Cain, in his building-size tarantula form, continues to barrage Ian with a multitude of downward thrusts with his giant legs. As expected of the spider subtone. With Ian already slowed down by the silk of one of Cain's previous forms around his wings, even a person like him, with the falcon subtone, would struggle.

"This is getting nowhere," Ian curses to himself as he reverts his wings to his original pair of arms.

"Sorry, Ian, but this is the end!" Cain hisses as he jumps high into the air.

"Don't underestimate me!"

Ian's running speed can easily match that of his flight speed. Right before Cain's landing, Ian rushes to the side of the arena. Dust from the dirt of the arena's floor spreads across the field, blinding many of us in the audience and obscuring the sections dedicated to the fighters. Cain quickly gets up from his landing and, from what I think I see, continues to search for his prey.

"Think you can hide? Think again!"

With that, Cain lets out his blood-curdling spider hiss, causing dust to disperse away from his position.

"Too late, Cain!"

"What?"

Turning his eight-eyed head towards his right side, Ian grabs hold of one of Cain's legs near the middle of the battlefield.

"HHHAAAAAAAA!!!!"

With tremendous strength expected of an animal tone, Ian lifts Cain's body off the ground and spins it around the arena with increasing velocity.

"Sorry, Cain! But one of us has to win! And that person..."

Upon saying these words, Ian hurtles Cain into the air, ripping off the silk in the process. Reverting to his falcon form, Ian takes to the skies at 95 kilometers per hour and stops a short distance above Cain.

(Guess this is how it ends,) I think to myself watching this battle. Honestly, this was one of the better ones. But it's time for Ian's special maneuver...

Ian's falcon dive.

Even with the short distance between them, Ian's falcon dive reaches full speed at 350 kilometers per hour right before collision. Reverting back into his human form, he delivers his final blow, a powerful kick, to the underside of Cain's cephalothorax. Both come crashing down at unmatched speed, causing more dust to disperse upon collision. Although the dust makes much of the landing hard to see, everyone here can easily make out the legs of a giant spider beginning to curl upward and inward. When we can finally see the battlefield once more, the outcome is obvious.

There is Ian standing on top of Cain's, now human, injured body.

"AND THE WINNER, IAN PÁJARO!!"

With that, Ian lifts Cain by the shoulders and helps him to his feet. This fight is a clear testament to the strength of animal tones. Truth be told, one of the main reasons for Ian's victory is his specific subtone rather than just his species. While some animal subtones can allow an individual to transform into multiple species, some other subtones only limit themselves to a very select few. However, the fewer transformations an animal subtone has, the more physically superior their forms become. Survival of the fittest meeting quantity against quality.

"You've gotten tougher since last year, Ian. Guess this is payback for last year, eh?"

"Worry more about yourself right now. Don't want a strong rival like you to miss out on today's festivities."

It would seem that everyone has become much stronger since last year. A human-sized werewolf winning against a giant rat. A boxing kangaroo losing to a giant black boar. A cactus subtone weakening but still winning over a unicorn. A stinging metal tree subtone beating a griffon. Surprising that my friend with the chimera subtone lost, and to a hyena no less! Also, using a grapevine subtone's fermented produce to intoxicate a cockatrice was quite ingenious. Truth be told, the girls are actually showing us up this year! One thing is certain - I have a long tournament ahead of me. But...

That dream...To see someone as strong as my father lose...

I cannot lose here! Not now!

"And now," says the announcer, "On to our seventh round of the preliminaries! ...And what a strange pairing we have now! In this battle, we have Antonio Colmillo! Judging by today's bets, Tony here is the crowd favorite, and there's good reason why! And his opponent, with a consecutive losing streak in the preliminaries for two straight years, is the cloaked swordsman, Oren Tsurai! Talk about a tough pairing right from the start!"

(Truth be told, I hate that guy... I'd like to see him down here.)

I cannot make out what very many people are saying in the audience. All I can say is that they sound disappointed.

"Ready, Oren?"

"Hm? Oh... Ready as I'll ever be, Tony."

The two of us rise simultaneously and prepare to walk into the...

(Oh crap! I forgot my sword!) I realize as I press my right hand against my waist.

Ppiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!

(Who's whistling?)

"Oren, heads up!"

I turn around to see a sheathed sword being tossed from the audience into the arena. I backflip and grab the hilt midair. As I regain my footing, I look into the audience and see Doryoko waving to me with his usual cheerful smile. This is definitely my sword. Pity it's worn out and probably going to be replaced soon.

"Don't lose, Oren! You know how Sueka will get if you do!"

At this, all I can do is smile. "Don't worry, father! I'll make you proud!"

Tony and I get in position on our respective sides of the field, with our backs turned to one another. No matter how kind Tony is normally, I cannot deny I feel rather tense at the thought of this encounter.

"I'm sorry, Oren. But that necklace will be mine. I have someone I wish to give it to."

"Likewise, mi amigo. And also...I have a few other reasons to win as well."

"Well then, make this interesting."

I slowly put my hand on the hilt of the blade now strapped to my side.

"Ditto."

"And now.... BEGIN!!!"

I quickly unsheathe my sword and spin as fast as I can, causing a small tornado of dust to surround me. Bracing himself, Tony goes on all fours and closes his eyes. Waiting for a hint of sound, he remains stationary.

Whoosh!

"Nice try, Oren!"

Tony jumps in the air in order to dodge my...

"The sheath?"

Seeing an opening, I jump into the air with all my might and prepare to hit Tony with a horizontal slash. Anticipating my movements, Tony stops my sword with his two hands pressed together. Just as I predicted. Using the momentum I gained jumping, I grasp my sword's hilt tightly and begin to shift my weight in order to spin on it. I use that to deliver a speed empowered kick to Tony's side. The blow causes him to wince and release my sword, giving me a chance to hit him with another kick in the same spot.

(Third Age... Spinning Axe Kick!)

This second flying round house kick's aim is true, hitting Tony's side and knocking him downwards and into the arena's interior walls. The collision causes part of the wall to shatter, with debris dispersing from the crumbling architecture. I can see Tony's silhouette get up.

"Not bad, Oren."

With a single wave of his hand, the dust disperses, showing Tony smiling and rather unfazed.

"This will be fun after all."

With that, his animal rhime begins to encircle his hands. In an instant, there lie Tony's signature weapons: his tiger claws. The two of us rush towards the same point further down the arena. When within arm's reach, Tony slashes at me with his right hand. I block it with my sword. Expecting this, Tony performs a round house kick of his own. I lean backwards, land on my left hand, perform a hand glide sweep kick in an attempt to trip him.

(First Age...Dancing Flare!)

Jumping before I hit him, Tony performs a downward slash with his claws. I attempt to roll out of the way, but part of my cloak gets ripped off. I get up and, much to the surprise of the foreigners, my cloak glows a faint light purple and repairs itself. That is both the blessing and the curse of my cloak. I won't ever lose it, but I can never get out of it.

Tony crouches down and goes into a pouncing position. Seeing this, I brace myself for his fast frontal assault. He rushes at me at 65 kilometers per hour, slamming his claws into my sword, and continues to push me backwards, while I maintain my balance. To think he hasn't even used his full power yet!

In an attempt to escape, I quickly push myself off the ground, let go of my sword, and perform a one-armed handstand on Tony's left shoulder to get away just before I would have collided with the arena's wall. Tony slams into the wall but, once again, remains unfazed. Taking my sword in his hand, he throws it upwards so that is disappears from sight. Wait...shit! I shouldn't have lost my focus when watching the sword!

(Soul Conversion 4...BEAT!!!)

With my newfound speed, I dodge what would have been a bone-breaking downward punch. Tony's punch creates a small crater in the arena, much to even my surprise. Truth be told, this is going to be tough, especially with me only having 20% of my rhime left. Even with the stamina I obtained from my Soul Conversion, I cannot deny how tired I feel. Getting up from his missed punch, Tony looks at me and can't help but smile.

"Nice moves, but you can't beat me by only dodging!"

"Hehe. Don't get too cocky, mi amigo!"

"I like your spirit, but I think it's time to end this!"

(Here it comes!)

Tony again goes on all fours and calls upon his animal rhime. The brown aura begins to radiate from every part of his body and starts to encircle him at increasing speed. With each passing second, the speed of the rhime's encirclement picks up with the radius of aura drastically expanding. From within, the sounds of a monstrous feline growl can be heard. And with that....

"GGGRRROOOWWWWRRRR!!!!!!"

With a great roar, the rhime aura disperses, showing Tony's most powerful form.

His giant First Age white Siberian tiger form.

"AND THERE IT IS! THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR, FOLKS!" proclaims the obnoxious announcer.

After letting out a second roar, Tony goes into a pouncing stance.

(Here it comes!)

Tony rushes at me with greatly enhanced speed, easily topping 200 kilometers per hour. I shift my weight to the left to barely dodge the incoming slash from his right claw. Honestly, if I didn't heavily rely on speed myself, I would have lost then and there! Tony quickly regains his footing and performs a downward sweep with his giant tail. AAA!! This attack hits me directly in the stomach and launches me backwards halfway across the battlefield. Tony again prepares to pounce and jumps high into the air. Unable to get up in time, I simply brace myself for his landing.

"OREN!!" I hear Doryoko cry.

BA! Tony makes his landing with all front claws on top of me. The sound of the landing resounds throughout Terraz like the sound of lightning. The audience is blinded once again by the dispersing debris.

"AMAZING! This is the power of an animal tone prodigy! Unmatched strength combined with natural speed! Was that the final blow!?"

As the debris disperses, the audience can clearly see the outcome. Much to their surprise, I am not down just yet.

But here I am, trying to hold off two giant claws with my bare hands merely centimeters from my chest. Where he was aiming wouldn't have killed me, but I still don't fancy being punctured by claws! With the strength I obtained from my Soul Conversion waning, this is getting much harder to keep up.

"It's over," Tony states in his tiger form. Yes, animal tones can speak human languages, no matter what form they're in. "Give up!"

Why resist us?

The memory...of that dream...

Why resist us?

The loss... the pain...

Look around you. This is what you two will bring about if you live!

Must I simply give up? Is that my role in life? Can I not go the distance?

Do you wish to change it? Your fate.

Should I simply accept loss?

Fighting is your purpose. Your reason for existence.

...

Fighting is your purpose.

...No...

Fighting is your purpose.

...I cannot...

Fighting is your purpose!

...I will not...

FIGHTING IS YOUR PURPOSE!

"I WILL NOT LOSE!!"

(I REFUSE TO LOSE! NOT UNTIL I HAVE REPAID MY DEBT!!)

With all my might, I push the claws up, away from my body, moving myself out from underneath them, then pull the claws back towards me.

"What are you...?" asks Tony.

(Soul Conversion 2...BEAT!)

(18% left!)

I pull harder to move him in faster. Seeing the opportunity, Tony opens his mouth, preparing to bite me. Anticipating this, I backflip right before he does, then prepare an attack of my own.

(Second Age... Elven Updraft!)

I kick upwards with all my might, the attack hitting Tony in the jaw and forcing him to stand on his hind legs. Before he can regain his footing, I land back on the ground and prepare for another attack.

(Soul Conversion 2...BEAT! Alright, 16%.)

(Third Age... Spinning Axe Kick!)

I jump towards his chest at full power and hit him hard with another flying round house kick. It seems my attacks are finally starting to get to him. He falls on his back, growling in pain. But that's not the end of my barrage!

(Soul Conversion 2...BEAT! Only 14% more.)

I grab Tony's giant tail and begin to spin him around, just like Ian did to Cain in the previous match. I cannot let up now. More speed! I shift my weight in the direction in which I am spinning, causing myself to pick up momentum. But it's not enough. Faster! The speed of spinning is beginning to match that of Ian's spinning before and...

"Don't think this will work that easily!"

After I hear this, Tony's body begins to glow brown with rhime as he reverts back to his human form. This causes his tail to disappear and, without anything for me to hold on to, he gets launched full speed into the wall. This time, the collision looks like it hurt him more than anything up to this point, but he still doesn't look ready to back down. Removing himself from the wall, Tony reverts his hands back into claws and rushes towards me.

Finally reaching my position, Tony performs another downwards slash. I dodge to the right but get nicked in the shoulder. The maneuver causes my cloak to get shredded before it repairs itself. But I won't lose. If what I saw is true, I will change my fate! Tony performs a horizontal slash, missing me as I duck and spin around to his side. As I get up, I perform a round house kick to his stomach, knocking him back a few meters before he rushes at me again. As he closes the gap, he aims for my legs with his claws doing an outward horizontal slash. Before he makes contact, I jump over them, spin in the air, have my right hand land on the ground, then...

(First Age...Dancing Flare!)

Yes! A perfect kick to the side of his face! Sorry about this, Tony, but I won't lose today!

"I won't lose today, Oren! Not now! Soul Conversion 5...BEAT!"

(What?)

With a new surge in speed, Tony punches me in the stomach, picks me up by my legs, then tosses me across the field. I land on the ground and slide upon my back for a few meters before coming to rest. Truth be told, this really hurts!

BATAN!

I hear the sound of an object falling, and see that my sword has landed in the middle of the battlefield, equal distance between myself and Tony. I look past it and see that Tony looks just as tired as I am. Must be from maintaining his tiger form for so long. Gasping for breath, all I can say is this...

"Tony..."

"Oren..."

.....

"LET'S END THIS!!!" we proclaim in unison.

(Soul Conversion 2...BEAT!)

"Soul Conversion 3...BEAT!"

The two of us rush towards the middle of the battlefield, ready for the final collision. Luckily for me, I am naturally faster, so I reach my sword before him and grab it with my left hand. Tony prepares to hit me with a spinning slash. I dodge it by ducking. However, it is a feint, as Tony prepares to kick me with his left leg. There's only one thing left to do...

(My strongest combo...)

I jump slightly above his kick and land on the ground with my right hand.

(First Age...Dancing Flare!)

With this attack, I trip Tony off of his right leg.

(Second Age... Elven Updraft!)

Pushing off with my left leg, I hit him again in the jaw. As I land, I go into a crouch four point starting position specifically for sprinters.

(Third Age... Spinning Axe Kick!)

I push off at max speed and perform my spin kick, hitting Tony in the chest and knocking him backwards.

(It's not over yet... Soul Conversion 1...BEAT!)

(This is the last of my rhime I can use. Let's make this count.)

With the speed I got from the push off from my starting position, I utilize this last bit of rhime to rush past Tony, who has yet to come to rest. I turn around to face him, and prepare my sword by holding it vertically in front of me with both hands. As soon as Tony's within cutting range, I bring the blade down towards the ground...and...

"Fourth Age... Yokai Uppercut! Adios!!!!!"

I slash upwards at maximum speed, grazing Tony's chest as he continues to roll past me. The attack causes him to let out a scream of pain. I wish there was a way to win without resorting to swordsmanship. But given my... condition... I'm afraid this is all I can do.

Behind me, I finally see Tony stop rolling from my Spinning Axe Kick. After seeing him fatigued, I too feel the strain of the battle and collapse onto one knee. Tony gets up slowly, breathing heavily but not bleeding much, and stands shakily. He then raises his right arm upwards and proclaims...

"I, Antonio Colmillo, forfeit this match!"

Then falls backwards onto the ground.

For a few seconds, there is silence. And, when I look around, it seems that many of the foreigners are surprised themselves. Finally, for the first time I actually want to hear his voice...

"And the winner is.... OREN TSURAI!!!!!!!!"

"YYYYYEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!" cries a large portion of the audience.

While the majority of the foreigners remain silent, many of them showing both surprise and disgust, having lost their bet, the majority of the locals burst out cheering. To think...my first win! Against Tony no less! It must be true then! I CAN change my fate!

With what little strength I have, I get back up to my feet and slowly inch my way over to Tony. Surprisingly, despite looking very tired, he looks fine otherwise. I reach out my hand to him.

"Need a hand, mi amigo?"

He looks at me for a while without any change in his expression, then smiles.

"One of these days, I'd like a rematch."

Honestly...so would I.