The sun stood high above, marking the beginning of one of the festival's most anticipated duels. Two teams advanced through completely different zones, each filled with challenges and wild monsters, with a single goal: to reach the Final Coliseum.
Team Ares, made up of Agust, Dana, and Ares, moved through a rocky valley swarming with earth-type monsters.
—V formation, —Agust ordered— I'll take the lead, Ares in the center, Dana in the rear with support spells.
—Support? —Dana shot back— I'll fight alongside you.
—Do as you please, —Agust muttered, hurling himself into battle with an ice spear in hand.
Before them, a triple rock golem emerged from the ground. Dana leapt to the side, cloaking herself in crackling electricity.
—Cutting Lightning!
Bolts of thunder shattered part of the golem's armor as Ares activated his enhancement magic, boosting his speed. With a leap and a reinforced kick, he smashed one of the monster's secondary cores.
Agust, spinning with elegance, drove an ice stalactite straight through the golem's chest.
—Area cleared, —he said coldly.
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the field, Team Tony, consisting of Tony, Liana, and Emma, faced their own path: a dark forest swarming with shadow-type monsters and magical vermin.
—Emma, light the way, —Tony commanded.
—My way, —she replied with a smile. She snapped her fingers, conjuring a sphere of purple light that floated above their heads, dispelling the darkness with an arcane glow.
—This place is creepy… —Liana whispered as shadowy wolves began to approach.
—Roots! —she exclaimed, summoning a plant trap that held them for a few seconds.
Tony stepped forward. With a punch to the ground, a column of rock erupted, crushing the shadow wolves.
—Don't underestimate them, —Emma warned— They're not illusions. They're physical phantoms. They have souls.
One of them managed to slash Tony's arm, but Emma saved him just in time with a dark lightning bolt that disintegrated the creature.
—Thanks… —Tony panted.
—That's what I'm here for, —Emma replied, never taking her eyes off him.
Both teams advanced, zone after zone.
Both teams displayed admirable coordination.
But only Ares and Tony knew the real conflict wouldn't be against the monsters…
It would be between themselves.
As they pressed forward, the silent pact echoed in their minds:
If Ares won the final battle, Tony would confess his love for Emma.
If Tony won, he'd have a clear path to pursue Liana.
And so, amid monster roars, clashing spells, and diverging paths, the two teams ended the day on the edge of the Final Coliseum, exhausted but resolute.
The true battle was about to begin…