CHAPTER 167: 167 EERIE BLIZZARD.

*Clank!

Steel clashed, scattering sparks in the air, followed by a thunderous clank that halted the atmosphere in the arena.

The crowds held their breath, witnessing a finesse calm of control from Silvia, who faced the relentless onslaught from Kaede.

With little movement, Silvia deflected the cat girl’s attack, shifting its trajectory without breaking her calm expression.

On the other hand, Kaede’s movement was wild. She utilized her animal characteristics perfectly.

Thanks to training under Jin, Kaede, who used to put off her privilege, now unleashed it without restraint.

Her movement was an amalgamation of finesse and unpredictability.

Kaede twisted midair and swung her katana sideways, but Silvia bent her knees, dodging the attack.

Then the cat girl followed with another twist in the air, pushing her heel straight down to Silvia’s shoulder.

Silvia’s azure eyes capture the moment briefly. She shifted her position and let the leg pass down before her face.

A chill ran down her spine, and Silvia raised her hands to cover her face and received a heavy blow in her arm.

Her body got dragged several metres on the ground. She gritted her teeth, feeling the throbbing in her left.

Silvia shook her palm, ensuring that her hand was still in control. She inhaled deeply with eyes that never left her opponent’s side.

In front of her, Kaede stood still with katana raised upward. Her expression was crumpled with cold sweat trickling down her jawline.

’..Haa,, haa,, Silvia is strong’.

Each breath she took was like fire in her lungs, but the flame in her heart kept burning brighter, telling her to keep pushing forward.

’...It can’t be helped!’. Kaede exhaled sharply and gripped the katana hilt tight.

The cat girl’s eyes were open, but her thoughts were sinking deep into her consciousness.

A loud heartbeat resonated in her ears, and a purple aura pulsated around her skin.

With a twitch from her ears, Kaede’s black hair faded into milky white.

Her presence became thin, nearly disappearing if one dared to blink.

Kaede’s body was enveloped with a layer of purple aura, emitting an eerie power that made one skin crawl.

Yet it carried a deadly silence that slowly suffocated Silvia before her.

Ripple appeared on her azure eyes, and Silvia tightly gripped the blade hilt.

’So, she used it after all’. Silvia raised the blade hilt near her head while lowering her centre of gravity. ’Breastification...’.

Beastification was a racial trait of all demi-human. It would change their appearance into a beastly one or change one’s appearance slightly, just like Kaede.

***

In one of the training sessions, Kaede explained there were three stages of beastification.

One turned into a humanoid beast, and their abilities were enhanced tenfold.

The second stage was turned into a full beast with a large body almost twice or thrice the size of its user.

However, in this stage, some untrained demi-humans would struggle to retain their rationality, which was slowly getting corroded by their instincts.

The third stage was something different.

Their appearance was still of those humans, with no fur or sharpened claws.

It was only a subtle change, like in hair colour, but it also symbolized the dormant power that lay deep within one’s individual.

Because of their racial trait that fused two living beings of human and beast, sometimes, a demi-human would have two different powers deep inside.

In this stage, the demi-human would gain a significant increase in strength. Not the usual, fivefold or ten, but a whole hundred times.

***

Silvia exhaled softly, washing away the weight that settled in her mind. She murmured softly, like a drop of water in the spring pond, calm but profound.

’Thalassa!’.

The water incarnation didn’t reply and just leaked all the raw power contained within.

White mist gathered around her feet, floating gently in the swirling current.

A raw primordial mana seeped through her pores. Its chilling nature fused with the blood in her veins as it spread through her body.

Silvia’s azure pupils changed shape, and a black slit appeared in the middle, like a predator’s eyes that stared right into her prey.

Tension rose, but the two stayed still until Kaede vanished.

Silvia’s predator eyes moved to her right, and she shifted her footwork, facing Kaede and locked the blade with the cat girl.

Both stared into each other’s eyes until a smile tugged at their lips, happy to see each other grow.

With a push from Silvia, the locked blade separated with a thunderous clank, giving birth to darkness that assimilated into one’s shadow.

Silvia held her breath, seeing Kaede’s figure melt into the shadow beneath her.

A sharp and tingling sensation crept on her left neck as her eyes widened in realization.

’An illusion!?’.

She tilted her torso sideways, barely dodging the silver blade from grazing her neck.

Kaede lunged past beside her and fixed her stance midair, facing Silvia as she landed on the ground.

Silvia changed her stance and dashed forward; this time, she was the one initiating the offence.

Once Silvia reached near her. Kaede’s brows knitted together, and she slid her foot lightly.

The shadows beneath her swayed ominously before they spilt a large amount of darkness that enveloped her figure.

A blue blade drew its large arc, slicing through the cocoon of darkness only to find four silhouetted of Kaede scattered on all sides.

’Clone’. Silvia’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

Four cat girls attacked her simultaneously.

However, in a heartbeat, her pupils shone as the four Kaede’s appearance distorted, and it was a pitch black doll that moved by spells.

’They are fake, then...’.

Silvia shifted the grip on her blade and stabbed it to the ground.

A massive blue magic circle appeared, enveloping the four Kaede in it.

Cold mana hissed through the arena, carrying the terror of the winter air.

"I don’t need to hold back!".

Silvia channelled a tremendous amount of mana into the circle, letting it shine ominously.

The gathered mist transformed into snowflakes as blizzards surged upward like a raging tornado.

It roared across the air like a dragon, towering into the blue skies. Then it spread apart like a mushroom head, raining the entire place with snow.

Kaede’s four clones stiffened. They were slowly dismissed by the howling wind that crushed everything with its cold breath.

"Nyaa!?".

A loud shriek rang in the place, its voice rivalling even the billowing storm.

"Cold, cold, cold...".

As Silvia followed the source, her lips curved upward.

Kaede’s figure blurred as she curled in that tunnel where her classmates were present, hugging her knees tight while shivering with deflated ears and tails.

The cat girl’s hair darkened, and Silvia could see the flame in Kaede’s eyes dimmed.

"I think that’s enough". Silvia pulled the blade from the ground.

At the same time, the towering snow burst into a myriad of dust, glittering across the atmosphere like twinkling stars in the night.

Silvia glanced at the spectator seat, watching Selene’s absentminded gaze. Her large blue eyes bulged and almost popped out from their socket.

One of the female seniors who sat near her warned Selene with a hushed voice.

Selene snapped back from her daze, and her eyes darted toward the arena and the now curled cat girl.

She coughed to dismiss the awkward situation she was in; her cheerful voice was like a rainbow, bringing colourful hope after the gloomy disaster.

"Kuhum, candidate Kaede was disqualified for stepping out from the arena, so, the winner is SIlvia".

Instead of cheer, a round of applause reverberated through the Colosseum.

The crowds were speechless after seeing the intense battle between Silvia and Kaede.

Silvia sheathed her blade, moving her feet as she left the arena with style—every movement she took filled with grace.

The commentator girl waited for the thunderous applause to calm down. She raised her voice and announced the next match.

"...Next is, we have the leader from Valor Academy, Selka Vs. The first year genius mage, Lucya!".

While cheer erupted in the place, Silvia arrived at the tunnel and met gaze with other students.

Her azure eyes shifted toward the cat girl curled in the side, still trembling from the cold.

Silvia crouched down before the shivering cat; her voice was soft.

"Are you okay, Kaede?".

"...Nya!?". Kaede gazed up, matching Silvia’s eyes and nodded meekly. "Yes, I’m fine, it’s just, brrrr... cold".

A smile bloomed in Silvia’s delicate expression, watching Kaede’s with soft curves on her lips.

"You too did well earlier, that spell in the end almost took me out for good".

"Thanks". Kaede said, but Silvia noticed a shadow shrouded the cat girl’s purple eyes.

The silver-haired girl’s mouth agape hesitated to give Kaede any more encouragement. She was afraid it would backlash instead.

"That was close, but I think the environment was too favorable for Silvia".

A third voice echoed in the narrow place, attracting SIlvia and Kaede’s attention to it.

Jin looked at the two of them and shrugged.

"I believe, if it was in the middle of the night and Silvia was fighting Kaede at that time, the result would be differ".

Light returned to Kaede’s eyes as Silvia exhaled inwardly, noticing again just how perceptual the boy she chose was.

"Don’t worry about the result, I was already satisfied watching you guys grow, that’s all".

Silvia exchanged glances with Kaede, and their expression broke into smiles.

"Lucya, it was your turn".

Jin’s calm voice brought everyone’s attention toward the princess in the back.

His brows raised in wonder, noticing the girl’s sudden quiet attitude. "Are you ready?".

A second passed, and Lucya exhaled sharply, her eyes brimming with determination.

"...Yes".