The shield had undergone a type of metamorphosis.
Its surface rippled, edges bending inward as blue light flickered across it. The solid form collapsed and stretched, thinning as it pulled towards his hand like it was being drawn in.
It then wrapped around it. Layer by layer, it coiled over his palm and fingers, forming smooth, interlocking plates. The metal tightened, shaping itself perfectly to his grip before locking into place at his wrist.
In seconds, the shield was gone. Now... a gauntlet remained — glowing faintly, pulsing with a steady blue light that radiated waves of energy outward.
Apart from Rico, the first to react to this transformation was, strangely, the beast.
It had stopped pawing its foreleg across the ground and was now steadily focused on the young man.
The crowd too was not far behind in realizing something was shifting in the air. As they looked, they could literally see the energy waves radiating from the gauntlet.
Rico flexed his wrist as he observed the design of the gauntlet, taking note of the intricate patterns on it. Patterns of stars and the moon were interwoven together, glowing with a faint silver hue.
[Skill ready to use – Shadow Bash]
Looking at the description below the skill, it read —
"Impacts to the shield convert and store energy for a single attack."
He knew immediately what that meant. One single attack... all or nothing.
'That thing is practically a walking tank... Unless I find its weak spot, the attack will be wasted, then I'll be killed for sure.'
Rico thought about the situation, trying his best to figure out what course of action would lead to him landing a successful blow. Then he had a sudden epiphany.
"Turtles... It could be just like turtles. The shell is extremely hard, but its head... that's their weak spot."
Now that he had an idea of where to strike, he only needed the setup that would lead to it. Sadly, he was not afforded the luxury of time to strategize.
Taruntula had become visibly more aggressive than before. It started winding up on its hindlegs... slamming down into the ground violently. It created tremors that shook the arena.
Rico braced on the wall behind him for support, trying not to be knocked over. And as if the beast wasn't already more intimidating than before, its armor plating began to glow red, like molten steel.
From it, clouds of steam started to disperse throughout the arena, immediately raising the temperature. The heat was so intense that Rico started to sweat, and his hand inside the gauntlet felt like it was melting.
"Are you telling me this thing was holding back? Heck, if the heat is this bad from where I stand, how much hotter will it be up close?"
Rico had a worried look on his face.
The crowd too started reacting to the creature's transformation. For some, it was their very first time seeing this, and for a handful, it had been years since they last saw the creature take this form.
Regardless, they knew one thing for sure. This battle was coming to an absolute conclusion.
No one dared to declare the outcome of the battle. Though in the beginning, Rico was just another victim to the beast, the crowd had seen enough to know that this kid should no longer be doubted.
Furthermore, surviving three attacks from the Beast of Sloth wasn't just unheard of — it was an anomaly. That alone had made them quietly start admiring the youth.
But for them, the most anomalous thing of all was that weapon. Just what is it? most of them pondered. It had been twice now since it had changed its form, and without a doubt, Rico would have been dead by now if he had chosen any other weapon.
With this unique dilemma at hand, the crowd got into debates, divided by who they thought would take victory. Small bets were being placed, odds still favoring the beast mostly.
Below the fighting pit, as the crowd carried on, Rico was sweating profusely. His body still ached all over, and his head continued to suffer a sharp, stabbing sensation. He could smell the metallic odor coming from his body as blood covered him.
Slowly, he clenched his fist and then released it, trying to adjust his hand to the gauntlet around it.
"Okay, it's time to get this over with. If I die here... at least I died trying... no doubt Jeff would be proud."
For the first time since arriving on this battlefield, he did something that caught everyone in the arena off guard.
Rico... was walking towards the beast. Battered and bruised, he dragged himself forward, his eyes burning with conviction.
The creature took notice and released a bellowing roar, sending debris flying before it. Rico raised a hand to cover his face, fighting back against the shockwave from the creature's roar.
The creature retracted its head between its shoulders as Rico approached, the heat radiating fiercely as he got closer. Then, like a volcano, slabs of what appeared to be molten rock began shooting upward from the creature's back.
They descended like rain across the arena, searing the ground where they fell. Rico stood in place and activated the skill Shadow Parry, which formed a projection overhead. It acted like an umbrella, allowing Rico to stand in place until the lava rain stopped.
The creature had the ability to increase its internal heat to extreme degrees, which it then filtered upward toward its armor plating. Then, it split off pieces of its armor, which absorbed the heat, transforming them into lava-like projectiles.
It then discharged these projectiles from its back like a whale shooting water from its blowhole.
The good news was that this attack took time to recharge, meaning Rico would have a small window in which he could advance. Sensing this opportunity, he pushed forward.
The beast then untucked its head from between its shoulders and lowered it like a bull.
Then, it pawed the ground twice and immediately charged towards Rico.
'Okay... here it comes.'
As the beast continued its charge toward him, time seemed to slow around Rico.
Looking over his shoulder, he scanned the arena, noticing the different expressions scattered throughout. Some people were standing, throwing their hands forward as they cheered for whichever side. Others sat with their hands folded, seeming more anxious than relaxed. Then there were the few who sat above the crowds — the area where Granny was seated.
And they all had one thing in common... their stare. It was not directed at the oncoming beast or the crowd below them. It was firm... unwavering... It was locked onto Rico — and he took notice.
It was like they had some unknown expectation of the young man that he himself didn't understand. But from one small gesture, he knew one thing for sure... they believed he could win this.
A simple smile from Granny, followed by a quiet nod, was all he needed to understand.
He averted his gaze from them, a serious and calm expression on his face.
"Shadow Parry."
The shield projection formed before him quickly. The beast slammed into it head-on as usual.
Why use that skill now? It had never worked before. But that was the thing — Rico wasn't counting on it to stop the beast. No. He was counting on it to give him a split second to land a clean blow.
Mustering all the strength he had, ignoring the pain screaming through his body, Rico quickly sidestepped from behind the shadow projection and moved directly to the left of the beast.
The creature, driven by its predatory instincts, continued pushing against the projection, not knowing that right beside it stood a young man — bloodied and beaten, but not defeated.
Rico arched his arm back as the gauntlet radiated intensely. It was as if gravity itself was increasing around it.
The light coming off it was so bright that it finally caught the creature's attention, and it frantically shifted its eyes back and forth.
But... it was already too late.
"Skill activate — Shadow Bash."
Veins of blue energy spread across the gauntlet from the wrist to the knuckles. Then, the glow thickened, turning from faint veins into blazing streams, energy gathering as if the gauntlet were drawing in the very air around it.
Then it surged. The glow flared violently, condensing at his knuckles — bright, dense, almost liquid with power. The hum peaked into a sharp, ringing tone, the kind that made the world feel like it paused just to listen.
Then, for a brief moment, everything went dead silent.
Like a comet falling to earth, Rico unleashed a devastating punch toward the creature's head. The impact sent a powerful blue shockwave flying throughout the arena, knocking him back, followed by a crackling, thunderous sound.
The crowd, witnessing this moment, gasped in unison, hands covering their mouths, eyes frozen wide. For a moment, no one said anything. No one moved.
Slowly, Rico forced himself up, standing slightly limp, his breathing sharp and uneven.
His vision was blurry as he struggled to focus on the creature ahead of him that was still standing.
"Shit... wasn't that enough..."
The creature turned its head toward Rico, letting out a loud and familiar roar. Then it looked away from him, letting out a faint screech before staggering a few times... and then falling heavily to the ground.
The spectators gave each other glances filled with disbelief, some rubbing their eyes, while others remained unblinking. But as if the realization of what had just happened came to them all at once — they erupted into cheers.
Rico sighed in relief and sat against the wall where he stood. Slowly, he raised his hand with the gauntlet above his head. A sense of triumph slowly filled his soul.
But his hand fell to his side afterward. As he lost consciousness, the noise from the crowd faded away from him... the light in his eyes turned to darkness.