The celebration after the behemoth kill lasted three days.
The Ashen Blades had never brought down a mid-high boss so cleanly. Coin flowed, new gear, repairs, upgrades. Ragnar even cracked open the guild's private ale reserves. Stories grew taller with every telling: how the Shadow Null's beasts turned the tide, how shadow and fire danced like lovers in battle.
Kai kept a low profile.
He spent most of the time training in the arena, pushing Nyx and Veyra's synergy further. Levels climbed steadily, Nyx nearing 30, Veyra catching up fast. Corruption hovered at 62%, the purifying vial from Garrick dulling the worst edges.
But the whispers grew louder.
Clients from distant cities sent letters. Noble houses inquired discreetly. Some offered alliances. Others demanded recruitment.
Ragnar handled most, but the pressure built.
On the fourth morning, trouble arrived.
A sleek black airship, city design, noble crest of a golden lion on silver, descended over the camp. No weapons visible, but the message was clear: wealth and power.
It landed just outside the barricades.
A delegation stepped out: four armored guards with high-rank beasts (two lightning wolves, a crystal tortoise, an ice phoenix), and at the center, a young man in pristine academy robes.
Eighteen years old. Tall, golden hair tied back, features sharp and aristocratic. Eyes cold blue, like winter sky.
Elias Vossari.
Son of Duke Vossari, the same family that had pushed Kai's bounty hardest.
The camp went quiet.
Ragnar met them at the edge, Garrick and a dozen Blades flanking him.
Elias ignored the welcoming party, gaze sweeping until it locked on Kai standing near the arena.
"You," he said, voice carrying effortlessly. "Kai Voss. The Null."
Kai walked forward slowly, Nyx and Veyra materializing at his sides.
Veyra coiled loosely, scales glowing. Nyx's eyes burned crimson.
The delegation's beasts shifted uneasily.
Elias smiled... thin, superior.
"Rumors reached the capital. A slum rat with forbidden beasts. Defeating a behemoth. I had to see for myself."
Ragnar's voice was flat. "State your business, academy boy."
Elias lifted a sealed scroll. "Official challenge. From the Tamer Academy's top graduate. Elias Vossari versus Kai Voss. Public duel. Winner takes the loser's primary beast contract."
Gasps rippled through the camp.
Forcing a contract transfer was rare, legal only in sanctioned duels with mutual consent or overwhelming proof of wrongdoing.
Ragnar snarled. "He's under Blades protection. No duel."
Elias raised an eyebrow. "Then the Vossari Family revokes all supply contracts to rogue guilds in this region. No more Rift crystals, no potions, no forged gear. Your camp starves within a month."
Murmurs turned worried.
The Ashen Blades survived on black-market edges, but noble supply chains still mattered.
Ragnar's jaw tightened.
Elias continued, eyes on Kai. "Or… accept. If you win, the bounty is lifted. Vossari Family withdraws all claims. You walk free."
He smirked.
"Of course, you won't win."
Kai felt the camp's eyes on him.
Pressure from every side.
Garrick stepped close. "Don't," he muttered. "It's a trap. He's academy elite, triple contract, all A-rank or higher. Trained since birth."
Kai looked at Elias.
The golden boy radiated confidence. His beasts hadn't even fully manifested yet, but power leaked from him like heat from Veyra.
Jealousy burned in those blue eyes, pure and raw.
A Null from the slums, wielding power that should belong to nobles.
Kai's corruption whispered: crush him.
He pushed it down.
"What are the rules?" Kai asked.
Elias's smile widened. "Standard academy duel. Full beast deployment. No lethal strikes on Tamers. First to incapacitate or force surrender wins."
Ragnar growled. "We set the ground. Neutral arena outside camp. Our healers on standby."
Elias shrugged. "Acceptable."
The duel was set for noon the next day.
That night, the camp split.
Some bet on Kai, the underdog who'd slain a behemoth.
Others on Elias, the proven genius.
Garrick found Kai sharpening his dagger by firelight.
"You don't have to do this."
Kai didn't look up. "If I refuse, the guild suffers. And the bounty stays."
Garrick sat heavily. "Kid's got a lightning wolf evolved to storm dire, crystal tortoise with unbreakable shell, and ice phoenix that freezes souls. Triple synergy. He's not bluffing."
Kai sheathed the dagger. "Neither am I."
Nyx purred darkly. Veyra's scales flared.
Garrick sighed. "Then win clean. No full corruption. If you lose control… I'll stop it myself."
Kai met his eyes. "I won't."
Dawn brought crowds.
Word had spread overnight, merchants, nearby rogue groups, even disguised city scouts. Hundreds ringed the neutral arena: a flat obsidian circle scarred by old battles.
Healers from both sides stood ready.
Elias arrived in full regalia, golden-trimmed robes, three contract circles glowing on his gauntlets.
His beasts manifested.
Storm Dire Wolf... massive, crackling with lightning.
Crystal Tortoise, towering shell reflecting light like diamond.
Ice Phoenix, ethereal wings spreading frost across the ground.
The crowd murmured appreciation.
Kai stepped into the circle opposite.
Simple clothes. No armor.
Nyx and Veyra at his sides.
The referee, an unaffiliated high-rank hunter, raised a flag.
"Begin!"
Elias struck first.
"Triple Formation: Heavenly Dominion!"
His beasts moved in perfect sync.
Storm wolf dashed, lightning chaining across the arena.
Ice phoenix dove, freezing wind blades slicing air.
Crystal tortoise planted, shell projecting a barrier that amplified allies and reflected attacks.
Textbook academy strategy, overwhelm and contain.
Kai didn't dodge.
Nyx activated Domain of Abyssal Night.
Shadows exploded outward, swallowing half the arena in total darkness.
Lightning fizzled. Frost slowed.
The crowd gasped.
Veyra rose high, wings spreading, Flame Cloak igniting, primordial fire pushing back the cold.
Kai Shadow Stepped through darkness, appearing behind the tortoise.
Dagger struck the shell, sparks flew, but no penetration.
The tortoise spun, barrier slamming him back.
Storm wolf lunged from blind spot.
Nyx intercepted, Phantom Dash meeting lightning mid-air.
Shadow and storm clashed, explosions rippling.
Veyra's Ember Breath swept the phoenix from the sky, flames meeting ice in a steam cloud.
Elias's eyes narrowed.
"Overwhelm!"
His beasts pressed harder.
Lightning chained endlessly.
Frost coated the ground, slowing movement.
Barrier reflected Veyra's breath back at her.
Kai felt the pressure.
Corruption surged—65%.
Dark veins spread across his arms.
He pushed it.
Synergy command.
Nyx merged shadows with Veyra's flames, creating black-fire tendrils that ignored reflection.
They wrapped the tortoise, corroding shell.
Cracks appeared.
Elias paled.
"Ice Bind!"
Phoenix screamed, freezing the tendrils.
But Nyx's Abyssal Gaze hit the phoenix directly.
The bird faltered, wings locking in fear.
Veyra struck... coiling mid-air, jaws closing on a wing.
Crunch.
Ice shattered.
The phoenix screamed, dismissed in a flash of light, contract strained.
Elias staggered, blood trickling from his nose.
"Impossible…"
Storm wolf howled, berserk lightning.
Kai met it head-on.
Shadow Step onto its back.
Dagger channeling dual power, black flame blade sinking deep.
The wolf collapsed, dismissed.
Only the tortoise remained.
Barrier flickering.
Elias's face twisted... rage, fear.
"Surrender," Kai said quietly.
Black veins crawled up his neck. Eyes flecked with crimson.
Elias spat blood. "Never."
He forced the tortoise's final skill, Diamond Cataclysm. Shell spun, spikes erupting.
Kai didn't dodge.
Veyra took the hit, scales holding, then counter-coiling.
Nyx bound the spinning shell.
Together, they crushed it.
The tortoise shattered, dismissed.
Elias dropped to his knees.
The arena fell silent.
Then the Ashen Blades erupted in cheers.
Ragnar's voice boomed. "Winner: Kai Voss!"
Elias was helped away by his guards, face pale, eyes burning with hatred.
The bounty scroll burned publicly, lifted.
But as Kai walked from the circle, corruption hit 68%.
Visions flashed: collapsing thrones, Elias's face twisted in death.
He pushed them down.
Garrick met him at the edge.
"You won," the old man said. "But barely held the line."
Kai nodded, breathing hard.
Nyx nuzzled his hand. Veyra coiled protectively.
The crowd chanted his name.
Fame.
Power.
Enemies.
The jealous genius had come.
And lost.
But Kai knew, this was only the beginning.
More would follow.
Stronger.
And the seals grew thinner every day.