Zack activated his silver space ring to retrieve the last remaining frost bomb. He had already used at least twenty bombs and other weapons against the blue moon tiger, but the creature's light magic was proving to be a formidable challenge.
The magic beast's body was covered in gashes and wounds, with blood seeping from its fur. Its left hind leg was bent at an unnatural angle, the result of a mine trap that Zack had set for it. Despite its injuries, the beast was regenerating slowly, its light magic working to heal its wounds.
In contrast, Zack's body was covered in claw and burn marks, and a deep cut ran across his chest. Blood loss was starting to make him dizzy, and he felt himself growing weaker as he pulled out his final bomb. His plan was to toss the bomb at the tiger's face and then call for help. Just as he was about to throw it, the tiger vanished into thin air.
Chuck had recalled his magic beast and merged with it, becoming one with the creature and gaining access to its light element. This was a powerful ability that wizards with contracted beasts could utilize, allowing them to merge with their beasts and use it's powers.
Chuck studied the tiger tattoo on his arm and smiled triumphantly. While the magic energy of his beast had been depleted by half, he was confident that it would still be enough to defeat his opponents. After all, he figured they must have been using up their magic energy at an alarming rate during the fight, and he expected them to be on the verge of magic exhaustion by now.
Chuck's focus turned to the shield that surrounded him. It was starting to show signs of weakening. He held his breath, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
"Why hasn't his shield shattered yet?" Oliver asked, his voice tinged with frustration. Their magic energy was almost depleted, and yet the wooden pyramid that protected their opponent remained largely intact. Robert's plan had been to force the enemy to cast a powerful defense spell, and then bombard it with attacks until it shattered, but that strategy was not working.
"Stop! Please, I'm feeling lightheaded," Robert said, sitting down heavily on a nearby bench. His legs were trembling, and he felt as though the world was spinning around him.
"Me too, I'm drained!" Oliver said, joining him on the bench. "You said this would work!" he snapped, the frustration evident in his voice.
"It worked before," Zack said as he walked over to where the others were sitting. The bleeding from the deep cut on his chest had stopped, but he still felt woozy and his entire body throbbed with pain.
"I guess the shield of a fifth-rank wizard is just too strong for us," Robert said, wiping the sweat from his brow. He and Oliver were panting heavily, their faces flushed and their bodies drenched with perspiration. Their magic energy was slowly regenerating, but it would take several hours for them to fully recover. They couldn't use their magic again without risking magical exhaustion, which could be fatal.
As soon as the boys stopped casting spells, the wooden pyramid vanished, leaving Chuck unshielded. He looked over at them and saw that they were sitting on a nearby bench, looking completely exhausted. Chuck laughed, a smug grin spreading across his face.
"You all thought you could defeat me, Chuck Hart, the most talented magic student in the entire world?" he said, a note of pride in his voice.
"That's the most laughable thing I've ever heard!" Zack shot back.
Chuck's face flushed with anger, and the tiger tattoo on his arm began to glow. A light spear materialized in his hand, its golden tip glistening in the sun.
"I'm guessing you guys must have expended a lot of your magic energy on that futile trick. My magic is nearly depleted too, but fortunately, I have a contracted beast that I can merge with and channel its power through. So which one of you would like to receive my light spear first?" he asked, his voice cold and menacing as he ran his fingers over the spear's sharp point.
"That's it, we either use the old men's powers or we're toast," Robert whispered to the other two.
"Wait, you two could get exposed!" Zack whispered against the idea.
"Then what do we do now?" Oliver asked calmly.
"We toss him a ball," Zack said, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. He pulled out the last bomb in his possession - the one he had been saving to use on the blue moon tiger before Chuck had merged with it.
"Oooh, I like where this is going," Robert said, turning to face Chuck with a matching grin.
"Hurry up and decide already," Chuck said impatiently, his voice buzzing with magical energy. "I can't hold onto this light spear much longer, you know."
"No worries, Chuckie!" Zack replied with a mischievous grin. "Catch!" he called, as he tossed the ball in Chuck's direction. It bounced off the ground, landing right by Chuck's feet.
"Hold on, hold on!" Chuck said, his face turning red with anger. "You don't think I'm just to play ball with you two, do you...?"
- KABOOM!!! -
Before he could finish, a deafening explosion cut him off. A massive shockwave burst out, knocking the boys back and sending a shower of rubble in all directions.
Chuck was caught off guard by the explosion, and to make matters worse, he was unprotected. The force of the blast propelled him into a nearby building, causing a massive hole to form where he crashed through. Although the building remained standing, it bore the impact of Chuck's collision.
"Did you... did you kill him?" Robert asked, his voice shaking with worry. If Chuck really was dead, the boys would be in serious trouble - not to mention the fact that they would have taken a human life.
"Let's check and see if he's still alive," Oliver said, his voice calm and composed. The three boys ran around the building, and there, lying in an overgrown garden, was Chuck. He was covered in bruises and blood, but to their surprise, he was still conscious. He was a wizard, after all, and his body and mind were stronger than those of ordinary people.
Zack tried to laugh, but Robert and Oliver gave him a look that made him stop short. Chuck was still conscious, but he couldn't move. Every inch of his body felt like it was on fire, and he cursed himself for not taking the fight seriously enough. If only he hadn't been so arrogant and dismissive of Zack, if only he hadn't let his guard down so much. How could he have been so foolish as to mistake a bomb for a ball?!
"Are you all right?" Robert asked, his voice laced with concern.
Chuck tried to speak, but all that came out was a garbled mess. He cursed his own stubborn pride, and the foolishness that had led him to this moment.
"I think what he's trying to say is 'I'm fine don't worry about me'," Zack said, giving a smile that Oliver and Robert did not return. Oliver knelt down beside Chuck and began to cast a light recovery spell over him, but they all froze as they heard footsteps in the dry leaves behind them.
"Put your hands up!" a clear, authoritative voice commanded. It sounded female, and strangely calm given the situation.
"Please," Robert started as they raised their hands, "it's not what you think!" He realized that the magic enforcers must have heard the noise of spells and bombs from the battle. If they thought they were attacking innocent people, they would have already started attacking.
"Turn around... slowly," the voice commanded again. The three boys turned around, bracing themselves for what they might see. There were two women and one man standing before them, dressed in the uniform of a magical enforcer.
"Ma'am, please, there's an explanation," Zack said, trying to keep his voice steady. "We heard the same sounds you heard, and came to investigate. We found him here on the ground, but there was no one around. My friend was trying to cast a light recovery spell when you all arrived." Robert and Oliver exchanged glances, both thinking, "Wow, he's a great liar." The two of them couldn't help but be impressed by Zack's quick thinking and smooth explanation.
"And if you wish, you can ask him," Robert chipped, gesturing towards Chuck who immediately fainted from anger after he heard the sentence.
"It seems they're telling the truth," the man whispered to the women. "I mean, there's no way these boys could beat him up that badly. Plus, you can see that the two of them are just second-rank common wizards, and the blonde one has no magic aura, while the one on the ground has the magic aura of a fifth-rank common wizard. There's no way two second-rank common wizards could ever take down a fifth-rank common wizard. It's just not possible."
"Fiona, escort these boys off the premises," the woman in charge ordered. "Felix, do a search for any magic beasts that might be nearby. I'll take this poor fella to the hospital." As their superior, she made the decision to drop the matter. Although she wasn't ready to make the kids admit it, she knew what had happened. It was just a common enough occurrence - young wizards getting into a brawl and nearly killing each other... typical.
Fiona walked up to the three kids and looked at them Indifferently, "Alright, move those little feet let's get you three out of here," She motioned for them to start moving which they did immediately. They walked for 3 minutes before they reached a relatively lively street.
"Okay, you guys can run along now," Fiona said, turning to leave. But Zack reached out and grabbed her arm. She gave him an annoyed look and asked, "What do you want?"
"Um, I just... um," Zack started, his cheeks turning bright red. "I just wanted to say... um... you're really pretty."
The woman's face remained expressionless as Zack fumbled with his phone.
"Can I get your number?" he asked, holding the phone out to her. She just stared at him for a few seconds, then finally reached out and took the phone. Zack smiled expectantly, but the woman's hand turned into stone, and she crushed the phone in her palm. It was clear now that she was an earth wizard, and she was not interested in kids flirting with her.
"Oops..." she said, dropping the crushed phone, then turning on her heel and walking away.
"Did you see that?" he yelled. "She just crushed my phone!" But when he looked around, he saw that Oliver and Robert were already far ahead of him, having taken off when they saw him trying to flirt with an adult woman who was probably in her mid-twenties.
"Hey, wait for me!" He yelled, chasing after them, "who's damn house am I gonna stay?!"
"Stay at Robert's house," Oliver yelled.
"Do you love ice castles?!"