In the stands, the silence was absolute as observers processed what they were witnessing.
Then soone murmured what everyone was thinking with a volu that carried far despite attempting discretion.
"Forget the Wolverines and their elental flexibility... That's a true monster of elental versatility."
Another voice added with admiration and maybe a bit of desperation at the implications.
"Its very existence feels like cheating..."
Because that was exactly what they had witnessed over the course of the battle.
A beast that could use all natural elents with mastery that exceeded specialized creatures. That could imbue enormous intensity of elental power into its blade-arms for devastating strikes that hit way above its rank. That could heal itself with water after battle without requiring external support... Without even ntioning any of its basic abilities that were extrely useful in their own right.
It wasn't a question of raw power output that could be asured and compared.
It was complete versatility that defied normal limitations. Responses for every situation... Solutions for every problem.
How did you compete against that kind of comprehensive capability?
How did you plan a strategy when your opponent had effective answers for everything you attempted?
You couldn't.
Not without overwhelming force or abilities so specialized they couldn't be countered even with a complete elental arsenal.
The mantis represented a new ceiling that most students couldn't hope to reach regardless of their own beasts' potential.
And Ren still had two more beasts he hadn't even deployed in the tournant.
Would he even?
♢♢♢♢
VICTOR POV
The agony was unbearable; it transcended simple physical damage entering even into his mana system.
Victor had blocked the first light-darkness beam with his arms raised defensively. Had resisted the impact with his basically Platinum-level power through that long new thod.
But it hadn't been sufficient against an attack of that magnitude.
The attack had launched him backward dozens of ters across the stone floor before the montum finally stopped. His arms burned from the energy contact. Golden scales cracked like fractured glass. Blood dripping from dozens of small wounds that covered his forearms.
The damage was done despite a sowhat successful defense.
But Victor Dravenholm wasn't the son of the kingdom's strongest tar by accident of birth alone.
He didn't surrender easily to setbacks or pain.
He stood despite agony screaming through nerve endings...
Ignoring the pain with discipline born from years of combat training. Ignoring the dizziness from blood loss and shock. Ignoring the wounds that would have incapacitated lesser tars.
He made his choice with clarity despite everything.
Complete fusion...
He would fight with everything he possessed.
Until now he'd been fused only with the Qilin as his primary beast. His most powerful companion that had been with him longest.
But he had a second beast that he'd bonded with too.
The Golden Eagle... Gold 2 rank, one level below the Qilin but powerful in its own right. Majestic creature with feathers that glead like precious tal, that dominated the skies with grace and power that made it an apex predator.
And thanks to Ren's discovery...
Thanks to the thod Ren had uncovered and shared with the kingdom's best warriors through generous contribution...
Victor could fuse with both beasts simultaneously in a technique that shouldn't be possible under normal cultivation understanding.
It was an ability he still hadn't completely mastered despite months of practice. That required exquisite control and massive mana reserves that would exhaust any tar.
But Victor had practiced it extensively. Had refined the technique during countless training sessions.
And now in this desperate mont...
Now he needed it to survive what was coming.
"Fusion," he ordered, his voice resonating with power that made the air itself vibrate with released energy.
The Golden Eagle manifested in an explosion of brilliant light that made observers shield their eyes. And then it fused with Victor, combining with the Qilin already present in a transformation that pushed the limits of what fusion could achieve.
The transformation was instantaneous and majestic in ways that defied simple description.
The Qilin's horns grew larger and more regal in appearance. More imposing. Branching in patterns that resembled a big golden tree reaching toward the sky. The golden scales beca covered with feathers in certain strategic areas, creating hybrid armor that combined the Qilin's resistance with the Eagle's mobility.
Wings manifested on his arms and back in two pairs that spread wide, eight ters from tip to tip when fully extended. Not decorative additions but functional limbs that could actually provide flight.
Victor's power tripled from the synergistic fusion. Perhaps more than that given how the abilities enhanced each other.
This was what complete fusion with two 'mature' Gold-rank beasts ant in practical combat terms.
This was the limit of what a tar could achieve before breaking through to Platinum rank.
It was a late deploynt. The first attack had already inflicted damage. Victor was already injured and bleeding.
But still in ti to defend against what was still coming.
Because from the passage in front of him, another beam of light and darkness was forming with ominous energy buildup.
Second attack. A bit more powerful than the first based on the concentration visible. Energy accumulation that made the air crackle with static electricity.
It launched toward Victor like a spear thrown by an enraged god seeking to punish his mortal presumption.
This ti Victor didn't raise his arms in that defensive posture that had failed before.
This ti he lowered his head with deliberate positioning.
And received the attack with his horns in a technique his Qilin liked to use but he'd never attempted in real combat.
The majestic horns of the fused Qilin enhanced by Eagle's power. Branched and reinforced. Gleaming with golden energy that rivaled the attacking beam's light in intensity.
The impact resonated like thunder that even shook a bit the supposedly immovable ancient ruin's foundations.
Light and darkness collided against pure gold in an explosion of conflicting energies.
And Victor held firm against that overwhelming force.
He didn't retreat despite pressure that would have crushed normal defenses. Wasn't launched backward like before. Didn't yield even a single centiter of ground.
His feet planted in the ancient stone floor like roots of power. His muscles tensed to maximum exertion. His complete power manifesting to resist the pushing force of the opponent hiding in the shadows.
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