Apocalypse system: I have unparallel comprehension-Chapter 61 - Spar

For a moment, silence was the loudest sound in the field.

Toji Tendo walked forward with his long katana. His face was bored. Despite his lazy demeanor, Dante saw strength in that.

Each movement he made the world around him echoed.

Dante had never seen someone who could draw the world as Tendo. He hated to use Thomas as a comparison but not even Thomas could draw in mana like this.

And that was ignoring the immense mana Tendo was releasing. He wasn’t even doing it on purpose.

Every creature with mana did that subconsciously. Dante also did that because it made the mana flow smoother.

Dante swallowed saliva and waited for the tension to release.

Then it began.

Tendo struck first, moving with a certainty that made the ground seem steadier under his feet. His katana glimmered as it cut the air, each swing smooth, practiced, and frighteningly efficient.

There was a sense around him,a quiet pressure that made it feel as though the world itself leaned in his direction, supporting every step he took.

Ashar met the attacks head-on, but there was nothing polished in his movements. He looked like an ordinary young man thrown into a fight he shouldn’t survive.

Yet, something simmered beneath his skin, something Dante noticed long before it fully surfaced.

His breath hitched, and his footing stumbled, but he recovered fast enough to shove his palm toward Tendo’s chest.

The blow landed, yet it felt like hitting a wall. Tendo didn’t budge. His eyes sharpened, and the sword came crashing down again.

Steel kissed skin.

Tendo’s face didn’t change the entire exchange.

Ashar hissed as blood splattered across the grass. The cut burned, deep and clean.

Yet even as he clutched the wound, his skin began to bubble beneath his fingers. Veins darkened. Muscle shifted. The flesh stitched itself back together. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Something inside him snapped loose.

Dante noticed the subtle change in Ashar.

His body swelled, bones creaking beneath the surface. Fingers elongated into clawed shapes, and his eyes lost the mask he wore.

Tendo didn’t flinch. He stepped in with silent precision, sword slicing upward then across, forcing Ashar back.

Each strike carved new gashes into Ashar’s rapidly warping frame, yet the wounds refused to stay open.

They were sealed with wet, sickening sounds, replaced by more twisted flesh.

Ashar lunged.

This time he didn’t move like a man. He moved like an animal low, fast, and hungry.

His claws tore across Tendo’s sleeve and grazed the skin beneath, leaving four parallel cuts. Blood beaded along Tendo’s arm.

It was the first sign that Tendo wasn’t untouchable.

But Tendo was calm, looking at the wound. The wound instantly healed.

He pivoted, using the momentum to deliver a powerful strike across Ashar’s back. The katana dug in far deeper than before and Ashar dropped to one knee, growling through clenched teeth.

But Ashar didn’t fall.

The red aura around him thickened into a pulsing fog, and with every heartbeat his shape twisted further.

Spines pressed against his skin from the inside, threatening to burst outward. His jaw unhinged slightly, teeth reshaping.

Ashar was seconds away from becoming something monstrous.

Tendo raised his blade again, ready to strike him down before the transformation could complete.

Their aura collapsed.

Ashar’s bones reversed their unnatural shifting. The claws shrank back into fingers, trembling as they reverted to normal.

Tendo held his katana steady, confused for the first time.

"You could have continued," he said in a low voice.

Ashar wiped the blood from his chin with a shuddering breath.

"Yes," he whispered, "and I shouldn’t. You win, the Prodigy. You win."

Tendo nodded, sheathing his katana. "You can rest here if you like."

He turned and entered the building. Before he left he glanced at Dante’s direction. He called out someone and an old man came forward.

Tendo whispered something and the old man nodded.

Dante watched as Tendo disappeared into the building

With nothing to do, Dante turned around looking for someone to talk to. He didn’t need to do much as the previous old man walked up to him.

"Hello sir." The old man gave a graceful bow.

Dante nodded. "Yes. What can I do?"

"Our boss, Toji Tendo, wants to meet with you." The old man said.

"Now."

"Tendo said he wanted to see you tomorrow. I don’t know why, sir. So I would like to invite you to our main base for hospitality." The old man said with a soft smile.

"Okay." Dante was skeptical but he complied as he had nothing better to do.

The old man tilted his head, pointing at the building Tendo entered.

Dante followed the old man.

He showed him the room. "This will be your room. We reserved this room for the guest but you have the honor to be the first to get that title."

"Thanks, I guess." Dante said, looking around the room he got. It was much better than the one from the rebellion.

The wind entered through the window and gazed at his hair. Dante noticed his long hair and lifted to the side.

He turned to the old man who was about to leave the room.

"Do you know the reason why Tendo gave me this room?"

"I do not know, sir. The boss doesn’t like to share his thoughts."

Dante nodded. "Wait, is there a hair stylist in this base?"

The old man paused. "Yes, you can find it on the ground floor. Her name is Loris, you will know when you see her, Sir Dante."

The old man closed the door.

Dante sighed and walked over to the bed. He sat down and let the soft sofa enveloped his body. His body melted in the bed for the first time.

He yawned. He was not even tired and yet the bed forced him.

"High Heaven really knows how to enjoy life. Their base is beautiful and everything is comfy." He muttered.

After a while, he forced himself out of the bed.

He descended to the ground floor and began to search for the hairstylist. His eyes scanned across the area and saw someone sitting, reading a book.

’Where did she find a book here?’ Dante questioned and walked toward the woman.

He was certain that the woman was a hairstylist. Because beside her was a scissor and a razor sharp blade.

The woman glanced at him with a frown and continued reading her book. Dante smiled and stared at her.

Unable to stand against his innocent gazes, the woman closed her book with a heavy sigh, placing it on the table beside her.

"Aren’t you going to bookmark that? It is going to be a pain in the ass when you read it again."

"I don’t need that, I have memorized this book."

"Oh. Are you some kind of genius?"

"No, it is just that I read this a hundred times." She said with a sigh. "So what do you need, Mr.Guest."

"Oh, I am famous already?"

"Not really, the old man told me that you are looking to cut your hair." Loris said.

Dante nodded. "Yeah."

He lifted up his hair and said. "I think I have a bad haircut. I want to do a makeover."

Loris stood up and picked up her scissor. She walked and gestured to him with a scissor. " Follow me."

She took him to the back of the building. It was a room made only for her as there were rotating chairs and mirrors from all sides.

"Woah, that is cool." Dante exclaimed, looking around.

Loris patted the chair.

Dante sat down and she started touching his hair.

"So what style are you aiming for?"

"Just simple and stylish."

"That is a big request. Then, I will as I please."

Dante watched as Loris skillfully cut his hair.

"So how is this place treating you?" Dante asked.

"Not bad. I don’t know about other places but this place is good for the current situation. We don’t need to fight and just do as we please."

"So the Prodigy protects everyone here?"

"His men do the work. He is the pillar of this place. Without him, this peace would be impossible. Anyway, are you in university? I think I saw you before."

Dante nodded but stopped by her grips on his neck.

"Don’t move."

"Sorry. Yeah I am from university but I don’t think it matters anymore."

"Same. It sucks that the degree won’t matter anymore but at least I don’t have to pay that stupid loan I take. And I got my dream job."

"I see."

Loris placed her scissor and showed his hair.

"How is it?"

Dante checked and nodded in satisfaction. "Good. You are seriously talented."

"Not talent. Thanks to my profession. You should see my early victims."

"No thanks." He stood up. "But I don’t have any money to pay besides points. How much?"

"No need for that. Just think of this as a gift from High Heaven beside this gave me so many experience points for some reason. You must be pretty strong."

"Oh, am I the highest in your list?"

She shook her head with a smile. "No. That title belongs to Tendo. I leveled up 4 times during his haircut."