Arwyna Phytis's Point of View
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As my life literally hung by the threads of Zyriel's fingers, a last-ditch strategy for victory wormed its way into my mind. Once one reaches level 4 magic, there's a specific spell that allows the summoning of creatures from other worlds. Their origins are murky, but it's said that the creator of magic, the goddess revered today, once had contact with them. However, she deemed them too dangerous to release into our world. Among them, some seem harmless, but others possess incredible power, as mighty as demon kings, sometimes even more. The Phoenix King and the Peacock King are well-known examples; these beasts, dubbed divine beasts, often answer the call of very powerful mages, but certain conditions, usually environmental, must be met. To prevent any catastrophe, the creator of magic devised a form of summoning that releases only the projection of their spirit. The strength of this summoning depended on the caster's power.
This was the magic I was about to use to win.
"Hello Arwyna, it's been a while," said Sylph, her voice soothing yet imbued with ancient power.
Sylph was a strange creature, resembling an elf, but with horns like tree branches, testifying to her mystical origin. Her skin was a pale green, her eyes pink like cherry blossom petals. Her hair, short and smooth, was also a vibrant green. She wore large leaves like clothing, and dragonfly wings adorned her back.
"You've summoned both of us, Arwyna, that's rare. Your opponent must be tough," added Seraph, his tone always grave.
Seraph stood tall, clad in golden fabric. His yellow eyes gleamed, while a luminous halo floated above his head. With radiant wings of light spread out, he gave the impression of being an angel.
"Two summons!" an elf exclaimed. "I thought only Her Majesty Oredys could summon several spirits at once!"
"Arwyna must be really talented to pull this off," whispered another.
"'Vitalys,'" Sylph uttered, and an aura of healing immediately enveloped me, bringing my health gauge to 100%. My Chi was also unlocked.
"Look! Her health gauge is full!" shouted a human, eyes wide.
"That spirit did that!?" another asked, dumbfounded.
"'Psychic Barrier,'" Seraph called, and the grip of Zyriel's bloodbending dissipated, allowing me to collapse to the ground, exhausted but free.
"Incredible... She's strong. She can win," muttered Corvus from the side of the arena. His words strengthened me. I had no mana left, but with Chi now accessible, I still had a chance. I just had to wait for my mana to recharge, then use all the power of my summons to triumph.
"You've broken my bloodbending... Interesting," said Zyriel, a mysterious smile stretching her lips. "But with you three, I guess I'll have to go to 30%." She then positioned herself, ready to act.
"What arrogance! You think you can stand against all three of us?" I said, boiling with rage. "I think you underestimate us a bit too much for my taste," I added.
"In my opinion, going to thirty percent already means I'm overestimating you. Don't you have a third spirit you could summon to make the fight a little less... boring?" Zyriel added, a mocking smile on her lips.
She underestimated me despite the three-on-one odds. I was going to make her regret her mistake. "Thorny Vines!" I launched, and immediately, thorn-laden plants surged from the ground, spreading in all directions. Zyriel dodged skillfully, but it was clear she didn't expect such persistence. The thorny plants would keep emerging as long as Zyriel dodged.
" 'Light Beam,' " Seraph cried out, and a beam of pure light, disintegrating everything in its path, hit Zyriel head-on. The speed of this beam was such that Zyriel couldn't dodge, and she was thrown against the arena wall.
"Well done, Arwyna! Show them what you're made of!" the elves cheered.
The class was in a frenzy, and the pressure mounted within me. Zyriel was powerful, I knew that, but the fight was far from over. The longer it went, the more my mana would recharge, and once recharged, I could enhance Sylph and Seraph to make them even stronger. I just needed to hold on a bit longer.
Zyriel, amidst the smoke, chuckled. "Three against one, not bad... 'Kuro: Flaming Carnage,'" she launched through the mist, and dozens of fireballs shot out from the void, devastating everything in their path.
Sylph waved her hands in a fluid motion, and a magical barrier appeared, protecting our group from the flames. Spirits have multipliers on their spells. Sylph's 'Vitalys' was ten times more powerful than mine, and her barrier ten times more resistant. Her healing and protective powers would be crucial against Zyriel's attacks.
"Arwyna, I have a very bad feeling... This opponent... there's nothing normal about her." Seraph, looking troubled, stared at me intensely. Seraph excelled in psychic powers. Thanks to his 'Clairvoyance' magic, he could see if a person was an imminent danger to me. Hearing him speak like this made me uneasy. What could he sense in this girl that disturbed him so much?
"No time for doubts," I said. "Seraph, keep going!"
No time to discuss, as fireballs appeared in the void behind Zyriel, rushing towards us. She charged at me at breakneck speed while the fireballs hit the ground. Seraph rose into the air and unleashed light spells; balls of light shot at Zyriel, but she quickly used her earthbending to protect herself from Seraph's light attacks by raising rocks to intercept the light bullets.
"Keep it up, Seraph! She can't counterattack now!" I shouted, feeling the tension in the air. Zyriel was injured, her health gauge had dropped to 46%. Victory was close. The audience, impressed, cheered.
I had no time to savor the moment. " 'Sylvestre Growth,' " I cast, and a gigantic tree appeared behind me. I then used the leaves of this tree to quickly follow up with a storm of razor-sharp leaves while Seraph charged a powerful light attack.
"You chain attacks at a good pace, that's good, but it won't be enough," Zyriel said. She leaped several meters high, and while upside down, she used her 'Murderous Fireball' again, sweeping away the leaf storm in an instant. The attack crashed against Sylph's magical barrier. The intense heat was felt, but Sylph's barrier held, though it cracked under the pressure.
"This barrier is surprisingly tough," murmured Yoko from the stands.
"I'm sick of this barrier," Zyriel said, landing.
"It's a shame you're not strong enough to break it, Zyriel," I retorted, smiling.
"Don't tempt me, little elf," she said, amused, then raised rocks around her, her dark aura growing.
"We, the Devas, are known for two things," she began, her voice low and menacing. "The first is our devastating power," she said as a red aura surrounded the rocks, "and the second," she continued, flames emerging from her hands and being absorbed by the red aura on the rocks. They turned smoking and red-hot. "Is our gift of fusion," she finished, ready to attack.
"Seraph, now!" I commanded. The beam of light, of devastating intensity, he had been charging for some time now, shot at Zyriel. Like previous times, she couldn't dodge it. However, at the same moment, despite Seraph's beam, Zyriel launched her rocks against Sylph's barrier. As soon as they made contact, without me understanding why or how, a gigantic explosion of fire erupted, creating a gaping crater. The attack was so violent that Sylph's barrier shattered, throwing us, Sylph and me, to the ground, reducing my health to 10%.
"What was that!?" the students panicked.
"Explosive rocks!" some exclaimed.
"Despite Sylph's barrier, her health still dropped to 10%!?" Yoko was astonished.
"Easy, Zyriel, you'll end it too soon," said Zayren, her twin brother.
"There's not much left to see anyway," Zyriel replied, while Seraph's beam continued to strike her, without affecting her health gauge.
"But wait! Why isn't Zyriel's health gauge decreasing?!" Yoko exclaimed.
"It's simple," Zayren calmly answered. "She's absorbing the attack with her power. It's a capability unique to the Devas: 'Mystical Siphon.' "
"I think it's time to return the favor, spirit of light." Zyriel, determined, spoke with cold precision. Seraph immediately ceased his attack and withdrew.
"'Shiro: Speed!'" she announced, and like last time, she became faster, but this time, something had changed. She was far too fast, so much so that she could now keep up with Seraph's movements.
"It's incredible! She's moving at the speed of light!" Professor Zemus marveled, which made the other students shiver. After a few seconds of intense exchanges, Seraph was violently thrown to the ground, and at that exact moment, our eyes could follow the fight. Still in the air, Zyriel used a terrifying power.
" 'Ranmei: Golden Lotus Flames!'" she launched. Golden flames burst from her hands, instantly disintegrating Seraph before our stunned eyes.
"Seraph!!?" I screamed, still on the ground. Zyriel directed her torrent of burning flames towards us. Sylph, reacting quickly, erected an immense wall of earth, adorned with roots and moss. She quickly emerged from behind the wall, grabbing me with vines that extended from her hands. The wall was vaporized in an instant, leaving nothing behind.
"Arwyna... Those flames..." Sylph began, visibly shocked. "They consume at the speed of light..."
"What?!" the Metaryons exclaimed.
"At the speed of light!?" the students murmured, astonishment clear in their voices.
"You saw correctly, spirit of earth," Zyriel answered with a satisfied smile.
"The principle is simple: if my target can be consumed, then regardless of the time or temperature needed to achieve this result, this jutsu will consume it at the speed of light."
This statement provoked an admiring murmur among some students, mainly humans.
"Sylph... Do you have enough energy left to heal me and bring back Seraph?" I asked, my voice trembling.
"I can heal you, and for Seraph... I can bring him back, as long as he wasn't killed by celestial power. But I won't have much energy left after that," she replied.
A summoned spirit never truly dies, as it's just a tiny projection of colossal power from another world. But if a celestial power annihilates them, even the most powerful among them would disappear instantly. This was the only flaw in this form of magic and also the reason why many powerful spirits like divine beasts refuse to be summoned by just anyone, because celestial damage received in our world would be multiplied in theirs, sometimes causing the death of powerful spirits.
"Don't worry, I have a plan." Sylph immediately used 'Vitalys', and my health gauge returned to 100%. She then concentrated a significant amount of mana to bring back Seraph.
"I have just enough energy to create an extremely powerful shield, or for healing," she informed me, exhausted but determined.
"Thank you, Sylph." I smiled at her before addressing the spirit of light: "Welcome back, Seraph."
"I've recovered enough mana. It's time." My smile grew more confident.
"Go ahead, I've got your back. I've reinforced my psychic barrier. Don't worry, her bloodbending won't work against this." Seraph, prepared, positioned himself to defend me.
"It's getting really annoying seeing your health go back up every time. I should have eliminated the spirit of earth first," Zyriel said in an almost weary voice, her gaze icy. "Well, no matter. I'll take you all down at once. 'Ranmei: Golden Lotus Flames!'" she launched. This time, she unleashed the attack without hesitation. As the flames approached us, Sylph placed the shield she had told me about. A massive green dome, composed of pure mana, surrounded us. Just before impact, the flames changed color from gold to a classic orange-red, then clashed against the magical dome.
"Look, the flames have turned back to normal!" an elf exclaimed, astonished.
"Damn, the luminous energy she absorbed has run out!" said Zayren.
"Absorbed?" Kaiser asked, not understanding.
"It's the Mystical Siphon's ability: she absorbs the energy of an attack and uses it until it's depleted," Zayren explained.
"Interesting." Kaiser nodded.
Sylph's shield resisted the attack. It was time for me to act.
"Are you ready? Sylph, Seraph?" I asked, a determined smile on my lips.
"When you are!" they responded.
"Then let's go." I raised my arms and pronounced with conviction: "'Evolution!'"
A green magic circle appeared beneath Sylph and a yellow one beneath Seraph. The circles rose, passing through the spirits, altering their appearance from bottom to top as they ascended. This magic had a price: all the mana I had regained. Seraph now had four trails of light serving as wings from his back, and his overall color changed from bright gold to pure white; he was larger now, around 2 meters 20, wearing an elegant white suit with silver embroidery. His eyes turned silver-gray. Sylph also grew, about 2 meters 10, with a green robe enveloping her body, and her wooden horns now bore leaves. Her hair was slightly longer, forming a braid down her back.
"Prepare to lose, Zyriel," I declared, with resolute voice.
To Be Continued...