mantra knights

The coliseum groaned under the heat and pressure of the day. Above the cracked stone floor and towering arches, six legendary figures—known as the Lances—watched from a floating platform, their presence enough to hush the crowd to a whisper.

The 128 remaining contestants entered the arena. Their bodies bore the wear of the earlier challenge—scrapes, bandaged arms, and tired eyes—but their postures held steady. This wasn't survival anymore. This was the proving ground.

A crystalline screen lit the sky, flashing rankings and stats for each fighter. The audience roared, murmured, and pointed as favorites rose and underdogs stumbled.

From the edge of the platform, a Mantra Knight stepped forward. He wore a flame-patterned coat and a jagged pauldron, his voice booming through enchanted speakers.

"Phase Two. No eliminations today—just proof. Show us who you are. Not the strongest, but the sharpest under fire.So show me candidates your answer to this one question, what can you do?"

Kaiyo's eyes tracked the platform above. He could feel the voltage building in his arms. Steady. Not wild like before.

Luca flipped his kusarigama lazily. "Ready to actually act like you belong here?"

Kaiyo smirked. "I'm working on it."

Tomiwa raised a brow. "Let's focus. Talking won't help when things get ugly."

The ground rumbled as platforms split and rose, revealing shimmering creatures—phantom constructs modeled after real Abominations. Their bodies glowed with ghostly heat, eyes locked on the new prey.

"First drill," the instructor announced. "Simulated hunt. Three-person squads. Eliminate the targets. Work smart, not solo."

Kaiyo's group moved toward their assigned zone. Four panther-like beasts emerged, tails tipped with gleaming blades, shoulders twitching like they were ready to pounce.

Luca's gaze narrowed. "These things will fake you out. Don't overcommit."

"Stay close," Tomiwa added. "Watch your angles. Keep formation."

Kaiyo nodded, hands crackling.

One of the beasts leapt. Luca intercepted with a blur, chain slicing a clean arc before pulling the creature into the path of Tomiwa's masquerade—a towering spirit with a long double-bladed spear. The beast vanished in a burst of light.

Another lunged at Kaiyo. He rolled under it, twisted, and loosed a bolt of lightning. It missed—but the second one didn't.

Tomiwa grunted. "Getting sharper."

Together, they dispatched the rest with growing cohesion. When the last creature vanished, the team exhaled. Their ranking screen updated: excellent marks in coordination, mid-tier in speed.

Without pause, the arena shifted again. Walls rose, bridges unfolded, and a massive obstacle gauntlet appeared.

"Second drill: Pressure Gauntlet. Ten minutes. Some stations are solo. Some are team. Save the civilians from this crumbling city..... Red means mannequin is dead, yellow means escaped with injuries and green is perfectly fine with no more than minor injuries...Go."

The arena exploded into motion.

Kaiyo was flung into a corridor choked with fire traps and smoke. A mannequin lay under collapsed rubble, blinking red.

"Okay… breathe."

He lined up his shot and fired a tight lightning burst. The rocks shattered. The dummy's light turned Yellow, he had lightly scorched the dummy.He couldn't help but be annoyed... He had spent years training his accuracy and he still couldn't aim perfectly, he barely had control over his own power.

Elsewhere, Luca danced between moving arms and dodged drone fire, swinging between beams with his weapon before saving a dummy from a falling roof by cutting it with a lava sword, only for three small pieces of roof to dink the head of the dummy, making it turn yellow, Not perfect—but quick. Making Luca groan out "I thought minor injuries were green?!"

Tomiwa encountered two dummies, both calling for help, a mother and child. His masquerade leaned in, whispering tactics "Save the child, they have a future ahead of them", but Tomiwa replied "But the mother can make another?" "Listen to me child, a true parent will love their child with and more than their own lives" "But... I see, thank you, this is why I chose you for this mission". He picked the child out of the building and acted, just in time for the building to collapse in on the mother. One turned green, the other faded out, no color. His choice was locked, even knowing they were just dummies, Tomiwa had put immense emotional strain on himself.

Zimi Werner was in his station, A child stuck in a burning building, something the mech suit he had packed couldn't handle as it was primed for combat, though fireproof. More and more dummy civilians screamed for him to do something while he just sat on the floor, tinkering with a canister and a blaster, removing the rounds of bullets and attaching the canister, and a mouthpiece and blasting at the house, making the flames instantly die out. Saving the kid with ease as the dummy turned green. Inciting applause from the crowd of robots.

When the drill ended, the arena stilled. Contestants staggered out, some limping, others silent.

Kaiyo rejoined Luca and Tomiwa. All three had cuts, bruises, or worse—but their eyes burned.

High above, voices murmured.

Leia Fujimoto: "He still hesitates."

Jonas Weissmuller: "Yeah, but he's got grit. He's not done growing."

Xavier Gray said nothing.

A chime echoed.

"The medallions drop tomorrow. Rest. Reflect. Be ready."

Kaiyo sank onto the grass. "Think that was enough?"

Luca sat beside him, tossing a rock into the air. "Enough to make 'em think twice."

Tomiwa joined them, arms resting on his knees. "Next part's harder. They don't want raw power. They want conviction."

Kaiyo clenched his fists, voltage humming at the tips of his fingers.

"I want them to choose me because they believe in what I can be."

Tomiwa looked at him evenly. "Then don't prove it with words. Prove it with how you move tomorrow."