While Lashia was chanting furiously, two people were watching peacefully from the depths of the woods. Worthy of her name, Lashia the Genius, the magical ripple was very strong. The two glanced at each other, raising their brows. They were sure to find out what had happened to man-crazy Claire now.
Claire watched coldly as Lashia, her face full of hatred, chanted quickly. She humphed and rushed up. Waiting for Lashia to finish her spell? Did she, Claire, look like an obedient rabbit waiting to be beaten?
Lashia's heart skipped a beat when she saw Claire rushing at her, but the spell was short and she was already finished. She waved her hand, and a bolt of lightning flew towards Claire. The lightning bolt was much stronger than the one before from when she had taught Claire a lesson. This time, Lashia was serious.
Just as the bolt of lightning was about to hit Claire, Claire mumbled something quickly. In that moment, a red shield appeared in front of her. With a bang, the Lightning struck the shield. The shield blinked, became transparent, then disappeared. Lashia was taken aback. It didn't hit Claire? What was that shield? Magic? The moron who always chased after men knew how to use magic?
"Fire shield!" In the woods, both Jean and Nancy exclaimed, quiet enough so that only they could hear. Then, they glanced at each other and saw disbelief in each other's eyes. Who would have thought that the useless male-crazy idiot learned magic in such a short time and knew how to use Fire shield?!
Claire was agile and fast, but Lashia wasn't called a genius for nothing. She recovered quickly. Watching Claire draw near, Lashia backed away swiftly and suddenly floated up into the air, staying there. Wind magic? Claire knitted her brow. No! That wasn't it! Lashia was Lightning attributed, and the floating technique of the wind attribute was very complex and advanced. Even if Lashia had outstanding talent, she still couldn't be so proficient in using magic that wasn't her attribute and without chanting a spell. The only possibility was that she had magic item with her, and a very valuable one at that. One that allowed her to use Float instantly.
Lashia looked at Claire below her, feeling astonished and scared at the same time. She had overlooked the idiot who could actually use magic! But even so, she couldn't let this embarrassment continue in the institute, because even just the presence of the man-chaser was a disgrace!
"The Breeze Bracelet," Jean and Nancy said quietly. The reason why Lashia was able to float up instantly wasn't because of the Wind magic, but because of the Breeze Bracelet on her wrist. The principal had given her the valuable item upon her becoming his disciple. Inside the Breeze Bracelet was a Floating spell loop, where upon infusing magic power in it, it could make you float in the air for a period of time. Although it was only for a brief moment, it was already very precious. In a battle, floating up suddenly could give you an opportunity to deal a fatal blow or escape.
Lashia started chanting without hesitation, "Clear sky without clouds, combination of the late and the fast! Comply with the age old contract between Lightning and Fire! – Thunder Storm!"
Claire frowned and immediately opened up the Fire shield. Boom! A Lightning ball exploded on Claire's shield and the shield shattered immediately. Claire hit the ground with a roll, dodging the other oncoming Lightning balls. Flashing Lightning balls exploded around Claire. Her hair and clothes were a mess, making her a sorry figure. In the air, Lashia frowned deeply, because not a single Lightning ball hit Claire!
Claire's expression slowly darkened, chanting as she dodged. A tiny fireball shot towards Lashia, who was still floating in midair. Lashia sneered. Did Claire really expect to hit her at her trashy level? Lashia dodged the fireball easily. But when she turned her head, she was surprised to find more little fireballs aimed at her, coming from all directions. Claire was continuously releasing fireballs to attack Lashia. Lashia became even more scornful. Did Claire think that numbers would matter when her level was so low? Lashia avoided all the fireballs agilely and easily. But the number of fireballs didn't decrease. In fact, there were even more of them. Lashia frowned. Since when did this idiot have so much magic power to release such dense waves of fireballs? Lashia didn't pay enough attention while she was deep in thought and a tiny fireball hit the edge of her dress, setting it aflame. Lashia looked at the burning dress and her face darkened completely. She was actually hit by that fool!!! What a disgrace!
"Go die, you moron! Halfwit! Vermin!" Lashia vented out all of her hatred of Claire now. She started chanting spells faster. This time, it wasn't just to teach Claire a lesson. Killing intent, Lashia's eyes now contained a killing intent.
The two people hiding deep in the forest gave a start. The magical undulations were so intense! Jean gripped the sword at his waist, seemingly about to take action.
"Wait! At least they are sisters. Lashia wouldn't kill Claire." Nancy whispered into Jean's ear while pulling him back. Jean hesitated, but let go of the sword and stayed. However, they didn't understand that Lashia, who was always honored as the genius young girl, who was used to being praised and thought of herself as one of a kind, when wounded by what she thought of as trash, had lost her mind.
This time Lashia produced Lightning arrows! A sky of terrifying arrows rained toward Claire's direction. Claire frowned, quickly chanted a spell and produced the Fire shield. Her gaze was ice cold. Lashia, in a fury, wanted to kill her!
The terrifying Lightning arrows bombarded Claire's Fire shield, immediately breaking it. The next moment, Claire felt a piercing pain, like her body was ripping itself apart. The aura of death lingered around Claire. Deep craters of varying sizes were on the ground from the Lightning arrows.
A viscous, warm fluid flowed down Claire's arm. Blood soaked through Claire's clothes. "Cough," Claire started hacking, her lungs feeling like they were burning. Her internal organs seemed to be very damaged.
Lashia finally calmed down a bit, and, looking at Claire's whole body covered in blood, actually said, "Now you know the consequences of not getting the hell out of school."
In the forest, Jean and Nancy were both shocked. They didn't think that Lashia would be so cruel.
Claire sneered, not saying a word.
"You still don't think this is enough?" Lashia, seeing Claire's sneer, once again exploded in fury.
"Oh, no!" Jean exclaimed in a low voice, about to draw his sword and rush to Claire's side. If Lashia attacked again, Claire might really die!
"Grandfather! Why are you here?" Suddenly, Claire asked in a surprised voice, lifting her head to stare at the space behind Lashia.
What? Grandfather? Lashia turned around, alarmed.
Both Jean and Nancy stared blankly. Where was Duke Gordan?
Claire had already sprinted towards Lashia, abruptly kicking the back of Lashia's knee forcefully. As a magician, Lashia was physically weak. A magician's greatest fear was close combat, because there would be no time at all to chant spells before they lost. Lashia plopped to the ground, kneeling. But it wasn't over! Claire yanked Lashia's hand and flipped her over, then slammed her knee onto Lashia's stomach. Lashia curled up in pain. She didn't even get time to cry out before a hard object knocked into her throat. Her throat felt a fiery pain as if it would split open. It was impossible for her to speak or chant spells and even harder to breathe.
I'm about to die! This was Lashia's only thought. Lashia fearfully opened her eyes, and only saw Claire's cruel eyes, like that of a death god. Claire's elbow was pressed deadly on Lashia's throat. She started to suffocate. If that elbow pressed down even harder, then the god of death would definitely descend. Lashia trembled in fear. At this moment, death's aura was so close, so close that it could almost make people break down. Although Lashia was a genius magician, since the principal cared very specially for her, she had little battle experience. Even while hunting magic Beasts for training, her seniors did most of the work. Finally this girl, whose world revolved around her, suffered for the first time.
The surrounding air seemed like it had frozen over. The wind lightly blew, lifting up Claire's blonde hair. A beauty that could take one's breath away pervaded the air.
Claire looked coldly at Lashia underneath her. If she pressed down her elbow more, the headstrong child would say goodbye to the world.
Jean and Nancy looked at each other, speechless. Claire's movements were so cold blooded, like that of an assassin! First she tricked Lashia into thinking that Duke Gordan had come, then, when Lashia was still startled, she accurately attacked Lashia's weak points. Was this something that the man-chasing idiot Miss could do?!
Claire stared coldly at the trembling Lashia beneath her whose eyes were full of fear. She suffocated her more and more.