Even with the transparent egg-like barrier protecting the audience...

The cold still reached the seats.

Inside the arena...

The region had become a land of brutal frost.

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the battlefield.

Waiting for the result of that attack.

Suddenly...

Another sound began to emerge.

Cracks.

Impacts from beneath the ground.

Then—

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!

The earth exploded open.

Massive magma...

And scorching rivers of fire...

Burst upward across the second half of the arena.

And across a large portion of the frozen side as well.

In an instant—

Third Flame Lord appeared standing atop a volcanic mountain.

Lava surrounded him from every direction.

Then the molten terrain rapidly expanded.

Until—

A violent collision echoed out.

The frozen domain and volcanic domain collided.

Each side trying to devour the other.

The two Lords remained far apart...

While the environments they created battled instead.

Suddenly—

Massive feet emerged from the snow.

"A snowman?"

I whispered.

There were no fewer than three hundred of them.

Each over three meters tall.

Their bodies thick...

With gigantic arms.

The ice monsters charged toward the lava.

Every step they took...

Created another freezing patch of icy terrain.

The frozen territory began advancing...

Thanks to the monsters at the frontlines.

Third Flame Lord smiled.

Then raised his hand.

The lava cracked open.

And dozens of volcanic dogs leapt out.

Each one was five times smaller than an ice monster.

But their numbers exceeded two thousand.

Burning fur.

Claws blazing with fire.

The howls of the two-thousand fiery hounds thundered through the arena.

They charged violently across the battlefield.

Then—

The monsters collided.

The sight was overwhelming.

Every punch from an ice giant that struck a dog...

Smashed it dead into the ground.

And every bite from a volcanic dog...

Made the ice beast stagger.

After several moments of brutal grinding between the two swarms...

Another thousand dogs rushed into the battlefield.

Ice Lord responded...

By summoning three hundred more ice monsters.

Then the battle exploded once more.

BOOOOM!!

BOOOOOOM!!

The ground shook constantly.

Ice shattered.

Lava exploded.

While the monsters fell by the thousands.

But...

Something strange began happening.

The volcanic dogs...

Exploded when they died.

Every fallen dog...

Left behind a new patch of fire.

And over time...

The volcanic territory began spreading faster.

"He’s using the corpses as fuel?"

I whispered in shock.

Even Ice Lord...

Began narrowing his eyes.

Meanwhile—

Third Flame Lord waved his hand once again.

Suddenly—

The lava erupted.

And from within it...

A gigantic monster emerged.

Everyone’s eyes widened.

It was a dog...

But the size of an entire house.

Its body was covered in black flaming armor.

And lava constantly dripped from its mouth.

"A Greater Catastrophe Beast?!"

One of the Lords shouted.

My eyes narrowed.

"These Lords..."

I whispered.

"They possess tools or traits capable of controlling Greater Catastrophe Beasts..."

"I envy them."

I said.

I already possessed catastrophe beasts myself thanks to trading Third-Rank Healing Flowers.

But...

Those methods amounted to little more than caging the beast...

Using it for training...

Or harvesting its hide and meat.

Actual control over a catastrophe beast...

Making it fight as your subordinate...

I had absolutely no idea how that worked.

The only thing I knew...

Was that the tools allowing control over a Greater Catastrophe Beast were called:

( Third-Rank Possession )

A rare tool.

One unavailable on the market.

"This bastard..."

I growled angrily.

"He actually owns one."

My gaze returned toward the arena.

Ice Lord didn’t remain idle.

He calmly raised his hand.

Then—

Behind the ice army...

Something gigantic began moving.

BOOOOM...

BOOOOM...

BOOOOM...

Every step...

Shook the arena.

Until it fully appeared.

An ice giant.

Twenty meters tall.

Holding an enormous frozen axe.

Silence...

Swallowed the stands for a moment.

Then—

Ice Lord finally smiled.

"Destroy it."

he whispered calmly.

And in the next instant—

The ice giant charged toward the massive volcanic dog.

"Heh... both of them possess catastrophe beast control..."

I muttered bitterly.

"And I have nothing. Damn it."

The ice giant raised its axe.

Then—

Dozens of icy veins burst from within the weapon like serpents.

Crawling...

Wrapping around...

Then biting into the giant demonic hound.

Suddenly—

The dog howled violently.

A terrifying sound...

Even some audience members trembled from its intensity.

Several regions across its body...

Instantly froze.

Its front leg.

Part of its back.

Even half its lower jaw.

But...

Despite its enormous size...

It was disgustingly fast.

It leapt away from the slow-moving ice giant.

Then...

Defecated onto the ground.

"Damn you."

I muttered in disgust.

The beast jumped elsewhere.

Then defecated again.

Across the arena floor...

The black waste began boiling.

Then—

It transformed into thick crimson smoke.

And in the next instant—

Dozens of small fiery dogs tore through the smoke and emerged.

They were wolf-sized.

With thin bodies...

And savage burning eyes.

They charged madly toward the ice giant.

The moment they arrived—

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!

They exploded directly before it.

The giant’s foot staggered half a step backward.

Then—

Another wave arrived.

BOOOOOOOM!!

Another explosion.

Fire and ice scattered violently.

Then a third wave.

Fourth.

Fifth.

Dogs ran forward...

Exploded...

Then more emerged from the newly created waste zones.

"It’s a living bomb factory."

One Lord whispered in shock.

Meanwhile—

The ice giant attacked again.

It raised its axe once more.

And struck violently.

But the giant dog escaped again.

Leaping...

Defecating...

Creating more explosive hounds.

Little by little...

The giant’s movements slowed.

Its massive frozen body...

Filled with pits and black cracks.

Every explosion...

Melted part of it away.

Meanwhile the smaller dogs...

Never ended.

"The balance is tipping."

I whispered.

And indeed...

The volcanic territory began expanding once more.

The ice retreated.

The lava advanced.

Even the ice giant itself...

Began slowly sinking into the burning terrain.

A broad smile appeared on Third Flame Lord’s face.

Then he raised his hand high.

Suddenly—

All explosive dogs stopped moving.

Their heads turned simultaneously...

Toward the ice giant.

Several Lords widened their eyes.

"Don’t tell me..."

Then—

Thousands of dogs charged at once.

A mad black-and-red tidal wave.

They leapt atop the giant from every direction.

And in the next moment—

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

A catastrophic explosion...

Shook the entire arena.

When the explosion ended...

The ice beast had been blown to pieces.

Massive frozen chunks...

A severed arm...

A shattered head...

Scattered across the destroyed battlefield.

Meanwhile—

The gigantic demonic dog remained standing.

Its heated breaths escaped like smoke.

And behind it...

Over a thousand smaller dogs...

Lined up before Third Flame Lord like a savage infernal army.

As for Ice Lord...

He stood alone.

But...

I narrowed my eyes.

His distant gaze...

Was far too calm.

No anger.

No urgency.

Not even concern.

"Those eyes..."

I said.

"The eyes of a confident man."

Suddenly—

The giant dog howled violently.

Then—

It staggered.

And collapsed dead upon the ground.

The audience widened their eyes.

But the scene wasn’t over.

Its body began freezing.

Ice spread across its black fur.

The flames extinguished.

The lava flowing between its fangs...

Turned into white vapor.

Then—

In an instant—

It stood up again.

But this time...

It had become a completely frozen hound.

Its eyes glowed icy blue.

And every breath released thick frost.

"What?!"

Third Flame Lord snarled angrily.

His eyes shot directly toward Ice Lord.

"What did you do?!"

Ice Lord laughed mockingly.

Then calmly raised his hand.

The frost hound moved obediently toward him.

"Frost Bite."

Ice Lord whispered.

"That’s what struck your beast."

Then he pointed toward the shattered remains of the ice giant.

"And it’s also what infected that giant earlier."

Third Flame Lord stared suspiciously.

Then—

Ice Lord smiled again. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"That giant was never a beast I owned."

he said.

"It was merely infected by Frost Bite...

Then captured under my control."

His smile widened slightly.

"And now...

Your beast belongs to me as well."

Silence filled the arena briefly.

Then—

Third Flame Lord snorted violently.

He raised his hand.

The lava behind him exploded.

Another thousand fiery dogs leapt forth.

Their howls filled the battlefield.

"Dog or giant...

An ice beast is still an ice beast."

he said coldly.

"And the explosions already proved effective against it before."

He raised his flaming sword high.

"And they’ll work again now."

Then—

Two thousand dogs charged simultaneously.

An entire army of living explosions.

The frost hound leapt to meet them.

It tore some apart.

Froze others.

But the numbers...

Were overwhelming.

BOOOOOOOM!!

BOOOOOOOM!!

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!

Explosions covered the entire arena.

After some time...

The final wave of two hundred dogs detonated.

And with them...

The frost hound finally collapsed.

Only then—

Ice Lord charged forward.

A long icy blade emerged from his hand.

Across from him—

Third Flame Lord formed a blazing fiery sword.

Then—

The collision happened.

BOOOOOOOM!!

The impacts were deafening.

Every strike...

Shook the arena.

Fire and frost exploded with each clash.

The cracks in the ground widened more and more.

Even the icy and volcanic territories themselves...

Turned into catastrophic ruins.

Within mere minutes...

The two exchanged dozens of strikes.

Then—

Suddenly—

Both raised a hand.

And unleashed a powerful rapid strike.

BOOOOOOOM!!

Both were blasted backward.

Silence descended.

Flames rose upward.

Steam covered the battlefield.

Then—

Ice Lord raised his hand.

"Surrender."

he said calmly.

I narrowed my eyes in surprise.

He wasn’t in bad condition.

Neither was his opponent.

Yet...

He surrendered?

I couldn’t believe it.

But...

Third Flame Lord extinguished his sword.

And stepped half a pace back.

He had made his decision.

Despite the strange ending...

The battle had been truly incredible.

Both Lords...

Had proven exactly why they were considered among the strongest contenders in the tournament.

I smiled lightly.

Then stretched my legs lazily.

"Matches like this..."

I whispered.

"Make me hungry."