Chapter 93 - The Final Battle (Patreon)

Waiting for Effie to attack was unbelievably boring, especially with Reyna scolding him every time he used mana unnecessarily.

Yesterday’s victory over Basil had improved everyone’s mood, but as the hours passed, tension gradually returned. Arien was starting to feel it too, which annoyed him more than the waiting itself.

Honestly, he was a little glad their forest adventure was almost over. He missed sleeping late in his bed at the Gilfry estate, and if the competition ended today, he might still have a few days of freedom left.

So when one of his Mana Threads finally reacted that afternoon, he almost sighed with relief.

“Finally.”

He gave the agreed signal to his companions. They merely nodded and took their positions, spreading out several dozen feet apart. A minute later, a group of four emerged from the forest. Three girls and Liam. At well over six feet tall, the beastkin towered over the others.

Over the years, Arien had grown used to beastkin, though the rarer hybrids still occasionally caught his attention. Eagle-lions and serpent-lizards were particularly difficult not to stare at.

They had proper racial names, of course, and tended to get offended when compared to ordinary animals, but remembering hundreds of different terms was another matter entirely. As revenge, beastkin often called humans monkeyfolk, conveniently ignoring the fact that several beastkin races looked far more like monkeys than humans did.

Reyna cursed quietly under her breath. The fact that Efie had sent four people meant Adam's team hadn't eliminated anyone.

According to Greg's report from yesterday, only Adam himself had survived the assault. Now he was sitting in his camp, waiting for one of the remaining teams to finish him off.

Efie stepped forward from the group. She had grown somewhat since Arien first met her years ago, but she still looked younger than him. Her commanding green eyes, brimming with intelligence, hadn't changed in the slightest.

"Reyna," she called, her voice carrying across the clearing. "Will you surrender now, or do I have to grind you into the dirt where you belong first?"

"Charming," Arien muttered.

Reyna kept one hand clenched at her side, but managed a faint smile.

"What?" She shot back. "Afraid Adam might take your flag? You spent all those days hiding in your camp, like a hen sitting on a nest."

"That coward is overrated," Efie replied. "His skills were pathetic. Just like yours. Still, out of respect for our long acquaintance, I'll allow you to surrender. Sounds better at the annual Ball than getting blown to pieces, doesn't it?"

“If you’re so strong,” Reyna asked, “why didn’t you come alone?”

“Because I’m not as selfish as you. My team wants to enjoy the fight too.” Effie glanced across the clearing. “Though I suppose we’ll have to adjust the pairings. There are only three of you left.”

Arien frowned and looked around.

Greg was gone.

Arien scanned the edge of the clearing, half expecting to spot him slipping through the trees to circle behind Effie’s group. Judging by Reyna’s expression, she had no idea what happened either.

Efie laughed. “You’re such an amazing leader that your own people are abandoning you. All right, enough talking. Madri. Jakol. Take the tall one. Liam, you get the runt. I'm taking Reyna. Under no circumstances interfere, even if you finish before I do."

The girl smiled.

A spear of ice materialized in front of her. Then she hurled it straight at Reyna.

Runt? I’ll show her a runt! She isn’t even taller than me!

Arien wanted to throw a Fireball at her, but then Liam charged with his claws extended, immediately driving every thought of attacking Effie from Arien’s mind.

He launched an Earth Spear, but the beastkin slipped aside with surprising ease.

Great.

Arien hated fighting warriors, and hybrids were even worse.

A Fire Whip formed above him and snapped toward Liam. Unable to dodge in time, Liam raised an Earth Wall, only for the whip to tear straight through it. The look of surprise on his muzzle was almost comical, but he still managed to throw himself aside at the last moment as the spell ripped through the space where he had been standing.

Arien used the opening to send two Fireballs aiming them in such a way that at least one would hit. 

It worked, and Liam had to take the spell on his shield. Arien conjured another whip, but kept it hovering above his head.

He glanced at his companions and noticed with concern that Reyna wasn't doing very well. Matt, on the other hand, seemed to have a slight advantage despite fighting two opponents. He kept bombarding them with spells, though he was burning through quite a lot of mana in the process.

That brief moment spent assessing the situation was immediately exploited by Liam, who was already moving again, trying to close the distance and force a melee fight.

Arien showered him with Fire Bolts. Though smaller than Fireballs, they flew a bit faster and consumed less mana. 

Once again, Liam had to stop and absorb some of the projectiles with his shield. He quickly recovered, however, and resumed his charge, suddenly finding himself dangerously close. His muzzle twisted into a triumphant grin.

Close combat was always problematic for mages, especially at their level, and heavily favored hybrids. Whether using weapons or, as in Liam's case, claws, they could strike a Mana Shield from multiple angles and rapidly drain their opponent's mana reserves.

Arien raised another Earth Wall and stepped back. Liam smashed through it with one swipe and surged forward, moving much faster than before.

Probably a Skill or racial ability.

Arien had spent too many hours sparring with Will to panic at someone charging him.

He raised another wall.

Liam destroyed it immediately, but for a moment the barrier blocked his view.

Arien was waiting on the other side.

Two Fireballs struck Liam’s shield at close range. He somehow managed to absorb both.

The Fire Whip still hovering above Arien was another matter. It came down a moment later and broke through what remained of Liam’s defenses.

When a golden dome surrounded the still-stunned Liam, Arien quickly looked back toward the other fights, from which they had drifted some distance away.

Matt was now fighting only Madri and seemed to be conserving what remained of his mana. Reyna was in much worse shape. She had been forced entirely onto the defensive, her face pale and sweat running down her forehead, while Effie looked almost bored.

"Rey, I'm done!" he shouted toward his friend, hoping to encourage her. "Should I help Matt or you?"

"Help Matt. I can handle myself," she replied defiantly, staring down her opponent.

"I have to do everything myself," Efie growled, yet she didn't seem at all concerned about losing half her team. “Madri, protect us for a moment. I’ll show these idiots what real magic looks like.”

Madri moved in front of Effie while mana began gathering around the blonde girl.

Arien had no intention of letting her finish. He still had more than half of his mana reserves left and felt that he could keep fighting for a long time.

Maybe they still had a chance to win?

He hurled three Fireballs at Efie, but although Madri possessed only a single Aspect, she was very skilled with it. Three Earth Walls, raised one after another, stopped both his spells and Matt's Fire Bolt.

Arien didn't let up.

Madri was a fairly capable mage, but dueling wasn't her specialty. She intended to become an Inventor, just like her parents.

He launched two Earth Spears, followed by two Fireballs.

A shiver ran down his spine as he watched the magical power accumulating around Efie.

What in the gods' names was she casting?

His first spear shattered the hastily raised wall. The second slammed into Madri's Mana Shield, making her wince. The Fireball flying right behind it crushed the remaining fragments of the shield. The final Fireball caused Madri to disappear behind a golden dome.

"Student Madri Sunvalley is to leave the battlefield immediately. Failure to comply will result in the disqualification of the entire team," the now-familiar voice rang out.

He launched two more Fireballs toward the golden dome, which vanished as Madri hurriedly ran aside.

Too late.

Effie completed her spell.

The tension in the air spiked without warning. A heartbeat later, a blizzard crashed over the clearing, scattering his spells like toys.

He managed to raise four Earth Walls in front of them.

Wind and snow swallowed the clearing, carrying enough force to tear through Earth Walls almost instantly. Arien poured mana into his shield and felt it shudder beneath the combined pressure of Ice and Air.

Then Lightning flashed through the storm.

Three Aspects.

How in the gods' names had she managed to combine three Aspects?

Arien could barely see beyond his own shield, much less tell what was happening to Matt and Reyna. He could only keep feeding mana into his defenses until, several seconds later, the spell finally began to weaken.

He had lost a great deal of mana, but he was still capable of fighting. The wind died down, the last flakes of snow drifted to the ground, and the clearing came back into view.

Sunlight still shone overhead, but everything around him was now covered in snow.

He looked around for his companions.

No one.

He turned and found them several meters behind him, lying on the ground.

Well, he couldn't say he was surprised. At the moment the attack hit, they had already been running on the last remnants of their mana. He wondered how much Efie had left. An attack like that couldn't have been cheap.

The girl still stood in exactly the same place, wearing the same arrogant expression as before. The only differences were her slightly quicker breathing and the faint blush on her cheeks.

She truly was a monster.

He grinned.

For the first time since the fight began, he really wanted to see how this would end.

Arien had just begun shaping another spell when his amulet spoke.

“Student Arien Terryson is to report to the main camp immediately! His team has been eliminated from the competition.”

He stopped casting.

Eliminated?

His shield was still intact.

Oh no…

He turned toward the center of the clearing. Their flag was lying on the ground. Arien stared at it for a moment before groaning. Of course. Just when the fight had finally become interesting.

Effie’s melodic laughter reached him from across the clearing. “Your face! Priceless.”

"That was your plan?" he asked, somewhat irritated.

"No. I wanted to see all of you lying on the ground like Reyna. I didn't expect anyone to be able to defend themselves against my Wrath of the Heavens."

"Is that the official name of that spell?"

“Nope, but that’s what I call it. Congratulations. You’re not bad for a shorty. Until next time!”

She started walking away.

Shorty? I’ll show her! Next time, when there aren’t any stupid flags involved, we’ll see who’s actually stronger. Maybe she has flashy spells, but I’m a bottomless well of mana. Just wait...

Arien caught himself mentally planning their rematch and almost laughed. He was seriously getting competitive with a teenage girl. Still, losing did little to diminish what he had just seen. Effie’s spell had been magnificent, and after Ramsy, she had given him another long list of ideas to experiment with.

“Thanks for the demonstration,” he called after her. “Your magic was phenomenal.”

As far as he knew, the girl was a year younger than him, and yes, she had some famous and powerful archmage as a great-grandfather, but from everything he'd heard, she devoted every waking moment to training. That earned his involuntary respect.

"Oh..." the girl stopped and seemed unsure what to say. "You're welcome," she muttered at last.

"Arien, don't talk to her!" Reyna shouted from behind him. "You can't trust her!"

"You're the one who can't be trusted, vampire!"

"You're the vampire! Just look at your face!"

"Lie down and don't get up, or I'll beat you again!"

Arien quietly backed away.

Whatever history existed between Reyna and Effie, he had no intention of becoming part of the argument.

He walked over to Matt, who was still lying on the ground, staring motionlessly at the sky. Arien extended a hand, and after a moment's hesitation, Matt accepted it.

"Good fight," Arien said sincerely. "Not only did you hold your own against two opponents, but you also eliminated someone faster than I did."

"They weren't very strong," Matt replied, though he smiled. "Besides, I burned through a ton of mana doing it."

"If Greg hadn't disappeared, we might actually have had a chance to win. Where did he go?"

"No idea. He was still here when Efie showed up."

"He'll probably turn up later. Do you know what's going on between those two?" Arien asked, glancing at the girls, who were now hurling increasingly bizarre insults at one another.

"No. I think someone once told me they used to be friends, but I don't remember exactly. Besides, who understands women?"

"True enough," Arien laughed.

"Well, I guess all that's left is heading back to the main camp. Efie only has to defeat Adam now. She'll probably regenerate her mana, and we'll all be heading home later today."

"It's a shame we didn't fight more," Matt said sadly. "I'd rather have some sort of one-on-one tournament than all this sneaking around and scheming."

"True," Arien agreed. "The fighting was actually pretty fun. Well, from fifth year onward we'll have more opportunities, considering the Arena and all that."

"It's going to be awesome!" Matt declared, his eyes shining.

"Rey, let's go!" he shouted to their friend, who looked as though she was about to throw herself at Efie.

"Go on, go," said their recent opponent. "All that scheming of yours, and you still couldn't win."

Reyna stared at Efie with murder in her eyes, but in the end, she said nothing. She slowly turned around and, without a word of farewell, began walking toward the main camp. Matt quickly followed after her. Arien waved goodbye to Efie and jogged after the others.

Before he could catch up with the others, amulet spoke again.

“Student Effie Coldhart is to report to the main camp immediately! Your team has been eliminated from the competition.”

Everyone stopped.

Effie stared at the amulet as if it had personally insulted her.

“But how?” she muttered. “I left Mel and Tod behind. They should’ve been able to defend the flag against Adam. How did he even know we were attacking?”

Reyna burst out laughing.

“You know what that means, right? You have twenty-four points. We have twenty-seven!”

Her grin widened.

“You lost!”

The hero of the people must always win! :) And congratulations to Dima Lukomski, who was the only one to predict it. Ofc, next time you will have way more data, to make a correct guess.

Adam’s Group — 14 points

Reyna’s Group — 27 points

Efie’s Group — 24 points

Basil’s Group — 18 points

Senhal's Group — 0 points

Please don't hate me. There will still be plenty of fights, but before the one with Efie, Arien will need to get a lot stronger.