Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons-Chapter 311 - Taming Power Shifts
Julius had risen to his feet.
"Abyssal energy," he murmured, low enough that only Selphira could hear him. "In a first-year student again. A Goldcrest, no less..."
In the honor box, the leaders' silence increased the tension. Julius Dravenholm, Selphira Ashenway, and Sirius Starweaver had observed the manifestation of abyssal energy with expressions of horror that gradually transformed into fury.
Their gazes simultaneously converged on Kassian Goldcrest, who, perceiving the danger, tried to discreetly rise from his seat.
"Sit down," ordered Selphira, her voice soft but charged with an authority that chilled the blood. It wasn't a request.
Kassian, quickly evaluating his situation, understood that trying to flee would be futile. He was surrounded by three of the most powerful individuals in the world, each capable of neutralizing him. His face adopted a barely credible mask of innocence.
"Is something wrong?"
Julius leaned toward him, his usual diplomatic calm replaced by an intimidating intensity. "This is too much, even for you people. You've crossed a line that should never have been crossed."
"Doing that to the boy you intended to promise for my daughter," added Sirius, his normally monotonous voice now vibrant with indignation, "even if he is from your own family..."
Kassian maintained his composure, though a drop of sweat slid down his temple. "I have no idea what you're suggesting," he responded with feigned indifference. "I only saw an anxious boy whose energy went out of control during combat. It happens all the time."
"The agreement ends here," Sirius declared categorically. "I will not allow..."
"That's not for you to decide," interrupted Kassian, recovering part of his characteristic arrogance. "It's not what we agreed upon with the Night faction of the Starweavers. Your Celestial Dawn faction has no power over that decision." A cold smile formed on his lips. "And Klein can still become a Gold student, as planned and agreed."
Julius let out a laugh devoid of humor. "Do you really believe we'll let you keep doing whatever you want in this school after this?"
Kassian reclined in his seat, his confidence apparently unshakable. "Of course you will. You can't ignore my father because you can't deal with the consequences. And if you do something to me, he'll send all the troops. Simple as that."
Sirius and Julius clenched their fists and jaws. They hated to admit he was right; they couldn't start a civil war now.
However...
What happened next was so fast that few could follow it. Selphira Ashenway disappeared from her seat and instantly reappeared in front of Kassian, her fist connecting with the young Goldcrest's face with a force that completely contradicted her delicate appearance.
Only Kassian's partial and rapid transformation, with his face acquiring leonine features, prevented the blow from taking his head off. Even so, blood flowed profusely from his now terrible face, broken sharp teeth, nose and lips.
He made an aggressive face to Selphira but didn't dare to move.
"Take him to confinement first," ordered Selphira with a chilling calm. "And contact the leader of the Goldcrests. Immediately."
As the guards who rushed at her signal escorted a bleeding but surprisingly silent Kassian, he only murmured: "You'll regret this."
Julius approached Selphira as they followed the guards taking Kassian away. "Are you sure about this?" he asked quietly. "The implications could be..."
"No," admitted Selphira with unexpected frankness. "But we can't let everything pass without showing resistance. Even though the idiot Dragarion isn't here when he's needed, we have to stand up to bullies or they'll completely get out of control." A slight smile appeared on her lips. "As that boy in the arena just taught us."
Her expression became serious again. "Gather those who can support us for the meeting. And make sure the Goldcrest boy is also protected. We don't know how the father will react to this... incident against his family's honor and name."
♢♢♢♢
Ren awoke in the infirmary, disoriented, with a slight headache and a still persistent buzzing in his ears.
The first thing he saw was Min's concerned face leaning over him, his hands wrapped in a bluish aura as he helped the auxiliary healer with the synergy of his two beasts. The healer appeared surprised to be losing in efficiency to a 10-year-old boy.
"Finally!" exclaimed Min, his relief evident. "Hurry, we have to go."
"What...?" began Ren, his voice hoarse.
"Luna and Larissa are fighting," explained Min, intensifying the healing flow of his two beasts. "And it's probably spectacular."
Taro, who had been waiting patiently to one side, approached. "I want to go see too. The winner will face you in the first group final, after all."
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Ren slowly sat up, the memories of his combat with Klein gradually returning. "Is Klein okay? Where is he? I need to tell him not to worry about... that thing that was hurting him."
Liu, who had been observing from the entrance, intervened: "They took him away after healing him, but he seemed to be fine. But you should worry more about yourself and not about him."
Although not completely satisfied with the response, Ren nodded resignedly. He would have to look for Klein later. For now, there was another battle to witness, one that would determine his next opponent.
"Let's go," he said, rising with Taro's help. "I don't want to miss this combat."
As the four headed toward the arena, Ren couldn't help feeling that something significant had changed.
♢♢♢♢
The battle between Larissa and Luna had already reached its climax when Ren and his friends arrived at the stands. The stadium vibrated with the energy of spectators completely absorbed in the confrontation between the two nobles.
Larissa moved laterally with grace, each movement was perfect as her mineral spear traced arcs in the air. The mineral fairy and wind lynx gave her that characteristic fluidity she had demonstrated in previous combats.
'I can do this,' thought Larissa, keeping her breathing controlled despite the effort. She had defeated Liora, who controlled the formidable will-o'-wisp. She had beaten Luna in the team battle.
Her logic dictated that this confrontation would follow the same pattern.
But something had changed in Luna.
The Starweaver moved with a freedom and aggressiveness that Larissa hadn't seen in her before. Her shadow wolf, instead of being partially fused as it had been during the team combats, manifested fully at her side, independent but perfectly synchronized with her movements.
Luna didn't need to protect anyone this time. She didn't have to divide her attention or calculate escape routes for her companions. All her concentration, all her strength, was dedicated to a single objective.
And to complicate matters further, Luna's habitual self-control seemed to have cracked. Since Sirius had to hastily withdraw from the box, for reasons Larissa didn't understand... her expression had acquired a fierce intensity.
