A bone chilling chorus of howls filled the air like a dreadful song as the wolves resumed their hunt.

Judging by the hunting song there were more than twice as many wolves as there were in the first wave. Fey was still giving me a dumb look like he couldn’t understand the logic behind my gambit but I didn’t care. I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him with me.

Fey followed behind me as I weaved through trees looking for a place to hide. I needed something like a cave, or even a large hollow log would work

Seeing what looked like the entrance of a large tunnel, I flung my fireball into the deep darkness. .

Fey and I went the opposite direction, but we didn’t go far. We found a tree that was fairly easy to climb and hid in its branches. In the distance, I could still see the glow of my fireball coming from inside the tunnel. I waited silently to see if Mai and Gregor would take the bait.

Several minutes passed without any sign of them, but the wolves didn’t seem to be pursuing us either. The forest was quiet. It was almost silent actually. The sound of our breathing was all I could hear. My gut told me something was wrong. By now we should’ve seen something, or a wolf should’ve caught up to us.

“Ky, we should move,” Fey whispered.

I shook my head, a silhouette in the distance was beginning to come into view. It was Mai, she was approaching the tunnel, but the foreboding feeling I had was still there. “Where’s Gregor?” I mumbled.

Something shifted in the darkness behind Mai and Gregor stumbled into view. The two entered the tunnel where my fireball was waiting, but after a few moments the trap still hadn’t triggered. There was no explosion. They had clearly entered the tunnel so the fireball should’ve exploded but it didn’t. Fey put a hand on my shoulder. “Ky, what are you looking at? We need to move.”

“Mai and Gregor, they just—“

“Boo!” A disgusting face appeared only inches from mine.

I fell backward and tumbled out of the tree, thankful it was low to the ground. Gregor near Fey, only Gregor didn’t look like Gregor.

“Is this your integration?” I asked, repulsed by his appearance. He had eight eyes and a pair of chelicerae stuck out from his mouth. His limbs were inhuman, long narrow and pointed at the end. He had two extra pairs of limbs below his arms, and seemed to be walking on air.

With a bloody smile he asked, “do you like it?”

“Not even a little.”

Black blood dripped from his mouth as he said, “you will. My bite will give you the greatest euphoria you’ve ever felt.”

Fey slashed at Gregor, but missed. Gregor countered by breaking the branch Fey was standing on. Somehow my brother managed to land on his feet, but I wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle Gregor.

Then I noticed Mai. She was only a few feet from me, standing like a porcelain statue. Her eyes met mine with an icy coldness as if I was beneath her.

My chest became so tight that it felt as if all the air was being squeezed from my lungs. Only moments ago I had been confident and unafraid, but now my body and mind seemed to be revolting against me. I couldn’t take a single step, and casting spells wasn’t going to happen either.

“Ky, are you okay sis?” Fey asked, shaking me by the shoulders. “Ky!”

The crunch of dry brush and snapping twigs told me that someone was approaching, but I still couldn’t bring myself to move.

“Let’s make this quick. If you just stand there I promise it won’t hurt at all.” Spat Gregor from just a few feet away, I wasn’t sure in which direction. My head was pounding so hard I couldn’t tell if I was still standing or lying on the ground.

I heard a dull thud and felt Fey’s hand yank away from me. Then something quite sharp ran along my skin. It started from my clavicle and moved down between my breasts.

The grass crunched again and I heard Fey grunt, then another dull thud.

“Look I don’t mind playing along with your strategy, but you don’t have to be so vulgar,” Mai bemoaned. “Your personality is seriously repulsive.”

The sharp object pressed gently into my flesh.

“Shut up! If I’m not enjoying myself then what’s the point?” Gregor snapped before making a disturbing slurping noise.

“That’s so gross!” Mai shrieked. “Please tell me you’re not actually drinking her blood.”

“I told you, there’s no point if I can’t have fun.” Gregor snapped. “So what if I drink a little blood.”

Mai heaved while Gregor laughed with sick pleasure.

Fey growled then I felt something narrow fall on top of me then roll to my side.

Gregor hissed. “How dare you!”

“Ky! Watch out!” My brother's panicked scream caused my eyes to jolt open. Clarity returned to me, but it was almost too late. I rolled over on my side as one of Gergors long limbs stabbed into the ground where my head had been.

A line of blue cut the air above me and slashed through the long spider leg. Gregor hissed again, then his form shifted.

After the transformation he looked mostly human. He still had eight eyes on his face, and his arms were still long, narrow and pointed. He was smaller now, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was less of a threat.

Fey sprang towards Gregor. The blue blade in his hand glowing beautifully in the darkness. Gregor stood smiling and seemed entirely too relaxed. The only thing that could defend against the mana sword was another mana weapon, but Gregor didn’t activate his CAD.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

When the blade met Gregor’s arms it didn’t slice through them like I had expected it to. Instead it bounced away as if repelled by some invisible barrier.

As Gregor delivered a spinning kick to Fey’s stomach I realized that his CAD was activated, it was still dangling from his belt, but the glow of mana swirling around it was unmistakable.

Fey and Gregor exchanged a flurry of blows with neither able to claim the upper hand.

“I don’t like tricks, so I gave you time to recover,” Mai said.

I’d almost forgotten about her. She was still standing in the same place and had been quiet for a while now.

“I hope you don’t find this too heavy handed, but if you can’t overcome it then you’ll lose either way.”

As soon as she stopped speaking, the ground between us burst apart. A multitude of chains sprang up from beneath the surface and wiped around violently. They looked to be made entirely of ice, but were strong enough that they didn’t break when swinging through thick tree trunks.

Wood splintered and cracked as trees were leveled in a wide area around Mai. Some chains gathered around her, protecting her from flying debris, while I had to constantly duck dive and flip to avoid being struck by the debris or her raging chains.

Mai didn’t seem to be doing anything to control or manage the spell, making me think that she might’ve been using a rune.

To test my theory I launched several fireballs from different angles as I ran around her. Mai never moved or turned to look at me, even when I ran behind her. Still every fireball I launched in her direction was blocked by a chain of ice. Some of the chains were destroyed by the fire, but they’d almost instantly regenerate.

“Is that all you can do?” Mai asked, casually tilting her head to look back at me.

“Hardly,” I sneered. “Everyone knows fire beats ice!”

That’s what Sven told me anyway… after the last few minutes I wasn’t so sure. “Ignite.” I held a hand out in front me and summoned a ball of fire. “Flame of the—“

A painful hiss pierced my ears. The noise swelled and reverberated until I was sure my head would burst from the pain. My fireball died out and I fell to my knees.

The noise stopped and I slowly recovered, but by the time I was aware of my surroundings again I had already been wrapped in Icy chains.

I tried to melt the chains, but none of my magic would activate.

“Ignite!” I chanted over and over again. Even targeting my own hand when I grew desperate, but the spell still wouldn’t respond.

Mai wasn’t just an ordinary mage, she must’ve been using a rune or possibly even a spirit relic. Either way if what Sven said was true then there was no way I could win this battle. I bit my cheek in frustration, but didn’t give up.

I met her ice cold gaze for the second time and for just a moment I sensed a hint of guilt in her eyes. The moment was incredibly brief, then she reverted to an ice cold fortress. Whatever emotions she had were forced back and hidden behind her cruel unwavering glare. The ice chains she wielded like extra arms continuously formed and constricted around me until my whole body was wrapped in frozen chains. I was trapped in her glare, distant and cold, but I refused to look away; I refused to give up.

----------------------------------------

(Fayden’s point of view)

Kyla didn’t stand a chance against Mai. I had to help her, but first I had to deal with Gregor.

Gregor was much stronger in close combat than I expected. Usually mages focused heavily on training their magic and neglected physical training, but it seemed to be the opposite with Gregor. He hadn’t used any magic at all.

Still, the simple fact that he could use magic gave him an advantage. My mana sword was already reaching the end of its charge, but Gregor would likely be able to keep his CAD active for another hour or more without issue. Even if he couldn’t manage that, he’d still have his spirit integration and without my mana sword I’d be next to powerless against him.

Gregor also had some sort of psychological ability. Every time our eyes met his face would distort to resemble that of a spiral back spider. He was also incredibly fast, but his speed was nothing compared to Emilia and his spear hands were only sharp at the points. Because of this, I was easily able to avoid any attacks that might lead to elimination, but I was struggling to land any solid blows of my own.

“You’re injured, but you still fight this well?” Gregor snarled with sadistic enthusiasm. He parried my blade and twisted around to stab at my torso. I side stepped the stab and brought my blade down towards his nape, but he intercepted just in time to prevent elimination. “I wonder if you’ll taste better than your sister!” He said, slurping the air and leaning between our crossed weapons.

Reflexively I leapt backward, creating more distance than I intended to. Gregor had expected this and he didn’t miss the opening. He lunged towards me with both spear hands poised to strike at my vitals. At the last second I rotated towards a tree on my right and used my injured left arm to spin myself around it. The pain was excruciating, but I bit my lip and pressed forward regardless.

Gregor missed me and by a stroke of luck, he stabbed both arms elbow deep into a tree.

My mana sword wavered then flickered out. The mana crystal was spent and would need to be recharged.

Gregor continued to try and free himself from the tree, but his efforts were in vain. I stood behind him, withdrew a small knife from my belt, and placed it behind his neck. After a bit of struggling he lurched backward and right into the blade.

The look of utter disgust he gave me when his neck touched my blade made my victory all the more satisfying. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t able to savor the expression for very long because a bright light enveloped him and transported him out of the arena. Gregor was eliminated.

Only Mai was left, but Kyla couldn’t hold on much longer. She was almost completely covered in icy chains. Knowing what little I knew about magic, I knew that attempting to cut the chains would be useless without the mana sword. I needed to take Mai down, and I needed to do it fast.

The short pale skinned girl was totally focused on my sister. Her ice blue eyes locked in another deadly staring match with the defiant Kyla. She had a casual stance, but the chains danced wildly around her made it nearly impossible to approach.

I was fairly certain Mai had not paid any attention to me. She probably assumed that Gregor would finish me off easily and I doubted she noticed me as I crept around behind her. Still the wild chains would not only expose me if I got close, they’d begin to wrap around me as well and it’d be game over. However, if I could reach her faster than the chains could wrap me up then all I’d need to do is touch a vital point with my blade. That would eliminate her and end this match.

I met my sister's eyes hoping they’d give me courage, but her stubborn determination was gone. If I was going to do this, it had to be now. I crouched then launched myself towards Mai’s back.

Almost immediately I was struck by two chains. Then another chain whipped toward me and wrapped around my ankle. I refused to give up. I kept pushing forward with all my strength and managed to break free of the chain before it fully froze in place. It took all of my effort, but I finally reached a position I could strike from.

I started to raise my knife, but a chain twisted around my wrist in several tight coils. I didn’t have the strength or the time to try and break free so I dropped the into my left hand. The pain of moving my injured arm had only gotten worse. I couldn’t help but wince and cry as I stabbed Mai.

It didn’t feel right to attack from behind. This was the most shameful way to win.

Light shined all around Mai, but when it faded she was still there. Looking past her I saw that Kyla was gone. My knife was lodged in one of Mai’s chains. She had taken a step forward and turned around to face me.

Her face was sweet and innocent. Unlike everyone else she smiled at me and didn’t look at me like I was a wounded animal.

A chain struck me hard in the head then the second cannon roared to end the match.