Magicless

The situation had finally begun to calm down, but none of them knew what consequences Velios had just brought. It would be an insult to call Velios' mana "massive," as there wasn't even a word that could properly be used for it. Velios had unconsciously released so much mana as a result of the anger he was feeling at that moment. It didn't help that the mana was so powerful it forced even the strongest creatures down to their knees. Massive parts of the surrounding area had been completely covered in his mana, and even parts of buildings and rocks laying around were damaged in the process. The ongoing match was halted because of it, and the surrounding people were hurt. No one had any idea where it could have come from except a single person. There was only a single person there that Velios would consider an enemy, who knew of his mana, but it wasn't entirely certain if even that person could distinguish between Velios' normal mana and the mana he had released.

Freya watched in horror as she had realized something truly horrifying. The sheer thought of it sent shivers down her spine, and she wasn't even sure if it actually was real or not. She had to check multiple times, and even then, she didn't want to believe it. If the mana Velios had just released was the true extent of his power, then he had gone easy on Freya. If Velios truly had used all of the mana he had used mere seconds ago in the fight between the two of them earlier, he would have had an even easier time winning. She watched Shiva more carefully than Velios himself, seeing the amount of terror and fear Velios was causing. She wouldn't even dare lie if anyone were to ask her if she was scared because she was still terrified. Shiva wasn't even breathing anymore. His heart was still beating perfectly fine, but he wasn't sure if even breathing was okay. He didn't even dare put his head up again to look at Velios. The most he could hope for was to just be alive. "Guess I acted a little bit out of line..."

Shiva was shocked to hear that Velios was talking calmly. His voice wasn't shaky but direct and calm. He would never have guessed that Velios would ever spare him, even for a moment. Freya was equally shocked. She had never met a single person in her entire life who was capable of switching up so fast. It was as if Velios' emotions had a button he could press at any time that would set him back to a state of calmness. Shiva looked up to see Velios walking quietly away. He finally started to breathe again, realizing that it had ended. Shiva remained equally if not more confused over his master's emotions and got way more curious about what kind of human he was, but mostly what kind of life he had lived up to that point.

Freya slowly walked up to the boards and observed it carefully. She didn't believe that Velios would be the kind of person to not qualify for the main tournament with his amount of strength, but she also didn't know what the rules were. Shiva was asked a sudden question by Freya. "Are you sure he didn't qualify? And... don't you think this name looks similar to his?" Freya asked that while continuing to stare up at a sole name. Shiva was confused at what she had said. "Similar? Like, it's not the same? Why would he enter the tournament with a fake name...?" Shiva had remembered something, a conversation that he had had with Velios before they had left. A conversation in which Shiva had asked Velios why he was hiding his real name and why it was so obviously fake. Shiva ran up to the board to try and find where the name was that Freya had been talking about. There, Shiva saw a name written on the board that he fully recognized, the name "Soilev," Velios' name but in reverse, was written on there. Even more luckily so, there were still three fights before it was Soilev's first fight.

"Hey, Velios..." Shiva was too afraid to properly speak out, so he had whispered that sentence. It had managed to attract Velios' attention either way. Velios knew that it wasn't normal of him to act like that and especially to the level he went to. "What is it?" Velios could still not properly hide his anger and irritation behind his words, but it was still enough to fool Shiva into thinking that he was calm. "Y-your name is still up there... on the main tournament brackets. Look!" Shiva could feel his heart pounding even quicker, but it didn't matter. In that moment, Velios had dropped his arms completely and given a look of shock. He rushed back to the board and looked where the two of them had pointed, and soon enough, Velios had actually found that he was on there, that he had somehow made it to the tournament.

Velios didn't know what to say or how to act. He simply stood there quietly before walking away, leaving the two of them altogether. "H-hey!" Freya watched as Velios disappeared completely, leaving no trace behind of where he could be. "I-Is he usually like this?" Freya asked, still confused over where he went. "Yes," Shiva responded quickly and comfortably. The two of them looked at each other before realizing that Velios was no longer around. The first thing they did was argue with each other. It started as the two of them started roasting each other, saying more grotesque and vile things to each other before they started scrapping. It was nothing serious, but they kept punching and slapping each other in the face. Shiva didn't mind playing dirty either, hitting her where he knew it'd hurt more. Freya despised Shiva long before they had even met eye to eye and did the exact same, aiming for areas where she knew it was going to hurt more for him.

Three fights had already passed, and both Shiva and Freya were sitting in the stands, watching to see if Velios was going to come out again. "You damn good-for-nothing goddess..." Shiva was covered in small bruises and had a black eye. "You piece of shit lowly demon..." Freya was also covered in bruises with a black eye, but not on the same as Shiva. They were both in animal form, hiding their appearance from the crowds as they excitedly watched as the announcer began speaking. "Now! Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for one of the most sought-after fights of the whole tournament!" The crowd started cheering as they continued listening. "We have the long-awaited fight we've been looking for, consisting of the most powerful dragon knight this kingdom has to offer! Bhautik!" He had announced it in such a way that every single spectator was cheering as the name was said. The captain of the dragon knights as a whole, the most powerful dragon this city has to offer, had been paired up with Velios.

"Now... Bhautik's opponent is one so devious, people have called him the devil! In total, he has made people lose millions betting for his demise, and after having won against a dragon knight of the second battalion, who had randomly passed out, disappeared for the remaining fights leading up to this. I think you're all here for the same thing, ladies and gentlemen... To see that cocksucker of a person take the biggest beating of his life by no other than Bhautik, it's Soilev!" The announcer had completely finished his announcement, and everyone cheered. No one actually cheered for Velios at all; they were instead cheering for his demise. There was, after all, not a single dragon who actually liked and cheered for him except Freya, Shiva, Vadh, and the group of criminals. Compared to the number of people present and with the people watching from a distance, the ratio would equal multiple powers to ten. And, as in the previous fights as well, not a single one had bet on Soilev to be the winner.

Both of them were now walking out of their respective entrances. Everyone cheered at the sight of their beloved knight captain, a shirtless man, covered in scars with fairly messy hair. The people gathered near the entrance of Velios started throwing whatever they could at him. No one could really tell from a distance, but all of the things thrown at him were bouncing off without actually hitting him. "Are both participants ready?" The announcer shouted loud enough so that everyone in the arena would be able to hear, and once the two of them had fully entered the arena, they both nodded. "Then let the fight... begin!" Once he shouted those words, a massive barrier was dispersed that was just about big enough to cover the whole arena to not put the viewers at risk. The fight had begun, and the two of them just stood there. The dragon knight captain was extremely confused as he watched Velios. He didn't seem scared, nor angry; he didn't look irritated, and he didn't look like he even wanted to fight. He just stood there.

"Are you going to fight or what? Scared because your opponent is so strong? Or..." It didn't work; he didn't get any reaction from Velios. Velios stood there, completely still. "What is he doing...?" Vadh was now watching the fight. He himself had been hurt, but he hadn't died yet. He was just confused at the sight of watching his master not wanting to fight, knowing how battle-hungry he was. "You're different..." Velios had finally spoken, and the only person who could actually hear what he said was Bhautik because of the barrier. "What are you talking about? Of course, I'm different; I'm much stronger than anyone." Velios watched every single movement of the dragon's muscle fibers, how his body moved accordingly, and every time he took a single breath. He could instantly tell something. "You're interesting." Velios watched as the dragon started praising himself after he had said that. "Let me ask. Do dragons value one's fire magic and the ability to control it or overall strength? Because I think I know the answer." The dragon watched confusedly. "It's overall strength, of course, and that is why I'm the strongest." He only continued to praise himself. "Even though you don't even have a single ounce of mana inside your body?"