The Shishi shook its fiery fur as it stumbled away from the steel-plated wall it had just crashed into. The impact had dazed the Summon but other than that, the wall appeared far more damaged than the robust Shishi.

“Another fire aura,” Ardan commanded, his voice laced with quiet confidence.

His Summon replied with a roar, prompting its golden flames to engulf its body once again. This time, the fire raged more violently than before; the damage had sparked something inside the Shishi.

It rushed at the Cockatrice, ready to pay the creature back for the damage it had caused. However this time it didn't get far. A few steps into its charge, the Shishi was stopped in its tracks by an invisible force.

“That glare… is that what I think it is?” Elem asked Aja as he watched the Shishi struggle like a fly in a spiderweb.

When his friend didn’t reply, Elem poked her arm with his elbow- but when he glanced at the challenger’s Wind Summon, he instantly knew the answer to his question.

The Cockatrice’s gaze was a feared weapon and likely the reason why the Association had classified it as a Legendary Class Summon. It could paralyze almost every foe with a simple glare, an ability that could disrupt enemy attacks at will and completely turn matches around.

For the first time in any duel, Elem noticed a worried expression on his father’s face. The Master’s body jerked as if he tried to shake free from an iron chain but the Shishi was rendered fully immobile.

“Crap!” Aja swore under her breath. “The Shishi mostly relies on its physical strength. If it can’t move, it’s only a matter of time before Ferran takes it apart.”

The Cockatrice took advantage of the situation and swooped forward. Its talons dug deep into the sides of the Shishi, pressing it to the ground.

As the eye-contact between the two Summons broke, the Shishi was instantly freed from its paralysis. The Fire Summon tried to wrestle itself free but couldn’t escape the Cockatrice’s firm grip. It was simply forced to endure the Cockatrice pecking it in the side of the head.

Elem couldn’t remember if he’d ever seen a Summon fight so viciously. The situation was dire. The Cockatrice was beating down on his father’s Summon like a miner slamming his pickaxe into a boulder, it wouldn’t take many more strikes before the Shishi would be unable to continue.

Blood streamed from the Shishi’s face but the lionesque creature remained valiant. It withstood a few more strikes before it reared its head and caught the Cockatrice’s neck between its jaws.

The Cockatrice screeched as the two Summons chaotically rolled across the great hall’s floor.

Master Ardan leaned forward, sweat poured from the sides of his head.

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“And now we capitalize!” he yelled.

The Shishi’s mouth began to glow, indicating it was loading up a fire attack. Ferran grunted and his Cockatrice frantically tried to free itself from its opponent’s grasp.

Digging its spurs into the Shishi’s belly, allowed the Wind Summon an opportunity to escape; and right before the Shishi unleashed its fire attack, the Cockatrice dived out of the way.

Master Ardan decided he wanted to maintain the initiative and prompted his Summon to load up another fireball. The attack was slow but powerful and if aimed right, could defeat the Cockatrice with a single blow.

However, Ferran’s ferocious Summon wouldn’t give the Shishi a chance to attack. Before the Shishi could fire off its shot, the Cockatrice paralyzed it with its petrifying gaze.

This time the Cockatrice maintained its distance. Using its scaly tail like a whip, it began smacking the Shishi around the hall. Each time the Shishi got back up after getting slammed down, it was immediately trapped again by the Cockatrice’s gaze.

Elem could feel the uneasiness among the crowd. Sekuheim’s disciples weren’t used to seeing their Master get dominated in a duel. Master Ardan had been in plenty of difficult duels, even recently against Denshichiro, but something about this match was different. Every time Ardan’s Summon made a move, Ferran seemed to be two steps ahead.

Fear boiled up Elem’s stomach. He knew how high the price of a loss would be- the thought alone almost made him retch.

After the Cockatrice’s tail crashed into the Shishi for the umpteenth time, the Fire Summon hunched down and closed its eyes.

“You rather see nothing just to avoid my Summon’s gaze?” Ferran laughed. “I wonder how that is going to help you.”

As the Cockatrice’s tail strikes kept coming with cruel intensity, the Shishi endured the barrage and began loading up another fire attack. It poured all of its power into the blast, its entire glowing orange like a piece of heated metal.

“Your father is a genius,” Aja told Elem. “If it picks the right type of attack, the Shishi doesn’t even have to see.”

Elem scratched his chin. He had no clue what his friend was talking about.

“”An attack like wha-” Elem tried asking but his answer came before he could finish his sentence.

The Shishi directed his fire attack to the floor. As it opened its maws a violent inferno steamed down, melting the tiles and sending the observing Sekuheim disciples to the far end of the hall. The Fire Summon wouldn’t have to aim if its flames indiscriminately scorched everything on the battlefield.

While the fire filled the entire hall, the Cockatrice leaped once again. The challenger’s Summon wasn’t quick enough to avoid the fire all together but it was able to escape the worst of it. The wings of monstrous rooster lit up like those of a Phoenix, ironically making it look even more menacing than it already did.

As the scent of its burning flesh filled the room, the Cockatrice was able to stay in flight. It snatched the Shishi up from the floor and pushed it against the wall. Master Ardan’s Summon was clearly exhausted from launching its attack and could barely resist. When the Shishi gasped for air, the Cockatrice grabbed it by the throat with its talons.

“Poison breath!” Ferran commanded.

The Cockatrice buried its talons deeper, forcing Ardan’s Summon to open its mouth even wider. Then, a purple, steaming substance sprayed from the Cockatrice’s beak directly into the Shishi. The Fire Summon tried to struggle away but it was too weak to avoid the poison.

Its body began shaking uncontrollably, fighting the toxins from taking control. But the resistance was futile; as the great hall’s sprinklers killed the surrounding flames, the Shishi slowly stopped moving.