The boy seemed to have made his empty hand into a weapon of sorts.
But Dean, just like a few others like Olssn beside him, knew it was more than that.
Almost instinctively, Dean's pupils transformed into a cross shape as he activated Hermit's eyes.
Olsen felt it immediately as he tapped on Dean's shoulders.
"Your eyes.."
"I know," Dean answered without breaking focus.
Dean didn't care if others saw. He could easily say it was a channeling skill from one of his summons.
The closer he looked the more it made sense.
One moment Andre's hand was empty. The next… he saw lines of verge streaming from his hands like a tree.
'Sneaky bastard,' Dean thought.
This was an Armament summon. It was a rare type even amongst summoners.
And it usually came as weapons just like the invisible one Truman was wielding. And what he remembers Ying possesses as well.
Though it should have been confusing to him but it seemed Rogue was even more excited than before.
The boy stretched his hand forward as he muttered.
"Seek–"
And In a flash of lightning, the blue streak dire wolf descended on Andre.
Its sharp maws aim to bite into the boy's shoulder without hesitation.
Unfortunately for the wolf, Andre was quite light on his feet.
He side stepped it just in the nick of time while re-oriented his stance.
While he did this, one of the branches of his unseen blade grazed the wolf's side causing a spark on impact.
The Wolf yelped as it fell to the side before getting back to its feet.
Rogue didn't give Andre any breathing space.
Following up the wolf attack immediately with ten bunnies that launched towards Andre's chest.
Andre's hand shifted as he took a defensive stance. One by one. He dodged and slashed the bunnies that kicked and punched at him.
"I can do this all day," Rogue grinned as he slammed the ground.
More bunnies were summoned. They moved like a wave.
Chaotic and yet precise.
'What are you planning?' Dean leaned forward.
Dean had missed Rogue's intent and it seemed Andre was done for as well.
The bolt of lightning that Rogue had fired seemed to have been perfectly cloaked by the wave of bunnies
But Andre's battle instincts and movements were incredibly sharp.
He'd seen the bolt and leaped up with a forward flip.
And as he came down, he released a circular arc from his formless sword to disperse both the bunnies and the bolt.
Dean watched like it was art.
But Ash was not moving at all.
Instead, Its eyes were just tracking the battle like it was documenting it.
The Truman moved around, sidestepping and slashing through hundreds of bunnies without any visible strain.
"He is wearing him down," Olsen whispered.
'A battle of Attrition.' Dean thought.
The fact that Rogue had two summons active meant he was using double the verge essence.
And Andre was using just one summon.
This difference combined with the fact, the summons were spamming skills.
It was a race of who ran out of verge first.
The crowd watched between gasps at the near misses by the wolf and the karate bunnies relentless attacks on Andre.
And after two minutes. Rogue's breathing became heavier.
Even as Andre adjusted a ripped sleeve. A near miss from the wolf that nearly took his hand off with another lightning bolt.
As soon as the bunnies began to slow down. Andre knew it was time.
The boy who had been defensive all this while, finally leaped into action.
Closing the distance in the blink of an eye, he raised his hands.
Still unable to see the boy's blade shape. Rogue raised his hand causing a wave of bunnies that formed a wall.
Slash!
In a single swoop. Andre released a single visible arc that took out the rest of the bunnies instantly.
What Andre didn't know was that the bunnies were merely a decoy as rogue stretched his open palm forward.
And the wolf ditched all restrictions.
It pounced forward with conviction, projecting electrocuting waves from all around its body as it swiped its claws to rip Andre's mid section apart.
'Game over…' Dean thought as he leaned forward.
He could see through such an attack but the layering would have been impossible for him not to get hit.
It seemed grim but unfortunately for Rogue and Dean. Andre was always a step ahead.
The hand that held his summon suddenly surged.
And for the first time, he adjusted his grip.
The hilt solidified. And for a split second.
Dean saw it.
It wasn't one blade. But…
Ten.
"Ten faces..." Andre whispered omniously.
And with those words came a wave of energy. That dissected the wolf, forcing it back.
The summon fell to the ground before disappearing in motes of blue lights.
Rogue fell to his knees. His mouth was bleeding as Andre appeared in front of him with an outstretched hilt.
"Yield?"
Lifting his hands in a placating gesture. Rogue spoke.
"Yeah, I Yield," Rogue said between heavy breaths.
Thomas stepped on the stage immediately.
"Match is over. And the winner… Truman,"
The crowd burst into applause and cheers even as Thomas nodded with approval.
This two had managed to achieve a small spectacle without too much damage.
"He never went full strength." Olsen spoke.
"He wasn't supposed to… Remember?" Dean answered..
He watched as several screens appeared in front of him.
He glanced at them like his eyes weren't his, because they weren't.
He was sharing vision with Ash via the resonance skill that linked them mentally.
The screens read.
[Ash — Skill: IMU Active]
[ Name: Lightning Infusion]
[Slot: 1/4]
[Source: Blue streak Dire wolf]
[Method: Observation]
[Grade: C]
Reading through. And he could already tell, how useful this would be to his fighting style temporarily.
Dean exhaled. Even as Olsen watched him closely.
"You okay?"
"Yeah," Dean answered, trying to get his eyes away from the screen.
Dr. Thomas's voice soon echoed again.
"Next match," Thomas said as he looked through the list.
"Dean Gray," he said calmly
Dean stood and strolled forward. As much as he tried to hide from fighting too early. It seemed fate had plans of its own.
While he strutted forward, Ash remained on his shoulder, seemingly processing something underneath faint colours in his body.
"Your opponent is Marcus Argent."
Thomas concluded as Dean's eyes followed the crowd gaze and saw his opponent.
The boy was lying down on his seat as he lazily opened his sharp yellowish eyes.
He sat up non-chalantly with a smug smile on his face.
'That smile,' Dean thought. 'Where have I seen it before?'