This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

With the elemental guardian disposed of according to plan, Kain's focus shifted immediately to the Prismarin. If it wasn't for this new contract, then the same way he'd meticulously planned to get rid of the elemental guardian, he could have removed the remaining Starweaver and beaten Serena for the first time.

With the dozens of Starweavers it had produced, it was impossible for Kain to accurately determine which one was the true body—at least not until the true body unleashed a long-distance attack.

To counter this, Bea blanketed the field with threads. They couldn't control the illusions themselves, obviously; instead, they acted as tripwires, alerting Kain to any solid movements in the chaotic field of illusions.

Still, the Prismarin's illusions remained dangerous. Another Vespid guard, caught by an unexpected solidification, took a piercing blow from a glowing palm. Its small form crumpled to the ground, its wing bent unnaturally. Queen buzzed furiously, summoning the remaining guards to surround the Prismarin, but their stingers only passed through empty air. Evidently the Prismarin appearing in their field of view was also an illusion.

Above the battlefield, the true Starweaver with its body hidden hovered ominously as it looked at the chaos below, its wings glittering with constellations.

The glow of starlight intensified as a constellation began began to glow—a magnificent crown composed of stars.

Suddenly a rain of golden starlight began to fall from the sky.

Kain narrowed his eyes. This was the move that had defeated him in seconds the first time they had fought, capable of turning all creatures within range into golden statues.

Despite its power, Serena had never used this move during missions with him. For one, it was an indiscriminate attack that would affect Kain as much as their enemies. For another, it would leave her contract extremely weak after use.

The arena grew silent as golden flecks began to fall, descending toward Kain and his contracts. The Vespid guards buzzed erratically, their instincts screaming at them to escape, especially since they remembered the effects of these seemingly harmless lights, but there was nowhere to run.

Kain clenched his fists, his voice firm. "Aegis, you know what to do!"

With a low rumble, Aegis began to expand his stone body. His massive arms stretched outward, forming a protective dome that encased Queen, the surviving Vespids, and even Bea, who retreated into the safety of his rocky embrace.

It was this move that the System generated version had frequently used to defeat Kain in the Training Arena. However, no matter what defensive measure were used, it proved to be useless.

Eventually, Kain realized that the golden star flecks falling won't stop until the make contact with a living body, so shields are useless against them.

Therefore Aegis, befitting his name, chose to act as a shield for the others and expanded his body to completely cover all of its allies

As the golden flecks made contact with the rock dome made out of his body, his stone surface began to shimmer with a metallic sheen as the flecks made contact, turning parts of his body into gold.

Kain felt the strain through their bond. Aegis was pushing his limits, but he didn't falter. "Hold on just a little longer," Kain muttered, his voice laced with determination.

If Aegis turns completely into a golden statue and is assimilated by the skill before the star fall ends, then they will be able to penetrate him to make contact with Bea and the others Experience new stories with empire

The Starweaver's ultimate move continued for several agonizing moments before the constellation dimmed. The golden flecks ceased their descent, and Aegis lowered his arms, his body marred with patches of gold but still standing.

With the ultimate move completed, the illusions surrounding the Starweaver began to flicker and fade. For the first time in the match, the true Starweaver was exposed, its glowing wings dimmed and its aura significantly weakened.

"Now!" Kain commanded. At almost the same time he recalled the barely standing Aegis into his Star Space to recover, he directed the others to attack the now revealed figure.

The surviving Vespid guards surged forward instantly, their stingers glowing with concentrated energy. The Starweaver attempted to retreat, its wings flickering weakly as it tried to summon another constellation, but it was too late.

One by one, the guards struck, their stingers piercing the weakened Starweaver's form. The glowing figure let out a soundless cry before collapsing, its form dissolving into motes of starlight as Serena recalled it to her star space.

'Exactly according to plan… if Serena didn't suddenly contract another spiritual creature, I'd be crowned the winner at this moment' Kain thought in exhilaration.

However, he didn't let the repeated successes get to his head, staying constantly on guard. After all, the battle wasn't truly over yet.

For the first time since the battle began, Serena appeared to have her composure slightly shaken, and the bad condition Kain had already noticed she was in before the battle began, was made apparent to the audience watching from the sidelines.

Many began to whisper and wonder if she was perhaps injured. The change in ranking between the top 2 became a much more real possibility now.

A crystalline rabbit twitched its ears, and the battlefield shimmered once more. The fragments of illusions scattered across the arena suddenly reformed, converging into a single radiant image—a larger, more intricate projection of the Prismarin itself.

"Finally, making a move?" Kain muttered, his tone curious but also apprehensive of the unknown.

The projection of the Prismarin began to move, its crystalline body refracting light in dazzling, unpredictable patterns. The ground beneath it shimmered with energy, and Kain felt a jolt in his heart via the Threads of Destiny—whatever it was preparing, it was dangerous. Dangerous enough for his new spiritual skill to activate on its own.

Despite the pressure coming from the body of a tiny creature that Kain realistically knew was only green-grade, the aura it emitted was no less threatening than some of the more powerful blue-grade spiritual creatures he'd had to face in the past.