The shattered ice had barely begun to fall when the oppressive silence between the two combatants was broken.
Articuno attacked first.
There was no warning.
No hesitation.
Several beams of freezing energy immediately swept down from the sky.
WereGarurumon reacted at once.
He raised his arms to block.
Crack!
Crack!
Ice crystals exploded across his body.
Several sharp blades of ice formed in the air and descended one after another.
WereGarurumon dodged the first.
He shattered the second.
The third grazed past his shoulder.
More followed immediately afterward.
The spectators' roars rose and fell continuously.
Cheers and screams filled the venue.
The battle had become so intense that hardly anyone dared look away.
Articuno kept changing its position in the air.
Its eyes remained firmly locked onto WereGarurumon.
It already understood that its opponent possessed extremely fast reactions.
Any carelessness could allow WereGarurumon to counterattack in an instant.
At the same time, WereGarurumon was also watching Articuno closely.
Neither combatant gave the other a moment to relax.
Suddenly, Articuno spread its wings completely.
BOOM!
Freezing energy erupted from its body.
The surrounding air began trembling.
Ice crystals rapidly condensed around it.
One wave.
Then another.
Then a third.
Three consecutive bursts of freezing energy descended toward WereGarurumon.
WereGarurumon moved at once.
His feet struck the frozen ground.
BOOM!
He rushed forward.
The first wave exploded behind him.
The second crashed down directly ahead.
WereGarurumon crossed his arms and slashed violently.
BOOM!
The freezing energy was torn apart.
But the third attack was already approaching.
There was no time to evade.
WereGarurumon could only take it head-on.
BANG!
His entire body shook violently.
He was forced backward across the frozen arena.
Cracks spread through the ice beneath his feet.
But Articuno still did not stop.
Another enormous surge of freezing energy erupted.
This time, it held nothing back.
The temperature throughout the battlefield plunged once again.
Even the turbulent currents of air seemed to freeze for an instant.
Then—
BOOM!
Explosions erupted everywhere across the arena.
Ice burst upward from the ground.
The frozen space that WereGarurumon had shattered earlier began forming again.
Countless thin strands of ice spread outward, intertwining around the battlefield like a massive frozen net.
WereGarurumon was trapped in the center.
The pressure coming from all directions grew increasingly intense.
His arms continuously shattered the approaching ice.
His claws tore apart one frozen layer after another.
But every attack consumed energy.
And Articuno's barrage seemed endless.
WereGarurumon understood perfectly well how difficult this battle was.
Even so, there was no hesitation in his eyes.
He had no intention of surrendering.
Another three freezing attacks came one after another.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
WereGarurumon blocked the first.
He tore through the second.
The third struck him directly.
His body trembled.
He staggered backward.
Before he could recover, another attack arrived.
BANG!
WereGarurumon clenched his fists and charged forward instead of retreating.
The ice beneath his feet shattered.
He tore directly into Articuno's barrage.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
Dozens of ice crystals burst apart around him.
A low humming sound filled the battlefield as the opposing energies collided.
WereGarurumon swung his arm violently.
The incoming freezing energy was cut apart.
However, he could not completely negate the attack.
The remaining force continued slamming into his body.
His defensive posture was beginning to collapse.
Again.
BOOM!
WereGarurumon was struck in midair.
His body immediately fell straight downward.
BANG!
He crashed heavily onto the frozen ground.
Ice shattered beneath him.
For a moment, the entire arena fell silent.
The battlefield had practically become a sea of ice.
WereGarurumon lay motionless at its center.
The sight was miserable.
The spectators stared nervously.
After such a long and brutal exchange, everyone understood just how much energy both combatants had already consumed.
Had the battle finally reached its conclusion?
The cold wind continued blowing.
Snow and ice rotated slowly above the arena.
WereGarurumon's body remained covered in frost.
The entire scene appeared frozen in time.
Yet beneath that frozen exterior, his fighting spirit had not disappeared.
The spectators continued watching.
No one wanted the battle to end yet.
Then—
Crack.
A tiny fracture suddenly appeared in the ice covering WereGarurumon's body.
Several spectators noticed it immediately.
Crack!
Another fracture appeared.
Then another.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
More and more cracks spread across the frozen shell.
Ice fragments began falling away.
In the next second—
BOOM!!
The entire layer of ice around WereGarurumon exploded!
Countless shards scattered in every direction.
WereGarurumon's figure appeared once again from within the shattered frost.
He slowly rose.
His breathing was heavier than before.
His body had clearly suffered damage.
But he was still standing.
The audience remained stunned for a moment.
Then—
"OOOOHHHHHH!!"
Deafening cheers erupted throughout the venue.
The atmosphere of the entire competition was pushed to another peak.
High above, Articuno stared down at WereGarurumon.
A blue-white radiance flickered around its body.
This opponent had once again given it a completely new sense of danger.
Articuno beat its wings.
Every movement released another wave of freezing air.
Its aura continued spreading outward.
WereGarurumon raised his head.
His sharp eyes met Articuno's gaze.
After the terrifying exchange they had just endured, the battle had once again returned to a tense standoff.
Neither side had fallen.
Neither side intended to retreat.
Their eyes contained the same thing—
the desire for victory.
This battle...
was still far from over.
(End of Chapter)
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