This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Bea's infiltration of the Noxious Cloudling went unnoticed by Dwayne. The sentient cloud of poisonous gas was supposed to be a trump card.

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It loomed over the battlefield, its dark green and purple mist swirling ominously. Its form constantly shifted, expanding and contracting as if it were breathing. Occasionally, bright green sparks crackled within the haze, giving it a menacing aura.

The Cloudling's primary ability was to control and spread its toxic form, seeping into every crevice and choking out all life within its reach. However, its secondary ability, was to assimilate other mists, fogs, or gases, turning them into extensions of itself.

Dwayne had clearly chosen the Cloudling to counteract Kain's infamous mist strategies that he'd frequently used in the past, likely assuming Kain needed the mist for some kind of ability of his spiritual creatures—specifically Bea.

Kain had long heard the speculations of others about whether the mist he used was what was responsible for mentally controlling the targets. Although Serena, Soren, Ranya, and Kairos have more knowledge about him and know that he's not at all dependant on the mist, most of the remaining student body is not.

However, considering that Bea used to need the mist to carry herself to the targets, this idea wasn't 100% unwarranted.

Unfortunately for Dwayne, Kain's strategies didn't rely on anything so trivial, and Bea had already infected the Cloudling's mind, establishing control with ease.

The Cloudling does have a true body composed of a denser mass of clouds that it can instantly shift in position to anywhere else in the area covered by its mist. However, once Bea's splits entered the vast majority of the floating water droplets composing the mist, something Bea was greatly accustomed to doing, it was only a matter of time before one of them made contact with the Cloudling's true body.

Meanwhile, the Tidebreaker Leviathan surged forward again, coiling and striking like a massive whip at Aegis. Aegis, solid as a boulder, deflected each strike with his stone arms. Occasionally, chunks of rock broke off from Aegis' exterior, but they would almost immediately regenerate as his innate ability to assimilate surrounding stone into himself kicked in.

On the other side of the arena, the Stormstrike Siren continued to sing a haunting melody.

Her voice seemed to carry a paralyzing effect that made the normally speedy wasps at least 30% slower, as well as the ability to influence the weather. Over time a denser and denser mass of clouds covered the arena in shadows, and the occasional streaks of lightning within the gathering cloud could be seen.

With a low rumble proceeding a massive crack bolt after bolt came hammering down onto Kain's contracts. Considering that Aegis's properties made him largely immune to lightning and electricity, and Bea was invisible to the opponents, pretty much all of the bolts were concentrated on Queen and the guards.

However, Queen's command over the swarm was impeccable. With precise movements, the guards weaved through the bolts of lightning, meanwhile after dodging a couple of bolts herself, she emitted a green healing glow to help those that didn't successfully dodge to recover.

Bea, having taken control of the Cloudling, was already in the process of turning Dwayne's trump card against him.

She subtly redirected the poisonous mist, swirling it closer to the Siren. The Siren's lightning strikes began to falter as the toxic fumes infiltrated her lungs, disrupting her concentration while singing.

The poison wasn't deadly due to the level difference, but in order for a yellow-grade spiritual creature to play a role in this battle against the green-grade contracts of Kain and the other top 5, Dwayne had spent a lot of time and money on strengthening its toxins—now all of his past efforts were coming back to bite him in the ass.

Dwayne's eyes narrowed as he realized something was wrong. The Cloudling wasn't spreading its poison as intended. Before, its movements seemed erratic, as though it were hesitating or confused. And now, it seemed to even be directing its allies. "What the—"

Before he could finish his thought, Bea made her move. The Cloudling, now fully under her control, expanded its form and moved to surround the Tidebreaker Leviathan. The toxic cloud wrapped around the massive serpent, eliciting a guttural roar of irriation as a faint stinging sensation began to seep through its scales.

However, the poison was far from the most influential aspect of the mist. Most of these droplets now contained one of Bea's splits, many of which had taken this opportunity to jump ship in the Leviathan.

Kain was once again able to take this opportunity to reuse his old strategy—and he wasn't even the one who had to expend spiritual power to produce the mist!

Perhaps he should thank Dwayne? But if he did, he may just welcome a fist to the face.

Dwayne gritted his teeth and redirected his focus to his Siren. The Cloudling might be compromised, but the Siren still had fight left in her. She unleashed a desperate, high-pitched wail, summoning a storm of lightning bolts aimed directly at Kain's spiritual creatures.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Queen buzzed loudly in fear. Two things that most insects do not like are fire and lightning.

Sensing the danger to their Queen, the Berserk skill of all the guards activated, and they surged in strength. They used gusts of wind generated by the wings, while Bea-infected Cloudling used the water droplets in its mist, to slightly deviate all of the lightning strikes aimed at Queen. All of the strikes ended up hitting the stage around her and only managed to kick up some rocks that ended up hitting Queen.

Seeing that a few harmless speckles of rock and dust hit their queen, the guards dank into an enraged frenzy, launching themselves at the siren with wild abandon.

Dwayne was losing control of the battlefield. The Leviathan was writhing in agony and was practically incapacitated by Bea, the Siren was being made into a pincushion by the Vespids, and the Cloudling had completely turned against him.

It was only a matter of time before the referee raised his hand, declaring Kain the victor. The crowd, though stunned by the swift and decisive outcome, erupted into cheers and murmurs of disbelief. The battle was much less suspenseful than they'd expected.