Score: 7-1
"Papa! Don't worry! It only one point! You can do it!!" Gracie, seeing her Papa and Mama's confused expressions tried to cheer them up and of course, her cheers worked like charm and Ace smiled at her.
"It's our serve, since we were the ones who scored the point" Elizabeth extended her hands towards Ace with a smile, no, not the smuggy smirky one, but an actual genuine smile.
"Is it fine to use magic in a match?" Ace questioned as he threw the ball towards Elizabeth.
"Hmm? You were able to tell? That's great. I am pretty sure most of the viewers weren't able to. And of course, use of magic is allowed anywhere in this world" Elizabeth answered as she used wind magic to stop the ball in the air before grabbing it leisurely.
"Won't it turn the match into competition for a better mage rather than competition between two beach ball players? Then what's the point behind playing a game?" Ace questioned again.
"Well, you are right, but… isn't everything in this world like this? No matter where you go if you are a better mage, you will always be given more respect and power than any other person" Elizabeth replied proudly, acting as a patient teacher teaching a curious student.
"But using magic… won't that make it unfair?" This time, Maeve questioned and as soon as she did, Elizabeth's genuine smile turned into that smuggy smirk again.
"Everything in this worl-"
"For you, I mean. Won't this make the game too unfair for you?" Maeve questioned.
The smirk on Elizabeth's face faded as she glanced at Maeve.
"Don't worry, it won't" Elizabeth answered before passing the ball to Antony, signaling him to start the serve.
*Bam*
'It will make it unfair for me, huh? A country bumpkin like you have no clue who you are messing with!' Elizabeth snorted inwardly before waving her hand.
The wind moved according to her will as it blew towards the ball which was being received by Ace.
Elizabeth's plan was simple, to repeat what she just did and score another point, she was so confident it would work that she didn't even prepare an after plan.
But the problem was… how could wind go against someone who governs it? Someone who controls it with his mere thoughts? How could wind go against its master, a Typhoon Divinity?
Just as the wind passed through the net, it dispersed.
Gone, as if no spell was ever used. Ace then leisurely received the ball before hitting it high in the sky.
The result completely shocked Elizabeth, who was hoping that the ball would change its trajectory and fall on the ground, giving them another point. She didn't even know why her spell didn't work. She knew any other mage could easily counter her spell but she was sure that no other mage acted since she didn't feel any changes in the Air Qi in the surrounding.
While she was confused about what happened, Maeve jumped in the air before glancing at her.
[Air Barrier]
Knowing that she will shoot towards her, Elizabeth prepared to create a thick barrier in front of her to stop the ball.
Maeve's smirk widened even more as she felt the Air Qi in the surroundings moving weirdly.
Her blue eyes shined with a silvery glow and within a second, she entered an entirely different place where everything in the surrounding was white.
It was Elizabeth's Soul Area. Maeve smiled and planted a simple suggestion to 'Not to use any magic' before she returned back to the original world and hit the ball lightly in Elizabeth's direction.
Of course, nobody knew what she did except for Ace, not even Elizabeth knew what just happened to her.
*Bam*
The ball shot towards Elizabeth but suddenly, her facial expression changed as she noticed the barrier she created crumbled, due to her shock, Elizabeth wasn't able to react quick enough and the ball passed through her.
Score: 8-1
"…"
Elizabeth put on a confused expression as she couldn't understand what happened.
Her barrier failed, but the scary part was that she knew the reason why her barrier failed…
It was her…
At the last moment, she suddenly felt like not using any magic so she stopped it midway…
The weird thing was that she couldn't remember why she didn't want to use magic, and that's what's bothering her.
'Did her magic fail? But how is that possible?' Elizabeth wasn't the only one who was confused by the outcome. Antony, who knew how strong and talented she was, was equally surprised.
He knew her magic failed but he couldn't think of any reason for it. For someone who can use Silent Incantation, there was no way she will fail casting a spell she knew about.
'Was she just trying a new spell?' Antony predicted as he glanced towards Elizabeth.
After thinking about what happened for a while, Elizabeth finally gave up on thinking more and shook her head to clear her thoughts before she started to plan ahead.
'Hah! No point thinking about it, it must be my inner good self who pitied that poor girl and let her score a single point. I will most definitely not repeat it again!'
Thinking that, a smirk appeared on Elizabeth's face, and seeing that, the smirk on Maeve's face widened. Ace, on the other hand, smiled wryly as he glanced at Elizabeth with a pitiful look and sighed.
'Maeve's Soul Element is very dangerous. It confuses the opponent to the point where they try to find different reasons as to why they failed, and then they try again only to fail again and think of another reason.
According to the target, he knows the reason why he failed along with a solution to the problem. The solution they think of is generally easy to solve so the target gets certain that it will work out next time but,
It never will.
The cycle continues till the mage starts doubting the person he trusts the most, himself.
Self-Doubt, Helplessness, Insecurity, Uncertainty, Uneasiness, Hesitation… Fear…
The cycle continues till the target is engulfed by these negative feelings.
This breaks down the target to the mental level, not leaving any 'strength' and 'want' to continue.
That's how oppressive and dangerous Maeve, also known as The Dark Puppeteer is.
Going against someone like her… I can only pity you.'