Chapter 1737: The Guardian's powers. Being the contest's winner wouldn't necessarily mean that winner was the strongest, but that didn't stop the crowd from having a friendly bet about who they thought would win, and the way they were betting. It was as if it was a momentous battle between the last five contestants who were now in the arena. "What do you think Peter will do?" Lucia asked, biting the skin beneath her fingernails. The others could tell it was somewhat getting to her. "Are you worried about him?" Jessica nudged Lucia's shoulder a little, knowing fully well how the other felt about this particular person. It was pretty obvious, at least for the women, it was pretty obvious with how Lucia had been acting recently. "It's not that. I mean, do you think he will actually try in this contest? Will he try to win, or if he will just give up? I mean, we all know the prize isn't that important." Lucia quickly replied. "Rather, our goal is to find the Red Vampires. Since we know about the guy who's using shadow powers, doesn't that pretty much mean he's a high ranking Red Vampire member?" Hearing this question, the others turned to Hannah. "I was actually hoping to meet a lower ranked member. The Guardians, I don't know much about them. They work closely with the other leader..." "So yes, technically, we could get the information we want, but our leader...well, from Logan's report, we all found out that the leader I follow is named Layla." "She instructed us to do whatever we could to avoid the other faction and not get on their bad side." "There are often disputes between the two leaders, which was alright, but she had gone out of her way to warn us about this." "Then I will say one thing," Muka added. "We should be ready to jump in at any moment. Vincent was right about one thing, Quinn is important compared to this whole event." "And I know for sure from his actions in the past, he would do anything to try and help Layla. So if we find her, I think we will most likely find Quinn. At least that is what my instinct is telling me." "Your instinct or your special ability?" Mitchell asked, to which Muka just smiled and said nothing else, compelling Mitchell to look away. Otherwise, he was afraid that he might ask her out. Even with wearing sunglasses and a mask, there was something about how she tilted her head and how her hair flowed that anyone could tell she was a real beauty. "Alright, everyone, please let the match begin!" In the arena, Vicky announced at the top of her lungs, bringing everyone's attention towards the incoming battle. She then jumped up and stood on the edge, on the other side of which was where the rest of the crowd was present, then she slammed a button, which meant it was time for the event to start. Immediately after, several spots on the ground began to open up just like before, and from them, the Black AI Robots began to rise. All of the robots appeared simultaneously and were double the amount of the preliminary. Seeing the large number shocked the crowd as the robots turned towards the five contestants. At first, it looked like the contestants were ready to do battle with each other. They warily looked at each other from the corner of their eye, ready to use their powers and abilities. But now, seeing the number of robots coming toward them, they all instinctively knew they needed to deal with the trouble in front of them first. Peter rammed one of his fists right towards the robot's body, smashing it to pieces, but quickly another five had flown straight towards him, hitting his legs, arms and body. Finally, with all five using the power of their thrusters, they were somewhat able to push Peter back. Still, with his rage and great strength, Peter was able to move one of his arms and pulled the over robot off himself, slamming it into the ground. It wasn't enough to destroy the robot, though, unlike his direct punch, showing just how sturdy these robots were and how much trouble they could cause these five great warriors. Out of all of the contestants, the one that was having the easiest time with the robots was Jake Green. Mixing the Earth Ability and the Hardening Ability gave him control of a metal-like substance. Jake would then shape it how he wished to protect himself and shape it into a weapon that could destroy the robots. On top of that, after defeating the robots, Jake also seemed to be able to control their body parts. Whether with telekinesis or something else, it was apparent to those watching that Jake was the most likely winner unless the other contestants chose to stop him. "Damn it, Jake's ability is really suited for this type of competition. It makes me think that the Greens rigged this whole thing." "Really? You know that he has the Blades ability, any ability he can use, so it is not just this competition, but in any match, Jake has the advantage, you numbskull!" The others were also putting up a good fight, particularly the triple AAA rank fighter Isac. In the previous round, Isac had shown several different things. For one, his arms had become hard, similar to the robots material. On top of that, he breathed fire, shot spikes out of his back and more. It almost made others assume that his power was of the transformation type and he was just mimicking beasts that he had fought against. However, for the first time in the match. Isac had transformed parts of his body into something they hadn't seen but knew. Scales ran up and down his arms and showed partially on his face. He had turned himself into a Dalki in this fight. That was because Isac's power was a unique original power that allowed him to turn any part of his body into anything he had eaten before. This wasn't just limited to beasts and included the materials as well. His teeth and the digestive system allowed him to eat anything and could even make his whole body into Glathrium if it gave him the advantage, and in this situation, he had chosen to turn into a Dalki. As for the one who claimed to be Quinn, he also put on quite a show, showing his blood powers. Blood swipes shot out as if they had free will, allowing him to hit and avoid being touched by the others. That wasn't all. His combat skills were also nothing to laugh at compared to the rest. With everyone fighting the robots, the latter's numbers had dwindled to half, and soon the five finalists would defeat all robots. This was where the crowd believed things would start getting interesting, as the contestants fought for the last few points that were out there on the field. After destroying two robots, Vincent landed back down on the ground and spotted another robot. He charged forward only to be stopped by a dark shadow, and when the shadow disappeared, the robed man was in front of him, and he had destroyed the robot. "That shadow power has always been annoying." Vincent couldn't help but say. "If you are who you claim to be, you should also have this power, should you not?" The voice behind the robbed figure had spoken for the first time. Vincent thought about whether or not he should retaliate or just move on with the contest. Looking at the scores, he wasn't doing too bad, and he did somewhat have a competitive side to him. In the end, Vincent decided it would be best if he just searched for other robots. "I'll let the others fight and just win this damn thing." Vincent thought. As he was about to turn around though, he could feel immense energy rising from the robed figure, and it didn't feel like just a vampire aura. All ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ full.com "My target for this whole event has never been the contest. I just joined to kill time, but I never thought I would meet you. Whether you are fake or not, it doesn't matter." The robbed figure said as his shadow spread above him from his back. In the next instant, several beasts dropped from the sky and landed in the Arena. A large bear with claws that were as long as its forearms. A two-headed snake with the body of a horse. A giant flying bug like creature with six wings with several eyes on its head. It was clear that all of these were high-level beasts, and whether this was against the rules, the crowd quickly started to wonder as they glanced at Vicky to see her reaction. "There is something... strange about these creatures...they don't look like your typical beasts." Vincent thought. On a close inspection, all beasts had a tiny flicker of the shadow even though they were no longer touching it. At the same time, patches of their skin looked to be falling and slightly purple and green. The last thing was their eyes, which were pitch black, hiding the pupil and the white of the eyes. The beasts looked infected with something, and Vincent was sure they had some strange strength rising in them.