"Give yourself over, little one." The Kraken said, his imposing voice cracking over Ver's head as the concentrated white light from Fatera's fierce counter-attacks neared, "I will not let us lose."

"No." Ver murmured, a smile creeping up her face, "You give yourself over to me."

"I thought you would never ask."

Massive dark bolts of lightning surrounded Ver's entire body before they shot out and torched through the snow around the two fighters. Then, before Fatera's followups could have landed, a dark whirlpool rapidly expanded from underneath Ver's feet, swallowing everything up before layers of flesh underneath a hardened shell of the Kraken surrounded Ver's entire body.

Fatera's fist eventually clashed into the hardened shells that shielded around Ver as she entered into the Kraken, piloting its towering body which emerged fully before all eight tendrils surged up from the darkened fluid and collapsed inward.

"Now we are fighting!" Fatera laughed, forcing her body to pivot around despite the sharp pain before the body of the Sky Splitting Sword was ejected from her body. As a stream of blood flowed down her back, Fatera reached over and grabbed onto the blade itself before running her power through it.

However, the Sword's body was immediately set on fire by Ver, forcing Fatera to drop it or get burned. Before she could fully take control of that legendary weapon, it sank down through a black pool of liquid and returned back to Ver.

"Fatera!!!" Ver's voice projected through the Kraken, and it sounded as if she is actively trying to make her voice lower and more threatening, "This victory will be mine!"

Then, the Kraken roared as the cliffs on both sides collapsed inward further, sending countless rocks tumbling towards Fatera. With its eight flaming tentacles, Ver commanded all of those to slam straight down at Fatera from all angles as she stood in the pools of black liquid that's ankle deep.

In a moment, all that Fatera could see above her are the soaring flames above. The clear sky above the Infinite Academy replaced by the heavens being literally set on fire through Ver's power.

There are no room for her to run, as the tendrils immediately blocked out all routes for her.

It may not seem like it from her movements, but Ver's previous hit did injure her, and the flash wound twinged with pain, reminding her of its existence with her every movement.

The tide of battle is now fully on Ver's side, and for the first time in a long time, Fatera's completely given up the initiative in battle.

As the devastating attack neared Fatera's body, a smile of excitement inevitably found its way onto her face. Ver caught a glimpse of that right before the tendrils slammed down, concentrating all of its power in the same spot. All eight landed in the same time, the impact quaking the entire gully and nearly flattening it before everything was then set ablaze.

"Ver...landed a decisive hit!" Principal Khan exclaimed, "Her manifest is absolutely glorious!"

"Thank you." From underneath the layers of burning Kraken's flesh, Fatera's voice pierced through like a spear, "Thank you for giving me a fight I have always wanted."

A shock wave sent forth a jet of steam from in between the tendrils of the Kraken, and then, a thunderous boom cracked the earth before the tendrils were shattered into countless pieces like fresh fish on a chef's chopping board. Amidst the individual burning pieces are the dashing figures of Fatera.

Through the Kraken's eyes, Ver saw Fatera's smooth brown skin, her white tank top completely transformed by the Kraken's green blood, her muscular outline, and most importantly...her crimson eyes that leaves behind streaks of red as she rocketed herself up into the air.

Fatera swung her arms in a single circle and reoriented her body in mid air with her feet up and behind her. Then, she rapidly kicked backward, a supersonic shockwave of air forming a semi-transparent disc underneath her foot before she forcibly launched herself towards Ver like a bullet.

In her wake, the droplets of the Kraken's blood remained in the air, painting a bloody outline of her despite Fatear's body moving down towards Ver at an unthinkable speed.

"Hard mode..." Fatera said, bolts of lightning conjured up from the Wave orbiting her body before it was contained and pressurized within once more, "PUNCHY PUNCH!"

Her sharp voice matched her attack, and her punch glowed so bright as to dwarf the light all around them. Ver felt her body paralyzed by the sheer level of power on display, and her movements becoming stiffened when a pair of tendrils looped around her ankles and yanked her straight down.

Fatera slammed through the head of the Kraken, decapitating it cleanly before splattering it over the mountain of rocks behind them.

"Shit!" Ver cursed, repositioning her body within the Kraken's body and looking up at Fatera as she turned arounnd slowly, her body pulsating with strength. Her body was bathed in an aura of power with the occasional jolts of red-tineted lightning leaping off her skin. Ver felt a crawling sensation underneath her skin as she ground her teeth together and tensed her entire body, "This felt just like Kaire Jin's Dominance mode..."

"Calm down, little one." The Kraken said, paying full attention towards their opponent after he saved Ver from imminent defeat. The head of the Kraken slowly regenerated above, though Ver remained in her secured position far within its stomach, "She is strong, but not as strong as Kaire Jin."

Then, before Ver could react, Fatera moved again, this time, she charged forward at her directly after sensing her location in the Kraken's body. Her crimson eyes forming the blood-red streaks in midair as she ripped through the layers of shell and armor of the Kraken with her bare hands.

As the Kraken pulled Ver away from the line of attack once again, Fatera kicked her leg downwards, sinking into the Kraken's interior and swimming towards Ver before her frenzied face appeared right in front of Ver.

"ARGHHH!" Ver shouted, swinging her Sky Splitting Sword and slashing it down at Fatera. However, to the latter, the attack looked as if it's done in slow motion. In an instant, Fatera reached forward with her hand and grasped onto Ver's neck.

Then, as she kicked back once again, the two of them shot out from the Kraken's back before Fatera slammed Ver's into the ground, the rocks shattering and earth cratering upon her landing.

Ver struggled to breathe, reaching towards her throat, but as her hands wrapped around Fatera's wrist, the crimson glow in her eyes vanished, replaced by a smile of satisfaction. Fatera let Ver go as she lay defeated on the ground, and she raised a fist straight up into the air while stomping down and shattering the bracelet around Ver's wrist.

"Fa...Fatera pulled out a commanding victory after Ver seemed to have turned the table...She...she has done it!" Principal Khan shouted, his voice traveling through the network of his projection Casts in the high human societies all around the world.

Back at the Winter Wars resort, the other students watched in awe as the restaurant was thrown into complete silence. Everybody that's still in the tournament are no scrubs at all, but even they know strength when they see it. And Fatera had just completely dominated Ver despite her pulling out the Kraken in hopes of overwhelming her.

Far out in the distance, Wu rubbed his eyes before smiling and shaking his head. Ver is strong, but Fatera is just absolutely ridiculous. For once, he is thankful that someone like that is on his side, at least for now. But now that the battle is over, it's time for him to move in and intercept whatever the PORA's plans are with her.

"Ver..." Lera muttered the name of the girl she has now known for a little while before she sighed and continued walking along the streets of the connecting walkways. Perhaps that's just how ridiculously strong Fatera is, that not even Ver in her Kraken form could even compete with her once she entered her hard mode.

If even Ver can't do it...could she ever do it? Could a Caster like her even stand on the same ground as someone like her?

That doesn't matter now. Lera shook her head before she looked down at the brand new Cast she has just made according to Wu's demands. In order to correspond with Wu's plan, she need to play her role too.

Now that the battle of the alphas appeared to be over, those that lurks in the shadows have began to move, and it's up to Wu, Lera, and the rest of the Ville college and College-less people to stop whatever PORA's planning.

As Ver was taken away by the Guild of medics and Fatera had the stab wound in her back treated with a patch of healing Cast, countless eyes across the world became focused on her.

And one of those eyes included that from a old man with long white hair and a caramel skin tone in a bar in the middle of the Yarka Kingdom's capital, Dragonium. His eyes were light blue in color, and his eyebrows were a mix of grey and black. His expressions were lively to a fault, as if a painted character was walking around town. He pinched his fingers around a glass of wine before he stood up rapidly and let out a satisfied laugh.

"Good fight....good fight..." He said, downing the drink before he waddled out from the bar.

From the first moment of him stepping out of the bar, countless soldiers in heavy combat suits with their Wave abilities ready immediately surrounded him.

"You are coming with us." One of the generals at the front said, his voice deep and eyes fiery. His cheekbones were high, and unimaginable amount of Wave power flowed out of his body, "The King demanded your capture."

"Oh really?" The old man chuckled before he took a seat on the ground as the crowd rapidly retracted away at the first hint of trouble, "I am visiting Yarka for the good wine, not for that geezer."

"WATCH YOUR MOUTH!" The general declared, his voice rumbling over the old man's head before he surged forward. The old man glanced at the general casually, and then, he moved. In an instant, he closed the distance between himself and the general.

A gust of wind blew off the general's helmet, revealing the beautiful blonde hair underneath. As lines of sweat formed over the general's head, his entire body paralyzed due to fear, the old man reached his finger forward and flicked it against his cheekbone.

"Bop." He said, before laughing out loud and walking right past them, "Look how scared you are! Hahahahaha...."

The crowd of soldiers looked stunned, and none dare making a move until the laughter slowly faded away into the busy ambience of Dragonium.