Floating in darkness is how Dimas describes it. Not asleep but not really awake either. An almost inbetween of both states. Although he's slowly making his way towards consciousness. Dimas can hear people talking but they sound far away. He can't make out what they're saying but one of them sounds worried. One of the voices belongs to Lilee. Dimas opens his eyes and when he does his senses begin to return to normal. He's laid out on the table in his and Lilee's locker room. Just like how they had Scott at the end of their fight. He can hear the conversation clearly now.
"I hope I didn't use too much Melasmut." Lilee is too busy writing something in her book to notice Dimas. "I don't have his exact measurements but going off of his height and build, my math should be correct."
"Is that a bad thing?" It's Scott.
"Yes, it's a bad thing! He could be in a coma right now!" Lilee begins to check her math once more.
"You risked putting me in a coma?" Dimas groans as he sits up.
"Dimas!" Lilee jumps up with a jug of water at hand. She almost drops it from surprise. "Does it burn anywhere?!"
"No." Dimas rubs his arms. The memory of the burning felt almost as if it had been a dream. It's no wonder everyone else who had fought Sebastian never figured it out. If Lilee hadn't reminded him of the fires, he would've forgotten about them. "What happened?"
The worry left Lilee's eyes, pure joy now standing in their place. She tosses the water jug aside, Scott catches it just before it hits the ground, and hugs Dimas. "You won! Our team gets to move on to the next tournament!"
Dimas is too tired to push her away. Instead, he lets out a small painful groan from Lilee touching one of his bruises.
Lilee immediately pulls away. "Sorry."
"I mean, what happened during the fight? How'd I get here?" Dimas puts on his shirt which was folded neatly beside him.
"After you had wiped the floor with Sebastian and the match was called, we were allowed to enter the arena, Lilee had me hold you while she put you to sleep. Then I carried you back here. Sebastian came by a minute ago and explained the whole invisible fire situation. He offered to extinguish the fires but he said they were gone already."
The hands he felt after he beat Sebastian, they were Lilee and Scott's. It was probably Lilee that grabbed his shoulder and when he was about to counterattack, it was Scott that stopped him, and the cloth was Lilee putting him to sleep.
"How'd you know to put me to sleep?" Dimas asks.
"Since you never told me about Sebastian's Brío Arts…" Lilee crosses her arms.
"It was still a theory."
"I had to figure it out for myself. An invisible Brío Arts that left his victims in pain without leaving any evidence. If it isn't anything physical, it had to be more of a mental attack. I figured putting you to sleep would be the best solution. By the look of things, it worked. After Sebastian had you cornered behind the rock, I went looking for Scott, in case I needed help helping you."
Smart move on Lilee's part. The blinding pain, literal in this case, had him in an extremely agitated state. When you don't know what's a threat, you treat everything as a threat, even a helping hand on your shoulder.
"Thanks." Dimas nods at Lilee.
Lilee gestures at Scott.
"Technically, he owed me already."
"Dimas…" Lilee says his name in a disapproving tone.
"Tha- good job Scott, I guess." Dimas says begrudgingly.
Scott smiles and nods. He should know by now that that's the best thanks he'll get. "If you're feeling good enough to walk, you two should get back to the arena, the judges have been stalling for you. The audience has been listening to a story about Onaq's first house for about twenty minutes now." Scott opens the door. " I'm going to head back to my seat. After the victory ceremony, find me at Fred's Diner for your victory feast." He takes his leave.
Lilee turns to Dimas. "Are you okay to walk? I can help you if you're not."
"Nah, I'm good." Dimas stands up. A little sore but it's nothing. "Let's get this over with."
The duo stand at the center of the arena. All eyes are on them. Lilee fidgets slightly but stands proudly. Dimas, being slightly worse for wear, stands tired and bored. The moustached judge begins the victory ceremony.
"Ladies and Gentleman, this year's tournament has been an interesting one. We've had many promising fighters enter this year's tournament however, only one team may move on to the Aries tournament. The team who has risen above the others. The team who has earned the title of Onaq's top fighters. Congratulations Team Corvus!"
The crowd cheers louder than ever before. Not a single boo, not even from the losing teams. Funny how they only cheer now that there's no one else to cheer for.
Mr. Hall walks out to the arena. He approaches the duo with a gentle smile and presents them with a small pin. The pin has the signatures of every judge and is in the shape of a small star.
"You have our blessings to move on to the Aries tournament. Let this be proof of that." Mr. Hall hands Lilee her pin first before moving on to Dimas. He leans in close and whispers. "After your celebration, please come to my manor. There is an important matter we must discuss. Do not tell anyone else." Mr. Hall shakes both of their hands before walking back to his place amongst the judges.
"On behalf of all the judges, we wish you luck in the Aries tournament. To Team Corvus!"
The crowd begins to chant. "Team Corvus! Team Corvus!"
[There you go, Corvus. They're learning your name. Just like you wanted.]
Lilee nudges Dimas's arm. "They're cheering for us!" She's radiating a sense of euphoria.
Dimas nods, he swallows the ball of guilt, it drops heavily onto the pit of his stomach. He tugs at his blanket bracelet and takes a deep breath.