His new form radiated overwhelming presence.
On his left side, Kylon’s influence manifested as a sleek, luminous armor. white plating with glowing blue sigils, edged with faint, shifting light, a dragon-shaped shoulder pauldron, elegant and sharp, its carved eyes glowing softly, light flowed across it like a living current.
On his right side, Kawa’s fire roared to life, crimson armor, pulsing with molten heat, fiery veins crawling beneath the plates like living embers, a feathered dragon pauldron, sculpted from flame-like metal, sparks drifting from its wings, heat shimmered with every breath Kael took.
The energies met down the center of his body, perfectly balanced yet violently opposed.
His gauntlets caught the light—
beautiful but terrifying weapons of war.
From each one extended three segmented metal talons, each attached to retractable chain-tendrils hidden within the bracers.
They glinted with both holy sheen and burning red heat.
Then Kael opened his eyes.
His left eye ignited in a shining blue glow, calm, resolute, filled with Kylon’s guidance.
His right eye flared into a crimson blaze, wild, fierce, driven by Kawa’s will.
Blue light and red flame spiraled behind him in a swirling aura, fighting yet synchronizing, holy radiance tempered by raging heat. Kael then muttered under his breath.
“Spirit Overdrive: Pyrolux”
Across the shattered plains, Cain finally tightened his stance.
He grinned.
“Now that’s more like it, Kael Santos.”
Kael’s mixed aura surged violently, flames and light spiraling around his arms.
He snapped his left arm forward.
“Burning Claws.”
The segmented talons on his gauntlet ignited, not in ordinary fire, but in a hybrid blaze: blue holy light intertwined with crimson inferno. The claws blasted from his hand with a metallic roar, chains snapping forward like serpents.
Cain crossed his gauntlet blades to defend—
SHNK!
Even with Spirit Overdrive, the claws punched through his guard, slicing into his forearms. Cain clicked his tongue, more impressed than hurt.
But the moment his feet touched the ground—
He moved.
To the cadets and mentors, Cain simply vanished.
A shockwave blasted outward, dust exploding in a circle where he once stood.
But to Kael, whose eyes now saw the world in blazing dual-clarity.
Cain wasn’t fast.
He was readable.
Cain’s punch descended like the hammer of a titan.
Kael raised his hand and caught it.
The entire crowd gasped.
The earth cracked beneath Kael’s feet, but he held firm.
Cain’s eyes widened with savage joy.
“Good. Finally.”
Kael didn’t answer.
He twisted his arm, tightened the burning chains from his previous attack, and with a sudden heave—
FWIP–FWIP–FWIP–FWIP–FWOOOOOSH!!
He swung Cain around in a tightening circle, the chains glowing hotter with each rotation, until he finally released him—
Cain was launched skyward like a meteor.
Kael lifted his right hand, blue and crimson energies coiling around his palm.
“Holy Nova.”
A spiral beam of blue fire, pure light fused with destructive heat, shot upward, curving mid-air as if alive. It struck Cain dead-center.
KA-BOOOOM!!!
A brilliant explosion of holy fire tore open the sky, scattering clouds and lighting the entire plains with blinding radiance.
For the first time since the duel began—
Cain was sent flying, smoke trailing from him as he crashed back toward the earth, smashing into the ground with a thunderous impact.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Cain hit the ground hard, hard enough to crack the stone beneath him. Blue flames still licked across his armor, smoke curling from the vents between the plates. His breathing was heavy, pained… but defiant.
Because he wasn’t done.
Not yet.
Slowly, with trembling arms, he pushed himself upright. His burns were severe, but the fire in his eyes burned hotter.
He charged Kael again, gauntlet blades slicing through the air in vicious arcs.
But Kael now moved like a being beyond human—
every flicker of Cain’s muscle, every shift of weight, every micro-twitch—
Kael saw it all as if Cain were attacking underwater.
Every slash missed.
Every strike was predicted.
Every angle was countered before it even formed.
Cain skidded back, panting, widening his stance.
Then—
he stopped attacking.
He raised one hand.
“…No matter the outcome of this duel,” Cain said, voice rough but steady, “Kael… you’ve already won.”
Gasps rippled through the viewing booths.
Cain continued, “I’ll use my strongest ability to measure you properly. Come on.”
A grin broke across his face, equal parts pride and challenge.
“Show me the full extent of your Overdrive.”
Kael blinked.
Then he smiled, soft but fierce, a smile formed from every brutal training session, every failure, every lesson Cain drilled into his bones.
Cold nights, aching muscles, grueling spars, exhaustion so deep he thought he’d faint.
All of it.
All of it was here now.
Through that memory, his spirit surged.
“With resolve… with hope… with joy…” Kael whispered.
His armor ignited—
blue light and crimson flame spiraling upward in a single, perfect surge.
Cain’s eyes widened—not in fear, but in recognition.
For a heartbeat, he saw someone else.
“…Abel,” he breathed.
His brother.
A tear rolled down his cheek.
Then Cain wiped it away, planting his foot into the torn earth, aura snapping outward like a storm.
He roared as he rushed forward, a mix of brown and green spirit energy condensing around his fist.
Raw. Massive. Cataclysmic.
Kael matched him, flames curling around his own clenched hand, forming a swirling micro-sun of red and blue.
Right before they collided, both let out their battle cries—
“NUCLEAR FIST!!”
“SOLAR FLARE!!”
—BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The shockwave annihilated everything in a full kilometer.
The plains evaporated into scorched glass.
The mountainsides cracked.
The air itself trembled, blue and green fire swirling into a colossal mushroom of spiraling light.
And at the center of that storm—
Two silhouettes still stood.
Burning.
Smoking.
Unshaken.
Kael’s dual-colored eyes glowed fiercely.
Cain’s gauntlet dripped molten metal.
Both remained on their feet.
Neither willing to fall.
Both smiling.
Ready for whatever came next.
Kael lifted his hand, flames still flickering along his gauntlet, ready to continue, ready for whatever final exchange Cain wanted.
But Cain simply raised his own hand…
And gave Kael a thumbs-up.
A tired, pained grin spread across his face.
“You… truly lived up to my expectations, Kael.”
Then his knees buckled.
His armor cracked.
And Cain Smith, the savant of the infantry, the mentor admired by cadets, collapsed onto the scorched earth.
Kael’s eyes widened.
He lowered his hand, let the last of his flames fade…
And then his legs gave out as well.
Both their armors dissolved into spirit particles, blue, red, brown, and green drifting upward like fireflies.
Silence gripped the hunting ground.
Then—
DING—!!!
A harmonious chime echoed across the entire arena, lights flashing across the ruined terrains.
“Winner: Kael Santos.”
A second chime struck Kael’s mind.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
?? MENTOR vs. MENTEE DUEL — FINAL OUTCOME ??
Status: COMPLETE
Winner: KAEL SANTOS
?? PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
? Spirit Control: EXCEPTIONAL
? Combat Adaptation: HIGHLY RESPONSIVE
? Growth Indicator: SURPASSED EXPECTATIONS
? Mentor Reaction: Acknowledged. Surprised. Proud.
??? REWARD PROCESSING…
- Technique Evaluation Boost — +18%
- Increased Training Priority — Tier A
- Mentor-Endorsed Advancement Eligibility — UNLOCKED
- Reputation Update: “The Mentee Who Surpassed the Mentor”
- Instant Level up
? SPIRIT FEEDBACK SURGE
Kael’s core stabilizing…
Cain’s spirit signature lowering…
Mutual acknowledgment recorded.
Outside the hunting ground—
Mentors stood speechless.
Cadets rose from their seats, stunned into silence.
Then Natalia, Anya, Takeshi, Serafina, and Kyle all screamed at the same time—
“KAEL WON!!!”
Emotion flooded the entire stadium.
Because everyone, mentors and cadets, now understood:
This wasn’t just a duel.
This was the moment Kael Santos became a legend in the making.
Kael blinked awake to the gentle chime echoing in his head, the white lights of the recovery ward sharpening into view.
A translucent blue panel floated above him.
[PLAYER STATUS – KAEL SANTOS]
Level: 29
EXP: 330 / 580
HP: 670 / 1110
Spirit Energy: 210 / 550
Status: Recovering
Skill learned: Spirit Overdrive
Kael groaned softly and shifted. Everything hurt, but in a strangely satisfying way.
Then he noticed someone slumped over the side of his bed, asleep in a chair.
“Anya?”
She shot awake with a tiny squeak, pushing her pink goggles up her forehead.
“Oh, Kael! You’re awake!” She leaned closer, relief flooding her face. “How are you feeling?”
Kael let out a humorless chuckle.
“Still sore… but good. Really good.”
Anya smiled, warm and proud.
“It’s already nighttime. The others will visit tomorrow. I volunteered to watch over you til then.”
“Thank you,” Kael replied softly. “What happened… after the duel?”
Anya took a deep breath, remembering the chaos.
“Both you and Cain were unconscious. The medical team rushed in immediately. They said you two were suffering spirit energy depletion, your spirit energies were nearly empty.”
She paused. “Cain still hasn’t woken up… but the doctors said he’ll be fine.”
Kael stared at the ceiling as the memories crashed back—
the explosion, the resolve, the heat, the light, the joy of the duel—
And then—
A yellow glow pulsed from his belt pouch.
Anya gasped.
Kael sat up slowly.
A spirit card floated out, spinning with electric sparks, and hovered before Kael like a tiny sun.
Then it gently descended into his palm.
A voice, bright, playful, mischievous, echoed in Kael’s head.
“That was a fun memory, holder! Ahhh, what a show!
Sorry I was late to the party, I was actually on my way but… hah! Looks like you didn’t need me for that particular moment.”
The voice laughed, a crackling, electric sound.
Kael blinked in shock.
“W-who… are you?”
The card flashed, sparks dancing around it like lightning made of laughter.
“I am Zatz, The Fulgora Sprite of Lightning!
Prime Spirit of Lightning!
And, well, sorry again! I was kinda enjoying myself, dozing off, playing around~.”
Zatz giggled like static on the air.
Anya’s jaw dropped.
“Kael… you got another prime. Another one.”
Kael stared at the glowing card in disbelief.
His third Spirit Creature.
And a Prime at that.
Zatz sparkled brightly in his hand.
“Let’s have so much fun, holder!”
Kael exhaled, still stunned.
He had just woken up from the greatest duel of his life,
and instead of resting…
He had become stronger yet again.