"You… what exactly… is that?" Bi Yan stared in shock at the "monster" before her, her face filled with disbelief.
A towering half-human, half-beast creature stood amidst the roaring flames. Its appearance was savage, radiating an invisible but oppressive aura of bloodlust.
That's right—Lucas had awakened the Gluttony bloodline, a reward he had previously obtained from the simulator.
Ordinarily, this bloodline did little more than give him an enormous appetite and allow him to absorb more energy from food.
But now that the bloodline had fully awakened, the monstrous aura of Gluttony—one of the Four Fiends—could no longer be concealed.
While Bi Yan possessed the bloodline of the divine bird Bifang, generations of interbreeding with humans had diluted it significantly. In contrast, Lucas's Gluttony bloodline, though deeply hidden, was remarkably pure.
To put it into perspective, even with her awakening, Bi Yan's bloodline only retained about 30% of her ancestral power. Lucas, however, had achieved 50%, with potential for even further growth.
"AWOOO!"
With a piercing, beastly howl, Lucas lunged forward like a starving wolf at midnight. He sprinted a dozen steps in an instant, then crouched low before launching himself into the air—soaring dozens of meters high in a single leap.
In the blink of an eye, he was face-to-face with Bi Yan in midair.
His movements were so ghostly fast that Bi Yan only registered a shadow flashing past before he was already upon her.
One of Lucas's hands suddenly transformed into a massive, black, clawed beast's paw, slashing downward toward Bi Yan's chest.
Bi Yan wasn't weak—her instincts kicked in before she could fully process the attack. In the last moment, she conjured a fire shield around herself.
Among the seven elements, each shield had unique properties. Geo shields were known for their impenetrable defense, while Pyro shields excelled in both offense and protection—anyone who broke through them would suffer searing counter-damage.
Yet, Lucas didn't seem to care at all.
His enormous black claw ripped straight through the blazing shield without hesitation. The Pyro flames clung to his hand, but he completely ignored them. Bi Yan couldn't react in time—his claws raked across her chest, leaving three deep black-red wounds.
Just like the divine fire of the Bifang, Lucas's attacks didn't inflict real injuries, but the pain was very real. In a way, their battle had become something akin to a Dark Duel.
"Damn it!" Bi Yan gritted her teeth. She had always prided herself on her strength, and now, with her bloodline fully awakened, she considered herself invincible.
Yet she had just been torn apart by this inexplicable opponent.
Enraged, she unleashed a fiery explosion, engulfing both of them in flames as they clashed in the air.
Though many spectators had fled from the earlier firestorm, they still observed the battle from afar.
Watching the gigantic inferno, they saw Bi Yan locked in combat with a monstrous beast in the sky.
Naturally, whispers erupted among them.
"What… what the hell is that thing?!"
"It's actually fighting a Bifang descendant on equal footing!"
"Wait… is that a summoned creature? How come I've never seen anything like it in Genius Invokation TCG?"
Although the sight was bizarre, most onlookers assumed Lucas's monstrous transformation was a special type of summoned beast.
After all, even in Battle Mode, the core objective was to deplete the opponent's HP. Using summoned creatures to fight on one's behalf was a valid strategy.
Despite taking the form of a fierce beast, Lucas had not lost his rationality. His brutal combat style merely reflected the natural instincts of the Taotie.
By nature, the Gluttony and the Bifang were both legendary beasts, and if they fought in their true forms, it would be difficult to determine a victor.
However, Bi Yan's diluted ancestral bloodline was far too weak.
Against Lucas, whose bloodline was pure and rapidly strengthening, she quickly fell into a disadvantage.
Her close-range attacks couldn't keep up with his relentless speed, and her flames either missed entirely or failed to deal any real damage.
As her HP continued to drain, Bi Yan suddenly pulled out a card.
"[Phoenix Wing Ascension]!"
Wait… why does that name sound so familiar?
Isn't that literally Ikki's Phoenix Wings from Saint Seiya?!
Although Bi Yan's move wasn't a perfect copy, it was still incredibly powerful.
She soared high into the sky, gaining distance from Lucas. Then, her entire body ignited, transforming into a massive, blazing phoenix that dove straight at Lucas.
The card [Phoenix Wing Ascension] could only be used if a Pyro-element summoned creature was present. It sacrificed the summoned creature to unleash massive damage, calculated as the creature's star level × 500.
Among Fire-element Effect Cards, this one was one of the most devastating.
Bi Yan had gone all in—she was betting everything on a single attack. If she could obliterate Lucas first, she could secure victory.
"FWOOOSH!"
The colossal flaming phoenix descended upon Lucas, its wings so vast that they covered the entire battlefield.
There was nowhere to run.
"You want to fight me head-on?"
Lucas grinned, his fanged mouth stretching unnaturally wide—almost to his ears.
"Do you think you have what it takes?"
"Devour… HEAVEN AND EARTH!"
Lucas's body instantly expanded, his gigantic jaws stretching open like a serpent's to an impossible degree.
Bi Yan, now fully transformed into a flaming bird, realized something was wrong.
But it was too late.
She tried to swerve in midair, but before she could, the monstrous beast lunged forward.
Its gaping maw snapped shut—swallowing Bi Yan whole.
Bi Yan, of course, didn't go down without a fight.
Inside Lucas's mouth, she thrashed violently, her flames bursting out in an attempt to tear her way free.
From the outside, the grotesque scene looked almost comical—Lucas's enormous throat bulged in different places as Bi Yan struggled inside.