It was time. There was no more preparation to be had, no more calculating to be done. Aurin stood at the edge of the tunnel and was given the go ahead to walk on out and greet his opponent, who had won his previous battle—Aurin knew he would. Aurin cleared his mind and took his first step, feeling nervous.
“And his opponent today is Frederick!” called the announcer. “These two contenders have given us an amazing show this year, folks, and I bet they will today. I remember commentating a battle between them back in Hazelton two years ago and they’ve both come so far. It makes me nostalgic, I have to say.”
Aurin and Frederick faced each other and shook hands. Neither of them blinked, but they both had faces filled with resolve.
“It will be a good battle,” said Frederick, knowing that he was up against an opponent that he couldn’t afford to underestimate.
“It will,” agreed Aurin, noticing that Frederick stole a look at his tamer glove.
The two separated and returned to their own sides of the field, steeling themselves before the countdown began. Aurin took a final glance and Luna who crossed her fingers while Kyle gave him a thumbs up and Hunter nodded at him confidently.
“Three. Two. One,” said the announcer. “Fight!”
Aurin and Frederick each cast a cream orb of light from their tamer gloves, summoning their Leonite to the field.
Without wasting a moment, the two cobalt-blue lions raced towards each other and leapt into the air, each ready to tear the other limb from limb. The fierce cats collided in the air with Aurin’s tearing a chunk of shoulder flesh from Frederick’s with his teeth, receiving three deep cuts to the neck before landing.
Blood had been drawn early and neither wanted to be the first to fall. They spun around and Fredrick’s Leonite pounced at Aurin’s, only for claw to be met with claw. Aurin’s Leonite let loose a powerful roar, the force of which threw Frederick’s Leonite onto its back.
Aurin’s Minakai bolted forwards and sliced a gash into his opponent’s belly, leaving Frederick’s Minakai crying with pain. It rolled over and forced itself back onto its feet, only for Aurin’s Minakai to strike him in the jaw with a headbutt, dazing him. With a final ferocious swipe of his claw, Aurin’s Leonite finished off his opponent.
As Frederick’s Minakai collapsed, the announcer boomed out. “An early lead for Aurin brings him one step closer to victory. Having proven his Leonite to be the more powerful, what will Frederick have in store for him next?”
Aurin knew he could not get overly confident as Frederick banished his Minakai, for that was not the strongest of the two Leonite that the man-formerly-known-as-Leo liked to use. The stronger of the two was waiting in the wings.
“He’s already injured. Finish him quickly,” said Frederick as he threw forth a green orb of energy, summoning his Vinewolf to the field.
Before the light even had a chance to fade, the green wolf unleashed the petals around his neck, twirling them around rapidly on their vines as they soared towards Leonite. Inches from being sliced up, the lion dove out of the way and rolled across the battlefield to avoid the cutting petals overhead.
He threw himself backwards as one swung from above and plunged into the ground. Knowing that he was gaining to ground, he bounded over the vines and weaved towards Vinewolf as Frederick’s Minakai retracted its petals. Leonite charged at full pelt towards his foe, but he couldn’t outpace the vines and they struck him on the sides.
The lion refused to let up, but the Vinewolf rammed his head forwards as Leonite reached for him, bashing him in the neck, where his wound continued to bleed. Leonite yelped as the vines continued to cut him, but he couldn’t hold out for long and collapsed in defeat.
“Oh no!” gasped Luna.
“It’s alright,” said Kyle, he can still make up ground.”
Hunter looked concerned. “If Aurin wants any chance at defeating that Abysarex that Frederick has on his bench, then he needs to have as many of his Minakai left as possible or he won’t be able to exhaust him.”
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“We’ve prepared for all eventualities,” muttered Kyle, glancing at Luna who still looked nervous. “Let’s see how he handles things.”
“You’re up,” said Aurin, throwing forth a grey ball of light and conjuring forth Chopchop.
The armoured insect twirled his blades and let out a guttural clicking noise as he assumed a defensive stance, fixing himself firmly on the ground. Frederick sneered as he watched what he took to be a foolish tactical error.
“Restrain,” he ordered Vinewolf.
From the ground, burst thick vines that restrained Chopchop’s legs and arms, leaving him wide open to an attack, but Aurin and his Minakai were undeterred, even as Vinewolf sent his petals speeding towards the metal elemental.
“Now!” cried Aurin, having lured Frederick into the cunning trap.
Chopchop unleashed a burst of sharp spikes from his armour, cutting him free. He let loose a mighty swing of his blades and cleaved all six of Vinewolf’s vines in half. The wolf howled in agony, dropping to his knees at having his primary weapons severed.
The purple soldier ant sprinted towards his foe, holding his blades high, but upon swinging, Vinewolf dove out of the way and he struck the ground. The green wolf was livid and the saliva poured from his mouth as he looked at the bladed warrior. He was going to tear his arms off but, unlike the vines, they wouldn’t grow back.
Vinewolf howled and let loose a barrage of needles from his mouth, but Chopchop coated himself in a metal shield and walked backwards as the needles bounced off him. As Vinewolf’s attack ceased, he dispelled the shield and swung his blades, sending a wave of metal energy from them that struck the wolf in the chest and knocking him down. Chopchop moved in for a follow-up attack, but Vinewolf did not stir. The loss of his vines had weakened him too much to withstand the metal wave.
“Yes!” cried Luna, pumping her fist in the air. Innogon danced merrily on the ground and spat water into the air, making it rain and irritating the others in the tamer box.
“Go!” Frederick roared, summoning his favourite Leonite to the field.
It sped towards Chopchop, who raised his arms to defend himself. Leonite sank his teeth into one of the blades, taking a bite out of one of the steel blades and spitting it onto the ground. He drove himself forward, shoving Chopchop back. As the insect fell, he raised his arms and left himself open.
Leonite leapt in and dragged his claws across Chopchop’s face, cutting his eyes and making it almost impossible for him to see clearly. While Chopchop tried to recover, Leonite tore through the insect’s armour and battered Chopchop so badly that he didn’t have the chance to stand up.
“And what a quick turnaround from Frederick!” boomed the announcer. “Each time Aurin defeats one of his Minakai, he comes back twice as hard, but…it’s not over yet folks. This Leonite is playing to win.”
“But he won’t win,” muttered Aurin, summoning his next Minakai. “I won’t let him.”
Lycavine appeared and howled loudly. As Leonite dashed towards him, he spat wads of sap from his mouth, but Leonite was too nimble and dodged each and every one of them. As Leonite leapt for him, Lycavine dove underneath him, whipping Leonite’s belly with his two vines.
As the two spread out, they turned to face one another. The wolf and the lion looked into each other’s eyes and saw the fiery determination the other had to win. Much like their tamers, they would fight tooth and nail until the end to prove who was the toughest warrior.
Lycavine howled at the moon and unleashed two purple rays at Leonite, but the cobalt lion knew better than to stand still. The rays missed as he leapt into the air, aiming straight for his opponent’s throat with his claw. Lycavine suddenly spun around and whipped his flowery tail at Leonite, all the while it spun like a buzzsaw. It cut straight through Leonite’s nails and sliced his fingers to the bone.
“Agh!” cried Luna, wincing and closing her eyes.
“Some medicine and he’ll be fine,” said Kyle. “Nothing I haven’t seen before.”
“That’s great, but I don’t want to see it.”
Frederick’s monster rolled across the ground, nursing his badly injured paw as Lycavine struck him with his two petals, knocking him out cold and snuffing out the determination. Aurin’s Minakai let out another howl, but this time in victory as he turned to face Frederick, who had his glove up already.
“Not giving up?” Aurin taunted Frederick, daring him to use his best Minakai.
“You think I’ll take your bait?” replied the strong contender, throwing out another cream-coloured light.
From within the light, emerged a much bulkier lion with a red mane and two large fangs. Leofang snarled and made for his opponent, taking on a barrage of razor-sharp leaves cast out by Lycavine. Undeterred and taking only minor scratches, Leofang headbutted the werewolf in the stomach as he tried to use his vines.
The winded Lycavine gasped for air as the huge lion laid into him, but a lucky kick blocked Leofang’s claw and gave him the chance to slip away. Lycavine brought forth a mighty root that grabbed Leofang by the leg, holding him in place, but Leofang ripped it from the ground with his teeth and hurled it at Lycavine, who ducked under it.
Before he stood up again, Leofang was already upon him and pierced his large fangs into Lycavine’s shoulders. Frederick’s Minakai tossed Lycavine onto the ground and then bellyflopped on top of him before headbutting the wolf in the jaw and knocking him unconscious.
“And Frederick comes back strong again,” said the announcer. “That leaves both competitors with two Minakai remaining.”
“Aurin hasn’t got enough Minakai left to tire out Abysarex,” said Hunter nervously. “I hope he’s got a good backup plan.”
“He does,” said Kyle quietly, nodding his head.
“I just hope he’s obedient enough to see it through,” whispered Luna to Innogon, who nodded fervently.