Chapter 119 - Two-versus-two [2]

The arena's cheerful demeanor dropped. The lower hemisphere had a change in the aura; team four went on the offensive. Leading the charge, Rosalinda – her eyes and battle strategy grew bolder. Carle's careful stance focused into one of a more serious approach. Each one had grown tired of the mind games. Armed with only spells and no weapons, Rosalinda jumped straight into the fray. She targeted Austin; from the start, he had a strange look in his eyes. The look of fear and nervousness – he sadly could not drop the pressure from the massive audience. Thus, using Huon who now was a mini-typhoon as cover, she went and aimed for the weakest link. Carle tried his best, from elemental spells to enhancement magic; the desperation to break through ended in naught but disappointment. Rosalinda carefully chose what spell to use. None actually caught what happened; Carle was rendered useless – paralyzed by the ground itself. "What is happening?" he asked with the eyes glaring at Rosalinda. "The Snobs have gotten there way," she spoke into third-person, the armband vibrated. Carle knelt, the head beneath her feet – he broke. Not physically but mentally, the pressure he felt had blocked out any voices.

"Austin, LISTEN TO ME," the end was near, Carle screamed with teary eyes. Sadly, Huon didn't care one bit for the volley of Needle Gale, a projectile spell that mimics the property of a bullet, all hit their target. The barrier Carle put up began to break down, each hit meant a loss in mana. The stars changed from three to one in a matter of seconds, Austin gave up. Carle was depleted, mana had reached the lower limit – if it reached zero, death would be imminent.  

"The fight ended earlier than before," Aceline added in jest. Eira's gut told her that the fight wasn't over yet. Not that they would make a come-back, but the fact that Rosalinda didn't care about their foe. The bloodl.u.s.t was subtle, Staxius felt it too. "Josiah," he screamed, Carle's mana began to drop under the lower limit – it showed for the fairly pale face turned purple. "-we are jumping into the battle; death isn't what you want. I know you can hear me, so I'll leave the necessary things to you." All happened in a matter of seconds, Josiah got the message. Eira watched in confusion, Carle's life flashed before his eyes.

"Eira, sorry but I'm about to do something stupid," Staxius said while looking forward. "What do you mea…" before the question reached him, the glass broke. "WAIT UP," she realized what he had done. Staxius jumped from the viewing booth; the crowd's cheer grew louder.

*What is this, team five has unexpectedly broken out of the viewing booth,* for a second, Staxius looked as if he levitated. Time stopped, Eira was mesmerized. Before the feet landed, whilst still in mid-air, Staxius vanished. The commentators were left speechless and so was Eira. *Dark arts, Magical Barrier,* a blackish wall manifested. Carle's eyes had their life back, the onslaught stopped – a star remained on the armband.

"W-who are you?" the dazed boy tried to see who the savior was. Applauses overwhelmed the cheers. It became apparent that Huon had the eyes of a killer – he wanted to kill Carle no matter the cost. "Damn it, Father can be such a pain," using shadow-step – Eira followed behind. Aceline was left baffled, 'Eira and Staxius, what an interesting bunch,' she smiled.

"T-thanks for saving me," Carle spoke, the thank you was heard throughout the stadium. Everyone turns silent, "WHY ARE YOU INTERRUPTING OUR BATTLE?" Rosalinda shouted. The voice echoed in a piercing and distorted manner across. "Battle," Staxius chuckled, Eira arrived at last. "-this is anything but a battle," he caught Eira's eyes and signaled her to attack Rosalinda. Her guard was down – the perfect opportunity.

*Clang,* Eira's great sword stopped. "A summoner," Staxius smiled, a golden sword materialized in her hands. Austin's conscience gave in and the body dropped. Carle's eyes flickered with a ray of hope – the chance to avenge Austin presented itself. "I-I'll f-finish t-the fight m-myself," feebly, the boy stood. The crowd encouraged the effort, everything broadcasted itself. From close up body shots to the conversations happening, the audience saw it all.

"There's more to you than meets the eye," Eira took a step back and used a defensive stance. "I'm impressed that you can wield such a weapon," Rosalinda replied, each complemented one another. The blade she summoned shone; it had the hue of a setting sun.

"F-face me," Carle yelled, Rosalinda shrugged. "Don't get overly confident," Staxius spoke monotonously, it rattled the audience. The breathing stopped, "-I didn't rush in to aid you," *BAM,* a massive explosion made everyone look away. One of the Starlight member's body got slammed against the barrier, blood splattered everywhere. *BEEP,* a loud alarm rung, it signaled that a team had been eliminated. *Team five saved team two just to steal their last star, how underhanded,* the commentators lit the fire even more. The audience got into it – the battle changed from a normal tournament to a full-on story about revenge and betrayal. Carle's head slammed on the floor – Staxius knocked him out using the unsheathed steel-sword.

All the participants stopped for the arena moved. It changed, the sound of gears turning, the barrier getting formed once more. The separated battleground changed into a circle, the wall dividing each sphere dropped. The field became one, Beth's body sloppily fell onto the floor. That didn't stop her, the fighting spirit burned more than ever before.

"I guess it's an all-out war then," Staxius spoke, everyone heard him. Eira jumped and fell back to his side, "-you best entertain us," she added. The aura coming from them sent shivers down the student's spine. Azer and  Paige laughed in turn. "Show us what you got, pitiful mages." What ensued afterward could not be described. The images got burnt in the spectators' eyes. The four-versus-four went on for hours. Neither wanted to give in, the stars were evenly distributed with everyone having four except for Staxius and Eira. They willingly gave one away, in that manner – stars traded amidst each other without a clear winner. What were hours felt like minutes, the fight had been the best thing to ever exist.

*Huff, Puff,* Starlight managed to hold their own. The adventurers were tired but ready to fight, the Snobs had nothing else to add, Staxius and Eira waited. "this is getting old," from switching from long range to short, Staxius grew bored. Not wanting to end the battle quickly, he fought with the blade sheathed. The others didn't take it lightly, they felt like getting looked down upon. Especially the adventurers, their morals didn't allow it. For the entirety, they two-teamed Staxius who dodged and parried. Eira focused her attention on Rosalinda while the remainder fought without any care to whom they hit.

Eira's battle wasn't hard, she fought with all her might. However, at times, her posture froze into one more docile. Staxius noticed but chose to pay no heed. "Come on," Rosalinda mumbled, she grew tired. The unwillingness to attack from her opponent made her mad. "Are you doing me a favor by holding back?" Rosalinda added once more, "NO," Eira charged forwards. Swing after swing, the same pattern, and the same unwillingness to hurt her opponent. "AGAIN?" Rosalinda yelled and got a direct hit. She thrust into Eira's stomach; the latter managed to dodge but bled.

'Seriously?' the eyes changed, Staxius's murderous intent began to build up. A single glance towards Azer told everything. The duo backed off –"w-what j-just happened?" they asked, the survival instinct took charge.

"Eira," the man vanished, "-listen to me," a voice came from behind. "Y-yes?" Eira replied and gulped, she sensed it, the coldness in the voice. "I'm desperately trying to not lose control. Do me a favor and get that compassion in control; have you forgotten what I taught you? Remember it, all that we've done in the past two days, it holds the answer. I'll give you five minutes," he sighed, "if you don't do anything by then, everyone here dies," the cold presence disappeared once more.

He went back to fighting Azer, it felt like seconds but for Eira – it was minutes. 'Father is dead serious,' she looked to where he fought, '-the death reaper,' her mentality changed. "No more mercy," with one step, Eira lunched forward and swung down, *CLANG,* Rosalinda blocked and the ground below cracked. *Ding,* a star was awarded for that strike. Blood dripped onto the floor; Rosalinda's hand got injured. "Finally," she smiled, Eira's eyes resembled Staxius's.

Starlight and Huon grew tired, mana was depleted. Prolonged battles were a mage's bane. "Sorry, but removing weakling's is our forte," Paige dashed towards the tired mages and managed to acquire their stars – all of it. Huon fell back and supported Rosalinda – Starlight's star count reached one. Staxius didn't care, the attention was focused on Eira. She slowly shook her own limits, the compassion of not fighting due to the fear of killing. Her truth strength began to manifest, the blade changed from black and blue to snowy-white. Her eyes changed from red to light blue. Her magical element enhanced her body and blade.

"Paige," Staxius parried Azer's strike and ran. "-you should not leave the mages alone," with a quick flick of the wrist, Beth fell. The star transferred over.   *There you have it, two teams have been eliminated,* the commentators screamed with joy.

"Job well done," Staxius retreated to Eira's side. "The fear is subsiding; time to go all out," he patted her on the back. Her smile told all, she rushed in, the body moved flawlessly. The stance came back, she felt at ease, the snow angel. The natural talent for battle never left, it went against Huon and Rosalinda.

Staxius fought Azer and Paige like usual – the strongest out of the bunch. The fighting style was more defensive than usual. It was to bite time for Eira, the goal was for her to regain that spark.

Someone is getting carried away," Rosalinda yelled. *TEMPEST RAGE,* her magical element, a combination between water and wind, merged. Huon summoned the strongest spell he knew, Tempest Rage. It wasn't highly damaging, the true fear lived within the speed at which it traveled. *Clap,* an arrow-like shape shot out of both, Huon fell – mana depleted. Rosalinda could barely stand; this was their last assault. "What?" without notice, it made contact. Her body was thrown halfway across, it left a trail of blood. She fell and coughed, her eyes turned from blue to red and finally lifeless.

"I'm not done yet," miraculously Eira stood, her body bled from the thousand cuts. "Neither am I," Rosalinda darted, her sword made contact with Eira. The protection from the ice broke, it even pierced the armored uniform. *Cough,* blood spewed. Rosalinda's face dripped with liquid. Crimson and dark, she unwillingly had stabbed her foe. The crowd went dead silent, it became real. This wasn't meant to be, the commentators turned mute.

"I-I'm sorry," her body fell backward. the impact echoed. 'I can't believe it. I was bested even after father trained me. It's pathetic, I got stabbed without being able to react. I didn't even drop my guard once. How worthless am I," her eyes slowly closed, '-it burns, my stomach, it tingles. ' Deep down Eira knew that she wasn't ready just yet.

"Azer," Paige spoke, the battle momentarily stopped, "yes?" he replied. "Did that man's partner just die," she asked in a c.o.c.ky tone. "I guess so, pathetic if you ask me," Azer added.

"Ha-ha," Staxius laughed, "I-I c-can't believe it," his hands trembled. Staxius saw everything transpire, from the moment the spell got launched – he saw it but could not move. The feet felt glued to the ground, his precious daughter bled. "Blood,"  the chest tightened, breathing became hard. "Blood, "  it spoke again, something snapped. The shock of her falling wasn't the worst thing.

'I can't give in just yet,' using the little strength she had, Eira tilted to face Staxius. He stood as if a statue, nothing could be sensed. 'Sorry…' the lips moved; the eyes lost the will to fight. It turned lifeless and closed.

"Blood," he chuckled, "die."