Sunny felt that something weird was going on in the Colosseum after he dispatched the young man in azure armor. The other Awakened seemed to stare at him with a bit of confusion… shock, even.
The same went for the human spectators in the amphitheater. Many had changed seats to get closer to him.
'What's the matter with all these people? Did I go overboard and move too fast?'
But no, he had measured his dash to not appear too powerful. Maybe they just liked the spectacle? Sunny was, indeed, giving them a good show. Not that doing so was his intention...
'Anyway… why is no one challenging me? Stop wasting my time, people! I'm on a tight schedule!'
Indeed, no one in the small crowd of Awakened that had been waiting for their turn to fight him seemed willing to step forward now. Sunny stared at them in boredom for a few minutes, trying to understand what was going on. They had been very eager just a few moments ago, no?
Then, someone finally walked toward him, unsheathing a formidable-looking sword.
The guy was wearing plate armor, with an intricate engraving of a castle and four dragons decorating its polished surface. He looked strong, noble, and experienced.
'You. Must. Be. Kidding me!'
The same style… he was obviously practicing the same damn style!
As Sunny's eyes narrowed, the voice of the Dreamscape announced:
"Daoist Saifer has challenged Mongrel!"
Before the guy in plate armor could even attack, Sunny unceremoniously bashed him in the face with the pommel of the odachi, swiped his foot, and then viciously thrust the tip of the great sword into the narrow crack of his visor.
As blood flowed from the steel helmet, the voice of the Dreamscape thundered once again:
"Mongrel has won!"
The faces in the crowd grew a bit pale.
'What the hell is wrong with these people?! Is there no one here who knows a different style?!'
Before Sunny could even clean the blade of the Shadow Serpent, a new challenger approached.This one was wearing a grey silken robe.
"The Fool has challenged Mongrel!"
The bastard was wielding a heavy saber… and using the same cursed battle art!
Sunny let out a low growl and dashed forward.
The Fool turned out to be more nimble and aware than the last two fighters. He managed to sidestep the attack… sadly, it had turned out to be just a feint. Before he could correct his footing, the odachi pierced his chest and exited from his back.
Sunny tore the great sword out of the enemy's body and stepped back in frustration.
The man in the grey silken robe swayed and stared at the growing red patch on his silk garment. Looking up at Sunny, he silently gave him a thumbs up, then collapsed to the sand in a rain of sparks.
"Mongrel has won!"
'Who does this guy think he is? The Fool? Sparkle would give me a better fight…'
These people were not, exactly, bad fighters… the three last ones especially… but why on earth were all of them so similar to each other?
Sunny looked around and noticed that the Colosseum was deathly silent. Everyone was staring at him with strange expressions.
'Wait… don't tell me…'
He scowled behind the mask, a terrible suspicion entering his mind.
'Is… is this whole arena meant for practitioners of a single style? Was I breaking some unspoken taboo this whole time? That would be a bastard move… no, wait, that doesn't make any sense. I was using the same style as them…'
Suddenly, a familiar face approached him from the crowd. It was the young man in the azure armor. Lion Beater, or whatever…
'No… oh gods, please no! I don't want to fight him again…'
The young man stopped a few meters away from Sunny, hesitated for a few moments, then smiled and asked in a light tone:
"Mongrel cosplayer, my friend… if you don't mind me asking… what are you even doing here, in this amateur arena?"
Sunny rolled his eyes behind the mask. The answer was really simple: he was here to learn.
But he couldn't say that, of course. He was also too frustrated to come up with a creative lie.
Staring at the young man, he allowed the Soul Serpent to disappear and become a tattoo again, then said somberly:
"I am here to unlearn."
Lion Beater blinked a couple of times, then shifted his weight slightly, clearly intending to unsheath his sword.
'Enough of this!'
With an irritated huff, Sunny commanded the Dreamscape to eject him from the arena and disappeared from the Colosseum in a shower of white sparks.
Climbing out of the simulation pod, he stared at it with resentment, then suddenly flinched and grabbed his hand with another.
"No, no… we don't want to use any violence, not to this beautiful, shiny, extremely expensive pod… right? Right! I should… I should probably go and get some fresh air… try it again next time, on a more challenging arena…"
With that, he threw the last glance at the high-tech device, and walked away.
…What Sunny did not see, though, was the crowd of Awakened back in the Colosseum, all staring at the empty space where he had stood a minute ago.
Leo Striker stared at it, too, a thoughtful expression on his face.
A few seconds later, he said quietly:
"To… unlearn? Huh."