Spirit Taming

For just a moment, Clark saw Purple’s face twist in frustration. It was clear that the fact that his attack had not yielded anything and Clark’s attack had managed to make him bleed was getting to him. However, it was even worse, Clark had used the wings and proven that flying was not just an idea for him.

Meanwhile, Clark had not actually flown before. Neither had Crim. So far, the two had only ever used wings to make them faster or get a burst of height. This was the first time the wings were opening up and using powerful flaps to hold Clark in the air. He could feel that Crim was using more and more energy every time that he flapped the wings for Clark. But they had the energy to spare.

In a single leap, Purple came face to face with Clark. There was no other choice, as far as purple knew, Clark could be there indefinitely just watching while diving down to attack. This was what Clark had wanted, a complete control of the situation. Purple was in the air swinging his greatsword but that was easy for Clark and Crim to dodge since they had the maneuverability over purple.

The crescent moon slash at Purple left a new cut on his side that made him flinch and hesitate even more. This made the landing worse than it should have been with a few unbalanced steps. Another perfect opening that Clark used to use another crescent moon slash. Unfortunately, it was clear that Purple had reached a breaking point.

Multiple injuries, loss of blood, and stress had managed to push the opponent that Clark had been wary of to finally use the trump card he had been holding. It was clear that Purple had been holding it for a while. That was the best plan to make sure that he would win the finals, not the semi finals like this. However, there were so few academies and they had all brought their best. He would have been forced to use it if he came up against Nebula academy or Ethereal academy beforehand anyways.

A flash of spiritual energy burst around Purple in a strange brown and purple energy. "You should know that this is not a simple matter for me. The spiritual energy is only part of our strength." Clark saw the greatsword begin to gain size as the earth was pulled toward it. The same was for the armor that had been sparse before but was now being built up.

It had only taken a few moments but Clark was sure that the system analysis had not mentioned this change. The purple spirit parasite should not be able to awaken a strong earth typing with a skill to pull earth and create a protective armor around their tamer’s body.

"Ha! You have two beasts!" Clark felt like a fool. He had totally missed the fact that the greatsword was a beast too. It was similar to Reese’s sword but different.

’Spiritual earth sword- rare

The spiritual earth sword seals itself while it absorbs energy. It can rest as a normal sword for years on end. This makes it nearly impossible to detect. Once it awakens, it is able to form protective earth armor around its tamer greatly in creating defenses.

It has a spiritual and a very strong earth affinity. The spiritual affinity allows it to bind more deeply with a tamer or partner. The earth affinity allows it to grow passively while slumbering. Those that manage to accept this beast and the beast accept them, are able to utilize this energy more easily and even store some of their own energy within the body of the spiritual earth sword acting as a life saver.

They have the potential to...’

With the additional energy released and the boost in defenses, Purple’s next leap was much faster. It managed to strike Clark knocking him to the ground again. The follow up attack was narrowly avoided as Clark used his ghostly steps. Every attack after was just a hair away from slashing in to Clark’s body.

This continued on and on for at least two full minutes as those in the crowd were unsure if they could spare the time to breathe. This was the most intense battle yet. True geniuses were fighting. This demonstrated the best of the best for Terra and Nova academy, however, a few noticed that Clark had still not shown enough stress. Had still not shown that he was being pushed beyond his limits.

It appeared that Purple’s attacks were because he did not want to maintain this form for long. It made the impression that the form would be greatly stressing on the body and spirit. His purple spirit parasite had to keep his body moving. This constant boost to move while wearing a heavy defensive earth armor must have used more energy and strained the muscles. Clark could tell, the movements weren’t as fluid as before but they were faster.

Using the black lighting spear, Clark had been attacking and blocking while he could. Each attack sent energy to the black lightning spear slowly but surely building up. He had not forgotten that he too had a trump card. Clark held multiple. He just had to decide which ones to use. What he wanted to reveal. Devi’s form and his powerful spirit drive skill, or the black lightning spear’s ability to use lightning?

There was the slightest hesitation as Clark dodged to the side watching Purple slash. This moment made Clark realize that he had been thinking too far. He didn’t have to have Devi or the black lightning spear attack. He just needed to use the wear and tear of Purple’s body to his advantage.

Meanwhile, Purple slashed out over and over. The battle had stayed on the ground due to the pressure he was putting on Clark. Slash after slash had come at Clark. So much so that Purple’s vision was being hyper focused on Clark and his spear to make sure that every attack was landing, slashing, and dealing some form of damage. He was too focused on the small target in such a large arena.

The sudden pressure of danger from his back and the slight smile on Clark’s face before Clark used his ghostly steps to get far away from Purple in a single bound made Purple realize he had messed up.

The heat grew and soon the flash of flames around him and a large chunk of the arena made Purple’s earth armor crack. The heat burned away a lot of his energy as he fell to his knees. The second the flames disappeared, Crim used his energy to rush back to Clark and disappear in to his taming space.

For just a second, Purple thought he would be able to continue with his crumbling earth armor. Unfortunately for him, Devi was there to bite down with a his chilling bite even more fiercely than before. A large amount of energy was drained away leaving Purple on his last legs. Clark appeared right next to him at that moment. Holding the black lightning spear at the ready, but also holding out a hand to help purple up.

"That was the best battle I have had against an opponent until now. You’re pretty damn strong." Clark couldn’t help but praise purple. The trump card had made Clark think harder. Had made him change the flow of battle and alter any plan he could potentially have.

"Yet it seems it was still not enough to change the way you battle. You are holding things back still. I question why you have trained and learned to be this way. You have my respect. When this is all done, feel free to visit my home. I can show you my improvements." The serious expression changed in to a slight smile as the earth energy and purple light died down. It seemed that Clark had managed to make a fairly powerful young ally.

"Sir, I will be withdrawing. This seems to be too much for me right now." People left the arena while healers rushed over.

"That is the final battle done! Nova Academy wins with seven points to one point for Terra academy. This may not be a perfect match, but it was one to remember. Do not forget that Nova academy’s first years are on a rampage!" The referee felt very energetic making this announcement. He had been wildly impressed witnessing this battle.

Many eyes fell on Clark as he picked up Shy and walked off the arena. Devi slowly floated over and hid himself away on Clark’s shoulder. The slight embrace made Clark smile a little more. He didn’t have to tell his partners that he was proud. They already knew. Shy had also learned a lot watching her siblings battle with Clark. The teamwork and how she could join in battles later.

"Let’s go and check on Ralph and Grace. That hot head went a little too far." Clark left toward the healing area while a few eyes followed him out of sight. The eyes of those that reported to the higher ups that had been watching carefully since they had received their own orders.