The necromancer's sarcastic remark only fueled Ragni's determination.
"Never," Ragni wrapped her paws in flames and jumped towards her opponent. Rizel moved sluggishly but managed to block the dragoness's attacks.
Ragni struck directly at the head, but the necromancer turned away from the attack. The girl struck Ragni's chest with her staff, and an invisible force pushed Ragni away. Falling back, the princess released a small stream of flame, which discreetly fell on the end of Rizel's black cloak.
"I'm still stronger than you," Rizel caught her breath, seemingly unaware that her cloak was slowly catching fire.
"Hmm," Ragni smiled and looked at the smoldering cloak.
"Huh?" Rizel turned around, noticing the flame, and began to put it out vigorously. It was astonishing that she didn't feel the fire earlier, but even more peculiar was the fact that the hole, now reaching her knee, remained invisible. It was as if a living shadow covered her body, preventing outsiders from discerning her true appearance, "Now I'm angry."
The green eye of the girl narrowed in anger, and she launched an attack. Running forward, she swung her staff towards the ground, and an invisible force propelled Ragni into the air. Gathering violet flames on the silver skull, the girl aimed at the dragoness's chest, and she tried to defend herself with her paws. The blow left deep burns on her scales.
Ragni performed a backward somersault upon landing and released a fiery breath at her opponent. Running, the necromancer raised her shield and used her staff to push the flames forward. The dragon's fire, gathering on the invisible barrier, returned to its owner, and Ragni involuntarily closed her eyes. The forceful blow sent the dragoness flying towards the wall. When she opened her eyes, a staff filled with the power of decay hovered in front of her.
"A dragon can't handle me," the green eye flickered with a faint light, "you don't think enough about your defense."
"Ouch," Ragni raised her hands in resignation, "unfortunately, I lost!"
The final battle was over.
Rizel ascended to the top and left without saying a word. I tried to get a closer look at the hole in her cloak, but it still looked like darkness. However, my actions prompted Rizel to quicken her pace to disappear from sight.
Ragni, exhausted, came up, still in her half-dragon form.
"Aren't you going to shift back?" I inspected her wounds; more than half of her scales were in a terrible condition.
"First, I need to take care of these injuries," Ragni sat in an available chair and clenched her fist, examining the scales. "If I don't pull out the damaged scales, new ones won't grow. Ouch."
Gritting her teeth in pain, she started pulling out the scales one by one.
"Mmm," Seleria examined Ragni's appearance, "still, it looks great upon closer inspection."
"What?"
"Your form, the elegance of the human shape, and the power of the dragon form."
"Do you want the same for yourself?" Ragni looked at the red princess with doubt.
"No, thanks. I'm afraid the scales won't match my complexion," the girl laughed cheerfully and stuck out her tongue.
"But still, how does your clothing remain intact after such transformations?" Ragni was still wearing the same outfit she had on when we first met: "You've grown significantly in size."
"Ah, this," the dragoness glanced at her cuffs, "every dragon has them. They say they're made from a dragon's first skin when it comes into the world, so they become a part of our body."
"Where is she?!" Vina burst into the room with a cry.
"Who?"
"Rizel!!" Vina began to search all the corners, looking for the mysterious figure. "I saw Ragni burn part of her cloak; a little more, and she would have been completely incinerated. Why did you warn her?"
"I wasn't really interested," Ragni continued to clean the scales, ignoring Vina's outburst.
"Vina, don't worry; it seems she's concealing something else under her cloak. Nothing was visible there."
"Oh, what a pity," noticing what Ragni was doing, Vina quickly grabbed a nearby pouch and started carefully collecting the fallen scales. "But you know, the image of a strong dragoness has become quite popular."
"Really?" Ragni's smile spread wider.
"Yes, your current form attracts children," Vina circled around the girl, gathering the scales. "So, I'm thinking of making a couple of figurines if you'd pose for them. Of course, I guarantee you extra income."
"Mrr, that's good," with this phrase, Ragni made a strange purring sound, immediately blushing and continuing to pull out the scales. "By the way, what are you doing?"
"Huh?" Vina quickly hid the pouch behind her back. "Nothing special."
"I'll tell you right away, if my scales are melted by the power of decay, they can't be forged into proper weapons anymore," Ragni continued to pluck the scales, paying no attention to the merchant's actions.
"Is that so?" Vina took out one scale from her bag. Almost three-quarters of it was covered in black soot from Rizel's flames, leaving only a small part of the metal exposed. "Then there's not much that can be done with this."
"Don't worry so much," Rumy entered the room. "Even with such damage, you can scrape some metal for, hmm... a small dagger."
Rumy snatched the scale from the merchant's hands and examined it closely.
"As I thought, Rizel still hasn't mastered her power fully. A true necromancer can decay different elements separately, but she uses flames against everything she touches. She should practice more, but it's a pity there's no one to teach her."
I looked at the scale and discreetly collected a bit of blood from Ragni. So today, we still didn't see Katrina after she went to meet her father.
Tonight, everyone went to their rooms, and I decided to experiment in the guildhouse. Of course, Aileen's weapon didn't work, but it was the closest to achieving the goal. All I needed was to create the right mixture and persuade Alfred to detonate it himself.
Resin and oil burned quite well, but I couldn't manage to detonate them. The minimum amount required for an explosion barely fit into a large barrel. It would be impossible to hide such a vessel inconspicuously on the field. Fortunately, the laboratory on the top floor of the guildhouse was protected by additional shields for dangerous experiments, and explosions there wouldn't be heard.
Attempts to detonate the dust went very poorly. I succeeded only in a closed jar with a large quantity. Apparently, the influx of fresh air interfered with the process.
A terrifying roar interrupted my thoughts; a storm raged on the training ground behind the guildhouse. There was no one in the guildhouse at the moment, but the thunder from the golden lightning striking the training ground could wake even the students in the nearest dormitory. It was dark, and I couldn't see well, but such a display of lightning could only be caused by one person. Summoning lightning from low-hanging clouds, the princess released them into the sea in her fury. It seemed that her conversation with her father didn't go too well, but I didn't know how to help her.
Leaving the princess alone, I returned to the laboratory. There was still a vial of dragon blood. A single drop, when ignited, produced black flames that quickly extinguished. It couldn't be used in its usual state. The lightning subsided, and I decided to evaporate some blood for testing.
My thoughts were interrupted again by the soft clacking of footsteps on the staircase in the house. Two pairs of women's heels clicked against the marble steps. When they passed by, I decided to follow to see who decided to visit us at night.
On the observation deck, on the rooftop, stood two figures in red and golden dresses. The girl in red was leaning slightly on the railing, while the girl in golden was practically lying on it, sighing heavily.
"So, Kat, don't you want to tell me why you're so upset?" The girl in red turned around and deftly sat on the railing.
"Is it that noticeable?" The princess tried to avert her gaze.
"Very much so! It's a good thing I happened to be passing by; if you had continued, the whole academy would have gathered here."
"I just wanted to practice a bit."
"Really?" Seleria took Kat by the chin and brought her closer. "Your eyes are red; I wonder what caused it?"
"Just some unpleasant memories," Kat broke free and lay back on the railings again. "That's all."
"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I'll support you no matter what; that's what friends are for," Seleria hugged Kat and gently pressed her close.
"Maybe you're the only one I can tell," Kat spoke, burying her face in the red princess's chest, "because only you know about me and Alfred."
An ominous premonition crept into my heart. I didn't want to hear what would come next, but I couldn't force myself to leave.
"Did your father demand confirmation of the engagement from you?" Seleria's words confirmed my fears.
"No, at first, I thought my father wanted to praise me. After all, my guild has achieved so much. And initially, it was like that; he said I had gathered great mages into my team and that I had become much stronger. He even said that with such skills, I could make it to the finals, but..." Katrina fell silent and buried her face in Seleria's chest.
"He wants you to lose?" Seleria asked.
"He said that a proper young lady shouldn't show disobedience to her future husband."
"He wants you to lose to Alfred?"
So that was it. Katrina avoided Alfred for a reason. Like many princesses, she already had an arranged marriage, and she couldn't do anything about it.
"Yes, he said I was a great mage, that my guild gathered the best mages from all over the world, but he still demanded that I lose to that scoundrel!" Katrina wept in her friend's arms.
The red princess caressed the girl lovingly and whispered comforting words in her ear.
"Kat, don't be upset. You are indeed a great mage, and your guild has the best mages. I am living proof of that," Seleria pushed away and proudly thumped her chest, "But you know what? Your father is simply a fool!"
"Hey, he's still my father!"
"That doesn't matter! He's a fool if he believes you will lose to Alfred!" Seleria put her hands on her hips and raised her nose, "By the way, did I tell you about my engagement?"
"You're engaged?!" Katrina was in shock, and so was I.
"Not anymore. I used all my strength to break off the engagement."
"But a marriage with a princess is a very serious matter; it's not that easy to break it off!"
"Oh, come on," Seleria waved playfully, "it's all a matter of desire. Let me tell you everything in order."