Divine Beast Ascension

Chapter 409: Razor-hide Dragon vs Netra

Isaac paid Treeda no mind. He was busy cursing up a storm in his head, praying to Dominus that his candidate could pull out a win in such a close match-up.

Above the arena, the large cloud began to take a peculiar form. Within seconds, there was a massive Cloud Crow staring down at the human. When it cawed, even the crowd below could feel the vibrations.

But the man decided to plunge into the giant crow’s head along with a slew of essence swords, letting his rapier lead the charge.

As the crow’s huge head was forcefully dispersed, the cawing continued. So, the man dove deeper into the cloud, checking its core first.

Finally, the crow went on the attack. With the man in the center of the huge cloud, the thick water vapor froze over. The real crow exited the cloud while the human tried to break the ice before it was too late. However, the condensing water quickly made it too difficult for the human to maneuver, consuming him in ice.

“It’s over! Razor Prefecture is the victor!”

Slazza’s shout was the cue for the crow to shatter his trap, freeing the frozen man inside. The man was given a warming ointment instead of a healing salve, drooping his head in shame.

.....

Continuing, Slazza announced, “Razor Prefecture wins the duel and will be the third and final prefecture to join the second round!”

The crowd went wild! Cheers were everywhere! Given how most people weren’t used to talking about prefecture-level matters, a quarter of the crowd wasn’t even sure that they were currently inside of Nova Prefecture.

Crack, crack!

“What’s wrong, Isaac? No hard feelings, right?” Warak chuckled, glancing at Isaac’s shattered armrests.

“... No hard feelings...” Isaac sighed, exhaling at an extremely slow rate.

Smiling, Toseko stated, “Either way, there’s still one match left and it’s sure to be the best one from this duel.”

“Right! I can’t wait to see this pairing!” Treeda added.

Isaac kept quiet and didn’t reply to anything the lords were saying or asking. His eyes were locked onto a particular fox sitting below.

Slazza’s voice echoed, “Despite Razor Prefecture winning three matches, the duel has yet to end. There’s still a single match for us to watch before we take a quick intermission to prepare for the second round! Final combatants, come forward!”

The moment Netra stood up, Isaac’s voice entered her mind, ‘Throw the match and hurry back to your seat. Or else, you know what will happen...’

Netra nodded but didn’t reply. She bit her lip in frustration while approaching the stairs. While her draconic opponent flew down with ease, Netra walked a little slower than usual to think over her situation.

‘If you think fighting now will help you grow stronger, then go for it. And, after the match ends, walk up to Rhyner without a word.’

Recognizing that mysterious voice, Netra eased up a little and trotted over to her opponent.

“You’re the other pupil of that leopard, right?” the dragon respectfully asked. When Netra nodded, the Razor-hide Dragon lightly bowed his head. “I look forward to a good fight.”

“... I do too,” replied Netra, bowing in turn.

“For the final match, we have a Razor-hide Dragon versus a Vanishing-night Fox!” Slazza shouted, getting roaring applause from every citizen of Iron Town. “Are you two ready?”

“I’m ready,” replied the dragon.

Before Netra responded, she looked at the crowd. She found her mom and smiled, spotting Ania next to her. But Netra blinked, failing to find her master anywhere, even though he was right there only moments ago.

Moving past that minor distraction, Netra easily refocused herself and nodded. “I’m ready.”

“FIGHT!”

Immediately, the dragon coated himself in jagged essence armor. Roaring flames consumed the fox girl as the dragon barreled toward her.

The crowd gasped as Netra’s body was engulfed by the flames. But the shock and horror soon twisted into astonishment and confusion after the flames passed by and not even bones or flesh were left on the ground.

For a brief moment, the dragon hesitated and scoured the arena for the fox girl. But quickly shook off his own nerves and took to the skies. There, he could avoid any surprise strikes.

Seeing the dragon begin to climb up the sky, Netra appeared and leaped with her claws coated in dark essence. She dove toward the dragon’s underbelly before it would get out of reach.

In response, the dragon threw his spiked, club tail at the fox. Her defenses would never be able to counter such raw power, so he still felt safe.

Crack!

Blood spilled out while the false fox faded into dispersing dark essence. At the same time, another fox appeared, clinging to the dragon’s leg while one paw was thrust into the dragon’s underbelly.

The crowd, the other contestants, the spectating kings, and even the prefecture lords were left speechless at the sight, including the furious Isaac.

Roaring, the dragon refused to be put down. He flipped over with haste to throw the fox girl high into the air, where it would be impossible for her to gain any footing. Fire followed the throw to test if the fox was real or not. And the moment dark essence began to disperse within the flames, the dragon searched for the true fox.

That was when the dragon felt the slightest pressure atop his neck. He slashed the spot with his claws while flipping over again, pointing his belly to the sky to force the fox down to the ground. Then, as the fox’s visage appeared and started falling, the dragon hurled his club tail into his opponent once more.

CRUNCH!

The tail connected and launched Netra to the ground. However, the fox girl again faded away in dark essence.

“IT’S OVER!” Slazza bellowed louder than ever before. “The winner is the Vanishing-night Fox!”

Cough! Cough!

The dragon spat up blood, barely able to look at his upward belly. There, he found her, the ever elusive fox girl, covered in severe burns. And, seeing her entire arm thrust into the upper half of his underbelly, he recognized the source of his pain. His lung had collapsed.