“Both contestants, get ready,” Aurelia commanded.

Across from him, Celine merely crossed her arms as the Thunderclaw emerged from nowhere. Zeke warily eyed the creature. Its head reached up to his chest and it was several steps long. His eyes fell on the sharp claws and vicious fangs of the beast. This would not be easy.

Zeke tried to think back to his time hunting monsters. He had fought similar beasts before, like the giant Grasswolf and the Stone Leopard. Both were monsters of a similar size that focused on speed. And both those monsters had caused him no small amount of trouble in the past.

From experience, Zeke knew that he had no chance to keep an agile monster at a distance. His skills with the whip were not nearly good enough for that. In fact, his whips were a horrible match against any kind of smart and agile opponent. With fast enough reflexes, all his strikes could be predicted and dodged. Leo, for example, was getting really good at it lately.

But what then? The Thunderclaw was fast, agile, and, by the look in its eyes, smart. What could he do against such an opponent? Now that its body was corporeal, Zeke tried to scan it to find out in which area he could beat it.

[Thunderclaw]

Strength: 19 Constitution: 5 Agility: 40 Intelligence: 25

[Ezekiel]

Strength: 25 Constitution: 27 Agility: 23 Intelligence: 24

What?! Not only was the Thunderclaw almost twice as agile as him, but also smarter? Looking at the beast once more, Zeke felt like it was grinning smugly at him.

With a shake of his head, he had to remind himself that what he measured wasn’t actually intelligence. It was merely the speed at which the brain could process information. This made him feel a little better. The Thunderclaw would most likely not be able to challenge him as a researcher any time soon.

But it did mean that its increased brain capacity would make it easier to process large amounts of visual information faster and react to them instantaneously. An overproportionally developed brain was actually not uncommon among agile monsters. Zeke merely hadn’t seen anything to this degree before.

Its Constitution seemed suspiciously low, but Zeke suspected that was not actually the case. Its body wasn’t made from flesh and blood after all. It was very likely that any injury would only need a bit of mana to mend. However, that was still a possible approach. If he just stayed on the defense and persevered until her core gave out, he might be able to win.

In terms of stats, his biggest advantage was his Strength. He was significantly stronger than the beast, which gave him hope. If he could grab hold of it, he might be able to overwhelm it.

However, Zeke had another, far more promising approach in mind. The Thunderclaw had one glaring weakness that could be exploited. That weakness was called Celine, and was currently impatiently tapping her foot on the ground as she continued to glare at him. If Zeke managed to capture or incapacitate her, this battle would be over…

“Ezekiel, are you ready?” Aurelia repeated.

The time for strategizing was over. Instead of his whips, Zeke extended a foot long [Blood Spike] from each of his fists. The serrated, dagger-like spikes would be his best chance to hit such an agile creature.

[https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1063583644020654080/1164896606441705493/d95feb99-e17f-4bd3-a6d4-c5e2eb863c82.png?ex=6544e181&is=65326c81&hm=8983780ae05494af7d081f03ae8d740fdff408e0a2afde328cbef4d47e26e3ff&=&width=893&height=502]

“I am ready,” Zeke stated, focusing on the creature in front of him.

“The fight begins in 3… 2… 1! Fight!”

Booooom!

With the roaring of thunder, the beast disappeared from Zeke's view. In the next moment, a bone-chilling sting of pain awakened Zeke to the fact that the Thunderclaw had already bitten down on his shoulder. Time seemed to pass in slow motion as his feet were ripped from under him. The impact of the charge was enough to completely dislodge him and break his stance.

Zeke got his bearing just in time. This was not good! If this continued, he would be turned into a chew toy. With an effort of will, Zeke ignored the pain coming from his entire left side and cast a spell. A moment later, he hit the ground, the beast howling in pain.

Zeke hurriedly got up, taking up his stance again. The Thunderclaw was pacing a few steps away, looking warily at him. The entire left side of Zeke’s body had been turned into a forest of spikes. He called this the ‘Human Hedgehog Strategy’, and it worked wonders against all manner of beasts that overly relied on their fangs. Nobody wanted to bite down on a cactus, after all.

Zeke retracted his spikes. They might have been an effective defense, but also hampered his mobility severely. This was not a tradeoff he was willing to take against an opponent with unknown capabilities. So much for his plans to attack the girl - he would not even make it halfway toward her before being intercepted. And his teleport was far from being able to cover the entire distance either.

A glance at his shoulder revealed that the injury was already beginning to close and he would be back to full strength soon. However, the same could be said for the Thunderclaw. His guess had been right: the wounds his spike had punctured into the beast’s maw were closing at an even faster rate than his own.

Still, he grinned at the feline. “What now, kitty? Looks like your fangs won’t do you much good against me.”

The Thunderclaw came to a stop in front of him and Zeke could swear he saw the gears turning behind those bestial eyes. A moment later, it opened its maw wide and roared. No, this was not just a roar! Too late did he recognize it as the attack it was. From its wide-opened mouth, a bolt of lightning crossed the distance between them instantly.

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Zeke’s body tensed and spasmed as the electricity flowed through him. He had never felt anything like this, but the pain was excruciating. He couldn’t even feel it as the Thunderclaw raked its claws across his thigh and opened up his arterial vein.

Even though it had only taken him a heartbeat to recover, it had been more than enough time for the beasts to strike a blow and retreat to safety. Zeke glanced at the deep furrows in his legs. For anybody else, a blow like this might have been a crippling injury — but not for him. In fact, not a single drop of blood had escaped. His [Perfect Body Control] made sure of that.

But the problem still remained. How would he deal with this attack? The lightning was too fast to dodge and…

Before he could think any further, the beast roared again. Zeke tried to dodge, but the second bolt of lightning still struck true. As expected, another attack with the claws followed. This time, five deep lacerations stretched from his right shoulder down to his left hip. His combat robes had offered next to no resistance to the beast. They were now nothing more than tattered ribbons, hanging off his chest.

Zeke frowned. He couldn’t continue taking damage like this, or he would be done for in no time at all. He had never dealt with a Lightning Mage before and didn’t know how to deal with this sort of attack. Those spells were not only extremely fast and painful, they also had the added effect of paralyzing the body for a short moment…. paralyzing the body? No, that wasn’t quite right. What they actually did was make his muscles contract. Maybe he could work with this.

With a glint in his eyes, Zeke got ready for another charge. The Thunderclaw, for his part, didn’t keep him waiting for long. From its spot a few steps away, it once again opened its maw. This time, Zeke didn’t even try to avoid the spell, and the Lightning bolt struck him straight in the chest. The expected charge followed right after. This time, the beast was going for his neck! It was clearly done playing around.

However, before the Thunderclaw could rake its claw across his jugular, the lightning-fast figure was brought to a halt. An ear-splitting howl revealed the success of his strategy. Zeke’s feet had left deep furrows into the ground, as he had been pushed back several steps. Both of his spikes were embedded deep into the flanks of the beast and he had managed to absorb the momentum of the charge with his arms and legs.

Without wasting a single moment, Zeke pumped Mana into the spikes on his fists. The Thunderclaw’s howls redoubled as the growing spikes tore its innards to shreds. However, the beast didn’t surrender either. With another roar, it released a thunderbolt right in Zeke’s face from point-blank range. The storm of electricity charred half his face, and even burned one of his eyes clean out of its socket.

Even so, his body didn’t twitch as he continued his gruesome work. The trick to this was that Zeke had stopped using the electric signals from his brain to command his body. He was puppeteering himself using his [Perfect Body Control]. With this method, he had been able to circumvent the disabling effect of electricity.

A moment later, his [Blood spikes] emerged from the Thunderclaw’s back causing the beast to whimper in pain.

“Noooo!” Celine screamed from the other side of the field.

Zeke paid the girl no mind as he strained every muscle in his body in order to lift the beast off the floor. With the last bit of leverage gone, the Thunderclaw could do nothing but whimper in pain as it was held in place above Zeke’s head. In this position, it didn’t matter how fast the beast healed. All he had to do now was wait for Celine’s Mana to run out.

Zeke triumphantly smirked at the girl as he held the incapacitated beast above his head. To his utter surprise, the girl charged at him.

Zeke was stupefied by this decision. What did Celine think she could accomplish by doing this? Did she think she could defeat him while he was in this position? Ridiculous! He had a dozen ways to defeat her instantly the moment she entered his [Sphere of Awareness]. A single [Blood Spike] would nail her to the ground before she could even take one step further.

However, the tears that were freely streaming down her face revealed the truth. This was no strategy at all. This was merely a young girl who didn’t want to see her pet suffer. The Thunderclaw seemed to also sense the futility of her actions, as the beast redoubled its struggles — to no effect at all.

Zeke inwardly sighed. If his reputation wasn’t at stake, he might have been more lenient. Furthermore, his leg and chest were barely holding together, and his face was a charred mess as well. As things stood, he couldn’t afford to hold anything back. If he hadn’t caught the Thunderclaw off guard, this might have been his loss, and he wasn’t confident he could even do it again.

No, this had to end right here and now…

“I want you to let the girl win,” Zeke heard Aurelia’s voice directly inside his head.

Telepathy? A glance to the side revealed the source — Albert. This had to be some form of telepathy with multiple recipients that could all talk to each other. How convenient. Zeke would have to develop something similar for his own use one of these days.

“No,” he responded simply.

There was a brief pause before Aurelia spoke again. “You let the girl win, and I help you with your problem.”

Zeke hesitated. He really, really wanted Aurelia’s help with the Dragon. But the question was, could he even do what she asked of him? Could he lose on purpose? His blood already started boiling at the thought of damaging his pride. How about intentionally throwing a fight then? He couldn’t imagine that would go over any better. When he had almost lost against Leo in the final, the Dragon had gone out of control and he had almost ripped the poor boy to shreds. If the same happened with Celine…

“I’m sorry, Aurelia. I don’t think I could do that even If I wanted to. It is linked to my… condition.”

Another pause. He had to make a decision soon, Celine had drawn the dagger at her side and was now almost in reach of his sphere. Finally, he heard Aurelia’s voice again. “I understand. But today’s event is very important to my family. I cannot have the Thunderclaw be defeated in such an embarrassing manner. If you can’t intentionally lose, then find another way.”

Find another way? What other way? If there had been another way, would he have sacrificed half his body? He was even missing an eye for crying out loud! But he could not miss this chance. He needed her help… He needed more time… He needed to think… He needed…

In his moment of indecision, the world froze once more.

Zeke’s mind relaxed, his thoughts flowing freely once more. In this state, every problem seemed to be solvable and every challenge surmountable. Now that all the pressure was gone, one idea after the other popped into his mind. Suddenly, he was spoiled for choice!

It didn’t take him long to develop a rock-solid strategy that would appease both the Dragon as well as Aurelia. After double and triple checking his next moves, Zeke reluctantly exited this wonderous state. It was time to put his plan in motion.

A moment later, to the surprise of the struggling beast, one of the spikes impaling it actually broke. Under the added strain, the second one followed right after. With an angry roar, the newly freed Thunderclaw pounced toward Zeke.

The boy visibly paled at the sight of the approaching figure. “Shit, shit, shit!”

With a roar of triumph, the beast’s talons descended upon an injured Zeke. However, instead of tearing through blood and flesh, they were greeted with solid ground. The boy had disappeared.

“Surrender!” a voice shouted from behind the beast.

Instantly, the Summon whipped around. Its bestial eyes narrowed at what it found. Zeke was standing behind Celine, a spike to her throat. “You might be too strong for me, beast! But your summoner is not. Surrender now, or I will have to hurt her.”

The beast remained rooted in place, frozen by indecision. Zeke could see the struggle in its eyes. It didn’t want to surrender, but could not risk its summoner either.

“Enough,” Aurelia called out. “This concludes the match. The winner is Ezekiel von Hohenheim.”

The moment Zeke heard those words, he let himself collapse backward. He wanted to make sure everybody could tell he had only barely scraped out a victory. However, this was only partly an act. He had not gotten this hurt since the time he had escaped from those kidnappers back in the empire. Everything hurt, and his vision was getting blurrier by the moment.

‘That’s what I get for trying to live my life to its fullest.’ With this last thought, he let darkness claim him.