As the medical team rushed into the hunting ground to retrieve both fallen fighters, Cain’s voice boomed across the arena, steady and commanding.
“Next duel, Natalia versus Beatriz!”
The medics carefully lifted Sergeant Min-Jae and Serafina onto stretchers. Despite the intensity of the clash, both were conscious, breathing hard but stable. As they were carried past the gate, one of the medics turned, gave Cain a firm thumbs-up, and the gate seals unlocked with a hiss.
The hunting ground was cleared.
Natalia and Beatriz stepped forward.
Side by side, just beyond the threshold, they held their Spirit Cards, one obsidian-black, the other pearl-white. Their gazes locked for a brief moment: student and mentor, predator and predator.
Then both shouted in perfect unison:
“Spirit Drive!”
Light erupted.
Natalia’s body became encased in streamlined black armor, its surface etched with glowing crimson serpent lines that pulsed like living veins. A sleek mask slid over her lower face, and in her hands formed a pair of elegant twin sabers, curved, lethal, and humming with suppressed power.
Across from her, Beatriz transformed in a flash of pearlescent radiance. She now wore a sleek, form-fitting white armor accented with feline motifs: pointed ears on her helm, subtle whisker-like etchings on her cheek plates. Her gauntlets extended into razor-sharp cat claws that glinted with predatory sharpness.
The air between them vibrated.
Mentor and student stood poised at the threshold of the battlefield, two spirits awakened, two wills about to collide.
Just before stepping into the hunting ground, Beatriz placed a hand on Natalia’s shoulder, her voice calm but edged with challenge.
“Do you want a duel like Min-Jae and Serafina’s?” she asked. “Terrain of our choosing?”
Natalia paused, considering. A specialized battlefield could work to her advantage, elevation, shadows, wind currents. All of these could play into her speed and serpent-style footwork.
She nodded. “Let’s do it.”
“Then we choose the stone forest,” Beatriz declared.
The gate opened.
Both entered the hunting ground, their armored forms cutting through the lingering mist. They moved together through the shifting terrain until the forest floor gave way to the rugged rise of stone.
The stone forest loomed ahead, jagged cliffs, uneven ridges, and gusts of sharp wind slicing through narrow passes.
They climbed separate paths, ascending until each stood atop a stone pillar, facing one another across a slanted valley of rock.
Natalia planted her feet firmly in her serpent stance, twin sabers poised and glowing crimson.
Beatriz crouched low, feline armor gleaming, claws extended with predatory precision.
Atop opposite hills, wind roaring between them, mentor and student locked eyes.
They assumed their fighting stances.
The stone forest fell silent.
The duel was ready to begin.
Natalia struck first.
A single slash, clean, sharp, decisive, cut through the air.
“Poison Slash.”
Crimson venom ignited across her twin sabers, flaring outward in a deadly crescent. The air sizzled as the poisonous arc ripped toward her mentor.
Beatriz moved before the sound even reached her.
Her muscles coiled—
her pupils narrowed—
and she launched herself upward with effortless feline speed.
In a heartbeat, she was gone from the ground.
Stone pillars surrounded them on the mountainside, and Beatriz bounded between them like a panther in a moonlit hunt, vaulting, twisting, flipping, each movement fluid and elegant. Poison slashes tore the pillars behind her, leaving steaming green scars across the rock.
Natalia’s sabers blurred.
One slash.
Two.
Five.
A storm of toxic crimson sliced through the mountainside.
But Beatriz was always a step ahead—
dancing through the gaps,
her silhouette flickering between stone and shadow.
Then, with a flash of white armor, she dove.
SWWWIP!
She closed the distance in a single, perfect arc of movement, claws gleaming with spirit energy. Landing directly in front of Natalia, she slashed in a swift cross-cut aimed at her chest—
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
SCHRRK—!
But the strike didn’t break skin.
Instead, Beatriz’s claws slid off harmlessly as if striking slick, living armor.
Natalia’s serpent-born slimy, toxin-adapted skin shimmered under the blow, dulling its force completely.
Behind her mask,
Natalia smiled.
Beatriz’s eyes narrowed, assessing.
“So that’s your defense…” she murmured.
Natalia rotated her sabers, poison still dripping off their edges, stance tightening like a viper coiling for its next strike.
Beatriz crouched low, claws spread, tail of her aura flicking behind her like a stalking cat.
The wind whistled across the mountain peak.
Natalia moved first—
but not like a fighter.
Like a whisper.
Like a shadow gliding across water.
Her feet touched the tops of the stone pillars with unnatural ease, every step silent, smooth, almost casual… as if she were strolling along a garden path instead of sprinting across jagged mountain columns.
Beatriz followed instantly.
A predator’s rhythm.
Her body arced from pillar to pillar, claws scraping against the stone, momentum building with each leap. She tracked Natalia’s movements with eerie precision, eyes sharp, instincts sharper. To Beatriz, Natalia wasn’t a student.
She was prey.
Natalia felt the pressure closing in behind her.
And she smirked beneath her mask.
As the two women neared the cliff edge, Natalia bent low, coiling with serpent grace—
—and jumped backward.
A perfect backflip, smooth and airy, sailing clean over Beatriz’s head.
Beatriz’s eyes widened a fraction.
Too late.
Natalia landed lightly on a pillar behind her, blades already rising.
“Poison Slash.”
SHHH-CRRSH! CRRSH! CRRSH!
A storm of venom-coated slashes tore through the air, bright crimson arcs screaming toward Beatriz. Sparks of poison hissed against the stone as each slash struck near, the toxic wind biting at her armor.
Beatriz dodged—
twisting midair, bounding sideways, her reflexes blindingly fast—
—but every pillar she landed on brought her closer…
And closer…
To the edge.
She realized it at the same moment her heel touched the last bit of stone—
No more footholds.
No more escape.
Beatriz exhaled sharply, eyes sharpening to a hunter’s focus.
No choice.
She crouched low, muscles coiling—
—and launched herself straight at Natalia.
She closed the distance in a heartbeat, claws extended—
Only for her foot to skid.
Just a fraction.
Just enough.
Her eyes flicked down—
A faint shimmer glistened across the stone.
Slick. Oily. Intentional.
Natalia’s voice echoed behind her mask, low and calm:
“Serpent’s Slime.”
The trap she laid while flipping behind Beatriz—
waiting, silent, invisible—
now sprung.
Beatriz’s momentum faltered, her balance dropping for an instant—
And Natalia’s twin sabers gleamed, their poison glow rising like twin fangs ready to strike.
Beatriz steadied herself on the slick pillar, claws digging in for balance.
“So this is your plan?” she called out, breath steady but eyes sharp. “Let me slip. Make me fall. Clever trick, Natalia, using the pillars against me.”
Normally, Natalia would respond with a snide remark.
A taunt.
A playful jab.
But this time—
Silence.
Not a word.
Not even a glance.
Only the faint rise and fall of her shoulders as she reset her stance.
Beatriz’s eyes narrowed.
Silence? From her?
Something was off.
Something calculated.
Natalia suddenly bolted, darting across the pillars again, moving faster than before. Her steps were fluid, practiced, like she had mapped every foothold in advance.
Beatriz sprang after her, refusing to lose ground. The gap between them closed and widened in quick pulses as they danced across the mountainside.
But then Beatriz noticed it.
Natalia kept glancing over her shoulder.
Not in fear.
Not in hesitation.
In confirmation.
Checking.
Measuring.
Making sure Beatriz was exactly where she wanted her.
Beatriz’s instincts flared.
She’s leading me.
To what?
Natalia landed on a taller pillar and paused for a breath, just long enough for Beatriz to leap toward her.
Natalia’s eyes locked onto hers through the mask—
Cold.
Clear.
Focused.
She wasn’t running away.
She was guiding the fight.
Beatriz felt it in her gut:
Natalia wasn’t trying to win by a fall.
She was setting up something far more dangerous.
And Beatriz, the mentor, was now the one being hunted.
Natalia lifted her hand, calm, deliberate, almost inviting.
Beatriz’s eyes sharpened.
A signal? She wants me closer?
Fine.
Beatriz crouched low, muscles coiling like springs. She launched herself from the pillar with explosive force, claws ready to slice through the air. She closed the distance in a heartbeat—
But then she saw it.
Natalia’s lips moved.
A whisper.
Soft.
Precise.
“Partial Snake Transformation… Viper Arm.”
SHHHK—
Natalia’s right arm morphed instantly, flesh twisting into scaled coils. A serpent’s head unfurled where her hand had been, fangs gleaming, venom dripping. Her saber on her hand disperses.
Before Beatriz could adjust her momentum—
FWIP!!
The viper struck.
A perfect mid-air hit, straight to Beatriz’s head.
“Ghh—!”
Beatriz was thrown off course, spinning through empty air. The world tilted, stone pillars blurring past her. But instinct took over, reflex older than thought.
Her claws snapped out—
SCRAAAPE!!
—catching the edge of a lower pillar.
She swung, slammed into its side, then climbed up with fluid feline grace, landing in a crouch.
Breathing hard.
Eyes fierce.
Across from her, Natalia lowered her transformed arm, venomous serpent still coiled and hissing, its tongue tasting the air.
No words.
Just that cold, calculating gaze.
Beatriz wiped a trickle of blood from her brow and smiled faintly.
“So that’s it,” she muttered.
“You weren’t signaling me to come closer…”
Her tail-like sash flicked behind her as she rose to her feet.
“…you were ambushing me.”
Natalia said nothing—
But the viper’s hiss was answer enough.
Natalia reached up with her still-scaled hand and lowered her mask.
The air shifted.
Her lips pulled into a sharp, predatory smirk, revealing long, curved fangs glistening with residual venom. Faint scales shimmered across her jawline and neck, catching the mountain sunlight like cold steel.
“Surprised?” Natalia asked, voice low, edged with serpentine confidence.
“You told me yourself, when an opponent is too fast or too skilled… the best solution is a sneak attack.”
She tilted her head, eyes narrowing with calculated poise.
“And I simply perfected what you taught me.”
Beatriz’s expression flickered, half shock, half pride.
Because she did teach that lesson.
And Natalia had weaponized it flawlessly.
Outside the hunting ground…
Takeshi watched from the spectator screen, arms crossed, a proud grin tugging at his lips.
Kael noticed immediately.
“You taught her that?” he asked, one brow raised.
Takeshi nodded, eyes still locked on the display.
“Yeah. Natalia’s body is trained for precision, every movement, every calculation.”
He exhaled slowly, admiration in his tone.
“That tactic lets her use everything Beatriz drilled into her… and then turn it right back on her.”
Kael chuckled.
“Poetic.”
Takeshi smirked wider.
“It’s Natalia. Weaponizing someone’s own lessons against them?”
He gestured at the screen—
“She was born for that.”
Inside the arena, Natalia raised her viper-arm again, venom dripping onto the stone—
—and Beatriz readied herself, realizing this duel had just become far more dangerous.
Natalia’s movements became a deadly blur—
her viper arm striking, her other hand slicing arcs of venom-laced air that shimmered like toxic wind blades.
Beatriz ran along the pillars with feline precision, evading every strike.
Every poison slash carved into the stone behind her, sizzling on impact.
She narrowed the distance—
Closer.
Closer—
With a burst of power, Beatriz leaped, claws outstretched, ready to land a decisive blow.
But Natalia only smirked.
And then—
She fell.
Straight backward, off the stone pillar.
“Natalia?!” Beatriz gasped, landing on the pillar where her student had just been. Shock flickered across her face—Natalia would never make such a reckless mistake.
Unless—
She meant to.
As Natalia plummeted, her whisper drifted upward, barely audible, but filled with ancient authority:
“J?rmungandr.”
FOOOOM—
A thick, rolling fog exploded outward, engulfing the entire mountainside in seconds.
The stone pillar trembled.
Then the fog parted.
And from the abyss below—
A massive serpent head—dark scales shimmering with crimson patterns—lunged upward, its body unfurling like an awakening myth.
Natalia emerged from the serpent’s skull, now seamlessly fused with the titanic form.
Her eyes burned a deep, venomous red.
Her voice echoed like thunder wrapped in silk:
“Let me show you the strength of the Midgard Serpent.”
Beatriz stood frozen—not in fear, but awe.
A slow, wild smile curled on her lips.
“So this is your true evolution…”
She sprinted forward, claws igniting with spirit light—
But she never reached her target.
CRAAAAASH!!!
Natalia’s massive tail swung with blinding speed—
SLAM!
Beatriz was knocked off her pillar, sent flying across the mountainside like a launched projectile.
She flipped midair, landing on a lower ledge, skidding but keeping her footing—barely.
Looking up, she saw Natalia’s titanic serpent form coiling along the cliffside, fangs bared, eyes locked onto her like a predator savoring its prey.
Outside the hunting ground, the reaction was immediate—
and explosive.
Kael’s eyes went wide.
“W–What… what is that?”
Anya practically jumped a full foot off the ground, cheering loudly.
“That’s SO COOL! She turned into a giant snake monster! That’s AWESOME!”
Even the mentors, hardened veterans who had seen every kind of spirit evolution, stood frozen for a moment before murmurs of awe spread through them.
Cain folded his arms, impressed.
“An S-tier transformation… and at her age.”
Kael turned to Takeshi.
“You knew about this? You knew she had this kind of power?”
Takeshi gave a small smirk, scratching the back of his head.
“I’m not the only one who evolved during training. Natalia’s spirit creature changed, from Nigerophiidae… into J?rmungandr.”
He nodded toward the towering serpent on the screen.
“And with that evolution, she gained a full transformation. Exactly what you’re seeing right now.”
Kael swallowed hard.
“…She’s insane.”
Takeshi grinned.
“Insanely strong.”
Inside the Hunting Ground
The mountains quaked beneath Natalia’s colossal serpent form.
Dust and fog rolled down the slopes like waves.
Beatriz pushed herself up from the rocky ledge she’d crashed onto, brushing rubble off her armor. Her breathing was heavy, but her eyes burned with excitement.
“Alright…” she muttered to herself, stretching her arms, claws gleaming with spirit light.
“Let’s test the limits of a god-serpent.”
She sprinted forward.
Natalia’s massive tail whipped across the mountainside—
WHOOSH!
Beatriz slid under it.
A second strike—
Beatriz jumped over it.
She scaled a pillar and lunged, claws aimed straight for the serpent’s armor-like scales—
SLASH!
Her claws hit.
They did nothing.
Not even a scratch.
Beatriz hung there for half a second, still clinging to Natalia’s scales.
“…Yeah,” she exhaled with a breathless laugh, “I’m not breaking that.”
She pushed off, landing lightly on a boulder several meters away.
Natalia’s giant serpent head lowered, watching her with cold, ancient eyes.
Beatriz raised her hand.
“I surrender.”
The world froze for a beat.
Then—
CHIME!
The announcement echoed across the mountains:
“Victory: Natalia Oliviera!”
Outside, the cadets erupted into cheers.
Inside, the fog dissipated—
the serpent dissolved into spirit light—
and Natalia gracefully returned to her human form, mask still lowered, scales fading from her skin.
She exhaled, steadying herself.
And despite the intense battle, a small, almost shy smile crossed her lips—
She had won.
