*RUMBLE*

The sound of thunder roared above in the dark clouds, while torrents of rain poured down onto the ground.

The entire audience within the Arena held their breath, gazing at the slowly rousing golden beast on the stage and the changes occurring on his body.

Calron’s scales quivered with a strange golden glow, and it appeared as if the scales were melting into a texture of molten metal, as the liquid writhed across his body.

Streams of golden essence from the surroundings were being rapidly sucked into Calron’s scales, including from the cores of the lightning beasts within the audience.

*CRACK*

A large bolt of lightning from the sky came cras.h.i.+ng down onto the stage and struck Calron right between the back of his two wings. The large goblin was forcefully knocked back when the lighting struck, landing several feet away from Calron’s body.

“Gra…”

The monster dumbly opened its mouth, staring at the bird that it had almost defeated. Sensing something wet, the beast glanced down at its chest and saw that its flesh was scorched black, while drops of crimson liquid seeped from the corner of the burnt skin and dripped onto the stage.

Returning its gaze back to the golden bird lying face-down on the ground, the goblin started to feel a seed of fear slowly take root within its heart.

The claps of thunder continued to resound in the sky, as bolts of lightning and rain cras.h.i.+ng to the ground.

As the waves of golden essence were absorbed into Calron’s now-molten scales, his body began to gradually enlarge until he reached a height of around ten feet tall. His claws and mid-section had elongated, while the wings on his back grew thicker and wider.

The molten gold liquid across his skin started to flow into Calron’s chest and streamed towards the core within his body. Throughout this entire time, Calron remained in a semi-conscious state as he drifted in and out of a dream and reality.

After the first bolt, another bolt of lightning struck Calron’s body and was instantaneously absorbed by the molten gold liquid, which unceasingly flowed towards his chest.

Calron could not feel or see anything, except for the flash of lightning from the corner of his eyes.

What was that?

The memory of his mother darted around within his mind. With her long golden hair fluttering in the wind, the beautiful woman picked him up and swayed his small body in the air in a meadow of silky gra.s.s.

Happiness.

No… that is not my mother… she had dark hair…

The image quickly changed to a scene where the same golden-haired woman appeared to be in labor and was attended by a number of middle-aged women. Looking deep into Calron’s eyes, the woman softly whispered.

“Raizel… wake up…”

All of a sudden, the scene flashed to a landscape where a tall dark-haired man stood.

With the midnight colored hair obscuring his face, only his lower jaw was visible. Slowly turning around to face Calron, a slight smile spread from the edge of the man’s lips.

*Ka-c.h.i.n.k*

The image shattered.

A jolt of pain shot through his mind, causing Calron’s senses to awaken and slowly pull him out of his hallucination.

He felt stronger.

No, bigger.

Calron groaned, as he started to awaken and sense what was happening around him. Through his half-open eyelids, he saw a wide-eyed goblin staring back at him and the looks of shock on the faces of the audience. The only movement he detected was from a small wolf pup who had her head raised to the sky and was howling in the rain.

Avi.

His eyesight was still hazy, and his vision was further obscured by the torrent of rain pouring down.

*pat-pat-pat*

Trying to move his wings, Calron began to take control of his muscles and rose up from the ground. Stretching his wings, Calron looked down at the s.h.i.+vering goblin beast in front him.

Did it just get smaller?

Meanwhile, Avi excitedly pranced around in the audience while letting out cheerful yips when she saw Calron regain consciousness and stand back on his feet.

When she previously saw her guardian fall down and tortured by the ugly monster, Avi recalled the painful memories of her mother and howled out in a sorrowful cry.

Rapidly wagging her small tail, the little wolf pup jumped up and down in an attempt to cheer on Calron.

The fox at her side blankly gazed at the ma.s.sive golden bird. It had been sure that the rude beast would be defeated within seconds, but the aura that Calron currently emitted was enough to cause even its soul to waver.

—In the Throne Room—

“What in the heavens was that!?”

Weir bellowed across the room, as he tightly gripped the throne’s armrest.

A misty screen floated in front of him, displaying the current events occurring inside the Arena.

After commanding his men to fix Calron’s match with a Silver ranked opponent, Weir had been closely following the battle to observe Calron’s fighting prowess. Initially, he was disappointed when he saw the golden bird being so easily defeated, making him wonder whether or not he was mistaken about the beast.

However, the moment when he saw Calron’s body suddenly enlarge and the golden scales melt on the bird’s body, Weir realized that things were starting to take a turn.

A beast that can alter his size before reaching the Saint stage…

Weir pondered within his mind, as he gave a quick glance to a smiling Laris next to him.

“I know that you don’t want to force him to fight for us, but look at him! He’s making a fifth rank Vajra expert tremble in fear. Weir… we need him.”

Laris stated while turning to face the silver-scaled beast seated on the throne.

“He is just one beast. It will not make a difference in the coming war.”

Weir responded, but his eyes remained fixed on the misty screen.

“Do you truly believe that?”

Laris asked softly.

“No…”

Weir let out a sigh, as he stood up from the throne and began walking to the large balcony on the side of the room.

“Where are you going?”

Laris curiously inquired with a frown on her face.

“To greet him.”

Weir smiled, as his body suddenly morphed and grew into a colossal silver dragon.

A savage roar echoed within the palace, as the twenty-five-foot beast flapped its enormous wings and flew into the sky.

Immediately after Weir left, Laris hurriedly yelled into a crystal and sprinted out of the throne room.

Hearing the mighty roar within the palace, the servants all stopped what they were doing and rushed out into the open. Glancing at the ma.s.sive shadow gliding through the sky, the beasts below felt their chests swell with pride when they saw the splendor of their ruler.

“The Dragon King…”

“Stupid rain!”

The sound of an irritated elderly woman resounded on top of the Arena’s building, as a small figure sat at the edge of the structure.

Lazily dangling her legs on top of the building, the old racc.o.o.n cursed at the dark sky for making her wet.

“Tch, even my fluffy tail got wet because of this stupid rain!”

The tiny beast spat out, as her claws rhythmically tapped against the stony building.

*CRACK*

A violent burst of lightning came cras.h.i.+ng down at the exact location where the grey racc.o.o.n sat. Without pausing a beat, the tiny beast lazily raised one of its claws and absorbed the entire bolt of lightning without uttering a single sound.

Nonchalantly dropping her claw, the old racc.o.o.n let out a wild cackling laugh.

“Bahaha, to think he even had the ability to call forth lightning from the heavens! A human who disguises himself as a beast, or a beast that disguises himself as a human? Gahaha, I like him!”

The old racc.o.o.n giggled, as she leapt off the edge with a burst of lightning under her feet.

Sensing something approach from far away, the tiny beast tilted her furry head to the side.

“Geh, so he’s coming as well.”

Sparks flew under old racc.o.o.n, as she madly cackled under the pouring rain while the sound of thunder resounded in the Arena.