The arena buzzed, a palpable tension thickening the air as Maximo, the colossal earth dragon, emerged from the Mitchell’s ring, and formed right behind him.
"Young Master Mitchell truly lives up to his name," she said.
Katherine, however, was unimpressed.
"Nay! Before my brother’s Beasts, this earth dragon is useless." A flicker of possessiveness, almost pride, colored her usually cool tone.
"Yes, Miss Chloe; Christopher’s Beasts are powerful! I know they are perfect stages, but one can take down a Mythical stage beast!" Bella chimed in.
Chloe, her eyebrows arching, turned to Bella. "What are you saying, Bella...? Stop exaggerating... How can a perfect stage beast take down a mythical stage?" A hint of skepticism laced her voice.
"I am not, everyone saw it," Bella insisted, a spark of fervent belief in her eyes.
Katherine’s gaze, sharp and analytical, remained fixed on Leon, the brown-haired youth with the oversized reading glasses. "I am just curious to see what this Leon can do," she murmured.
"Maybe he has a plan."
Bella echoed, her voice laced with anticipation.
"Maybe," Katherine repeated, her tone clipped.
"Do you surrender now?" Mitchell’s voice, laced with arrogant certainty, cut through the tension.
Leon, seemingly unfazed, adjusted his glasses, a slow, predatory grin spreading across his face.
A chilling wave of killing intent erupted from him, a tangible force that washed over the arena, silencing the crowd.
Mitchell stammered, his confidence faltering.
Christopher raised an eyebrow.
’Such a dense amount of killing intent, just like when I fought Reaper,’ he thought, a flicker of recognition in his gaze.
The Dean, his composure shattered, lurched to his feet, shock etched across his features. Monica’s eyes widened, her fingers instinctively tightening around the file in her hand.
Leon smirked, and tap the ring on his finger.
A crimson light exploded from the ring, coalescing into a towering, skeletal figure. The Scion Skeleton, a two-meter-tall armored beast. Its red gaze burning with malevolent energy, stood before Leon, its broadsword gleaming.
"A darkness bloodline beast, the Scion Skeleton... known as the king of all skeletons... Such a beast is as rare as a ten-headed dragon, and it’s a freaking Legendary stage with a Lv8 combat strength... Wow... I think Mitchell will lose this round," Christopher remarked, a wry smile playing on his lips.
"That?! That’s the king of skeletons! I thought it was extinct!" The Dean stammered, his voice thick with disbelief.
"This... Something isn’t right... Why didn’t he use this beast in the registration test? And whose family is he?" The Dean pondered, his brow furrowed.
Monica, her eyes scanning the file in her hand, answered.
"Leon, the young master of the Lil family, who recently moved to Cordelia..."
She looked up at the Dean, her expression thoughtful. "His family just arrived at Cordelia, the Lil family."
"Lil family? Haven’t heard of them... This battle just got interesting. It seems we will win this year’s academy competition with him on the team." the Dean declared, a smile spreading across his face.
Monica nodded, a small, enigmatic smile mirroring her features.
Christopher’s gaze remained fixed on the skeleton, then shifted to Leon. ’Something doesn’t add up,’ he thought, his mind racing.
’To control this skeleton king, you must have a certain amount of bloodlust, which can only be obtained by countless battles and killing... When I tamed Grim, I understood how difficult it was. So how is this Leon controlling the skeleton? Or did someone give it to him, just like Murphy gave me the three beasts? That’s the only explanation.’ He slowly nodded.
’But if that is discovered in the academy competition, we will be disqualified, which means we lose,’ he realized, his expression hardening.
"Don’t tell me you’re scared, Master Mitchell... Why don’t you attack and see what my friend here is capable of?" Leon taunted, his voice laced with a dark amusement.
"Don’t be cocky here, our Beasts are in the same stages---" Mitchell began, his voice tight with suppressed anger.
"---But different combat levels... Yours is Lv7, while mine is Lv8... Do you really think you can defeat me?" Leon interrupted, a smirk playing on his lips.
Mitchell chuckled, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. "Oh really?"
He activated his ring, and two more lights erupted, forming two fifteen-meter-tall red dragons, their scales glowing like molten lava.
"Do you think adding two Elite stage dragons with both having a Lv6 combat strength will make any difference?" Leon asked, his smirk widening.
"Wow! Master Mitchell is really powerful! He has three dragons, two fire bloodlines while Maximo; a earth dragon!" Bella exclaimed, her voice filled with awe.
Mitchell scoffed, pointing a finger at the skeleton.
"Three of you, hold nothing back... [Fire Breathe]!"
The three dragons unleashed a torrent of flames, a blazing inferno aimed at the skeleton.
"Scion! Use [Skeleton Retraction]!" Leon commanded, his voice calm and confident.
The skeleton raised its sword, slamming it into the ground with earth-shattering force.
A sonic energy wave erupted, colliding with the flames.
"Now, use [Skeleton Gaze]!"
The skeleton unleashed a deafening roar, a sound wave that froze the two fire dragons in terror, their flames dissipating.
As Maximo’s attack continued, the skeleton drew its sword.
"Finish the job," Leon said, a predatory smile on his face.
The skeleton surged forward, a red energy shield shimmering around it.
"This?!" Mitchell cried, his eyes wide with alarm. "Maximo! [Earth Stomp]!"
Maximo slammed its front legs down, creating a mini-earthquake, but the skeleton leaped into the air, plunging towards the dragon.
"The End," Leon declared, his smile widening.
The skeleton landed on the ground, right in front of Mitchell, its sword dripping with blood.
Maximo collapsed, a gaping wound on its head.
"Maximo!!" Mitchell yelled in mild horror.
"Master Mitchell, I suggest you take your Beast inside your ring, or it’ll die," Leon said, his voice laced with a cruel amusement.
"You bastard!" Mitchell snarled, his face contorted with rage, but he reluctantly retrieved Maximo back into his ring to recover.
Before the stunned audience could react to the unexpected result, Leon’s voice rang out.
All eyes turned to him.
"I want to challenge Master Christopher!"