The boy's sword tore through the crackling lightning field surrounding the boss wolf, streaking straight toward its neck. He was the A-tier awakened, the blond kid. Aren, Elena, Leon, and the others who had pushed this far froze for a heartbeat as they saw him descend, pouring every ounce of power into the finishing blow.

For an instant, it looked perfect.

The wolf's cold eyes had been locked solely on Aren, but at the final moment, its battle instinct flared like a star going supernova. The very tip of the sword touched its hide, just beginning to pierce, when the beast unleashed its true fury. Black lightning burst violently from its body, thunder cracking like a god's hammer as the surge exploded outward.

The blast swallowed both boy and blade, blasting him across the platform.

He spun wildly, vision shaking, desperately searching for a black square through the blur of light and smoke. His boots finally slammed down on one just in time. He staggered but stayed alive. The failed attack bought only one thing: an opening.

An opening Aren had been waiting for.

Aren immediately called Fang and his merged shadow wolf, throwing himself onto the merged shadow's back mid-movement. "Use only the black boxes," he ordered.

Fang and the shadow obeyed without hesitation, sprinting across the pattern of black and white squares. The boss wolf's burning gaze snapped away from the blond boy and fixed directly on Aren.

It opened its jaws and released a roar of pure thunder.

A beam of black lightning erupted like a cannon blast, even larger than the previous attack. It raced toward Aren with the force of an execution.

Aren had already leapt clear from the back of the wolf.

The lightning crashed into the merged shadow wolf beneath him, ripping the summon apart in a violent burst and forcefully unsummoning it. But Aren was already airborne, flying straight toward the wolf's face. Up there, he hung suspended in the roar of wind and black lightning, eye to eye with the enraged monster.

He swung his arm with all his might, releasing a claw strike. The wolf jerked to the side with surprising speed, narrowly dodging the attack, but Aren wasn't upset. He had never expected this strike to land. His real focus was on the next black square he would touch down upon.

Below, the battlefield moved like a storm.

Elena used her gravity control to hurl herself skyward, using Aren's assault to get an angle. Leon sprinted from box to box, summoning metal sword after metal sword behind him like floating fangs aimed at the wolf. Even the A-tier blond boy, charred but alive, refused to miss his chance and began running again.

Everyone wanted the kill.

This wasn't cooperation. This was desperation. This was the raw hunger for survival and power that the trials were meant to create.

Aren landed on a black tile, already gathering strength in his legs for the next jump. He reached for Fang through their link, pushing a surge of intent into the summon.

Fang understood instantly.

The wolf tore across the battlefield and slammed into the boss wolf's flank with enough force to make the larger monster slide several feet, stones cracking under its paws.

The boss wolf roared and struck back with a lightning-charged punch, sending Fang flying, but Aren didn't stop. He launched himself into the air again, gathering every shred of power his body possessed. The lightning stung his skin, the air trembled, but he focused only on one thing.

Timing.

At the final instant, just before impact, he poured every point of strength, willpower, and desperation into another claw strike.

The wolf finally turned its head back toward him.

Too late.

Lightning hammered into Aren midair, scorching his arms and chest. Pain consumed his nerves, but he endured it through clenched teeth. His muscles screamed, his mind throbbed, but he did not stop.

He drove his claws down.

Boom.

The strike detonated in the air like a bomb going off. A massive gash tore across the wolf's face, deep enough to split flesh and muscle. The monster reeled, stumbling and crashing to the floor in a violent roll.

Aren smashed into a black square hard enough to crack the stone. His body slid toward the edge, nearly spilling off into the white, but his enhanced constitution saved him. He curled tightly, forcing control back into his limbs, then rose again.

He wasn't done.

Elena struck next. Using the opportunity Aren created, she descended from above and crushed the wolf beneath a concentrated mass of gravity so dense the platform itself groaned under the pressure.

Leon saw his moment.

He summoned every metal sword he had conjured earlier, fusing them into one massive greatsword nearly as tall as a man and wide as a door. He readied himself to finish the beast once and for all.

Aren saw the blade coming.

Leon thought the kill was his.

Everyone did.

In that instant, Aren made a choice.

He reached out midair, his wolf-guarded arm gripping the enormous greattesword's hilt. The force of Leon's telekinetic push dragged him forward like a launched arrow. Leon's eyes widened, but the sword did not slow.

Aren climbed the blade.

He sprinted up its length as it soared forward, using it as a ramp, vaulting off the tip. With that stolen momentum, he twisted the blade's trajectory so it stabbed harmlessly into the floor beside the wolf instead of through it.

Aren flew over the monster.

He slashed downward with everything he had.

His claws dug deep into the wolf's neck. Flesh tore, bone cracked. A violent spray of black blood erupted in every direction as Aren dragged his claws downward, using Elena's gravity field to pull with even greater force.

He ripped through muscle, through bone, through everything holding the beast together.

The claws finally tore through completely.

The wolf's head separated.

The massive body crashed into the platform with a heavy thud.

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