"She's absorbing mana..."
There was no other way to explain her sudden revitalization.
If getting our mana drained could cause deterioration in our bodies, the opposite must've been true as well.
Those new familiars she summoned were draining the magical power stored in those vessels, feeding it directly to their owners.
"Then could her power be...?"
Mana manipulation.
Her control over magical power was so strong that she could shape it, giving birth to those strange creatures.
The fact that she also seemed capable of absorbing other's people mana into her body, only made that theory more likely to be true.
«What's wrong? Too scared to move?»
My opponent's taunting words brought me back down to earth.
Scared?
Certainly, things would get much more difficult now.
If before I was sure of winning in a battle of attrition because of my ample mana reserves, now I was certain of the opposite.
The spells I had cast so far, especially the complex magic I had used to enter the room, had already considerably depleted my magical power.
On the contrary, not only did my opponent seem to have fully restored her mana, but from the glow that still illuminated the inside of the two glass spheres it seemed that she might be able to do so again.
But no, the feeling I was experiencing at the moment wasn't fear. But...
Excitement?
So far, both outside and inside the Academy, I had never found myself at a disadvantage in a confrontation.
Of course, there was the whole situation with Valentine, but at the time I had perceived the challenge as so impossible that we never got to duel.
In this case, now that my back was against the wall, forced to fight an opponent fully intent on killing me, things were different.
I knew I could win.
Finally, I could prove that my mana wasn't the only thing that made me an exceptional mage.
«Scared?» I finally replied, «don't make me laugh. I just couldn't get over how disgusting your power is...»
The way those strange appendages were attached to the glass spheres, rhythmically pumping the mana inside them, as some kind of blood-sucking parasite, genuinely gave me the creeps.
But this horrible sight raised another question in me:
«If this was how you wanted to use that mana, why didn't you just absorb it all earlier?»
If I had really intended to kill her and had not restrained myself, she would never have had the opportunity to exploit this side of her power.
Chloe seemed irritated at my question.
«Do you take me for a fool? If I could, of course I would have. Holding more mana than usual in one's body is dangerous.»
The girl lifted her shirt slightly. Thanks to the light emitted by the two mana orbs, I could see an ugly scar on her left side.
«As you can see, it tends to want to come out,» she said bitterly, «and even if I managed to control it, I couldn't handle the headaches."»
«Headaches?»
«That's right. It's like the mana I absorb knows it's not mine and rebels. Even now it's making noise,» she said, touching her temple, «and that's why...»
"Mana has a will of its own?"
Unfortunately, I did not have time to internalize that incredible revelation.
A huge fireball, larger than the one I had previously cast, flew towards me.
«Water shield!»
Without hesitation, I summoned a water shield to protect myself.
The fireball went out a few inches from my face.
I felt waves of scorching steam scalding my skin.
"Just in time..."
But Chloe was not going to give me a break.
«Fireball!»
«Water shield!»
The result was the same as the previous exchange.
But Chloe continued her assault.
One after another, her spells clashed against my defenses, being neutralized.
The situation had practically reversed: now she was the one trying to attack me with sheer brute force, while I was forced to defend myself.
However, I knew I couldn't hold out forever, I would now run out of mana before her.
It wasn't pleasant to see my own methods used against me.
I had to think of a way out.
I remembered how Celeste had easily neutralized fire spells by summoning a hurricane...
But I quickly discarded the idea. I would have consumed too much magic power for such a spell, and Chloe could have simply switched elements.
Not to mention the risk of both of us drowning, given how small this room was.
The last fireball went out inches from my chest, incinerating part of my uniform.
I was trying to limit the mana used by my defensive spells. I had to act fast or sooner or later I would misjudge and take a fireball to the face.
"Think, Elizabeth, think..."
I had to beat someone with more magical power than me...
I thought back to all the duels I had witnessed, looking for ideas.
I immediately focused on one in particular.
After all, it was the first one I had witnessed. In that duel, Sophia had shown me that mana was not so important here.
Unlike her, though, I had no innate power with which to surprise my opponent...
Surprise my opponent...
"It could work!"
The idea was stupid and I would undoubtedly have to risk my life, but what alternative did I have?
I just had to recreate the right conditions.
I waited for the arrival of yet another fireball.
This time, however, the shield I cast was much stronger and neutralized Chloe's spell in an instant.
I immediately seized this small opening to go on the offensive:
«Glacial spike!»
A huge ice spike crystallized in mid-air before zooming away at high speed.
But my target wasn't Chloe.
The projectile I launched headed towards one of the two glass spheres.
It was pointless to cause direct damage to that girl, given the healing abilities of the mana she was absorbing.
No, it was better to aim directly at the source of her power.
But my opponent was not taken by surprise. She must have sensed that I would attempt such a thing.
«Mana shield.»
The ice spear dissolved in midair.
Too bad, I hoped she would try a fire shield for once: the ice I had created was unlikely to melt completely.
But I didn't relent, I knew I couldn't give her any respite or she would start attacking me again.
After all, I already knew how to bypass her magical defenses.
«Levitate!»
This time, the target of my spell wasn't the two glass spheres, but the table they were resting on.
Before Chloe could react, it was thrown high up towards the ceiling.
The two spheres collided against the wall with a clang, and along with a shower of wooden fragments, they began to descend towards the floor.
But before they could touch it, Chloe's two appendages rose up, holding the two spheres mid-air.
Despite the impact, they seemed completely intact.
«Eh eh, just as expected. You thought it would be so easy to break them?» Chloe teased me.
«Wanna test that?»
With a wave of my wand, the remnants of the table and bookcase came together, fusing into a compact wooden sphere. I directed it toward one of the two mana containers. The two spheres collided and wood flew everywhere.
I did not give up, reformed my weapon and prepared to continue my attack.
«That's enough!»
As I expected, Chloe had no intention of finding out whether her glass orbs were really indestructible.
«Firestorm!» the girl roared.
This time, a river of flames came towards me.
«Water cannon!»
A thunderous jet of water erupted from my wand, colliding with the fire. Jets of hot steam erupted where the two spells clashed, canceling each other out.
It was the end.
We were both stuck in this exchange of magic. But I was the one who would come out defeated. My mana would be exhausted before hers, and at that moment I would be consumed by flames.
That was exactly what I wanted.
I needed a situation like this. That was why I had threatened to directly destroy the source of her strength. Chloe's reaction would have been the most obvious: to attack me with more force than before so as not to take any chances.
I extended my left hand, free from the wand, in front of me.
It was time to use my trump card.
It was nothing special, especially compared to innate powers such as those of Sophia, Valentine, or even Chloe herself. I wasn't the only one with such an ability.
But it was a rare enough skill that I hoped my opponent had not considered it.
I took a deep breath.
I could clearly feel the mana stirring within me.
I followed the flow leading to my wand, where my magical power fed the jet of water I had conjured.
I gritted my teeth.
"Come on, Elizabeth, you can do it."
I was concentrating so hard that I felt like my head might explode at any moment.
But finally, I felt I had succeeded.
A small trickle of mana had branched off from the main stream, heading towards my left arm.
Now I just had to amplify it.
"Almost there!"
The second flow became as large as the first. It was time to choose how to use it. Casting spells without a wand was very difficult. I had to use a simple one.
"NOW!"
«Levitate!»
The wooden sphere I had created earlier flew up. At the same time, water continued to erupt from the tip of my wand.
In the light emitted by the flames, I saw Chloe widen her eyes in amazement.
As I imagined, she didn't expect it.
Controlling two spells at the same time was something that only the most experienced mages could do. The fact that I could do it at my age betrayed the fact that in addition to having a lot of mana, I was also extremely skilled at controlling it.
The ball began to advance toward its target. This time it wasn't the glass orbs, but Chloe herself.
The wooden globe struck her in the side at high speed, knocking her away.
The burst of flames flickered, being quickly consumed by my jet of water which rushed towards my opponent.
But...
«Mana shield!»
Again, in midair, Chloe managed to block my spell before it reached her.
Just as I imagined.
It was too late.
By the time Chloe's attack stopped, I had sprinted in her direction.
By the time she hit the ground, I was already there, ready, with my sword just millimeters from her neck.
It was the first time I had unsheathed it outside of training.
Anyone who saw me practicing with it would never have guessed that I would use it to win a duel.
"I'll have to thank Sophia later."
The idea of cornering my opponent with the sword had come to me remembering her duel after all.
The double spell had just given me the opening I needed.
«Drop the wand or I'll blow your head off,» I threatened Chloe.
"Will she call my bluff?"
To my relief, however, after giving me a look mixed with pain and hatred, the girl obeyed, tossing her wand away.
She had been hit squarely in the side, probably had broken a few ribs.
But I didn't let my guard down. I hadn't forgotten about her familiars.
«Now raise your arms up high, no sudden movements,» I ordered.
After a moment of hesitation, Chloe complied.
«Okay, now hands to the wall and disconnect those tubes from the spheres.»
I watched her comply with my request with some disgust as the fleshy appendages retracted into her arm.
"Ok... so what now?"
I had to somehow find a way to take her to the headmaster, but I still had no idea how to get out of that strange room with no doors.
I certainly couldn't start feeling every inch of the wall looking for the exit.
I tried to ask her:
«Tell me where the exit is now.»
Surprisingly she replied.
«There's a secret passage.»
"As I expected."
«You have to tell-»
Suddenly, I felt an electric current run through my body, starting from my left leg.
I fell forward, crashing to the floor at Chloe's feet. I hit my nose on the hard stone, but strangely, I felt no pain. In fact, I felt nothing at all... as if every area of my body had suddenly lost sensation.
I tried to get up, but with horror, I realized that none of my limbs seemed to want to respond.
My first thought was that I had been stung by one of Chloe's familiars.
But how was that possible? I had made sure she didn't move an inch.
«Idiot...»
My body was turned onto its back. I saw Chloe move the foot that she had used to turn me over and give me a mocking smile.
It seemed that at least I could still move my eyes.
That's when I understood what had happened.
A fleshy appendage, identical to the ones she had used to connect to the mana receptacles, extended from the palm of Chloe's hand. Following the path of the tube, I saw that it was connected to the sole of one of my boots.
It seemed that even those things could sting.
When I had made her put her hand against the wall, she must have popped it out without being seen. She had run it through the wall and then under the floor to reach my foot.
She got me.
I had miscalculated.
I had overlooked the fact that those appendages could also pass through walls.
A deadly mistake.
«You had pretty much won! You should have finished me off, now see where your ego leads you.»
I began to feel a terrible sucking sensation.
"Strange, I thought I had lost all feeling."
I quickly realized that the sensation was coming from within me. It was my mana being drained by that appendage.
"So this is how it ends, huh?"
Ego? Perhaps.
But in the end, what I had lacked was the determination needed to kill my opponent.
If I didn't want to give up my humanity, did it make sense to continue fighting in this competition after all?
Maybe it was bett-
"What the fuck am I thinking!"
After all the effort I had put into defeating my opponent, did I really want to give up?
I had already given up once, I wouldn't do it again.
But was there something I could do to free myself?
I couldn't even move a finger.
I watched Chloe create another tube and connect it to one of the glass spheres.
Bright vortices began to flow inside it.
"My mana."
The mana passed through the tube connected to my foot, ascended to Chloe's body and, through the new appendage, reached the globe where it would be stored for future use. My mana would help her continue her killing spree.
"Fuck me"
I tried to concentrate and maintain control of my magical power.
But it was useless. I couldn't hold onto it and slowly it was being taken away from me.
Slowly...
"!"
Why didn't she just drain it all at once?
Suddenly, I remembered Chloe's scar on her side, caused by holding too much mana in her body.
Could that be the key?
It was a big risk: if it didn't work, I would only hasten my departure.
But what choice did I have?
I gathered as much mana as possible. But this time, instead of trying to resist the suction, I pushed in the same direction, releasing my magical power from my body with all my strength.
I saw a blinding light come up the tube at great speed, reaching Chloe's body before she could react.
«Uh?!»
A small trickle of blood ran from one of her nostrils. She wiped it away and seemed to observe the stain on her finger with a puzzled expression before slumping forward, unconscious.
My plan had worked.
But with despair, I realized that the creature she had created to absorb my mana didn't seem to care.
Despite its creator being unconscious, it continued its work, sucking away what little remained of my magical power.
Slowly, my consciousness faded, slipping into darkness.