Chapter 34

"Everyone ready?" Teranga, the sorceress from the potions class, asked.

"Ready." Both Tobias and Chadrick said, just slightly out of sync.

Riley was within her cage, currently held by a man wearing a copper torc.

The obsidian hawk had her own minder, this one a lady, as they each stared the other down.

Riley felt a drive towards combat she had never known before. Something instinctual within her told her the real threat was just inches away, which drove her magic forward, the power sparking at the ends of her paws.

Mavora flared her wings again, beating against the walls of her cage, before screeching at Riley.

"Your mage will die, and then you shall." The hawk hissed.

"Prepare to be disappointed, you overgrown chicken!" Riley drummed her hindpaw in defiance, causing the man holding her cage to struggle.

"Celestial, with a mortal taint, Familiar... the long past... You will know oblivion this day," Riley cocked her head at the infernal's words, finding distraction from her rage.

"Familiar? What's familiar?" Her head cocked in confusion.

Mavora spread her wings and screamed.

Riley's fur stood on end, her instincts taking over, forcing her back against the walls of the cage, as far as she could get from Mavora.

"It seems your companions are eager for this fight," Teranga observed with a knowing smile.

"Mavora is probably hungry and knows food when she sees it," Chadrick snickered.

Riley, meanwhile, closed her eyes and fought towards calm.

With a nod from Teranga, Tobias and Chadrick moved out onto the battlefield, with the coppers carrying the cages following behind them.

The noise of the crowd smacked into Riley like a wave, driving her back towards panic. Thousands of people were packed in like cordwood, occupying bleachers that stretched up towards the ceiling of the tent.

The battlefield itself was grass and pockmarked with craters, blackened here and there from the day's trials. Blood and viscera of all types had been flung everywhere, sending her nose into overdrive piling more fuel onto the fire of her instinctual fear.

Far on the opposite side, fifty feet away, were two massive cages. Riley could see the magic burning around them, keeping what was within, secured.

Her heart froze as an ear splitting roar emerged from one of them. Even the hawk turned its focus away from her.

The man in the copper torc set her cage down in a predetermined spot, outlined by a white box that had been painted upon the grass; about four feet away, the hawk's rested. Its talons gripped through the cage, tearing furrows into the dirt.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, for our next trial, Chadrick of Astor, Duke of the Ashen Throne, and Tobias of the Valenheim Academy face off in mortal combat for golden torc and survival itself!" A hidden announcer's voice boomed through the arena, drawing her ears up and alert, allowing the sound of the roaring crowds to batter her mind further.

Slowly, the doors of the monster cages drew open, causing the crowd to go wild.

Riley detected a surge of magic from the hawk; a black, oily outline framed one of the beings, a giant eldritch leech, with successive rows of lamprey like teeth, providing garish accent to its pink flesh that faded into a shiny, slimy black that covered the whole of its body. It fed upon the power, erupting in black and grey flames to her eyes.

Instinctively, her own magic burst forth as she cast Analyze.

Asanago, Infernal Being, Leech

Utilizes Poison and Chaos magic to deadly effect.

Weakness: Holy, Salt.

Buffs: Elemental Resistance, Enraged, Infernal Focus.

"Being an eldritch horror is kind of its thing."

It locked in on Tobias and charged across the battlefield towards him.

In reply, undaunted, two quick fireballs erupted from his hands.

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The crowd cheered as they screamed across the battlefield, impacting the monster right in the teeth.

The flames washed over it to no effect. Tobias pulled again, halting its motion, containing it within a corral of flame.

Riley briefly glanced in the upper right hand corner of her vision, Noticing Tobias' status bars next to her own. His mana had hardly dipped in spite of his casting.

That's when she became aware of a bracket between her mana bar and his own in her overlay.

"He's got access to my mana, too!" She exclaimed, her paws wrapped around the wire of the cage, torn between excitement and concern.

Slowly, a being of living shadow emerged out of the next cage and stopped as the leech struggled within Tobias' flame wall. It twitched and jerked desperately, searching for a path out.

Riley felt a tug, and the white corona appeared again, wreathing Tobias' power, adding its color to the flame wall, halting all forward motion as seconds ticked by like years.

But why wasn't the other monster attacking?

Following the black line from the hawk, it seemed to be wrapping around a being of coalescent smoke. It meandered strangely upon the battlefield, vaguely in the motion of Chadrick, who stood dramatically, as the purple oily magic appeared around his hand. He squeezed his fingers in, rolling his palm forward towards the enemy.

A bolt of purple hued ice surged across and impacted the being.

It screeched in pain and terror while the ice traced fractal crystal patterns across its body of coalescent shadow before evaporating in a black mist.

A strange standstill fell upon the arena.

Riley cast Analyze.

Panterzoon Shadow Fiend, Chaotic

Sonic, poison, magically vampiric

Weaknesses: Ice, Holy

Buffs: None

Debuffs: Infernal puppeteer, Bewildered, Confusion

"Pants not included."

Bolt after bolt of ice flew, slamming into the panterzoon as it cowered in a heap near its cage.

The crowd began to boo, deprived of the violence they craved.

With a terrifying scream, the leech launched itself through Tobias's flame wall. Its flesh blackened and burned; thick ropes of oily smoke erupted off it as it whined and thrashed in agony.

Wounded, it angled its mouth towards Tobias, a few of its teeth making up the outer edges folded out and launched towards him. He dove, flattening himself against the ground, but not before one caught him in the cheek, ripping it open from jaw to temple.

"Argggh!" He cried, instinctively slapping his hand over the wound. The blood poured over his hand like water, soaking the collar of his robes.

Tobias pulled at Riley's power as he writhed and fought to shut out the pain.

Healing Halo…

Riley felt her power dip as fifteen percent of her mana bar vanished in an instant.

The magic erupted from her cage like a wave, washing over Tobias; the bleeding stopped as the curious sound of flesh knitting together reached her sensitive ears, leaving him with a new and prominent scar.

Chadrick, in supposed noble action, turned his attention towards the leech and fired a few ice bolts. They impacted, drawing its focus before it locked back in on Tobias, stalking forward.

"It's the god damned hawk! It's tilting this fight!" Riley projected towards Tobias.

"Hawk or not, I'm doing my best here!" Tobias' voice echoed within her mind, full of panic and fear driving her own.

"It will not be long now," Mavora growled, turning her attention towards the leech. Riley saw the shockwave of healing magic slam into the leech. Its body reformed as Tobias threw a fire bolt at close range, tearing a new hole that quickly healed.

"Oh dear," Tobias dropped his cast and began to move back diagonally from the monster. An ethereal calm descended upon him, casting fire bolt after fire bolt.

Holes appeared, only to close moments later.

Riley's eyes narrowed as she noticed the hawk, wreathed in an aura of shadowy power. The black lines to the monsters pulsed, connecting them back to her.

"That line of power. It's like a power cable," The anger bubbled within her like a volcano.

She pulled at her magic in a building rage, visualizing her connection to Tobias, pushing the power towards him, through him, targeting the monster.

Righteous Flame.

A massive surge erupted from the hare. Her power dipped precipitously, costing another twenty percent of her mana bar.

Tobias, animated by the surge, threw a bolt of flame with a tiny orange dot at the center of a blazing white inferno. It sailed across the battleground, impacting into the leech, and then enveloped it like it was coated in pitch.

His hands glowed with power as he drew both together and then pushed out towards the leech, sending a line of flame seemingly connecting himself and the monster as their mana bars lost another ten percent.

It howled in agony as Tobias bathed it in white hot death, incinerating it to ash, the impact pushing a type of magical feedback through the black line of power.

The hawk's eyes went wide just as it hit her. Mavora slammed back into her cage before falling limp, unconscious.

The black wisp of power from Mavora vanished before her eyes.

Critical Attack, Combo- Flame Wall, Fire Bolt

Asanago Annihilated

Riley saw the words blink in her overlay just under their status bar.

"Booyah!" Riley leapt in joy, ignoring the feeling of her back impacting the top of the cage.

The Panterzoon coalesced into a shadowy, wolf-like figure now freed from its confusion.

Chadrick looked back toward Mavora's cage and turned pale. The panterzoon charged, emitting a deafening sonic wail that forced Chadrick to freeze.

Tobias fell into a run, knocking him out of the path of the charging monster. Riley pulled at her power and pushed through Tobias yet again; he raised his hand, acting in concert with her cast.

"Righteous Flame!" She cried.

Tobias cast a flame wall, drawing his fingers closed, crushing the monster within it.

It howled in agony, charging through the flames; bits of it flashed into ash, slowing its motion to a limp. Some in the crowd began to leap from their seats, the noise crescendoing to a deafening roar.

Tobias sent another white wreathed bolt of orange flame towards the charging beast, protecting Chadrick, his greatest enemy, from certain death.

It sailed through the creature, burning much of the monster away. Gaps in its shadow body allowed the light of day to pierce through it. It howled, now staggering on its inky paws, then firmed, leaping over Tobias, landing between him and Chadrick.

He fell back on the ground, casting ice bolts, but it stalked forward. Its maw opening wide, Riley saw a prismatic light begin to flow from the fallen sorcerer as the being fed on his power.

Slowly, the holes were closing as they healed, and Chadrick went pale, curling into a fetal position.

"Help," He mewed weakly.

Tobias drew back, getting some distance, pulling with everything he had left.

A white burst of flame, this time highlighted by an orange corona, flew, impacting the monster from behind. It exploded into a mist, coating Chadrick in a s strange viscous slime.

Righteous Flame, Critical attack

Panterzoon Annihilated.

Tobias dropped to his knees as the crowd went wild.