Windy Turnaround

"Magic!" This was everyone's first thought. One after another, the fighters and the spectators began pointing their fingers at Kies and shouting, "Magic!" The referee was pushed into the arena and ordered to disqualify him by the contestants but he shook his head.

"I didn't feel any trace of magic. Whatever he did, it wasn't magic, and it didn't look like a hidden weapon either. He's clean," the referee informed everyone to their displeasure. If one person testifying it wasn't enough, another referee that was closer to Kies' side also testified for him.

"I saw him swing his sword upwards and it created that wall of sand. And since it was right next to me, my magic detector would've gone off," the referee took out his magic sensing stone to show everyone that it was indeed clear, void of any color, indicating that what he was saying was true.

"So you're telling me that this little pipsqueak has enough strength to send that guy flying!?" a contestant asked.

"Yes," the referee answered. It was the only logical explanation based on what they saw. "Now, please continue the fight."

"What!?" Many of the contestants were not happy about the referees' decision but there was no point in arguing with them. They saw what they saw and their job is to enforce the rules. They weren't biased and therefore, their words were to be trusted.

"..."

While the contestants were looking at each other and trying to figure out how Kies did that, Iris walked over to him and tapped his shoulder. "How did you do that!?" she asked in a loud whisper.

"I'm not human," he answered her. She already knew that but Kies had to remind her that she shouldn't be comparing him to a normal human since he wasn't one. His unreal strength was not something that can be paired with his physique.

"Oh, right... Then, are you going to tell me what you are, or are you still going to keep me in the dark?" she asked curiously. Just what was Kies for him to have monstrous strength like that?

"You can keep guessing, and I'll only tell you if you get it right."

"Really? Why can't you just tell me?"

"Because I don't want to." The answer was as simple as that. Why should he reveal his identity when he didn't need to, and when doing so would also create a bunch of unneeded trouble for him? It was better if people just thought he was human. Not only would he not have to deal with discrimination, but he would not have to go trouble the pain of trying to explain why he looked like a human if he wasn't one.

"..."

"Everyone, quiet! The fight continues!" The announcer shouted loud enough so that everyone could hear him. Immediately, the entire colosseum quieted down so that the fight could continue. The referees made it very clear that Kies didn't cheat and so all the arguing needed to be halted now.

The fighters look at each other reluctantly, but if the referees say that Kies wasn't cheating then he wasn't cheating. They all raised their weapons and got ready to start fighting again. Just like before, they all turned to face Kies. They still weren't going to let him off for joining the tournament in a team, especially now that they saw his strength.

"I don't know how you managed to do it lad, but don't expect us to go easy on you now that we've seen that."

Kies didn't say anything and just made a challenging gesture to the fighters to have them all come at him at the same time. This didn't please them and they all charged at him at the same time, like he wanted them to. The next few moments could only be described as an absolute slaughter. Kies took out the contestants by the numbers, sending them all flying into the air with just a single hit, and didn't stop until the referee blew the whistle.

"The fight is over! All fighting must be seized at this exact moment. Remaining contestants, please leave the ring!" The referees didn't sound or look surprised about what they witnessed, which was a single person beating down the entire competition. From the looks of it, it seemed that it wasn't their first time seeing someone pull off a ridiculous feat like this. The other eight fighters aside from Kies and Iris shook their heads and left. They were smart and backed out of the fight instead of taking it like the rest after seeing what happened to their fellow fighters.

"Amazing..." Iris was at a loss for words. He looked at Kies in awe, her heart pounding out of the chest from watching the fight. Even though she didn't actually do a thing, it felt like she was in the center of the fight herself. It was a feeling that was hard to describe.

Kies lifted his sword and inspected the weapon. It was stained red with blood from all the opponents he had to fight and there were also cracks and tears on the weapon that hadn't been there before. He took a second to silently thank the weapon for serving him in this fight before planting it into the sand. He turned and saw that Iris was still standing still. Not knowing if it was shock or awe, or maybe both, Kies waved his hand in front of her face to get her attention.

"I'm here, I'm here." She batted Kies' hand away. "I was just... surprised." 'Surprised' was an understatement. She couldn't put into words what emotion she was feeling after seeing Kies wipe the floor with all those fighters. And it wasn't like they were weak either. Iris recognized a few of the fighters in their group, and she knew that they had made it decently far in the second third round. For Kies to batter them away like nothing more than flies, it was hard to think that he wasn't cheating and that he is really, in fact, this strong.

"You... Were you always this strong? I remember you being helpless all those times I pushed you down!" Iris recalled all the times that she physically overpowered Kies. Had he been hiding his real strength the entire time? If he wanted to, he could really just take the Windstone from her and there was nothing she could do about it.

"If I said yes, would you believe me?"

"Yes." After seeing a demonstration like that, she would believe it if he told her that he was secretly a dragon in human form. But this brought up a new question for Iris. If Kies was this strong then why did he need the Windstone? What use was it for him if he couldn't use magic, and when he was also this powerful physically?

"Wait... Are you a dragon?" Iris suddenly asked Kies.

"...No... Why?"

"No reason..." Dragons were known for hoarding treasure even if it had no use for them. As long as it had some value for anyone else, they wanted it. If Kies was a dragon, then Iris would've understood why he wanted the Windstone when he obviously didn't need it.

"You two, save your chit-chat for when you leave. We need to start the next fight," One of the referees walked up to them and said. He nodded his head to the side to show that there was already another group of fighters coming down for the next round. And inside the group, Kies saw Sirks and Wompa staring right at them, likely mind blown after seeing Kies' fight.

"Good luck," Kies told the two as he and Iris walked out of the arena and went back to the spectator's area.

---

Grammar errors, story errors, other errors, and advice, email flightless05@gmail.com

Thanks!