Chapter 40: Duel of Heroes — Creation vs Adaptation

Chapter 40: Duel of Heroes — Creation vs Adaptation

The meal should have been ordinary: a large stone table, hot dishes releasing comforting steam, a little thick wine in coarse cups. But nothing was. Every clink of fork, every scrape of chair sounded hollow, drowned by the distant rumble of the arena being prepared.

Even here, in this private refectory, the walls vibrated like war drums.

I chewed without appetite, fingers tight around my cup, when Miyu broke the silence. She wore that provocative smirk, as always, but her eyes gleamed with a worry she couldn’t hide.

— "So?" she said sideways, her elbow resting lazily on the table. "Not too stressed for tonight?"

I shrugged, forcing a smile that rang hollow. Stressed? Damn, it felt like an anvil was crushing my chest. But that, I would never admit to them.

Reina raised her head. Her face remained closed, her words sharp as a blade on a whetstone.

— "Don’t shame us, Kaito. Tonight, you must become more than a survivor. You must be humanity’s representative. Begin building your legend."

Legend... The word rang in my skull like a cracked bell. Fuck. Me, a legend? I can barely breathe without trembling, and she’s already talking eternity.

My thoughts were cut short by the sudden warmth of two small hands on mine. Hikari. Her gentle, timid gaze sought me out, as if wanting to cling to me.

— "Anyway... I believe in you, Kaito."

I froze for a second. Her sincere support knocked the breath out of me.

Then Ayame leaned in, her body brushing against mine. Her heavy breasts pressed into my arm in a gesture far from innocent, but her smile, at least, radiated tenderness.

— "Yes... show them what you can do."

I closed my eyes for a moment. They all believed. All of them. Even if I felt like an impostor about to throw himself into a gaping maw.

I rose slowly, muscles stiff, and breathed in a low voice:

— "Thanks... I’ll try."

My steps echoed against the stone as I left the room. I didn’t look back. I didn’t want to see their faces, nor their worried smiles. The warmth of their encouragements still burned my skin, where hands, breasts, and faith had pressed against me. But I knew that beyond this door, there would be nothing tender left. Only cold stone, blood, and the roar of an arena ready to swallow me.

The corridor smelled of cold stone and the sweat of past generations. The runic walls were already vibrating like taut strings, echoing the distant rumble of the crowd.

At first, it was only a muffled buzzing, a massive breath that seemed far away. Then it swelled, second by second, until it pounded against my temples.

Every cry, every clamor bounced off the stone, driving into my bones like hammer blows.

I breathed slowly, pressing my back against the wall as if it could absorb the tension.

You’ve thought through this fight a thousand times... run a thousand simulations in your head. And each time, the result is the same: Garrum is bigger, stronger, more experienced. You’re bound to lose, Kaito.

A nervous laugh escaped me, dry, grotesque. Yeah. You’re going to lose. But, damn it, you still have to win.

For a second, the pressure eased. Just one second, where it felt like my legs might carry me to the end. But then her voice rang out, and the world exploded.

— "Ladies and gentlemen, noble races and proud warriors... welcome to THE DRAGON ARENA!!"

The clamor shook the ground. The runes on the ceiling lit up, casting a blue light that filtered into my corridor.

I heard the crowd roar, vibrating as one body, like a beast just awakened.

She was there. The princess. Ka’ha’Uhala. And damn, the way she pitched her voice, I’d swear she’d spent evenings practicing like a fairground announcer.

— "Tonight... a battle worthy of legends!!! Two heroes... two opposing forces!!!"

Her tone was dramatic, arms raised like a priestess at the altar... then a sharp noise, followed by a gasp. She had tripped on her dress. The crowd burst out laughing. She too, a bit nervous, straightened quickly, her cheeks red, visible even from the tunnel. A clumsy idol, but hell, she knew how to hold a stage.

She continued, louder, her voice amplified by magic rattling my eardrums.

— "On one side... the man who claims to stand ABOVE ALL RACES! The human with a blessing never seen before... the SSS-rank Hero... KAITO!!!"

I swallowed hard. My name rolled through the air, carried by thousands of mouths. Half the arena roared with excitement, the other half howled for my fall. I was already a spectacle, a gladiator thrown to the beasts.

Then her voice rose again, almost sing-song:

— "And facing him... the dragonid who embodies PURE ADAPTATION, the one who can consume any matter and turn it into strength... GARRUM THALBRUK!!!"

A roar filled the arena, so strong it knocked me off balance for a moment. The stone vibrated, the ground breathed. Here it was, Kaito. No turning back.

The ground shook before I even saw him. Each step echoed like a hammer strike on an anvil, sharp, deep, relentless. When Garrum finally appeared, the whole arena seemed to contract around him. His skin metallicized in plates, steel reflections running along swollen arms, his shoulders becoming living ramparts. With each breath, his chest cracked like an overheated forge, and the air grew heavier, saturated with the acrid stench of burning iron.

The crowd erupted.

— "GARRUM! GARRUM! GARRUM!"

A polyphonic, monstrous roar. The dragons spewed jets of flame in rhythm, the dwarves pounded their runic breastplates like drums, and even the elves chanted his name in clear, cutting voices, perfectly in time. They weren’t just cheering a champion. They were praising a titan. Their titan.

I clenched my teeth, standing in the shadow of the corridor. There was my opponent. A fortress on legs, a colossus who fed on the world itself. And me? Just a fucking human with a spear and one eye missing.

The princess’s voice dragged me back to reality. More solemn, but still awkwardly enthusiastic, she raised her arms like an idol before her audience.

— "And now... the representative of the human race! The survivor of Duskfall, the hero who stood against despair... KAAAITO!!!"

My name rolled over the arena, and the uproar changed nature. Half the stadium exploded with boos, insults, and spit flying from the stands.

— "Go back to your farm, human!"

— "A kid can’t be a hero!"

Each word slapped against my eardrums like a blow.

But a corner of the arena — a small corner, crushed by the rest — screamed my name until their voices broke:

— "KAI-TO! KAI-TO! KAI-TO!"

My ears rang. The noise crushed me. I staggered in the corridor, vision blurred by runic light, head buzzing as if I’d collapse. The crowd wanted to crush me, erase me, bury me alive beneath its screams.

I breathed. Slowly. Damn... you think you can scare me with your howls? You’re loud, sure. But compared to Sarhael... compared to Duskfall... you’re small fry.

I moved forward. My steps carried me to the arch. The magical light flared, blinding me for an instant. My vision wavered, blurred like a bad dream. Then everything snapped into focus.

The entire arena opened before me. An ocean of screaming faces, a thunder of voices, flames, and chants. A furnace of mingled hatred and hope. And me, alone on the line, facing the storm.

He was already waiting.

Standing in the center of the arena, arms crossed, Garrum looked like a living fortress. His whole body vibrated with contained power, his muscles sheathed in scales and metallic sheen. His stance alone said it all: he didn’t need to prepare. I was the one meant to tremble.

I advanced, step by step, each echo on the stone amplified by the uproar of the crowd. The boos redoubled, heavier, more vicious, as if every shout tried to push me back. But I kept walking.

Our eyes met.

A brutal silence crashed into my head, drowning everything else. No more screams, no torches, no flames. Just his eyes on me. Cold. Heavy. A mute challenge.

His lips twisted into a predator’s grin, and his fists clenched, the air cracking around him.

I didn’t answer. No smile. No bravado. Just my heavy breathing, ribs lifting like I carried an anvil. But in my gaze, there was only one truth: I would not back down.

Then Ka’ha’Uhala’s voice burst out. It rose, clear, amplified by the runes, her arms lifted like an idol on stage.

— "People of the Academy!!" she shouted with almost childish energy. "Who will win this duel between... CREATION AND ADAPTATION?!"

The roar of the crowd hit me like a tide. Screams, boos, cheers: a chaotic noise that shook the stone, my heart, even my teeth. Some screamed my name, others demanded my fall, and together it formed a single monster: the arena itself.

Ka’ha’Uhala raised her hand, her eyes glowing with that awkward enthusiasm that made her almost comical, but in that moment she was every bit a sacred priestess.

— "Let the duel... BEGIN!!!"

The silence lasted only a fraction of a second. Long enough for me to hear the furious pounding of my heart.

Then her voice split the air, crystalline, sharp:

— "THREE... TWO... ONE..."

I lowered my spear slightly. My breath scorched my throat. In front of me, Garrum rooted himself to the ground like a mountain.

So come, titan. Let’s see if creation can break your fucking adaptation.

He lunged at me before I had time to breathe.One step. Just one. And already his fist cleaved the air, massive, clad in living steel that sheathed his skin like molten armor. It felt like a mountain collapsing.

I barely dodged, my shoulder grazing the impact. The stone exploded behind me, shards flying hot. The shockwave alone knocked the breath from me.

Fuck... he’s faster than I thought.

Garrum didn’t stop. His arms swelled, veins of steel pulsing like pipes under pressure. Every movement increased his mass, as if he were sucking matter from the ground to fuse into his body. His fists became basalt blocks, his legs hammered the earth with forge-like weight.

I parried his first charge with Aurelia. The steel of my spear vibrated as if about to snap. My arms screamed. My knee hit the ground, forced to bend.

Garrum’s laugh rumbled through my chest like an earthquake.

— "This is it? The human with SSS rank?! You can’t even withstand a single blow!"

He stepped back, twisted his hips, and his foot shot out. I saw nothing but a wall of shadow before his heel struck. The impact launched me backward, my ribs cried, my breath jammed. I rolled in the dust, mouth full of blood.

I spat, cursing through my teeth. One more hit like that, and I’d be pulp.

Stand. Quick. Breathe.

Garrum gave no respite. Already, he charged again, his arms now sheathed in a darker alloy, denser, faster. Each step shook the entire arena. The crowd roared his name, a thunder splitting my ears.

Move, Kaito. Move or you die.

I raised my hand. The word escaped me like a vital reflex:

— "Genesis!"

A metallic snap resounded, sharp, cutting. Before me, three black spears burst from the ground, tall and tight, forming an improvised barrier. Garrum slammed into them head-on.

The shock was monstrous. The spears vibrated, two cracked instantly. The third bent like a fragile reed. But they held for a second. Just one second. Enough for me to throw myself aside, panting, heart hammering against my ribs.

— "Pathetic!" Garrum spat, smashing the last spear with a backhand.

His gaze snapped back to me. His golden eyes glowed with predatory patience. His body was already coating itself in a new alloy, lighter, faster. He was adapting. Each exchange made him stronger.

And me? I wore down. I drained out. My spears broke, my bones trembled. Fuck... this was the difference between a human and a Dragonid.

I tightened my grip on Aurelia. My fingers shook, but I raised my head. If I wanted to survive... I’d need more than spears. I’d need cunning.

Aurelia trembled in my hand, my breath ragged, my ribs screaming. Garrum kept advancing, wrapped in a mantle of living steel. His steps rang like hammers on an anvil. Each second, he grew denser, faster, more monstrous.

The crowd chanted his name, roaring, sure of his victory. Me, I had only my tricks. And that was exactly what I had been waiting for.

I clenched my teeth, then raised my hand.

— "Genesis."

A sharp metallic snap resounded, merciless. Before us, shackles burst forth, black, flawless, gleaming with a familiar shine. The crowd roared — they all remembered. The Turstegen. That invincible metal I had already summoned, able to stop Dragonid charges themselves.

Garrum halted, his predatory grin spreading.

— "Ha... I knew it. You wanted to replay your little trick? This time, human... I’m not tired."

He raised his arms. His body cracked, then absorbed the rings closing around him. The crowd cheered his strength.

— "Thank you for handing me victory!" he thundered.

I stayed silent. My smile, faint, wasn’t for him.

Because I knew.

It wasn’t Turstegen. Not this time.

I had created Ferrust. A bastard alloy, deceptive, with the same black shine, the same twin reflections... but fragile. A brittle metal, shattering like ceramic under stress. A trap.

And Garrum had just clad himself in weakness, thinking he was absorbing victory.

He didn’t even have time to understand. Aurelia vibrated in my hands, my mana boiling in my veins. I leapt, and my spear pierced his flank. The steel cracked like glass, splintering under my tip, then broke with a sharp snap.

— "Wh...?!" Garrum’s eyes widened, blood bursting from his mouth in a red spray.

I didn’t let him breathe. I tore Aurelia from his flesh, then raised my spear above my head. My muscles screamed, my lungs burned, but the motion came pure, fluid, exactly as Elyra had taught me.

— "Crimson Lance Art..."

The blade glowed red, cutting the air.

— "Dawn’s Bleeding!"

The strike came down, carving a scarlet line in the sky, ready to cleave Garrum from head to toe.

But a hand stopped me. Firm. Relentless.

Slim fingers, delicate in appearance, but hard as a mountain, had closed around my spear. I looked up, panting.

The princess, Ka’ha’Uhala.

Her smile trembled with clumsy brightness, but her eyes were cold, resolute.

— "Enough," she said, her amplified voice covering the clamor. "The fight is over. I declare... Kaito the victor."

An abyssal silence fell over the arena. Garrum knelt, blood dripping from his mouth. And me... I started laughing.

A dry laugh at first, nervous. Then wild, uncontrollable.

— "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! You saw that?! ME, the pathetic human... I beat you AGAIN!!"

I screamed until my throat tore, each word bouncing off the frozen stands. Dragons glared, elves clenched their teeth, dwarves pounded their fists. Not a sound. Just my hysterical laughter, until my ribs ached.

Then... a voice.

— "Kaito!"

A cry from the human stands.

Then another.

— "KAITO!"

Another, louder. Then more. Until the entire human section stood, shouting their throats raw.

— "KAITO! KAITO! KAITO!"

The clamor rose like a wave, sweeping away the boos, breaking the silence. The entire arena resounded with my name.

I lowered my head, panting, a grin splitting my face. That was it. Done. Not through strength. Through cunning. Through lies. Through the human I was.

But kneeling, Garrum slowly raised his eyes. And in that fractured golden gaze, there was no more pain, no more doubt. Only rage thickening, implacable, like a promise of revenge.

Turning from his gaze, carried by the roar of the crowd, I raised Aurelia high toward the sky — as if to carve my victory forever into the stone of this arena.