Nova aimed the gun at the pillar. His heart was racing as he narrowed his brow with his single eye to see better. Even so, it was still difficult to judge depth. Earlier it had been relatively easy because he had been close to Manto, but now the pillars stood in the way.
He timidly glanced at the sword lying on the ground. He needed to reach it! That weapon was his shield against this bastard.
"So we brought firearms into a hand-to-hand fight! I like that!" the presenter said. "How will our dear Manto deal with this? Pay close attention!"
'If the beast comes out, he'll die—but I can't get careless,' Nova thought.
Aberrations were always unpredictable, with varied powers. If Manto was going to do something to get out of this, he wouldn't hesitate for even a second. And that was exactly what happened.
The Lycan leaped to the side and rolled, positioning himself behind a nearby pillar. Nova fired twice, but Manto was fast and managed to take cover just before the bullets grazed his fur.
From behind the pillar, Manto said:
"You came prepared for everything, didn't you? Your little gun won't do you any good."
Nova clicked his tongue in frustration. Aiming was still difficult.
"Then why are you hiding, genius?"
Manto laughed.
"Got me there. I'm cornered."
'Hah! There's no way I'm buying that bullshit.'
If this was an Aberration they were talking about, it would use every dirty trick possible to win—but Manto wasn't the only one with tricks up his sleeve. While all this was happening, Nova glanced at his boot. There it was—his ticket out of this Arena.
'You'll see. I won't let you kill me.'
He slowly backed away, because he knew what the Lycan was planning. He didn't even need to check for himself. Manto jumped to the side again, positioning himself behind another pillar—and seconds later, did the same thing once more.
Nova stepped back carefully, one foot after the other, distancing himself while moving closer to the sword. Once he was near, he tried to crouch to pick it up, but the ground suddenly trembled. Right after that, the announcer spoke:
"Oh, didn't I mention it before? Tonight, we have the Changing Stage available!"
The aliens shouted excitedly. Nova looked down at his feet. Lines began to split open across the floor. The pillars shook and slowly sank into the concrete. By then, he could already guess what was going to happen.
'Oh, man…'
The Arena trembled, and Manto's laughter echoed along with the noise. For a moment, everything stopped. The pillars disappeared, and the Lycan stood there, staring at Nova with a victorious smile.
"Welcome to the Arena, human."
Explosions rang out. Large geometric sections of concrete rose from the ground amid clouds of dust—and the section Nova was standing on was one of them.
He immediately raised the sword and deactivated the plasma before sheathing it. As the platform shook, he struggled to maintain his balance, standing upright.
At the same time, Manto leaped toward one of the newly formed walls. With great agility, he climbed onto a platform, digging his claws into concrete and metal to scale it quickly. When he reached the top, he looked down at the pathetic human struggling to stay on his feet as the platforms continued to tremble, rising and falling without pause.
'This is a trap! I can't fight like this!'
Facing a monster that moved so fast he could barely see it was already reason enough to complain—but that wasn't all Manto had to offer.
"Let's see if you can handle this," the Lycan laughed.
Clinging to the platform with the claws of his hind legs, Manto stood upright and clenched the claws of his hands. He opened his mouth and inhaled a massive amount of air. His chest expanded, and the air around him turned cold.
Nova had a bad feeling—and he wasn't wrong.
The announcer made sure to explain what was happening to the audience.
"No way! Manto is using one of his species' abilities! Pay close attention, everyone!"
Sensing the danger, Nova raised his gun and fired, but before he could pull the trigger, Manto smiled and then blew with all his strength.
A powerful current of wind—like a murderous hurricane—swept across the Arena. Nova didn't have enough time to react; the wind shoved him back, dragging him across the platforms as he desperately tried to grab onto the edge of one of them.
Manto, meanwhile, didn't stop. He kept blowing as his chest gradually returned to its original shape. At that moment, the announcer pointed his sharp nail toward Manto.
"Lycans possess powerful lungs capable of pumping absurd amounts of air at unimaginable speeds! Even the predators on their home planet fear this dangerous racial ability!"
Managing to cling to the edge of one of the platforms, which rose and fell repeatedly, Nova increased the energy cost of combining his Spectrums.
'The gun! Damn it! I dropped it!'
With one less weapon, his chances of survival had dropped exponentially. Nova tightened his grip on the platform, thinking about his next move.
'Damn it… When is he going to run out of air?'
A few platforms away, Manto leaped while blowing. Suddenly, he stopped the wind attack and moved swiftly, jumping forward across the edges of the platforms.
Nova widened his eye, impressed—but also desperate—as Anticipation began to show him another Omen of Danger.
Shining intensely like a flame in the dark, his aura trembled, and his eye flashed.
In the vision, Manto leaped from the last platform and landed on Nova, crushing his lungs as concrete and metal shattered and bent with deafening noises.
Returning to reality, Nova clenched his teeth and immediately got to his feet after lying flat on the concrete. He drew the sword, with no hope of defending himself, and took the Lycan's double kick head-on.
The ground shattered beneath his feet. His bones creaked, and his flesh split with blood and pain. Nova frowned, enduring the agony, and pressed the first button once more.
The sword shone, and the plasma ignited.
Manto jumped back to avoid the damage from the blade—but immediately lunged forward again, knowing his enemy wouldn't be able to defend himself.