Elizabeth stared daggers at Alexander, her antagonistic smile sending shivers down his spine. It was almost as if she were a predator staring down its prey, savoring the moment before a fresh kill. She finally spoke up, her voice dripping with anticipation. “This should be fun.”
Alexander quickly hurled two more magical bolts at her, but she deflected them both as easily as she had the first.
Erika watched on in horror. She turned to Merlin, her voice trembling. “Maybe this wasn’t the best idea…”
Merlin, without looking away, disagreed. “This has to happen.”
Erika grew frustrated, but she knew that there was nothing she could do, she was powerless to help him. She continued watching, hoping that Alexander would be alright.
Elizabeth taunted Alexander again, her voice cold and mocking. “I was right. You are weak.”
Alexander gritted his teeth, anger boiling within him. “I’ll show you weak!” His own doubt creeped in and began to gnaw at him, but he pushed it aside for the moment, focusing on the moisture in the air. He couldn’t afford to fail now. The atmosphere shifted as any humidity previously in the air was drained. Blue magical circles formed near Alexander’s hand as the moisture gathered, giving form to a whip made of flowing water. He took control of it and with a powerful swing, flicked it at her.
With more effort, Elizabeth deflected the first flick of the whip. Alexander sloppily swung it back around his body and then back at Elizabeth for another strike. This time, she caught it with her free hand, firmly grasping the flowing water, stunning Alexander.
She channeled her own magical energy, which manifested as lightning crackling all over her body. She sent a small current rippling down the water whip straight into Alexander. The shock entered his body, sending searing pain through him. The current caused every muscle in his body to seize up uncontrollably, and he let out a painful shriek. He lost control of the water, and the whip faded, causing Elizabeth’s electric shock to also fade.
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Alexander stumbled, attempting to catch his breath. Elizabeth let out a small chuckle, seemingly taking pleasure in his struggle.
Alexander clenched his fist and yelled back at her. He focused even more magical energy and held out both hands. A large white magical circle formed.
Elizabeth was momentarily shocked, as were Erika and Merlin.
Alexander let out a small laugh of his own, realizing that they weren’t expecting such a powerful spell from him. “Razor Wind!” he yelled.
Visible, blade-like gusts of wind shot forth from the magic circle. They whistled through the air, hurtling right for Elizabeth. The stunned expression on her face vanished, and she smiled again, quickly raising her shield. The blades of wind impacted her shield with tremendous force, causing her to anchor her feet into the stone ground. The blades ground against the metal of the shield, generating sparks and causing a sickening screech of metal to echo throughout the hall.
After a moment, Alexander ran out of energy and dropped his hands, exhausted. The blades dissipated, revealing that they had only left small scratches on Elizabeth’s shield. Scratches that would be barely noticeable if one wasn’t specifically looking for them. He dropped to his knees, trembling, wondering aloud, “Is that all I can do…?” He had finally realized the hopelessness of the situation. There was no way he could defeat Elizabeth.
Elizabeth smirked again. “I guess that’s it then.” She slowly started to walk toward him.
He snapped out of his stupor and jumped back to his feet, quickly casting a fire spell weaker than the Razor Wind he had just used. He directed the stream of flames at her, but she simply raised her shield and continued walking through it as it diverted around her, harmlessly.
From through the fire, he could hear her taunting. “Pathetic, ‘my Lord’, your magic is as feeble as your spirit.”
He extinguished the flame and frantically threw a barrage of more colorless magical bolts at her, but she deflected them with no difficulty, just as she had done before, all while she continued walking, now only a few feet from him.
Before he could channel the last bit of magic, she lunged forward, delivering a powerful bash with her shield to his midsection.
The impact forced all the air out of his lungs as he crashed down to his back, powerless. Erika let out a concerned gasp as Elizabeth walked over and planted her foot on his chest as he struggled to breathe.
She continued, her voice cold and taunting. “When I called you weak, I meant your magic and your body, yes, but more importantly, I meant your mind and your spirit.” She looked down at him, contempt filling her golden eyes. “My Lord,” she hissed, mockingly.
Tears formed in his eyes and began rolling down his face. Elizabeth raised her fist, ready to deliver a mighty blow to his unguarded head. “Yield,” she commanded coldly.
“I…I yield…” Alexander whispered, his voice breaking.