After Tascen surrendered, both he and Sylas were sent out of the Alternate Space. Seeing her brother appear at the boundary of the warped space, Syrna couldn't help but cheer.
"Yes, he won!" she exclaimed. She had been worried for Sylas throughout the entire fight, and in those final few minutes, she had even hoped he would just surrender. Tascen wasn't part of any factions they had agreements with, meaning he could have seriously injured Sylas. But in the end, Sylas managed to pull off a win, something many who were watching hadn't expected.
Looking down at the field, Magnus could hear Luden's words from their faction meeting echoing in his head.
I guess they really do all have a lot of potential.
If Magnus was being completely honest, he hadn't thought much of the other members of his faction. It's not like he disliked them, except for Blair, who was a gray area on Magnus's moral compass at the moment. But the others just seemed too normal for him to bother with. They wouldn't provide him assistance with glitches like Celia and Eveline, nor the funding and support like Luden and the Major General.
In the end, he simply saw them as people who were there to fill the empty spots in Luden's faction and not much else. But after watching them all fight, he finally saw their potential—the same potential Luden had seen before inviting them to join.
They will only get stronger from here on out too. Maybe, I can use that in the future...
Not taking his attention away from the field, Magnus watched as Eredim teleported down, appearing next to Tascen, who was lying unconscious on the ground. With a wave of his hand, a force enveloped Tascen, preventing him from moving and injuring himself further while gently lifting him off the ground.
In the next moment, the two disappeared, reappearing beside Sylas, who was barely clinging to consciousness. Sylas had taken a beating, and though he was less injured physically than Tascen, he had endured far more mentally. If his physical body was nearing its limit, then his mind had long since crossed that threshold.
"You did well; now just relax. I'll take you both to the infirmary," Eredim assured, waving his hand. The same force that surrounded Tascen now encompassed Sylas. Feeling the support, Sylas finally let go and fell unconscious, with Eredim catching his crescent blade before it hit the ground.
Seeing this from above, Syrna's excitement dimmed, replaced by a hint of concern. Her eyes shifted between Eredim, the screens above, and Magnus.
Noticing her hesitation, Magnus spoke up, "You can go."
Syrna nodded, stood up, and left for the infirmary to see her brother. Magnus wasn't sure why Syrna felt she needed his permission, but he guessed it was a matter of respect. Cain's influence had affected not just Luden's Faction but every student in the academy. And after their last faction meeting, even if Luden was the leader, the others clearly saw Cain as a sort of second-in-command.
Well, I guess being respected like this is fine. It just means fewer people will cause me trouble in the future. Now then, how are those last two matches going?
Magnus raised his head, focusing on the screens above. More than half the allocated time had been used up, and most matches had already ended. The remaining matches typically involved students playing hide-and-seek or using hit-and-run tactics.
However, both Luden and Blair's matches seemed to be heading in an unexpected direction, even surprising Magnus as he tuned in.
Huh?
Within the Alternate Space, in the underground luminescent cavern, ripples flowed along the surface of the lake as continuous quakes echoed in the distance. The quakes grew louder and heavier by the second until, finally, a massive black rock stalactite, as big as a bus, hanging from the ceiling of the cavern suddenly burst.
An explosion of dust and falling debris caused vibrations to echo through the walls of the cave as a figure burst through the smoke, almost as if flying through the air. A larger figure followed mere seconds later.
The first figure was Luden. Despite seemingly being blasted through a slab of rock, both his clothes and his body appeared entirely unharmed. He hurtled through the air with his back to the direction he was flying, a calm smile directed at his pursuer, Resir, whose face was impossible to see as he rushed after Luden.
Although both were in the air, Resir was undeniably faster, their trajectories beginning to arc downward.
Luden landed first, skidding across the wet, stony ground briefly, allowing Resir to catch up. Despite not being abnormally large, Resir looked like a looming giant at that moment, his shadow cast over Luden as he raised his battle axe with both hands, its edge glimmering coldly as he swung it down.
Even mid-swing, Luden's expression remained unchanged. The entire cavern shook again as massive chunks of dark rock flew everywhere like shrapnel. The unrelenting force of Resir's attack caused a massive crack to appear along the ground, destroying any stalagmites in their path and traveling partway up the cavern walls.
As the dust settled, Resir stood there, breathing heavily and glaring at the large crack in the ground ahead of him. Seeing that there was no sign of Luden, he let out an irritated grunt just as a voice echoed from behind him.
"So much raw power is wasted in the hands of someone who can't use it properly. Like an ape trying to wield a hammer." Slowly turning around, Resir's rust-colored eyes seemed to perfectly reflect the cavern's light, causing them to look as if they where glowing.
"You know, Luden, you sure do talk a lot for someone who has spent almost half an hour running away. Didn't you say you were going to crush me like I plan to do to you? How do you expect to do that if you act like such a coward!?" Resir roared as he charged at Luden with a burst of speed that was utterly unnatural for his bulky build, catching even Magnus off guard.
He's even faster than Tascen and Seraline... Even if I used [Bullseye] at its normal speed, I would have trouble hitting him.
Under the effects of Weapon Unity, Seraline was able to surpass her normal limits, yet the level of speed Resir was displaying went even beyond that. It had truly reached the bounds of the Adept-level, and the sonic boom that burst out from his body made it clear that he was moving faster than the speed of sound.
In the time it took to blink, he was already in front of Luden with his arm outstretched, reaching for his neck. With the speed and force behind his charge, just grabbing someone like this would be enough to rip off their head. Yet just as his fingers came within mere inches of Luden's neck, a blue flash seemed to stream through Luden's eyes.
In the blink of an eye, Luden was gone. Despite how fast he was moving, Resir seemed to stop on a dime, with the sound of his movements catching up a moment later, echoing through the cavern.
"Tch, you and that damn teleportation spell," Resir growled, his voice tinged with both anger and annoyance.
"You know that's the only reason this match is even still going? If not for that, I would have caught you a long time ago," he continued, turning around to spot Luden once again. It was as if the two of them had switched positions, with Resir now standing where Luden had just been and Luden the other way around.
"Teleportation spell? I'm not sure what exactly you mean," Luden remarked, cocking his head to the side as he stared at Resir.
"I haven't used a single spell since this match started." His words caused Resir to let out a brief, scornful laugh. He was clearly sweating, yet despite chasing Luden down for so long, he didn't seem winded or tired at all.
"I'm not here to play your mind games, Luden," Resir snapped. Luden raised his hands helplessly.
"Oh, I'm not playing with you at all, I assure you. I already told you what I plan to do, and I am a man of my word. The only issue is that it's simply not time yet. So you'll have to be patient and wait," Luden said, raising a finger. Seeing how nonchalantly Luden was treating their match, Resir's body seemed to shake slightly as his gaze grew more intense.
There was a budding pressure that even Magnus could sense through the screen, yet the next second it disappeared.
"Fine," Resir muttered, slamming his axe into the ground and partially burying it before sitting down next to it, cross-legged.
"Oh?" Luden raised a brow.
"There's no point in crushing you if you're not even going to fight. So, I'll wait." His decision didn't seem to surprise Luden, but it did cause his smile to grow slightly.
"Hmm, very well." Luden's response was brief as he walked over to a pile of rocks that had once been a stalagmite and sat down. He focused on Resir for a brief moment before closing his eyes as if taking a nap. After such a long game of cat and mouse, anyone watching would find the scene strange.
What the hell is Luden planning now? Why is he avoiding Resir and just waiting there?
Originally, Magnus thought that Resir and Luden's match had been taking so long because they were both faction leaders. Even if all faction leaders weren't exactly equal, they had to be somewhat comparable; otherwise, there would be no point in forming alliances. But, seeing what was actually happening, he couldn't wrap his head around why Luden wasn't fighting.
He had decided to continue watching their match for another minute or so, but just like Resir said he would, he was waiting, though it was clear he was also ready. His eyes never left Luden, and it was clear he was prepared to move the instant Luden did. On the other hand, Luden looked completely relaxed and oblivious to the outside world with his eyes closed.
Well, if those two are really just going to sit there, I suppose I should check on Blair's match.
Switching views, the screen Magnus was watching changed from the dark stone cavern housing Resit and Luden to a seemingly endless plane of water. Magnus spotted Blair right away. He had already used his family's lineage magic, and the familiar blob of darkness beneath him resembled oil, floating as a layer above the water.
Still, it didn't seem to impede Blair from interacting with the water or, in this case, the creature he was riding. It resembled a horse, but its mane and fur seemed fluid and defied gravity.
Not only that, but it wasn't galloping through the water but instead gliding atop it. Each time one of its hooves touched the surface, it didn't break the water's tension. Instead, it created ripples that propelled it forward at speeds far beyond those of any normal horse. But, despite the graceful movement of the horse-like creature, Blair's face told a different story.
He was panting heavily, with beads of sweat dripping down his face. Despite the fact that he was running away, his gaze was locked behind him, staring far into the distance with an anxious expression.
It looks like Blair's on the retreat, but where is Jalud?
While watching Blair, Magnus scanned the area but couldn't spot Jalud at all. It almost looked as if Blair was trying to escape from nothing. That was until, suddenly, a figure slowly descended from the sky in the direction Blair was fleeing. It was like watching a leaf drift through the wind, slowly landing on the surface of a tranquil puddle.
Turning his head around, Blair's eyes went wide the moment he spotted the figure.
It was, Jalud.
"Didn't I tell you there's no point in running from me?" Jalud remarked matter-of-factly, his eyes fixed on Blair but also looking past him. Seeing Jalud appear so suddenly, Blair didn't waste time thinking and immediately commanded the creature he was riding to attack with a kick to its side. The creature's legs seemed to act like vacuums, pulling in all the water around them.
In less than a second, all the water in a ten-meter radius around Blair had disappeared, leaving behind only wet sand that was quickly flooded over by the surrounding water outside the ten-meter range. At the same time, the horse-like creature's stomach bulged, disproportionate to the amount of water that had vanished.
But then it opened its mouth, and all the missing water reappeared, this time as a highly pressurized jet. The water shot out of the creature's mouth with such force that it created a shockwave, piercing through the air at high speed. Seeing the attack coming, Jalud didn't move, nor did he take his hands from behind his back.
Instead, he simply uttered a single word.
"Halt." Jalud's hair fluttered violently as the jet of water suddenly stopped mere inches from his face, his expression remaining unchanged. The water still flowed and moved like it was in flight, yet it didn't advance an inch.
"Dammit!" Blair yelled, frustrated as his attack was stopped so easily. He was about to command the creature to move when Jalud spoke again.
"Reflect." With that single word, all the force in the attack was reversed, and its motion was unfrozen. Blair quickly jumped off the horse-like creature the instant he realized what was happening. A second later, the water jet pierced through his mount.
On contact, its head and neck exploded into what could only be called phantom-like gore, and in the next instant, its entire body returned to the dark domain under Blair's feet. Narrowing his eyes, Jalud began to slowly walk towards Blair, continuing to speak.
"Do you still not get it? You can't run or hide from me. Nor can you possibly win. We may both wield the lineage magic of our families; however, the difference between the power of my magic and yours is as vast as the difference between the sky and the earth." Jalud emphasized his point by pointing up at the blue sky above.
Blair remained silent, his mind racing as he saw Jalud approach, desperately trying to find a solution. Meanwhile, Magnus, who had watched the entire encounter, spoke with genuine surprise and excitement in his voice.
"Is that... word magic?"