Chapter 29: Chapter 29
The quarter finals of the Global Rookie Tournament marked a shift in the atmosphere of the Colosseum. The remaining eight competitors were no longer just talented rookies. They were monsters in human skin.
The stadium lights dimmed casting long dramatic shadows across the white sand. The massive holographic screens above the arena flickered displaying the names for the first match of the top eight.
Glen Mcdonald versus Valerius Cross.
Glen walked out of the dark competitor tunnel. The heavy pitch black longsword rested casually on his right shoulder. He did not wear armor. He just wore his black combat jacket his dark eyes scanning the massive circular battlefield.
Standing on the opposite side of the arena was Valerius Cross. He was an A Rank Beast Emperor from the Eden organization. He wore elegant flowing robes of deep crimson and gold holding a glowing silver summoning staff. He looked like royalty looking down at a peasant.
Up in the VIP suite Vane leaned forward his black eyes gleaming. "Valerius is one of our finest creations Elias. He does not fight with his own hands. He commands an army. Let us see how your little pest handles being outnumbered fifty to one."
Down in the arena the mechanical chime echoed through the silent stadium.
"Begin."
Valerius did not draw a weapon. He slammed the base of his silver staff into the sand. A massive glowing red summoning circle erupted across his half of the arena measuring nearly a hundred yards across.
"Feast my children" Valerius commanded his voice echoing with absolute authority.
The sand boiled. From the glowing red circle fifty massive beasts clawed their way onto the arena floor. They were B Rank Bloodfang Wolves. Each wolf was the size of a heavy transport vehicle with matted crimson fur and jaws dripping with acidic saliva. They growled in unison a terrifying sound that vibrated the glass of the VIP suites.
The crowd gasped. It was not a duel. It was an execution. A single fighter no matter how strong could not survive a coordinated attack from fifty B Rank monsters.
Glen stood alone on his side of the arena. He looked at the army of massive wolves.
Deep inside his chest his spiritual core pulsed. But it was not the normal hunger of the Skill Predator. It was the microscopic fragment of The Lost he had devoured the day before. The demonic anti mana reacted to the overwhelming presence of blood and violence.
A faint whisper echoed in the back of Glen’s mind.
*Consume them. Tear them apart.*
Glen gritted his teeth shaking his head to clear the intrusive thought. He gripped the hilt of his massive black longsword with both hands.
"Thunder Phantom Step" Glen whispered.
Deep purple lightning exploded from his body. But as the electricity arced across his skin thick streaks of pitch black energy began to weave through the purple light. The air around him did not just crackle it hissed with a sickening corrosive sound.
Glen vanished.
He reappeared directly in the center of the charging wolf pack. He swung the heavy black longsword in a massive horizontal arc.
The impact was catastrophic. The black blade slammed into the first three wolves obliterating them instantly. Their massive bodies exploded into clouds of crimson mist.
As the hot blood rained down on Glen the fragment of The Lost surged. The whispers in his head turned into a deafening roar.
*More. Feed us more.*
Glen’s dark eyes flickered bleeding into a terrifying pitch black. A savage uncontrollable grin stretched across his face. He did not fight with his usual calculated precision. He fought like a rabid animal.
He dropped his heavy sword and lunged at the next wolf grabbing its massive jaws with his bare hands. He channeled his Level 15 strength and physically ripped the beast’s jaws apart bathing himself in its blood. He laughed a dark distorted sound that echoed across the silent stadium.
Up on the competitor balcony Isla Sinclair gripped the railing her knuckles turning white. "What is he doing? He is losing control."
Caleb frowned his relaxed demeanor completely gone. "That is not his normal mana signature. Something is wrong with him."
Down in the arena Glen was a blur of purple and black lightning. He tore through the wolves with brutal terrifying violence. He did not just kill them he dismantled them. The demonic energy in his core was feeding on the slaughter pushing his adrenaline to dangerous toxic levels.
"Kill him" Valerius screamed his elegant composure completely shattered as he watched his invincible army being butchered by a laughing maniac. "Swarm him."
The remaining thirty wolves abandoned all tactics and threw themselves at Glen in a massive dogpile desperate to crush him under their combined weight.
Glen stood in the center of the swarm. The black veins crawled up his neck the demonic fragment fighting to take complete control of his nervous system.
"Predator Domain" Glen roared his voice sounding like two people speaking at once.
A massive dome of absolute pitch black darkness erupted from his body. But this domain was different. It was heavier. The shadows writhed and hissed eating the very light around them.
Inside the dome the slaughter lasted exactly ten seconds.
When the darkness collapsed folding back into Glen’s shadow the crowd erupted into a deafening roar of pure unfiltered awe.
Glen stood alone in the center of the arena. Surrounding him in a perfect circle were the lifeless mutilated bodies of thirty massive Bloodfang Wolves.
He stood perfectly still his chest heaving. He raised his trembling hands looking at the black veins pulsing under his skin. The demon was trying to pilot his body. It wanted to jump into the stands and consume the crowd.
Glen slammed his fist into his own chest directly over his spiritual core.
"Shut up" Glen snarled forcing the demonic energy back down into the depths of his soul. The black veins slowly receded and his eyes returned to their normal dark brown.
He picked up his heavy black longsword from the sand and pointed it at Valerius Cross. He was panting sweating profusely fighting a war inside his own mind but he refused to show weakness.
"Is that all you have?" Glen asked his voice tight with strain.
