Chapter 40: Combat Trial II
Chapter 40: Combat Trial II
"Therion Dark, is it?"Guardian Flameborn practically sang his name while patting it out like a drumbeat. All attention zeroed in on him.
"What do you say? Want to let Trial Guardian Alex here bend the rules a bit and challenge you instead? Since it’s a bit unorthodox, I’ll even throw in an extra prize—if you accept the challenge and actually manage to stay in the arena for the next sixty seconds."
...!
She practically dangled the offer like bait on a hook, eager to make the match happen.
Damian’s eyes cooled. Internally, he added her name to the growing list of Guardians he wasn’t particularly fond of.
Then she tapped a watch on her left wrist, projecting a hologram of...an Obsidian Soft Crystal.
"Whoa..."
"Seriously? That’s wild..."
The second it appeared, the Trial Guardians—even Serena and Lyra Veyrin—locked on with wide eyes. They knew what it was.
Damian had a decent idea from the info he got from Lyra Veyrin. Guardian Flameborn, still perched on her flaming Archaeopteryx, grinned while she explained.
"These are Obsidian Entropic Soft Crystals. Rare, high-grade resources sought after by Interstellar Beast Masters all across Ebonreach Metropolis. They’re ridiculously helpful in enhancing the growth of Interstellar Beasts. And one of them is yours—if you accept the challenge and win!"
...!
Obsidian Entropic Soft Crystals.
Dark, glass-like gems with a pulsing core of Pure Entropic Energy. They shimmer faintly—not with reflected light, but with the eerie impression that they’re absorbing it. Despite the "obsidian" name, they’re warm and soft—like molten stone with a heartbeat.
You only find them in two places: deep inside unstable Entropic Rifts, or buried in the bodies of dead Interstellar Beasts. They’re condensed chaos, crystallized into something semi-living. Feeding one to a Beast can unlock growth, sharpen instincts, or even stabilize dangerous mutations.
But there’s a price. The more a Beast feeds on Entropic energy, the more it risks falling into primal madness. Only those with powerful bonds can use them consistently—mostly safely, anyway.
Damian eyed the prize being dangled in front of him like it was candy and he hadn’t eaten in days. He put on a show—clouding his expression, pretending to hesitate, and letting a flicker of fake greed glint in his gaze... before he gritted his teeth and said:
"I’ll do it."
His decisive words earned gasps, some eye rolls, and—yep—jealous muttering from the other Trial Beast Masters around him.
That jealousy? Valid—if Damian could actually survive.
Lyra Veyrin looked over at him, surprised by his sudden change in demeanor. For a split second, she actually smiled.
Farther away, Serena frowned and turned her gaze elsewhere—disappointed or disinterested, it was hard to tell.
"Haha, good! Brave and valiant—just what I love to see!" Flameborn clapped. "Take notes, everyone. This is the initiative you should all be showing. And if he wins? He gets a resource we only hand out to Trial Guardians once a month. His Beast’s growth? That’ll be a whole month ahead of yours."
She sounded genuinely proud as the other Beast Masters quickly evacuated the one-hundred-meter combat ring.
Only Damian remained as a thunderous roar echoed across the arena. From the distance, the Winged Peacock Lion leapt into the air, soared, and landed with regal flair across from him.
It even yawned as it looked at Kitsuul—like she and Damian were mosquitoes in its jungle.
A Winged. Peacock. Lion.
Seriously, what was that tiny fox supposed to do against that?
"Haha! Our first match: Trial Guardian versus Trial Beast Master!" Flameborn raised her voice with theatrical flair. "Watch closely, everyone—everything is a lesson. Everything is an opportunity."
And just like that, her expression shifted. Cold. Serious. Dangerous.
The Trial Guardian, Alex, caught the message. He smiled darkly while stroking the colorful mane of his oversized beast. He leaned in, whispering something to it.
Across the arena, Damian didn’t flinch. Kitsuul remained perched on his shoulder, eyes blazing, tail flicking with focused rage.
This man wanted to harm her Master?
Then he deserved the worst kind of death. Or so Kitsuul believed.
Above them, crimson light flared as Guardian Flameborn’s voice exploded into the air:
"Start!"
BOOM!
Her word hadn’t even finished leaving her mouth before it happened.
The Winged Peacock Lion charged forward like a meteor. A massive claw came crashing down toward Damian and Kitsuul, deadly sharp and filled with intent to kill.
...!
This wasn’t just some friendly match.
If that claw hit, it would shred them both.
Any of the three exhausted Trial Beast Masters behind Damian would’ve been minced into meat before this attack. Alex wasn’t pulling punches. He was going for the kill.
Right in front of everyone.
Damian’s world slowed.
Silver light shimmered in his eyes, his instincts on fire.
This guy actually tried to kill him?
Right here and now?
How fucking stupid was this guy?
Like, genuinely. Let’s pause for a moment.
All because Damian ignored his earlier trash talk? Because a female Trial Guardian called him handsome?
And his response was—murder?
Does that make sense?
No...that was the working mind of a psychopath!
And for anyone dumb enough to actually try and kill him? Damian knew one thing.
He’d kill them right back.
But...
Not here.
He wasn’t dumb enough to commit murder in the middle of ZENTHRA’s main arena.
No, for Alex, death would come later.
For now?
Humiliation would do just fine.
SAA!
Damian vanished in a silver flash—dodging the incoming claw strike as effortlessly as a breeze. With Kitsuul on his shoulder, he imagined her flicking her tail—
—and firing a concentrated burst of silver energy straight at Alex’s stomach.
What happened next?
Glorious.
To the stunned crowd, it looked like Damian barely blinked. One second he was about to be squashed. The next—a silver flash exploded, and Alex’s eyes bulged as a solid impact knocked the air out of him.
"GAH!"
He was flung like a ragdoll, soaring off the Winged Peacock Lion and crashing hard onto the metallic arena floor, meters away.
...!
A silence fell so deep, you could’ve heard a pin drop across it!
And just like that...
The match had barely begun—and Damian had already made his mark.