Amodeus was disturbed to say the least. Whoever the girl was her presence became extremely problematic. Despite his status as an Elemental lord the situation put him in deep water. His chances to be retitled were nearing certain, but that would change should his direct disciple be knocked out of the competition before the main event even began. And that is what made his situation so volatile. His options were to offend either an immensely ferocious beast that his rival was, or a mysterious backer of the girl. He already attempted a subtle sabotage, but with minimal results. She was so far ahead now that if she achieved even mediocre results from now on she would still achieve an undisputed victory. And based on her current grin that would not be the case. Amadeus finally came to a single solution for his predicament: He needed a pretext to remove the girl from the competition. A gamble, since he didn't understand her background, but the alternative was giving up on his hard earned title. It was around the time that he reached his conclusion that the girl opened her mouth.
"Eternal tendrils intertwine
Their burning, blazing embers,
Fire, blood, and infernal wine.
And reality trembles…"
Amadeus quickly tried to recall all 3rd and 4th circle spells he knew, but nothing reminded him of those lines. Even different incantations for the same spells should be similar, so this caught Amadeus off guard. Especially since the incantation still felt oddly familiar.
"... Like a shroud of nigh dust,
Unending vast empyrean.
Devoured by ceaseless lust
With might above pedestrian…"
It was when the long incantation was finally almost over that Amadeus recognised the spell, and his eyes widened in tangible shock.
"...Pyroblast."
Elizabeth finished the last word of her chant and and scorching heat instantly entangled the entire arena. Blast of pure elemental fire manifested above Elizabeth's head and was prepared to obey her commands. It's appearance was perhaps a bit similar to that of a mere fireball, but from this close Amadeus could grasp the difference with perfect clarity. Fireball gathered a small amount of elemental flames and commanded them to explode the mana compressed around them. Meanwhile a Pyroblast gathered and condensed an immense quantity of pure elemental flames and allowed their destructive nature to go into an unbound destructive frenzy upon impact. Something that would soon enough be witnessed by the audience. As that spectacle of infernal might left the space above Elizabeth.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
By the time Amadeus regained his composure the spell was already about to impact the dummy. Such a lack of focus might have cost him greatly on the battlefield, but here it was only a major misstep. Fortunately he had the skill to compensate for that mistake. With a quick beckon a crimson half sphere manifested over Amadeus and the participants, easily deflecting the entirety of the blast. He was an Elemental lord after all, his loss of composure was already embarrassing enough, but the spell had nowhere near enough power to break through even a casually raised defence. His control over the defensive membrane was in fact so perfect that none of the participants could even begin to feel the elemental energies within, or they would likely be terrified that their aegis carried significantly more destructive power than the flashy explosion it shielded them from.
The dummy on the other hand was not so fortunate when it came to being defended. The thing was simply not designed to withstand magic above the 4th tier and that was now apparent more than ever. His frame was obliterated and mangled beyond recognition, his upper half now just an empty void while the lower barely avoided similar erasure. The device naturally could not withstand or measure this degree of destructive power and malfunctioned.
“Ehm. An impressive performance deserving the full 10 points,” Amadeus cleared his throat and regained his composure “it would, however, appear that we might be experiencing slight technical difficulties. Let’s take a very short break before we bring in the replacement. For now I will ask the participants to remain in the arena while I quickly go and request a replacement,” he resourcefully announced. It was slightly unprofessional of such a highly esteemed event, but the mages guild simply did not expect the unexpectable. A 5th circle magic like Pyroblast might not appear even in the higher category of below 20, much less among the children here. That even forgot to account for the fact that Pyroblast belonged to one of the universally most destructive magics within its tier.
Amadeus slipped out of sight the moment he left the arena. Now was his best chance to make a last perhaps desperate attempt. It was impossible to knock her out of advancement, so he needed a pretext to disqualify her. And one that might even not be completely made up.
"Blaze," Amadeus called out as soon as he left the arena.
"Present, teacher," a solemn voice greeted Amadeus, and a middle aged man appeared from a dark corner. It was none other than his eldest disciple. As an Elemental lord Amadeus naturally had more disciples than just Darius, most were in fact by third point already accomplished mages or rising stars of the guild.
"The situation is dire, but I have a solution, I need you to…" Amadeus relayed his plans after compiling his words into inaudible string meant only for Blaze's ears.
"I see. It shall be done," Blaze only nodded. That was what Amadeus liked about his disciple the most: The boy obeyed each command unflinchingly. Oh, how Amadeus wished that Darius shared his temperament. His rival really lucked out when he got his hands on someone like Crowley who was both incredibly talented and composed.
"Now then, I need to return, the staff should have brought in the back up by now," Amadeus concluded their conversation and turned to leave. Blaze stood with perfect composure, unmoving until Amadeus entered the arena. There was only blind devotion inside his eyes. He had his instructions and would obey; conscience or opinion was unimportant, just as always.