Chapter 394 One Strike
Leo Striker appeared on the Colosseum and looked around with a bit of nostalgia. A few years ago, at the very start of his career, he had been a frequent visitor of this arena… this was where it all had started for him.
Tis had changed, of course.
Using the few monts before he was recognized, Leo smiled widely and said:
"Well, well, well. Did you really think that I would forget about the Public Mondays, guys? Of course not! This is a sacred tradition… SACRED, guys. So of the Strike Force veterans might rember how I started in the amateur arenas, and now that I am a brilliant, famous, and incredibly handso celebrity, I have to return here from ti to ti. To, you know… stay humble."
There were currently around twenty thousand people watching his broadcast, and pretty much all of them imdiately exploded with a flood of mocking ssages. Glancing at the Broadcaster Interface that Dreamscape provided to popular duelists like him, he grinned and winked, humored by so of the good-natured jabs thrown his way.
Leo Striker was not the most extraordinary fighter in the Dreamscape, but over these past few years, he had gathered a rather large following thanks to his skill, flair, and boisterous personality. He was so popular, in fact, that thousands of younger Awakened beca enamored with the battle style he and a few of his duelist buddies practiced.
As the result, the Roaring Lion Strike style had beco all the rage among the amateur duelists, and his old ntor was now flooded by a deluge of new pupils. That fact really ward Leo's heart… he was glad to be able to repay the old man for all his patience.
Leo spent most of his days participating in top-level duels on the professional league arenas, but on Mondays, he liked to visit a public dream or two, chat with fans, fight a few amateurs and provide them with pointers as a way to give back to the community.
Today was one such Monday.
Looking around the Colosseum, Leo noticed a small gathering a dozen or so ters away from him and headed over. As he walked, he heard excited voices:
"Hey… isn't that Leo Striker?!"
"No way… wait! It's him! I can recognize that gorgeous armor with my eyes closed!"
"Leo! Love you, man! Keeping it real like always!"
"Strike Force Roar! I've been watching your broadcasts for two years, Leo!"
A friendly smile appeared on his face. Waving at several fans, he approached the crowd of challengers and glanced at the lone figure standing in the empty space in the middle.
'Woah! This dude has style!'
The man in the middle of the crowd wore a beautiful onyx armor that radiated a sense of solemn, dark nace. His face was hidden behind a fearso black mask, with three twisting horns rising from it like a jagged crown. His hair was stark white, and there were two pools of impenetrable darkness in the place where his eyes were supposed to be.
His weapon of choice was a long, curved odachi forged of lusterless black steel. It rested on his shoulder, seemingly devouring the bright light of the illusory sun.
The stranger looked more like a demon than a human being.
Leo let out an approving whistle.
'Is he also a broadcaster? Huh, I don't recognize those mories.'
He checked the stats of the demonic warrior.
"Mongrel"
"Victories: 27."
"Defeats: 0."
'A newbie… but a talented one! A perfect KDA, what a rarity!'
In any case, that guy was incredibly photogenic. A duel with him was not going to be interesting due to the gap in their skill, but it would definitely look stunning. Leo felt a little ashad to break Mongrel's perfect streak, but this talented amateur would receive useful advice in return, which was far more useful.
Who knows, they might et again in the professional arena one day…
Looking at the invisible cara, Leo raised an eyebrow and asked:
"What do you say, Strike Force? Should we challenge that dark and handso guy other there?"
As the viewers expressed their approval, he approached Mongrel and gave him a friendly smile.
"Hey there, friend. That's a big sword you got there. Do you even know how to use it?"
Teasing the opponent was another sacred tradition of the Dreamscape, and Leo was rather good at it.
Mongrel shifted slightly and faced him. The disturbing mask stared at Leo, making him shiver slightly for no apparent reason.
"No."
Leo laughed.
"No? You don't know how to use your sword? Well, would you like
to teach you?"
The demonic warrior stared at him and didn't even move.
"No."
'What's up with that dude? Does he not know other words? Co on, work with
here, buddy! I am dying here, trying to make this duel entertaining…'
With a sigh, Leo stepped forward and unsheathed his own blade.
The viewers once again exploded with a flood of ssages, and at the sa ti, the voice of the Dreamscape announced:
"...Leo Striker has challenged Mongrel!"
***
'Goddammit!'
Sunny stared at the young man in a beautiful azure armor, cursing his luck.
'Why can't he get a hint?!'
Even though Sunny couldn't say a word of truth while wearing Weaver's Mask, he tried to communicate his reluctance to fight this guy... to no result whatsoever.
He didn't have anything against the new challenger… what did the Dreamscape call him, Leo?... but there was one problem.
Just from the way the young man walked, Sunny could tell that he practiced the sa damned battle style that everyone else here seed to practice. And Sunny had more than enough of it for one day.
'Ugh…'
His ti in the real world was limited, so he really hoped to experience a more diverse collection of opponents before it ran out.
'Maybe there's still hope. Maybe the next one is going to be different.'
It was better to finish this fight quickly, then.
Sending the happy shadow from the Autumn Lief to his body, Sunny lowered the Shadow Serpent and took a step forward.
His opponent, anwhile, smiled.
"Let
teach you the first lesson. You should always…"
'...wear a helt into the battle, fool.'
Dashing forward, Sunny easily deflected Leo's blow and pierced his head clean through by continuing the sa motion.
As the corpse of the eloquent young man fell down and disintegrated into a rain of sparks, he flourished the odachi to clean it from blood, returned to his previous spot, and indifferently put it on his shoulder.
'I swear to gods. The next person to challenge
better be using a different style. Otherwise… I might get angry!'
***
Leo Striker found himself standing in a boundless black void, his mouth agape.
His viewers, too, were uncharacteristically silent.
'One strike… one strike! He killed
in one strike?'
He lingered for a few monts, then turned to the invisible cara and forced out an awkward smile.
"That was… uh… that was really unexpected, right guys?"
Then, his smile grew wide and sincere.
"That, Strike Force, is what people call finding a diamond in a pile of… uh… dung! Incredible luck! Yeah, definitely a stroke of luck. Oh, by the way... has anyone clipped it?"
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