The battle between the Corrupted Black Tiger and the three noble teams had reached a fever pitch.
At the start, the beast had managed to graze several students, leaving deep claw marks on their bodies. The teams knew they were far weaker in raw strength, but they adapted quickly—coordinating their formations and relying on their strongest support members to intercept the tiger's savage blows.
A mage from the Emberwick Household stepped forward, chanting as a shimmering watery shield manifested in midair. The barrier rippled each time it absorbed a sudden, bone-crushing swipe from the tiger's claws.
The black tiger snarled, halting its charge only to unleash a stream of crimson flames toward the nearest attackers. Then it would dart forward in blurs of black, disrupting their formation with sudden lunges, savage bites, and tail sweeps.
