I barely managed to stop myself in an unbalanced position when the creature resumed shooting. I quickly jumped end over end to dodge the plasma, but the creature wasn't done yet. It tore a large rock from the exposed ground and hurled it towards me in a matter of seconds. Knowing I couldn't avoid it without landing, I kicked the rock with all my might, breaking it into two pieces and disposing of it.

As soon as I touched the ground, the creature charged at me, using its shoulder to push me against a magical barrier. I had to act fast or the plasma would surely kill me. Placing both hands on the barrier, I used all my strength to push myself away. The creature was heavy, but I managed to move just enough to escape its attack. With lightning-fast reflexes, I lunged towards the creature, sinking my sharp claws into its unhardened throat to prevent it from shooting plasma. But I didn't stop there. I spun around and aimed at the creature's arm, slicing it off with a single, swift strike.

The creature stumbled back and fell to its knees. It seemed that it could only strengthen the areas where it had taken damage, which gave me an idea. Without seeing any blood, I realized it wasn't dead, but it was immobilized. Using the arm I cut off, I stabbed it into the creature's chest.

When everyone, including myself, believed that it was all over, the creature suddenly started making noises and began to heal itself at an accelerated rate. It forcefully extracted its own arm from its chest, exhibiting a remarkable ability to regenerate. I cautiously approached the creature, but before I could do anything, it struck me powerfully with the back of its arm, sending me flying far away.

As I lay on the ground, disoriented and unsure of what to do, I watched in horror as the creature grew stronger and drew closer to me. Suddenly, a group of warriors, who had been hiding nearby, attacked the creature, seemingly having planned an ambush. I shouted at them to stop, fearing for their safety, but they didn't listen. I struggled to get up, but a hand held me back.

"Ryuu, wait," Vanar said.

I turned to see Vanar, and upon closer inspection, I saw that he had numerous wounds that were beyond my capacity to treat. Despite this, I couldn't bear to watch him die.

"Vanar, hold on. I'll defeat the creature and get us out of here," I said.

"You can't beat it with your fists or kicks," Vanar replied.

"I have to try. It's the only way," I said.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"No, it's not," Vanar said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"During my fight with the creature, I noticed something. It reacts when it comes into contact with my poison. If you attack it with my venom, it will be damaged, but you can no longer pierce the skin. The only contact will be inside the mouth," Vanar explained.

"But with what?" I asked.

Vanar picked up a sword from the ground and he smeared his poisonous blood on the sword. "Take this and be done with it," he said.

"Try to hold on, I'll finish him off," I replied.

"We both know, Ryuu, this is the end of the road for me," Vanar said.

"Don't talk like that, please," I pleaded.

Vanar held a bloodied letter in his hand as I knelt beside him. "Please Ryuu, can you give this to the girl I love?" he asked.

"Where can I find her?" I inquired.

"She's the most beautiful knight in the world to me, which is another reason I'm here," Vanar explained.

"Rose…"I muttered

"Yeah, that's her. I didn't get a chance to open up, but she showed me how to be myself," he continued with tears in his eyes. "Give this to her and tell her I'm sorry, Ryuu."

I couldn't tell Rose that she was in trouble, and more importantly, what was this feeling I had inside me? It was a feeling I've never felt before. "You can trust me, I'll get this to her," I assured him.

"You're a good man, Ryuu. It was nice to know you," Vanar said.

"I'm also very pleased," I replied.

"What are you waiting for? Go and be a champion."Vanar closed his eyes after his own words and died beside me.

I couldn't think anymore, so I had to move on and finish the battle. I stood up with the support of the sword and started running towards the creature. The warriors around us were distracted by the chaos, leaving only the creature and me standing.

The creature saw me approaching and responded with its plasma, but I dodged the attacks by jumping and ducking, getting closer and closer. Realizing that it couldn't fire its plasma frequently, the creature switched to close attacks. I dodged the incoming punches, waiting for the perfect moment to strike with my sword and deliver the fatal blow.

Finally, the moment arrived. When the creature swung its fist once more, I ducked, took support from its arm to jump on its head, but it grabbed me by the leg and threw me to the ground. As I dropped the sword and tried to pick it up again, the creature continued to swing with its legs, making it impossible for me to get close enough to strike.

Thinking on my feet, I decided to distract the creature by throwing the sword up in the air. When it pulled its head away to follow the sword's trajectory, I got up again and kicked the creature. I then attacked it, jumped on the creature with my legs, and finally jumped to where I had thrown the knife. My goal was not to do damage, but to get where I needed to be.

Once I reached the hill, the creature didn't want me to get any closer. However, I had my opportunity when it was about to fire its plasma. I threw the knife in my hand with all my strength into its open mouth and watched the creature fall to the ground. The creature started to burn with the poison, and I knew it wouldn't get up again.

But for some reason, in that moment, I felt like screaming, and so I did. I screamed with my arms outstretched, and then the whole stadium started screaming and clapping with me. The tournament was over and I was the only one left standing.