The fight soon reached the level of his battle with the Demon King as Selene pulled no punches and obliterated bits of the environment and the ground with her blows. Miria’s sharpened and extended blades left numerous marks on the metal too as she combined her attacks with her vulpine partner. The arena shook constantly as they jumped around the entire field.

  When even Tina joined in the fray with Hydran shaped into her favorite scythe, it became obvious that they were buying time for Silvia to prepare something big. Asterios could barely repel the trio’s attacks while trying to pinpoint the princess’ location. He knew that she was already aware that massive techniques weren’t the best choice against him so she might be working on something truly dangerous. Silvia wasn’t the person to repeat her past mistakes.

  Then, out of nowhere, five magical circles appeared on the ground, forming a pentagonal shape. A bad feeling overcame Asterios the very moment he lay his eyes on the intricate pattern. Not even a second later, five ethereal pillars arose from the marked spots and glowed brightly with ominous sigils and patterns.

  An immense pressure descended onto the center of the formation, where Asterios was located, weighing on him like a mighty mountain that had just been dropped onto his back. The girls jumped away right before the technique had activated, getting out of its range in time. It had clearly been laid down much earlier, most likely when the mist had still been up, and all their recent efforts meant only to lure Asterios into the correct location.

  As the almost unbearable spiritual pressure forced him to one knee, he realized that he had been mistaken about Silvia’s approach. He chuckled wryly as his eyes spotted an insanely quickly heating up spot in the thick metal wall right in front of him. It melted a moment later and a literal death ray shot at him at an unbelievable speed, crashing right into Ast’s body.

  Loud humming and sizzling noise filled the arena as Silvia kept feeding energy into the same spell she had used long ago in the Demon Continent, this time purely on her own, without Ast’s external help. The pillar of relentless heat and fire penetrated everything else in its path and hit the protective barrier at the far end of the battleground.

  The golden shield turned orange, then light red, and even bordered on a brown shade around the point of impact. People sitting in that area became worried as they had never seen it do something like that. The irregular flickering and flashing conveyed under how much strain the barrier truly was.

  Thankfully, before anything serious happened, Silvia withdrew her spell, and the bright death ray dissipated into nothingness, leaving a bubbling, melted corridor behind, alongside a shimmering path of heated air. Miria, Selene, and Tina stepped closer toward the hole through which Asterios had been thrown back after taking the laser head-on.

  “Did that get him?” the panthergirl asked, peering into the crater.

  “Oh, gods… You can’t say things like that…” Tina shivered on the spot.

  A deep, echoing chuckle traveled throughout the arena. With a slow flap of his draconic wings, Asterios flew up into the sky from the far edge of the coliseum. Gray smoke kept rising from his entire body, now covered in even more dark crimson scales which shimmered ominously. His pants and shoes had disappeared or had been obliterated by Silvia’s attack, leaving him just in his underwear. He had managed to hide his Spellslinger away before it got destroyed, fortunately.

  “That hurt.” Asterios smiled while looking down at them. “Unfortunately for you, it also seems to be quite beneficial. Let me show you what real heat is.”

  Tiny, crimson flames flickered all around his body at the lines connecting his scales together and suddenly burst out. Asterios spread his wings and arms wide, embracing the dark scarlet fire that quickly swallowed him whole. The girls watched in astonishment as the flames expanded and began taking shape.

  “No way…” Tina muttered under her breath as her eyes went wide.

  After a few seconds, they all knew exactly what that shape was. Perhaps not as big as the one they had met in the past, the fire that had surrounded Ast’s figure took the form of a True Dragon made of pure crimson flames. Its size was comparable to that of an adult Wyvern, which was still incredibly impressive.

  The flaming Dragon directed its sharp head toward them and let out a booming roar. The girls were sure that Asterios would attack them right away but he flapped his wings and flew forward instead. They watched him gain speed and circle the entire arena right under the top of the barrier.

  After making three test laps, he started spinning around his own axis and became even faster. In just a few moments, the crimson fire began leaving a visible trail behind his draconic avatar. Ast’s speed soon reached the level where a fiery ring hung in the air, with tongues of intense fire reaching out past its edge.

  But, that was just the beginning.

  The temperature started to spike sharply as the flaming circle glowed brighter and brighter. The girls gathered up and hid behind Selene’s and Tina’s joint barriers to combat the heat which reached the point of slowly melting the metal structures littering the battleground. As the shining ring of pure flames became bright enough to bask the entire coliseum in a scarlet shade, things began turning into liquid in the blink of an eye.

  Even behind their barriers, the girls were having a hard time breathing properly. The air was just too unbearable, no matter how much effort Tina put into chilling it down with the help of her familiars. Their barriers weakened with every second and they would inevitably end up in a sea of melted metal soon if they did nothing.

  Unable to see themselves coming out of their current predicament victoriously, or even leaving the still somewhat sufferable bubble of their creation, they decided to take the only possible course of action.

  “We surrender!” Tina announced as loud as she could, straining her lungs to speak the word.

  In an instant, the temperature stopped rising and began gradually dropping. They watched the arena-wide ring of flames slowly fade away as Asterios reduced the speed of his flight and ceased spinning around his own axis. After reaching a more or less normal speed, he glided toward them and the flaming Dragon landed in front of their joint barriers.

  The draconic frame quivered and the spiritual avatar dissipated, revealing Asterios still in the same state of undress and with the abundance of crimson scales covering his skin still present. He resummoned his Spellslinger, slotted a white chip into the hole, and cast a chilling spell that reduced the temperature to an even more bearable level with waves of silvery mist.

  Tina and Selene dropped the barriers and exhaled in relief. Miria giggled in excitement and lunged at him while dropping her blades.

  “Awesome! Can I ride that, Master?!”

  He chuckled as he caught her and let them spin around. The other girls exchanged glances and smiled softly at each other while shaking their heads. There was just no way for Miria to ever change.

  Chapter 17

  The Mobilization

  Shortly after Miria jumped into Ast’s arms, an explosion of cheers rolled through the entire arena. They looked around at the rows of audience members who kept shouting and applauding their battle. The number of winged ladies present in the coliseum was much greater than Asterios remembered from before the fight. It looked like more spectators had trickled in during the battle.

  He expected a slightly more silent and perhaps uncomfortable celebration considering that complete outsiders dominated the tournament but it didn’t look like everyone shared the same beliefs as the plotters who had attempted to sabotage them. Just as Bryn had assured them many times, valkyrjas of Tyr truly valued strength and knew how to enjoy a good struggle. What they had shown must have been enough to satisfy their craving for action.

  Slowly coming to a stop, halting the spins Miria had thrown them into, Asterios caressed her ears as she lovingly rubbed her face into his cheek. He could feel how excited and thrilled she was by the last bit of his performance. Chuckling softly, he brought her face in front of his.

  “I’m afraid that flying on top of that thing might prove difficult.” He smirked at her, bringing a cute pout to Miria’s lips. “That form is purely spiritual, or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that it’s a flaming shape made of my fire. You would at least get badly burned if you didn't fall through it.”

  “Boooooo… I thought I would finally get to ride a Dragon…” She dropped her gaze alongside her rounded ears.

  Asterios brought her face back up and left a peck on her forehead. “I’m sure we will figure that out soon. Just be patient a little longer.”

  She smiled at him sweetly and nodded. “Don’t worry, Master. I will wait as long as it takes. Please, don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”

  “I promise.” He nodded back at her and turned to Silvia. “Were you not afraid that this last attack would literally turn me into dust?”

  The princess showed a tiny smile. “I had confidence in your resistance to fire and heat. Though, it seems like I underestimated you again. It barely did anything to you.”

  “It certainly hurt like hell.” Asterios chuckled wryly. “My scales might have absorbed most of the scorching energy but it still felt like my insides were to boil. I’d rather not stand in front of it ever again, especially if you manage to condense it even more.”

  “I might need a durable sparring partner to test that out, though. I don’t think there’s anyone better suited for that role than you, a True Dragon.”

  He shook his head with a sigh. “Tina.”

  “Y-Yeah?” Being suddenly addressed out of nowhere surprised the blue-haired girl greatly.

  “You are incredible.”

  And the unexpected compliment forced a deep blush on her noble cheeks as she fidgeted under Ast’s gaze. He stared right at her as she could feel the sincerity in both his words and his thoughts, which made her even more embarrassed.

  “Where did that even come from…?” She tried her best to look up at him a little shyly.

  “From how amazingly you led everyone. Your tactics and quick thinking were just something else.” He stepped closer to her after Miria set him free.

  “Did you listen…?” Tina’s cheeks grew even rosier as he arrived before her.

  “Of course not. I’m not that kind of a person, am I?” They smiled at each other. “I might not know you as well as you know me but it was easy to figure out who would take the lead of the team with me absent. I’m really glad that you got everyone to participate without a problem. You girls truly felt like a veteran party with years of experience fighting together. You didn’t give me a moment to breathe and countered almost everything I did, picking the most suitable strategies and techniques against me. I was amazed.”

  “Master is right! Your instructions were super clear and felt almost like Master’s!” Miria beamed at her from behind Asterios.

  “I agree.” Silvia nodded respectfully. “I wasn’t sure if I would have been of much use considering that Asterios easily counters my fire but I was happy to listen to your brilliant ideas.”

  “The mist formation was impressive. I’m sure that I wouldn’t be able to predict my Lord’s actions this accurately ever.” Selene smirked behind her slender hand.

  “Speaking of which, how did you pinpoint my location inside that sea of steam, Miria?” Asterios glanced at the panthergirl.

  “At first it was mostly thanks to your sword but then I just sharpened my hearing with your scorching hot mana to the level allowing me to listen to your heartbeat.” She grinned at him.

  “And how did you get that silent?”

  "I just took off my boots.” She giggled and gestured down with her eyes, revealing to Asterios that she truly was barefooted at the moment.

  “Seriously…” He shook his head with a wry smile. “What kind of a monster will you become after fully mastering your bloodline…”

  “That’s gonna be the question we should be asking you instead.” Grea’s voice reached their ears as their demon friend arrived on the battlefield. “You’ve almost ruined this entire structure right now. I fail to imagine your power a year from now. No, a month even. But… If you are always going to end up like this after letting it out… I think I’m going to enjoy it very much.”

  She licked her lips while running her gaze over Ast’s slightly singed body, still at full display. Realizing his state, he withdrew his draconic features and resummoned his spiritual apparel, much to Grea’s dissatisfaction. He returned his eyes to Tina and pulled the blue-haired lady into a delicate kiss after their gazes met.

  “I’ll take this as a reward for doing well.” She chuckled quietly. “It wasn’t easy coming up with ways to take you down when you fought back this hard. By the way, why did your clothes disappear?”

  “I will feel bad if you don’t ask for anything else so let me know if there’s something you’d like later.” He smiled at her warmly. “As for the clothes, it looks like whatever I have pulled right there at the end is a little over what I can comfortably handle. My hold on the Spiritual Materialization was released halfway at first, and then almost fully when I tried to block Silvia’s attack. I hope I didn’t show you anything unsightly.”

  “Not at all.” She shook her head with a bashful smile. “It was… nice. Your scales, that is.”

  Asterios chuckled after seeing her blush even more and let go of Tina not to embarrass her too much. She stayed by his side as everyone exchanged smiles. They felt good about their performance and both he and the girls were proud of themselves and each other.

  The flapping of someone’s wings in their close vicinity caught their attention and they turned their faces toward the source. Bryn landed next to them with grace and dignity. She nodded at them politely but they could see how hard she held herself back from showing a dazzling smile on her lips.

  “Congratulations. I’m at a loss for words to describe the battle. I knew it would be something breathtaking but I didn’t expect the crowd to be ensnared by it so much. The audience still hasn’t quietened down since the moment the fight ended.”

  “Thank you.” Asterios made a small bow and the girls followed. “I hope it was enough to help your plans.”

  “We shall see about that in a moment.” Bryn finally surrendered her lips to a faint smile. “For now, please join me on the dais as I announce the results… and something else.”

  Right as she finished speaking, the ground shook and the arena’s floor started shuffling. It released much louder metallic noises during the movements due to the half-melted state of many tiles and entire sectors of the geometrical mesh.

  A wide, circular platform appeared next to them and Bryn gestured at everyone to join her on top of it. As it began extending further up, two more winged women flew towards it and landed by her side. Asterios and the girls quickly recognized Skodul and Krev, the manager of the arena and its most feared challenger. Until now, at least.

  They watched in awe as the pillar rose up high enough to match the highest rows in the audience and stopped. A small compartment opened on the floor and a metal bar extended out of it, reaching Bryn’s face. A rectangular device was attached to its top end and Asterios was pretty sure that it was another voice-enhancing artifact, just like the one they had seen during Tina’s graduation.

  Bryn took a deep breath and grabbed the metal pole.

  “People of Tyr and guests from the other ARKs!” she began with a mighty tone. “As you have just witnessed during the last, grand match, the Power Division tournament of the War Games has finally concluded!”

  A loud cheer answered her introduction and Bryn waited a short moment for her sisters-in-arms to calm down.

  “It might be something unprecedented and never before seen in the history of our race, but a group of highly-skilled outsiders has dominated the contest right from the very first round. As you can remember, Krev the Bloodrain fell to the person who lasted to this very moment and is standing next to me right now.”

  The brawny Valkyrie showed a proud smirk, shooting a glance at Asterios. It didn’t look like she took anything but pride in the fact that he had managed to best her. And the people were clearly equally thrilled.

  “Even though he and his friends are considered outsiders by many, Asterios is also the one known as our savior. In case we have some unaware guests here today, I’ll remind everyone that he is the person who reached out to our realm and to me through his powerful Summoning Magic, generously offering whatever aid he could provide to our ARK. It’s thanks to him and his companions that we could host this instance of the War Games without it being a huge strain on our economy and supplies. If not for their help, even the annual War Games might have been delayed if not canceled.”

  Most of the valkyrjas in the audience nodded at each other while a smaller part showed a great deal of surprise and even shock at the last statement of their leader. Or, perhaps something else too.

  “That’s right! Asterios, a Summoner, has just fought against four brave warriors and came out victorious, earning himself the rightful title of the Grand Champion! If that is not a display of his overwhelming might, power, skills, and techniques, then I do not know what could be! I think you are all aware of his draconic ties just from the last move he pulled off!”

  Loud clapping filled the coliseum as the spectators applauded Asterios. Bryn let them continue the cheers for a while before silencing the crowd with her hand.

  “Now, as tradition dictates, I will hand over the Champion’s Insignia to the new holder of the honorable title alongside the arena’s manager and its strongest warrior!”

  Skodul hit the platform with the butt of her spear and a square space opened beneath her feet. A smaller pedestal rose from the dark pit with a shiny, golden item laid down on top of it, resting on a beautiful white cushion. It was a full-face helmet with intricate carvings on all sides and an exquisite white mohawk on top of it. The helmet resembled those they had seen in the Demon Continent, with some minor differences, like the addition of winged patterns and literal wings at around the ear’s height.