William Gideon's eyes toward Braith were terrifying, as if he wanted to devour him. The knight drew a sword from his chest, glowing with yellow and violet hues. His right hand shimmered with the same colors as the blade.
"In front of this dreadful audience, they shall witness your beheading, you filthy sorcerer," the knight spoke with a sharp tone.
William smiled faintly, his voice deep and calm:
"Oh, it seems you have a tongue, noble knight… Let's see if it's all talk or if there's something more."
Braith appeared suddenly beside William and struck him with immense force, slamming him into the arena wall. The crowd roared from the intensity of the blow and the electrifying start.
Braith looked down on him arrogantly. William spat blood from his mouth and quickly unleashed a wave of darkness toward the knight. Braith dodged swiftly. William appeared close to him and struck with his sword at full power.
Braith was about to crash into the wall but planted his hand into the ground to steady himself. A bullet of dark magic flew toward him, but he sliced through it and responded with a wave of yellow and violet magic aimed directly at William.
The spell was so fast that it nearly severed William's arm had he not dodged in time. The knight appeared above him, attempting to drive his sword through William's chest, but William released a volley of dark arrows at him.
They disrupted Braith's balance, making him fall. William raised his sword to cut off the knight's head, but Braith kicked him in the leg and blasted him in the stomach with a wave of magic, then followed with a fierce sword strike.
A massive explosion erupted. Silence fell across the arena. As the dust cleared, William was seen blocking the knight's strike with both his gun and sword.
The crowd let out a thunderous reaction to the dramatic scene. William gave a provocative grin.
"What's wrong? You seem surprised beneath that iron helmet of yours."
Braith swung his sword, pushing William back, and spoke sharply and quickly:
"Calm down, insect… You've landed a blow or two by pure luck and now you think the tide is in your favor."
William stood up laughing coldly:
"Luck? Man, you haven't done anything yet… the tide's been in my favor from the start."
Braith slammed his sword into the ground and replied with a chilly voice:
"Seems like you're getting arrogant… No worries, I'll bring you back to your place."
Braith charged at William, kicking up sand behind him. Their swords and magic clashed. Yellow, violet, and shadows painted the air with each strike.
Even the demonic crowd grew louder and more feral. During the fight, William spoke to himself, analyzing the situation:
'This knight is stubborn… He has terrifying power. But the two main things I've noticed are his speed and durability. But everything has a limit — and everything can break.'
William crouched low and smashed Braith's leg, knocking him down. He then fired a dark magic bullet into his abdomen, causing a massive explosion.
William stepped back, covering his eyes from the rising dust. Suddenly, the knight appeared behind him, furious. He grabbed William by the neck and slammed him into the ground, raising his sword.
William dodged just in time, but a deep wound tore into his abdomen. He clutched his stomach, groaning in pain.
"That bastard… it's like he's copying my moves," William muttered to himself.
The wound was slowly beginning to heal. Braith rested his sword on his shoulder and extended his other hand forward, speaking with a mocking tone:
"What happened to your smile? I see it slowly fading."
William grinned strangely, his eyes weeping crimson tears, and spoke with a deranged tone:
"And I see your arrogance thickening… The fight's not over yet, noble one."
Braith stared at William intently, but inside he trembled. He thought:
'They say jesters were once mere toys for the entertainment of kings and noble families… but I see a mad, terrifying jester standing before me.'
And then continued:
'Even his aura changed the moment that first tear fell to the ground.'
William unleashed several waves of dark magic, most of them slicing attacks. Braith narrowly dodged while still lost in thought.
"You think too much, noble knight. Focus on the fight, mighty one."
The knight broke the assault with a counterattack, releasing a wave of yellow and violet magic. William fired two dark bullets — the first obliterated the incoming spell, and the second pierced Braith's shoulder and exited through the other side.
Braith clutched his shoulder, clearly frustrated. "Tsk." William appeared beside him, swinging to decapitate him, but Braith blocked it just in time.
Their swords collided, producing a spark of darkness mixed with yellow and violet. William mocked him with a sharp tone:
"Seems you've lost a bit of your strength… Try to hang on, it's just getting fun."
William knocked Braith's sword aside and swiftly sliced off the knight's arm.
"Aaagh!"
A sharp scream of pain erupted from Braith. But he immediately launched a wave of yellow and violet energy — a barrage of tiny swords.
William quickly summoned a dark wall to block most of them, but the pressure shattered it. He took hits to his arm and near his side.
"This bastard… He knows he's going to lose, and yet he still holds on," William said arrogantly.
He fired a series of magical bullets, striking the knight's hand and chest simultaneously. Braith staggered and could barely stay on his feet.
"Damn it… Am I really going to lose to a clown? A mad, damned clown?"
William appeared in front of him, aiming to sever his head. But Braith leaned back and fired a magical wave, pushing William back and slamming him into the wall.
William spat blood, but smiled sarcastically.
"You're a knight with mighty pride… But your end is near. No point in resisting."
Braith, now filled with rage, grabbed William's head and slammed it into the wall with tremendous force. The stands trembled, and some of the crowd even fell on one another.
Just as he was about to continue his assault, Braith realized his hand was empty. He looked around — William was gone.
"Shoooooo…"
William whistled loudly, standing atop one of the shattered rocks. He then launched himself like a missile toward Braith and impaled him with a blade of dark magic.
Braith tried to punch William, but his body couldn't move after the devastating strike.
"This is the second time I've killed someone and felt no guilt," William spoke with a dark, broken tone.
He slowly withdrew the sword from Braith's body. The knight fell to the ground.
Silence consumed the arena for a few seconds… then the crowd erupted into deafening cheers.
Alistor Vaine appeared out of nowhere, like someone flipping a page… his voice rang out, steady and loud:
"Dear guests from the underworld, I present to you the winner of this beautiful and terrifying battle — the silent clown sorcerer."
The crowd erupted in cheers, whistles, and applause. William approached Alistor Vaine, speaking in a sharp tone:
"You don't seem like someone who runs a joke of a match… Who are you?"
Alistor slowly turned his head toward William like a puppet, and spoke in a strange tone:
"I'm a man of many functions, Mr. Gideon… You might even see me fighting a dragon someday."
William narrowed his eyes at him, speaking with a biting edge:
"Is it possible you're the one who spoke to me earlier in the room?"
Alistor placed his index finger on his chin, replying with a mocking tone:
"I don't know… Maybe it was me."
William clenched his fist until it glowed with darkness. Alistor looked at his hand and stepped closer, whispering in his ear:
"You'd better keep that hand safe, silent clown."
William was taken aback by the sudden strength in Alistor Vaine's voice. The darkness in his hand quickly faded. Alistor stepped back, turning his gaze to the crowd.
Then he spoke again, in a cold and deep voice:
"A wise decision to let go of that glow, silent clown."
And then, in the same tone, he continued:
"You've survived your first 24 hours in the Crimson Dream… I hope luck is on your side for the rest."
A small door opened, leading into a dark room. Nothing could be seen inside. Alistor Vaine spoke calmly:
"Now go toward your next fate, William Gideon the sorcerer."
William walked with steady steps, staring at Alistor. Then he turned and walked toward the strange new place. As he stood in front of the small door, he hesitated.
Suddenly, a siren wailed from the sky. Demons began to sink into the ground, and William looked up at the floating kingdom in the sky as it started drifting away, revealing a massive eye.
"Perfect timing."
William rushed into the room. It was pitch black, completely silent — no sound inside or outside. Then, a fire ignited in the center of the room.
Inside the fire was a sword made of blood. The room was somewhat small… it had a single bed and a mirror on the other side.
William didn't know exactly where he was — until new information suddenly surged into his mind. He grabbed his head in pain. It wasn't sharp pain, just a subtle one.
"Bonfire… A place of rest from the madness of this world."
William lowered his hands from his head, startled by the sudden knowledge. He spoke in a trembling and quiet tone:
"Bonfire? I doubt this is exclusive to the dream… Maybe it exists in the kingdom too."
Then he added in the same voice:
"Despite the madness of this world and everything that's happened, when I stepped in here and saw that flame… I felt something strange."
He paused for a few seconds, then continued:
"As if I were in another world… a world far from nightmares and strange entities."