Faced with the sudden turn of events on the stage, Mr. Ironside in the audience was the first to lose his composure. He turned his head, leaning past Mr. Carter to shout at Dean Sterling, "What's happening? What is this?!"
"It's the Tarantino family's ancestral talentâPrimal Frenzy," Dean Sterling's voice was as calm as ever, but the deep furrow in his brow betrayed his inner turmoil.
"All abilities are increased by fifteen percent, the sensation of pain vanishes, and rationality diminishes. The body enters a state of complete berserk rage... This is why the Tarantino family is known as the 'Clan of Combat'," the Dean continued. "From this point on, Fly will be facing a terrifying monster that knows only how to tear its enemies apart..."
A terrifying monster that knows only how to tear things apart!
Hearing this, Mr. Ironside fell silent. He stared anxiously at the stage, at Fly, his mind a whirlwind of unreadable thoughts.
"STERLING!!" Mr. Carter, who had been sitting beside him, suddenly whipped his head around and roared at the Dean. "You knew all along that Fly would be in this kind of danger, didn't you?"
"You... you actually sent Fly to fight a madman!"
"If anything happens to Fly, I... I will never be done with you!!"
Mr. Carter roared out the sentences in a single breath, and now stood panting, glaring at the silent Dean.
After a long moment, Dean Sterling finally spoke, his voice low. "It's not entirely without a chance of victory. As long as he can accomplish 'that one thing'..."
"'That one thing,' it's always 'that one thing'! Can't you, for once, just say what you mean clearly!" Mr. Carter was practically snarling, looking as if he were about to lunge over and devour the Dean whole.
Mr. Ironside quickly grabbed him, patting his shoulder and whispering, "Carter, the match is starting again..."
Mr. Carter resentfully turned his head back to the stage, his face a mask of worry and helplessness...
...
On the stage.
'Emperor' Valerius had slowly climbed out of the pitfall. Steam sizzled from his reddened skin, and his eyes burned with a tenacious fighting spirit.
"Fly, let's settle this!"
With those words, his aura exploded once more. He let out a sharp, draconic screech, spread his arms wide, and threw himself at Fly in a crazed frenzy.
Just as he was about to reach his target, with a sharp crack, the ground beneath his feet shattered again.
A trap?
When?
Before he could fully comprehend the situation, his entire body plunged downwards.
It turned out that Fly's previous positioning had also been a calculated move. He had known from the start that his earlier, cruder attacks wouldn't be enough to take down the formidable Valerius. Therefore, he had already prepared a backup trap. He had positioned himself right in front of it, directly on the path Valerius would have to take to attack him.
"Fly, are these little tricks all you know?!"
Valerius's roar echoed from the pit.
"The same trick won't work on me again!"
With a furious howl, he burst through the soil that covered him and charged out of the trap.
Of course, Fly had never expected such a simple trick to defeat Valerius. But as long as it could buy him a precious moment to react, it was enough.
SkillâHusk Puppet activated!
This was a new Skill Fly had purchased before the test with the money he had "conned" from the three teachers. After molting, it allowed him to briefly animate the shed "skin," achieving an effect similar to a shadow clone technique.
While they weren't true clones, they were more than sufficient to temporarily confuse and harass an enemy.
With a series of k-k-k sounds, several "skins" shed from Fly's body. These Husk Puppets scattered in all directions, making it momentarily impossible to tell which one was the real Fly.
Once they had spread out, Fly let out a sharp cry, and the Husk Puppets launched their assault on Valerius from all sides.
For a moment, Valerius couldn't identify Fly's true body. The relentless attacks coming from every direction were overwhelming. He had no choice but to curl up, covering his head and protecting his vital points, desperately holding on.
Seeing this, the announcer couldn't help but cheer, "Incredible! Our dark horse rookie, Fly, is using his clones to completely suppress the super-genius of the Tarantino familyâ'Emperor' Valerius! Can Valerius mount an effective counterattack? Or will this be a tragic defeat for him?..."
Hearing this, the pride in Valerius's heart surged. "Defeat? Don't even think about it!"
He let out a deafening roar, a draconic screech that shook the stage. An unparalleled aura exploded outwards from his body.
In an instant, the Husk Puppets surrounding him were blasted away by the force, falling to the ground and deflating like punctured balloons.
Even the real Fly was hit by the shockwave, forced back several steps before he could steady himself.
"Hmph, playing with clones? Let this young master show you what real clones look like!"
With a grand wave of his hand, the Tyrannosaurus Rex mirage behind Valerius vanished. In its place, a completely different, more sinister aura erupted.
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Behind him, an enormous crimson hound slowly materialized. Unlike a normal canine, this great red dog had three heads.
In the audience, Mr. Ironside lost his composure again. "What is that monster? What is that monster?" he repeatedly asked the two teachers beside him.
Mr. Carter answered, "That's 'Emperor' Valerius's family heirloom Beast Totem. It's a Mythical Speciesâ"
"A Cerberus," Dean Sterling finished, his expression grave.
"This is the Beast Totem that Valerius primarily cultivates. It seems he's done holding back..." the Dean continued.
...
On the stage.
Valerius's burning gaze was fixed on Fly. "You love playing with 'clones,' don't you? Let me show you what real clones are!"
He threw his head back and let out a sharp bark. His body began to contort violently, his skin, bones, and muscles growing and splitting in a grotesque display.
Finally, right before everyone's eyes, 'Emperor' Valerius split into three identical figures. Even the Cerberus mirage behind him divided into three complete crimson hounds, one standing behind each Valerius.
The entire audience fell silent. Even the worldly announcer was too stunned to speak.
One of the figures of 'Emperor' Valerius stepped forward. "Was one of me too much for you to handle? Now there are three. Let's see what you do now!"
With that, all three figures let out a simultaneous cry and charged towards Fly.
Fly retreated rapidly, once again activating his molting skill, creating dozens of Husk Puppets.
"It's useless!" Valerius laughed maniacally. "You're not getting away this time!"
His eyes were locked firmly on Fly's true body.
The purpose of the first trap had been to disorient Valerius, preventing him from locking onto the real Fly and thus maximizing the deceptive effect of the husks. But now, with no trap to interfere, his true body was pinned by Valerius's gaze, severely diminishing the effectiveness of the decoys.
After all, as long as the main body was defeated, the husks were no threat. And while they could move like the real Fly, they were, in the end, just "skins" with extremely limited attack power. They were fine for harassment and confusion, but they were no substitute for a true clone-type Skill.
The three figures of 'Emperor' Valerius completely ignored the decoys, focusing solely on the real Fly, relentlessly pursuing him.
Suddenly, Fly let out a great shout, and his body erupted in a brilliant light. The dozens of Husk Puppets began to crackle with electricity. He had channeled his lightning into them!
Electricity could stimulate muscle strength, increasing explosive power and enhancing overall ability. The idea was inspired by a famous anime from his past lifeâNaruto, and the Fourth Raikage, who used lightning to vastly increase his physical prowess.
Through his earlier experiments, Fly had discovered that this method also worked on his molted Husk Puppets.
By coating them in electricity, he could increase their flexibility and toughness, strengthening each one. The effect was brief, but in a battle where every second counted, it was more than enough.
The dozens of electrified husks threw themselves at the two figures of Valerius on the left and right, who were slightly slower. For a moment, even these two clones were bogged down, unable to break free.
The central Valerius glanced to his sides, then smiled confidently. "You think that will work? How naive. To deal with you, one of me is more than enough!"
With that, he pushed off the balls of his feet and shot forward, instantly appearing in front of Fly.
However, what Valerius didn't see was the cold smirk playing on Fly's lips...
Valerius closed the distance in a flash, activating his Skill, Dire Fang.
His hand transformed into a palm strike. As he thrust it forward, a phantom, crimson wolf's head materialized, its sharp fangs snapping as it lunged to bite Fly.
In the audience, Mr. Carter and Mr. Ironside cried out in alarm, "Fly, get out of there!"
...
But the shouts from the sidelines had no effect.
Fly was too slow to dodge. With a sickening squelch, the Dire Fang slammed squarely into his body.
Is... is it over? Valerius thought triumphantly.
But before he could savor his victory, the body of "Fly" split open from the back, and a brand new Fly emerged from within the old shell.
Molting!
It's molting again!
Fly had once again used his molting ability to evade a deadly Skill.
He crossed his arms in front of him, and several jet-black steel blades extended from his forearms, faintly crackling with golden electricity.
This was a new Skill he had developed during his training before the test, by infusing his Steelbone Blades with his newly acquired lightning powerâthe Voltaic Steelbone Blades!
This was the strongest attack in his current arsenal.
Valerius cursed inwardly. He had already committed to his attack and was completely unable to dodge the incoming blow.
"If that's the case, then let's see which one of us breaks first!"
In that moment, Valerius hardened his resolve. He activated his Skill, Aegis of Chains, and in an instant, a dense web of virtual chains materialized to protect him.
"Come on! Let's see who's tougher!"
Fly roared, the light on his arms flaring. With an aura of overwhelming power, he smashed his strongest Skill, the Voltaic Steelbone Blades, directly into Valerius.
BOOMâ
A thunderous crash echoed through the stadium.
The virtual chains protecting Valerius shattered one by one under the force of Fly's powerful Skill. The devastating aftershock sent Valerius flying.
He shot through the air like a meteor, hurtling towards the edge of the stage, about to be knocked out of the ring.
Not good!!
Valerius cried out in his mind, desperately calling his two clones for support.
The two other figures of Valerius ignored the Husk Puppets they were fighting and immediately turned, rushing towards their main body at full speed.
The three figures of 'Emperor' Valerius merged, finally slowing his backward momentum.
"HRAAAGHâ"
With a great roar, Valerius unleashed a powerful burst of energy, dissipating the shockwave from Fly's Skill. He managed to come to a stop just before the edge of the stage. However, the two clones were thrown out of the ring by the force of the blast, crashing hard onto the ground.
Having lost their combat ability, the two clones vanished, and the Cerberus mirage behind Valerius lost two of its heads, reverting to the form of a normal, large red dog.
The announcer grabbed his microphone, his voice filled with excitement. "Incredible! Although Fly's all-out attack didn't take out 'Emperor' Valerius in one hit, it did eliminate his two clones! With Valerius having taken such a heavy blow, is there any chance for a comeback?"
In the audience, Mr. Carter and Mr. Ironside cheered in unison. "Amazing, Fly! It's in the bag!"
Mr. Carter gently patted Dean Sterling on the shoulder. "Well, Dean, I think the match is decided now, don't you? You can stop looking so serious. How about a smile?"
Dean Sterling: "..."
"No. Don't celebrate too early," the Dean said, his voice grim. "The Mythical Species Cerberus can create two clones from the main body, with each clone taking 25% of the user's power. This means that with the two clones gone, Valerius should have lost over half of his stamina. But Fly's side is also..."
Hearing this, Mr. Carter quickly turned to look at Fly. He saw his student clutching his chest, slumped on the ground, panting heavily, clearly on the verge of exhaustion.
It was true. The cockroach was an insect with naturally low stamina. And Fly had just created dozens of Husk Puppets and executed an all-out attack with his strongest Skill. The stamina he had left was likely less, not more, than Valerius's.
"Furthermore..." Dean Sterling continued, "...'Emperor' Valerius still has one absolute trump card. Theoretically, it's a card that only level-four or higher warriors of the Tarantino family can use. Forcing it would likely shorten his lifespan. But with a personality as proud as his, I'm afraid..."
Before the Dean could finish, on the stage, 'Emperor' Valerius suddenly clutched his head and began to laugh uncontrollably.
"Hahaha, hahaha, HAHAHAHA..."
"Fly, your intelligence and your strength far exceeded my expectations. It's been a long time since I've had such an exhilarating battle. Normally, in this state, I should graciously admit defeat. But... my heart tells me that I cannot lose, and I will not lose! I, 'Emperor' Valerius, will win this match, on the pride of the Tarantino family!"
With that, the aura around him changed dramatically. If before it had been wildly external, now it was quietly internal.
But in Fly's eyes, this new aura was far more terrifying than the last.
Valerius's eyes turned completely black. And on the mirage of the great red hound behind him, black flames suddenly erupted.
He's still going to use it.
The final, ultimate move of the Tarantino family warriors that Vic told me about...
Watching the transformation of 'Emperor' Valerius, a faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared on Fly's face.