The unicorn's horn blazed with beams of starlight, growing fiercer and faster with every strike. Geed leapt away from the onslaught, dodging each blast as if avoiding a rapid-fire laser.
Left, right, leap, crouch—
Vzzz! Vzzz! Vzzz!
The little squirrel-tailed rabbit found an opening and lunged, kicking squarely at the unicorn's chest. The blow barely staggered the beast, which countered with a sharp thrust of its horn. Geed twisted midair, narrowly avoiding the strike, landing and sliding between its legs before whipping his tail around for another kick.
Sereni retaliated with another burst of power.
Geed had to dodge again, the relentless "laser" sweeping dangerously close. The rabbit darted in a wide arc around the white horse, the starlight chasing him, leaving small craters in the ground wherever it struck, each one tracing the Fluffy's path.
From Ray's perspective, it was becoming painfully clear—they were stuck on the defensive. No matter how hard Geed attacked, Aria's beasts kept regaining strength. The unicorn's HP had barely dropped at all.
For more than ten minutes, Geed had been dodging non-stop, only for Aria to heal Sereni back to full.
No one in the Lunar Colosseum had expected a battle between a D-rank and an A-rank beast to drag out this long and feel this exhausting.
The starlight rained down in brilliant torrents, turning the night into a shimmering sea of light. The unicorn's ferocity had reached its peak—if Geed hadn't been his opponent, it was doubtful any other beast could have withstood the barrage.
The beams came faster now, almost too fast for the eye to follow—
Fwoom! Fwoom! Fwoom!
Smash!
One beam grazed Geed's ear, drawing blood—the first injury he had taken in the fight. The rabbit staggered back, leaping away to gain distance, buying himself space and time to dodge.
But keeping his distance allowed Sereni's HP to regenerate… and soon, Ray was the one on the defensive.
In moments, the unicorn was back to full health.
Ray knew they were in trouble, but he still trusted his beast—trusted the bond they'd built through training and care. No tactic seemed to work now; it was down to the beast's will to fight.
And Geed… looked like he was about to lose completely.
Smash!
A beam pierced through his ear, blood dripping.
Smash!
Another grazed his cheek, leaving a scorched mark.
Smash!
One shot tore through his front leg, rendering it useless.
Geed staggered, his stance collapsing, blood soaking his fur. His HP was down to a quarter.
Then—the final, smallest star shot straight for his face.
The white light consumed his vision. Time seemed to slow. Geed could see everything, but his body wouldn't respond.
In that frozen moment, an image flashed through his mind: sharing bread with Ray, hearing Ray's promise to try together, to reach the day he would be proud, the day of peace and warmth. Geed wanted to make that happen.
He wanted to be faster—faster than the speed of starlight.
He wanted to be Ray's pillar, even if he wasn't a legendary beast.
The little rabbit refused to stop. Refused to give up. He would do anything to survive—move again, dodge again, be faster, even on three legs, even bleeding all over.
Faster. Faster—until at last, Geed slipped past the furious starlight barrage once more.
Fwoom! Fwoom! Fwoom!
Each beam missed by inches—ducking under, leaping over—dodging in rapid succession.
"You're amazing, Geed! The best!" Ray shouted from the sidelines, voice breaking at the sight of his blood-soaked partner refusing to fall, refusing to surrender.
Geed had chosen to fight for Ray.
His body began to glow—pure, radiant white, brighter than the stars.
Then, the system message appeared:
Geed has adapted for survival.
Evolved into a High-Fluffy.
Level up: 16
Skill acquired: Hyper Mode
Skill acquired: Super Sonic
BOOOOM!
"What the—?!" Gasps erupted from thousands in the Lunar Colosseum as a shockwave exploded in the arena. The squirrel-tailed rabbit vanished from sight, replaced by a sonic boom that shook the air and rattled the ground.
Wind roared, hair whipped back, and both Aria and Ray raised their arms to shield their eyes.
In the blink of an eye, Geed streaked through the air and slammed into Sereni like a rocket. The unicorn flew into the magic barrier with a thunderous crash. Its HP dropped by a thousand in a single hit.
Aria froze for a moment before shouting to her unicorn, "Sereni! Focus! Don't let the fight's momentum swing his way!"
The unicorn braced its hooves, holding its ground—just in time to see Geed, now glowing red, charging at high speed.
Ray noticed Geed's mana was too low for another Super Sonic, so he saved it, relying only on Hyper Mode—trading HP for quadrupled power.
It was a race against time before Geed's life force burned out.
Aria didn't have time to read any data—she trusted her instincts to protect Sereni.
"Sereni! Don't hold back your mana! Fire twenty star shots at a time! Keep him away!" she yelled.
"Geed, dodge them all—and finish this in one go!" Ray's shout cut through the arena.
The atmosphere burned like molten lava. In his red-aura form, Geed charged in recklessly. Thousands of spectators leaned forward in their seats, biting lips, crushing snack bags, or clutching water bottles. Even the professors had stopped taking notes.
No one could look away.
Sereni unleashed starbursts in volleys of twenty, each fragmenting into dozens of glowing trails. The barrage came at Geed at speeds beyond reason.
But the rabbit never faltered—circling in closer, weaving between the blasts, bending his body like a dancer through a storm of stars. His movements orbited the unicorn like a celestial system.
Closer. Closer. Spinning in tighter arcs.
Hundreds of stars, thousands of lights—none could touch him. He ran until only ten HP remained. Ten seconds left to stand.
Nine…
Eight…
Seven…
Six…
Five…
Four…
Three…
Two—
And then, the shimmering light around Sereni began to fade—its buff had expired after three minutes.
One—
"SUPER SONIC!!!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!
…
…