44 Chapter 44: Berserk Lightning

With a bestial roar, Theodore Hammond charged at me, swinging his hammer. Even though it didn't come into contact with anything (except air), his swing unleashed an arc of destructive lightning in all directions.

"Gah!"

I was hurled back by the terrifying stream of energies, my body shuddering. Gritting my teeth, I threw my hand up and summoned another Constellation weapon before Theodore could land on me with his massive Thunder Hammer.

"Scutum Sobiescianum!"

The Constellation shield materialized above me, partially blocking out the ferocious lightning. Undeterred, Theodore smashed his hammer against my Scutum Sobiescianum.

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Meant to be sturdier than Gemini, Scutum Sobiescianum held for a moment, cracking a little. However, Theodore continue to pummel the crumbling shield, bellowing incoherently in an enraged voice. His mind had gone blank, replaced by nothing but rage and violence.

The very definition of a berserker.

Getting up, I gathered magical energy into my hands and summoned Sagittarius. Hurriedly summoning Alnasl, I pulled it back and aimed the flaming arrow at the rampaging Theodore.

By now Theodore had finally smashed Scutum Sobeiscianum into smithereens and was proceeding in my direction. Standing my ground, I adjusted my aim and fired my arrow directly at him.

Fire against lightning. The flaming Alnasl streaked through the short space between us in a red-hot light and collided with the bellowing Theodore before exploding. Theodore was hurled across the arena, immolated by the arrow's destructive power, but even now his lightning remained unabated as he crashed onto the ground.

To my astonishment, he stood back up, shrieking in an inhuman manner.

"Can he not feel any pain?!" I growled in frustration. Stupid question. Of course he couldn't – that was the very definition of a berserker.

In a way, he was much more of a troublesome and dangerous opponent than the hordes of low-ranked monsters I had faced. In fact, I highly suspected that he would be able to decimate all those creatures by himself as long as he went into berserk mode. Even that Lycanthrope Alpha would be smashed into a pulp by him.

Now that I thought about it, wasn't Theodore Hammond ranked among the top 100? He truly was deserving of his status as a society president, and one of the elite students in Jing Tian Magic Academy. No doubt he would be able to participate in the university entrance examinations…

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

With another bestial roar, Theodore leaped at me. He crossed the huge distance between us in a single bound, swinging his Thunder Hammer down while discharging a fatal web of lightning all around me to block all my escape routes.

"Huff…"

I immediately dismissed Sagittarius and jumped away before Theodore could obliterate me. I had to dive and weave through the web of lighting by the narrowest hair's breadth, diving through a tiny crack, rolling between sporadic flashes of electricity, and then twisting away before I could get struck by a stray bolt or two. Even as I tried to widen the distance between us, the impact from Theodore's landing sent tremors through the arena and caused me to stumble momentarily.

"Ugh…!"

I hit the ground again, and then rolled up, trying to ignore the stray bolts of lightning that lashed out at me. Theodore straightened up and turned toward me, his body still wreathed in a terrifying storm of electricity.

There was no way I could penetrate those defenses!

However, I wasn't going to give up.

"Capricorn!"

The gigantic goat materialized and rammed into Theodore, knocking him away as he pursued me. Despite the electricity crackling around him, Capricorn was of the earth element, so he was able to ground the electricity more efficiently. He interposed himself between me and Theodore, and charged the berserker again.

"Gr…"

Theodore growled and swung his Thunder Hammer again. Capricorn wisely stopped short and stayed out of reach, falling back with a bray. The berserker continued hammering away at Capricorn, who continued to retreat.

The first swing almost caught Capricorn by surprise, but the gigantic goat raised both his front legs to avoid getting them broken by Theodore's Thunder Hammer. He then retaliated with a stomp that seemed to smash Theodore's shoulder, but the Thunder Hammer Society president shrugged it off, and rammed Capricorn off balance with his shoulder.

As Capricorn staggered, Theodore then reversed his grip on his Thunder Hammer and smacked it right against his horns, cracking it. Capricorn brayed in pain as he fell back, but thankfully he hadn't dissipated yet.

Yet.

Theodore rose up and brought his Thunder Hammer down to deal the finishing blow.

"Ophiuchus!"

By now I had finished casting yet another spell. A whip appeared in my hand, and I lashed out almost hastily. The flexible Constellation weapon curled around Theodore before whipping around him and tying him up, immobilizing his movements. He grunted and struggled, but Ophiuchus held firm, locking his arms to his sides and disallowing him from lifting his Thunder Hammer.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

With a berserk roar, Theodore unleashed a devastating lightning spell that flowed along the whip and struck me. Fortunately, Ophiuchus was insulated and I didn't receive a direct blast. But the sheer heat almost caused me to let go of my Constellation whip.

"Ugh!"

Ignoring the burns on my palm and fingers as my flesh sizzled from the sheer heat, I sent a mental command to Capricorn. My goat nodded and then rammed into Theodore. The impact was so strong that it forced the whip out of my hand, but Theodore was flung across the ring and collided against the wall with a sickening crack.

"Huff…"

I shook my hand, gingerly clutching it from the pain. However, my relief was terminated when Theodore rose back to his feet. With a snarl, he ripped Ophiuchus away from him, causing the whip to disappear.

Picking up his Thunder Hammer, he charged at me again.

Capricorn intercepted his charge by slamming into him with his horns again, but Theodore withstood the attack. He dug his feet in and ground to a stop in an impressive display of strength. With another bellow, he swung his Thunder Hammer down and pulverized Capricorn's head and neck. Lightning exploded, and the Constellation spirit vanished.

"Argh…!"

I fell back, panting. Already Theodore had obliterated two of my more powerful Constellation spirits and still he would not be stopped. If anything, he seemed to be growing stronger by the minute. The berserker would not halt his rampage until he had destroyed his enemy.

However, I couldn't fall here!

"Aries!"

Summoning a third Constellation spirit, I directed the manifesting ram to ram against Theodore. There was another explosion of lightning, but Aries's horns were sturdy enough to meet Theodore's hammer. Though not as strong as Taurus nor as fast as Capricorn, Aries was a blend of speed and power, somewhere in between. Perhaps he might succeed where his two compatriots failed.

Or he would not. Either way, I didn't have a choice.

Summoning Gemini again, I sprinted forward and to the side, even as Theodore engaged Aries in battle. The berserker swung his Thunder Hammer, but Aries stayed out of range before ramming him with his horns and throwing him off balance. Theodore growled furiously, but stood his ground, gripping his hammer as he readied for another blow.

Then I struck from the flanks.

Coming from his blind spot, I slashed at Theodore's side, hoping to deal a fatal blow. However, even though my twin swords pierced his sides and into his lungs – similar to the injuries I suffered when fighting the Lycanthrope Alpha – he didn't flinch. Instead, he yelled ferociously and blasted both me and Aries away with lightning.

"Kuh!"

I hit the ground and rolled away. Theodore spun around vengefully, bringing his hammer down to pulverize me to the ground.

Before it could descend, Aries rammed into him, knocking him off balance and hurling him across the ring. This time, Theodore was more prepared. Or perhaps he had grown stronger. Either way, he was able to rotate his body in midair and land on his feet. Without pausing, he leaped forward without any hesitation, smashing down with his Thunder Hammer once again.

Aries met him in the middle of the coliseum, and lightning exploded as they collided. I was sent reeling away from the tremendous impact, unable to do anything but watch helplessly as Aries faded away into nothingness.

Breathing heavily, Theodore slammed his hammer against the ground and forcibly straightened himself. His strength seemingly undiminished, and the lightning around him intensifying, he took several steps toward me.

Gritting my teeth, I hurled both Gemini twin swords at him. Theodore ignored them, even as they cut deeply into his flesh. This time, my Gemini twin swords didn't return to me. The lightning whipping around Theodore obliterated them into spiritual fragments, and they scattered into the ground before disappearing fully.

"…"

Feeling exhausted, I slumped against the ground. Shaking my head at Theodore's sheer tenacity, I forced myself to my feet.

The fight was far from over. I couldn't give up yet.

No…instead, I should be celebrating. Theodore Hammond was a worthy foe. This was a great battle. I could feel my blood boiling from excitement. Only by fighting against such strong opponents would I be able to temper myself further and become stronger.

"Let's finish this," I declared as I confronted the advancing Theodore. He didn't reply, and only continued his slow but steady approach, lightning flaring up violently from his body with each step. Wow, he still hadn't run out of magical energy yet?

What a monster.

Catching a glimpse of the worried expressions of my juniors and Dong Fang Yue Chu, I steeled my resolve. Only Harvey Deng didn't look concerned, my "fan" still believing in me, thinking that I had this well in hand.

Well, I shouldn't disappoint him then. Not to mention, I finally bought all the time I needed for my ultimate summoning spell.

"Gr…!"

Growling, Theodore hurled himself at me.

He never reached me.

Instead, a new storm of lightning billowed from under him, knocking him off his feet and siphoning away his lightning. A magical circle materialized in the ground, and an enormous White Tiger emerged from it, roaring ferociously.

I had finally summoned White Tiger.