Rendering the cloak useless, both of their enemies removed it. Dexter didn't let the opportunity pass — just before the dagger-thrower could fully pull the cloak away, Dexter was already mid-swing, smashing his Holy Staff downward toward him.
As soon as the dagger-thrower released the invisibility cloak, it didn't even touch the ground before Dexter stored it in his inventory.
The dagger-thrower was shocked. Someone stole from him inside the Obsidian League?
It was the first time in his entire fighting career that someone had risked their life just for a piece of equipment — one that could easily be bought in the Market for a cheap price.
"What the heck, man? Are you so poor that you need to steal my cloak?" said the dagger-thrower.
"Well… every coin counts. Give me some more, would you?" replied Dexter.
Stella ran to Dexter's side, resting her Holy Bonk Staff on her shoulder while heaving, her chest rising and falling as she panted heavily.
"D-DND, I can't move anymore… my SP is running low…" she whispered between gasps.
"Well… you can just sit for a while and watch how a healer should fight."
Without further ado, Dexter pointed his Holy Staff toward the dagger-thrower. Stella's eyes widened as the tip of the staff produced a small ball of light, which rushed toward the enemy.
"Wh-what's that?!" Stella asked.
"Normal attack… why?" Dexter replied, continuously shooting small balls of light.
"Normal attack? Like smashing?"
Dexter looked at Stella, confused and unsure what to say.
"This is the basic attack of the Holy Staff… all Staff basic attacks. You don't know?"
"I-I thought I just smash their heads with this…" Stella stared at her Holy Bonk Staff.
"S-Seriously? I thought that's how you normally fight…"
However, the dagger-thrower's partner didn't stay idle either. Thinking Stella was no longer a threat, he switched targets and leaped at Dexter, slashing his twin katanas in a cross-cut.
With his ultra-gaming instincts, Dexter saw it coming. A slight tilt of his head and a single sidestep were all it took to dodge effortlessly. Then, pointing his Nature Staff at the ground, he cast Root just before the slasher landed.
"SLEEZEER GOT CAUGHT! DND'S ROOT TIMING WAS UNBELIEVABLE! WHAT'S SLEEZEER GONNA DO NOW?!"
Sleezeer immediately tried to slash his rooted foot, but Dexter's staff attack—a small ball of light—struck the katana's blade, redirecting it straight into his pinky toe.
"FUCK!"
Though the attack didn't deal self-inflicted HP damage, the pain was very real. The crowd erupted in involuntary groans, some even covering their mouths with disgusted "Urgh!" sounds.
"I'll kill you... I'll fucking kill you, you bastard!"
Sleezeer knelt on the ground, clutching his injured pinky toe while glaring at Dexter — who simply smirked before firing another small ball of light at the dagger-thrower.
"THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE! HOW CAN HE ATTACK WITHOUT PAUSE OR WINDUP? DAMN IT!"
The dagger-thrower frantically dodged the relentless barrage. Though each orb dealt minimal damage, their sheer volume was rapidly whittling down his HP.
Finally free from the root, Sleezeer lunged at Dexter. No fancy techniques this time — just a furious onslaught of slashes, forcing Dexter into desperate evasion and cutting off his attacks against the dagger-thrower.
"JUXTA, YOU IDIOT! FASTER!" Sleezeer roared.
"THE UNSTOPPABLE DUO CLOSES IN! QUAD-BLADE COMBO SLASHING! BUT STILL NOT ENOUGH TO FINISH DND! HE BLEEDS — THEN STOPS! THE IMMORTAL HEALER! IS THIS THE NEW META?!"
The crowd's cheers shook the coliseum. Even Stella, still technically a participant, stood transfixed by the 2v1 spectacle.
"Whoa! Didn't know you could dodge this well without armor... just that loincloth..."
"Of course. Armor restricts movement... though it only takes a few solid hits to kill you like this..."
"Maybe that's why he uses Holy Staff and Nature Staff for healing and regeneration... This really is the Meta."
The crowd murmured among themselves, analyzing the possible outcome. Some even opened new bets on who would last longer — DND or the Twin Blades.
Dexter laughed maniacally as he fought, simultaneously casting healing and regeneration spells while parrying attacks with his twin staffs. Every wound he got inflicted seemed to instantly regenerate, and whenever he suffered fatal damage, he'd immediately heal himself.
"Don't stop! We just need to drain his mana!" Sleezeer shouted.
Their slashes came endlessly now. Dexter stopped regenerating and focused solely on parrying with his Nature Staff while using his Holy Staff for emergency healing. Without Gridlock's Endless Resurrection training, his HP, MP and SP reserves would have been depleted long ago — or worse, he'd have died pathetically.
Sleezeer and Juxtakeez noticed the change in Dexter's demeanor and redoubled their assault, slashing without respite. Their final move — a synchronized overhead slash from Juxtakeez — suddenly froze mid-motion.
The crowd's roar and announcer's commentary died instantly. Only Dexter's maniacal laughter echoed through the coliseum.
"FUCKING IDIOTS!" Dexter howled, laughing so hard he clutched his stomach in pain.
"Wh-what happened? Why can't they move?" Stella gasped.
A stunned silence fell over the arena until Dexter pointed his Nature Staff at his opponents' feet and cast Root.
"But... he only cast Root now?" someone muttered.
"I-I think they've run out of SP completely..."
Dexter's improvised Root had an additional effect — it drained Stamina, completely immobilizing the Twin Blades. The worst part? It could only be broken by external intervention. They were frozen mid-swing, only their eyes able to move, not even their mouths capable of opening.
"Stella... go smash their heads..."
Dexter stood bleeding, his regeneration and healing spells depleted. With his last mana spent casting the improvised Root, he had nothing left but dwindling SP and HP to maintain his act — and even those were running dangerously low.
"I-I can't! I don't want to kill them..."
"Stella..." Dexter stared at her with pleading eyes before releasing a final sigh.
Then he committed suicide.
Thud.
Everyone was shocked! No one could understand how a healer could die from bleeding — especially with another healer as his partner in the match.
"Wh-what the fuck? She didn't even heal or resurrect her partner?!"
"Died from bleed damage… Katanas really are good for stacking bleed effects."
"Well, I guess the Naked Nature-Holy Build is only good for 1v1 now…"
The crowd murmured, indifferent to Dexter's death.
Yet Stella trembled. Even though she knew Dexter could somehow revive, seeing him die again brought back the traumatic memory of that night — when he had suddenly collapsed, stripped naked before her.
Her pupils narrowed into slits as she glared at Sleezeer and Juxtakeez, who remained frozen, only their eyes able to move.
"You shouldn't have done that…" Her voice was low, trembling with fury. "You made him bleed to death…"