This has really made a turn for the worst... honestly, I sorta wish we would have lost before... yet, we didn't, and now we're in the finals.
Yes, Quenilla here... I'm currently fighting, once again. This time, against someone even stronger than before, someone I'm sure I won't be able to defeat.
Well, I'm not fighting alone this time, this time with a beastman girl named Ai... which I really wish I wasn't.
No, no, hold on! I'm not discriminating against beastmen or anything, I have nothing against them! It's just that she... kinda scares me. I don't know why, but kids that never smile really freak me out, couple that with the fact she barely speaks and is constantly glaring at everybody, she's seriously frightening.
Well, she does seem quite talented... in magic and just fighting in general, I mean. Despite being so young, she might be better at magic than me...
"A beastman? Huh... I don't think I've fought a beastman before." Our opponent spoke, looking at Ai without making a move, "well, let's just get this over with. I'm honestly in somewhat of a bad mood at the moment."
She did seem somewhat annoyed, actually. She was frowning, a constant grimace on her face. Despite that... she was sort of pretty. Long, straight black hair, not going too far down. Neat bangs of which weren't too long, and deep black eyes, coupled with long eyelashes. Her clothes were mostly leather, seemingly not so hard. Seemingly, underneath was thin chainmail. She wore a skirt, too. Apparently, she wasn't too worried about defence... that seems to be something that happens a lot, with mages. But, that's just a weakness.
She must have a lot of confidence in her abilities, that of which, too, mages seem to have way too much of. That's another weakness...
Huh...? That statement of hers seemed to make Ai really angry for some reason. That's... concerning.
"Enhancement Magic: Full Physical Augmentation." She said, her whole aura stuff becoming way more intense... she used a surprisingly lot of mana for that spell, how much stronger did that one spell make her?
Before I knew it, she had already reached Akane, which is apparently the name of our opponent. I heard it when we were back in the waiting room, they were all talking with each other, and I sorta overheard some things.
Akane instinctually took a step back in shock of her speed, ready to cast a spell. "Wind Magic: Wind Burst!"
The spell seemed to shoot out a wall of wind, meant to keep people away from her. However... Ai somehow predicted the exact path the wind would take, dodging out of the way of the spell just in time. Once she did, she managed to step to the side of Akane, going for a simple attack with her nails...
Akane managed to dodge it, just barely.
I was right... these two are seriously on a different level from me. I might have beaten that magic knight, but that was just pure luck. If my skill had failed or I had lost control of the spell, things could have gone really bad. Honestly, that was just irresponsible of me...
Oh, right! I should probably be helping Ai with the whole fight thing... right.
"Water Magic: Water Ball..." I cast a spell, with a noticeably less amount of mana put into it. Considering I was already not fully recovered when it comes to mana at the beginning, and then I created all that water to separate everybody, I'm sort of low on mana right now... not too low, though.
At that moment, Akane herself cast a spell I've seen her use in a previous match. "Wind Magic: Repelling Wind Barrier."
Just in the nick of time, she completed the chant, the wind around her repelling everything away, including Ai and my spell.
Oh... that's a bit inconvenient, isn't it? If my spell hit, it could have dazed her long enough so that Ai could get a hit in, maybe even leading into a quick victory. Of course, things aren't that simple...
Despite the situation, Ai looked directly at me, staring in apparent annoyance.
"I don't need your help." She frowned at me, narrowing her eyes.
Of course, she would act this way... she seems to be the sort of person that wants to do everything themself, maybe just wanting to prove themself to others... not like it matters, it's just a bit irritating, you know?
I couldn't help but let out a slight groan, "We need to work together if we're going to win! Ashin gave us a plan to use and everything!"
I doubt she would listen to anything I had to say either way, but it was worth a shot? Apparently not.
"Tsk..." She clicked her tongue at me, "I said I could do it myself." Saying that she looked away from me.
Seriously? Why did Ashin have to pair me up with her? I honestly would have rathered anything else... Sure, it makes sense logically, but we really won't work well together when it comes to teamwork.
Uh oh, I was a bit distracted, but Akane sent out another spell at Ai, this time a few spinning arrows made of the air. However, Ai dodged them with impressive skills, looking as if she was barely even breaking a sweat.
She moved closer to her, Akane stepping back. She seemed to be the type that liked to keep her distance and send out ranged attacks from afar... not a terrible strategy but shouldn't a person at least be able to fight decently well at close range too?
Okay... even if Ai doesn't want me to help her, I can't just not! I want to win this... for Ashin's sake, really... I mean, for entirely platonic reasons, he's my childhood friend! And, still, he really wants to win, for whatever reason...
So, I'll do it, I'll beat Akane and win!
-Side Chapter, end.-