Everybody in the arena could hear that high-pitched scream as if it was done directly to their ears. All of them looked worried as the clouds in Natsume’s body became thicker, like a strange yellow mud, and grew in size, swallowing the girl. Elima was too shocked to do anything as Natsume didn’t give any signs of being alive from within the yellow-and-black mud ball. Her friend Xion shook her to make her react.

-This is not normal! Her power has gone berserk!- exclaimed Xion.

-Yeah… Yeah, you’re right!- exclaimed Elima. -Your Majesty, we have to stop the battle this instant! She might be in danger!

-Let’s wait a bit more- said King Mito calmly. -We can’t know for sure yet. This may be a new skill of hers.

-But...- said Elima, but her words were interrupted.

From inside the mud ball, Natsume’s voice could be heard. The mud began falling on the ground, liberating the girl from her prison… but she didn’t look like before. Her right arm was mostly covered by the mud, forming a strange claw, while only the left hand had mud in form of a ball, similar to the clouds she had before. Both her legs were mostly covered as well. But the biggest change was her face: a big munch of mud was covering her mouth, although it seemed like the mud was actually coming out of it. Both her eyes were black with yellow pupils and she also had mud mixed with her hair, making it look like she had horns.

-See? There’s nothing to worry- said King Mito.

-Natsume… This is not good- muttered Elima.

Everybody waiting in silence. Life Eater and L.E. looked at Natsume with attention.

-Hey, kid… Why do I have this deja-vu feeling?- asked L.E.

-Because… that’s how you used to be before. She’s gone “wild”- answered Life Eater.

Slowly, Natsume raised her right hand and pointed towards her rival.

-Gimme… that ball...- muttered Natsume. -Gimme that… BAAAAAAAALL!

Life Eater closed their eyes because of the scream. The moment they opened them, Natsume was right in front of them, trying to punch their face.

-Watch out, kid!- shouted L.E.

A big explosion sounded as Natsume hit something with her new huge arm. A cloud of dust surrounded both fighters and nobody could see a thing, but a second later, Life Eater jumped out of it unharmed.

-Damn, what was that?- exclaiemd L.E.

-I don’t know, but she’s coming again- alerted Life Eater.

And they were right, as Natsume followed their steps with one simple jump. The girl’s rampage continued for a while, following her rival’s steps and landing hits indiscriminately. L.E. grew impatient.

-OK, I’m finishing this now!- exclaimed L.E.

Then, a new giant worm came out of the bag, as big as a truck, and rushed towards Natsume, who waited patiently on the field. As ze got closer, the girl pulled her right arm back and punched the monster right on zir face. The girl didn’t move one inch and stopped L.E. in place. A second later…

-IIIIIIIEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

This time, it was L.E. who screamed loudly. Everybody in the audience could hear that scream, born out of pain.

-It burns! IT BURNS!- screamed the giant L.E. as it rushed back inside the bag.

-What do you mean “it burns”? You can’t get burned!- exclaimed Life Eater confused.

-Well, it burns!- exclaimed a smaller L.E. worm. -I don’t know what that “goo” is, but… it burns as heck!

On the terrace, Elima looked at the fight astonished.

-It “burns”?- asked Elima, questioning the meaning of those words. Then, she talked to Zion. -Please, can you check Natsume’s current state?

Zion nodded and their eyes lighted up. They looked at Natsume from afar, but they could see clearly what was happening as their face turned shocked.

-That thing… it’s burning her skin!- exclaimed Zion. -At a very, very slow rate compared to what happened to L.E., but yeah…

-Is her power “burning” her? That doesn’t make sense. Her power is destroying magic… unless...- commented Elima.

-Unless...- continued Zion. -Unless her power going berserk means it evolved into a new level… The only thing more powerful than “destroying magic” is… “destroying life”.

The two commanders looked at each other in silent after reaching that conclusion. A new burst made them look back at the fight, where Natsume was still chasing Life Eater.

-She’s way faster now!- exclaimed Life Eater.

-We gotta hurry up and… hey, where’s she now?- asked L.E. surprised.

A big cloud of dust covered the entire field and both Life Eater and their companion couldn’t see anything. The kid closed their eyes and tried to listen.

-Watch out!- exclaimed Life Eater.

But L.E. didn’t react in time as Natsume jumped out from behind and grabbed the sphere that L.E. had in zir mouth. Natsume pulled as hard as she could, while the worm grabbed the ball with all zir strenght. But ze was already tired and the drops of goo splashing on zir face didn’t make it easier.

-Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, I can’t!- shouted L.E.

The worm released the sphere from zir mouth, making Natsume bounce back and round on the ground. The audience roared with all their might.

-And Natsume takes back the Guardian Sphere, right on time!- commented Pristille in excitement. -If Natsume is able to keep the sphere for the rest of the battle, she will win! However, will the dynamic duo do something to stop her?

On the ground, Life Eater and L.E. were crouched.

-Hey… are you alright?- asked Life Eater.

-Been worse for sure, but damn, that girl is tough!- complained L.E.

-Yeah… we need a strategy to take back the ball… because at her current state, I don’t think we can easily defeat her...- added Life Eater.

The duo looked at Natsume, who stood up and had the sphere on her right hand. Then, a new stain of goo appeared on her back and the girl “embedded” the sphere in it, leaving only half of it visible.

The girl stood still for a moment. Nobody knew what was happening except Elima, who could see her from afar.

-Her eyes… are moving fast...- murmured Elima worried. -She’s thinking… she can still think somehow and she’s aware of the rules… She really is focused on winning… Wait, what is she doing now?

Natsume looked at Life Eater and L.E. again and crouched a bit, getting ready to jump.

-I think she’s coming… L.E., quick!- exclaimed Life Eater.

As they predicted, the girl rushed towards the duo, who jumped again to avoid her attack. As the girl tried to hit them, she punched the wall of the arena sometimes, making big cracks and making the seats tremble. The audience still cheered on, but some creatures began to get worried.

-Wait, what is she doing? She already has the sphere, why exposing herself instead of keeping defense?- asked Zion.

-Because… she wants to win- realized Elima. -Keeping the ball is not enough. Her rival could take it at any moment and the time difference is too small. She found out the only way to secure her victory is… by Absolute Victory.

The commander could only see how Natsume kept chasing her rival over and over, destroying more parts of the arena. It felt like a cat chasing a mouse. Frustrated and scared, Elima turned toward King Mito.

-Your Majesty! We need to stop this fight right now!- exclaimed Elima.

-What are you talking about, commander? This is the most exciting part!- commented King Mito jokingly.

-I’m serious! Natsume’s out of control and her power is too dangerous! She may end up harming her rival in excess, or even worse, she may destroy the arena and harm the audience!- exclaimed Elima worried.

-I’m sure it’s fine- said King Mito without giving any care about his commander’s words. -Participants are aware of the risks of these fights. It’s normal to end up with a bruise or something. And remember: the original Guardian Sphere granted that power to the girl. It wouldn’t be that way if it were that dangerous, don’t you think?

Elima couldn’t believe the words her king was saying. She was getting more frustrated by the second.

-In that case… I will make her forfeit! She’s my protegée, she’s under my responsibility, and the rules state I can take her out in case of extreme necessity, and this is one!- exclaimed Elima.

The king didn’t like hearing those words.

-Oh, really?- said King Mito with a snarky smile. -I thought you cared about the people of this kingdom. How can you protect them… if you are commander no more?

Elima was astonished by hearing the king’s threat. Zion was shocked and tried to intervene.

-Your Majesty, that’s…- tried to say Zion.

-Don’t interrupt- ordered King Mito in a serious voice. -There are a lot of good candidates looking for a chance to become a commander. But it would be a shame that such an excellent warrior would throw her job away for… a concealed creature. If you go down there and make Natsume forfeit… she will not be the only one losing something today.

Elima was frozen in place, her heart beating fast. She couldn’t believe the king’s words, but she knew there were no lies in them. She wished to stop Natsume and help people, but losing her position meant losing her knight path, the chance to help her kingdom if needed…

An ovation took her senses back to the battle. The audience saw how Life Eater was sat down, their back resting on the wall, tired after running away from Natsume all that time. On her part, the girl remained still, her eyes locked on her rival.

-I think… this is over…- murmured Life Eater between gasps.

-Can’t blame ya… That girl is nuts right now… It brings back memories, ya know?- commented L.E., as tired as zir partner.

As the audience roared, Natsume didn’t do anything else. She just remained still, but she murmured very lowly:

-Wiiiin… I gottaaaa… wiiiin…

Then, Natsume extended both arms in front of her. Everybody was confused at first, but suddenly, drops of goo came out of her arms and hands and gathered in front of her hands, like clay prepared to be molded. As more goo accumulated, it took the form of a ball, bigger and bigger with each passing second, with each drop of goo added. The ball grew in size until it was as big as a car, with spikes surrounding it. It looked more like a maze without a grip. Elima looked at that horrified.

-No… No!- exclaimed Elima, and then, she left running towards the stairs.

-Elima, wait!- exclaimed Zion, but they couldn’t stop her.

The commander run hastily downstairs until she got to the level of the audience. She passed through the audience as she could to reach the border of the stands, taking a closer look at the girl. The giant spiked ball floated in front of the girl, who remained impassive. However, Elima saw something: a small glitter on the girl’s face. Elima focused her magic on her eyes to see Natsume even closer, and that when she saw it: a single tear was coming out of the girl’s right eye. It wasn’t goo, but a crystal clear tear that run down her cheek.

-Natsume… You don’t want to do this… You know, right?- muttered Elima. -There’s something pushing you to do this, you can’t control your actions, but deep inside… you don’t want to harm them…

Everything happened so slowly. Natsume lowered her arms, crouched a bit and jumped in the air. As the audience kept screaming and cheering on, the girl extended her right leg as much as she could, even arching her own body, to get as much strength as possible. She was getting ready to kick that ball and throw it directly to her rival. Elima was scared. A lot of thoughts and images came to her, not knowing what to do anymore. There was just one thing her heart desired as she took a deep breath and yelled with all her might:

-NAAAAAATSUMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

At that moment, Elima felt her voice was muffled by the noise around her. That there was no way for her to reach the young girl. However, she saw it: Natsume stopped looking at Life Eater and turned her eyes towards Elima. Even so far, it felt like they were looking at each other directly. In her head, Natsume felt like sleeping deeply, but she heard that voice calling for her.

-Eli… ma...- murmured Natsume.

Suddenly, as Natsume was still midair, a big part of the goo covering her body turned into dust and vanished. The ball in front of her lost a big part of its size, being now a bit smaller than the girl and with no spikes around. Natsume’s eyes slowly turned back to their normal shapes and colors. The girl then looked again at the ball and at Life Eater. To some extent, she understood the situation, but she couldn’t control her body as she was already moving her leg to kick the ball. At the last second, she was able to bent her foot slightly before shooting the ball.

That shot felt like a cannon. The ball vanished and traveled instantly to the sky until it hit the wall of the arena, causing a big crack on it and scaring some creatures from the audience. A big cloud of dust surrounded the area. Natsume fell on the ground, with goo still turning into thin air, and she slowly stood up and look at the dust. A few seconds later, the vision was clearer and Life Eater was seen lying on the ground, unconscious. A few meters away from it, there was a big hole on the wall, pointing the location where the goo ball had impacted before disappearing. Floating in the sky, Pristille put a special lens on and looked at Life Eater.

-And… Life Eater is unconscious because of the shockwave of the impact! This means, the winner of the first fight of this round of 16 is… Natsume Kumojima!- exclaimed Pristille vividly.

The audience roared in excitement when hearing the results of the battle. Elima rested her head on the border of the stands, murmuring “Thank goodness”. Natsume was still standing on the arena, panting and gasping.

-I… I won…-murmured Natsume. -I… woooo…

The girl couldn’t finished her sentence as she fell on the ground as well. Her vision was blurry, there was movement, but she couldn’t point out what it was. And then… she passed out.