted. His opponents were stronger, their abilities were becoming more complicated, and now he was being forced to learn how to fight alongside others.

He had no idea who those hooded people were, and he had no idea why they knew the name Decanus.

But eventually, he would find out.

For now, there was only one thing that mattered.

The next stage.

Dean tightened his grip around the spear and continued down the corridor.

If the announcer was telling the truth and the next opponents really were stronger than the ones he had faced today, then Dean had nothing to complain about.

At least the tournament wasn't boring anymore.