Destroyer of Ice and Fire

Because Chris still had not emerged from the chamber, Ayrin and the others had assumed that she was embroiled in a fierce battle. But in reality, there had been no conflict between the two from the moment Chris first stepped into the chamber and encountered the golden metal puppet.

Nonetheless, Chris' mind was in a highly vigilant state.

The golden metal puppet before her was giving her a strange feeling.

It seemed as if the puppet was suppressing a great and powerful energy within its body, enough to release a single terrifying strike like Dark Destruction Dragon.

It had been looking for an opportunity to strike since their initial encounter. A single mistake was all it needed!

"Although you have mastered Dark Destruction Dragon, you can only use it once… if you are unable to defeat your opponent with your single strike, you will lose, and you might drag down your team as well.

Liszt's words rang through her mind as if he were whispering into her ear from beside her.

Now, she was applying this to the golden metal puppet before her. If she could bait out its strike, she would be able to stroll her way through the exit completely unharmed.

But what could she do which would make the golden metal puppet make such a mistake?

When she prepared to use Dark Destruction Dragon, what was she most afraid of?

A strange glint suddenly appeared in Chris' eyes as she made her move.

Instead of shooting forward towards the exit, she began moving backwards step by step towards the entrance in a very slow and careful manner, one which would allow her to erupt with strength at any moment.

Atop the bronze wall, all the referees and medical masters took deep breaths as their expressions turned serious.

They all felt as if they were learning by watching the movements of this goddess like girl.

The golden metal puppet facing her began to show clear signs of confusion.

Chris' retreating movements were clouding its judgement.

Chris slowly grew closer and closer to the entrance as she continued backing away.

At some point, the golden metal puppet seemed to be unable to endure any longer as it raised one of its feet as if it was about to rush forward.

But right at this moment, a powerful arcane energy fluctuation surged around Chris as an eruption sounded from within her body.

A visible force traced her body down past her feet and into the ground, propelling her forward.

This all happened before the golden metal puppet's raised foot could land on the ground back onto the ground.

The golden metal puppet extended both of its arms as two blinding beams of light shot out of its palms.

Chris looked like an unstoppable force, yet at this moment, her body abruptly veered left.

The two blinding beams of light aimed slightly in front of Chris hit nothing but air.

"Tang! Tang!"

Two muffled sounds rang out as the two beams of light continued forward and struck the bronze floor. The beams had not contained much power.

Chris slowed down in a natural manner.

It was apparent that the golden metal puppet had not immediately fallen for Chris' trick and had just thrown out a normal strike.

The destructive energy within its body was still there.

Chris only slightly furrowed her brows.

She slowed back down but didn't back towards the entrance. Instead, she slowly circled towards its side.

Several moments later, her body began to release energy once more.

"Zap! Zap!"

Two more beams of light tore through the air.

However, the beams of light hit nothing once more as Chris continued slowly circling the golden metal puppet.

Another several moments passed and this series of events repeated itself.

Clancy and Leonardo's expressions turned increasingly serious.

"What is she trying to do?"

"Is she trying to exhaust the golden metal puppet? But she realizes that this puppet's energy is coming from a magic crystal within its body right? There's no way for her to win against it in a war of attrition."

Unable to comprehend, two of the medical masters voiced their concerns.

"She's not trying to exhaust it."

Clancy shook his head as he said, "She's trying to figure out its rhythm of attack while also trying to give the puppet a false sense of rhythm."

"It's rhythm of attack… and creating a false sense of rhythm?" Stunned expressions emerged atop the faces of the medical masters.

"I originally thought that she would set up an opportunity to use Dark Destruction Dragon and win with a single strike. But it seems like she doesn't want to use Dark Destruction Dragon. She's trying to gain victory while paying the least cost." Clancy exhaled slowly as he said, "Her greatest strength lies in her great battle sense."

"This girl is functioning like a machine. She is constantly probing and storing data," Leonardo couldn't help but add, "Just how does a genius like her come about? Where does this kind of sense for battle come from?"

"Perhaps it is because of her past?" A look of thought emerged on Clancy's face as he reasoned, "Before the emergence of Ayrin and the others, the Holy Dawn Academy team was renowned within the St. Lauren area as a one-person team. Unlike others, she had no one to cover for her mistakes. As a result, she must have trained harder and more carefully than anyone else… and her victories were more meaningful for her as well. Because if she failed, she would have to wait a year for another chance."

"She is someone who lives for battle. Someone who cherishes every opportunity to fight…" Leonardo said. Afterwards, he turned silent once more.

……

Time passed, but Chris was oblivious to it.

An image of the internal structure of the golden metal puppet slowly began to come together within her mind.

The arcane energy released by the magic crystal was necessary for the turning of metal gears. As a result, there were set delays and speeds of transmission. And Chris was slowing getting a grasp of it all as she probed patiently.

Piece by piece, Chris was slowly dismantling the golden metal puppet.

"Zap! Zap!"

Two more beams of light shot past Chris.

Chris continued her circling of the golden metal puppet.

But this time, reddish purple arcane particles surged forth from her right hand.

"Crack!"

An arrow of ice the thickness of an arm accurately struck the golden metal puppet's right shoulder joint, causing it to rock backwards.

Chris' attack did not cause any substantial damage to the golden metal puppet.

However, the frigid cold seeped into its armor, slightly deforming several of the gears as they froze and thawed.

Chris abruptly erupted forward!

"Boom!"

The golden metal puppet trembled as a horrifying arcane energy fluctuation emanated out from within its body.

The air around the golden metal puppet flashed rose red as it extended its arms. A ball of dark green light began to gather between its palms.

The space between Chris and the golden metal puppet seemed to collapse as a beam shot out from the ball of dark green light at an astonishing speed towards Chris.

The golden metal puppet had finally released its most powerful attack!

In its calculations, it was impossible for Chris to avoid this strike!

"What a powerful arcane energy fluctuation!"

The strike could even be perceived outside of the chamber by Ayrin and the others as the sky trembled and the curtain of light slightly bulged outwards.

"Whoosh!"

Time seemed to stop as the beam of dark green light instantly enveloped Chris.

The referees and medical masters' eyes all bulged to their limits.

"Hiss…"

They all sucked in a breath of cold air.

Chris appeared beside the slowly dissipating beam of light, waves of energy causing her hair to fly wildly behind her.

The clothes covering her left arm, as well as the bandages wrapped around it, had been completely torn to shreds.

It was evident that the dark green beam of light had practically scraped across her left side.

It had been the slightest of gaps.

A single hair… and she would have suffered the golden metal puppet's attack!

"Has it exhausted its strength?"

"It's even unable to move any longer?"

Chris' was still full of fighting intent as she gazed at the golden metal puppet.

The head and arms of the golden metal puppet drooped downwards. It seemed like it had expended all remaining arcane energy in its strike. It was now completely dead.

Chris' feet began to move without any hesitation as she shot towards the exit.

"She was able to defeat this golden metal puppet by dodging…"

"And it was all calculated! She used a single ordinary skill to create a slight deviation in the golden metal puppet's strike, creating the space for her to avoid the attack!"

"How strong… she was able to pass this challenge while paying such a small price!"

"All six youths managed to pass this challenge! These fellows are actually so monstrous!"

"This new Holy Dawn Evil Six is the true team of monsters!"

Watching Chris' fading back, the referees and medical masters felt a faint chill rising in their hearts.