Advent District

Unlike the continuous work and organized movement of the Crafting District were everything was tuned to perfection in the most productive of ways.

"Come! Come! Care to take a bet!" The Advent District was anything but that, at each turn and twist there was the sound of cheers and chatter as either pair of dice was thrown out or coin was flipped or any other kind of lucky based game played on the streets of chaos where fortunes were lost and gain as quickly as any breath of air.

"Goddammit, he's just too good! An unstoppable master of the bow! I tell you!" If luck wasn't one's specialty then in a game of skill such as darts or archery was where you'd likely to find the smarter of the district's patrons.

"Last call for fight pit entries and bets!" Finally, the district's main attractions were the many arenas where fighters were pitted against each of glory, gold and the entertainment of the masses.

"This is where a tinker is?" Blake asked as Deller had led them to one such arena with what sounded like a bloody battle taking place inside before one final scream of a contestant was heard followed by a roar of cheers.

Deller chuckled lightly at Blake's confusion. "Bah, well, you saw it yourself, didn't you? We produce both useful items for the city and a large number of weapons of the army, the City Watch and anyone with enough gold..." He paused to speak to an attendant that came up to him. "...so, often there are times when we show off some of our work here, which Anthony is currently doing at the moment."

"Heh, so that student of yours is in there, huh?" Blake muttered trying to hide the fact that he was pumped up now, he was a bit worried that once he forced Anthony into a fight, it'd be an easy win for him. "At least I might get a good work out of this!"

Inside the arena

"That was a great test run! Mr. Anthony!" An arena attendant was walking inside of a hallway.

In front of them was a man dressed in a pair of black metal-tipped dress shoes, baggie brown pants held up by a utility belt with all manner of tools and gadgets attached to it, next was a messy and discolored white shirt under a red trenchcoat.

"It was nothing at all!" Boasted Anthony as he wheeled round to show a crystal monocle over the right of his pair of brown eyes and ran a hand through an unkempt head of orange hair along with a small bit of stubble at his chin. "Granted, I do hope that fighter is alright? He took quite the beating there..."

"No, no, you need not worry about that Mr. Anthony, we train our fighters strong here!" The attendant insisted, making a fist in one hand then motioned for Anthony to keep moving. "And it is a good bit of spotlight for both you and our arena."

Anthony nodded in agreement to that. "Yes, I do understand that...then I shall not disappoint you with the finale! If you have not heard about it yet, today I will be defending my master's honor against his old rival's student."

"Oh, yes! There was much talk about that throughout the week, many of our patrons today even booked some seats in advance just in case your dual would be taking place here and good news for them and you, I was just given word that your master himself has brought this challenger here to face you." The attendant explained while leading Anthony around.

"Hmm? He got done with the examination test, eh?" Anthony thought out loud as he brushed his chin lightly. "Not a surprise considering who his master is but I will not fail Master Deller!"

"I am sure you will not! But, I am curious which of your grand creations will you be using against them?" The attendant asked as they entered the armory of the arena.

"Oh? That will be simple, my friend, I will be using my current pet project for this one." Anthony walked to the center of the armory where there was a large red cloth over something that was about as big as a carriage. "A few adjustments here and there and it should be battle ready." He smiled as he patted a part of whatever was under the cloth. "Hmm?" Then eyed some movement from under the cloth. "Who is there? Out with you!"

"Ah!" And out from under the cloth came a blue-eyed blonde-haired young boy no older than ten.

"What!? How could you have gotten in here!?" The attendant was enraged at how such a young child could have gotten in here. "I bet you got your hands on something from this room! Give it back! Then it's out of with yo-"

"Please, you're scaring the boy." Anthony raised a hand to stop the attendant before they could do anything to the boy then went down on a knee to meet the child's height. "Now, care to tell me what you are doing here?"

"I-I-I-!" The boy shattered out shaken by the yelling of the attendant with his eyes darting all around.

"Now, now, calm down, that meanie over there isn't going to hurt you." Anthony tried calming the child with a head rubbing his head softly, quieting his sniffles as his eyes fixed themselves on Anothny. "Good, now tell me how you got here?"

"*sniffles* I came here with my mom *sniffles* to see the fights and when I heard you had something cool in here I ran off and then, and then, *sniffles*" The boy tried his best to answer Anthony but went into tears hugging Anthony for dear life.

"Then you lost her, didn't you?" Anthony asked as he rubbed the boy's back having the child nod into his chest then thought of a way to get the boy's mind off things. "...Hmm? So do you like what I do?"

"Uh, huh." The boy looked up with tears and a stray trail of snot going down his face.

"Well, that's good to hear! Most kids these days like to play knight or wizard," Anthony said to the boy and partly to himself. "And might I say that you have a good eye for finding my best work out of everything in here and it will be putting on quite the show for you today, but first we should find your mother she must be painfully worried about you."

"My mom's hurt! *sniffles*" Those last words form Anthony sent the poor boy into another round of tears.

"Oh dear," Anthony could only pat the boy's back and whispered. "it's okay, everything's fine, and your mother is safe. That just a saying..."

"Huh? Oh! Thank the Goddess! There you are!" Came a worried woman's voice as a blue-eyed blonde-haired woman ran into the armory.

"Oh, look? I bet that would be your mo-ah!" Anthony was sent flying by the boy's mother tackling him away after she ran to pick up her child.

"I've told you so many times not to go off without me, young man!" The woman yelled at her child while shaking him left and right.

"I'm sorry! Mom!" The boy cried back at his wailing parent as he clung to her.

"Well, that looks...nice...?" Anthony muttered after picking himself up from the floor with a small bump on the side of his head. "She packs a punch?"

"Oh! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" The woman repeatedly bowed her's and her son's head to Anthony as thanks.

"Oh, no need to thank me, you were already on your way here to find him, I only calmed him down." Anthony waved a hand to the woman to stop her from thanking him any more. "All that I ask is that you allow him to watch the next fight despite what worry he caused you."

"Hmm?" The woman looked down at her son as he was staring back at her with the biggest pair of puppy dog eyes ready to let a flood of tears break free. "...Fine, but...you are staying next to me got that?"

"YAAAAY! Let's get to our seats!" The boy cheered then pulled on his mother's arm to get to the stands. "Bye, Mr. Tinker!"

"Okay! Okay! Thank you for looking after him!" The mother called out as she and her boy left Anthony and the attendant. "Hmm?" Once a fair distance was put between them and the armory, the woman and 'her son' stopped. "Were you able to finish your task, Master Valac?" The woman asked with her voice switching to that of Hilda. "My part went by with nothing trouble."

"Easily, I had almost too much time, my dear Hilda," The boy's hair and eyes turned to that of Valac's and his horns shot out from his head. "Granted, that mortal was far too touchy with me...I thought most human adults would just toss an unknown child out like a rat."

"Master Valac! You are no such thing such as these mortals!" Hilda raised her voice at her master only to remind herself of how she treated Valac earlier. "Ah! Master, I am sorry for what I did to you a moment ago!" She went down on her hands and knees to show her deepest apologies.

"Not a problem at all, Hilda, your performance was top-notch might I say? It was if you were part of the theater." Valac praised Hilda for her acting before waving a hand to put his disguise back on. "Now, shall we watch the show that is about to begin?"

"Yes, my master?" Hilda obeyed thankful that her lord did not feel any kind of malice towards and instead gave her praise. "I can only thank his lordship for giving me this blessing!" He pumped a fist while walking behind Valac. All this time personally being ordered around by Valac was surely going to make her the talk of the WLMV fan club both good and bad.

Somewhere inside the arena

"..." Currently staring eachother down was Blake and Anthony after Deller had brought the group to a waiting room where fighters would prepare before going out to the fight pit to entertain the roaring crowd outside.

"So, you are Reiner's student that I've heard about from Master Deller?" Anthony muttered as he sized Blake up with the younger man doing the same to him. "You are as he said you'd be...but none the less I believe introductions are at hand, I am Anthony, the Tinker, the best student of Craftsmaster Deller and I shall be your opponent today!"

"Heh, that's a bit unfair you told him about me, Orc." Blake shot Deller a glance before turning back to Anthony who was partly glaring at him. "Oh? Got a soft spot for your boss? That's better than what I have with my old man, but that's not gonna be enough to take me down, and I'm bit surprised with all the other races your boss has working for him I was thinking that you were a Goblin or something."

"That's is a fine observation; however, you will be sure to see what monstrosity I lack in my looks I have abundance in my work." Anthony took a step to Blake's side, looking at him from there.

"That sounds like my kind of items! What's it going to be? Powered armor? A transforming weapon? Or some kind of weird gadget?" Blake asked as he looked at Anthony.

"I enjoy the look of shock and awe that others have on my work the first time they see it. So, I shall leave you with a small mystery." Anthony smiled back at Blake before walking off. "I do hope that you are able to give me enough data to improve on my work."

"Heh, don't worry about me, I just hope your toy can handle getting rough," Blake warned right back at Anthony turning around to watch him walk over to Deller to speak about something with him.

"Nice intimidation, Alpha." Gram smirked as he and the others came up to Blake.

"Thanks, but, it looks like that guy is tougher than he looks not like it's going to stop me." Blake cracked his knuckles getting his last bit of pump up time in before going up against Anthony. "Alright, Bread hand me that Flameworks!"

"Huh? Aren't you going to use one of them?" Bread pointed at Risabeel and the rest of Blake's items before opening the case he had the Flameworks in.

"I was planning on that but that Deller guy hasn't given us any space..." Blake glanced back at Deller and Anthony. "...and I'm not sure how he'd react to you guys transforming not to mention Risabeel," Blake explained as he took the Flameworks and let out a small fire from it. "Besides, this is the best field test this thing can get."

"Well, that's all well and good, but I wouldn't want anything that causes you any trouble." Baba mussed as she floated around Blake before going in to plant a peck on his cheek. "That's for good luck, make sure you don't get hurt, mama's going to be worried if that happens."

"Back off, Granny!" Mari on top of Gram's back waved Baba away. "Kick his ass, Blake!" She cheered, making a fist with both hands.

"OOO!" As did Os turning pink.

"Meh, you don't need much from me." Gram did the best shrug a wolf could give at Blake.

"May luck be with you, Sir Blake." Risabeel bowed her head to Blake.

"I will," Blake promised her while wiping his cheek from Baba's kiss. "And what about you, Miss Dragon?" He turned to Saffire who was eating out of a bowl of at first fresh fruit but now they roasted after she had her way with them.

"Tch, you're too much of a wyrm to show us off, but I guess you'll be fine," Saffire told him while blowing on an apple slice that she offered to him. "Might as well fight on a full stomach...and you better win cause I like my new cave, got that!"

"Aww, you do care about me too!" Blake winked at her as he picked the apple up and popped it in his mouth. "Alright! Let's kick your ass Anothny!" He yelled, pointing at Anothny with the Flameworks.

"Save it for the fight pit..." Both Deller and Anothny muttered back unenthusiastically.

Arena fight pit

"Are you ready for today's main event!?" A fabulously dressed announcer yelled into a bubble made by a mage next to his that let their voice be to heard through the arena. They were standing on a small balcony overlooking the fight pit that was a full story below them, and an iron dome was set up in a net pattern.

"YES! YES! YES!" A roar of cheers was thrown back at him in answer.

"Good to hear! Now! As all of you have surely heard by now! But a bet like none was issued to our city's dear Craftsmaster Deller!" The announcer pointed at a special seating booth where Deller and Blake's group were sitting at. "By a lowly newcomer who has not even made a name for himself here in our city! What reason could someone like that have at getting the full attention of the Craftsmaster? Fear not for I shall tell you all! This man is not only a student! But the son of Reiner, the Blasters! Once one of Gorz's best blacksmiths and even bested Craftsmaster Deller at one time! But, shall his legacy come up a take another swing at Deller's fame? I don't know if he can, but I do know his name, and that is...Blake, the Blacksmith!"

Once done with his speech, the announcer threw an arm out at an iron grate that began to go up as Blake stepped out into the fight pit while sending out a whiplike flame from the Flameworks earning a with cheers from the crowd and of course his friends watching up above.

"But what did Deller do? Deny it? Never? Laugh at such a thing? Maybe? Throw this fool out? By the looks of it...no. The greatest crafter within these walls who very well has many more important dealings to handle than a single bet decided to not only undertake this bet but also set this challenger up against his best man! His own student, his choice as the next craftsmaster! And the one who has been putting on quite the show for you already with his creations...Anthony, the Tinker!"

"Haha!" Came from Anthony standing on another balcony overlooking the fight pit as a roar of cheers were rained down on him. "Thank you, thank you, you are all too kind!"

"Hey! What gives!?" Blake yelled up at Anthony about ready to throw a fireball on him. "Aren't you supposed to be in here with me! Two and a half eyes!"

"That's a good one, how long did it take you to think that up?" Anthony jokingly asked as he put on a pair of gauntlets each with a glowing gem inside each palm. "Well, you see there's a difference in the way you and I do things when it comes to battle. You and most of the world do things yourself, but I like to take a more indirect approach to it./." He smirked as another gate was opened with a few attendants dragging the large cloth covered thing that was inside the armory.

"You let your toys do the fighting, huh? Guess I can't blame you much since I pulled a fast one on your boss, fair's fair..." Blake took a fighting stance with the Flameworks pointed at the unseen thing Anthony had pulled out. "...but I hope it's fireproof!"

"Oh, I made sure of that!" Anthony balled his right hand into a fist, yet the glow of the gem shinned through the gaps made by his fingers and the attendants left the fight pit while whatever was under the cloth began to shake.

"Now! That both fighters have prepared themselves, I have no other words other theeeeeeeeen! Fight!" The announcer swiped an arm down to set things off.

"HAH!" Anthony threw out a punch hitting the air and caused what he was hiding to rip out from under the cloth.

"What!?" Blake watched as the silverish shine of an iron lion rushed towards him with its steel claws digging up the earth, iron fangs snapped at the air, a pair of metal wings outstretched wide from its back and a robotic stringer whipped behind it all. "Wait!? Wings!? Stringer!?" He quickly rolled under the iron mass that was rocketing towards him, letting it crash face first into a wall. "Well, look at that? Someone done made themselves a metal Manticore."

"Well, versed aren't you now?" Anthony was surprised by Blake's know-how of monsters before bringing his fist inward, and his iron Manticore removed itself from the wall without a scratch on it. "Most tinkers these days usually build some time-saving gadget or upgrades for items already made but I decide that there needed a bit more, and I came up with my very own remote controlled constructs, which I personally call Anthomata!"

"Alright, then let's do this!" Blake smirked at the towering metal monster that Anthony had walking up to him. "Now? How the hell do I fight this thing?" He thought with a trail of sweat going down his face and tightly gripped the Flameworks.

"As you wish!" Anthony punched out again, causing his Anthomata to strike out at Blake with its claws.

"Whoa!" Blake quickly took two jumps back as the Anthomata swiped at him twice. "My turn!" In retaliation, he fired three fireballs at it each hitting dead on. "Damn!" But all they did were leave the Anthomata with three black spots across its body that did little to nothing.

"I told you it was fireproof, didn't I?" Anthony smirked as he swiped his hand in the air and his Anthomata followed it by whipping its stringer at Blake.

"Oh shit!" Blake rolled under it but was still caught by his shirt with an iron spike sticking out of its tail. "Fuck me!" He screamed after getting flicked off feet and crashed into the ground. "Ugh, this is not gonna be fun..." He groaned as he pushed off the ground and back to his feet.

"This fight doesn't seem to fair, Mr. Orc?" Baba glanced at Deller as Blake was currently running away from the Anthomata as best he could while still getting tossed around by it.

"A fight's a fight..." Was all Deller told her, watching the fight closely with a focused stare. "But your boy is holding up well for now at least."

"~Oh~ don't worry; my Hubby has a way of finding out how to handle things." Baba mussed back at Deller and went back to watching the fight with the others.

"Furball, ever fought one of those things? A real one I mean," Saffire asked, arms crossed as she leaned in to get a better look at what was going on. "Hmm?"

"Nah, never ran into one of those before, I guess you haven't either since you're asking me." Gram was resting his head on the balcony railing with Mari sitting next to Risabeel and Bread at the seats. "And I don't think he'd want our help just yet give him some time at least."

"Tch, watch your mouth, Furball," Saffire muttered, paying more attention to the fight, wincing and flinching every time it looked like Blake would take a big hit which Risabeel and Mair were doing as well.

"Come on! Just melt already!" Blake yelled as he was running around the Anthomata while trying to see how much heat this thing could take.

"Haha! Try as much as you want! The metal I used for my Manticore's making could take a Dragon's breath!" Anthony boasted before flicking a finger up, and his Anthomata leaped into the air. "Hah!' Then flicked his finger down.

"Nope! Nope! Nope!" Blake got out of there as a partly burning robot came crashing down where he was, kicking up some dust around it. "Whew!" Then he watched its tail slashed through the dust with embers starting up in its mouth. "I know that look!" He brought up the Flameworks with a fire of his own about to go off.

"As if that could match my Manticore!" Anthony thrust his palms forward, letting his Anthomata throw out a blast of fire at Blake.

"We'll see in a second!" Blake fired back with his own blast and to the awe of the crowd and the shock of Anthony both flames matched eachother perfectly with neither side giving the other an inch. "Hope that thing's got a lot of fuel in there cause this baby can go all day!" Blake yelled up at Anthony with a grin on his face. "If I'm lucky!" He thought at the same time trying his best to keep the Flameworks steady in his hand as a crack was forming on it.

"Well! I'll just do better!" Anthony kept one hand outstretched while the other one was pulled back to flicked his finger forward.

"Huh?" Which was when Blake noticed the stringer of the Anthomata string up behind it and darted at him. "RAGGH!" He screamed as the stringer ripped into his side, covering it in his blood and dug its tip into the ground behind him. "Ugh! Can't hold up now!" Blake groaned before dropping his fire and rolled out of the way of the Anthomata's flame then grabbed his side where a sizeable chunk was gone.

"Oh my! Oh my! This more fun than I thought!" Valac gleefully cheered to himself, sitting in Hilda's lap while the people around them were crying for more blood. "If this keeps up then I might have no need for the backup, hehehe!"

"All is going well, master." Hilda quietly agreed as she had the greatest chance of patting Valac on the head as an act to keep up their disguise. "I must take time to write this event in my report book for the club!"

"Haha! You're lucky this fight is not to the death or I would have killed you on the spot!" Anthony fixed his monocle to mock Blake and to take a closer look at the Flameworks. "But that item is quite well built for it to match the fire of my Anthomata, I might just use it as an upgrade once I'm done with you!"

"Fuck!" Blake was too business trying to stop blood from pouring out of him, not giving a damn about what Anthony was saying, thankfully Anthony was unknowingly giving him a breather but for how long? "Can't have this open for too long." He looked at the Flameworks as he said that then brought it to his side and closed his eyes.

"Oh? What is Blake planning to do after taking that hit!?" The announcer asked the viewers with many of them yelling for Blake to give up before he dies while others were wanting this to turn into a death match. "Well, I don't know my good people, it's all up to Blake at this point on whether he will throw in the towel or continuing on this hople-!

"AAAAHHH!" Blake suddenly screamed as loud as he could just before he shot himself with a fireball right at his open wound.

"Sir Blake!" Risabeel cried, standing up along with the other after Blake was almost impaled a moment ago. "Wh-wh-what are you doing!?" She gasped after watching Blake seemingly shoot himself.

"Heh! Scaleless has some balls," Saffire smirked the only one of Blake's group doing that and got looked at by the others. "But you're still weak from screaming like a baby!"

"That! ARGH! Fucking hurt!" Blake yelled as he threw his head back along with his arm to show that his wound was a charred reddish color, not bleeding, but it still hurt like hell. "Thanks for being a good guy and let me heal up." He gave Anthony a thumbs up just as a round of cheers was thrown his way.

"Tch, only fools go this far in a hopeless game..." Anthony shot Blake a glare as he was beginning to get tried with this battle, not only was Blake partly able to keep up with his Anthomata, he matched its fire, and worst yet took a hit from it and was still going. "...if this goes on any longer I will have your blood on my hands."

"Hmm? Then I guess I'll have to end this quickly!" Blake muttered going into a fight stance as he was making a small blue flame come out of the Flameworks. "Good, now I just gotta make it bigger and longer..." He whispered, staring down the Anthomata, planning out the best way to go about his next attack plan.

"Do not even dream of beating my Anthomata!" Anthony shouted as he threw up both his hands, and his Anthoamta took to the air flying around the fight pit. "Run and hide like a rat!" He thrust a palm out and shot down a stream of fire down on Blake.

"Great it went into the air," Balek groaned, running from the hellfire that was coming down on him. "Hmm? Need more time..." He looked at the blue flame which had gotten to the size of a knife, but that was far from what he wanted out of it. "I wish I could take this slow but at this rate..."

"Weren't you going on about how you'd finish this!" Anthony egged Blake on and kept a constant stream of fire on the smith's tail. "If you're afraid to face the fire then shall I attack with claws of steel!" He clawed at the air causing his Anthomata to dive down from the sky.

"This might work!" Blake cheered after ducking the Anthomata's claws then jumped up to grab hold of its hind legs and went back into the air with it. "Come on! Come on! Come on!" He angrily repeated while forcing as much blue fire out of the Flameworks as he could with it now have a tiny sword-sized flame coming out of it.

"My Anthomata is not for rides! Now get off!" Anthony twisted his hands around, making his construct do a barrel roll to shake Blake off it. "Get off!" But once that didn't work, he tried clawing Blake off or knocking the metal wings into Blake's back.

"I was getting to that!" Blake yelled in between ducking claw swipes or taking iron feathers to the face before working his way up to the Anthomata's body to its shoulders. "This better be here!" Once he got a good hold on his position, he held up the Flameworks which now had a long sword-sized blade of blue flames coming out of it. "Raaaaah!" And with a powerful downward stab, Blake sent the blue blade right from the back of the Anthomata's neck and out its chest where an eruption of mana was escaping from.

"No! He hit the mana core!" Anthony tried every gesture he knew to help his Anthomata stay airborne, but the moment Blake made a follow-up attack of slashing up through its neck letting more mana pour out of it he knew it was over. "Damn!"

"Oh?" Was what Blake suddenly said once he realized that there wasn't any time to jump off or get a soft landing as the Anthomata came crashing back down to earth. "This is going to hu-!" His shout was cut short by both him and the Anthoamta falling into the ground in a fiery cloud of smoke.

"..." The entire arena was dead silent as not a thing came out of the smoke as it started to clean up. "...Oh?" Then slowly, one or two of the crowd began to peak up as something was moving under the smoke.

"Ugh! I should have taken Saffire in here with me!" Blake groaned while rubbing his back, walking away from the destroyed Anthomata behind him which had a massive melting hole and a slash put in it that took off its head while the rest of it was smashed to bits.

"BLAKE! BLAKE! BLAKE!" And as he did, a shell-shocking amount of cheers was blasted out from the crowd as they jumped up from there seats and began throwing things into the pit at him mostly coins.

"..." Deller was left with an emotionless face as he crossed his arms while swapping looks between Blake and Anthony. "...Goddess damn you, Reiner....or did she bless you with an ungodly amount of luck?"

"Ah..." Risabeel brought a hand to her chest to calm her racing heart after seeing Blake coming out the victor then turned to Mari who was likely the most worried one out of them. "...Marius, your brother ha-"

"YAY! Blake destroyed that stupid bird thing!" Mari was tossing her fists into the with a Os clone of herself doing the same.

"My item did that?" Bread had a goofy smile on his face 1) because his Flameworks not only got Blake passed the first part of his bet but also won his fight and 2) Mari hugged him the first time she started cheering for Blake's win.

"~Good boy~ you didn't get me worried." Baba hummed out as she floated on by lazily.

"Well, someone did." Gram smirked as he took a glance at Saffire.

"You're lucky I can't fight you right now!" Saffire muttered back at him, trying to hide a small smile from the group.

"Hmm? Not only was he able to tell where the mana core was but he knew that it would take a powerful flame to get through its armor...all within the heat of battle...?" Anthony was thinking to himself after the fight while using his monocle to get a closer look at Blake's face. "~Quite the man~"

"..." The only onlookers who were unpleased with the outcome were Valac and Hilda. "Tch" With the Demon boy making a small ball of dark mana in his palm.

"Well, then to all of you, dear spectators in the stands! Without any doubt in my or your own minds as to who the winner of this fight is none other thaaaaan Blake, the Blacksmith!" The announcer declared the fight's winner as his mage assistant whipped up a gust of wind that circled Blake for added effect.

"Just get me out of he-huh?" Blake was about ready to walk back to the gate he stepped out when a massive black arm slammed into his left side and tossed him like a ragdoll. "Ugh! Argh! Ngh!" and skipped off the ground like a flat stone across a lake.

"GRRRAAAH!" Came the roar of pitch black Manticore with a mane of red hair around its head, green bat-like wings, and a purple stringer that suddenly appeared out of the wreckage of the Anthomata even using some parts of it as armor.

"What is this!? Had Anthony been hiding something behind his back all this time folks!? Haha!" The announcer tried to play things off as part of the fight, but a worried look going Anthony for answers showed through.

"Where did that thing come from!?" Anthony screamed in his mind as he threw off his gauntlets and waved to the announcer as hard as he could. "This isn't part of the fight! Open the gate! NOW!"

"The fuck was that?" Blake slowly picked himself up battered and bruised and felt like his side was caved in after whatever hit him and looked up to see the non-robot Manticore staring at him. "Oh? That thing..."

Hybrid Monsters: A type of monster that has been created through the mixing and matching or mismatching of multiple monsters or animal parts to produce a creature that has all the abilities of the used parts wrapped into a dangerous, adaptable, and sometimes uncontrollable beast.

Examples of common hybrids are Pegasus, Cockatrice, Chimera, Nue, and Fenghuang.

Items forged from these hybrids often come out as a twisted work made up by the different monsters used.

"Hehe!" Valac giggled to himself as his beast was gearing up to charge at Blake, letting out another roar as it swiped at Blake. "Now, let's see if you can handle the real thing, boy?"

"I killed a metal version of you earlier this should be fine!" Blake brought up the Flameworks and fired off a few fireballs at the charging beast hitting it in the eyes with one that made it stagger. "Good, you hate fire!" He covered it a blast of fire throwing it back further. "Huh?' Then he heard a whistling sound from the Flameworks as the crack on it got bigger and bigger. "Fu-AAAAHH!" Just before it blew up in his face and tossed him back. "Hot! Hot! Hot!" He grabbed his hand having black smoke coming off it as he waved it in the air until he stopped to find it covered in burns and the Flameworks in pieces in front of him. "Shit!"

"HEHEHE!" Meaning he had nothing to fight with now which got a rough giggled out of the Manticore as it slowly walked up to him before going into a full on charge. "GRRAH!" And once it got close enough, it picked him up with its claws then spiked him back down with its tail.

"Sir Blake!" Risabeel cried form the booth as Gram, Saffire, and Baba jumped out of it and made their way to the fight pit. "Come! Marius! Lad Nobel!" She quickly ran out of the door, followed by the young children while thinking of any way she could help.

"Hilda," Valac ordered quietly, and a pink flame suddenly stretched across the dome.

"Grrr!/Oh, No?" Gram and Baba couldn't make it through the wall of fire that came up out of nowhere.

"Fire?! Please!" But that didn't stop Saffire from shifting into her Dragon form and clawed at the dome trying to rip it apart. "GRRRR! What the hell!?" She growled with no matter how much strength she put into it, she wasn't able to move any part of the cage at all.

"Oh? Enchanting the cage just in case! Are you trying to impress me, Hilda?" Valac mussed to his maid as his Manticore was trying to stab at Blake with its stringer.

"At all times, Master Valac." Hilda beamed at the thought Valac praising her, and the two were the oddest sight of a mother and son happily watching the madness that was going while any other sane person was running for their lives at this point. "But as usual this boy is like a cockroach..." Her eyes glared at Blake doing his damnest to stay alive under the assault of her master beast.

"Not to worry all things end at some point," Valac told her as he made his beast fly up into the air to rain down fire on him.

"Not this again!" Blake was dashing the gate out, but a blast of fire falling in front of him stopped him dead. "Damn it!" Worst yet was the Manticore landed right behind him. "Whoa!" Making him roll under one its claw swipes. "Hey! Need some serious help here!" He yelled up at his friends, Saffire trying to make a hole in the cage, Baba trying to blow the fire out along with the mage working with the announcer and Gram left to growling.

"Gram, could you give me your aid?" Risabeel, Mari, and Bread arrived shortly after pushing through a crowd of screaming patrons. "And Baba can you please blow the fire away from the hole Saffire is trying to make."

"What for?" Gram looked at her and wondered just what she came up with while Baba nodded.

"Just hurry it up!" Blake was okay with anything if it meant that he'd get out of this alive. "What are you doing!?" That is until he watched Gram bite down Risabeel's arm and tossed her high.

"Huh? Risabeel!" Saffire watched Risabeel came over her head while turning into a sword just as Baba was blowing the fire out of her way.

"GRAAH!" The Manticore was about to bring down its claws on Blake after cornering him. "GUUAH!" But Risabeel falling from the sky and stabbing into its arm locked it in place a few feet short of hitting Blake.

"Alright!" Blake, although very confused about that plan, wasn't going to pass up the chance to get back at this thing as he took hold of Risabeel gaining his horns. "Time for the counter attack!" He slashed up the Manticore's arm then pulled back. "Demon Stab!" To fire off a beam of mana at its that knocked it almost to the other side of the fight pit.

"Hmph!" Valac's smile was now removed from his face at Blake sudden comeback. "This will not stand!" He clinched the orb of mana in his hand, and his Manticore was engulfed in a dark veil of power.

"What now?" Blake groaned watching the Manticore pump itself up before it came at him. "Alright! Let's go!" So he met one of its claw strikes with mana covered Risabeel matching it, but Blake's arm was left shaking. "Okay, can't take it head-on." So when it went for another strike, he jumped back.

"GAUH!" But the Manticore went for a stab with its stringer.

"Not again!" Blake blocked it with Risabeel and made the stringer drive itself into the ground. "RAH!" Before it could get pulled back, he brought down Risabeel on it cutting the stringer clean off splatting green blood everywhere around it as it wiggled behind the beast.

"Tch!" Valac made it fly again going off another round of hellfire from above.

"Finally got you!" But Saffire finally got a big enough hole for her to get an arm through and clawed at the Manticore's wings taking it out of the sky.

"Demon Slash!" Right into Blake swinging up at it, cleaving it in half as it came down on top of him with both sides slamming to his right and left. "*Pant* I was not *pant* ready for any of that..." He threw back his head to take a breather and look up at the emptied stands only seeing his friends, Saffire as a Dragon, Deller and Anthony who were talking to each other, and that announcer guy who hadn't left his spot yet. "Huh?" And the weirdest sight of a mother and child, who disappeared the moment he looked away.

Chapter end