Alric didn't say anything this time. He just exhaled once, then his feet crushed the fractured floor—and he vanished.
Ottokai blinked.
He's—fast.
A shadow loomed from the right. Kai raised his forearm, just in time—Alric's stone fist smashed into it like a falling slab. Bone cracked. The impact tossed Ottokai across the arena again, but this time Alric didn't stop to gloat. He chased.
He's adapting. No, worse—he was holding back.
Ottokai hit the ground and rolled, skidding to a halt near the shattered edge of Arena One. Before he could stand fully, Alric was already there. He came in low, this time a sweep with his left leg—an unexpected feint. Ottokai dodged, barely, but the real hit came from above.
The stone arm—like a meteor.
Kai raised his bones into a dome, but the dome shattered under the weight. Cracks shot down his shoulder. He staggered.
Freya stood up again in the stands. "He's cornering him—!"
"He's starting to overwhelm Kai," Seren muttered, voice tight.
Reno was biting his knuckles. "Come on, dude, don't let him close the distance like that again!"
Kai growled and rolled left, then sent out a burst of illusion clones again. But this time, Alric didn't strike randomly. He spun in a half-circle, striking the real one in the side without hesitation.
He's learning.
Ottokai bounced off the ground and coughed once—blood. He didn't let himself think about it. Instead, he dropped a sporebomb from his wrist—a flash of hallucinatory mist burst between them.
Alric paused.
Ottokai used it. He vanished into the illusion and slashed upward—this time hitting under Alric's jaw.
The crowd gasped.
But Alric didn't fall.
He laughed.
And then his body twisted again—stone cracked further along his spine, up toward his neck. He's evolving it mid-fight—?
Alric slammed both fists into the ground and ripped up a slab of stone the size of a carriage. He heaved it overhead and hurled it.
Kai leapt, but the stone clipped his leg midair. He spiraled down hard, landing on his shoulder.
Damn it. He's pushing me into defense again. I can't outmuscle him. I need a break in tempo—some way to cut through that stone and the rage both.
In the stands, Professor Faulkenrath adjusted his spectacles. "He's clever. But brute force has caught up."
Herr Direktor Eisenwulf nodded once. "Alric's mutation has deepened."
GCC Commander Schwarzklinge simply crossed his arms, expression unreadable.
Below, the fighters circled each other now—both bloodied, both breathing hard.
Alric smiled, blood running down his chin. "You're still standing, low rank?"
Ottokai breathed in. Then smiled back.
"You should've worn thicker armor."
Alric's grin vanished.
He inhaled once, and the stone spread—not just his arm, but his whole body. Veins of mineral webbed across his torso, down his legs, up his neck, even coating part of his face. It hardened with a crunch like earth being compacted into steel.
Then—
Boom.
Alric launched forward like a cannonball.
Kai's eyes widened. I have no time to dodge—
A stone-coated shoulder slammed into his ribs.
Crack.
Kai flew across the arena, spinning midair like a broken doll. He smashed into the far wall, the stone buckling from the impact. Blood splattered from his mouth before he even hit the ground.
"KAI!!" Seren stood up screaming.
Reno's face turned pale. "What the hell was that speed—?!"
Freya was already leaning over the rail. "Get up. Get up!"
Kai coughed once and wiped his mouth, his hand shaking. His vision was doubled. His parasite was surging, trying to push regeneration forward. His bones screamed.
I can't block full-body reinforcement. He's too dense.
Kai spat out blood and grit, dragging his body up with shaking arms.
Sekh— he called inwardly, his breath ragged. Sekh, prepare. I need the Spider King form.
"Acknowledged.* Sekh's voice echoed in his mind, calm even as his body screamed.
How long?
"Twenty seconds. But be warned: current tissue damage may destabilize structure."
I don't care. Do it now!
His spine cracked, bulging outward. Webbed bone tore from his shoulder blades. His arms stretched unnaturally. Eight phantom limbs spiraled out like smoke before hardening—crooked, bone-white, and twitching.
The Spider King had awakened—no, a twisted, incomplete version.
His fingers were claws. His voice was hollow. The carapace on his chest was cracked. One of the eight legs jittered, malformed. The transformation was forced, ugly, and it leaked blood from every joint.
But he stood tall.
"Wh–What is that?" one of the Classroom 1 elites muttered.
Alric froze for a beat, then laughed. "I see now… so that's how it is. Your parasite—it's one of those! The ones that use illusion layering. Even this form—it's a bluff, isn't it?"
Kai didn't answer. He just raised one of his arms and flung a net of webbing at him.
It glistened midair—thick, grayish strands like tendon-wires.
But Alric didn't even dodge. He powered through. The web wrapped around his arms, but he just tore them apart mid-run.
And then—bam.
Another blow.
Kai was lifted off the ground.
He slammed into the arena wall again, and this time, the deformed spider limbs cracked on impact. The wall dented, webbing snapped, and a few pieces of bone shattered from his body like dropped ceramic.
"You're still nothing!" Alric bellowed as he charged again. "If you're gonna bluff, then back it up!!"
Kai spewed another stream of web to trap him, but Alric spun once and hurled a rock-like fist through the stream, grabbing Kai mid-air and flinging him across the arena floor.
The crowd gasped.
Seren clutched Freya's arm. "Stop the fight… someone stop it…"
Reno leaned forward, fists clenched. "Why isn't he giving up?"
Commander Erhardt didn't move. He only narrowed his eyes.
Professor Faulkenrath said nothing either, watching intently, pipe clenched between his teeth.
And then—at last—it ended.
The transformation shattered into dust and bone flakes. "I'm sorry, Kai. I can't handle it anymore, your tissues are about to tear open."
Kai's deformed form collapsed. And at the center of the wreckage, sitting on the ground, was Ottokai Von Seraphis—bloodied, breathing heavily, head slumped forward.
Almost unconscious. Web clung to his fingers. One eye was closed from swelling.
But he hadn't said surrender. He hadn't tapped out.
He was still there.
Kai sat hunched, blood dripping from his temple, but there was a grin pulling at his face.
"I'm not gonna lose," he whispered. "I still have my plan..."
And then—like a ripple through the marrow—came the memory.
The wind through the cypress trees. The quiet graveyard where his own name was etched into a grave that shouldn't exist.
And the voice.
Akari's voice sitting beside the grave. Talking to someone already "gone."
"You have to smile, okay?"
His hands clenched and bone shifted. The nerves in his legs screamed as he forced them to move.
Then, slowly, steadily—he stood.
Dust clung to his shredded uniform. His hair was matted with sweat and blood. But he stood.
"What's this?" Alric raised a brow. "Hey, kid! Remember your place! You're the second-lowest rank in the entire Academy! Low rank, tell me your name before I destroy your face!"
In the stands, Seren surged to her feet. "Stop the fight! Just stop it already!"
But Kai didn't flinch.
He looked up, eyes like cracked steel.
"...I'm Kai," he muttered.
Alric leaned in, cupping a hand around his ear. "What?"
"I'm Ottokai…"
"Louder."
Kai raised his head. The grin sharpened.
"I'm Ottokai—"
He stomped forward.
"—Von Seraphis—"
The bone claws on his fingers reformed. His back straightened and his breathing calmed.
"—and I'll stop you right here—right now!!"
The arena erupted.
"What the hell is this?!" Elene Weissberg, Class 1 Rank 3, asked surprised.
The Midnight Band jumped to their feet.
"That's the guy!" Akari grinned, wild-eyed. "That's the guy I told you about!"
Professor Faulkenrath removed his glasses. "...So the runt had claws after all."
Commander Erhardt Schwarzklinge folded his arms, his jaw twitching slightly. "Finally."
Even the Headmaster, Herr Direktor Klaus Eisenwulf, leaned forward from the VIP booth. "Interesting…"
Reno slammed both hands on the railing, his voice cracking from excitement. "Let's gooooo!! That's my guy!!"
Freya didn't say anything. She just smiled.
Seren stared with wide eyes. "You said you'd win… you really…"
And down below, in the center of Arena One, the boy they all thought was weak, bloodied and broken, stood tall.
Ottokai Von Seraphis—No, Kai Alaric Vogel had a plan in his sleeve. Before this fight had commenced, his victory was already predestined.
Underground, something massive slithered through the ancient pipes of the Wolfram Institute—slick, heavy, and fast. Stone cracked and sewer walls split behind its passage. The thing moved like a bullet soaked in oil, scraping past rusted valves and forgotten crawlspaces.
Aboveground, Kai's breathing steadied as he activated the Pheromelody Node. A soft hum echoed from his throat—low, harmonic.
And the moment it began, the crowd shifted.
"Wait—he's singing?"
"Is that part of his parasite loadout?"
From the VIP stands, Siegfried Krämer, the Number One of Class 1, narrowed his eyes. "No… that's something else."
Elena Weissburg, Class 1's Top 3, flicked her braid behind her. "Did he… prep a signal parasite ahead of time? That's not something a low-rank could plan."
Julian Richter, from Class 2, arms crossed, muttered, "Something's coming."
And it was.
Deep below them, in the half-forgotten sewers beneath Wolfram Institute, the worm kept moving—drawn by Kai's call, by pheromone frequency, by neural mimicry embedded through his parasite's gene management.
A plan he'd planted days ago.
Kai grinned wide as his hair lifted in the tremor's wake. He pointed a single finger forward.
"You wanna know who I am?"
Alric gritted his teeth. "Hah? What bullshit are you spewing now?"
Kai stepped forward. "I'm Ottokai Von Seraphis, and I'm going to win this fight! I've lost once—but that doesn't mean I'll lose a second time!"
He spread his arms.
"Alric—when I beat you, I want you to remember this moment. Hell, I want you to write it down. After I defeat you, you're gonna get on your knees and eat my foot, alright?"
Alric's face twisted, rage pouring out of his pores. "YOU ARROGANT LITTLE SHIT!!"
Then.
Kai clenched his hand into a fist and raised it toward the sky. The moment froze.
"I'll win this battle!" he shouted.
The ground shook.
Not just beneath them, but everywhere.
The stands rattled, stone cracked and dust rained from the ceilings.
The arena floor lurched.
"What the hell?!" Sylvie shouted, grabbing the railing.
"Is it a quake?!" Marin held Sylvie to fix her balance.
"No—look!!!" Akari smiled, eye big and wide.
Behind Kai, the earth exploded upward—chunks of marble and steel bursting as a gigantic worm, erupted from beneath the battlefield.
Its spiraled fangs opened, a screech echoing loud enough to split bone. It coiled above Kai like a summoned god, shadow blanketing half the arena.
The crowd screamed.
"HE CALLED THAT?!" Freya asked, bewildered.
"IS THAT EVEN LEGAL?!" Reno grabbed the railing tighter.
Professor Faulkenrath dropped his pipe. "By all the Old Blood…"
Commander Erhardt Schwarzklinge leaned forward, teeth bared in a grin. "Now that's war."
Even Eisenwulf's lips curled into something like approval. "A bold play, Seraphis."
Below, Kai raised both arms wide, defiant, blood running down his face—and smiling.
"I'm smiling, alright!!"