Walking amongst the people, Rhine got a lot of a lot of greetings from every direction. Being used to the respect, she didn't have to reply to every call. At times she will do a slight nod to acknowledge someone important, for others, not even that was necessary.
Traveling away from the core of the capital city, she found herself standing at one of the many entrances of the Greenville Academy. "That witch.. she got me good." With a heavy sigh, she stepped inside.
To think she went out of her way to get approval for a nameless kid from the church filled her with angst. While her stature in the organization was such that there were very few people who could even question her decisions, nonetheless, it was still a hassle.
'Since I have already chosen to burden his enrollment, maybe I should get a look at the kid.' Most of Rhine's reservation came not from the boy himself, rather from Madelyn.
Being a central powerhouse, she just wasn't used to people dictating terms to her. Recalling the shrewd principal, the Saintess balled her fists. While there were a few academies she could have gotten her disciples into, none of them had such rich history and knowledge base associated with them.
Which master doesn't want the best for her pupils? She was the same. *Sigh* 'What's done is done. Let's just hope we can reap some benefit out of this.' In her hand she carried three papers with a seal of approval from the church, one for each new student enrolled out of semester timings.
Walking through the empty lawns, suddenly Rhine felt her senses receive a shock. There was dense coagulation of divinity mana somewhere close by.
"This... Christina?" A smile bloomed on her face. How can she not recognize it? She was the one who practically babysit those two twins. Just as fast, her smile actually faded in a matter of seconds.
"This idiot..!!" Her body immediately levitated and crossed the large fields like a bolt through the skies. This spell.. it wasn't something Christina has learned yet. She is obviously pushing the boundaries.
***
Inside the Radiance Arena, if there had been someone who had resisted sneaking into the third terminal up until now, they surely could not continue to do so. "Hey.. you think fourth-years are fighting it out?"
"No idea. Let's go check it out..!" Everyone from students to instructors alike had finally collected around the stage in the third terminal. All around, the eyes of the audience were glimmering with the reflection of a girl in shining white armor.
"Man.. I thought we were friends..!" Aron wiped the blood off his lips, a prevalent grin on his face. Even with the injury to his arms, he was back on his feet.
*DUM* *DUM* *DUM* His heartbeats can now be heard by every boy, girl, or instructor alike. Red fumes were expelled from the pores of his body and the canines in his mouth protruded.
Opposite to him, Christina was now wrapped up in a knight attire created entirely out of light magic. Light magic was a rare subset of Divine magic, holding extreme potential, especially against anyone with Dark attributed strengths.
If Aron's previous necromancy spells were being weakened under the influence of Divine magic, then right now they were completely useless for all intents and purposes.
"We are friends indeed. But we will be even better friends once I beat you." Christina reflected a cheeky smile, now playing the same game of aggravation that Aron was playing with her.
"Chehe.. Overconfident are we?" Aron was feeling a strange itch all over his body. Like something inside of him was trying to surface. It was like this from the very beginning of his fight against Christina, but after she revealed this form.. his itch has grown exponentially.
Time after time he was reminded of a single scenery.. that is.. his time in that secret chamber of the Central Library with Darlene. There was something his brain was constantly trying to decipher involuntarily.
At this point red fumes had almost created a cloud around him, causing the hearts of the watchers to palpitate. "How rare..! A blood magic attribute? Can it grow any more interesting?" Tina almost wanted to join in on the fun but suppressed her urges somehow.
"Indeed. It's affecting me even at this distance." Chris added, both of them communicated without looking at each other. Because no one wanted to skip a single second of the action on the stage. "Timer is on, sis.. what are you waiting for? End it..!!"
As if responding to his call, the white figure turned into a blur. "Ahahahah.. let's go..!!" Aron laughed, losing himself completely. *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* The tiles on the stage were turned to dust with every clash between the boy and the girl.
Aron's hands took on every strike from Christina's light sword without as much as faltering. The force behind every swing of his arm perfectly countered her blows. And yet, Christina was actually faster and more nimble than him, all thanks to the manifested wings on her back.
Sure they didn't allow her to soar, but they were perfect in lending her just enough strength to outmaneuver the boy. *Clang* *Clang* Both of them seem to be on an equal footing. It felt like the one who is able to last longer, was going to be the winner.
*BANG* Every blast of air from the stage was generating shockwaves, throwing back many students who had gotten too close to the stage. Even so, there was no sign of them stopping anytime soon.
"Hohoho.. didn't expect you to take so much interest in juniors' fights.. Saintess Rhine." Up in the sky, two individuals met. Both seem to have appeared over the Radiance Arena at the same time.
"Obviously, I will be interested. It's my disciple we are talking about." Rhine's mood immediately improved, so much so that even Madelyn's smug face could not dampen her joy.
For how long had Christina known of this spell? Probably months and this was the first time she had seen her use it for over a minute. How can she not be reeling in a pleasant surprise?
"Talking about you.. Ms. Principal. I can ask the same to you, don't you seem to have a lot of free time on your hands these days?" Rhine got back at Madelyn, to which the lady just chuckled.
"What do you mean free time? Observing my young lads grow is as much of a duty to me." Both women glared at each other for a second, but considering they were more interested in the duel below them than their banter, their tussle didn't last long.
"Haaaaaahhh!!" Christina cried out. *BANG* Aron's body was tossed back, thrown across all the way. Still, the tenacious boy stopped himself from crossing the boundary line.
"Give up.. or you will get hurt." Christina can tell she has won this bout. Aron was simply no match against this form. Sure he got a sturdy body that can definitely take a lot of hits, but that's all he could do, stand and soak in damage.
Thanks to her superior speed and reaction time, he had barely hit her a few times, even those attacks had not put a scratch on her armor.
"That was close.." Completely ignoring the girl, Aron looked back and exclaimed at his profile proximity to the boundary.
Christina's face fell. She was running out of time. If Aron didn't admit defeat, she would have to do something drastic if she had to win. "You really want to continue?"
"For sure, Miss Christina.." The bloody fog around Aron has reduced quite a bit, revealing his otherworldly smile. His mind has become clear by quite a lot. Now he can see what his brain was trying to focus on all this while. Standing in place he brought his hands together and closed his eyes.
"Idiot!!" Ben almost leaped over the rails to slap some sense into the arrogant boy. Was he trying to mock his opponent midway through the fight? Sure both of them had proven to be off his league, still he reserved the right to protest at the level of this stupidity.
"What exactly is his plan?" Compared to him, Chris was more composed but surprised nonetheless. "My.. my.. is it inspiration?" Tina explained, unsure of this strange turn of events.
"Your kid got guts.. playing games like that." Hovering over the heads of everyone else, Rhine scoffed. "My kid? Hehe.. looking at you, he is probably your kid from now." Madelyn retorted, pointing at the pages still grasped within the Saintess's hands.
"You wish.." Rhine shook her head. "I might have taken the responsibility for him, but remember this.. we can't help with his status. Church can't decide on matters like that." She made it clear at the very start, such that there were no undue expectations from her moving forward.
"You guys are real thrifty, aren't you?" Madelyn said to no one in particular. "What did you say?" "Nothing.. nothing.. look.. she is going to charge.." Rhine can only huff in anger and return her gaze back to the stage. One look at her disciple and the Saintess felt all her negative emotions vanquish in the purifying light.
Time had slowed down for Aron by a factor of a hundred. His mind can finally rest in peace. His body was in a kind of induced limbo. Yet, compared to the tranquility outside, the insides of his mana channels were just as chaotic.
Within a millisecond, Aron had tried multiple combinations of channeling his mana in a specific manner. His plan being to replicate the technique which Darlene shared with him.
Aron was unaware, but what he was doing was not only unheard of but also extremely dangerous. Most high-level spells will need the mana inside the body to channel in a very precise way.
Students in the academy could learn these spells by replicating these channeling methods.
It was taboo for young mages to try channeling mana without a given layout. Getting the techniques wrong will have certainly have adverse effects on one's body, oftentimes temporary but in severe cases even losing half your cultivation base is not out of the realms of possibility.
Since he had not received any formal mana-related knowledge yet, Aron remained oblivious to the fact. He just felt like he could replicate the flow and began trying to do it on the spot. While in truth, what he was trying to achieve was not too different than veteran mages synthesizing spells.
Outside, only a minute had passed and Christina could not waste any more time. Even if Aron was in a vulnerable state, she had to put an end to this fight. Who knows the boy might as well be tricking her into buying time for himself?
"Divine Magic: Valkyrie Manifestation!!" She further enhanced her magic spell, ready for the endgame. *Swoosh* The lady instructor stood in her place with a frown. She remained undecided whether to stop this duel altogether.
Then again, for all, they knew this might very well be a trick to waste as much of Christina's time as possible. *Woosh* She can feel her skin crawl at the sheer abundance of mana being released by the girl as she flew past her.
All that mana, she was only utilizing for locomotion. It was borderline crazy. If even the instructor can tell the intensity of this attack, Aron who was at the center of all this, could definitely not be unaware.
'Come on boy.. Admit defeat if you have to.' The instructor moved in. She was right behind Christina, intent on stopping her blow right before she could injure the boy.
Nonetheless, her actions seemed unnecessary, for the boy in question had woken up from his stupor. "Wow.. this.. feels amazing.." A thick dark mass coagulated around Aron. It was mana. Mana so dark that it gave the impression of looking down into a bottomless pit.
Christina saw this change as well. As expected, Aron was not immobilized. He had just chosen to not move. She raised her arm, the sword of light now pointing straight at his chest.
*BOOOM* Christina was like an arrow that blasted through the thick black cloud on the stage. The emerging explosion made everyone's eardrums buzz. Everyone was eager to know what happened however no one can see the result of the battle.
< Kudos!!>>