Yuki raised her hand, causing pinkish smoke to appear before dissipating as she clutched her hand. "Would you look at that, it actually works," she thought aloud. She could feel that her magic was working like normal now.
She looked around her, scanning the area with magic, but her magic was instantly blocked the moment it tried going out of the arena. "Hmm, so you can’t even use the magic from outside to attack those without access to magic inside. That’s a shame," she thought.
On the other hand, Dante looked up at the seats in the arena, his eyes meeting Cipher’s. Cipher waved at him with a smile.
"~Would you like to give up?" he asked.
Dante just smiled and took his heavy sword and shield, holding them steadily.
"~I guess not," Cipher said. "~Then do your best. We’ll cheer for you," he added.
Dante nodded and began moving toward Yuki.
"Ho... you didn’t give up? That’s surprising," Yuki spoke, also slowly walking toward Dante.
"You’re quite brave..." she began, and suddenly, she was behind him, hugging him tightly from behind. "And you’re strong too," she whispered. "Why don’t you join my guild?"
"What’s happening?" Maya asked in panic. "Why isn’t he doing anything?"
"He got caught in charm magic," Cipher said with a sigh. Among them, Dante had the least protection against magic, meaning he probably wouldn’t be able to break out of it.
The crowd in the arena murmured. Many had already assumed the battle was over. But at that moment, Cipher’s expression changed as he noticed something.
Dante dropped to his knees, his heavy sword stabbing into the ground. He then extended his hands and grabbed the blade itself.
"What are you doing?" Yuki asked in surprise, noticing the blood dripping from his hands down through the blade onto the ground.
"Is he trying to break through the mental control through pain?" Cipher wondered.
Dante’s muscles tensed. With a roar, he pushed himself up, forcing Yuki off of him. She turned into pink mist and disappeared, reappearing at the front.
"How interesting," she said.
Dante tore off his shirt and wrapped it around the wounds on his hands. He then gazed at Yuki, his expression fierce.
"Don’t use such underhanded moves on me," he said, his voice steady. "I might not be as smart as my other teammates, but I know I must be loyal to them and protect them as their shield. How dare you try to poach me!"
Yuki watched with a surprised expression. He actually managed to break out of her charm just because of pure conviction. She smiled. "I’m starting to like you more and more," she said, turning into pinkish mist and flowing toward him.
"Don’t bother with such cheap techniques. I’ve already discovered a way to beat you," he said.
"And what is that? Will you hurt yourself again? And how long do you think you can keep doing that?" she asked.
Dante smiled. "I figured out your secret. You charmed me but didn’t charm the shield," he said confidently.
Yuki paused, the mist returning to human form. "Huh?" she asked in confusion. Wasn’t it obvious she didn’t charm the shield because a shield wasn’t a person?
"Ha. You’re surprised how I discovered your secret, right?" He laughed. "Although I’m not as smart as Cipher, I can at least figure this much out."
Cipher hid his face in his palms. Why was he mentioning him? He didn’t want to be associated with this stupid guy. What did charming a shield have to do with anything?
Yuki looked at him with a blank expression. "What?"
"I’m actually grateful to you. Because thanks to you, I now know what I have to do," he said.
"And what’s that?" she asked.
"As the shield of the party, I must act like it. If I become a shield, then I can’t be controlled."
His eyes began turning red. His body began bulging, muscles swelling beneath his skin. Red aura then began appearing around him, pulsing like a heartbeat.
"What is happening?" she wondered.
She extended her hand, causing pinkish smoke to move toward Dante. Dante growled and threw a punch, his fist cutting through the mist and sending her flying backward across the arena.
"Well, that’s surprising," Cipher thought as he observed Dante:
Name: Dante
Level: 100
Rank: B
Species: Human
Class: Berserker
Status: Berserk
Health: 10,000/10,000
Mana: 0/0
Strength: 100
Stamina: 100
Agility: 100
Intelligence: 0
Skills (9/15): Berserk (S), Regeneration (S), Pain Tolerance (S), Heavy Slam (B), Shield Mastery (C), Fortress (C), Shield Bash (D), Heavy Strike (D), Taunt (E)
...
Dante charged forward. Red aura flaring wildly around him.
Yuki turned to mist, evading his first strike, but he spun immediately and swung his sword. The blade caught her as she reformed, sending her skidding backward.
She retaliated with a burst of pink flames. The fire engulfed Dante, but he walked through it like it was nothing, his regeneration already healing the burns spreading across his skin. He raised his shield and slammed it into her, the impact echoing through the arena.
Yuki coughed, feeling the force of the blow, but quickly recovered. She moved around him rapidly, sending streams of fire and charm magic, but none of it slowed him down. He pressed forward relentlessly.
Dante swung his sword down. Yuki barely dodged, but the shockwave from the impact cracked the ground beneath them. She countered with a blade of condensed magic, slicing clean through his left arm.
The limb fell to the ground, blood spraying.
The crowd gasped.
But Dante didn’t even flinch. Within seconds, flesh and bone knitted back together, his arm regenerating completely. He picked up his sword again and charged.
"Stop!" Yuki called out, trying to reason with him. "This is pointless! You can’t win!"
Although she wasn’t a fighter type, she wasn’t exactly weak either. If she was to go all out against a normal opponent, what would others think of her?
He didn’t respond. His eyes were empty of thought, only filled with the singular purpose of attack.
She sent another wave of charm magic directly at him, stronger this time, enough to stop most people in their tracks. But it just washed over him with no effect whatsoever.
"He really did become a shield..."
He swung his shield, bashing it into her side and sending her tumbling across the arena floor.
Yuki rolled to her feet, breathing harder now. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. She wiped it away and stared at Dante as he approached once more, his regeneration already closing the gashes across his chest and arms.
"He really is like a pure machine," she muttered. "Not acknowledging any pain, just moving forward to attack."
She blocked another heavy strike with a magic barrier, but the force still pushed her back. He didn’t give her time to breathe, immediately following up with a shield bash that shattered her barrier and knocked her down.
She scrambled to her feet, panting. If this continued, she might not be able to win. The battle of attrition was clearly in his favor with that monstrous regeneration.
"Fine," she said, her expression hardening. "I’ll end this with one attack."
Dante charged again, sword raised high. Yuki dodged to the side at the last moment and leapt into the air. She raised both hands above her head, and a massive fireball began to form - larger than anything she’d summoned before.
The heat was so intense that even the spectators could feel it from their seats.
The fireball grew, crackling with power, casting the entire arena in an orange glow.
Dante looked up at the descending inferno. Then, without hesitation, he bent his knees and launched himself upward, jumping directly toward the massive fireball hurtling down at him.