Lucius's eyes were shut tight, and his hands were instinctively raised in front of him as if bracing for impact.
Slowly, he cracked them open, blinking in confusion. In front of him stood a solid wall of earth. It had a rough surface, evidently shielding him from the barrage of ice crystals.
'Di-Did I manage to get a spell off in time?' he thought, bewildered. 'I didn't even finish the chant, though...'The realization only deepened his confusion, and as his breathing steadied, his mind raced for answers.
Then, a sound broke through his thoughts—labored, ragged breaths from the other side of the wall.
"Ha!...Ha!...Ha!..."
His body tensed, and he froze, his instincts screaming that the fight wasn't over yet.
"You, just what are you, you little devil?!" Arlena's voice suddenly rang out, sharp and accusatory, from the other side of the wall. "You mean to tell me that you can't control just two, but three elements?!"
Lucius froze, his mind scrambling. 'Uhhhh...what to do?' he thought, his nervousness growing by the second.
Before he could come up with a response, Arlena appeared at the top of the wall, with dust and dirt all over her robe. She slid down with a practiced skid, landing with ease before pacing toward him in hurried strides.
Lucius instinctively took a step back with an awkward and unsure posture. It wasn't fear exactly—more a gnawing nervousness that made him retreat while still facing her.
His heel however, got caught on uneven ground, and he stumbled, landing on his backside with an audible thud. He looked up to find Arlena already standing over him, with a serious yet surprised gaze on her face. Her piercing gaze made him feel small, though not entirely in a bad way.
"What else are you hiding, you rascal?" Arlena asked calmly, and began to slowly advance her hand toward him.
Lucius froze. 'What's she doing? What is this? Some kind of magical punishment? Is she gonna zap me or—'
His thoughts were cut short as Arlena's hand gently reached down and offered to help him up.
Lucius blinked, stunned. 'Wait, what?'
"Get up, Lucius," she said, still looking at him with that calm expression.
He stared at her hand for a moment before slowly reaching up to take it. As she pulled him to his feet, he couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. 'Was I really expecting her to blast me into the stratosphere just for falling over?'
Arlena dusted off her robes and then gave him a quick, amused glance. "You're not getting off that easy. I was just helping you up."
Lucius awkwardly scratched his head. "Right, yeah… thanks."
She shrugged. "Don't mention it. Now, are you ready to get back to it, or should I help you up again?"
Lucius quickly straightened up, a little flustered but determined. "I'm good. Let's go."
Arlena yawned loudly, stretching her arms out above her head. "Good. Because I'm honestly getting tired of this," she said, her voice casual, though her tone still carried a hint of amusement.
Lucius raised an eyebrow. "Shall we end it with our next attacks then?" he asked, his eyes narrowing in focus.
She chuckled lightly, a small smirk appearing on her face. "Oh? You're a daring one, aren't you?" She tilted her head slightly, eyeing him. "Come at me with everything you have then."
Lucius' lips curved into a grin as he thought to himself, 'Although I haven't perfected it yet... it's still my best shot at winning against her. I guess I'll have to use that.'
Without hesitation, he stepped forward, raising his hands in preparation. "Here I come!" he called out, his voice steady despite the tension building in the air. He began chanting the wind spell once more, his focus sharp as he felt the magic surge around him.
Lucius chanted the wind spell once more, and the same familiar force enveloped his legs. He was lifted off the ground, gliding toward Arlena with increased speed. The sensation was the same as before—lightness and control—but this time, his focus was sharper, more determined.
He shot forward, ready to finish their duel.
Arlena's eyes locked onto him as he floated toward her, her expression unreadable. She was ready. But Lucius wasn't planning to hold back this time.
Lucius glided towards her, the air around him shimmering with the wind's energy, and Arlena didn't hesitate. With a quick, fluid motion, she summoned a cluster of ice crystals around her.
They twinkled coldly in the air, their sharp tips gleaming like miniature daggers, before she hurled them straight at him. The icy projectiles shot forward with incredible speed, aimed directly at his chest, their cold presence slicing through the air.
Lucius's eyes narrowed as he saw the oncoming threat. Without missing a beat, he planted his hand firmly on the ground while still in motion and began chanting rapidly.
"Stone, arise. Earth's wrath, take form!" he yelled, his voice echoing with intensity.
The ground beneath him rumbled and shifted as the earth obeyed his command. In an instant, a large stone ramp erupted from the ground, shooting up like a jagged wave of rock, blocking the ice crystals. They crashed into the surface with a sharp, cracking sound, the ice shattering on impact, but the ramp held strong.
Without waiting for a second, Lucius leaped off the stone ramp, soaring high into the air with the wind still guiding him. His heart pounded as he ascended, eyes fixed on Arlena, determined to catch her off guard.
Arlena's gaze flicked toward him, watching as he flew upward. Casting an earth spell while his wind spell is still active… she thought, impressed despite herself. Impressive. However, I've got you exactly where I want you now!
The air between them thickened with anticipation as the distance closed.
Arlena's eyes flashed as she summoned a blade of water, the liquid twisting and solidifying into a deadly, shimmering weapon. With a swift motion, she hurled the water blade straight at Lucius, it's sharp edge slicing through the air like a jet of liquid steel. The attack came at him with speed, and he had little time to react.
But Lucius, without breaking a sweat, kicked against the air using his wind magic. The force of the wind propelled him upward, and he twisted his body into a front flip. The water blade whooshed by just inches away, grazing the air around him as he narrowly avoided the strike.
'Impossible! He dodged that at this range?!' Arlena thought, the surprise clear in her eyes. She had expected him to be quick, but this was on a whole different level.
A closer look at his acrobatic display revealed something familiar, something she had used herself. It was a maneuver she'd perfected using her wind magic, but Lucius had done it with a much rougher touch—an imitation, but a remarkably well-executed one.
'He used the same move I did earlier, though a watered-down version of course,' Arlena mused, still shocked by how fluidly he'd pulled it off.
Her respect for him was growing, but so was her resolve to end this battle. She would have to take it up a notch if she wanted to put him down.
Lucius found himself directly above Arlena, several feet up in the air, gravity now pulling him toward her like a relentless force. Arlena, quick to react, raised her hands toward him and summoned a powerful tornado. The whirlwind erupted from her feet and spiraled upward with terrifying speed, aiming directly for him.
Lucius's eyes widened as he felt the rush of wind surging toward him. With no time to lose, he began chanting once more, the words leaving his lips instinctively, fueled by adrenaline.
"Torrent's embrace, engulf my foes—Aqua Tempest!"
A vortex of water burst forth from his hands, swirling violently into the shape of a tornado. It shot downward, colliding with the raging whirlwind Arlena had created.
The clash was immense. The wind's speed and ferocity fought to tear apart the water tornado, but the sheer density of the water added a new force that the wind couldn't fully overpower. The two forces intertwined, forming a chaotic mix of water and wind that churned violently in the air.
Lucius, still falling, felt the disruption he had caused. His counter had worked; the tornado's effect had been neutralized. Below him, Arlena stood frozen, her wide eyes staring upward in shock as she watched the whirlwind fall apart.
Using the momentum of his descent, Lucius began chanting again, his voice echoing above the chaotic winds.
"Flames of fury, ignite my soul—Ignis Strike!"
A familiar burst of fire engulfed his fist, the flames burning brighter than before as he poured every ounce of mana he had left into this final attack.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!" Lucius roared as he descended like a meteor, the fiery glow of his punch illuminating the battlefield.
Arlena's gaze remained locked on him. In that fleeting moment, as he hurtled toward her with everything he had, one thought flashed through her mind:
"He's a...."
But before she could complete the thought—
BOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!!
The impact shook the ground as flames erupted in all directions, sending a shockwave that rippled across the training field. Smoke and debris clouded the area, obscuring the outcome of the clash as silence followed the deafening explosion.