Chapter 124: The Winner Is...

Kai was now actively controlling the darkness that was trying to consume him. It was the side effect of summoning Umbragore, the Rank SS monster. At the same time, his mind kept returning to another question.

How were Oliver and his monster unaffected by Feeble Whisper? This was the first time he had encountered something like this.

The answer lay in the activation effect of Untouchable authority. It made Oliver and his monsters immune to all enemy status effects for five seconds after activation. However, its side effect was severe, a cooldown of twelve hours.

When Oliver noticed the system notification announcing the skill’s activation earlier, he was shocked. It meant that Kai had attempted to use some kind of status effect on him.

“It must be something related to that crow monster. But it seems it is gone now.” Oliver felt relieved.

His eyes briefly swept across the platform before looking at the timer. Only 1 minute and 30 seconds remained.

(There are only thirty seconds left before our merging is finished. I just hope it lasts a little longer. Hehe.)

Flora’s voice echoed inside Oliver’s mind. Yet the way she said it made it sound as though the two of them were doing something naughty.

Oliver ignored her words and leapt high into the air, using a nearby plant he had created as a springboard.

While airborne, he immediately activated Spear Thorn. His hands transformed into blooming flowers as dozens of thorny spears shot toward Umbragore and Tenebros.

BOOM!

BOOM!

The spears struck their targets head-on. Tenebros, still unable to move, was hit directly in the soft parts of its body that Oliver had intentionally targeted.

“RAAARRR!”

A roar of pain echoed across the platform. Meanwhile, Umbragore reacted quickly. Swinging its massive claws, it deflected every incoming spear before they could reach its body.

However, the distraction created an opening. Husk burst from below and sank its fangs into Umbragore’s neck before forcefully dragging the beast to the ground.

“Nice one, Husk!” Oliver shouted.

Kai clenched his teeth in frustration. Maintaining control of multiple monsters while channeling mana through Umbragore was proving too demanding. Realizing this, he made a swift decision and recalled Tenebros, focusing all of his attention and mana on Umbragore instead.

Inside the auditorium, cheers erupted as the battle reached its climax. Max and his group were by far the loudest supporters of Oliver, shouting his name at the top of their lungs whenever he landed a successful attack.

Many of the female students had also begun paying closer attention to him. His striking pink hair, combined with his long elf-like ears, gave him a unique charm that stood out among the competitors. Coupled with his impressive performance in battle, it was no surprise that he was attracting admiration from the crowd.

On the opposite side of the auditorium, however, Kai somehow had his own growing group of supporters.

Although they were fewer in number, the students cheering for him were equally passionate. They had been impressed by his ability to remain composed under pressure.

Some students remained neutral, silently observing the battle without showing any obvious reaction.

In their eyes, the format of this competition was far from ideal. Many participants possessed abilities that excelled in different situations, and a format like this did not allow them to showcase their true potential.

Rather than cheering for either side, they simply analyzed the fight and evaluated the strengths and weaknesses displayed by both competitors.

Back on the battlefield, Oliver and Kai remained locked in a fierce struggle. Both had already reached their limits.

Oliver’s synchronization with Flora was only seconds away from ending.

Meanwhile, the darkness consuming Kai had spread beyond half of his body. Black veins crawled across his skin like living shadows, a visible sign of the immense strain he was enduring.

Neither side could maintain their current state for much longer. Sooner or later, the delicate balance between them would break, and when it did, victory would inevitably tip toward one side.

Thirty seconds remaining…

The synchronization finally came to an end. The floral aura surrounding Oliver faded away, and his transformed appearance gradually disappeared. His pink hair returned to its normal color and he reverted to his original form.

Kai immediately seized the opportunity. Knowing that Oliver had lost his advantage, he launched a relentless attack, refusing to give his opponent even a moment to recover.

At the same time, the darkness consuming Kai continued to spread. It had already covered nearly seventy-five percent of his body. Beads of sweat streamed down his face as he struggled to maintain control over the darkness coursing through him.

Both combatants were clearly running on sheer determination.

Meanwhile, on other side, the tide of battle had begun to shift. Umbragore was gradually overpowering Husk.

The beast’s movements had become faster and more precise, allowing it to nullify every one of Husk’s attacks. Claw met fang and strength met strength, but Husk was slowly losing ground.

Then came the decisive blow. With a powerful roar, Umbragore swung its massive claws downward.

The attack struck Husk head-on, sending the creature flying several meters across the battlefield before it crashed heavily onto the ground. Umbragore then stood still, its imposing figure towering over the platform as it turned its blood-red eyes toward Oliver.

“Urgh!”

Kai suddenly dropped to one knee. The darkness covering his body continued to spread, creeping more and more until it had consumed nearly all of him. Even his left eye was beginning to turn red, matching the red glow of his right.

At the same time, Umbragore’s body started to expand. Its muscles swelled, its claws grew longer, and the aura surrounding it became increasingly oppressive. With every passing second, the monster seemed to be reclaiming more of the power that had once made it a nightmare.

Kai’s eyes widened.

“This is bad…I have never kept him summoned for this long during a battle. If he regains all of his power…he will go berserk again.” His breathing became ragged as sweat poured down his face.

He immediately attempted to recall Umbragore but nothing happened as the summoning link between them was weakening. No matter how much he recalled, it refused to respond.

Across the platform, Oliver quickly noticed the change in Kai’s expression. Something was wrong. Then Umbragore threw back its head and unleashed a ferocious roar.

“Rooaarrr!”

The sound shook the entire arena. The beast’s red eyes burned with wild and uncontrollable hunger.

“Uh-oh. This doesn’t look good.”

Isaak immediately rose to his feet atop Voidhour. The easygoing expression he had worn throughout the battle vanished, replaced by a serious frown as the situation was rapidly spiraling out of control.

Isaak knew the truth about Kai and Umbragore. He knew the story of the Boy Without a Shadow, the boy whose taming ritual had ended in tragedy, whose monster had gone berserk and slaughtered his own family before anyone could stop it.

And now, as Kai watched Umbragore’s growing body and increasingly savage behavior, a hard realization settled in his mind.

History was about to repeat itself.

But this time, there was one crucial difference from the tragedy years ago.

Oliver was here. He remained calm. His eyes carefully analyzed the situation before he walked over to Husk, who was slowly recovering from Umbragore’s powerful attack. Kneeling beside his companion, Oliver lowered his voice.

“Are you alright?”

Husk pushed himself up and shook off the dust covering his body.

“I’m fine. But that thing is getting stronger and stronger. If we let it continue, it’ll become far beyond our ability to control.”

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of letting that happen. Husk, let’s go with our usual routine. We’ll finish this before the timer runs out.”

“You still want to win this battle?”

“Of course. I still want to be the winner.” His eyes burned with determination. The moment those words left his mouth, a crimson aura erupted from his body and is hair gradually turned red.

This was the manifestation of his Crimson Striker class. Oliver raised his dagger, and crimson energy flowed through his arm and gathered around the blade. The weapon began to glow with an intense red light as aura condensed along its edge.

Husk then stood up before jumping high into the air. At the same time, Oliver dashed straight toward Umbragore.

The monster immediately turned its attention toward Oliver and moved to intercept him. Suddenly, Husk appeared above it and released a loud howl.

It immediately caused Umbragore to stiffen slightly.

The Howl of the Moon was only fully effective against monsters of a lower rank than Husk. Against stronger monsters, it could only cause a brief moment of immobilization. However, that brief moment was enough for Oliver.

He suddenly disappeared and unleashed Scarlet Massacre, slashing Umbragore multiple times in rapid succession.

“ROAAARRR!”

Umbragore roared in pain.

Suddenly, Kai noticed that the darkness covering his body had started to recede slowly.

It’s working.

Kai immediately straightened himself and clasped his hands together before forming a fist. He focused intensely, trying to strengthen his connection with Umbragore once more.

Meanwhile, Oliver and Husk continued their combo attack.

It was a combination they had practiced countless times over the past five years. Their coordination was nearly flawless.

Although Umbragore was still able to retaliate occasionally, Oliver did not stop. He continued his attacks, striking again and again without giving the monster any chance to recover.

Soon, the darkness covering Kai’s body had receded to less than half. He then raised his head and finally called back his monster.

“Return, Umbragore!”

As Umbragore began to disappear into his body, something unexpected happened. Just moments before it was fully recalled, Umbragore suddenly swung its claw at Kai.

Swoosh!!

The attack struck him directly, sending him flying backward. He crashed onto the platform and slid across the ground before stopping at the very edge. His body hung over the void, with only one hand gripping the platform.

“Grab my hand, Kai!”

Oliver immediately rushed toward him and reached out, trying to pull him back up. But Kai looked at the timer. Less than ten seconds remained.

There was no way he could win this battle. He had already used every ounce of his strength, yet Oliver still seemed to have stamina left. Even if he managed to climb back onto the platform, he would only end up being defeated.

A smirk slowly appeared on his face as his gaze met Oliver’s.

“You won today. But next time, I’ll be the winner. Remember that.”

Oliver’s eyes widened.

“Kai, wait-“

But Kai had already made his decision. He released his grip and his body fell into the void below before dissolving into particles of light.

With that, only Oliver remained on the platform. The timer continued counting down until reach zero. The battle was finally over. And with Kai’s elimination, Oliver became the sole remaining participant.

He was the winner.