Chapter 50

  The fact Mikael spoke was enough to make my body prickle with unease. Beside me, Guy leaned forward in his seat, his eyes hyper focused on the small Mun, which practically was invisible amidst the giants battling in the arena, and the flashing lights.

  Mikael’s smile was dangerous, the smile of a predator closing in on his prey, as he continued to speak.

  “Dance, Ghost,” he said as he selected his move, “show them death’s cold embrace.”

  The Frost Fox, pure white, with eyes so blue they practically shone, lifted its head upwards, as if it were going to howl. Then, it’s body broken apart into a whirlwind of ice and snow. Howling winds picked up dirt within the arena, and even though we were protected from the attacks and effects of the arena, I could feel the chill of the move seeping the heat from everywhere. Within seconds, the arena was filled with snow particles, making it look like some strange snow globe filled with the most ridiculous scene ever and a broken backlight that constantly strobed.

  There was no sign of the Frost Fox. Which was the most terrifying aspect of all.

  Apparently back to being silent, Mikael said nothing as he silently commanded his Titanic Wall-Rus. Given the strobing, and the lack of success he had last time with whatever attack he’d tried, he opted for a different move entirely. His Wall-Rus flopped fully onto its belly, and the ice on its back began to glow. A faint mist crept from it, and judging by the spreading ice underneath it, the move, whatever it was, was chilling the arena even more. The white-blue ice spread outwards, creeping rapidly like a flash freeze. Given the Mun’s proximity to the Wealth Cashfish, the ice reached it, and began covering its gems in a thin coat of ice, as the Lion King’s turn came up.

  Breathing ragged, barely able to stand, Julius ordered it, once more, to attack. The shifting serpent was too small to try and hit, especially with its close proximity to the Shimmering Snapper, and the Frost Fox was… well gone. Leaving, only the Wall-Rus as a likely target.

  For the third time this battle, Julius commanded his Lion King to unleash its most devastating attack. And for the third time, the Lion King complied. Or, at least, it tried to. As it moved to position itself in such a way as to have line of sight for its attack, the creeping ice reached it. It’s movement, already sluggish from the poison, and the cold of the Frost Fox’s attack, worked against it. The absolute zero cold spreading across the arena from the Wall-Rus reached it before it got into perfect position for its attack, and its paws grew heavy, as ice clung to them, commanding them to stick to the ground. Each step the Lion King had to break its paw free from the frozen ground, before placing it down, gem claws extended to keep from slipping on the ice.

  Once in position, as its mane charged up the attack, the ice crawled up its arms and chest. By the time its attack reached full charge, practically all of the creature was covered in the frozen ice. When it launched its attack, it’s body cracked, sagging from the aftereffect, the ice holding it to the ground clinging even tighter. While the blast rocked into the Wall-Rus, doing a decent bit of damage against its iron shell, it cost the Lion King even more. Ice climbed hungrily up its form, its body too weak to struggle, to fight. With the energy sapped from its attack, and the poison, and everything else it had endured… the Lion King froze solid, and shattered.

  “You did well my friend,” Julius said softly, though his voice was amplified by the mic he wore. His gauntlet glowed, and his sixth and final Mun was called forth. The end of the battle was near, that much was certain. What was Julius’s final Mun?

  “That’s a dragon.” I said, dumbfounded, as it materialized. “That’s a freaking dragon.” I looked at Guy, mouth open, as yes, a literal dragon, took to the skies of the arena. It’s wings, when spread, practically covered the entire top of the arena. It’s body looked to made of pure gold, as power radiated from it. The shadow it cast below, as it blocked out some of the light flooding into the arena, amplified the strobing effect, which also danced off its golden body, to reflect down in an even more dazzling manner.

  “You know that Glimmer-Ish you have,” Guy said slowly, giving me a coy smile. He pointed at the dragon. “If you treat it well… that’s one of its potential evolutions.”

  “One of its…” I trailed off, looking over the creature. It’s name listed it as Golden King. And there was no doubt in the regal nature of it, nor its power.

  “You’re telling me,” I asked, dumbfounded, “my shiny, golden fish, can turn into a freaking dragon.” My mind reeled, “it’s description made it seem no one ever actually puts in the time to get it to that level.” I pointed, “why, would you not put in the effort to level it up?”

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  “Because getting a Glimmer-Ish to level 75 is an absolute nightmare, and practically no one has the time or patience or effort to do so.” He chuckled, “the only reason Julius has him, is because his father put off retiring, for years, so his son could do just that.”

  I swallowed hard. Years. It took Julius years to level up his Shimmer-ish to level 75? If that wasn’t a labor of love, I didn’t know what was. Still… my mind was already reeling with the thought of commanding a dragon. How freaking cool was that?

  I’d been feeling the battle was tipping in favor of Mikael. But against a dragon… a Mun that took that much time and patience and effort to acquire… surely, Mikael had bitten off more than he could chew.

  I watched as the shifting serpent slithered to the Wealth Cashfish, and struck. Poisoning it with its bite, effectively meaning two of Julius’s three remaining Muns was poisoned. With the ice effect trying to freeze the Cashfish solid now, and the frozen ground spreading even further still, on its way to the Shimmering Snapper, I had no doubt both of those Muns would be brought down by the damage over time and area of effects skills Mikael was employing. But still… dragon.

  “Bank Roll,” Julius commanded his Wealth Cashfish, and the massive creature tucked its fins and did just that, rolling sideways in such a manner that, like a rolling pin, or perhaps one of those massive construction vehicles with the heavy stone type wheel. The Shifting Serpent’s size shrank even smaller, minimizing no doubt the damage of the move.

  However, the Wall-Rus took the full brunt of the attack. It let out a groan of protest as its form was buried under the rolling bus-sized catfish. The sound of metal bending and snapping, of ice shattering, echoed from the arena, and when the Cashfish completed its roll, the Wall-Rus was… smaller.

  Part of its metal plating had given under the immense weight, the rivets where the metal plating had covered its body had buckled, the bolts breaking outwards, flying about like shrapnel. The ice on its back was shattered, which seemed to have effected its freezing effect, the creeping ice stopping just shy of the Shimmering Snapper.

  However, while the Cashfishs’ roll had freed it of the ice covering its body, it hadn’t escaped its encounter with the Wall-Rus unscathed. The broken ice on its back was sharp, and it had cut a massive hole in the side of the fish as it’s body had dragged over the Wall-Rus. Much like… er… the titanic… the Cashfish’s encounter with an iceberg had left it mortally wounded.

  Still, considering the dragon in the room… I didn’t think Julius had to worry. As he ordered his Shimmering Snapper to use Diamond Crush on the Wall-Rush, which further crumpled its armor and left it ‘bleeding’ frost and oil, I definitely didn’t feel worried for Julius.

  And then, the turn order moved to the Golden King. Julius smiled and bowed his head towards Mikeal. “You’ve done well to push me this far,” he said, an honest compliment based on his tone. “But you no doubt know, the Golden King isn’t a giant so easily toppled.”

  Mikael said nothing. He just looked at Julius, waiting, impatiently, for the keeper to make his move.

  “Even till the end,” Julius said heavily, “your silent resolve is admirable. So, I shall end this quickly.” He pointed at his Mun. “Golden Shower.”

  Seriously?

  I winced at the name. How could I not. But, poor name choice aside, I couldn’t look away. Golden light radiated all across the dragon’s body. It pooled into its wings, making them blaze with light. And then, the Golden King flapped the mighty wings, sending golden rays of light blasting downwards. It reminded me of an orbital laser barrage. And each beam caused the entire to shake violently as it smashed into the dirt floor. The beams fired in irregular bursts, barely avoiding Julius’s Muns, hitting every area possible. The Shifting Serpent’s small size was its only saving grace, as it managed to only get hit a single time. The Wall-Rus, however, was quickly turned to Swiss cheese, before it disappeared and returned to its crystal form within Mikael’s gauntlet.

  As the light show faded, the turn order shifted back to Mikael. He didn’t seem the least bit concerned that he was down to two Muns. Instead, he seemed rather… excited.

  “I know full well the strength of your Golden King,” Mikael said cooly, as he looked over the battlefield, “and I was prepared for it. After all,” his smile practically disappeared into the shadows of his cloak, though I could imagine his eyes danced with excitement, “Ghost and I have dreamed of toppling the Gemstone Giant, and bringing down a Golden King, for so, so long.”

  Timing his move along with his words, Mikael’s tiny Frost Fox appeared atop the Golden King’s head, like a frozen, adorable, white crown. It looked down at the creature, which had no way to actually touch the top of its head, nor likely even see what was sitting between its two horns. A moment later, brilliant blue light flashed from the Frost Fox. A second later, I watched as the Golden King… as a freaking dragon, toppled from the sky, encased in a solid block of ice.

  When it crashed into the ground, the Golden King broke apart, its form crushing and obliterating every Mun with it, leaving only the Frost Fox, which had lazily rode the ice tomb down before it dispersed back into snow, standing.

  The arena went silent. All eyes looked at the field, the carnage quickly dissipating as the world’s magic did its thing. The Frost Fox trotted happily towards Mikael, who knelt down to rub his Mun’s head, while Julius starred, dumbstruck. I was pretty sure the expression on his face was currently being mimicked by everyone, including me.

  What… had just happened? What… had I just witnessed? And how… had Mikael just won?