The black wind dragon roared.
Its enormous wings sliced through the air like blades, sending violent currents across the arena.
Black wind spiraled around its body, twisting and churning as though the creature itself had been born from a storm that had forgotten how to die.
Dust rose from the ground.
The arena trembled.
For a moment, even the spectators forgot to breathe.
Maris stood at the center of the battlefield, his chest rising and falling heavily.
Black aura flickered around his body, occasionally sparking with traces of lightning.
His eyes remained fixed on Melio.
He thought, “Will Melio survive this…
or is this the end?” He immediately rejected the thought.
“No.” His fingers tightened.
“Melio won’t fall here.” But even Maris knew the situation had become dangerous.
This wasn’t the same battle that had begun minutes ago.
Something inside him had changed.
The black wind wasn’t simply responding to his commands anymore.
It was moving with him.
Breathing with him.
Almost thinking alongside him.
Behind Maris, Ryu—the Black Wind Dragon—opened its enormous jaws.
Black air began gathering inside.
At first, it was only a small sphere.
Then it grew.
And grew.
The surrounding wind was dragged toward it, forming a dense vortex around the sphere.
The pressure became so intense that loose pieces of stone began sliding across the arena toward the dragon.
Melio stared at it.
His eyes narrowed.
“Seriously?” The black sphere became larger.
Melio raised both fists.
Fire erupted around his arms.
“I guess you’re not planning to give me a break.” Ryu roared.
BOOOOOOM!
The concentrated blast exploded from its mouth.
A massive wave of black wind crossed the arena in an instant.
Melio barely had time to react.
“Move!” He launched himself sideways.
The blast clipped his position and detonated against the arena floor.
KRAAAAAASH!
A huge cloud of dust swallowed the battlefield.
The shockwave threw Melio backward.
He hit the ground and rolled several meters before finally stopping.
For a few seconds, there was silence.
The students stared.
Liberia’s eyes widened.
“Melio!” Pinezoku clenched his fists.
“Get up…” Sophria remained completely still.
Her eyes were locked on the dust cloud.
She thought, “Melio…” Maris didn’t move.
His expression remained cold.
But internally, his thoughts raced.
He thought, “Come on, Melio.” The dust slowly began to settle.
A figure was visible inside it.
Melio.
He was down on one knee.
His breathing was rough.
His uniform was covered in dust, and his arms trembled from the impact.
But he was still conscious.
Still standing.
Melio slowly pushed himself upward.
His leg shook.
He nearly lost his balance.
Then he steadied himself.
His eyes burned with determination.
He thought, “No.” He clenched his fist.
“I can’t lose.” Memories flashed through his mind.
Training.
Battles.
Defeats.
Victories.
The day he first met Maris.
The promise they had made.
The countless times they had stood beside each other.
Every memory seemed to add another spark to the fire inside him.
He thought, “I’ve trained for this.” His flames intensified.
“I’ve fought for this.” The fire around his fists grew brighter.
“And I’m not going to lose to some rookie who suddenly discovered a ridiculous power!” Melio raised his head.
Maris was watching him.
Their eyes met.
Maris’s expression softened into the faintest smirk.
“So…” His voice carried across the battlefield.
“What are your thoughts about me now?” Melio’s eyebrow twitched.
He looked absolutely exhausted.
Yet somehow, Maris’s question annoyed him more than the attack.
“Shut up.” Maris raised an eyebrow.
Melio’s flames surged.
“Just fight.” He pointed his burning fist toward Maris.
“Don’t waste time with words!” A faint smile appeared on Maris’s face.
“That’s more like you.” He turned his head slightly.
“Go, Ryu.” The dragon roared.
Its wings spread.
The entire arena seemed to darken beneath its shadow.
Then— It charged.
BOOOOOOM!
The Black Wind Dragon tore across the battlefield.
Melio immediately moved.
His feet slammed against the ground as fire erupted behind him.
The dragon’s claw-like currents ripped through the air where he had been standing.
Melio ducked.
A second wave passed above him.
He twisted his body and launched a fire-infused punch.
“Burn!” BAAAM!
His fist collided with the dragon’s wind barrier.
The impact produced a massive shockwave.
Melio was pushed backward.
But he didn’t stop.
He planted his feet.
“Again!” Another fire blast erupted from his palms.
Ryu answered with a concentrated wave of black wind.
The two attacks collided.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Light and darkness exploded across the arena.
Black wind twisted around orange flames.
Sparks scattered through the air.
The shockwave rushed toward the spectators.
Several students instinctively shielded their faces.
Berlio shouted, “What kind of final match is this?!” Another student yelled, “They’re supposed to be students!” Pinezoku glanced toward Liberia.
“Is Maris actually trying to finish Melio?” Liberia’s expression hardened.
“That idiot…” She looked back at the battlefield.
“He’s gone completely serious.” Pinezoku nodded.
“Yeah.” His eyes narrowed.
“But Melio hasn’t given up either.” Inside the storm, Melio was moving.
His mind was no longer thinking about anything except survival and victory.
He watched the dragon’s movement.
Left wing.
Right wing.
Tail.
Wind pressure.
Opening.
He thought, “I’ve faced stronger opponents.” The dragon attacked.
Melio slipped beneath it.
He thought, “I’ve been pushed harder than this.” A second attack came.
He jumped.
The black wind tore beneath his feet.
He landed.
He thought, “And I’ve lost before.” His fists ignited.
“But I always came back.” Melio charged.
“FIREEE!” He slammed both fists forward.
A massive fire blast erupted.
Ryu opened its jaws.
Black wind gathered again.
Maris’s eyes narrowed.
He thought, “He’s going straight for Ryu.” The attacks collided.
KABOOOOOM!
The arena shook.
Melio was pushed backward.
Maris was also forced several steps back.
For the first time, the black aura around him flickered.
Maris looked down at his hand.
Then at Melio.
His expression became serious.
He thought, “He’s still pushing back.” Melio raised his head.
“Don’t look so surprised.” Maris smirked.
“I wasn’t.” “You’re a terrible liar.” “You’re terrible at losing.” Melio’s expression twitched.
“You really know how to annoy me.” Maris’s black aura surged.
“Then keep fighting.” The two stared at each other.
Neither moved.
Neither spoke.
The battlefield seemed to disappear around them.
There was only Maris.
Only Melio.
Only the promise they had made years ago.
Then Ryu rose into the sky.
Its massive body spiraled upward.
The black clouds above the arena twisted with it.
A colossal sphere of black wind began forming between its jaws.
Melio looked upward.
His eyes widened slightly.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Maris’s eyes remained cold.
“Ryu.” The dragon released the attack.
The black sphere descended like a miniature storm.
Melio’s entire body tensed.
He planted both feet firmly against the ground.
Fire erupted around him.
His flames climbed higher and higher.
“I’M NOT DONE!” He punched forward.
Fire collided with black wind.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The shockwave ripped across the arena.
Dust exploded upward.
The spectators were forced backward by the pressure.
Sophria covered her face with one arm.
“Maris…” Foshi’s eyes remained fixed on the battlefield.
His expression was unusually serious.
He thought, “They’re both exceeding what they were capable of only hours ago.” The dust cloud grew larger.
Then— A figure flew out of it.
Maris.
He landed several meters away and slid across the ground.
His black aura flickered.
He looked toward the center of the arena.
Melio was still there.
Standing.
Barely.
But standing.
Maris slowly rose.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“You’re still up.” Melio breathed heavily.
“Obviously.” He wiped the dust from his face.
“You think one giant dragon is enough to beat me?” Maris’s eyes sharpened.
“No.” The black aura around him exploded outward.
“I think you need to see the rest.” Melio’s flames answered.
They surged around his body.
“Then show me.” The arena trembled again.
The students stared in silence.
Neither fighter was willing to yield.
Neither was willing to step back.
And neither realized just how close they were to their limits.
Maris clenched his fists.
He thought, “It’s time.” The black wind spiraled around him.
He thought, “Time to push beyond.” His eyes remained fixed on Melio.
“Time to show you…” Ryu roared behind him.
“…and the world…” Black wind rose into the sky.
“…who I really am.” Melio raised his burning fists.
“Then come on, Maris.” The two rivals charged simultaneously.
Fire collided with black wind.
The arena erupted once again.
And the final battle entered a completely new phase.