"So cool," I heard Romeo say in awe. The words were soft and short with a brief pause between them.
Turning my head, I noticed Mia stuck in silence. Her lips were pressed together with a soft hold contrary to her intensive gaze at the arena floor.
Magic is so amazing, I thought. The side of my head throbbed momentarily at the thought. Wincing and placing my hand over my head, I continued to watch as the next match began.
"And with an astonishing spell by Izain, the match will conclude with his victory!" Aaref announced. "Next up, we have Jerith Fundo, an A-class adventurer from the Fallen Moon guild, versus an opponent from the Rising Sun Kingdom: Laquinn Evergreen!"
Rising Sun Kingdom? I thought. My hand, laying perfectly under my chin with the grip of two fingers, began to twitch. It sounded familiar but I couldn't recall where I had heard it from before.
The two fighters walked onto the stage. Jerith had long blonde hair that dropped past his eyes. His dull, emerald green eyes remained fixated on his opponent.
"Rising Sun Kingdom?" Jerith repeated. "Interesting..."
Laquinn Evergreen stood tall, nearly half a foot shorter than her opponent, with a smile that laid gently across her face. Despite the obvious difference in physical abilities, she remained calm and poised.
"Let the match begin!" Aaref announced.
Taking a direct approach, Jerith lunged at the woman. Having missed, he stopped in his tracks and swung his arm across in a slicing motion. A slash of light followed his opponent in the midst of her evasion.
Reacting immediately, she threw her arms up. A small wall of earth shot upward from the stage. Absorbing the brunt of Jerith's attack, the wall crumbled. Dropping to dodge the rest of the attack, Laquinn planted herself to the floor and spun around with powerful kicks.
Multiple walls of earth sprouted from the ground. Forming a dorm around her, they locked in place until each individual wall began moving one at a time towards her opponent.
Successfully blocking the attacks, Jerith split the walls with rays of light. As the last wall barreled toward him, he launched a ball of light into it. Fragments of the wall fell through the air as the rest of it was obliterated.
Quickly, before the fragments could fall to the ground, they merged together and formed a single shard that launched forward and pierced through the shoulder of Jerith.
"You damn bitch!" Jerith muttered through clenched teeth. "Clever, I must admit," he said as he dropped his head and pulled the shard out of his shoulder.
"I thought light magic was supposed to be powerful," Laquinn snickered. Her lips were pressed into a slight smile that mocked her opponent and perfectly expressed her pride. "Oh well... guess that goes to show that not all magic is what it's made out to be," she sighed.
With a blood vessel nearly busting out of his forehead and his teeth snarling into each other, Jerith stood up. He stood tall and prideful. The sun aligned with him; its beams casted light behind him.
"Trust me, sweetheart," he said. "I don't advise you to make a mistake like this again." He smirked before levitating into the air. A mass of light surrounded him until he clapped his hands and extended one of his arms downward.
"Light Magic: Strike of Helios!"
An immense bolt of light pierced through the air. Surrounding herself with a barrier of earth, Laquinn tried to block the attack. The bolt of light pierced through both ends of the barrier. Exploding upon contact, it destroyed the rest of the barrier and sent Laquinn flying.
Falling between the massive bursts of wind created by the attack, she opened her murky eyes and caught herself as she landed back on the stage. Hands first, her body scraped against the stage before tumbling across it and standing up. Instantly, she planted her foot into the stage.
"Trust me," she said with a cocky smile. "I've seen better."
Her eyes transitioned into a bright amber color. The stage began to shake and more gusts of wind began to blow.
"Usually, I don't do this because it drains my mana more compared to regular attacks, but for you, I'll bestow the honor of witnessing a glimpse of my true power," she said.
"Gravitational Pull!"
The sudden winds dissipated as the atmosphere around the arena suddenly intensified with force. It was extremely heavier than normal and taxing to everyone nearby. Spectators seemed glued to their seats with the inability to confront it. Jerith had fallen to the middle of the stage and sunk deeper into the despairing pit that was created as a result of the stage floors being crushed by the overwhelming force.
"Spine of the Great Earth!"
Thin shards of earth sprouted from the ground and impaled Jerith in a line falling down the center of his torso.
"A biattributal mage..." Jerith spat out. He slurred his words trying to breathe. Blood trickled from his mouth down his chin and onto the stage.
"It appears Jerith Fundo has fallen at the might of Laquinn Evergreen. Despite an overwhelming attack earlier, Laquinn is the victor of this match," Aaref announced. "And of course, it is a pleasure having members of the Rising Sun Kingdom participating—as well as the members from other kingdoms. We hope you enjoy your time in the Star Kingdom."
"Biattributal mage?" I repeated to myself. Does that mean mages can use more than just one magical attribute? I rubbed my chin and pondered on the questions arising within me. After all, that one dude from the first round looked like he was capable of using more than just one attribute at a time... but why would it be surprising if another mage can do it? Does that make it rare?
My thoughts were interrupted as I lifted my head and glanced toward my right. Startled, I noticed a cloaked man standing on top of the arena walls. His eyes met mine and a dark terror flooded me. His lips moved, and I read them with no distinct voice to follow but an unsettling feeling to accompany me.
"Ares Pridelyn," he began, "the only thing that awaits you in this world is death." Having spoken these words, he disappeared as if he had never existed.