The pain in his back worsened. He could barely move and must hide it from Alice, or she would school him like always.
Or worse.
She would say, Look what happened to you. That's because you're pathetic knight way, you so proud of. I told you to stab it when had a chance, but you asked for a battle, dummy.
Leaving Alice to handle the rest of the second test was a bad idea. No, not because Lanert didn't trust her sword skill. Alice's sword skill was the best in Mahesh Crown. For a woman, of course. She could handle the doppelganger easily if she followed Lanert's example.
The problem was her arrogance.
"Put down your sword." Lanert reminded her. "If you enter with Winter, your doppelganger would have that too. Come now, toss your sword to me."
"Too late. I already entered and pushed the button." She said confidently. "I will do things my way. You sit there and watch closely how I finished my test."
Foolish girl! "Alice!" Lanert could hardly move. His back was killing him. For every tiny shrug he made, his back cried for attention. "Listen to me. Give me your sword and—"
"No, you listen to me," Alice arrogantly cut his words. "You said it yourself. It is our test, remember? Not only you or me but us!" She argued. "Let me settle it in my way."
As they argued, the six emblems glowed strong, then five dimmed. The red Pyro emblem shone brightly on the wall. Fire. The most destructive element would become her opponent.
Lanert had already tasted how dangerous Pyro element could be. Alrich also showed him how a Pyro Elementalist would burn down the entire house with a snap of a finger.
"No, no, no! Back off, Alice! Listen to me, girl! Run from there! You can't win a fight one by one against Pyro with a sword!"
"Listen," The girl answered. "I am supposed to be your squire! I have to fight for you. So chill and let me do my work."
"No, no! You're my family!"
"More reason to believe me on." Alice gave him a comfortable smile, full of confidence. "Come on. I beat you on training many times. Remember?"
That's because Lanert let her win.
"Okay," Lanert smirked. Somehow her words rang the bell inside his heart. She was right. If Lanert sees her as family, he should put more trust in her. What he should have done was support her. Besides, To discourage her, the best way was to make her feel pain.
No, he didn't want her to get injured. To make her see if her stupid plan failed all along.
"Alright, you win." Crossing his legs, Lanert sat and waited. "Just don't get killed there."
"Hey, Lanert. You don't mind if I cleared everything here?"
"Cheeky girl," he mumbled, then nodded. "Do whatever you want."
She thought it would be an easy job. Don't joke around. Lanert almost got killed by the Cryo elementalist Doppelganger back then. He predicted Alice would bail out after giving it a try.
After that, he would tell Alice about his condition. They should rest long and try to continue the test after Lanert returns to his prime.
The red doppelgangers were almost in perfect shape. She copied Winter perfectly. The battle would be hard for Alice.
In the blink of an eye, Alice raised her Winter and swung it hard, slicing the wind and the arm of the doppelganger. It directly sliced the heart into two.
The red doppelganger vanished as the pyre blew by the gale. Lanert was disbelieving. But it worked.
"See Lanert." She smirked, crossing her arms on her petite chest. "I told you, in the fight, everything was legal. Your way of the knight was, meet."
Lanert said, "Luck. That's all just luck, and you are cheating. Imagine what would happen if that doppelganger was a Cyro. You would freeze before doing anything."
"Sore loser."
"Smart-aleck, you just luck, cheater, so you better focus on the next element!"
Dept inside, Lanert cheering her. Well, he can't one hundred percent admit if Alixe was right all along. But come on. The test should become a test of strength and mind. This is not how the test should be. It's cheating!
At least they won, and the best thing for him was that she didn't get any harm. Congrats girl. You deserve it.
Full of confidence, Alice hit the button. This time she faced off Geo's element doppelganger, and like before, she thrust Winter directly to the heart before it even could move—another easy win for Alice.
"See this, Lanert. Easy as pie."
Lanert laughed. "Hurry, finish everything, will ya?"
"Oh, now women take control, huh?"
"Nah, not really. I gave you an order. The man is still in control."
Alice pointed her sword proudly at lanert. "Don't start it, Lanert. Just don't."
She hit the button and now faces the Anemo element. She won easily again. If only Lanert followed her suggestion, his back wouldn't have gotten hurt.
One by one, element emblems on the wall dimmed, and the last emblem, Dendro, was dimmed. Every doppelganger element was defeated. The test will end.
Light emerges from seven emblems, seven lights representing the seven elements brushed like a throttled star. It moved around before entering the Cubix.
The Cubix shone white and floated. It is flashing seventh color represents the seven elements in turn. At the top, the crescent moon emblem with a dot in the center is darkly lit.
Putting Lanert's arm on her, Alice helped him move toward the Cubix.
"Well, what next?" Alice asked.
"How should I know?"
"What does your favorite author say in her book?" Her mockery tone. She always uses this tone while talking about Alice Gutenbowen.
"The blood test of blood, but she failed and was blown out from here, back to our time."
"Waste of time, huh? Where is our Princess of Darkness? How do we return to our world? Ask her, Lanert. Sue her if she can't answer it."
Lanert was speechless. He didn't know what to do and how to answer Alice.
[Congratulations to the champion of darkness. You prevail against every element.] A female voice boomed, echoing through the whole area.
"Arth old language," Lanert mumbled, trying to pinpoint where the voice came from.
"What did she say?"
"The women who cheat should live here alone."