.
Lining up my feet, I applied all my weight and force into my heels and feet. Bursting through the wind with my speed alone, this side of the arena was quite open. The space in front of the castles were occupied with tress and foliage, along with sparse amounts that line of random circles in the arena. In one large circle 2/3rds of the arena's diameter, there was a basic clearing surrounded by trees in a somewhat circular shape. It was closer to an oval, however it was quite hard to tell from my location.
Soaring through the sky on momentum alone, my eyes scanned through the grounds for any hidden enemies. In a couple seconds not long after, 2 individuals could be observed zooming past on the ground. Their running speeds gave them a similar effect to marbles as their 2 tiny silhouettes brushed past the trees akin to sliding in the ground. It was also my responsibility to stop the 2 marbles in the way.
Estimating the appropriate location, I point my palm at the exact opposite location.
[Demonic energy]! The space in directly in front burst into flames as smoke consumed the air like a tsunami. Naturally the sound of this explosion was enough to shock the whole stadium. Spinning around, orbs of [demonic energy] orbited my torso and narrowed my aim. Using a small orb as a sight, I struck as near as possible to the 2 enemy students. Caving in from my landing, the surrounding land explodes upwards into the sky.
Activating [Shadow step-tier 3], anti-gravity stuck my feet more firmly into the ground as I jumped from rock fragment to rock fragment in mid-air. Gathering momentum, the temperature of the air started increasing. Smoke waft and expanded from my feet as oxygen combusted into fire and grew larger.
Upon noticing Lilith, the warrior and support mage pair brought their guard up. Standing in front, the warrior held up his small shield, chosen for its size and mobility. The support mage casted a few party buffs, indicating that he would also join into the fight. Though it was useless as I was too fast for their vision to keep up.
Forming twin blades of [demonic energy], I charged forward, sending more of the ground into the air as I did another abrupt landing. Balancing my footing became unnecessary when I acquired anti-gravity. Two seething blades, akin to the simple straight sword shape, were covered in black mist that move around as if sentient. As my distance had been reduced, getting nearer by high kicking the enemy became easier. With the shortened distance, I didn't need to aim for my kick and unleash destructive force from momentum.
Slicing through the warrior horizontally with the [demonic energy] sword in my left hand, I secured right foot in a pivot and spun my body while sliding my left foot to a comfortable position--before taking a leap at the support mage. Sending my stamina into my lower half, I burst forward once again with a feeling of weightlessness. Spinning in the air, I sent a final grand slash. It was more of a flashy move than a powerful move, it was showy acrobatics and my spinning didn't actually add any momentum.
"[Minor barrier-tier 2]!"(Support mage)
Timing it right on time, a transparent layer of mana materialised right on the slash, before breaking with a crisp glass chipping sound. Having timed the materialisation at the pinpoint moment in time, it affected the trajectory of the slash and made it easier to dodge. Ducking to the left and rolling a little from the shock wave, the support mage stood back up. However fate can only be so fair. With a few flashes of different coloured light, the mage casted multiple buffs on himself. Now that the warrior was gone, he only had himself to rely on.
Running in with his emergency dagger, an explosive impact struck inbetween his abs and lungs.
" Unlike the warrior with vision enhancing skills, you were already dead when you can't observe my attacks."
Another glow consumed his body, this time it was a mix of green and white. Sending him outside the arena, before treating his injuries and safeguarding his life. My fist had blown through his defences and his flesh, leaving a large stain of crimson red on my clothes. I had a comfortable lime hood on and some translucent grey tights to go with my black pleated skirt. My jet black hair was swaying in the form of a ponytail, affected by the momentum of my heavily taxing movements. Though as part of my body, it naturally gains resistance with Vitality stats and would not fly out from velocity.
Wind rushed through the grounds, blowing up sand into the air. A billowing aura emanates from the castle entrance. A guard was exuding his presence, as if trying to steal my attention. I alerted my teammates to be careful as there may be a suicide rush from the enemy team. Now that their only front-liners and vanguards have been vanquished, they don't have much choice.
Arriving at the front of the castle, Ivar looked over as we exchange nods. Procedure 3,Ivar does the distracting while I reach for their flag. It could be anything in the castle, the only limitation was for it to be in plain sight.
Rushing in, his battle begun, one of attrition as each party searches for the other's flag. The final member was ill prepared to infiltrate our castle, detected by the archer and sent out of the barrier by the elemental nobles, there was but a single step left for victory. Sakase stayed behind with Fuya to guard the castle, Hisa rushing to the other side as reinforcement. The remaining gate guard was quickly dealt with when I jumped over to the roof to reach inside, and struck him from the back.
The rather barren inside of the castle had minimal furniture, it really wasn't hard to spot if anything became amiss. That made it that much more shocking, when we couldn't find anything. For an odd reason, the barrier didn't open up with the last opponent's defeat. That could only signify that one person was still qualified and around.
"It was most likely the gate guard, he seemed too relaxed during our fight. It was probably a skill. The "flag" might just be on him, so we should prioritise finding and defeating him. "(Ivar)
" Have you picked anything up on your radar? "
" No... He must also be a scout, or maybe an assassin like you. Hisa is almost here, with her help we could secure a win if a surprise attack were to come. "(Ivar)
"No need to bother. *clicks* I've already surrounded the area with [demonic energy] threads. Escape is simply not an option. In order for him to escape, he must have used an illusion in the middle of your battle. Of course, he could be outside the castle, in which case there are multiple large barriers formed to prevent it. "
" Then what's our next plan of action? We've only prepared procedures for things up until the castle gate. We did not anticipate someone escaping or hiding. "(Ivar)
" Simple.