The mist trembled, and once again the booming voice rolled across the compressed battlefield.

"Fifty teams remain. Prepare yourselves. The arena is going to shrink at a larger scale. The top sixteen is now on sight."

The ground shuddered, trees groaning as their trunks warped closer together. Paths that once stretched meters apart collapsed into narrow trails. Even the air felt heavier, pressing the competitors toward one another like predators forced into a cage.

Marcellus cursed under his breath. "It's herding us."

"Which means no one stays hidden for long," Aston replied calmly. He turned to Brennar and Ivy. "Reset the traps. Same layering as before. The closer the space gets, the more desperate they'll be to charge us head-on."

Brennar grunted, already setting his crab scuttling forward to bury more charges beneath the roots. Ivy flicked her bracelets, weaving glowing sigils between the trees like spider threads. Selene hovered near the center, her dove radiating steady light, while Marcellus and Gray prowled the front, forming the fangs of the defense.

The first victims came quickly. A squad of students barreled through the mist, only to trigger the layered traps in a brilliant chain of detonations and bindings. By the time their beasts staggered free, they were already half-finished. Marcellus's wolfhound and Gray closed the gap, cutting down the survivors in a blur of fangs and claws. Another flare of light whisked the defeated team away.

"That makes two groups done by us," Ivy said, exhaling hard and tired.

Aston's eyes narrowed. Mirage's vision above revealed a new approach: a tight formation, beasts in lockstep. And at their head, a familiar figure.

Kai.

His glasses glinted faintly even in the dim forest, Shelldon plopped in his hands. Behind him, his team fanned out, wary but disciplined.

Marcellus tightened his grip on his weapon. "Friends of yours?"

Aston stepped forward. "Yes."

The two groups faced one another in the fog, tension rising as both sets of beasts growled low.

Kai broke the silence, pushing up his glasses. "So. This is what you've been hiding, Aston." His eyes lingered on Gray, then flicked to Mirage circling above. "I should've guessed."

Aston responded, "We can waste time fighting each other, or we can make sure neither of our groups get wiped out early. An alliance buys us breathing room."

Kai hesitated. His crabling let out a few bubbles, as though echoing the thought.

One of Kai's teammates—a sharp-eyed archer from Spirit Combat—leaned close, murmuring in his ear. Another, from Alchemy, gave a quick nod.

His friend emerged from the haze, spectacles gleaming faintly, Shelldon scuttling close at his feet. The beast's pincers clicked, small but steady, armored shell glinting with a dull sheen. Kai's team fanned out behind him, cautious but not hostile.

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Marcellus muttered, "Tch, about time luck sent us a decent neighbor."

Kai adjusted his glasses, avoiding Marcellus's jab. His eyes flicked to Aston, then to Gray and Mirage. There was no jealousy in his expression, only the quiet acknowledgment of someone who knew his friend had grown even stronger.

Aston stepped forward. "We've been taking down teams one after another, but the arena's closing fast. If we clash here, we both lose ground. Alliance?"

Kai hesitated only briefly before nodding. "Agreed. We'll last longer together." His tone was subdued, but his mind was already at work, gaze skimming the terrain. "There's a ridge east of here. High ground with natural choke points. If we move now, we can turn it into a kill box before the next shrink."

Marcellus raised a brow. "Sounds like a lot of work."

"It's survival," Kai said softly.

Aston's lips curved faintly. This was why he valued Kai—not for bluster, but for his intensive knowledge and foresight. He turned to the combined group. "You heard him. We head east."

Selene nodded, her dove glowing brighter as it expanded its shield to cover both teams. Brennar's construct clanked into step beside Shelldon, the two crustaceans oddly in sync. Ivy adjusted her bracelet, runes dimming as she prepared them for the next setup.

Two teams now moved as one, momentum carrying them deeper into the shrinking battlefield.

—

The ridge Kai had pointed out wasn't far—just a slanted wall of stone and twisted roots that overlooked two natural funnels where the forest narrowed. To Aston, it was perfect: visibility, choke points, and just enough cover to hide their preparations.

"Spread out," he ordered. "Same system as before. Brennar, you take the lower funnel. Ivy, reinforce his lines. Selene, hold center with your dove—if anyone charges us, you patch up whoever takes the hit."

Gray padded silently at Aston's side, tail flicking. Mirage circled high above, translucent wings blending into the gray canopy.

They moved with practiced efficiency now. Brennar's construct clawed trenches into the dirt, dropping metallic charges that hummed with restrained energy. Ivy's fox traced sigils across the ground, binding them with glowing threads that vanished once complete. Marcellus anchored himself at the upper pass, his beast crouched and ready to explode into violence at the first sign of intruders.

Kai kept mostly to the side, Shelldon clicking softly as it dug small pockets in the soil—auxiliary pits that could stall or trip enemies. He said little, eyes darting over every angle of their defenses.

Minutes ticked by, and the forest grew quieter. Mirage's keen senses painted fewer and fewer moving signatures across the battlefield. Aston linked briefly, scanning the thinning dots.

"…It's dropped fast," Aston murmured. "There were two teams earlier. Now it's almost zero."

The others stiffened. Even Selene, usually calm, tightened her grip on her staff.

Kai exhaled through his nose, pushing his glasses higher. "It's not just eliminations," he said, voice carrying that careful, doubtful edge of his. "The others… they're probably doing the same thing we are... Forming alliances."

Marcellus scoffed. "Tch. So it's going to be pack against pack now?"

Kai didn't meet his eyes. "It's the only logical move. Single teams won't last long when the arena keeps forcing us closer. The smart ones band together. Which means when we run into them, it won't be four or five enemies." His gaze darkened. "It'll be twice or three times that."

Silence pressed over them, broken only by Gray's low growl and the faint chime of Ivy's sigils fading into the dirt.

Aston looked across his teammates—and now, at Kai's group beside them. He nodded once. "Then we keep our momentum. If they're forming alliances, so are we."

Gray's azure eyes gleamed, Mirage shadowing them from above.

The trap was set. And Aston knew the shrinking battlefield would soon force them to prove whether their alliance was strong enough to hold.

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