The Only Son Amongst The Daughters Of Eros

"Let the battle begin!"

"Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

The arena buzzed with anticipation, cheers ringing, applause filling the air as the magical barrier grew taller and stronger, locking the beasts inside the combat field.

Sylver prowled on the edge of the silver-etched floor, his tail swishing with eagerness, his amber eyes narrowed and ready to fight.

Across the field, Melina's Nightpanther, Drex, mirrored his movements, its black fur rippling like liquid shadow, its eyes of dark cerulean color glowing with an intensity that said it was ready for battle.

Aeric stood outside the squared circle, on a rounded podium which was reserved for the Beast masters.

His own eyes also showing his readiness, Aeric crossed his arms. "You can hear me well, right, Sylver?" he asked, his voice steady but commanding.

Sylver barked a positive response.

"Good. Now our Synergy has been increased by two points and that means we'll be able to communicate better and you'll be more obedient to my commands."

Sylver whimpered a little.

"Don't worry, Sly. I'm not mad for what happened in the Veiled Maze. It was our first challenge together and you were just following your animalistic instincts."

Aeric moved his eyes to Aryanne's Nightpanther. "But we can't let that happen today, okay boy? Melina is going to have a stronger Synergy with her Beast since she's had it for a long time. But we're going to make up for that with direct attacking moves."

Ruff Ruff! Sylver barked in excitement.

"You have to follow everything I say, Sly. Use the exact amount of Divinity I say you should use when activating an Ability. And only make moves I tell you to make. Okay, boy?"

Sylver barked again.

"Good. Now come on. Let's win this quickly." Aeric uttered with confidence. 'It's just like any other game. Dragon Kombat. Beast Wars. One on One Beast Killer. Pokemøn Brawls.'

This was what he thrived at.

Melina, from all the way in her end, saw the confidence in Aeric's eyes and frowned. He was so sure that he's going to brand her with a Crest of Obedience.

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This made her get angry and she released her hands on her hip. "I'm not going to be your slave, Aeric!" she yelled. "Drex! Attack Mode: Shadow Veil!"

Obeying her master, Drex moved first. The beast shot out from where it had been waiting, a wave of dark energy radiating from its body, cloaking it in shifting shadows.

Then it suddenly disappeared, leaving behind only a faint distortion in the air. The crowd gasped, a palpable excitement in the air.

"A similar ability to Sylver's Shadow Cloak," Aeric muttered. "Sylver, amplify your perception!"

The Silverwolf's silver eyes flashed with divine light, and he activated the max of his already heightened senses.

Spiralling blue waves stretched through the battle square, scanning every part of it. Sylver's perception successfully cut through the Nightpanther's concealment.

And the beast was leaping in the air, about to catch Sylver in a fierce Gray Fire Spear! The Silverwolf growled as he locked onto the faint outline of his opponent.

"Dodge!" Aeric commanded. "Curve attack!"

Sylver leaped to the side with quick paws, but instead of landing, the powerful beast changed direction mid air and struck forward.

This maneuver was so rapid that it felt like a speeding blur of silver.

Drex couldn't dodge the quick attack and was struck in midsection, causing it to crash on the ground and roll over.

It immediately disappeared, making sure it remained active and didn't give Sylver an in. Then it reappeared just in time, once again beside Sylver, to swipe with its claws.

Sylver ducked his head and then shot forward, both beasts colliding with a thunderous crash, letting out growls that reverberated through the arena and sent everyone hailing and clapping.

"Untangle, Sylver! Untangle!" Aeric commanded his Beast Companion to break out of the fight. "You need to keep your strength for attacks."

Sylver obeyed and leaped away from Drex, growling as he walked over to his end while Drex got on her paws and circled back to her position.

"You're going to buy yourself sometime in order to summon this attack. Tactical Mode: Shadow Cloak!" Aeric yelled.

Sylver activated the Ability. First, his fur began to glitch with some dark energy and then his entire form shimmered, vanishing into the silver-tinted shadows of the arena.

Melina widened her eyes, suddenly calling on to Drex to stop the attack in time. "Drex! Tactical Mode: Transcendent Vision!"

Drex's eyes turned completely white, but it was rather too late, Sylver was already in front of her.

"Attack Mode!" Aeric commanded. "Power Claw!"

A powerful swipe of Sylver's claw, dragging silver colored Divinity, clashed against the Nightpanther. This caused the beast to back tumble in the air and crash hard against the large transparent wall.

The crowd gasped.

Aeric too was surprised. 'That struck harder than I thought it would.'

Sitting in the stands, Aryanne gritted her teeth with frustration. "What the hell are you doing, Melina? Get your beast up. Attack!"

Melina looked at her elder sister with hesitation, then she narrowed her eyes, not wanting to let her down. "Drex! Come on. Go Stealth now!"

Aeric, seeing this, also commanded Sylver to activate the Stealth Ability, Shadow Cloak. The two beasts were invisible now, and they attacked at once.

Their movements reduced to ripples in the air, as no one could see them, but could only see the energy that came with the swipe of claws and paws. The crowd erupted into cheers, straining to follow the fight.

Melina's voice rang out. "Drex, Attack Mode: Dark Rend!"

The Nightpanther obeyed, emerging out of invisibility and attacking with viscous claws that carried a dark venomous curse with it.

Drex slashed toward Sylver's last known position. The attack struck empty air, and before Drex could recover and activate Transcendent Vision as Melina ordered, Sylver appeared behind it, his silver fur glowing.

Aeric's eyes glistened with humor. 'R1 plus Double Circle. The popular deceitful dodge.'.

"Sylver! Attack Mode: Power Claws. Ominous Energy Dart!"

Sylver's paws stretched forward and his claws extended, shimmering with dark Divinity. Then they shot out like mini arrows.

"Drex! Defense Mode: Shadow Leap!"

The Nightpanther jumped in and out of spaces, averting all the speeding claws with a burst of energy. But when she appeared once again, Sylver didn't give her the chance to rest her paws on the floor.

He struck Drex's side, sending her skidding across the arena. The impact left a glowing gash on the beast's sleek fur. After a small whimper, the Nightpanther snarled, recovering quickly.

Crowd oooo'ed and ahhh'd.

'Nightpanthers have very good recovery time,' Aeric thought. 'Best we hit it with relentless strikes if we want to win.'

"Don't let up!" he yelled. "Silver Runner!"

Divinity sucked into Sylver's fur and turned it into a whiter gray color. A smokish aura began to pour out of him as his speed doubled.

Dash!

His form turned to a silver blur as he circled the arena. The Nightpanther spun in confusion, unable to keep up. Sylver darted in and out of its range, landing quick strikes before retreating.

Melina grit her teeth. "Arghhhhh! Enough! Drex, Attack Mode: Umbra Strike!"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

In response, dark energy coalesced around the Nightpanther, then it burst out in a circular force, hitting Sylver hard and causing him to crash on the ground.

The beast found his feet quickly after but then his eyes widened. Sylver saw Drex forming a sharp projectile from the dark energy and when it was huge and round and deadly, it launched it toward Sylver.

The attack was fast, but Aeric was faster. He'd seen multiple attacks like this from the AI enemy or online opponents.

He saw that the Ability created some kind of dark force around the battle square that kept Sylver in place, stopping him from making quick aversions.

"Ngh!" Aeric groaned. He had to make a quick decision here! That strike seemed very dangerous.

Since Sylver didn't have any outright defensive Abilities to shield him, he needed to use an attack to rival the attack or something tactical.

Aeric's eyes widened with an idea. "Sylver! Attack Mode: Silver Blast!"

Melina raised her brow. 'Eh? A blast to shield another blast? Or is it that—'