The gates yawned open, and the crowd leaned forward as Team Twenty-Nine stepped into the light. Rowan's grin was already plastered on his face, Verdy clinging lazily to his shoulders, leafy tail flicking in rhythm with the boy's jaunty stride. His teammates followed—serious, steady, none matching Rowan's irreverent air.

But when the opposite gate creaked, the mood shifted. The arena floor seemed to darken beneath the glare of Team Twelve, the very squad Rowan's alliance had blindsided during the rumble royale. Their captain, a broad-shouldered spirit combat student with jagged scars across his arms, strode out like a storm. His beast—a slate-colored hound with tusks like curved blades—snarled low, its eyes burning with bloodlust.

Gasps and murmurs swirled through the stands. Everyone remembered the end of yesterday's broadcast—the cornered Twenty-Nine, the ambushed alliance of Team Twelve. Now they had a chance to repay that humiliation.

The scarred captain leveled his spear across the sand, voice booming:

"Look at you—the clown of the scouting division. You only survived because you were rescued by your friend. Because the lot of you hid behind shadows and cheap tricks."

Rowan rocked back on his heels, scratching Verdy's chin like he hadn't heard a word. Then he winked.

"Funny, I don't remember shadows pulling the strings. Just your squad crumpling like paper when pressure hit. You sure you want to blame the dark for that? Or admit you weren't good enough?"

The insult landed hard. The enemy squad bristled, their beasts growling as if they shared their masters' rage.

The referee raised a hand, cutting across the tension like a blade. "Pre-quarterfinals, Match Five: Team Twelve versus Team Twenty-Nine. Begin!"

The gong struck.

—

Team Twelve surged forward as one. Their captain roared commands—his tusked hound in the lead, twin jaguars fanning left and right, while their support wove binding flames across the center. Behind them, a heavyset brute lumbered forward, an axe in his hands, his boar-spirit snorting sparks.

"Hold lines!" Rowan barked—not in the crisp tone of a soldier, but in a lazy drawl that somehow spurred his squad to move.

His teammate from Trade and Commerce, Gregor, answered first, his plated ram slamming down a wall of force. The tusked hound crashed against it, tusks sparking as the ground quaked. He grunted, veins bulging, but his beast held steady.

"Arrows!"

His other teammate who wields a bow, Lios, commanded his sparrow to launch skyward. His bow thrummed, spirit essence flaring into sharp, piercing shafts. The first arrow streaked into a jaguar's flank, slowing its leap. The second veered toward the support handler, forcing him to abandon a binding chain mid-weave.

Their spirit alchemist, Darren, hurled a vial that burst in a plume of choking smoke. His salamander spewed fire into the haze, igniting it into a fiery curtain that split the battlefield.

The student from Support and Healing, Mauve, lifted her staff, light surging into the first teammate's ram. Its armor glowed brighter, absorbing the tusk strikes without faltering.

And Rowan? Rowan danced along the edges, laughing. "Come on then, scar-boy! Show me something I haven't seen before!"

—

The enemy jaguars pressed the archer, one lunging from the smoke. Verdy leapt from Rowan's shoulders, tail glowing green. Moss erupted from the stone, coiling into a net that snagged the jaguar mid-leap. The archer didn't waste the chance—his third arrow pierced its throat. The beast convulsed, and its handler screamed as essence backlash dropped him out cold.

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"One down!" Rowan crowed, spinning on his heel.

The scarred captain snarled, shoving back the commerce kid with raw power. His tusked hound's tusks glowed crimson, raking deep grooves across the ram's plating. Mauve's light wavered, her rabbit beast shrieking under the strain.

Rowan's grin only widened. "Gregor, sidestep! Darren—pit!"

The two moved without hesitation. Gregor—the commerce student—lurched aside, dragging his ram with him. Darren—the alchemist—smashed a vial into the dirt. The ground hissed, collapsing into a shallow pit as corrosive essence ate the stone. The hound lunged straight in, momentum carrying it down.

Rowan vaulted onto its back mid-fall, spear raised high. "Mind the drop!" he called—and drove a spear into its flank. The beast howled, pinned as vines from Verdy erupted to bind it in place. The captain roared, but when his bond snapped a heartbeat later, his knees buckled from backlash.

"Two!" Rowan shouted, raising two fingers. "How's that luck treating you?"

—

But Team Twelve didn't crumble. Their brute of an axeman barreled through the fire haze, boar-spirit at his side. With a roar, he cleaved Darren's chemical mist apart. His boar gored into Darren's salamander, tossing it aside with a squeal.

Darren hit the ground hard, coughing blood. Mauve rushed toward him, light flaring from her rabbit beast to stabilize his breathing.

"Protect them!" Rowan snapped, grin vanishing for the first time.

Gregor met the brute head-on, ram horns crashing against tusks. The impact sent both beasts skidding, dirt exploding beneath their hooves.

The archer's arrows harried the boar from a distance, but the beast was thick-skinned, essence armor glowing faintly. Each arrow slowed it, but none stopped it.

The enemy support finally found his footing again, chains of fire spiraling from his talismans. They lashed out, seeking to bind Gregor's ram and pin their support where she stood.

Rowan cursed, sprinting straight into their path. The chains whipped toward him, fiery bindings snapping shut—

Only for Rowan to grin wide, Verdy leaping into the flames. The lemur's moss tail burst with spores, smothering the fire mid-strike. Rowan spun, using the smoldering chains as a rope, and hurled them back toward the support. The man's eyes went wide before Gregor's ram barreled through, horns shattering his focus. He collapsed as essence backlash flared.

"Three!" Rowan called, though his voice was rougher now. Sweat slicked his brow.

—

All that remained of Team Twelve were the brute and his boar, both wounded but wild with rage.

"You little bastard!" the brute spat, spittle flying. "I'll break every bone you've got!"

Rowan twirled his spear. "You can try. But you'll look stupid doing it."

The brute roared, charging. His boar mirrored him, tusks lowered. Gregor and his ram met them, steel against fury. The clash rocked the arena, neither side giving ground.

"Lios—aim for the eyes!" Rowan shouted.

Lios drew his bow, his sparrow spiraling above. The arrow streaked down, piercing the boar's eye. It shrieked, stumbling.

Rowan didn't hesitate. He and Verdy surged forward together, moss vines wrapping the beast's legs. Rowan vaulted high, spear tip glowing. He came down in a single fluid motion, driving the strike into the brute's shoulder.

The man bellowed, dropping his axe. The boar collapsed beneath him. Essence backlash erupted like a wave, tearing both out of the fight.

Silence, for a heartbeat.

Then the referee raised his hand. "Victory—Team Twenty Nine!"

—

The crowd exploded into cheers and jeers, the noise shaking the arena. Half roared Rowan's name; half cursed his arrogance. But none could deny the spectacle.

Rowan ripped his spear free and raised his fist high, Verdy perched proudly at his side, moss tail swaying like a banner. His grin was cocky as ever.

"Not luck," he shouted over the din. "Just style!"

His squad gathered—Gregor steady and battered, Lios lowering his bow with a faint smile, Mauve still bent over Darren but with relief in her eyes. Together, they had won.

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