(Time Stilled World, Isolated Training Arena, Leo’s POV)
The metallic scent of water and blood hung faintly in the air as Leo stood bound in the middle of the training arena, his wrists and ankles chained, while a thick blindfold remained wrapped tightly around his head.
The faint drip of condensation rolled down his forehead, only to be absorbed by the fabric of his blindfold, as he felt the dampness touch his skin.
*Pant*
*Pant*
His chest rose and fell unevenly, his breath rasping against the cold air that surrounded him now.
The numbing potion he had swallowed earlier still coursed through his veins, dulling every sense he relied on— sound, touch and smell until the world around him felt like nothing more than haze and vibration.
*Step*
*Step*
*Step*
Somewhere to his left, he felt the referee’s presence approach as a faint brush of movement disturbed the air around him, however, he couldn’t be certain someone was there until the referee touched his shoulder.
*Tap*
"This is it, my Lord. The one-millionth fight... Are you sure you’re ready to continue?"
The words came to Leo like broken echoes, their meaning lost in a fog of static and confusion.
"Huh?" he muttered, his tongue feeling heavy, as his mind tried to grasp the rhythm of the sound.
"I said, are you sure you’re ready to continue?"
The referee repeated, as he reset the burst balloon on Leo’s left shoulder with a new one, priming him for the coming fight.
"I don’t know what you’re saying, but if you’re done fitting the balloon, then let’s get on with it. The longer I stand here, the worse these jitters get."
Leo instructed, as the referee hesitated for a moment, noticing just how violently Leo was trembling, however, after thinking about it for a while, he decided to obey Leo’s command regardless, as he let out a deep sigh and a nod.
*Exhale*
"Understood, my Lord..." he whispered, his tone uneasy, as he began to step back out of the fighting ring.
"Why does the Lord make it so hard on himself? First the blindfold, then the chains, now this damned potion... he’s stripped away every advantage he’s earned. Even his hearing’s gone. What’s left for him to fight with?"
The referee cursed as he walked out, his normal brain unable to process why Leo did what he did.
However, despite his personal feeling about it, he remained extremely professional with his job, as he walked out of the arena, and out to the lobby where the last opponent waited.
"Come on in, kid.... You’re the last one."
The referee said, as moments later, a heavy gate creaked open, and a young man stepped through, looking both nervous and uncertain.
His name was Casio, a Master-tier warrior trained under the Skyshard City’s Elite youth warrior academy, who was also handpicked by Leo for this final bout, since he was the valedictorian of his class and a potential Monarch Tier Talent.
"Umm... sir?" Casio asked quietly, glancing at the referee. "Do I really have to fight the Lord seriously? I mean—look at him. He can barely stand."
Casio asked, as the referee’s expression darkened, his tone grave.
"Yes. You will give it everything you have. No hesitation. No restraint."
"The few who’ve gone easy on the Lord were erased from his win records. If you voluntarily hold back, your fight won’t count toward his streak. The Lord doesn’t want mercy—he wants you to give it your all."
The referee instructed, as Casio swallowed hard, the sound of his gulp echoing faintly in the otherwise empty training arena.
"Understood," he said at last, his voice barely above a whisper, as he stepped into the ring and assumed his battle stance.
Before him stood Leo..... blind, bound, deaf, and trembling.
Yet even in that frail state, there was something terrifying in his stillness. Something that made Casio feel uncomfortable down to his bones.
"Don’t worry boy, I won’t bite."
Leo joked, his tone both humorous and anxious, as he squatted his knees just a tad bit, while widening his feet as much as possible under his restraints.
"Come—"
He instructed, as Casio charged with dual daggers in hand, his speed fast as he closed in the distance to Leo in under two breaths.
"Forgive me for this, My Lord."
He said, as he slashed low to cut the water balloon tied to Leo’s ankle, however, to his absolute surprise, despite looking clueless on where the attack was coming from until the very last moment, Leo suddenly jumped to evade the slash, before doubling down and stomping straight down on his extended hand.
*SWOOSH*
*Thud*
"What?"
Casio muttered, as he couldn’t believe just how fast Leo was despite being drugged and restrained, as he was forced to use his whole body strength to wedge free from under Leo’s feet, and evade the incoming headbutt that Leo was trying to connect.
*Pull*
*Roll*
Barely pulling free, he created separation between himself and Leo, before deciding against attacking from close range, as he got cold feet after observing the Lord’s freakishly fast reflexes.
’I don’t know how he did it. But it’s dangerous to fight up close.
If the only goal is to pop the balloons then I should probably do that from range....’
Casio thought, as he pulled out a bunch of daggers from his utility belt and began hurling them towards Leo while using skills like–
[Rapid Throw]
[Duplicating Throw]
And
[Vanishing Throw]
At the university level, these were his aces in the hole.
The techniques that almost always yielded favorable results.
However, against Leo, they somehow became absolutely useless, as the Shadow Dragon perfectly dodged each attack coming his way despite having no vision, sound or touch sense to rely on.
*SWOOSH*
*SWOOSH*
*SWOOSH*
"How.... Just how is he doing it?"
Casio muttered in disbelief, as watching Leo swerve and dodge, he couldn’t understand just what was going on here?
Which was understandable, since he had never heard about the Cult’s forbidden skill [Sixth Sense] before today.