Chapter 168: Chapter 168

Several fights went by and, while Damien took stock of each opponent, none of them were of any particular interest to either him or Henry. He could feel the tension building in his muscles – not from worry about the fight, but from wondering when it would happen. When the crystals on their panel finally lit up, he was almost relieved to see that he had been chosen.

“Why do all of the Blackmist guys go first?” Elania complained.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to make this quick so you can go up soon,” Damien said, hopping over the railing.

Gold energy swept around him, tickling slightly as it brushed past his skin and stopped his fall. The light deposited him on the quartz and faded out.

He’d been worried that the ground would be too smooth, but there were faint ridges running through the crystal that provided grip. A tall girl floated down across from him. Streaks of red ran through her hair and she carried a short sword in each hand.

We’re doing this fast then, right? The less people see, the better.

“And the more fun it’ll be,” Henry said. His tone was so excited that Damien half expected him to let out a giggle.

“Our next two contestants have arrived on stage!” the announcer boomed, his voice echoing over the arena. “On the blue side, Blackmist is represented by Damien! On the red side, we’ve got Nora from Flamewheel. Two strong contenders to be certain. I’m excited to see what they can do!”

The crowd thundered its approval. The noise was so loud that it almost felt like a wave of force slammed into him. Thankfully, the sound suppression spell went back into effect a moment later.

“Competitors, you may begin channeling your Ether! We will begin in three…”

Damien drew Ether into both of his arms, preparing two overloaded gravity spheres. Flames sprung up along the blades of Nora’s swords, burning with such heat that Damien could feel it from the other side of the arena.

“Two…”

He was pretty sure that his mage armor wouldn’t be of much use against a strike from weapons putting off that much magic. Henry’s battle manifestation might have a chance against them, but he wasn’t willing to reveal that card yet.

“One…”

In fact, Damien didn’t plan to reveal any cards this match.

“Go!”

Damien thrust his hands forward. Two thumbnail sized balls of crackling black and purple energy sped out towards Nora. She charged towards him, twisting to allow the spells to pass by on either side of her.

Why does everyone make the same mistake?

He activated both spells. The orbs erupted outwards, growing to half of Nora’s height and enveloping her before she could escape their pull. The resulting series of cracks were so loud that they were indistinguishable from each other.

Nora didn’t even get a chance to look surprised before magic tore through her body. She crashed to the ground with a cry of pain, her swords clattering to the quartz beside her. The fire surrounding them blinked out, but the weapons themselves looked undamaged.

Stunned silence washed over the arena – but only for an instant. Two healers blinked up beside Nora, healing light enveloping the girl. Her bones snapped back into their proper positions and she groaned in relief.

“Incredible!” the announcer roared. “Damien wins the fight with a single spell. That might be the fastest victory we’ve seen so far. What a showing.”

The crowd cheered and Damien turned to walk off the arena.

“Wait!” Nora scrambled to her feet, grabbing her swords on the way up.

Damien turned, drawing some Ether into his hands just in case she tried to attack him. Luckily, Nora stopped a few feet away.

“Is something wrong?” Damien asked.

“I – look, please beat your other opponents just as fast,” Nora said, embarrassment mixing with anger on her face. “This is humiliating. Just make sure you put up a really good showing, okay? That trick won’t work on your next opponent, but you better still win soundly that people don’t think I’m a complete pushover.”

“I think that can be arranged,” Damien replied, a grin tugging at his lips. “And I’m sorry for the overuse of force. I wasn’t sure how strong you were. If this wasn’t a tournament setting, I would have been much more interested to see how strong you really were.”

Golden plates formed in the platform, paving the way through the sky back to the rest of his group. Damien bid Nora good luck in her next fight, then returned across the bridge.

Elania looked even more stunned than she had at Mark’s victory. Her mouth worked, unable to form words as Damien hopped over the railing and sat down in his chair.

“Good job,” Sylph said.

“You’ve just painted a huge target on your back, though,” Nolan warned him. “Not that I don’t think you can handle it, but just be aware that every kid from here on out is going to be gunning for you. That was quite the statement you made.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Damien said with a frown.

“You crushed your opponent in one move,” Viv observed. “And, if she made it to the intramurals, she’s one of the top kids at Flamewheel. That’s the equivalent of throwing down a challenge to everyone else. If they can’t earn their victories as fast as you can, they’ll feel inferior.”

“Oh.” Damien rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. “I just wanted to finish the fight quickly so people wouldn’t get a chance to figure out much of my magic.”

“You certainly did that,” Elania grumbled, “What is it with Blackmist this year? Don’t tell me you’re all like this?”

“Far from it,” Nolan said with a comforting smile. “I’m nowhere near Damien or Mark’s level. They’re both far beyond me.”

“I notice you didn’t mention the girl,” Viv said, nodding at Sylph.

“No,” Nolan said. “I didn’t.”

They all settled down as the next two students were called up. Damien wasn’t paying attention to their names, but he immediately recognized Batholomew’s large form as he landed on the quartz, his huge warhammer in hand.

His opponent was an equally large boy. As soon as the announcer began the countdown, rock armor gathered around Bartholomew’s opponent, encasing him in the heaviest armor that Damien had seen used by a student.

Bartholomew did nothing. He leaned on his hammer, miming a yawn as the countdown hit one.

“Go!” the announcer yelled.

Bartholomew raised his hammer with one hand. His opponent took one step forwards and froze in place. Bartholomew walked up to him like he was taking a leisurely stroll, then swung his weapon in a slow arc.

It barely looked like he was putting any force behind the strike. At the speed it was moving, it shouldn’t have been anything more than a lovetap. The hammer rang like a church bell as it connected with the other boy’s armor.

Fragments of stone spiraled through the air as it the armor shattered like fragile pottery. The boy rocketed across the ground, blood spraying from his mouth. He hit the ground once, then bounced and plummeted over the edge of the arena.

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As the healers caught him, Bartholomew turned to look in the direction of the open room that Damien sat in. The boy raised his hammer, pointing it in their direction. He gave them a wide grin, then ambled off to return to his seating as the announcer shouted above him.

“Well, it looks like someone accepted your unspoken challenge,” Nolan said. “But what was that magic?”

Damien shook his head. “I have no idea.”

Any thoughts, Henry?

“I’m pretty sure I’ve got it, but what do you think he used?”

The way his hammer hit – that had to be Space, right? It’s a variation on Warp Step. Maybe he condensed the space that his hammer traveled, making it hit as if it’d gone a much further distance?

“That’s part of it,” Henry agreed. “There’s more, though. How did he freeze the other boy in place? And, for that matter, even if something moves a long distance, it shouldn’t hit that hard at the speed it was moving at.”

I’ve got no idea, then. I didn’t see him use any magic at all. Maybe the hammer is enchanted? Or maybe it’s an artifact of some sort?

“Better,” Henry said. “The hammer has runes on it. I didn’t get enough of a look, but I suspect he’s storing energy in the weapon and then releasing it on impact. I can think of a few ways that could be accomplished. As for freezing his opponent – that was Time magic.”

Sylph touched Damien on the shoulder. He blinked, snapping out of his internal conversation to find everyone in the room looking at him.

“Sorry, I was lost in thought,” Damien said. “What did I miss?”

“Elania asked if you think you can beat Bartholomew,” Sylph said.

“Oh. I should be able to,” Damien said. “I guess it depends how strong his magic is.”

“That’s dodging the question,” Elania accused. “What does that even mean? ‘It depends how strong his magic is?’ That doesn’t say anything!”

“Elania,” Viv said, letting out a sigh. “Control yourself.”

“Sorry,” Elania muttered.

The following few fights were far bloodier than the former ones had been. Damien’s challenge had struck at the pride of the other top students, and none of them were willing to back down without a fight.

Several other students won their fights in a single blow, although most weren’t as fast as Damien and Bartholomew had been. The girls from Goldsilk all went, each managing to win. Elania barely pulled through her fight, while Eve and Viv both won handily. However, none of them won in a single strike.

Damien was starting to wonder if the crystals in their room had broken when one of them finally lit up again. They all rushed forward to look at it. Sylph clicked her tongue in annoyance as Nolan let out a sigh.

“Seven Planes,” Nolan said. “I was tearing my hair out waiting. Let’s get this over with already.”

He hopped over the railing and floated over to the arena. His opponent was a girl by the name of Yennifer from Mountain Hall. She, like many of the other students, had a blade at her hip.

Nolan inclined his head in greeting as the announcer finished introducing them. Yennifer didn’t return the gesture.

“Ouch,” Elania said. “He got snubbed.”

“He’s probably used to it by now,” Mark said with a snort. “Whatever. He’ll probably be fine.”

As the announcer began his countdown, Nolan gathered his stone armor around himself, drawing from the sand beneath the arena. He kept the plates far thinner than most of the other students had, opting for speed over defensive capabilities.

Yennifer drew her own sword. Dark energy enveloped the weapon and she rippled like a mirage in the desert. By the time the match started, she had completely faded from view.

The ground before Nolan bulged as the hilt of his companion’s manifestation, Rockbreaker, emerged from the quartz. He grabbed the massive sword and stood in a ready stance.

Several moments passed. Nolan turned in a slow circle, but Yennifer made no moves to attack him. He narrowed his eyes and made a sharp gesture with his free hand. Sand shot up from the ground far below them. It twirled around him, forming into a powerful dust devil.

“He’s trying to reveal her using the sand!” Elania realized.

Yennifer came to the same conclusion. A shadowy line was the only warning Nolan got as the girl’s blade lashed out from just behind his right side. Sand surged to meet her, catching the blade right before it could hit Nolan.

She pulled the weapon back, fading away once more. During the entire attack, the only part of Yennifer that had been visible was her weapon.

“It looks like your spell, Sylph,” Damien observed. “Just…”

“Better,” Sylph finished. “I didn’t have the magical energy to use it like she does. It’s the same spell, though. Darkness attribute.”

Nolan’s sand had filled most of the arena now, but there were still no signs of Yennifer. It just looked like he was standing alone on the arena. Nolan raised Rockbreaker and swung it in a massive arc.

A white blade carved off the edge of the weapon, slicing through the air and covering almost half of the arena.

“That’s some strong Air magic,” Elania breathed. “Is he just going to try and swing around blindly, hoping he hits Yennifer?”

Nolan swung his sword again. And again. He sent the attacks flying out seemingly at random. If any of them hit Yennifer, there was no indication.

“He’s going to run out of energy at this rate,” Elania said, shaking her head. “That’s a terrible strategy.”

Sure enough, Nolan’s attacks were coming slower. He finally stopped swinging Rockbreaker and lowered his hands, breathing heavily. That was when Yennifer struck.

She flashed out, her blade carving towards Nolan’s side. He blocked it, but the sword redirected itself, converting its momentum into a powerful thrust towards his chest. It punched through his armor and out of his back.

Nolan staggered backward. Yennifer melted into view and started to pull the blade from his chest. Rock surged out from Nolan’s armor, wrapping around her sword and up her arm. Her eyes widened and she tugged, trying to escape his grip, but the spell was too strong.

With a roar, Nolan drove his palm into her chin. Her head snapped back. Nolan struck at the same spot one more time. His armor swallowed even more of her, making it impossible to dodge the attack. Her body went limp in his hands.

Nolan reared back and hurled her over the side of the quartz platform. Healers appeared, one catching Yennifer while the other drew the blade from Nolan’s chest and fixed the huge wound in his chest.

“What a fight!” The announcer thundered. “I was certain that Yennifer had that until the very end. Well done to both contestants. That was a brilliant display of strategy, power, and perhaps, a dash of luck!”

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