The game wore on, and Lompak found himself increasingly pushed to the wall. Ella's pieces stormed like a tsunami, her rooks and queen inextricably knitting a net around his king. His resistance was nice, earning high remarks on his moves and perseverance, but the first cracks began to appear.
"Check," Ella said, the queen sliding to h5, her tone matter-of-fact yet with an unmistakable hint of triumph.
Lompak moved his king to f8, narrowly escaping immediate disaster. His mana flared erratically as he tried to hold his crumbling position together.
Ella was relentless. She moved one of her pawns forward to g6, putting pressure on him. "Checkmate is unavoidable, Lompak," she said, her voice was not kind, and moreover firm too.
Lompak was grinding his teeth. He pushed his rook to e8, trying a last desperate counterattack. For a moment, the audience felt he could still claw his way back.
