This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

The vortex of chaotic energy struck Aegis's wall with a deafening crash, the collision sending shockwaves throughout the arena. Continue your journey with empire

Aegis's wall quickly cracked under the strain, thin lines spiderwebbing across its surface as the stone guardian strained to hold it together. However, after enduring over 50% of the energy from the combined attack it collapsed.

With a thunderous boom, the wall shattered.

Dust and fragments of stone exploded outward at a speed resembling bullets. Thankfully the barrier surrounding the arena prevented the audience from also getting injured.

Aegis staggered backward, his massive form now riddled with deep gouges where the attack had broken through. He let out a low rumble of effort as he slammed his stone fists into the ground, anchoring himself to avoid toppling and using his massive body to better shield his allies, while focusing on reinforcing his body and creating more shields that were still swiftly torn through.

The force of the blast reached Queen and her guards next. Queen directed her remaining guards into a tighter formation around her, their buzzing wings creating a faint hum of determination. Seeing that their Queen was in danger, the all were able to boost their strength using the berserk skill.

However, even despite their boost in strength the queen's defenders were overwhelmed, scattering several guards into lifeless heaps on the arena floor. Only a small handful remained, circling Queen protectively as they weathered the tail end of the vortex.

Bea, as the smallest target at the very center of the formation, appeared mostly unscathed but was visibly agitated.

Bea exhausted the majority of her spiritual power trying to control the enemy with the splits remaining in their bodies.

Once this skill was used she'd sensed the weakness of the enemy spiritual creatures, and Mira should no longer be able to use her gift either due to running out of spiritual power or having to control the storm.

When the dust finally began to settle, Everyone surveyed the aftermath on the battlefield. His team was still standing, but barely. Aegis had lost nearly a third of his stone body, and more than half of Queen's guards were gone. Even Queen herself looked slightly drained, her usual elegance marred by her drooping antennae and small chips and holes in her delicate, translucent wings.

On the other side of the arena, Mira swayed on her feet, visibly drained from channelling such an intense combination of energies. Her contracts were similarly fatigued—the Shadowclaw Lynx's movements were sluggish, the Sunflare Bobcat's embers dimmed, and the Psychat's twitching ears now drooped slightly.

But Mira wasn't finished yet.

With one final surge of energy, Mira raised her hand, and the Psychat's eyes glowed with a piercing light. Its mental energy surged outward, a concentrated blast aimed directly at Aegis, while the Shadowclaw Lynx and Sunflare Bobcat gathered their remaining strength for one last coordinated strike.

The audience was on the edge of their seats, the tension in the arena so thick it was almost suffocating.

This was it. The next few moments would decide the winner. And for those that had been convinced by Elias, they were ecstatic at the current battle situation.

The Shadowclaw Lynx and Sunflare Bobcat both headed toward Queen.

Queen directed her remaining guards in a last-ditch effort to intercept them both. Despite their battered state, the guards swarmed with precision, slowing them both just enough for Queen to dodge their lethal claws and retaliate. She released a concentrated green aura that healed her remaining guards instantly while also further boosting their skills.

Fire and shadow met sharp thorns and more and more dust in debris got kicked up, blocking the audience's vision.

Aegis braced himself, his cracked stone form glowing faintly with the remnants of Kain's reinforcing spiritual energy. Thankfully, the spiritual skill Kain used didn't seem to be identified by his competitors yet for its ability to provide an all-round boost to all stats—physical, mental, spiritual. Therefore, when Mira assumed that Aegis only had a physical reinforcement and chose to attack him mentally, it wasn't as effective as she'd hoped.

Unfortunately, even with the boost Aegis wasn't naturally particularly resistant to the mental attribute. The Psychat's mental blast surged toward him, an invisible force that warped the air around it and Aegis' spiritual power flared as he withstood as much of the impact as possible.

Eventually, the Psychat's mental energy wavered, its mental attack weakening and Mira also visibly staggered, her reserves of spiritual power almost entirely drained. However, Aegis wasn't looking any better.

The arena was enveloped in a dense mist of dust and energy residue, obscuring the battlefield from view. For a moment, everything was silent.

Then, as the mist began to clear, the audience erupted into cheers. Mira's contracts stood—albeit unsteadily—while Kain's contracts appeared to be motionless on the ground. Those who had bet against Kain shouted triumphantly, their earlier doubts now replaced with jubilation.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

But the cheers were premature.

From within the fading mist, a faint shimmer of threads became visible. Bea emerged, her threads elegantly weaving through the air. The subtle but deliberate movement of the threads was enough to signal to the referee that she was still intact.

Mira's triumphant expression faltered as her knees buckled beneath her. At the same moment, all three of her shaking contracts collapsed, their last reserves of energy finally spent. The arena fell silent once more as the realization dawned on the crowd.

The referee stepped forward, raising a hand. "Winner: Kain Newman!"

A mix of cheers and groans erupted from the stands. Those who had bet against Kain were left grumbling, while his supporters celebrated his hard-fought victory.

The audience, including Kain, also began to applaud the collapsed Mira. This battle was far closer than he'd expected, and if anyone had said before the start of the competition that a student outside of the top 20 would manage to take down a member of the top 5, and almost defeat the second-ranked Kain, nobody would believe it.

Despite the difficulty of this match, this was probably the most fun he'd had competing in a while.

Kain exhaled quietly, his gaze sweeping over the battlefield. His contracts were battered and bruised—Aegis was missing a third of his stone body, Queen was surrounded by fallen guards and Kain knew that less than half remained, and Bea was incredibly drained despite her outward composure.

Yet they had endured. They had won.