David took a hoarse breath as he collapsed onto one knee.
Gradually, the intense purple aura surrounding him began to disperse until it was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, it was replaced with a hollow feeling, a mixture of relief and sha.
"See? It wasn't that hard, was it? Do you see now that if you listen to , only good things would happen to you?" The Spectral Warden didn't miss the chance to mock the man.
David, in turn, gritted his teeth. He wanted to curse at the cursed being, but he didn't even have the strength to open his mouth.
That was how much the battle with Grace had drained him.
Taking a few seconds to recover, he shifted his gaze toward the unconscious woman lying on the ground.
She was being healed by one of the healers.
After a mont, his eyes widened as he, too, felt himself being healed by a different healer.
He might not have sustained any physical injuries, but his mana core was close to cracking, so he welcod the healer's assistance.
Feeling a gaze upon him, David lifted his head and locked eyes with the emperor, who was looking at him with a twisted smile.
'I guess he's happy now that he's seen a part of what I'm capable of,' David thought with sarcasm, his body beginning to feel sore.
He didn't pay much attention to the audience cheering as he got up and began to head out.
On his way, he t Zaroth again.
Both of them looked into each other's eyes for a second.
Then, without exchanging any words, Zaroth stepped into the ring.
In a way, he was saying, 'Now it's my turn.'
David scoffed and sat on the ground.
Zaroth had watched his fight, so David was going to do the sa.
Taking a deep breath, Zaroth gazed at his opponent. Unlike the previous ones, he hadn't been able to gather much information about this one.
It was a short man with a red hood covering his head. Zaroth had no doubt that the man wore so kind of armor beneath his red robe.
He wasn't surprised to see the two daggers at his opponent's waist. From the little information Zaroth had managed to gather, he knew that the man was swift with his daggers, taking out his opponents quickly and quietly.
Zaroth had daggers as well, but he wasn't that skilled with them.
And facing an opponent who had mastered the weapon while he had not seed like a reckless gamble.
So, reaching behind his back, he unsheathed the odachi.
The odachi seed like the most favorable choice, as its length gave Zaroth a greater reach compared to his enemy, forcing his opponent to be more cautious in his approach.
His spear was still on his back, waiting to be used at the right mont.
Zaroth summoned his beasts—Hellweaver, Silverfang, and the four unnad wolves.
His eyes darkened for a second as he observed the hooded opponent. It was impossible to see the man's expression.
Usually, reading an opponent's emotions was important—that way, Zaroth could tell if he had caught the enemy by surprise or if his actions had been expected. It was also possible to gauge how tired his opponent was by looking at their face.
"Well, no matter," Zaroth mused, getting into a battle position, awaiting the emperor's words.
He didn't have to wait long, as the emperor soon announced the start of the match.
Zaroth charged at his opponent, his beasts following closely.
His opponent unsheathed his two daggers from behind his back.
And before anyone could react, a crimson mist covered the entire arena floor in an instant.
Zaroth's eyes narrowed.
He hadn't heard anything about his opponent being able to create mist!
It seed that this was the first ti his opponent had decided to use his trump card in the tournant.
'Does this mist weaken , or does it make him stronger?' Zaroth asked himself.
He quickly got his answer, however, as he heard a grunt behind him.
In that instant, he realized he couldn't feel his connection to his beasts, as if they had vanished entirely.
Suddenly, his body shivered as his instincts scread at him to move, or else he would die.
He turned just in ti to see Silverfang lunging at him with bloodshot eyes.
With a silent curse, Zaroth raised his odachi in front of himself, successfully blocking Silverfang's attack.
"So it makes my beasts go berserk…" Zaroth muttered, taking a step back before kicking the wolf away.
Zaroth wasn't emotionless; kicking Silverfang felt like an action he should have never had to perform, but the fact that he couldn't control his beasts told him everything he needed to know.
And it wasn't like his beast could die, so even if it took a few hits, the beast would be alright.
Silverfang was about to attack again, but he was stopped as two of the unnad beasts lunged at him, their eyes bloodshot as well.
Zaroth could only watch in frustration.
'I can't feel my beasts at all, aning I can't unsummon them. They would continue fighting indefinitely, draining my mana core, and there's a chance they might even target .'
He could only smirk.
At this mont, he was glad that Nightshade was evolving and couldn't be summoned. If she had been, she would've been the biggest obstacle.
With the crimson mist providing cover, she could have exploited her stealth abilities and ambushed Zaroth before he even sensed the danger.
It seed that rushing to evolve her had been the right choice, as now he had one less beast to worry about.
"So now, I can't rely on my beasts anymore, and I also have to watch my back because of them. anwhile, they'll fight each other, draining my mana at a terrifying rate," he mused.
He had never fought this kind of opponent before.
Truly, he had never imagined that his own beasts could be manipulated into turning against him.
"Well, this is the semi-finals, after all, so I can't expect an easy fight."
He was in an unfavorable position, yet he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. Now, in the future, there would be fewer things that could surprise him.
With each battle he participated in, the more experience he gained and the stronger he beca.
His train of thought was interrupted, however, as he picked up the sound of quiet footsteps behind him.
Most people would have missed the noise, but Zaroth had fought against Nightshade before, so he had developed the habit of listening for the faintest sounds, even amidst the chaos unfolding around the arena.
He swiftly moved his body and attacked with the odachi before he even saw his opponent.
A second later, the tallic clang of clashing weapons rang throughout the arena as the odachi collided with his opponent's two daggers.
His opponent had used his daggers in an X formation to block Zaroth's vertical strike.
In the span of a second, his opponent struck the odachi with his fist, forcing it aside and closing the distance on Zaroth.
Zaroth's eyes darkened.
It seed like this fight was going to be a real struggle.
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