The roar of the crowd cascaded over the two competitors inside the arena but neither appeared fazed in the slightest by the tumult. Rather than succumbing to the pressure of the bright lights and packed stands, the men seemed to revel in it. Overhead, broadcast drones circled the contest below: a large, sand-covered arena divided between the two men.

Each man, or tamer, as they called themselves, had two Djinn — monsters that populated the globe in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and Elemental alignments — standing before him. Each of the monsters bore a number of cuts and scrapes. Their chests heaved with labored breath, and despite their overall sturdy builds, they looked as though they could very well topple over at any moment.

“Well, folks, this is shaping up to be quite the finish,” an announcer’s voice blared over the speakers. “Ricardo Mayimbe and Dean Devereaux, two of the Djinn Battle League’s biggest rivals, are each down to their last two Djinn. In a surprising upset, both teams have had their Solar and Lunar-type support Djinn knocked out at the same time. All that’s left are four of the five core Elements on the field — Wind, Water, Fire, and Earth. Get ready, because you’re about to witness a master class in stretching the basic aspects of taming at the highest level. It’s still anyone’s game! Who will take home the prized Roktar Rumble Championship Medal?”

As if in response to the question, both teams of Djinn let out roars and charged toward one another. Translucent, holographic projections above each monster, amplified and expanded on screens throughout the stadium, displayed a few basic stats for the onlookers:

Djinn: Unistang

Level: 93

Element: Wind

Team: Blue (Mayimbe)

HP (Hit Points): 743/2,323

Djinn: Ancespion

Level: 86

Element: Water

Team: Blue (Mayimbe)

HP (Hit Points): 1,365/3,516

Djinn: Garizza

Level: 84

Element: Fire

Team: Red (Devereaux)

HP (Hit Points): 903/2,654

Djinn: Rhinoral

Level: 97

Element: Earth

Team: Red (Devereaux)

HP (Hit Points): 916/3,159

In a cacophony of roars, shrieks, hisses, and all other manner of bestial battle cries, the two sides collided.

To the untrained eye, it appeared to be utter chaos — Wind and Fire Djinn letting loose bursts of whirlwinds and flame, Earth and Water Djinn setting the ground quaking and geysers blasting.

“Oh-ho! This is going to be a classic, folks!” the announcer’s voice rang out.

Mayimbe and Devereaux hovered across the arena from one another on circular platforms. As their respective Djinn, the blue and the red teams, raced toward one another, the tamers issued a series of commands through holo-screens projecting from wrist devices. The fingers of the two men moved in a blur, faster than a concert pianist, as they executed their strategies, faces scrunched in concentration.

The two teams of Djinn moved in concert together, executing a series of combo moves faster than the eye could follow. Mayimbe’s Unistang — a gigantic, black and silver equestrian Djinn — followed a collision course for Devereaux’s Rhinoral, a stocky, four-legged, tri-horned monster whose horns ran down the top ridge of its snout. Although it had an Elemental disadvantage, Devereaux’s other Djinn, the rust-colored ape, Garizza, peeled off toward the giant arachnid, Ancespion, which sported a terrifyingly sharp stinger on its tail.

After such a long, drawn-out match, most of the Djinns’s Elemental Power was depleted, forcing them to rely on physical moves. The Unistang and Rhinoral lowered their horns and struck one another at full-speed, plummeting their health percentage into the teens. Roaring, the Garizza propelled itself into the air and its fists burst into flame mid-leap. The Ancespion reared back, barbed tail and pincers at the ready.

The Garizza flattened the Ancespion like a pancake, though its flaming fists left no damage on the opponent’s chitinous armor. At the same time, the Ancespion’s tail lashed out and struck the Garizza deep in the neck. Temporarily stunned, the Garizza reeled backward before it could finish the Ancespion off.

A few yards away, the Unistang and Rhinoral grappled with heads and horns like two massive fencers seeking a break in their opponents’ guard. Both tamers’ fingers flew over the mini holo-displays above their wrists, multi-tasking between the two battles inside the arena.

Still recovering from the sting, Devereaux’s Garizza shook its head and, instead of re-engaging with the Ancespion, lumbered for Mayimbe’s Unistang, who was still locked in a shoving match with Rhinoral.

“A gutsy move by Devereaux — he’s going for a double team!”

Scrambling forward on three of its four legs, the Ancespion struggled to cut off the ambush. By now, the health bars of all four Djinn flashed in the red zone. The outcome of the battle hung on the next few moments.

As soon as he spotted the Garizza bee-lining for his Unistang, Mayimbe changed tactics. The Unistang pushed forward hard before pulling back slightly, giving ground to the Rhinoral and shaking free of the horn-lock between them. Surprised by the sudden lack of force pushing back against it, the Rhinoral stumbled and crashed nose-first into the arena sand. That was all the opening Mayimbe needed.

Mayimbe’s Unistang leaped over the dazed Rhinoral and met Devereaux’s Garizza head on. The Unistang reared up and its front, diamond-hard hooves lashed out at the charging Garizza.

“And Unistang’s thrown out a Valiant Kick, ladies and gents!” the announcer screamed. “Has Mayimbe sealed his victory?”

In and of itself, the attack wouldn’t have mattered much, but it allowed Mayimbe’s Ancespion to catch up. Devereaux’s Garizza stumbled backward, clutching its face. The Ancespion lunged and wrapped around the Garizza’s back with its legs and pincers. Its stinger lashed out and struck the Garizza in the neck — the same spot it had stung before. This time, the stinger dug deeper, opening up the puncture wound even wider. Dark red blood gushed from around the stinger.

For a moment, Devereaux’s Garizza teetered in its bowlegged stance, one arm hovering overhead where it had been reaching for the Ancespion. The Garizza grunted and stumbled forward then collapsed on the sand. A buzzer sound — KO.

Some of the audience — Mayimbe fans — broke out into cheers. But not everyone counted the match as over yet.

“Uh-oh! Looks like Devereaux’s Rhinoral is going for a total zero!”

Fully recovered from its nosedive into the dirt, the Rhinoral had been biding its time while Mayimbe’s Djinn finished off its teammate. The Earth-Elemental bellowed and shook its head. The curved, Y-shaped horn atop its nose began to shine as particles of light floated toward it.

Across the arena, Mayimbe gritted his teeth, recognizing what was coming. As the tamer furiously tapped and swiped at the command screen in front of him, his Ancespion and Unistang rushed toward their remaining opponent. The Rhinoral’s horn grew so bright the audience shielded their eyes. The announcer shrieked into his mic.

“It all comes down to this!”

Even the most casual fan could see the Ancespion and Unistang wouldn’t be able to stop the Rhinoral’s attack in time, though that didn’t stop them from trying. The Unistang’s hooves kicked up a whirlwind as it charged towards the Rhinoral, but it was too late. The match would be settled in a few short seconds.

“Jackson, dinner’s ready!”

A woman’s shout cut through the din of the battle and the screams of the crowd, but neither the Djinn Tamers nor the announcer seemed to notice.

The Unistang’s nostrils flared. It lowered its head, a few feet away from the Rhinoral. Collision was imminent.

A burst of silent white light exploded from the Djinn’s Y-shaped horn, engulfing the Unistang and the belabored Ancespion like a supernova.

“I DON’T BELIEVE IT! I DON’T BELIEVE IT! THE RHINORAL EXECUTED SOLAR HORN!”

“Jackson!”

The light faded. Devereaux’s Rhinoral stood on wobbling legs…but it still stood. The Unistang wasn’t so lucky, as it had been hit with a head-on attack from its Elemental superior, and it lay KO’ed in the sand.

But somehow, Mayimbe’s Ancespion remained.

A testament to the Djinn’s immense defensive stats, the Ancespion scuttled forward, heavily injured but not down for the count just yet. The Djinn’s health icon beeped like a heart monitor on the fritz, only 11 hit points remaining.

Snorting, the Rhinoral lowered its head, prepared to charge. Although it wasn’t in much better shape, it at least had hit points in the triple digits. Everyone in the arena knew what was coming: unless Mayimbe had a miracle up his sleeve, his Ancespion would be steamrolled.

The Rhinoral bellowed in anticipation of its coming victory.

And then a long, high-pitched air horn sounded. A white flag projection flashed above the center of the arena.

“What?” The announcer called out. “What’s this?”

Mayimbe Withdraws flashed at the center of the white flag projection.

“And Devereaux wins?!” the announcer said with as much excitement as confusion. “Not really sure what Mayimbe was thinking, but he just cemented Devereaux’s name in the hall of fame!”

“Just what in the hell was that?” another voice echoed through the stadium.

“Beats me,” the announcer responded. “But I guess you don’t have to be a fortune teller to read those tea leaves. Mayimbe’s Ancespion didn’t stand a chance against the Rhinoral.”

“I don’t give a crap about any tea leaves, Axel. If you want to make it as a Gold League tamer, you’ve got to be willing to go to the last Djinn standing! Audiences don’t pay to see white flags wave around! This withdraw goes against everything the sport stands for.”

“Wow, tell us how you really feel, why don’t you? Well, regardless of what you think, one thing is clear: We’ll be talking about this one for a long —”

“Jackson Hunt, if you aren’t down here in one minute you’ll be doing dishes alone for a week!”

Jackson sighed in disgust and hit the power button on his holo-projector. Mayimbe, Devereaux, the Djinn monsters, the two announcers, and the stadium disappeared in a blink of blue electronic light, replaced by worn bedroom floorboards.

“Hold on, will you? I’m coming!” he shouted down the stairs.

Looking back at the space where the Roktar Rumble had been displayed moments before, Jackson shook his head. The media had billed this as the fight of the year — to have it end in a withdrawal was, putting it lightly, lame as hell. Real tamers never threw in the towel. Real tamers trained their Djinn to fight to the last hit point.

“What a bunch of crap,” Jackson muttered before racing to the kitchen.

Someday, he’d show them how it was really done.