"Whirlpool!"
The moment Theo gave the command, Feebas snapped its tail fin with force, and a swirling current erupted around its body, boiling violently!
Unlike the first round, this time the whirlpool carried an overwhelming, awe-striking power. It surged from the center of the stage, spiraling upward at a terrifying speed.
Within mere seconds, a gigantic waterspout, one that nearly occupied the entire stage, shot straight up into the air. It reached from ground to sky, its roaring impact like muffled thunder, forcing the audience to unconsciously lean back in shock.
At the center of the water tornado, a deep blue whirlpool churned endlessly. Feebas' figure had already been swallowed by the thick, surging currents, completely disappearing from everyone's sight.
"T-This… this size is insane!" Kotaro held the microphone with trembling hands, his voice shaking. "It's at least three times larger than the waterspout from the first round!"
The audience stared wide-eyed at the massive water tornado. Meanwhile, Theo stood calmly at the edge of the stage, voice steady as ever as he issued his next order:
"Icy Wind!"
The instant the command was given, a faint layer of frost spread across the inside of the tornado!
At first, it was only a wisp of cold mist at the center. But within moments, it expanded outward at a rate visible to the naked eye. The blue water streams rapidly condensed, paling as the cold engulfed them.
The spiraling walls of water slowly solidified into crystalline ice, freezing even the swirling motion itself, turning into a stationary, gleaming ice tornado!
The surface of the ice was smooth as a mirror, reflecting the stage lights and shimmering coldly.
Theo did not issue any further commands. The audience unanimously assumed that the performance had reached its end—the immense ice–water tornado before them seemed to be the final move.
The sight was impressive indeed, but compared to the overwhelming impact of Feebas' entrance in the first round, it felt like it fell just a little short.
"Is that it? Is the performance ending here?"
"It looks good, sure… but compared to the first round, it feels less impactful."
"Still lacking experience. He used his big move too early. Normally this combination alone would be outstanding, but after the brilliance of his first round, this one just… doesn't stand out."
"He's already doing great for a newcomer, just needs more experience. He'll learn from this next time."
Even the livestream comments began wavering. Though many fans defended him fiercely, faint signs of doubt still began to appear.
Just when everyone was convinced Theo's performance had concluded, a sudden voice from the front row sliced through the crowd:
"Wait! Look at the center of the ice tornado!"
Everyone turned their eyes toward it.
Inside the frozen tornado's core, a faint glow—soft and colorful—had appeared!
The light flickered like a candle flame. At first dim, it slowly grew brighter and larger. Each pulse of light felt like a pounding heartbeat—
"Thump… thump…"
As though the rhythm was echoing inside every person present.
"What… is that?"
All attention was instantly pulled back to the center of the stage. Even breathing seemed to synchronize with the gentle pulse of that growing glow.
Suddenly—
Crack!
A clear sound rang out. An unbelievable scene unfolded—the inner ice layer of the tornado began to peel away!
Beneath the splitting ice was the return of the spinning, living water vortex!
Blue currents churned once more within the encased interior, moving faster and faster, forming a strange cylindrical structure: flowing water inside, frozen ice outside.
The outer layer was a motionless spiral of ice. The inner layer, a rapidly turning whirlpool of water. Ice and water coexisted in flawless harmony—like a storm trapped in eternal cold.
And at the very center of that living whirlpool, a purple figure swam rapidly along the current—
Feebas!
The water vortex spun faster and faster, pulling Feebas into a high-speed rotation. A brilliant aura glowed around its body, the purple scales shimmering until its outline was nearly lost amid the multicolored radiance.
Feebas' movement grew even quicker, the whirlpool pulling it into rapid rebounds within the icy chamber. Its body shot back and forth, leaving nothing but streaks of flowing purple light.
Each collision sent a ripple of refracted color through the ice wall—threads of rainbow-light dancing upward along the frozen spiral at astonishing speed.
"What… is that?"
Everyone stared at the upper part of the ice tornado.
More and more colorful beams spread along the ice, climbing toward the top of the frozen waterspout. Layer upon layer, they gathered, intertwined, and merged, weaving into a flowing band of light above the stage.
And before the crowd could fully grasp what was happening—
The tornado's peak erupted.
A sweeping burst of radiance exploded from its summit, flooding the entire venue in a breathtaking spectacle!
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet—bands of color intertwined.
An aurora descended, unfurling majestically across the arena's ceiling.
The shining ribbons of color twisted like living streams. At times, they formed leaping arcs; at others, they shaped glowing waves. Tiny light particles sparkled within them, like stars emerging in a dreamlike sky.
"An… au-aurora?!" Kotaro cried in disbelief.
Silence fell over the entire arena—only to be shattered a heartbeat later by deafening screams.
"My god! It's an aurora! Feebas actually created an aurora!"
"How?! How is that even possible?! That's insane!"
"Who just said he ran out of moves? Apologize right now!"
The livestream chat instantly flooded with messages—"Holy crap," "God-tier," "Invincible"—spamming nonstop. The sheer surge of viewers caused momentary lag.
At the judges' table, Wallace shot to his feet, his sea-green eyes wide with awe. He murmured:
"The light refracted through ice can create rainbows…
but Theo took it one step further!
By using Feebas' own glow to repeatedly refract off the ice layers—merging and layering until the colors gathered at the very top—he formed a true aurora!
It's brilliant. Truly brilliant!"
Mr. Contesta's eyes nearly popped out, his voice shaking with excitement:
"The stability of the outer ice tornado is terrifying! The inner whirlpool's speed is perfectly controlled with not a single deviation!
To command two energy attributes at the same time, both with such precision… And that final aurora concept—remarkable! Absolutely remarkable!"
Mr. Sukizo clapped until his palms reddened, tears streaming down his round face.
"I love this! Absolutely love it! THIS is true elegance!
Ice and water in opposition, light and shadow intertwined, even the heartbeat rhythm…
This is the best performance I've seen today!"
Nurse Joy pressed her hands to her chest, stars sparkling in her eyes:
"So beautiful… To witness an aurora here, in this Contest—it feels like a blessing."
Onstage, the aurora continued shifting fluidly while Feebas swam faster and faster inside the living vortex, becoming almost a streak of purple light.
Suddenly, Feebas leapt upward hurling itself toward the top of the ice tornado!
Crash—!
The icy structure shattered on impact, but the shards did not scatter. Caught by the swirling air, they dissolved into countless tiny crystals, joining the aurora above.
The aurora blazed even brighter, exploding like fireworks—then slowly drifted downward in a gentle rain of starlike specks that faded upon reaching the stage.
Feebas landed gracefully in the center. Its purple scales still carried a faint, multicolored gleam. It wagged its tail at Theo, clearly seeking praise.
The thunderous applause and cheers that followed shook the arena, rolling like a tidal wave. Even the walls trembled faintly.
Theo walked onto the stage, bent down, and lifted Feebas into his arms. The little one nuzzled his cheek affectionately.
Theo turned to bow deeply to the audience, then to the judges, a calm and warm smile on his face.
Kotaro held the microphone, voice cracking from sheer emotion:
"I… I don't even know what to say… Contestant No. 86, Theo and Feebas, their performance was beyond anything I imagined…
Let's look at the judges' scores!"
At the judges' table, all four raised their boards at nearly the same instant.
Wallace: Perfect score!
Mr. Contesta: Perfect score!
Mr. Sukizo: Perfect score!
Nurse Joy: Perfect score!
"Another perfect score! Contestant No. 86, Theo and Feebas have once again earned unanimous full score in the second round!"
Kotaro's voice regained strength, echoing across the arena. The cheers erupted once more. This time, no one dared to doubt them.
Everyone understood—they had witnessed a masterpiece.
As Theo carried Feebas offstage, he passed Armani. The latter's face was pale, expression complicated, but in the end, he lowered his head.
Grace stared at Theo's departing figure. A flash of unwillingness crossed her eyes, but she had to admit, their performance was flawless.
Theo looked down at Feebas in his arms. The little fish gazed back with round bright eyes, its purple tail proudly curled upward.
"Well done," Theo whispered, tapping its head gently.
With the second round complete, the results were quickly announced. Twenty contestants advanced—Theo, Grace, and Armani securing the top three without suspense.
Next came the final stage—the Contest Battle
(End of Chapter)