My F-Rank Sagea is Secretly an EX-Rank Calamity

"Erebus! Crushing Void!" Rowan commanded.

Erebus let out a loud howl, causing a purple-black magic circle to appear above Kaito.

The force of gravity pulling the downwards to the ground.

"Damn! I wasn’t expecting that!" Asher exclaimed.

’Hey Nova, can Kaito hold, while I use spells for Cora?’ Asher asked.

[KAITO CAN HOLD, BUT WHICH SPELL WOULD YOU USE AGAINST CORA?]

’Well, any basic spells should be able to work right?’

[NOVA VESTA DOES NOT APPROVE OF IT]

’Ugh! Whatever!’

Asher held out a hand, using spatial rift to appear on both Rowan and Fang’s side.

"Transfer attack!" Asher commanded. His hands pointing at Cora. Erebus’s Crushing Void suddenly disappeared and came on Cora instead.

The Cobra had no legs for balance so it was the perfect opportunity for Asher to strike.

"He’s good!!"

"I never expected him to be that smart!"

"Oh shit!" Fang cursed.

"Now, it’s your turn. Kaito! Basalt Tail: Solar Guillotine!" Asher commanded his eyes locked onto Rowan.

Kaito whipped his heavy, scale-bound tail in a massive arc. The blade-like crown at the tip glowed like a burning broadsword, sending a wave of compressed, razor-sharp heat slicing through the air across the entire arena floor.

​Rowan successfully dodged the attack. "Erebus dodge!"

Erebus barely escaped the attack. Causing his fur to graze off and fall of near to his shoulder.

The crowd let out a collective gasp. Pushing down.

"Spatial rift." Asher said quietly, manifesting right beside Kaito.

Rowan paused, his eyes widened at the sight of Erebus hurt.

"Fine. I’ll guess I’ll be using it on you first!"

Suddenly the clouds above them turned dark, the winds began to blow violently. The imprinted name EREBUS at the back of his right hand began to glow purple.

[QUASAR VESTA NOTICE]

[UNLOCKING FUSION SKILL]

[FUSION SKILL UNLOCKED]

"Erebus! Fusion!" Rowan ordered. His eyes covered in purple light.

The wind became stronger, almost blowing students off their seats, they had to grip onto the railings.

Asher blocked the face with his forearm, the other hand holding onto Kaito for support.

Something weird began to happen.

Rowan’s body began to merge with Erebus.

Fang swallowed hard.

It wasn’t just Rowan anymore. There stood a tall beast, almost like Rowan turned into a werewolf. Erebus stood tall. Feet on the ground like a human. Then a loud howling with glowing eyes.

[QUASAR VESTA NOTICE]

[FUSION IS COMPLETE]

[TARGET ENEMY: FUSED ROWAN]

[STAT BOOST: +200% SPEED / +150% ATTACK POWER]

[DANGER LEVEL: EXTREME]

Asher’s stomach dropped as he looked at the screen. ’Two hundred percent speed boost?! How am I even supposed to track that with my bare eyes?!’

Fang suddenly locked in, seeing his chance to back Rowan up. "Cora, Acidic Vapors!" He ordered.

The giant serpent opened her mouth wide, hissing as a thick cloud of corrosive green mist sprayed out, covering the ground and aiming to melt Kaito’s basalt scales from the bottom up.

In the blink of an eye, Rowan pounced from his place. He moved so fast he didn’t even leave a afterimage, landing right in front of Kaito and gripping his glowing horns with raw beast strength.

"AHHHH!" Asher yelled, taken aback by the sudden counter attack.

’Nova!! What now?!’

[YOU HAVE KAITO’S STATS IN FRONT OF YOU.]

[YOU SHOULD TAKE CONTROL NOW]

Seriously?! You know what...fine then!

"Kaito! Sol Mirage: Flare Prism!" Asher commanded.

Kaito gave a loud roar, his horns flashing with blinding light again. However it didn’t work this time. Rowan’s grip was way too strong.

Rowan gritted his teeth, shouting as he lifted Kaito completely off the ground. With one massive swing, he threw the heavy Chimera across the arena by his horns, making him crash hard into the reinforced arena wall. The stone shattered and broke into pieces from the heavy impact.

"Kaito!" Asher called out, suddenly terrified.

’Oh shit!’ He cursed mentally. ’That wall is three feet of enchanted stone! If Kaito’s health took a big hit from that...’

The thick gray smoke filled the air, drifting across the ring.

The crowd came to a hush. Nobody was even screaming anymore.

"Is that it? Is his Sagea not going to get up?"

"I bet half my academy credits on Asher... don’t fail me now!"

"That werewolf form is just insane..."

Asher without hesitation, used spatial rift to get closer to Kaito, appearing right beside the pile of crushed stone and debris.

"Kaito, you good?" Asher called out, his hands shaking slightly.

THUD!

Kaito’s eyes flashed red beneath the dust. A sudden burst of heat blew outward, and the dust was instantly dispersed as Kaito got back on his paws, shaking off broken rocks like they were nothing.

"Oh good! You’re alive!" Asher said, letting out a big sigh of relief.

The arena burst into cheers again.

"Amazing!"

"He took a full thrown hit and just stood back up!"

"That’s the real deal!"

Kaito let out a furious roar that shook the entire stadium floor.

’Say the word, let me handle this’

A sudden matured deep voice echoed in Asher’s mind.

"Kaito?" Asher looked up at the Chimera in complete shock.

’Just say the word, Asher’

"Huh? What word?"

Kaito let out another roar that shook the arena. His eyes were completely covered in rage.

’I won’t let these weaklings look down on us.’

Asher paused, glancing between Kaito and his opponents. He had never felt this kind of heat coming off Kaito before. His interface was flashing wildly with red alerts.

’Wait... is Kaito actually angry?’ Asher thought, getting goosebumps. ’He’s talking directly in my head!’

"Um... go ahead?" Asher said, nodding.

That was all Kaito needed to hear.

[ALERT: UNLOCKING ANCIENT BLOODLINE INHERITANCE]

[CLASS OVERRIDE: SOL-DRAKON APEX]

The basalt scales along Kaito’s back split open, spilling white-hot lava light across the ring. The stone beneath his paws liquefied into a bubbling puddle of yellow magma, and the crazy heat wave instantly vaporized all of Cora’s green acid mist into thin air.

Fang stumbled back, wiping sweat off his face as the heat hit him. "Cora, get back! Fall back right now!"

Cora tried to slither away, but Kaito didn’t give her the chance. He didn’t even wait for Asher. With a deafening roar, Kaito swung his massive tail in a wide arc.

"Basalt Tail: Solar Guillotine!"

The glowing blade on Kaito’s tail slammed directly into Cora’s body. A loud CRACK echoed as her scales shattered under the heat, sending a massive shockwave that blasted Cora straight into Fang and smashed both of them hard against the stadium wall.

Fang let out a groan before slumping onto the ground, totally out cold.

"Fang and Cora are eliminated!" Lady Vespera announced.

The crowd gasped. Just like that, the two-on-one advantage was completely wiped out.

Rowan, still in his werewolf fusion; gritted his teeth, his purple eyes burning with frustration. "You think taking out Fang means you beat me?"

Rowan vanished into purple smoke again.

’Nova! Where is he?!’ Asher mentally panicked, throwing his hands up to protect his face.

[TARGET IS APPROACHING FROM YOUR LEFT HIGH ANGLE]

[IMPACT IN 0.3 SECONDS!]

"Spatial rift!" Asher shouted, opening a portal right next to Kaito.

Rowan materialized with his shadow claws raised, aiming straight for Kaito’s head, but his arm plunged straight into the silver tear instead.

"What?!" Rowan growled, stuck mid-air as the rift pinched his arm.

"I’m not losing this!" Asher yelled. "Kaito, now!"

Kaito lunged forward, charging his horns with pure plasma light and slamming right into Rowan’s chest.

BOOM!

The explosion shook the stadium, kicking up smoke, ash, and hot wind. Asher blocked his face, waiting anxiously for the dust to clear out.

When it settled, Rowan was flat on his back near the edge of the crater, his fusion completely dissolved. Erebus sat beside him, panting heavily with his dark mana completely empty.

Kaito stood tall in the center, his scales dimming back to dark basalt.

"Oh wow...would you look at that. Asher Flynn wins!"

Lady Vespera declared, she hadn’t expected it to end this way.

The entire stadium exploded into loud, crazy cheers.

"HE ACTUALLY DID IT!"

"ASHER FLYNN WON THE FINALS!"

"HE TOOK DOWN ROWAN AND FANG!"

Asher let out a long breath, his legs shaking from the adrenaline crash. He used spatial rift to pop beside Rowan and held a hand down.

Rowan stared at his hand for a second before letting out a weak chuckle and grabbing it. "You got stronger. But don’t get cocky. Lord Malovik won’t go easy on you."

Asher wiped his face, grinning a little. "I can handle it."

[FINALS COMPLETED]

Lord Malovik stood up slowly, looking down at the ruined ring with a calm, unreadable expression.

The whole stadium fell dead silent, waiting for the Sovereign’s final word. Asher braced his legs, leaning heavily on Kaito as he wiped ash off his face and stared back up.

Lord Malovik’s deep voice echoed through the arena’s sound array, loud and clear.

"The Crucible is over. Asher Flynn stands as Champion."

The crowd was about to explode into cheers again, but Lord Malovik raised a single hand, instantly shutting everyone up.

"The Sovereign Challenge is a trial of true strength. As champion, you are granted forty-eight hours to rest, tend to your Sagea, and prepare. On the third morning... you will face the trial."

With a quick sweep of his dark cloak, Lord Malovik turned, exiting the arena.

Asher let out a long breath he felt like he’d been holding all day. His legs gave out completely, but Kaito quickly stepped under him, letting Asher lean his weight against his warm basalt scales.

"You did it, " Rowan muttered from the floor, letting out a weak, genuine smile despite his bruises. "You actually won."

Asher looked down at his shaking, ash-stained hands. He won. But the reality was just starting to set in. He had forty-eight hours. Two days to rest, and to prepare for Lord Malovik’s trial.

Suddenly, a bright red system window flashed right in front of Asher’s eyes.

[WARNING: PRIMORDIAL CORE SEAL IS ERODING]

[CURRENT CALAMITY LEAKAGE: 3.2%]

[SYSTEM ALERT: KAITO’S SAGEA BODY CANNOT CONTAIN THIS ENERGY FOR LONG]

[STABILIZE THE CORE WITHIN 48 HOURS OR RISK EARLY MANIFESTATION]

Asher’s eyes widened in pure horror as Kaito suddenly let out a pained, low growl beside him, his glowing lava scales flickering dark.

’What the hell...’ Asher thought, his stomach dropping.

The tournament was finally over, but the apocalyptic clock inside his pet was ticking faster than ever.