**Second Semifinal.**
One seat in the finals was already taken: the Mysterious Smelly Golem, who had defeated Velthra the Thunder Mist Dragon in the previous battle.
Now, the entire stadium turned its attention to the last two monsters standing in the Quarterfinals:
**Mozarka**, the elegant Crystal Slime Queen, her body like living glass, swirling with colorful shards of magical energy inside her translucent form.
**Durlog**, the Flesh Sculptor with a stone-cold face. Tall and gaunt, wrapped in old and new scars. He didn't just fight with curved blades—he fought with his own flesh.
---
**"SECOND SEMIFINAL… BEGIN!"**
The arena immediately became a brutal art gallery.
Mozarka moved gracefully, her silver liquid body reflecting daylight as it shimmered. Within her, tiny crystals spun, forming spell patterns, ready to unleash.
Durlog said nothing.
He sliced his own forearm, crafting a short blade from dried bone, hardened by his own dark magic.
> *CRACK!*
He pulled out a rib and forged it into a spiked shield.
**"The body is raw material,"** he muttered coldly.
---
Mozarka struck first.
She spat a wave of crystal fluid at Durlog. The crystals exploded upon contact with air, scattering magic sparks like enchanted grenades.
Durlog danced—yes, danced.
His moves were fluid, like a dancer with blades, deflecting crystal shrapnel while closing the gap. His bone dagger gleamed, but his wounds multiplied.
> He smiled. As if pain was exactly what he wanted.
Mozarka melted, then reshaped herself—taller, slimmer, like an icy statue.
From her body, a dense crystal spear shot straight toward Durlog's chest.
**BOOM!**
Durlog was blown back.
But then… he sliced open his own back, pulling out a spare spinal bone and stabbed it into the ground.
> The earth trembled.
> Red steam hissed from his skin.
**"Wounds of the soul... sculpt a new form."**
Suddenly, Durlog's wounds hardened—not healing, but turning into layers of bloody shell armor.
---
Mozarka was pressured.
Durlog charged like a storm of blades. Some crystals within Mozarka shattered, scattering bright lights. But Mozarka was no ordinary slime.
> She rolled her entire body into a crystal sphere—and **exploded**!
Not destroyed—
But transformed into a rain of liquid crystal needles, piercing in all directions.
Durlog blocked most, but two needles broke through his bone shield and shattered the joints in his right arm.
He still stood.
But Mozarka had already formed a large crystal at her core—an unstable purple-red magic gem.
She dashed and slammed it down from above!
**ZRRRAAKKK!!**
The crystal shattered, releasing an osmotic wave of scorching energy.
Durlog collapsed, half his body turned into burnt stone.
---
**"Winner: MOZARKA THE CRYSTAL SLIME!!"**
With his final breath before fainting, Durlog muttered:
> **"Art… cannot match a form without limits…"**
Mozarka only bowed slightly, floating away without a word.
---
**The Final Stage is Set:**
🥚 Mysterious Smelly Golem
💠 Mozarka the Crystal Slime
---
**Commentator at the Tower Appears Again:**
> "Ladies and gentlemen! Before tomorrow's FINAL BATTLE… here are the GRAND PRIZES!"
---
🎖 **Champion Rewards**:
- One Rare Elemental Crystal (winner's choice)
- Gold Pass to Arcana Tower, elite monster training center
- Permanent land ownership in central Govart
- Official High-Class Monster status
- One special request to the Mayor of Govart (*terms & conditions apply*)
🎖 **Runner-Up Rewards**:
- Regular Elemental Crystal
- Certificate of Special Expedition
- Right to open a business or receive sponsorship from Major Guilds
---
The crowd roared.
On the edge of the arena, I stared up at the night sky.
> **"Tomorrow… the final. Stench versus glass. The blade has fallen. Now it's time for stink… to shine."**