Beast Nightmare Sexx-Chapter 25: Judgment in the Arena Part 2

I walked to the center of the arena wearing my common plate armor. The weight of the steel pressed on my shoulders, but I was already used to it after so much time carrying heavy things in the fields. The morning sun beat hard on the metal, reflecting on the crowd. The system blinked in the corner of my vision, cold and constant.

"Vital Points: 14,200"

"Consumption: 1 per minute"

"Fuck... still dropping," I thought, feeling that low heat from the Beast brushing against my mind. The remnant of the Beast’s Scent I had released yesterday still hung in the air, too subtle for most to notice, but strong enough to leave the women in the stands restless — legs crossed, shorter breaths, glances that drifted to me with disguised hunger.

I stopped in the middle of the ring and looked up. Marie was in the main stands, pale, gripping her dress tightly. Her eyes trembled.

I smiled inside. "What the hell is this thing?" she must be thinking. "I don’t remember any character like this in the game..."

Julius was already descending to the arena, white armor shining. Greg and Chris came right behind, golden armors gleaming. The three stopped about 5 meters from me.

Julius raised his chin and spoke loud, voice amplified by mana.

"I never dreamed I would actually face you. Congratulations on getting this far, Shade Fou Bartfort. But today I protect Marie from monsters like you."

The crowd exploded in applause. Women screamed his name, white flags waving. I gave a low chuckle inside the cockpit.

"Protect?" I answered, voice coming out sarcastic through Arroganz’s speakers. "Dude, you didn’t even protect her yesterday. Now it’s three against one and you still think you’re going to win? Pathetic."

Greg gritted his teeth.

"You arrogant son of a bitch!"

Chris gripped the hilt of his sword.

"Let’s end this quick." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Julius raised his shield.

"Begin!"

The referee cut the air with his hand. The duel started.

The three advanced together. Julius in front, shield raised, sword shining with blue mana. Greg came from the left with the heavy axe, Chris from the right with the long lance. Their armors were clearly better — cannons on the back, reinforced shields, fluid movement as if they were floating.

I spun my common sword with ease. It was a simple, boring blade, the kind any guard uses — nothing special, just common steel and a worn hilt. Julius’s first strike was blocked with a metallic clang that echoed through the entire arena. Sparks flew. Greg attacked next. I shifted my armored body to the side and hit the sword on his armor’s shoulder, making the prince retreat two steps.

"You three together and you still lose badly?" I provoked, spinning the sword in the air. "Marie must be regretting choosing you as her toys."

The crowd murmured, shocked. Marie turned red with rage in the stands.

In the middle of a counterattack, Aria’s voice sounded clear in my head, calm and direct.

"Master, the airship is 100% ready. I can couple a main cannon from the flying base right now. Just one word and I erase these three in three seconds."

I blocked a strike from Chris with the sword and answered mentally, without taking my eyes off the guys.

"Negative. I’m not exposing the airship yet. I’ll handle it my way."

"Understood."

Julius pressed the attack, sword shining even stronger.

"I won’t lose! I can’t lose! Not when she’s praying for my victory!"

Blue flames exploded from the back of his armor. The next strike came way too fast. I raised my sword too late. His blade hit my shoulder with brute force, making the armor creak and my body sway with the impact.

"Vital Points: 13,400"

The Beast growled inside me, hungry. And then something new pulsed — a cold, ancient energy, like a distant echo of the Nightmare. I felt the new skill awakening, ready to be used.

I smiled under the helm.

"Now yes... let’s play for real."