Chapter 13: The Final Assessment Ends

Chapter 13: The Final Assessment Ends

On the arena stage of the final assessment—

Under the overwhelming might of the Terravaran, everyone believed Chen Xing’s team had lost all hope of turning the tide.

With the beast’s star energy pressing down on them, they couldn’t even lift a finger to fight back.

The outcome, and how the match would end, lay entirely in the monster’s claws. The three had no say in it at all.

In truth, if the Terravaran had unleashed this ability earlier, when fighting against Tendou and his group, the result would have been no different.

Even with their strength and teamwork, under such crushing force they would have struggled to land a blow.

But what no one noticed was—just as the Terravaran raised its claws to finish the farce—a figure had silently slipped behind it.

Not even the spectators outside the arena had seen it happen, let alone the beast itself.

Shhhk—

Chen Kong gripped Bloodflame and slashed down at the monster’s left knee—the very spot where Tendou had struck earlier.

Though the wound had already healed and scabbed over, the new stone scales there were fragile, and the hidden injury beneath the flesh had worsened from Tendou’s earlier strike.

Chen Kong’s sudden assault landed with shocking effect.

“ROAARRR!!”

The Terravaran howled in pain, lashing out instinctively with a wild swipe.

CRACK!

Chen Kong’s frail body was swatted like an insect, sent flying through the air. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he tumbled across the arena, the Bloodflame slipping from his hand.

Silence. A silence so heavy it suffocated.

Every spectator stared in shock.

Their minds went blank, unable to process what they had just seen.

No one had even noticed when Chen Kong approached the beast.

Even the Terravaran itself looked stunned, lowering its head in disbelief at the blood pouring from its knee.

And in that instant, with its attention broken, the crushing star energy holding Chen Xing and Rin collapsed.

Chen Xing’s body surged with renewed strength.

She lunged forward, snatching the fallen Bloodflame from the ground.

Her palm split open, blood soaking the hilt and spilling along the blade. The greatsword drank greedily, and flames erupted across its length.

With both hands gripping the searing weapon, Chen Xing charged, seizing the opening bought by her brother’s strike.

The Terravaran stirred, sensing movement. It swung its right claw down to crush her—but in that heartbeat, Rin, still prone on the ground, lifted a trembling arm.

“Shadow Bind—Dark Thorns!”

Every last drop of her star energy ignited. Black tendrils burst forth, coiling around the beast’s raised claw.

They didn’t hold it completely, but they delayed it—just for half a second.

Half a second was all Chen Xing needed.

Her body became a crimson streak, the Bloodflame blazing like a falling star.

With every ounce of fury she carried, she struck—once more at the wounded knee!

BOOM!

Fire and blood burst into a blazing crimson lotus.

The Terravaran’s roar turned to a scream of agony as its massive frame staggered—for the first time, forced back.

But after regaining its footing, the Terravaran felt the searing pain in its leg—and its reason shattered completely.

It ignored the wound, roaring as it swung its claw in blind fury.

Chen Xing, still at close range, had no time to dodge.

CRASH!

Just like Chen Kong before her, she was sent flying. She slammed hard into the arena’s barrier, then slid down its cold surface, blood painting her figure as she collapsed onto the stage.

Her body was broken—bones shattered in who knew how many places.

And yet… her face bore no pain.

Instead, twisted joy curved her lips.

Her eyes locked hungrily on the beast’s bleeding wound, filled with manic exhilaration.

‘Do you see that Tendou? If you can do it, then so can I!’

But unlike her sick joy, the Terravaran’s eyes burned with fury. Rage eclipsed all thought, and there was no room left for reason.

“ROAARRR!!”

It lunged at her, raising its claw high—ready to crush the insolent human into pulp.

“Enough!”

The voice cracked across the arena like thunder.

From behind the beast, Tachibana appeared—her figure already on the stage, her face dark as frost.

The Terravaran froze mid-swing.

The oppressive aura of a second-order Starbearer slammed into it, locking its body stiff.

Reason flooded back into its mind, smothering the madness. And as its eyes met Tachibana’s cold gaze, a flicker of unmistakable… fear crossed its face.

To it, the Children of the Stars was an annoyance. But Tachibana—she was something else entirely.

A being above it. A power it could not defy.

And so, even with its heart twisted with unwillingness, the Terravaran lowered its claw. It sank to the ground, silent, and began licking its wounds like a chastised beast.

Seeing it subdued, Tachibana turned to the others.

“Medical unit, on the field—immediately!”

She was calm, but her tone brooked no refusal.

Though Chen Xing and Chen Kong had achieved feats that shocked everyone, their injuries were equally severe—they needed urgent treatment.

“Prepare two S-rank recovery pods,” Tachibana ordered.

“Yes, ma’am!”

At once, a team of medics rushed in, surrounding the siblings and beginning emergency care at top speed.

As for Rin—she had collapsed from exhaustion, unconscious, but with no serious wounds. For now, she was not a concern.

Soon, Chen Xing and Chen Kong were carefully lifted onto stretchers, their broken bodies carried away.

Yet even as she was raised, Chen Xing’s eyes did not waver.

They remained fixed on the Terravaran’s knee—where two jagged scars now intersected, forming a vivid, bloody “X.”

‘See that, Tendou… I’m no weaker than you.’

With that final thought, Chen Xing allowed her eyes to close. A faint smile lingered on her lips as she sank into unconsciousness.

Moments later, the vast arena was left with only two figures: the Terravaran and Tachibana Yume.

But the atmosphere had shifted.

Gone was the crushing dread from when the trial began.

After witnessing the performances of both Tendou’s and Chen Xing’s team, most of the Children of the Stars had cast off their fear. In its place bloomed a dangerous hope—

The fantasy that they too, could wound a level two Starbeast.

That fantasy was shattered almost immediately.

Because in the battles that followed, the Terravaran showed no mercy.

The rest of the ten teams were utterly crushed.

Not one came close to repeating the miracles wrought by Tendou or Chen Xing’s team.

The longest any of them lasted was twenty-three seconds. Less than half a minute—before they were blasted out of the ring like broken dolls.

When the final student fell, beaten and bloodied, the Terravaran threw back its head and unleashed a thunderous roar. A roar of release, venting the humiliation it had suffered earlier.

At that exact moment, far away in the dormitory wing, Tendou snapped his eyes open.

[Stellaris: Embers is now airing in the real world. Dimensional Broadcast function unlocked. Visual comments and real-time popularity ranking enabled.]

Tendou stared at the glowing notification, excitement sparking across his face.

‘So… it’s finally time to see the results of my performance, is it?’

Without hesitation, he opened the Dimensional Broadcast.

From this new vantage point, he could watch the “anime” where he himself was part of the cast—through the eyes of the audience.

And to deepen the thrill of participation, he chose to do something special.

With a sly grin, he adjusted his sunglasses and tapped his finger into the void.

A glowing, golden-streaked message burst onto the screen.

The very first audience comment.

[FIRST!]

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