Five days prior
“Father, you have to call this off!”
“Arete, you know I have no right to step in.” I stared at the moving image of my father, king of the country, as he shook his head, bags under his eyes. “This is a legally adjudicated manner.”
“But, father.” I stuck my chin out in defiance. “It was you who brokered the terms of the agreement, you who finally earned peace by forcing the nobles to sit at the table together. So why risk that! You know as well as I that the disgrace cast upon the academy threatens that peace!”
“No!” My father snapped before collecting himself. I knew my father was unused to being challenged the way only I could as the crown princess. Now that I was his declared heir, he was forced to listen to my insubordination, something a king knew naught of.
Crown princess…
I repressed the shudder as the words rang through my mind.
Your fault.
“No, Arete.” Having calmed himself, my father held my gaze once more. “It was not I who brought them together. It was you and your blasted demanding that you petitioned me with. After all, that backbone you showed me earned you the crown.”
I scowled as my father reminded me of my mistake.
I don’t want to be Queen. I never wanted to have that responsibility.
It was a conversation I’d had with my father several times already. Still, no matter what I said, he shook his head, a dark gleam of twisted amusement in his eyes as he recited the exact phrase every time.
“It is not our words, nor our wants, that speak for us. It is our actions. You are the first to defy me, to force her own will upon me. Personal power, scheming, and connections all pale to the most important thing within a ruler. A will of iron, a will that can domineer any and all.”
Had I not defied him, not made it abundantly clear that I would fight the creed, would continue to pursue my passion for magic, chances are my father would have eventually chosen one of my siblings to be the next ruler or perhaps even opted to have more children, his first set of kids shying away from the royal court.
But I had to open my stupid mouth.
“So, are we just supposed to let it play out? You know there is no way the Academy can react in time, much less Professor Koor!”
My father sighed. I could faintly hear his fingers drumming on the viewing deck just out of sight.
“Arete, consider this one of your first practical lessons in ruling. That you may believe a matter settled, but those ‘loyal’ subjects will still look for ways to circumvent our will, never to our faces, of course.”
“You mean -”
“Yes.” My father confirmed with a quick nod, answering my question before I could even finish what I was saying. “The status quo is kept not just because it is easy. Most importantly, it keeps battlelines stable. Our ‘friends’ may not always have goals that align with ours, and those with goals which align with our own we may not consider ‘friends,’ and as such, it is best you keep a close eye on the future.”
I scowled deeply, not at what my father had said but at the thought of two faces appearing in my mind’s eye.
Leo, I understand. The Grucias have consistently been yearning for any chance to gain any opportunity, and Leo always struck me as like-minded to his family. But Rias?
I felt a surge of anger as I thought of the girl. After as much favor as Professor Koor had shown her, she’d betrayed him!
“Judging from your expression.” My father spoke up, a hint of amusement in his tone that he only ever showed around me. “I believe we should discuss the real reason you brought this petition to have this stopped before me.”
“What do you mean?” I shifted my weight from one foot to the other as I spoke. “I was just considering how the potential ramifications of-”
“Enough. I was not born yesterday.” My father growled. “While I do appreciate the well-constructed argument you brought forth, a valuable skill for the future, I am well aware that the real reason you wish to have my intervention and declaration of foul play is that you do not wish to see this Professor Koor disgraced and shamed from the Academy.”
“No, that’s not -” I nearly shouted into the reflection, suddenly defensive.
“From what my aids have told me, you’ve taken a rather fond liking to this Professor.”
“It’s not like that.” I felt my cheeks flush.
“Arete, your naivety and foolishness of youth shows again. I was not referring to such matters as love or finding a suitable betrothed.”
Oh, lords and gods above, kill me now.
My cheeks felt uncomfortably warm as my father pinched the bridge of his nose, undoubtedly noticing.
“You are still another ten, perhaps fifteen years from considering such things as arranged marriages. Yet, even still, I believe it wise to warn you and give you some advice. Your future marriage will one day have ramifications that stretch across the continents. Pining after such an unknown as this, Professor Koor is almost certainly an issue that will breed more problems and headaches than you would ever wish for.”
Please make it stop.
“If it weren’t for the Director passing the final verdict on who was hired, I would have ensured that someone with such a lack of history would never be near you. But, with that said, I trust the Director more than the scores of my own advisors, so I let it pass. Putting aside my warning for you to avoid the wishful pining of a teenager, my advice. You will soon be the ruler of this country. With that comes certain… benefits. If you find yourself liking some specimen as ruler, you need not publicly announce it.”
I couldn’t help it, a groan of despair escaping me, a flash of amusement through my father’s eyes.
In the past, I’d had some give me their tentative condolences. My father, king of the country, must mean that he was less of a father and more of a figurehead who simply shared my bloodline.
For my siblings, that would have been true. But, born of a different mother than they, my father and I had bonded over our shared feelings toward her.
Feelings of pure, unsullied animosity.
May her soul rest in eternal torment.
With our shared disdain for my mother, his officially taken Queen, I’d found myself in the company of my father perhaps more than was customary for the children of the King. As such, behind his façade of regality that he showed in front of others, he was just another father who appeared to enjoy embarrassing me.
Of course, only when no one else was around.
“Father,” I spoke up, still half-groaning. “Regardless of the… reasons, my arguments from before still stand. We can’t let this sham Honos Festum continue. It sullies the integrity of such a time-honored tradition and breeds animosity that will divide our foundations.”
The hint of amusement in my father’s eyes vanished as we returned to more serious topics. My father was once again forced to speak as king, not as my father.
“Your concerns are valid, if not accurate, of the fallout. But the die has been cast. Whether we intervene or not, animosity will be bred either way. Either this event unfolds as expected, and those part of our camp use it against the mage associates, or we step in. We would be viewed as having somehow been compromised in fairness, too many accessions in such a short period. Furthermore, if I were to directly involve myself, it would be at fault of our ‘allies,’ and while angering one or two is a small issue, the declaration it makes that we may simply cast those who have supported us asides, that will do more damage to the stability of this land than whatever the fallout of this event may be.”
“So nothing will be done,” I answered.
“Nothing can be done. The speed at which they acted was far swifter than is normal, I will concede that, but an investigation cannot be launched, with only days until the scheduled duel by the time any results of investigative efforts could be returned, it will be too late, in the letter of the law, the Grucias and the Aizenbern will have been declared legally and morally in the right.”
“It’s a stupid law,” I murmured.
“That it may be.” My father half smiled; weariness was visible in his expression. “But as you said yourself, it is a time-honored tradition. To go against it and revile it would be to usurp the foundations of where our divine mandate of authority is derived from.”
“So I must do nothing but watch.”
“No, you must watch and think. You were outmaneuvered. Learn from it.”
------------------------------
Current day
“Watch and think, is that right?” I sighed, keeping the words barely audible only to myself as I sat in my uncomfortable seat.
Seat was putting it lightly. There was no question it was a throne, but as I was still yet to be ruler, they could not outwardly call it a throne.
“Your Highness.” I heard a voice I recognized speaking to me. Turning my head, Viceroy Alexandria gave me a curtsy before taking her spot near me.
“Viceroy.” I tilted my head ever so slightly. Hundreds of hours of lessons on courtly behavior I’d once scoffed at were now thoroughly ingrained within me since my father declared that I was to be his heir to the crown. “A pleasant day we are having.”
“Indeed.” The woman glanced upward to the sky, perfectly blue with a bright shining sun smiling down upon us. “To see such historically significant traditions play out is always a blessing, do you not agree?”
No! I wanted to yell in her face, but I smiled with all the fake pleasantry of a gorged sow. “Why, of course.”
Over nearly an hour, several more relatively prominent figures came by to say hello and share small talk with me, no doubt looking for an in or leverage they could use with the ‘foolish’ or perhaps ‘naïve’ future Queen.
For being so blatant, maybe the first thing I should do as Queen is to have them strung up for wasting my time and thinking so little of me as to not recognize their predatory preening.
The thought gave me vicious satisfaction, but I repressed it. Stringing up those who attempted to earn favor with myself would only result in the entire country being strung up.
Not him, though.
I stole a glance from the corner of my eye toward where I’d spotted Professor Koor in his own guest box.
He wouldn’t.
No matter what our station was, he treated us as equals. This entire façade was happening because he had intervened to stand up for Elios Ecurps, a northern ‘no-nobility’ nobility who only had the title by technicality or literal definition.
It’s unfair.
Of all my teachers and mentors, and guides I’d had in my life, he was the first to treat me not as the daughter of the king but as myself.
To him, I wasn’t Arete Narmer; I was Mona.
A smile flicked to my face for a moment in satisfaction.
Mona. Hah. Look who’s laughing now.
Mona, the name of my mother that I’d taken, not out of love or loyalty, but out of scorn and spite. My mother who’d tried to convince my father on numerous occasions to have all magic practitioners sent to the gallows. My same mother had made it abundantly clear to me that I was less than dirt to her.
It was, with a sense of poetic justice, that I’d taken her name as my own so that I may carry out goals and ambitions that would have sent her into a screeching fit.
“Your Highness.” A voice snapped me out of my thoughts as a sideways glance revealed Uralyu, my ‘prime council.’
He was more of a bag of hot air than council, but at the very least, he spoke well.
“Yes?” I raised an eyebrow at the man, keeping an expression of regal aloofness across my face.
“The event will be starting soon.”
“Yes, Uralyu, I can tell the time.” I bit back the worst of the edge from lacing my words, smiling pleasantly instead. “Thank you for the reminder, though.”
The man retreated, returning to the conversation he shared with the Viceroy. I wasn’t sure what they were talking about. Still, I could only assume it was something rather tiring, like tax rates and how to best ensure public order.
Things I could care less about, but something I now must care about.
I began to daydream, my mind wandering as it refused to acknowledge the situation and the inevitable consequences.
Most likely, the Aizenbern and Grucias contracted Harris, and if that’s the case… well, I don’t see how he would ever lose.
After the loss, Professor Koor would lose face, and, by extension, so would the academy. It wouldn’t be long after that, nor did it take a politically savvy genius to figure it out, to guess what would happen next. The academy would release Professor Koor, likely shifting blame as they did to recuperate from the damage to their reputation.
Stupid father.
If only he would have agreed to intervene.
Stupid Rias, stupid Leo.
Had they refrained from ever telling their family of what had happened, then none of this had to happen.
Stupid Professor Koor.
I didn’t want to see the man leave. Not because I had a crush on my teacher, but because he was the first person to treat me who I was and not treat me as my bloodline.
The Aizenbern and the Grucias were supposed to be allies of the crown. Still, I could see them as nothing more than aggressors who’d managed to screw over one of the few things I looked forward to. His replacement would probably be some formerly important mage or adventurer, who reeling from what had befallen their predecessor, would be as conservative as they could be regarding what they taught us. Magic, which had been my one escape as a child, the one thing I could read about that was apart from the royal court, would be once more turned into something out of reach.
I was sure I’d be able to find tutors if I wanted; I was the regent to be, after all.
But.
But it wouldn’t be the same.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Absentmindedly, I began to gently thumb my necklace with the mana artifact gifted to me by Professor Koor.
Soon it will be my only connection to him.
I’d tried to have some of my aids pry into his background, but the man was an enigma. It was as if he had turned up out of thin air.
Maybe he did.
I recalled the first time I’d seen him. The school year had not officially started, but I was already in Akadia. I’d arrived secretly to ensure my safety; the actual procession for my ‘arrival’ wasn’t for another day or so. Bored out of my mind, I’d forced Harris to take me to the Grand Library under the caveat that I wear a disguise.
Thus, dressed as a boy with my hair bound into a hat, I scurried between the endless rows of textbooks, novels, and books of every sort and kind, scouring for anything I could find about magic. Books piled up in my arms; I’d turned a corner, only to suddenly collide with a man I’d never seen before.
Granted, most of the people of the city I hadn’t seen, but for the most part, I had at least the passing knowledge of anyone who might be found in places as exclusive as the Grand Library.
The man, older than myself, his mid-twenties from my guess, had seemed surprised at my collection of books. Defensive, I’d snapped at him, not yet knowing who he was.
He turns up out of nowhere, and now he will disappear just as quickly, I bet.
I didn’t want to think about it, but that was the simple reality of the situation.
Stupid Rias. Stupid Leo.
The more my thoughts circled the subject, the more I festered in a bitter resentment toward my two classmates.
In fact…
I found myself recalling the advice of my father.
“You were outmaneuvered. Learn from it.”
That’s right. They basically spat in our faces. We, the crown, forced the bickering factions to sit things out and meet somewhere in the middle. Now our so-called ‘allies’ are going behind our backs like this?
No. If that was the game that would be played, then I would play. If I was going to have something nice torn away from me, I would return the favor and remind them that we, that I, was not just some random noble.
I was the Queen of this country.
Well, I will be.
Thoughts, ideas, and random plans began to drift through my mind, a nice distraction from the reality of what I was about to witness, scenarios of how I could strip down the Aizenbern and Grucias in one go. It wouldn’t be enough to simply slap them on the back of the wrist; I would need to teach them a lesson they would never forget.
Turning thoughts over in my head, it wasn’t until a cheer erupted that suddenly I was drawn back out from the depths of my scheming.
“- in a surprise no one could have seen coming. Representing and championing Professor Koor of Parisian Academy, the rising star of several years ago. Thought gone, vanished to the ends of the world itself, his return will spark quite a stir. While officially never rising past silver ranked as an adventurer, the defeat of former high-gold rank one Iris Steel Haze in a duel to the death, and the successful completion of a dungeon expedition, he is one of few who could claim the rights to earn the title of a Nizeium ranked adventurer. Give it up for Zero of the Flowing Blade!”
Huh?
My gaze instantly snapped to the arena floor, where a man dressed in simple brown fabrics appeared. There was nothing specifically attention-grabbing about his garb, dressed as many swordsmen or adventurers often would.
What caught my attention was the black mask covering his face.
Zero?
I couldn’t pretend I knew much of the man. I’d heard his name referenced once or twice when I was younger, an adventurer apparently earning quite the reputation for himself with how fast he was climbing the ranks. Still, just as quickly as he appeared, he’d vanished without a trace after being amongst the few survivors of the first dungeon clear in thirty years.
Or so I’d been told.
So where did Professor Koor find him?
My eyes drifted back toward where Professor Koor was seated, but his face remained almost utterly emotionless.
Is it that surprising?
Perhaps Professor Koor knew him from the past, but I didn’t know much of Professor Koor’s history, so I could only hazard a guess.
If you didn’t know better, you’d almost be tempted to say they were the same person.
Which was ridiculous, given I could see the two of them in the same place.
The mystery of the unknown factor that Zero represented almost dared to give me a spark of hope, but it was dashed as soon as I let myself hold onto its warmth.
“And finally, representing the interests of the Aizenbern and the Grucias! Famous for his exploits as an adventurer, he was known as one of the fleetest of feet, the unavoidable blade, the unfailing strike, the shooting star of a man! Harris Flash Step, a former member of the Nizeium party Godsend, friend, and right hand of nobility!”
It was as I expected and feared. Opposite the tunnel where Zero had appeared emerged Harris. He was dressed in similar plan garb to Zero, fancy clothing I doubted would aid in a fight such as what was about to ensue.
Nervous energy began to chatter through my bones.
Why?
I didn’t want Zero, and by extension, Professor Koor, to lose. But this was the Honos Festum, a battle that either went to surrender or death. Harris was bound to his best ability to serve the interests of those currently employing him. If Zero somehow were to beat him, would Harris be killed, refusing to surrender?
I don’t like it.
Harris was as much of a companion as he possibly could be, my family employed his services more than nearly any other noble or wealthy house, and as such, I’d gotten to know the man.
Why?
I wanted to scream. I wanted to do something. Yet, there was nothing I could do that would not make things worse.
I swear, I’ll make them pay.
Either I would lose a friend or the first person to see me as me.
All because of stupid, conniving, agenda-pushing pieces of-
A red flare shot out from the arena, exploding with a crack of noise like that of a firework, and with as much fanfare, the battle began.
What I saw… shocked me. I wasn’t exactly new to swordfights. Master swordsmen and swordswomen often performed mock duels for the royal court. I’d been at enough of them to have grown tired of pretentious grownups pretending there were any stakes involved whatsoever, like any of it meant anything and wasn’t just a way of trying to scam nobles into paying for swordsmanship tutoring for their children. Not just that, I was versed in the ways of swordplay myself. I wasn’t anything special, but it had been part of my royal curriculum from a young age to wield the blade.
But none of it compared to the sight before me now. Like ghostly apparitions, it appeared like they were flickering in and out of existence. I knew how fast Harris was, but Zero was matching him. Every time the ghostly afterimages solidified, they were clashing steel against steel, their blades mesmerizing for the moment I could perceive their swiftness.
That shouldn’t be possible.
And it wasn’t, not within the world of human capabilities.
There was only one answer then.
Magic.
As they fought, they weren’t outward with their usage of magic. Still, there was no doubt that both former adventurers were drawing upon magic to enhance their physical abilities to inhuman levels, reaching heights like heroes in a storybook.
That realization of the magic at play drew my undivided attention like a moth to a flame.
How?
I was overcome by curiosity as the ensuing battle continued to be fought.
How?
I wracked my brain, searching for answers in the extensive lessons Professor Koor had lectured over.
Not wild magic, that much is evident.
Wild magic almost always took an external appearance. While a skilled mage could use it subtly, the raw violence of the conflict ensuing instinctually told me that this wasn’t one of those situations.
Kin magic?
Technically there was a chance that Zero was drawing on Kin magic to augment his physical abilities. Still, once again, while technically possible, I’d never heard of such Kin magic.
Meaning?
Inner magic. I was already aware that Harris was a master of Inner magic, but to see Zero keeping up the way he was meant that the relatively unknown adventurer must have been almost as skilled as he.
That would explain why he rose through the ranks so fast years ago.
Enraptured, I continued to watch the fight. The two sides seemed almost entirely equal, perhaps with a slight edge to Harris, who was slowly gaining ground.
Almost as if he were thinking the same thing, Harris separated from Zero. The two appeared to exchange words before the battle resumed.
Or at least it appeared to resume. Like they’d only been warming up, the two accelerated further, too fast for my eyes to keep up with. By the time the signals reached my brain, they were already half a dozen exchanges past where they’d last been.
I doubt many, if any, can make out what is happening.
The crowd didn’t seem to care, as if being in the presence of such warriors was enough to get their blood burning with excitement.
Finally, the two appeared firmly standing apart. I could not tell who was winning for the life of me. It was only when Zero raised his sword and pressed two fingers against the blade, sliding them against its length, that I presumed Zero was on the back foot, forced to act as he was.
“And there it is! His once famous signature move for which he owes his title, the Flowing Blade!”
The announcer apparently recognized what Zero was doing, a cheer erupting as the crowd responded to the announcer’s excitement. It wasn’t until a layer of water began to form upon the blade that I realized what the man was doing; the water swelled like a raging vortex.
Like some sort of saw or drill.
Harris wasn’t about to let Zero steal the show. Closing his eyes, his blade erupted a moment later into a flame that began to compress inward, the flame becoming a solid bar of glowing heat.
What is that?
I could understand what Zero had done; it was just a utilization of the wild magic Aulous. What Harris had done felt different.
Scorz?
No, for some reason, I doubted that it was anything as simple as ordinary wild magic utilization. If it was, it would have been exceptionally inefficient. Unlike shallow flowing waters, maintaining such heat for prolonged periods would constantly burn through copious amounts of mana.
I sincerely doubt Harris is that foolish, either.
Harris didn’t have Kin magic, which meant-
It’s some application of Inner magic.
Inner magic was, precisely as the name implied, inside oneself. A glowing energy sword wasn’t exactly inside of a person either.
So how?
Try as I might, I could not decipher what it meant.
I bet he knows.
I glanced at Professor Koor again, but the man looked as nonplussed as earlier, the sight of the glowing energy sword apparently unable to faze him.
That’s kind of strange.
Something about his reaction, or lack of reaction, seemed to stick out to me, but I had more important things to pay attention to as the battle resumed. The two magic knights lunged at one another before swinging their blades. Like a science experiment gone wrong, the energy sword and swirling vortex blade met each other before throwing their wielders back, a steam explosion that would have killed lesser men on the spot merely pushing them around.
Wow.
If the steam explosion scared them, they did not show it, resuming their conflict. Clashing once more, they appeared prepared for the resulting explosive force. Zero struck first, utilizing the energy of the steam explosion to launch himself into the air, thrusting a hand toward Harris.
Looking back, I can’t really say what it was about what I saw that tipped me off. Nothing about it was outwardly impossible.
Yet, as Zero thrust his hand toward Harris and a shower of icicle lances rained down on him, I felt a prickle at the back of my neck.
No. No, it can’t be.
Zero had already shown an affinity for Aulous, and while nothing said you couldn’t have more than one affinity, I had four myself; for some reason watching Zero as he switched from water to the composite affinity of ice felt off.
As if I recognized it.
It can’t be.
The feeling remained even as I sucked in a sudden breath in surprise. Harris had defended himself from the shower of ice spears, and retaliating in a way I’d never seen him do before, he thrust his own hand toward Zero as a gout of fire exploded out from his hand.
It’s over.
There was no defending against that. The curtain of flame was so large it could have swallowed up several houses and kept going.
He’s dead.
Maybe Zero could prevent the worst from befalling him, but unable to dodge in the air as he was, I could not see how. Water, ice, it wouldn’t matter; the resulting steam explosion would wreck as much damage, if not more, than the flame itself.
So, rather than defend himself, Zero waved.
And like the world was forced to obey, the wall of flame instantly changed course, redirected like it had slammed into an unshakable, unmovable force. Still maintaining its forward momentum, the blazing inferno collided with the arena’s edge, swiftly defused by a barrier that fizzled with power.
How?
I glanced toward Professor Koor, who still seemed unimpressed. The nagging feeling would not subside, and as if the nagging thoughts were spurring my mind on, I had a sudden idea. Pressing two fingers just below each eye, I whispered under my breath.
“Aulous.”
Mana responded as a film of water glossed over my eyes, a single degree of refraction like the world’s most awkward glasses. Then, praying my idea would work, I cast my sight toward Professor Koor.
Except, looking at where Professor Koor should have been, I was met with a headache-inducing image. A man was standing there, but before he had Professor Koor’s face, now it was as if two faces had been superimposed, once over the other, a face I faintly recognized behind the Koor mask.
Isn’t that one of the Director’s secretaries?
Everything clicked into place like the final piece of a puzzle.
Professor Koor, his mysterious background, or lack thereof, why the adventurer Zero had disappeared for several years, and why he was only reappearing now when Koor needed him.
And, most importantly, why Professor Koor seemed to know so much.
They’re the same person!
The evidence was circumstantial and flimsy, but I felt sure that my conclusion was correct. The secretary, who looked like he had Professor Koor’s face superimposed over his own, was an illusion maintained by bending light to perfectly replicate his appearance to any onlookers.
Meaning.
I looked away from the fake Professor Koor, instead looking toward Zero and his masked visage.
Of which below I was sure would be the unmistakable face of my favorite Professor.
This makes sense now that I think about it.
I’d almost forgotten about it, but when Harris and Professor Koor first met, Harris attacked Professor Koor, only for Professor Koor to not just avoid the strike but also respond to the attack.
Meaning that technically speaking, this was their second confrontation.
Just a lot more serious now.
My awe for my Professor and his hidden identity was all but unshakable, yet as if looking to ceaselessly amaze me, Professor Zero-
No, that doesn’t sound right.
-Professor Koor dropped his sword. Rather than surrender, a new blade appeared from the same hand, glowing with heavenly light.
What is that!?
Wild magic, Kin magic, Inner magic, none matched the spell he was performing.
It must be Kin magic, right?
No other magic even remotely came close to explaining what I was seeing.
Whoever Professor Koor really was, at the very least, I was confident that what I thought I knew about the man was an exceptionally shallow pool, nothing but a quick dip into a vast ocean.
I’d known Harris long enough to recognize a subtle shift in his body language as the glowing blade appeared, the way he held his weight forward easing back slightly.
He was pensive, on edge as he was confronted with something he had not prepared for.
How could he, really?
I, as well as anyone who had any understanding of how these sorts of things went, understood that the position that Professor Koor had been backed into had meant that by accepting the duel, odds were he would never find a champion who could realistically hope to contend with the sort of champion that the Aizenbern and Grucias would manage to hire.
Harris, as that champion, was perhaps more than anyone else, taken off guard by the intensity of the battle he’d been presented with.
So, what next?
The two eyed each other for another second before resuming their mortal struggle. When their blades met again, it was not with the force of the earlier steam explosions. Still, something about the clash felt even more intense now, as if the heavenly glowing blade carried a threat, the promise of violence that made everything we’d seen up until now pale in comparison.
Wary as he was, it was now Harris who was being pushed back with each clash of their blades. Like the energy of their fight was only fueling him further, Professor Koor began swinging even faster, harder, thrusting his heavenly blade at Harris with relentless ferocity, taking advantage of the ground Harris had unconsciously given.
Aware now of Zero’s identity, I found myself freed to root for him, confident that Professor Koor was not the type to try to slay his opponent for no reason.
Win!
Clash after clash, their blades met, and twice Harris tried to rely on throwing massive gouts of fire toward Professor Koor. Both times Professor Koor flicked his wrist to the side, and the fire was redirected.
He’s not used to using wild magic, is he?
The realization came almost casually; I’d never meant to stumble upon such a thought. Harris, as deadly proficient as he was with Inner magic, had little skill in manipulating wild magic. When he threw about such massive walls of flame, it wasn’t that he was boasting of his strength; he couldn’t do much more than that.
Too long only relying on Inner magic?
No, with a shake of my head, I dismissed the idea. It was plausible, but something as simple as dialing back just how much power he pumped into the flames didn’t require much skill, to begin with.
Meaning?
“Oh,” I whispered, proud of myself for connecting the dots.
Harris, my trusted bodyguard, a Nizeium adventurer who had earned fame and accolades for his skill with Inner magic, wasn’t a practitioner of Inner magic because he had some sort of issue with external varieties of magic, as many of the rumors supposed.
It was that he lacked the ability to control it. If one couldn’t contain the power they had, it would prove a liability well before it could ever be an asset to draw upon. It was through Inner magic that Harris had shored up his shortcomings.
But it’s not enough.
The battle had yet to be resolved, yet I felt I could see the foregone conclusion. With each strike, it was as if I could sense Harris and his weakening resolve. Meanwhile, Professor Koor only seemed to grow in vitality, thriving in battle, a side of my Professor I had never seen.
Putting the most distance I’d seen since the battle began, Harris released his blade, the radiant energy surrounding it vanishing instantly, revealing a sword on the verge of shattering.
It’s over.
Or so I thought. With one final act of resolution, Harris brought his hands together, directing one last enormous blast of fire roaring toward Professor Koor, doing his best to funnel the flame that dwarfed all the prior conflagrations. Uncontrolled, it would have been capable of incinerating an entire city block.
That’s what magic really looks like.
It wasn’t some baby candle flame that my fellow classmates would conjure. That was the sort of magic that those who reviled the existence of magic preached the dangers of.
And Professor Koor stared it down. Rather than redirect it as he had all the prior walls of flame, he pointed the tip of the glowing heavenly blade toward the inferno before the fire washed over him.
Only a few minutes prior, I would have assumed the man was dead. None could withstand something like that.
But Professor Koor wasn’t just anybody.
Holding my breath, I watched until the flame died out, snuffed out whenever it lapped at the arena’s edges.
With bated breath, the onlookers of the arena were finally rewarded. Standing tall, having never moved even a single step, was Zero.
“Standing in defiance of magic to such a scale that few, if any, ever bear witness to, Zero remains steadfast!”
The crowd went wild, cheers erupting.
In that excitement, I continued to hold my breath, staring at the blade, which appeared to be glowing even brighter.
Harris was visibly panting. His sword had been nearly destroyed during the clashes against Zero’s blade of light. Without a sword to rely on, Harris had no other option but to win through simple, overwhelming power.
It wasn’t enough.
Bringing the sword down in a swing with all the gravitas of an executing angel, a wave of light raced from the blade toward Harris.
No!
For a moment of pure terror, I thought Professor Koor had a change of heart, deciding to kill Harris with an act bearing all the authority of heavenly principles. Like he never meant to follow through with the attack, Zero released the sword of light, the blade and the wave of light vanishing, all evidence of the heavenly attack gone, save for a massive rift in the ground stretching halfway between Professor Koor and Harris.
I watched silently as Professor Koor folded his arms one atop the other, tilting his head toward Harris. I could almost imagine him saying something beneath his mask.
A second later, Harris nodded before raising his hands; head still held high, proud of the battle he had fought.
Silence held for what felt like an eternity. The crowd and announcer alike remained in a silent stupor from the result their eyes refused to believe.
Unable to help it, I smiled, bringing my hands together in a slow clap, gradually gaining speed. Taking their cue from me, those nearby began clapping until the entire arena was booming with wild applause, the announcer finally gathering his voice.
“Victory! Harris Flash Step, a former Nizeium ranked adventurer, has declared defeat! With his defeat to the victor, the Respondit Mandatum is bestowed! Zero of the Flowing Blade!”
I’ve seen enough.
Relaxing with tension I hadn’t realized I’d been holding, I finally reclined in my seat.
He did it.
Professor Koor had won.