Zeera stomped onto the battlefield as the orange glow surrounding him faded. The epic Minakai’s chest swelled as he drew in breath. His roar shook the stadium, rivalling the ferocity of Virtugil’s mighty cry. The two Minakai stood facing each other, neither wanting to make the first move.

  “That’s your next big move?” asked Alfred, smirking. He had regained his composure after Zenoman’s assault had shaken him. “I thought you had something more to offer than throwing monster after monster at me. I must say, Aurin, I am disappointed. Where’s the strategy that should leave me quaking in my boots? You had nine Minakai at your disposal and all I’ve seen is a conveyor belt of sloppiness.”

  “I saw how you nearly wet yourself a few minutes ago, Alfred,” said Aurin. “You’re terrified that you might lose. That everything you’ve been building towards is for nought. Let me tell you, Master Ashmore… it is. Whatever humiliation ritual this is supposed to be doesn’t faze me. I’m going to walk out of this stadium victorious as I’ve done many times before. To me, this is just another battle. To you, this is everything.”

  Alfred grimaced. “Pfft,” he spat, turning his nose up. “This is a necessary process. Once you’ve been ground into the dust, I’ll resume my father’s work and complete his collection. After that, I will do so much more. Do you know how many Minakai there are in the world? Far more than I can name off the top of my head, let me tell you. We are discovering more with each tower opening. But, more importantly, I have the power to create more. That is what Virtugil is. My creation!”

  Aurin shook his head, a small smile forming on his face. “You don’t understand, do you? There is no point collecting Minakai for the sake of it. You might as well just buy a zoo.”

  “I’ll show you,” said Alfred, looking to his Virtugil. “Show him the power of a true epic monster.”

  Virtugil rushed forward, raising his arms. Zeera caught him, the two locking claws as they stared each other down. Zeera swung his tail around, bashing Virtugil in the side. The engineered monster, in turn, rammed his head against Zeera’s nose. As Virtugil leaned back, Zeera retaliated, ramming his nose horn into his foe’s throat and breaking the skin. Drips of green blood ran down Virtugil’s neck and onto his chest as the demonic beast grunted in frustration.

  Harnessing his water elemental might, Virtugil summoned a tidal wave that rushed across the battlefield and beat against Zeera. From Virtugil’s mouth, he spat a water jet that struck the dinosaur in the eyes, blinding him and giving Virtugil an opening to strike further. A geyser erupted from underneath Zeera’s feet, throwing the dinosaur a dozen feet into the air before ejecting him into a heap on the grass.

  “More!” demanded Alfred. “More!”

  “Don’t let him,” ordered Aurin. “Fight element with element.”

  As Virtugil opened its mouth to shoot another water jet, it was struck in the teeth by a boulder, flung from Zeera’s claw. Virtugil howled as it swung its arms, conjuring water whips in each hand. It lashed Zeera, but failed to see Zeera’s hardened armour around his torso. The dinosaur grunted out what was unmistakeably a laugh. He lowered his head and charged forward, ramming his horn into Virtugil.

  Zeera was thrown aside as the mighty titanium armour Virtugil summoned held strong, even against the power of the burly dinosaur. Throwing himself back to his feet, Zeera spun around and charged again, coating his horn in diamond. It was enough to break through Virtugil’s armour, but Alfred’s monster grabbed hold of Zeera’s shoulders and held him in place.

  His hands turned red and then quickly shifted to a molten orange. Zeera screeched and thrashed, trying to free himself, but Virtugil was strong despite his stubby hands. With a devilish grin, Virtugil’s entire head turned to diamond and he headbutted Zeera in the forehead. The dinosaur was dazed, but Virtugil was far from done. He rammed Zeera again and again until the dinosaur’s arms went limp. At last, he released Zeera from his armour and cast him aside, leaving him as a heap on the ground.

  “Four left, Aurin.” said Alfred, beckoning Aurin to hurry up. “Next challenger.”

  “Guess again,” said Aurin, nodding towards Zeera.

  The dinosaur stirred and forced himself back to his feet. He was in a bad state, but he was determined to fight on.

  “Impressive,” said Alfred, “but not impressive enough. Virtugil!”

  As Virtugil shook, charging up a pressure cannon, Zeera raised his arms. Upon the cannon erupting, Zeera threw his arms down, summoning a meteor strike from the sky. He was struck by the pressure cannon and thrown through the air.

  “As I said, Aurin,” said Alfred. “It’s not—”

  Alfred froze, watching as the meteor shower streaked through the sky, shooting straight towards Virtugil. Alfred looked at Zeera who was sprawled across the grass, panting heavily, but with his eyes fixed on Virtugil. He desperately clung on, wanting to defeat his foe before succumbing to his injuries.

  “Shield yourself!”

  Instantly, Virtugil encased his entire body in diamond. At the same time, he harnessed his cosmic element to halt as many of the meteors as he could while clinging to his diamond armour. A half dozen of the strikes pummelled him before Virtugil’s concentration lapsed. Choosing earth over cosmic, the meteors rained down, beating against his diamond armour. The beast dug deep, holding onto the armour and taking the assault head-on.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  As the final meteor struck him and dissipated, Virtugil’s skin returned to normal. He had weathered the storm and he had barely a scratch on him. He stood up tall and proud, glaring at Zeera, whose eyes fell shut.

  “A perfect creature,” said Alfred, looking fondly at his monstrosity. “I must thank you for this technique, Aurin. We learned it from analysing your Shamtile.”

  The time had come for Aurin’s final play. It was a gamble, he knew that, but it was time to flip the game around and win. He had four Minakai he was saving for this moment and it was time to show that they could bring down the master of all the elements.

  “What are you waiting for?” asked Alfred.

  Aurin smiled. “Nothing,” he said, loading his tamer glove with four summoning stones.

  He held up his hand, revealing to Alfred the crystals he had embedded; brown, grey, blue, and cream. Alfred flashed a cocky half smile before shaking his head in amusement. He said nothing, simply raising his hands in a gesture that asked Aurin to bring it on.

  Aurin clenched his fist, focusing his will into his summoning stones. They all glowed brightly and he swept his arm through the air, casting four glowing balls of light onto the battlefield. From within, emerged Shamtile, Dolissile, Steambot, and Sunny. The masked lizard waved his arms excitedly. The cybernetic dolphin hovered in place, as cool as could be. Steambot pumped his fists and let out a whoosh of steam from his pipes. Sunny squealed in excitement, pirouetting through the air.

  “Look at each other,” said Aurin. “You know what to do. Dolissile, you’re up first. Let’s see if he can even land a hit on you.”

  “A single hit?” balked Alfred. “An effortless endeavour.”

  Dolissile charged towards Virtugil at a breakneck speed. As the beast swiped at the dolphin, he found himself tumbling forward. Dolissile rocketed between Virtugil’s legs and veered around, staring at his unsteady foe as the brute turned around.

  “Hold him!” demanded Alfred. “Then we’ll see how clever his taunts are.”

  Virtugil raised his arms and froze Dolissile in place using his cosmic magic. Dolissile remained perfectly still as his opponent’s eyes turned from red to turquoise. Virtugil conjured a pair of ice spears in his hands and hurled them at Dolissile, only to find the cyborg already storming across the grass to safety.

  “What?” asked Alfred in utter shock.

  “Dolissile knows how to deal with cosmic magic,” said Aurin with a grin. “I thought you’d watched me at the National Championships, no? Virtugil may be inherently strong, but you haven’t trained him to reach his potential. Dolissile packs enough power to break through holding techniques; a true defier of space and time.”

  “Cosmic power is not all Virtugil has to offer, Aurin. You should know that by now.”

  “Let’s see if he can land a hit then,” said Aurin, giving Dolissile a nod of approval. “Make him sweat.”

  Dolissile briefly tilted forward, signalling his agreement. He blasted forward, whizzing past Virtugil. He spun and turned, repeating the same move, all the while Virtugil swiped and hurled elemental techniques at the cyborg, growing angrier by the minute.

  The artificial Minakai conjured a stone wall and Dolissile smashed on through. He unleashed constricting vines with which to restrain Dolissile, but Dolissile sped away. He summoned a block of ice so thick that it would have made Glacibot jealous, but Dolissile veered aside to avoid it, leaving it sitting uselessly on the grass.

  Alfred glanced at Aurin and at the other Minakai in front of him. He began looking around furiously. “Wait, where is—”

  “Dolissile, detonate!” roared Aurin.

  The dolphin rocketed straight into Virtugil’s stomach, winding him as he drove him backwards. Virtugil pushed through and grabbed onto Dolissile despite Alfred’s cries to defend himself. Dolissile glowed brightly for a couple of seconds before a devastating explosion erupted from him. Aurin and Alfred both shielded their eyes as the blinding, all-encompassing light captured the battlefield. The smell of burned grass and smoke hung thick in the air as the dust settled and the aftermath came into view.

  Dolissile had been thrown to the far end of the battlefield by the force of his own attack. He lay on the scorched grass, still moving, but too weak to carry on the fight. Virtugil, however, was already climbing back to his feet, his entire body coated in diamond. The beast looked worn and tired, but he had withstood the explosion that would have wiped out most Minakai.

  Alfred was not concerned with Virtugil or Dolissile. His eyes were focused on Aurin’s team and he looked gravely concerned. He had noticed before Dolissile’s final attack that Shamtile was nowhere to be seen and that was worrisome. Now, however, he saw the masked lizard. He was nestled within a stone structure, covered to the waist, and with his arms wrapped around Sunny. The metal behemoth that was Steambot was tilted forward with his pipes wedged in the ground, shaking intensely. Alfred now realised that Dolissile had been the distraction while Aurin set the stage for something else.

  “A cannon?” asked Alfred, furrowing his brow in confusion.

  “A cannon,” confirmed Aurin, tapping Steambot on the back. “Fire!”

  The second Aurin gave his order, Shamtile turned to diamond and was propelled from the cannon at a speed faster than Dolissile could manage. An intense stream of water followed him, forcing the masked lizard and his embraced companion faster. Virtugil focused and hardened his diamond once more as the duo sped towards him.

  With a thundering crash, the diamond bullet pierced straight through Virtugil’s stomach and exited through the beast’s back. The diamond had not been enough to save him and Virtugil immediately collapsed, returning to his true form. Shamtile struck the stadium wall, collapsing it, but Sunny’s protective barrier kept him safe, despite both of the smaller Minakai feeling the impact of their gambit.

  Alfred elicited a horrible gargling noise as he tried to speak. His eyes were manic and he was shaking from head to toe. He watched as green blood oozed from Virtugil, seeping into the soil that was once the grassy battlefield. As Alfred brought his hands to his head, he screamed a blood-curdling scream.

  As the swirling violet dome dissipated, Aurin called out to Sunny. “It’s over! Weave your magic and heal Virtugil.”

  Sunny beamed brightly, spinning through the air as she flew towards the downed monster. She glowed a soothing cream-colour as her magic flowed from her, repairing the devastating wound Virtugil had suffered. Alfred watched on, horrified, as Virtugil’s wound was mended. The beast remained unconscious on the grass, severely weakened, but stable.

  “No,” said Alfred, rushing over to Virtugil. He dropped to his knees and placed his hands on his Minakai’s torso. “No, my boy. My precious boy!”

  “Your boy?” asked Aurin in confusion as he walked towards Alfred and Virtugil.

  Alfred turned to look at Aurin. “Why, father? Why would you do this to me?”

  Aurin was taken aback and looked at each of his Minakai in turn, not knowing what to say. “Alfred?” he asked, slowly moving closer to his foe. “Where do you think we are, Alfred?”

  “I… I…” stammered Alfred, his eyes looking like they were about to pop out of his head.

  “I’m not your father, Alfred. I’m not The Collector. I’m not Arthur Ashmore.”

  The younger Ashmore let out a creaking gasp as he stared at Aurin. He mumbled something incoherent for several seconds before trailing off. Suddenly, he was no longer staring at Aurin, rather, he was staring straight through him.

  right here.

  Aurin's Team:

  Luna's Team: