The entire stadium trembled.
Ren's dragon had appeared, and the heavens themselves seemed to bow before its fury. The storm it unleashed shattered the protective barrier around the arena as if it were nothing more than fragile glass. Lightning rained down in wild torrents, each strike shaking the earth with bone-rattling force. The sky twisted and churned above, a storm of black clouds veined with violet arcs. A pressure unlike anything before descended upon the battlefield, suffocating, merciless.
For a single heartbeat, silence gripped the world. Then—chaos.
Gasps, screams, frantic whispers erupted from the stands. Elders clutched their robes, disciples paled, and even seasoned warriors felt their blood run cold. What stood before them was no longer a mere beast, but a nightmare reborn.
Draven's Noctis Eclipse shattered instantly, ripped apart like paper before the storm. The suffocating curtain of darkness that had given him absolute dominance dissolved into nothing, torn to wisps by the dragon's electric roar.
Draven staggered, his breath hitching. His violet eyes, once calm and mocking, widened with disbelief. His strongest domain—the abyss he had ruled in countless battles—was gone.
But it wasn't just the destruction that froze hearts.
The dragon itself was wrong.
It was no longer the juvenile beast Ren had once summoned. This was something far older, far more terrifying. Its colossal body glowed with black moonlight, its vast wings lined with scales that shimmered in seven colors. Space itself rippled with every beat of those wings. When it roared, the heavens quaked as if unwilling to hold such a creature.
Mira's breath caught. She could feel her bones vibrating from the sound alone. What… is that thing?
Elsewhere, Fengrion stirred. The ancient beast opened his golden eyes, sensing the shift, and without hesitation stepped through a space vortex. In the blink of an eye, he was there, hovering over the shattered arena.
The moment Fengrion arrived, the atmosphere changed again—heavier, sharper, suffocating.
Lucian's emerald eyes widened. His composure cracked, a sharp breath escaping him. "No… impossible…"
Even Miss Veena faltered. Her lips parted slightly, shock flickering across her otherwise impassive face. "Ren's dragon… it was still young. How could it evolve into… this?"
Fengrion tilted his head, his gaze narrowing as he studied the lightning beast with a smirk tugging at his lips. The longer he looked, the more dangerous the air became.
The entire stadium grew restless. People shifted in their seats, uncertain if they were watching a battle—or the birth of something catastrophic.
On the battlefield, Kai still stood his ground, blood running down his arm. He and the Solar King fought like twin suns against Fenrir's abyssal fury. The lion's golden claws clashed against the wolf's shadow-forged fangs, each collision splitting stone and shaking the earth. Kai staggered, his chest heaving, yet his golden eyes refused to dim.
Refella smirked. She had been holding back all along.
"Enough playing," she murmured, her blade glowing as sigils spiraled around her.
The air fractured.
Blades materialized—countless, infinite, each one glimmering with eerie light. They swirled around Kai and the Solar King like predators encircling prey. The very space seemed cut into ribbons.
"Sword Space Array."
The words rang like judgment.
The pressure crushed down on Kai's chest. Even breathing felt like forcing air through steel. Still, he tightened his grip on his blade, his jaw clenched. Retreat was never in his vocabulary.
Across the battlefield, Draven bared his teeth. "Let me show you despair."
A monstrous screech split the air. From the shadows, a gigantic black bat emerged, its wings blotting out the sky. Its crimson eyes glowed with hunger, and when it cried, the sound ripped through the arena like razors. People screamed, clutching their ears as blood spilled. Some fainted, others fell to their knees. Even warriors gritted their teeth, veins bulging as the sonic force rattled their very souls.
Draven smiled cruelly. "The Black Mystic Bat."
But he had overreached.
Ren's dragon surged with lightning, its body moving with serpentine speed. Its seven-colored scales shimmered, arcs of electricity bursting from every movement. With a roar that split the heavens, it struck.
The Black Mystic Bat wailed, its wings shattering under the dragon's blow. Blood rained as the beast slammed into the stone floor, convulsing in pain, its devastating cry silenced in an instant.
Draven's confidence drained. His knees buckled, breath ragged, sweat pouring down his brow. Maintaining his domain had already cost him dearly. Now, with his beast broken, his strength unraveled. His vision blurred, the taste of blood thick on his tongue.
Above, Fengrion's smirk deepened. His golden eyes gleamed with cruel amusement. "If this continues, Lucian… I doubt your academy will survive."
Lucian's hands curled into fists, but he did not reply. The arena lay in ruins, and the storm of battle had only grown.
Ren stared at his dragon, his chest rising and falling in sharp bursts. His heart clenched. This power, this beast—it was his companion, yet it frightened him. Its fury was too wild, too absolute. He could barely control it. And yet… in this moment, he needed it.
Draven collapsed to one knee, every breath ragged, his pride shattered along with his beast.
And then—
Refella's sword array struck.
Kai's body crumpled under the brutal onslaught. The Solar King roared in anguish, but even it faltered against the storm of blades. Blood poured, and the golden aura flickered like a dying flame.
The crowd gasped in horror. Mira's heart stopped. Akira half-rose to her feet, her eyes wide with panic.
The battlefield was silent save for the sound of crackling lightning and the drip of blood.
Miss Veena's voice rang out, calm yet heavy. "This match… is a tie."