Chapter 352 Satoshi And Shoyo

"We made it in time!" Tetsuya panted as he tried to catch his breath. He got so preoccupied with work that he forgot the Official Beast Tournament was happening today. As soon as he got to the foot of the stairs leading up to the entrance of the American Dome, he rested his hand on the guard rails before proceeding.

After finally catching his breath, he looked around, only to see that Taiga and Kageyama were there with him. They were scratching their heads and fidgeting as if they didn't belong there. He wondered why they were idling about outside when they could've gone inside to watch the match.

"What are you guys doing here?" Tetsuya asked, thinking that they were too embarrassed to go inside.

He was right on the money. The two of them were really embarrassed to go inside. As it turned out, Shoyo would be fighting the first match of the third round, and they couldn't bring themselves to go inside and cheer him on after what they did.

They backed out from registering for the Official Beast Tournament at the last minute. And now, they were too ashamed to face Shoyo since he managed to survive until the third round.

Tetsuya's question was received with an awkward silence. The two of them continued to fidget while they guiltily averted their gazes from Tetsuya. They all did the same thing, but Kageyama and Taiga were the only ones who felt guilty about what they'd done.

"Don't tell me..." Tetsuya heaved a sigh as he turned away from his fellow White Mist Faction members. He couldn't believe that they were thinking about something so minuscule, insignificant. For one, it was their choice that they didn't join the Official Beast Tournament. While they did back down from the promise they made beforehand, there was nothing they could do about it now since it was already done and over with.

In hindsight, they've already broken their promise of going together in the Official Beast Tournament, the least they could do is attend and cheer Shoyo on since he was the only one who didn't back down like a coward.

"Come on, we're going to miss Shoyo's match at this rate," Tetsuya said, grabbing Kageyema and Taiga's shoulders and dragging them up the stairs. "If you feel bad about it, then we should just cheer him on. I mean... that's the only thing we can do to make amends."

From a distance, a familiar figure stood, leaning on one of the pillars that supported the outer beams of the American Dome. He rubbed his nose with pride as he watched the trio make their way up the stairs. He was none other than White Mist. "I guess I didn't have to step in. They're going to grow into fine beast tamers... someday."

After saying his monologue like an old man on his deathbed, he headed back inside the American Dome to watch the match starring Satoshi and Shoyo. Greeted with loud cheers, White Mist headed back to the waiting room to mentally prepare for his match.

...

Back to the present,

Without further ado, Satoshi commanded Ghast to create a portal so the two of them could step in there. That way, there was no chance that they'd be late.

"Now, let's get this over with," Satoshi said, pushing Shoyo into the portal before he went through it himself. They were greeted by the audience in an instant, and Shoyo felt like cowering in fear upon seeing the great number of spectators.

"I promise... I won't let you down.." Shoyo said, extending his fist towards Satoshi.

"Ou~ I'm counting on you," Satoshi muttered, reciprocating the fist bump.

At the same time, the referee shouting the commencement of the match was heard, and the first match of the third round has begun.

Apparently, Satoshi and Shoyo were up against members of the Black Fog Faction. It wasn't an understatement to say that the Black Fog Faction dominated the entire Official Beast Tournament since most participants in the third round belonged to that said Faction.

Obviously, they were strong, even rivaling White Mist in his prime (White Mist himself can hardly activate his Dual Beast Integration), and Satoshi knew he shouldn't underestimate them. But then again, he was fairly certain that he and Shoyo would easily win this match. He couldn't be bothered to ask for their names.

As for Shoyo, the doubts in his mind continued to pile up, muddling his thinking. There was still a part of him that couldn't believe he was partnered with Satoshi. And that disbelief made him freeze up on the spot.

The cheers of the audience rang in his head like the sound of beating drums, and he choked as the referee brought down his arm— a signal that the match had already commenced. His gaze then landed on Satoshi, who was standing right behind him.

A few seconds ago, he promised Satoshi that he wouldn't bring him down... but now he was beginning to doubt his words. He was up against members of the Black Fog Faction. There was no way he could fight head-to-head with them.

"Relax, Shoyo, you shouldn't think about it too much. You do know that I'm your teammate, right? There's no way we can lose against them. If any, you can take the two of them on with minimal help. Come on, snap out of it." Satoshi said, patting Shoyo on the back before he gestured that he look towards the audience.

At first, Shoyo had no idea what Satoshi was implying but he turned towards the audience anyways. That's when he noticed Kageyama and the other members of the White Mist Faction, standing together, cheering him on.

Of course, while that was happening, the Black Fog Faction were already preparing for their Dual Beast Integration. They didn't waste any time activating it as soon as the match started. A snicker came out of their mouth as they watch Satoshi and Shoyo talk to each other.

"They're wasting their time. Right now, they should've activated their Dual Beast Integration." The first member said.

"Heh, then this is going to be an easy win for us." The second one grinned.

In under a minute, the first member had completely activated his Dual Beast Integration. Satoshi and Shoyo had no idea what his tamed beast was but he came out as a giant charcoal-colored golem with dark spikes on his back. Lava flowed from his mouth and his back glowed a nice bright red color as if he was ready to explode. As for the second member, he had the same look as the first one, except that he was red in color. Apparently, the two of them have the same tamed beast as their partner, and only their second tamed beast was different from each other.

"Listen here, Shoyo. I have no idea who your second tamed beast is... but I know that your tamed beast that looks like a chick is strong. I want you to integrate with that first and then integrate with the second one. Don't worry about the time. You can take as long as you want." Satoshi instructed him. "Well, it's not like you're going to need time activating your Dual Beast Integration though."

As if on cue, Satoshi summoned Sera, and she immediately floated above the Grand Stage. With a squeal, she filled the entire Grand Stage with a sparkling golden shower of light. "Now, do your thing, Shoyo," Satoshi said.

"H-hai~!" Shoyo gulped as he integrated with his partner, the puffy chick that came out of a tamed beast egg his father left behind for him. To his surprise, he managed to integrate with it in a snap of a finger, and he didn't even feel like he was losing his concentration as he did so.

"Now, your second tamed beast."

Before Satoshi could say anything else, Shoyo nodded as he threw a Gren in the air. Meanwhile, their opponents had already begun their attack... but instead of aiming for Satoshi and Shoyo, they aimed for Sera since they could tell that she was some sort of a debuffer.

When the Gren opened, a powerful tamed beast came out of it. It looked like a monster straight out of the depths of the abyss. It looked like a griffin or a chimera all rolled into one. However, its body seemed like it was pieced together. Its wings were in tatters, and its' body had different textures and mismatched proportions. Its head was akin to the skull of a prehistoric aquatic dinosaur. And to top it all off, its eyes were red glows, peering from the cracks and holes of its face.

"What is that?" Satoshi asked as Shoyo integrated with it.

While their opponents showed their wings and started targeting Sera who floated above the Grand Stage, Shoyo had already finished his transformation. He was like a Frankenstein made out of different body parts of tamed beasts, and he let out a sinister roar before charging towards their opponent.

"What on actual—" Satoshi trailed off as he watched Shoyo take the initiative to attack.