Chapter 042:

Alec watched coldly as the two boys rapidly approached him in a pincer formation. Unfortunately for him, they had acted too fast and so {Firestorm} was no longer an option. Deciding on the next best thing, he roughly altered the magical circle he had cast and split the large spell into two smaller ones. This would cut the power down significantly but at the same time, it would also offer him more choices.

Seeing that Moore was closest and leading with a straightforward jab, Alec approached instead of retreating, catching him off guard.

“{Heat Conversion},” He whispered into Moore’s ear as he converted the force coming from his fist into heat.

“{Fuego}” He chanted at the same time, blasting a plume of fire straight into Mark’s shield.

It was a surreal sight watching the red-headed magician speak twice in one breath but no one was particularly surprised by the fact that he could cast multiple spells simultaneously.

Zackery staggered back after feeling flames envelope his fist, ‘How was Prince Clive able to destroy this spell?!’

On the other side, Mark hid his body behind the shield as plumes of fire bombarded him. His strategy was by no means perfect as he could feel his legs burn up, but he pushed through, hoping to reach Alec before he sustained any major damage.

‘Mark’s as persistent as ever,’ Alec noted mentally. He quickly sent a kick toward the faltering Moore, pushing him back further before refocusing on Mark. Using the leftover heat from nullifying Moore’s attack, Alec enhanced {Fuego} while setting up another spell.

No longer able to take on the amplified heat, Mark tossed himself to the side, abandoning his attack.

‘Shit, Mark, I’m sorry!’ Zackery apologized after noticing how his hesitance allowed Alec too much breathing room.

Galvanizing his will, he re-entered the fray with a wild swing, hoping to end the fight with his impressive strength.

Of course, Alec was ready and waiting as he cast yet another {Heat Conversion}.

“Got you!” Moore suddenly declared as he abruptly abandoned his right hook in favor of a kick to Alec’s abdomen.

The blow landed solidly but contrary to his expectations, his foe did not falter much, only taking a few steps back.

“Good,” The red-headed magician praised while altering {Heat Conversions}’s magical circle.

“{Fire Bomb}” Alec chanted shortly before a projectile of fire blasted from the altered magical circle, barreling toward Moore.

Unwilling to give up on his brief advantage, Moore gathered himself before dashing forward and sliding under the spell.

Unfortunately for the young hero, his bravery was met with a boot to the face.

“Did you think you’d have the advantage in a close-quarters fight? You should know me better than that,” The red-headed magician advised as he tackled Moore to the ground before sitting on top of him.

Too busy reeling from the sudden taste of shoe to reply, Zackery quickly raised his hands to cover his head.

The decision proved apt as shortly after, a flurry of punches rained down on him.

“Come on Moore, you were doing so well,” Alec cooed before punching Zackery’s gut hard and taking the wind out of his lungs.

Alec did not relent, attacking every bit of exposed flesh with precise cruelty.

“Show me,” he mocked. “Show me the demon who killed your mother!”

Moore’s bloodshot eyes opened and he grabbed one of Alec’s hands with surprising force, keeping it in place.

“Good!” Alec barked before firing off a {Firebomb} into Zackery’s face with his free hand.

This, however, did not deter Moore whose other hand broke through the flames and kept Alec’s final hand in place.

Now with both hands trapped, Alec was forced to pause his assault, allowing Moore a brief reprieve.

“What now, demon? Gonna bite my head off like you did your mother’s?”

“Keep her out of this!” Zackery roared in response, his bloodshot eyes turning into a deeper shade of red.

Alec smiled viciously seeing this. He opened his mouth to goad further when a grating voice interrupted him.

“Forgot about me, lovebirds?” Mark asked loudly from behind Alec before smashing his shield against the side of his face.

Alec tried to dive to the side but grimaced when he noticed that Moore was still holding onto his wrists. Before he knew it, the right side of his field of view exploded into white before giving way to a dull yet searing pain.

“Fuck yeah!” Mark cheered. “Keep him there, Moore,”

“My. Name. Is. Zackery!” The young hero screamed before ramming his head into Alec’s. The sickening sound of minds colliding rang out along with grunts from both boys.

“Holy shit!” Mark exclaimed before bursting into laughter, he inadvertently dropped the shield, making a show of holding his sides.

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Unfortunately, Zackery’s attack made him loosen his grip ever so slightly, allowing Alec the opportunity to slip one hand free.

“{Fuego},” He Chanted venomously while gesturing toward Mark.

“Fuck, Moore, you dumbass!” Kingsley panicked before diving toward the ground and covering his head. As the flames passed above him, he could feel the immense heat press against his back. “Fuuuuuuckkkkkk, I’m getting cooked!” Amid screams, he noticed a second magical circle swirling around Alec’s palm. “Zackery, watch out!”

“{Searing Touch}!”

His warning came too late as Alec had already finished casting his second spell.

“Aghhhghghgh” Moore screamed after Alec’s glowing-red free hand wrapped around his wrist, causing him to let loose Alec’s final hand.

Now free, Alec jumped up and away from Moore wanting to regain his bearing.

Unfortunately, he was immediately assaulted by Mark who had successfully evaded {Fuego}.

“Let me ring yer bell again!” Mark pleaded maniacally, wildly swinging his shield.

“Enough of you, {Heat Conversion},”

“Again with that useless spell!” Kingsley spat before wincing from the flames coming off the point of contact between his shield and the magical circle covering Alec’s head. “I just gotta hit the fucker harder!” He declared as he reeled his shield back again.

It was just before the instant that he was about to strike that he noticed the magical circle’s symbols change.

“Shit, you sneaky fucker!”

“You’ve always been so deceptively clever, Mark, {Stream Fire}”

Sending force into his legs, Mark jumped back instantly and guarded himself with his shield.

The first stream slammed into the shield hard enough to take him off his feet.

The second firmly planted him into the ground.

The third dug deep into the shield, heating it up considerably. “Fuck,” Mark screamed; he could feel the tips of his fingers burn.

The fourth finally broke through the shield. Fortunately, it dissipated before making contact with his skin.

Unfortunately, the fifth did make contact. “Owwwww FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUCCCCKKKKK” Mark screamed as the stream of concentrated fire dug itself into his gut, doing significant damage.

A faint sound of shattering crystal appeared shortly before the Wisker shield shattered into millions of little pieces.

Alec watched the little particles of white fade into the environment like sugar in hot water. He once again wondered about the origins of Wiskers. Since they were rare, not much was know-

A sudden blow to his back ripped him from his thoughts and he immediately realised the gravity of his situation.

Utilizing the forward momentum given to him by the sneak attack, Alec leaped forward before rolling to minimize the damage. Once on his feet, he jumped back once more to put distance between him and his new foe.

“Rebecca, as stealthy as ever,” He complimented before twisting his torso to the side, barely slipping past Rebecca’s fist which had been aiming to rid him of his head with lethal force.

He took a step back, and she took a step forward, matching his every move with expert skill.

Seeing that she was not answering him, Alec understood two things:

First, She was truly angered by the sight of Mark lying in a pool of his own blood.

Secondly, He wouldn’t have time to cast spells for the upcoming battle.

He raised his fists and led with a left jab which she easily evaded to the right; he smirked and let loose the right hand he had been keeping at bay for this moment.

Unfortunately, her speed proved too much as she had successfully dodged beneath the blow.

‘She’s still a monster!’ Alec thought with dismay as he finally noticed that she had her right hand reeled back and primed.

It was as if the entire left side of his abdomen was obliterated from existence by her punch, which was truly monstrous, both in terms of strength and accuracy.

Miraculously, he had managed to maintain his consciousness and instinctually tossed a wild left haymaker, hoping to create distance.

Distance was created when Rebecca lightly leaned back, allowing the fist to pass half an inch before her eyes. That distance, however, was taken back immediately when she drilled her right hand into the left side of his face.

Reeling from the blow, Alec still persisted in regaining his footing by quickly firing off another right hook which Rebecca dodged by taking a step back.

Understanding that she was now mocking him by ‘playing’ with her ‘food’, Alec fired off a flurry of tight, concise blows.

Rebecca’s eyes remained passive even as she bobbed and weaved between fists with frightening grace.

Before long, Alec found himself in a familiar situation. He had swung wild, throwing him off balance and Rebecca was low with her right hand reeled back.

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice?” She asked lightly before ramming her fist into the ground.

Shortly after her fist made contact with the ground, the sound of glass breaking sounded as the magical circle Alec had been hiding under their feet shattered into pieces.

The two’s gazes met then; Alec’s panicked expression clashing against Rebecca’s smirk.

Abruptly, the fairer Kingsly leaped forward, looking to all like someone wanting to finish the job.

Alec’s expression warped even more the closer her fist came to his side.

“{Fuego}” He whispered suddenly as all expression bled from his face.

Rebecca’s eyes opened wide and she realized, belatedly, that Alec had been purposefully exposing his left side in order to obscure his right hand, on top of which spun a magical circle.

………………………………………………..

Alexander’s wide smile was greasy looking.

Clive’s cautious expression was justified.

The two stood facing each other in an uneasy stand-off.

Initially, Alexander’s side was larger but as time ticked on, the students he had gathered grew more hesitant about facing off against Clive.

‘Well, they are right in a way, he is a prince after all,’ Alexander admitted easily. That was why he wasn’t angered by the few who scurried off to the sidelines.

By the end of it, all Alexander had left was Ed, who was already tired, Rus who stood his ground well enough, and, rather surprisingly, the three students he had recruited first.

The fact that they stood with him was surprising but the fact that they were also from Graveclaws made it even more bizarre.

Clive’s eyes narrowed after noticing the three standing behind Alexander.

“You three idiots! What are you doing standing beside the enemy!” Mike, who was standing closest to Clive, shouted accusingly at the three.

“Ah well, you see….” The first and seemingly oldest stammered. “Timoth- I mean this kid is pretty vicious and he’d kick our asses if we left,”

The second nodded along while the third looked away with an embarrassed cough.

Even Alexander was unsure of their motives but he did not really care. He was just waiting for something cool to happen. On a side note, the ring had stopped shrinking. It seemed the crowd was loving the spectacle and the staff had deemed it fitting to prolong the time limit.

‘Well, whatever, it’s not like I got anything else to do,’

“You three,” He declared lazily, speaking to the three students following him. He had forgotten their names.

“Kick the prince off the edge,”