This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

The whistle to start the match pierced through the buzzing crowd, silencing murmurs and heightening the tension.

Mira's contracts sprang into action immediately. The Shadowclaw Lynx darted forward, its sleek form a blur as it melted into the shadows on the stage. Despite being one-level above it, even Kain's contracts weren't able to accurately sense its whereabouts. Continue reading at empire

The Sunflare Bobcat also moved forward, its embers glowing brighter with each step. Meanwhile, the Psychat remained near Mira, its unblinking eyes locked onto Kain's contracts.

Kain directed Bea to send her nearly invisible mental threads toward the advancing Sunflare Bobcat. Since it wanted to offer itself up on the chopping block, Kain would happily oblige.

However, things didn't progress as expected.

Bea's threads touched the bobcat and her invading splits attempted to exert control, after a few seconds, they found that they were completely unable to influence the target. Bea's confusion rippled through her connection with Kain. And Kain shared her confusion. How could this fire-attribute spiritual creature seem to have complete immunity against Bea.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Then he realized what had happened—Mira's gift must be sending the full effect of the splits' mental control toward the Psychat. And as a mental-attribute spiritual creature, with who knows what mental defense skills, Bea's splits didn't cause much influence on it.

Kain frowned, his sharp eyes narrowing. "Tsk…I see why Ranya overturned" he muttered while clicking his tongue. After all, as someone that specializes in illusions, if all of her illusions have an effect on only one opponent due to the attacks being transferred, then she wouldn't have many other means of fighting the unaffected opponents.

The Shadowclaw Lynx materialized from the shadows, launching a rapid attack toward Queen's guards. Its claws left faint dark streaks in the air, each imbued with concentrated dark energy. It seems like much of the strength of its allies had been momentarily added to it, because a huge threat was sensed in that claw attack and would likely severely injure any guard it lands on.

The guards scattered, buzzing angrily, but Queen remained unperturbed. With a graceful movement, she directed her guards to surround the lynx, their formations tightening to cut off its escape.

At the same time, the Sunflare Bobcat lunged toward Aegis, its claws glowing with fiery heat. The impact of its strike sent sparks flying, but Aegis barely flinched.

"Aegis' defense isn't so easy to break," Kain muttered calmly, observing the futile attack.

But just as the words left his mouth, the bobcat's aura surged. For a fraction of a second, its strength increased exponentially, and its claws gouged deep grooves into Aegis's stone surface.

Bea, now aware of the Psychat's trick, shifted tactics. Instead of trying to control the Sunflare Bobcat, she directed her threads toward the Shadowclaw Lynx as it was dodging to attacks of the guards. Once again, the influence was intercepted by the Psychat, but this time Bea didn't pull back.

Instead, she pushed harder, testing the limits of the Psychat's resistance. The mental energy flared between them, creating an almost visible ripple in the air. Kain could feel Bea's frustration—this wasn't a battle she could win quickly.

Meanwhile, Queen's guards had successfully cornered the Shadowclaw Lynx. With a coordinated attack, they forced the lynx onto the defensive, but Mira's gift activated again. The lynx's speed and strength surged momentarily, allowing it to break free from the encirclement and retaliate with a swipe of its claws, scattering several guards.

"Annoying," Kain muttered under his breath, though his tone was more amused than irritated. Mira's gift undoubtedly made the match more interesting. This was undoubtedly the most entertaining match he'd had with someone other than his teammates in the top 5 in a while.

Suddenly, the Sunflare Bobcat turned its attention toward Queen, its flames intensifying as it prepared another strike. Kain recognized the familiar buildup of Mira's gift.

"Not this time," he said, his voice low but firm.

Aegis stepped forward, placing himself between the bobcat and Queen. The bobcat struck again, its flames surging, but Aegis raised his massive arms and absorbed the blow. This time, Kain had anticipated the burst of strength. Aegis's stone form glowed faintly with a reinforcing spiritual energy due to Kain choosing to use his spiritual skill to boost strength on Aegis.

As the battle continued, the crowd was on the edge of their seats. Mira's contracts, though smaller and less powerful on paper, were holding their own against Kain's formidable team. The audience couldn't tear their eyes away from the back-and-forth exchanges, the rapid shifts in momentum, and the sheer intensity of the fight.

But Kain knew this couldn't last. Mira's gift was powerful, but it came with limits. Redistributing strength and injuries consumed a lot of her spiritual power, and the longer the battle dragged on, the more strain it would cause, and the more anxious she would be.

Mira clenched her fists, her gaze darting between her contracts as their movements grew increasingly sluggish. The strain of her gift was beginning to show and not all of Bea's influence was able to be transferred to the Psychat now.

Mira's lips pressed into a thin line, and a spark of defiance ignited in her eyes. "I'm not done yet," she muttered under her breath.

Raising her hand, she channelled a massive wave of spiritual power. A shimmering aura enveloped her and her contracts as a fierce, almost feral, determination spread across her face.

Kain wasn't sure if what was happening was a spiritual skill or an effect of her gift, but regardless he felt an immense threat gradually approaching.

The crowd gasped as the three creatures moved in perfect sync, their individual auras merging into a single, chaotic storm of power.

A massive vortex of flames, shadows, and mental energy erupted in the center of the arena, its power crackling like a living storm. The heat was palpable, the oppressive weight of the mental energy suffocating, and the darkness obscured all sight save for flickers of glowing embers.

The combination of energies was incredibly unstable but the power it contained was well into the strength of a peak blue grade spiritual creature.

Seeing that dodging wasn't possible, Kain's contracts braced themselves, each reacting instinctively to the overwhelming force. Queen's guards buzzed defensively around her, forming a barrier, while Aegis raised a rock wall to add another layer and shield everyone from the initial blast of energy.

Kain could already tell that the damage left to his team after weathering this attack would be immense.

The crowd held its collective breath as the storm of energy closed in on Aegis' wall. Would this be the moment Mira toppled one of the top 5?