Chapter 261 Souls That Burned Brightly [Part 1]
"Wow! What an unexpected turn!" a lady commentator who went by the name, Violet, said with excitement.
She had been personally invited by Bruno to become the commentator for the final match, but due to the fact that they feared the battle would be over in an instant, she was placed on standby.
Now that something unexpected happened, Bruno had given her the signal to do her job and hype the crowd that was watching the Final Match of the Lionheart Tournament.
"All of us thought that this will be an instant victory for Lux… I mean, My Daddy, but lo and behold, Cai has given us an unexpected surprise! Now, let's see what My Daddy will do to counter this change in the flow of battle!"
Lux stared at the four-meter tall Boar, who had taken an entirely different form from the one he was used to seeing.
Cai now looked more ferocious and intimidating like never before and the presence it radiated was that of a Rank 4 Field Monster that was capable of annihilating an entire adventurer party composed of Grade A Apostles if they were not careful with their approach.
"I know that you're still suffering from the backlash against your fight against Nero, but I will not show you any mercy," Cai declared. "Surrender now or face my might!"
Instead of answering, Lux summoned another Rock Golem by his side.
Orion, who was holding Lux, gently passed the Half-Elf to the other Rock Golem so he could fight against Cai with all of its strength.
When it came to individual strength, Orion was the strongest unit under Lux's command, if we were talking about pure raw power.
However, even the rock golem's strength was not enough to contend against a Mutated Rank 4 Field Monster alone.
With a resounding roar, Orion charged towards the Spiked Boar, who just snorted and charged at the Golem who dared to challenge its might.
Once again, Orion's hard fist collided with Cai's tusk, but this time, Orion was pushed back after exchanging blows with Cai.
It was clear for everyone to see that the Boar had surpassed the Golem in strength, and used it to its advantage.
"Giga Slam!" Cai roared as he smashed his tusk into Orion's body, sending the Rock Golem skidding a few meters away.
In response, Orion smashed the ground, creating Earth Spikes to jut off the ground, but Cai held his ground.
The Earth Spikes tried to pierce through Cai's tough fur, but it was of no use.
The form that Cai had taken was the Field Boss, Hildisvíni.
It was a monster that had a tough exterior, allowing it to shrug off most attacks below the Initiate Rank. Since the Rock Golem wasn't of the Initiate Rank, and neither was Lux, Cai was confident that it could beat them even if Lux were to summon two more Orions to fight it.
"Did you see that?!" Violet exclaimed. "I've fought against Hildisvini once back when I was still starting in Elysium, and I can tell you that even two parties of Rank A Apostles wouldn't be able to beat it easily.
"When our guild fought against it, we needed at least a hundred-men party to fight the Field Monster before we managed to bring it down. However, during that battle, more than half of us were grievously injured, which proved just how strong this Boar-Type monster is!"
Cai roared as it once again charged, only this time, it ignored Orion and headed straight for the Half-Elf, who was currently being protected by the second Rock Golem under his command.
However, before he could even arrive a dozen meters away from its target, Cai's body swerved all of a sudden as its charge changed direction. Instead of the Half-Elf, it was now headed towards Orion whose rocky hands were faintly glowing.
"Gaia Smash!" Orion used his strongest skill in order to blow the Boar, who tried to attack its Master, away and give it a good beating.
Unfortunately for him, Cai was not a pushover that everyone originally thought it would be.
"You're so annoying!" Cai roared as it also used one of its strongest skills in order to teach the Rock Golem a lesson. "Giga Impact!"
A resounding clap spread across the arena as the two attacks met. A moment later, Orion's arm exploded into rocky bits as Cai's attack continued its trajectory, smashing into the Rock Golem's chest.
With a triumphant Roar, Cai smashed the rock golem in half. But it didn't stop there.
"Grand Slam!" Cai raised both of its hooves at the same time and slammed it towards Orion's upper body, smashing it into pieces.
Everyone who was watching the battle cheered for they never expected Cai to be this strong. Even Judge Dredd, Bruno, and to a certain extent, Violet, couldn't believe that the Boar had hidden this Trump Card for so long.
"It's over," Gilbert, who was watching from the contestants platform, said. "Lux is going to lose."
His words carried a tone of finality, which even Nero couldn't refute.
The brown-haired boy, who hated Lux with vengeance, simply stared at the Half-Elf who had lost its subordinate and was left with no choice but to face Cai alone.
"Mumumumu!" Eiko, who was perched on Iris' head, gritted her teeth. In truth, she badly wanted to enter the arena to help Lux fight his opponent, but Vera had told her not to do it.
Eiko was Lux's Beast Companion, so by rights, she had the qualifications to aid Lux in battle. However, the Half-Elf had told the baby Slime that under no circumstances must she interfere with his battle because this was something he wanted to do on his own.
"I'll tell you one last time. Surrender!" Cai shouted as it glared at the Half-Elf who was being protected by the Rock Golem.
"No," Lux replied. "If you want to win then you have to beat me thoroughly first."
"So be it," Cai commented. "I gave you plenty of chances to surrender. Let's end this!"
Cai stomped its foot on the ground and charged towards Lux with steam coming out of its body.
"Grand Charge!"
The Rock Golem pulled its arm back then smashed its fist towards the Boar who was only a few meters away from it. However, before doing so, it tossed Lux to the air, to prevent him from getting hurt from the collision.
A loud sound of a boulder being smashed to pieces spread in the arena, as Cai completely obliterated the Rock Golem with a single strike.
It then looked up at the Half-Elf who was falling from the sky, and prepared to swat him away like a bug to end the battle.
The Sorcerer, Garric, who was charged with preventing anyone from dying in the tournament, was paying very close attention to the falling Half-Elf. If he deemed that Lux's life was in danger, he would not hesitate to teleport him away, even if the red-headed teenager would hate him for life.
When the Half-Elf was only dozens of meters away from the ground, a pair of strong, and chubby arms caught him mid-air, preventing him from falling.
Pazuzu, Lux's Demonic Defender had made his appearance to answer his Master's call to fight.
"W-What is happening?!" Violet stuttered after seeing the Demonic Defender's face, who was scary enough to make children cry if they saw him. "Did someone suddenly interfere with the match?"
Bruno, who was seated beside her, shook his head.
"That is a summon," Bruno stated. "It is a creature Lux summoned just now to aid him in battle."
Cai snorted before it crouched down, aiming its spikes towards the flying Demonic Defender who was holding the person that it wanted to defeat.
"Fury Attack!"
A barrage of sharp spikes flew towards the direction of the Demonic Defender with the intention of blowing holes on its body. Cai knew that this was its opponent's last hurrah, so it decided to end the battle without holding back.
Before the sharp spikes were to even touch Pazuzu's body, a blue Tower Shield appeared in front of it, and blocked the incoming projectiles that were about to hit his body.
Several seconds later, the Blue Tower shield started to crack, which showed just how powerful Cai's attack was.
Fortunately, only after the last sharp spike collided with his shield did the blue Tower Shield shatter completely.
Cai smirked because it could already smell its victory. But just as it was about to attack again, a ringing sound similar to two metal weapons clashing against each other reverberated in the arena.
"Huh?" Cai glanced to its side and saw several Skeleton Fighters, who were wearing armor attacking the side of its body.
A moment later, several arrows descended from the sky, creating clinking sounds, as they bounced off Cai's tough exterior.
"T-This…" Violet's eyes widened in shock when she saw another unexpected scene inside the arena.
Thirty five Skeleton Fighters, thirty Skeleton Grand Archers, and a Skeletal Rider, who was riding on top of a Nightmare made its appearance in the arena.
Lux had finally decided to use his full powers to fight his opponent, which made everyone, who was fooled into thinking that he was a Summoner, finally realize what his true profession was.
"Necromancer," the Headmaster of Barbatos Academy, Alexander, muttered as he looked at the skeletons that Lux had summoned to fight for him.
He then shifted his gaze towards his mother, who was seated beside Iris. Alexander had paid close attention to Lux for the past sixteen years of his life, and never once did he find out that his mother's adoptive grandson was hiding this kind of secret.
Sensing his gaze, Vera gazed back at him with a mischievous smile. Although she knew that Lux's opponent was very strong, her faith never wavered.
In her eyes, her grandson was the best, and she looked forward to how the Half-Elf, who was barely able to keep his eyes open, would fight against his opponent whose strength far surpassed the creatures under his command.