58 Prototype(End)

Bang!

Another clash between the two Giant Eagles interrupted Aaron as he gazed calmly at Edmond, who fiddled with his fingers to show that although he had changed a lot, he was still hesitant about what he was saying right now.

"You two, talk after the match. According to my estimate, it will come to an end soon."

As if finding his savior, Edmond glanced at Aaron and then nodded after seeing that he had also assented to the statement by the Official.

However, as both of them focused on the airspace above the ground, they didn't understand what the official meant, as it looked as if the two eagles were still stuck in that stalemate.

They kept circling each other, and as Joro kept shooting those attacks made of hardened mud at Daisy, the latter either used the armor or managed to swerve out of the way to avoid them.

It looked as if Anissa had practiced this quite a lot, as it shone in the proficiency that was put on display by Daisy. That initial attack had only worked because the two had been close by, and as Daisy was keeping her distance now, Joro didn't get an opportunity to find a blind spot again.

Seeing this, Aaron also understood a little more about the way the Bond between a Tera Master and their Tera worked during battle. Anissa was keeping a close eye on each and every attack, and she was the one giving the orders to move, which allowed Daisy to focus on flying. This was obvious because Daisy's eyes were fixed straight ahead; every time she dodged, it almost looked like she had more eyes on the rest of her body, but that was Anissa's doing.

Soon, Aaron understood why the Official had said what he had said before, as he noticed that the lump of mud on Joro had been decreasing steadily with each attack, and it looked like it would be depleted soon.

So her goal was to exhaust her opponent's attacks and then strike?

The strategy was simple, but in Aaron's experience, he had seen that such plans tended to work, especially if the one implementing it had a clear idea regarding their opponent.

The old man seemed to have also realized this, as he humphed and said, "So you wanted to tire this old man out? I guess you managed to pick up a few things during all the fights you witnessed while you were a little girl…"

As his voice drifted away, Anissa only smiled with confidence in response, but what he said next made her tense up.

"This was fun, but it's time to end this, dear Granddaughter. True, you may have identified both Joro's amazing agility and his accuracy in shooting the mud projectiles. But there is one move that I never used, at least in the matches where you were there."

Aaron knew that it was dumb to announce this, but he could tell that the old man's purpose was not to mercilessly defeat his opponent. No, he wanted to teach them something, so this was more like mock hunts that a few Tera's took their offspring on to help them learn the ways of the wild.

Surprisingly, though, Anissa didn't seem shocked by this.

Instead, a shout rang across the battlefield, right as Daisy underwent a startling transformation.

"Bring it on!"

"Arrr arrr!"

The metal blob that had been acting as a shield till now suddenly traveled up Daisy's body and started to gather at its beak. In barely a second's time, it transformed into a sharp, pointed sword that extended from Daisy's beak, making it easy for the Tera to point it where it wished.

It seemed that Anissa's strategy…was that offense was the best defense.

On the other hand, Joro didn't change in any manner, but it started flying toward Daisy directly, instead of circling around like it had done till now. Of course, Daisy began to do the same, with the light glinting off the magnificent 3-feet long weapon it was pointing straight at its opponent, ready to impale them and end the battle.

In the stands, both Aaron's and Edmond's breathing hastened, as they could tell that the conclusion was really approaching. The official even leaned in, as if he wanted a clear look at how it would all turn out.

In barely a second's time, there were only a few meters of distance between the two, and it looked like Joro would have a spike through its heart while Daisy would emerge victorious.

Yet, Aaron spotted a cool look in Joro's eyes, which he had only seen before in Teras which were confident that they would soon kill their prey.

Anissa even stepped forward, as there was nothing more for her to do. Daisy could only go straight ahead, no matter what happened, and even if Joro managed to do something, she knew that there wouldn't be enough time for her to respond, just like before. However, she was confident in the power of that spike, so she had decided to go all out.

At the last moment before the impact, the three in the stands even stood up, and that…was when Joro finally changed its approach.

In an agile maneuver that looked like it had been practiced so many times that it had been imbibed into its very blood, Joro turned to the side, allowing the spike made from metal on Daisy's beak to cut through its side while it slammed the back of its body into Daisy's underside.

This had only been possible because Daisy's neck had had no option but to move up at the moment of impact, and even as both Teras screamed with pain, they plummeted backward for a bit and then began falling to the ground.

The wound along Joro's neck looked serious, but Aaron could tell that it was only a surface one. The neck was one of the most muscular parts of a Giant Eagle's body, and Joro was even contracting his muscles there to lessen the flow of blood.

Typically, this would have still been Daisy's victory as the impact from the body slam would have caused less damage than that from her beak.

Yet, as Aaron watched, he realized that the true attack…wasn't the body slam.

No, it was the remaining blob of mud, which had, at some point of time during the impact, moved onto Daisy's body and was now around its head, suffocating it.

Daisy had already had the wind knocked out of it due to the impact, and with its nose completely blocked off by the Mud Monster, it could only roll on the ground, desperately seeking air.

Yet, there was none to be had, and even though it tried slamming its own head against the ground to dislodge the Mud Monster, it stayed there, immune to all damage.

Soon, it became clear who the victor was, as Joro stood up and towered over its opponent.

If it wished, it could swoop down with its beak or talons and end Daisy's life.

"Enough! The battle is over!"

As the Official stood up and announced this, the Mud Monster instantly left Daisy's body and started to move to the old man's side.

As it did so, the rest of its body which had been used as projectiles till now started moving towards it, and soon, it was the same size as it originally was.

Both Aaron and Edmond's eyes were shining as they viewed the thrilling conclusion to this match, and as tears started to swim in Anissa's eyes, she collapsed onto her knees before crawling and running forward to comfort Daisy.

As soon as she reached, she started to say, "We lost, but we did good. We did…really good."

It wasn't clear whether she was saying this to herself or the Tera, and Daisy even looked at her with a sad expression in its eyes, before bending forward to nip at Anissa's cheek, as if consoling her.

As they watched this heart-touching scene, Aaron and Edmond heard the official beside them say, "She has never lost before. Not once. This is her first loss, so it remains to be seen how she takes it. Also, you two, keep watching. Some regular humans who don't choose any Path often start to wonder what the point of battles even is. Why hurt Teras, or in other Paths, the bodies of those participating in battle? Why make them bleed? Why cause them pain? It's all to grow stronger. Each battle allows a Tera or a human to want to grow stronger, and, in turn, they do, little by little, as they are able to draw on the Energy of the world to strengthen themselves much faster than usual in a short time span after a battle. Regardless of whether one wins or loses, this kicks in, and this is also a reason why the Path to the Stars has so many battles."

As they absorbed this information, a few seconds of silence hung over the area, but after that, Edmond turned to Aaron to continue what he had begun to say.

"Aaron, yes, I know I sound dishonest, but I want to put our agreement on hold. I had the option to forget everything, but I didn't, as I found…that I have a new goal. I want to grow strong enough to stop what happened to me from ever happening to anyone, ever again. This is a laughable ambition to someone with my Potential, but the A.A says there is a way…all those who were chosen as candidates and then rejected have a special place that is open to them, and there, even though I might die, there is a chance…that I will grow strong enough to achieve my dream. Is it…possible to put it on hold until then?"