CHAPTER 241: CHAPTER 240 - THE THIRD PHASE 1.

The air shimmered as Rufus stepped onto the glowing marble platform. His boots clinked against the runes beneath, each step sending small pulses of light up the arena’s edge like a heartbeat syncing to his presence.

"Rufus the bullied, are you ready?" Arietta’s voice echoed, calm yet edged with playful challenge.

"...who came up with that nickname?" Asked Rufus, his face visible through the open visor of his suit.

"I did," Raven, sitting on one of the clouds along with everyone else, smiled at him. "It’s nostalgic, isn’t it?"

Looking at the smile that didn’t even reach his eyes, Rufus swallowed his protest. "Y-Yes. It is nostalgic."

"Rufus the bullied, are you ready?" Arietta then repeated, biting her lips to suppress her giggle.

Rufus sighed, his visor clicking back into place with a whir. "Bring it."

The divine domain trembled.

Arietta raised her hand, and a glowing glyph formed in the air, whirring like a divine computer booting up.

"Initiating simulation: Level Nine Beast—’Zubzub the Dreaded.’"

The air pulsed once.

Then twice.

Then, with a loud blarp, a massive, frog-shaped abomination popped into existence on the other side of the arena.

It was seven meters tall, muscular, with glowing red eyes, disproportionately tiny wings, and a crown made entirely of melted spoons. It carried a club shaped like a banana... on fire.

Everyone blinked.

"...What in the carnival of cursed creatures is that?" Jessy muttered, sitting next to Clara.

"It’s hideous," Clara agreed.

"Cluckles would call it cousin," Alex added from the side.

"Don’t underestimate him," Arietta said sweetly. "It is an ultrarealistic illusion created by yours truly, with its true power reaching level ten despite being a level nine."

"Damn! It’s so punchable!" Graye exclaimed.

In the arena, Rufus merely cracked his knuckles. "Target locked."

His nano core pulsed, and suddenly, the suit shifted.

Whirrr-clank!

His frame expanded slightly as additional armor layers coated his shoulders, thighs, and chest.

His back lit up with glowing wings of light, pulsing like reactors.

Rufus was getting bigger. The nanoparticles generated from the core fused.

In less than a second, Rufus’s size had grown close to three meters.

This was one of the main things he had learned, as he had realized that the enemies they would face in the future wouldn’t be small.

The increase in his size helped him grow in every aspect. After all, more nanoparticles powering his suit meant that he could exert more strength and speed.

"Protocol: Juggernaut Class," Rufus declared. "Activating Lightstorm Array."

From his palms and shoulders, thin barrels extended. With a soft hum, they charged with golden energy.

Zubzub blinked.

Then it opened its mouth—BLAARRRP!—firing a beam of compressed sound and banana-scented fire.

Rufus dashed sideways, leaving a trail of light behind him. His wing-thrusters flared, and he zipped into the air.

"Light Burst Barrage!" He called, and a hail of glowing orbs rained down like meteor showers. Zubzub screamed, flailing its club like a toddler in a tantrum.

"Oh, it’s mad now," Selena chuckled.

Raven nodded, his arms folded and his eyes gleaming. "Good. Let it push Rufus."

Zubzub suddenly leapt skyward, flapping its pathetic wings just enough to spin like a rotund ninja star. It came down with a fiery smash, cracking the arena tiles.

Rufus didn’t budge. Instead, he raised his hand. "Photon Grip!"

Nanoparticles surged outward and coalesced into a massive, glowing hand that caught the spinning beast mid-air, slamming it sideways.

This was another thing he had learned.

He could now control nanoparticles even if they were away from his body, like additional limbs.

"WHOOO!" Alex cheered. "That’s what I’m talking about!"

Nibbles raised a sign. "That’s similar to my ability? Are we twinning?"

The others could also tell that Rufus was now way more useful.

Inside the arena, Rufus lowered his hand.

"Energy output: 78%."

His voice was steady. "Initiating Overload Mode."

His armor pulsed again—his chest flaring with a golden star-shaped core. Light pulsed from every joint.

Zubzub roared again, this time spinning toward him like a flaming meatball.

Rufus didn’t move.

Instead, he muttered, "Too slow."

FWOOOM!

He vanished.

Appeared above.

CRACK!

His foot slammed into Zubzub’s back, creating a shockwave that cracked the arena in half. The beast shrieked, sparks flying from its melted spoon crown.

"Finish it, Rufus the bullied!" Jessy shouted, pumping her fist.

For a second, Rufus almost stumbled, but then he shook his head. ’A mental attack that weak won’t stop me.’

"I’ve got this," he declared calmly.

He hovered mid-air, all his nanoparticles aligning into a massive glowing cannon.

"Final Sequence: Nova Lance."

The light cannon hummed like the breath of a star.

Then—

FWWAAAAHH!!

A beam of pure light fired, engulfing Zubzub in a pillar that reached the heavens. The entire realm vibrated as Arietta’s enchantments kicked in, containing the blast.

When the light faded...

Only steam remained.

Everyone nodded.

Rufus landed lightly, his armor steaming.

"Target neutralized."

Raven stepped forward and nodded with pride. "Nice work."

Behind him, Nibbles raised a sign: "Zubzub got ZAPPED."

Arietta, however, wanted to end this quickly so she could spend more time with Raven and also relax a little.

So, she called out.

"Next."

Everyone turned toward Graye as she had said that she would go after Rufus, and Graye, noticing everyone’s gaze, grinned.

"I can go?" She turned to Raven, and as soon as he nodded his head, she jumped into the arena, smiling like a child ready to receive her candy.

...........................

A while later.

The sky above crackled as a roar echoed across the arena.

A wave of fire breath washed forward like a molten tsunami—but it crashed harmlessly against a lone figure standing tall in the center, her greatsword raised high.

Graye grinned beneath her helmet, a purple flame coiling around her great sword like a living serpent.

The attack ended with a sizzle. Steam hissed from the scorched floor, revealing Graye still standing there, completely untouched.

Everyone watching relaxed.

"Yup. She’s fine," Siris said, stretching her legs.

"Of course," Clara yawned. "As long as she’s wearing armor, magic can’t touch her."

"It’s scientifically dumb," Jessy muttered. "But it works."

"She’s like a walking cheat code," Alex said, nodding sagely.

From above, a wyvern-like monster hovered—its eyes spinning in confusion.

It was ten meters tall, covered in mismatched scale patches, and with a mustache that looked suspiciously like dried noodles. Its wings flapped in uneven rhythm, and it had three tails, each holding an actual brick.

It belched nervously.

Graye looked up. "My turn!"

Her greatsword, now twice her size, pulsed with energy.

The purple flames flared, then condensed, and with a flash—whooom—the blade grew, growing larger and larger until it dwarfed even the wyvern.

Clara blinked. "Okay, that’s new."

"She made it bigger, and she can summon it faster now," Selena murmured. "And although it’s still predictable, that might be the most destructive move anyone in our group can come up with."

With a gleeful squeal, Graye slashed.

SCHHRRAAAAM!!

The blade came down like divine judgment, cleaving the entire arena in half, and the wyvern?

Gone. Not exploded. Not knocked out.

Just disintegrated into glitter and existential regret.

Five seconds.

Graye twirled her sword and posed. "I’m so much better than Rufus! Did you see that?!"

Rufus gaped. "Wait—since when was this a competition?! If I knew it was, I would’ve ended it faster!"

"You literally announced a final move," Jessy snorted.

"Strategic drama!" Rufus argued.

Meanwhile, up on the cloud, Arietta had taken her rightful place—now curled sweetly in Raven’s lap like a lazy cat with a divine core.

She had concluded that she could be a referee from Raven’s lap.

The other girls didn’t say anything.

Selena leaned against Raven’s left side, Clara sat on his right, and Siris was behind him, braiding a strand of his hair casually.

Raven didn’t even flinch. "Good job, Graye."

"Thank you~!" She beamed, doing a fist pump and nearly toppling herself with excitement.

She had defeated a beast that was stronger than anything—except for that sky-shattering being—they had faced, yet she ended the fight with a strike.

However, no one was surprised, as this was Graye.

They didn’t even know why they let her fight. She was the strongest—more like unkillable—member of the group.

They knew she would end up winning, but they still let her fight for the sake of it.

Arietta twirled her finger, letting a new glyph form mid-air.

"Next," she said with a yawn, nuzzling closer to Raven. "Let’s move it along. Some of us have cuddling to do."

...........................

The arena lights dimmed.

Arietta, still cozily lounging in Raven’s lap with her legs dangling off the side like a bored cat, gave a halfhearted spin of her finger.

"Alex the dumb, are you ready?"

The ground rumbled as lava bubbles rose from the glowing platform—and then fizzled out anticlimactically.

From the clouds, Alex roared with way too much enthusiasm.

"LET’S GOOOOOOO!!!"

Alex launched himself onto the arena in a triple flip, landing with one leg raised and arms flexed behind his back like a mix between a professional wrestler and a ballerina who forgot the routine halfway through.

He pointed toward the sky.

"IT’S GO TIME, BABY!"

"Why is he like this?" Jessy muttered, rubbing her temples.

"No one knows," Clara answered without missing a beat.

Rufus sighed as Nibbles climbed up his arm and settled proudly on top of his helmet like a squirrelly crown.

Nibbles raised a sign: "This is going to be so stupid. I love it."

Arietta, still lazily playing with Raven’s hair, flicked another glyph into the air. "Initiating simulation: Level Nine Beast—’The Blobfather.’"

A thick, sloshing sound echoed.

Then—SPLURT!

A giant gelatinous cube slammed onto the arena floor.

It was semi-transparent, about fifteen meters tall, and wearing a pinstripe fedora somehow suspended in its goopy head.

A black mustache floated inside it like a jellyfish tentacle, and it held two comically large forks like gangster pistols.

It jiggled menacingly.

Alex leaned forward, eyes gleaming. "Ohhh. He drips menace. I respect that."

"He’s literally dripping," Rufus muttered.

"I know, and look at that hat," Alex added, wiping a fake tear. "What a fashion king."

Suddenly, his symbiote, Blargh, squirmed out of his shoulder like a living puddle of black tar with eyes.

"Can I eat it?" It asked with a gurgling burp.

"No, Blargh," Alex grinned. "We’re gonna style on it."

Then he roared and slammed his fists together. Lava erupted along his arms like molten veins, and Blargh immediately wrapped around him like living armor.

His form didn’t grow in size—unlike Rufus or Graye—but pulsed with primal chaos. Streams of lava dripped from his back, forming what looked like four jagged, magma-coated tendrils.

"Form: Spiderbeast Mode!" Alex yelled.

Clara blinked. "That’s... not a real form."

"Don’t tell him that," Siris whispered.

The Blobfather jiggled ominously and raised a gooey fork, flinging it like a javelin.

SHWIP!

Alex webbed upward—yes, literally webbed. Blargh launched a sticky tendril from Alex’s palm, yanking him upward like a lava-powered Spider-Man.

"YEEEEEAAAAAHH!!"

He landed on the Blobfather’s shoulder, then skittered around its gelatinous surface like an overcaffeinated monkey in a lava wetsuit.

The beast tried to swat him, but Alex’s goo threads stuck it to itself, arms tangled.

Nibbles raised a new sign from atop Rufus’s head: "This is what peak performance looks like."

"GRAHHHHHH!" the Blobfather suddenly roared, its voice deep and wobbly.

"You sound like a wet sock full of regrets!" Alex cackled, landing on its forehead.

Then, he crouched.

His jaw unhinged slightly, glowing cracks spreading across his cheeks.

"Oh no," Jessy said. "He’s doing the breath thing."

"Alex," Selena called, "aim properly this time."

"I got this," Alex whispered to no one in particular, eyes glowing with primal joy.

Then—

FWOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!!

A massive lava breath beam blasted straight into the Blobfather’s enormous eyeballs.

The moment it touched—

BOOOOOM!!!

The entire top half of the beast exploded like a giant jelly donut, scattering fiery goo into the sky like a sugary volcanic eruption.

Splatters rained over the barrier and steamed against the divine shield.

Alex landed on the ground with a roll, his armor hissing.

He stood, panting, covered in soot and pride. "And that... is how you make jello shots!"

Nibbles raised a sign: "10/10. Michelin Chef of Chaos."

Raven smirked slightly. "Clean hit."

"Thank you, thank you!" Alex bowed several times. "I dedicate this performance to my fans, my squirrel, and the honorable art of stupid violence!"

Blargh gave a thumbs-up from his shoulder.

Arietta lazily waved her hand, yawning into Raven’s neck. "Alright, that was... something. Next."