Chapter 354 "I'm Not Ready!"

On the verge of losing control over his Dual Beast Integration, Shoyo pushed past his limits and flew upwards, attacking their two opponents with his dark energy beam that flashed out of his mouth. The recharge time of the beam was too slow, however, and the two opponents managed to dodge them without much difficulty.

His attacks were not in vain, however, since the two opponents were also running low on fuel. It wouldn't take long before their Dual Beast Integration would deactivate, hence they decided to finish the match as soon as possible.

With their chances of winning going down by the second, the two opponents decided to reveal their hidden trump cards— a set of mysterious pills that they hid in their sleeves (quite literally a trick up their sleeves, for crying out loud).

"A pill?" Satoshi asked himself, wondering why the two of them were eating something in the middle of the match. "What on earth are they doing?"

As far as he knows, there were no rules that banned eating during the match. While Satoshi had no idea what the pills were all about, he couldn't just flat-out accuse them of cheating or anything along those lines since he didn't have any proof. Besides, the two of them popped the pills in their mouths so fast that Satoshi concluded he was the only one who saw them.

No one from the audience reacted when the two ate their pills, nor did Luke Skyrunner and the commentator say anything about it. Because of that, Satoshi decided to dismiss what happened and continue with the fight.

Well, not like he was doing anything aside from supporting Shoyo on the sidelines.

Suddenly, an intense wave of energy started emanating from their two opponents, and their movements became even faster. Previously, they could barely dodge Shoyo's energy beams, but now, they dodged them with ease. Sparing little effort, the two of them flitted about in the air while harassing Shoyo with their sneaky attacks.

Fireballs. Wind slashes. Earth spikes. Their attacks started raining down on Shoyo without reprieve, and there was no sign of them stopping even when Shoyo was already being backed into the corner. Their overall improvement in terms of combat ability wasn't even minimal— it was so noticeable that the audience was beginning to wonder how they managed something nearly impossible.

Had the audience known that they actually took pills that aided their energy, they would've stormed Luke Skyrunner's office and complained about it.

"Who would've thought... to think that they'd resort to something so underhanded. Hang in there, Shoyo," Satoshi muttered to himself.

Some of the audience were starting to get alarmed as they watched the fight unfold. As seconds passed, they could tell that Shoyo was fighting a one-sided fight, and it wouldn't be long before their two opponents could snag the victory from under their feet.

Even then, Satoshi couldn't be bothered to interfere. He just stood there by the edge of the Grand Stage, supporting Shoyo on the sidelines and hiding behind his shadow.

"And it looks like Shoyo's bound to lose this battle! Why hasn't Satoshi stepped in? Do you have any idea, Luke?" The commentator asked with a hint of panic in his voice. Quite frankly, he found it ridiculous that Satoshi wasn't doing anything at all.

Everyone had already witnessed his capabilities in the previous match. And most of the audience was aware that he could easily perform a Trinity Beast Integration. But he still hasn't made his move, and the commentator just had to bring it up.

???????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????? ????????????????????-????????????.????????????

"That's right! You have to fight properly, Satoshi!"

"He's probably just taking his time to rest so he could be prepared for the next round."

"Show us a better fight! You suck!"

​ "Don't leave it to your teammate! You have to fight as well!"

Some of the audience were beginning to hurl insults at Satoshi, and some even mocked him for hiding behind Shoyo. Of course, a majority of the audience still sided with Satoshi regarding the matter, since they could tell that Satoshi had a plan in mind. I

"To those who are complaining, I can see why you see this match as uninteresting. However, the Official Beast Tournament is not a flashy tournament. There will be highlights, that much is certain, but there will also be times like this where strategy and positioning are more noticeable." Luke Skyrunner began.

"If you're part of the crowd who are complaining about this match, put yourselves in Satoshi's shoes. He is controlling such a powerful tamed beast while supporting Shoyo. One might not notice it at first glance but he's also the reason behind Shoyo's successful Dual Beast Integration. Without his support, Shoyo wouldn't have been able to keep  his Dual Beast Integration for this long..."

"... there's also a chance where he'd lose control and go berserk... or deplete his energy reserves and faint in an instant. Judging from the energy that Satoshi's emitting right now, an expert beast tamer could more or less guess that he's doing more than his fair share of supporting his teammate."

There were a series of 'ooh's and 'aah's from the audience after Luke Skyrunner finished his monologue.

Right when the commentator was about to commend Satoshi and Shoyo's opponents for their impeccable teamwork and their intricate control over their energy expenditure, Shoyo had reached his limit. And Satoshi had no choice but to teleport him to the side as soon as his beast integration was deactivated.

"You should get some rest, Shoyo. You've exceeded my expectations." Satoshi said. At the same time, he recalled Sera and commanded her to look after Shoyo and heal him back up to full health.

Apparently, the reason why Satoshi didn't interfere with Shoyo's match was that he wanted to see how far Shoyo can go just by his mental toughness alone. Since Satoshi was stabilizing his energy and his control over his Dual Beast Integration, Shoyo could've maintained that skill activated for an indefinite amount of time. However, his control over his beast integration didn't just rely on his energy and his aided control... his mental toughness also had something to do with it as well.

His body would've been capable of seeing the fight to the bitter end, but his mind gets exhausted as well. That's what Satoshi wanted to see— whether he could go beyond his limit and overcome his mental exhaustion or not. Satoshi wasn't expecting Shoyo to last as long as he did though. He really did all he can so Satoshi wouldn't be disappointed.

"Satoshi-sensei... I'm sorry I couldn't defeat them. I'm sorry for being a burden." Shoyo gritted his teeth in frustration. It only took a couple of seconds (thanks to Sera's healing) for him to regain consciousness. His body was still fatigued, however, that's why he couldn't get up at all.

"What are you talking about? Obviously, you won't be able to do it. In terms of experience, they're way better than you when it comes to Dual Beast Integration. Moreover, there are two of them and only one of you. You were both outclassed and outnumbered... and yet you managed to keep them at bay." Satoshi smiled.

"You have room for improvement. I guess I'll double your lessons once this match is over." Satoshi called out as he stood up and dusted himself. As he looked up, he noticed that their two opponents had already digested the pills they ingested. And now their bodies increased in bulk and the energy that oozed out of them was tripled.

"So those were boosting pills, huh... I guess they're really going all-in for the win here." Satoshi muttered to himself, making a mental note that he should give Luke Skyrunner a heads-up about their opponents' actions.

For one, boosting pills were already discontinued and made illegal after the Boosting Incident. Hence, their actions were illegal, and Satoshi concluded that they should be brought down because of that.

He could've given Luke Skyrunner a heads-up a little bit earlier, but that would automatically disqualify their opponents and make them the default winner. Satoshi didn't want that. He wanted to fight against the two of them and render them powerless. He wanted to prove that they didn't stand a chance against him in the first place, and even with the help of doping, they still couldn't hope to win.

'Ryoko, are you there?' Satoshi asked. 'I need your help.' Satoshi muttered as he summoned Ryoko.

Ryoko boasts in both defense and offense, that's why Satoshi figured that she was the best choice for this match.

'Wait master, I'm not—' Satoshi didn't hear the rest of the words since he already pulled her out of the dimension crafted by his familiar, Orb Oboros. After the incident with Sakura Cherry, Ryoko decided to go to that aforementioned Dimension so she could have some peace and quiet. The American Dome was unbearably loud for her, after all. And the first thing that Ryoko did after going there was stop by the hot spring and relax.

"..."

"..."

The moment Ryoko showed up in her undergarments, everyone gasped in disbelief, including their two opponents.

"Eh?!" Satoshi's right brow twitched as Ryoko bashfully looked at him before changing into her dragon form.