A Creature Unlike Any Other

While the three were getting ready for their upcoming battle, the Legionnaire who was overlooking their field of battle addressed them suddenly.

"Students, starting with the next fight there is a possibility of death as there is a chance that I will be unable to deal with the enemy in a single strike. While it is a small chance, it is still there so exercise extreme caution. If you have the slightest doubt in your capabilities, surrender."

Two sets of eyes looked at two pooling abyssal black eyes, wondering if their frosty owner would heed the warning. All they got in return was a slight sneer, which set in stone whatever future fate might await them.

'Is this really such a good idea?' wondered the dark half, considering that his counterpart might actually be the insane one of the two

Standing in a triangle formation, with Minerva in the front and her two companions at her side, the trio stood ready for the upcoming fight

----

The portcullis began to raise once more, but this time it did not bend or shake under the pressure of some enormous monster hiding within its depths. Nor was there the call of dozens of smaller beasts...no, there was not so much as a single sound.

Instead there was just a single glass container that was rolled out, in it was some water and some kind of creature with several appengages that had sake cup looking thing on them but the opening for the drink to be poured in was facing outwards. Attached to the appendages was the creatures head, shaped like a fattened cylinder with two beady black eyes rolling around.

"An octopus?" mused Imran, "These are creatures of the ocean, but they are extremely rare for our borders are not touching said body of water. How is it a threat though? It's just a delicacy for those with absurd amounts of money to pay for the transportation costs..."

The sea creature looked strange and foreign but it was small and pathetic, even trapped in a small container so how it could harm the three was definitely up for debate?

"No...look what is inside with it. Those small flecks of white, if you look closely they appear to have hairs attached to them. But for them to be visible to the naked eye...there must be hundreds attached together...they are Devil's Spores."

With Cyrus' apt observation and warning, Imran and Minerva both began to cast their own spells to destroy the creature.

Everyone in the Empire was familiar with these spores and the havoc they cause across its lands. One spore was all it took to start to slowly take over a beast, but why there was seemingly hundreds of them they did not want to find out.

A foreign activation of the Vita domain stole some of the three's attention, as they noticed a pillar of life essence be created directly above the creature. Such high quality it was that if a dying man were to walk in the air where it was located, it would be entirely possible for his ailments to be cured instantaneously.

'They are feeding the damned thing!' thought all three of them as they located the source of the spell, the Master Magus Cilla.

Before anyone could finish a spell or even move a muscle, all hell broke loose.

The small somewhat cute looking octopus began to froth and boil, like it was being cooked in a pot of magma. But the three noticed that the entire massive pillar of life essence was being sucked in by the creature like it was a man walking through the desert for weeks on end without a single drop of water that had finally come across a vast oasis.

The creature exploded in its small container, with a pink and tumorous fleshy growth erupting from its small frame. Larger and larger this mass grew, until it rivaled the size of the drake that they had killed not too long ago.

It had several fleshy appendages that shook and swayed, smashing the ground around it with enough force to leave indents on the ground and kick up a small cloud of dust.

It had no apparent way of perceiving the world, but with a guttural cry it opened up a massive chasm of a mouth that was in the center of the creature. Revealing a dark abyss full of dozens of sharp teeth that bristled as if they were themselves alive, it was clear that anything that had the misfortune to be forced into such an area would be torn to shreds in no time flat.

"There is still more life essence for it to absorb, it's not going to stop growing...although I do not know what it can do, at the very least it will eventually be large enough to just roll over on us and crush us to death" analyzed Cyrus, urging Minerva into action.

Yet she did not unleash a spell or charge in with a weapon, much to the confusion of Cyrus and even Imran, instead she produced several blue gems from her own storage equipment.

Placing them on the ground in a pattern that made no sense to anyone but her, she raised her hands over them with her palms down as the runes on her gloves came to life.

"Delay the creatures growth, then I will end its pathetic existence," ordered Minerva in a commanding tone, "Imran, use everything to bring it down into the ground by making use of its apparent inability to move. Cyrus, do everything you can to shave it down to size while it is stuck. When you are out of tricks fall back to the sides of the arena, GO"

Following their orders, the two men dashed past Minerva from both her flanks thus leaving her to prepare whatever spell she was getting ready with those odd gems of hers.

Minerva was correct in her assumptions, for even when they approached the beast it did not move but instead waited until they entered its range before shooting out its appendages with the speed of lightning.

One such appengage cracked through the air and made for Cyrus' own body, stopping just short as its length reached the end and smashed into the ground directly in front of him.

'How is this a hard enemy? So long as we know its range, it can't do a-'

His thoughts were interrupted as from the appendage that just landed in front of him, dozens of smaller tendrils broke free and launched themselves at him.

Reflexively dodging the attack he avoided all but one, which hooked around his left arm and pulled him in with a force that he could not resist.

A flash of his blade solved that issue, cutting through the pink flesh that had wrapped around him.

Even when it was disconnected from the main body, the substance still lived on for a few moments as it constricted with all its might in a list ditch attempt to cause any kind of damage it could.

Fracturing the bone in his left arm slightly, the flesh finally went stiff and began to shrivel from its lack of nutrients.

'What a creepy thing...'thought Cyrus as he used the last of his Will to fix his previous mistake.

Ducking and weaving through several of the predictable attacks, then desperately dodging the not so predictable ones, Cyrus yelled towards Imran who was taking far longer than usual to make such a simple trap,

"Imran!" yelled Cyrus, ducking under a flesh tentacle and slicing it open with his blade.

"Mind hurrying things up? This is not exactly easy."

The tentacle that he had sliced open revealed dozens of writhing cords that spilled out, searching for the aggressor and shooting some kind of dark liquid out.

Barely dodging the attack, for he would never receive something unknown, Cyrus looked at the ground where it hit and saw that it had sliced a line into the ground.

'While this thing is unbearably slow, it has a massive potential. If it speeds up somehow...there would be no way to deal with this'

Several minutes had passed, and the entire result was Cyrus dodging and jumping around while inflicting almost no damage in return.

"Its done!" yelled Imran, who was sweating all over and barely able to stand as he retreated to the side of the arena and prepared to unleash his spell.

Retreating quickly, Cyrus watched as a large square of the ground underneath the creature started to tremble and rupture as everything under it was suddenly compacted together causing a grand chasm to open up and swallow the beast.

Unfortunately it was not that deep, with the creature already starting to crawl its way out.

Looking at Imran with an annoyed face, Cyrus sighed as he wondered how he could continue to delay such a creature as he felt around for what little resources he had.

All he had was a single weak bottle of explosive might and some jugs of wine...

'I wonder of my wine is flammable? Hmm, what a waste of good stuff though' grumbled Cyrus as he produced all of the fine Auster Wine that Imran had given him.

Taking his blade and cutting them clean in half, he unleashed their contents all over the beast who was crawling its way up the hole that Imran had created.

Making sure to make it as even as possible, like a fine chef he carefully coated his meal with careful consideration and an even spread.

Then with a toss of a small bottle, he jumped back and onto the ground in fear of getting hit by the flames.

A roar sounded, not of the beast but of the mighty flames, that came to life all over the creature as the extremely high prof delicacy burst into searing flames.

Another roar sounded, this one more like a fearful screech. Grotesque, hollow, and ear piercing was the sound as the tumorous entity had its skin cooked in real time.

Not even bothering to look at the result of his action, Cyrus ran to the side of the arena as instructed for he was truly out of tricks and his exhaustion was sky high.