Chapter 68: Damon vs Claire

  After Tidus yelled for silence, the atmosphere in the Colosseum turned somber. They had just experienced a joke of a duel from the Towers, yet were unable to complain. Even as Damon and Claire prepared to begin their match, the audience remained subdued.

  The depressed crowd might affect Older Brother Damon’s match. I need to do something!

  In the midst of this dourness, a short, young boy remained earnest.

  “On behalf of the Academy, in return for the terrible match, we will be selling all our snacks and meals for half price until the end of the semi-finals!” Dylan shouted with his still somewhat high-pitched voice.

  He worked hard to reintroduce the lively atmosphere and ran without a moment of rest around the entire arena. As he weaved through the packed stands yelling with all his might, numerous spectators called out and waved at him to place orders for their meals. Nobody could resist the allure of half-priced meals. Soon, every section of the Colosseum regained its spirits and buzzed excitedly with plates topped high with savory meats and decadent pastries in their hands.

  The atmosphere in the Colosseum became lighthearted again thanks to Dylan. Although he had hired additional staff to receive and deliver orders, he had so much work to do that he couldn’t even take a sip of water.

  “Here you go, Sir Thomas! Miss Lilith! Here are your orders!” Dylan had a wide smile on his face as he placed two steaming plates in front of Thomas and Lilith. They were packed with juicy, tender meats.

  Even with the scrumptious meal in front of her, Lilith did not budge and stared down at the arena with her arms crossed.

  “What’s up with you today, Lilith? Here, I got you a bunch of first-tier essence beast meat. Auron usually go crazy for this stuff, don’t they?”

  “Hmph! I’m just still mad at that Damon fellow. That’s all! Seeing as how you’re treating me to this meal, it will be impolite to refuse!” Still frowning, Lilith grabbed a huge bone with a chunk of meat still attached. It oozed with grease as she bit down on it, splattering all over her face. However, she did not react as her eyes lit up in delight.

  Dylan had been walking away when he heard them talk about Damon. He slowed his steps as he focused on listening. If they were badmouthing his Older Brother, he needed to know!

  “Dish ish sho gooooood!” Lilith exclaimed as she crammed her cheeks full of food.

  Shaking his head, Thomas asked, “So why are you mad at Damon? Don’t tell me… Did he try to flirt with you? I remember the last guy who did that was…”

  A white bone struck his forehead with such force that it jolted his head back. “Ouch!”

  “Idiot, don’t talk about that incident in front of me.” With a flushed face, Lilith changed the subject back to Thomas’s original question. “Do you really not know why I’m mad at Damon? Aren’t you his friend? I thought he’d at least tell you.”

  “Don’t throw things at me! Your body is tough thanks to your physical cultivation, but us Arcon, are delicate! Do you know how much that hurt? And Damon told me nothing, so just spill it already!” Thomas rubbed the red mark on the center of his forehead. It had begun to swell.

  “He’s planning on losing to Claire! How do you not know that?” Lilith spat out the words as though they were disgusting food. She quickly chomped down on a thick steak cooked perfectly medium-rare to get rid of the lingering sourness from the words she had just spoken.

  “What?” Thomas’s eyes bulged out as he stared at Lilith. “But then… Why did we train so hard to defeat him..?”

  His gaze turned back to the arena, where Damon and Claire were exchanging their first blows. Not far away, Dylan also turned to look at Damon with wide eyes.

  Older Brother Damon, why would you purposely lose to Miss Claire? Don’t tell me… Sister-in-law..?

  “Lesser Shardburst!”

  Claire’s pupils rapidly constricted to the size of a pinpoint. With both of her arms extended, she curled the fingers of her left hand and waved her right. The wind wall surrounding her disappeared as the air was redirected to the incoming shards of ice. The cluster of ice shards began glowing with a bright red luster. They failed to penetrate the wind and began to explode right in front of her.

  The harsh gale pushed the shards back and, at the same time, spiraled around them. A dense tempest formed around them, enclosing them within a vortex of thick, twisting winds.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  A chain of explosions rang out from within the clear sphere of wind. It radiated with blistering heat and blinding light. Roaring flames rammed into the internal walls, attempting to blast through. After an intense battle, a crack finally formed in the vortex, and the flames surged out. The chilliness from earlier vanished, and the atmosphere began to boil.

  Claire retreated to the edge of the platform, and a thin wind wall protected her from the blast. Beads of sweat rolled down her neck as the temperature rose around her. Not long after, the orange glow finally dissipated as the last flicker of flame burnt out. With a wave of her hand, the wind around her settled, and she could see Damon through the thick smog left behind by the spell.

  “Not bad, Claire!” Damon grinned, his left arm raised above him.

  Three Ice Spears floated above him, rotating with such terrifying speed that they appeared motionless. The high-pitched humming they emitted caused the air near them to vibrate.

  “Not bad, yourself! You almost got me.” Even as Claire responded with lighthearted words, her hands did not stop moving. Slowly, the gale gathered around her again.

  “Let’s see if you can block these!”

  The frozen lances shot out, leaving behind a shower of water droplets. The high-speed rotation, combined with the remaining heat, caused it to melt while it was in flight. Claire did not miss this minute detail.

  She spread her arms out to either side before bringing them in and clapping in the direction of the incoming attack. The wind gathered into a funnel in front of her, rushing forth to meet the spears head on. While the two forces clashed, her palms opened up, and a small crimson flame emerged from between them. The inferno pulsed as it enlarged into a fireball the size of her head. Then from it burst out a pillar of fire, which twisted as it melded into the wind funnel.

  “Yes!”

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  Earlier, when the Lesser Shardburst had exploded, causing Claire to retreat, Alan jumped to his feet while screaming in joy.

  Wesley shot him an annoyed glare before focusing on the ongoing duel. He needed to explain the circumstances to the audience.

  “What an impressive start to the match by both sides. Damon opened up with his arrows, keeping Claire at bay as he cast his unique spell. Claire, using her innate control over the wind, launched into an immediate counter-strike. However, that was just a ruse! Damon did not use his regular Shardburst and instead used a Lesser Shardburst to fool her into a reckless advance!”

  “Whoa!”

  “That’s awesome!”

  “There is so much more going on beneath the surface!”

  “Thanks for the explanation, Wesley!”

  “What happened next?”

  Wesley grew heated as he heard words of support from the crowd. He felt so happy that his toes curled in excitement. “Claire managed to block the massive explosion with a high-pressure wind vortex, cleverly nullifying its damage! But that gave Damon time to cast several Ice Spears! And now, look! They’re shooting straight toward Claire. But, wait? What’s this? Fire? From Claire?”

  The spiraling whirlwind of flames crashed into the spears of ice, blasting them into clouds of steam as it continued toward Damon.

  Gasping in shock, it was Damon’s turn to go on the defensive. He had not known Claire was capable of casting spells of any element other than wind. Actually, he should have known. Even he, himself, was proficient with numerous elemental spells. Would a talent like Claire only rely on her innate constitution? The answer was clear.

  He had two options. Cast a barrier and hope it can withstand the incoming attack. Or attack back, hopefully snuffing the flames. He picked the latter.

  Damon brought his hands to his waist as he quickly chanted a spell. It was Water Torrent. When he extended his arms forward with his palms open, a jet of water blasted out from between. The gushing water crashed into the blazing vortex in the center of the stage. One moment, the water was pushed back, and the next, it was winning. This stalemate was maintained for several seconds, only erupting into steam where they met.

  More and more steam emerged from the collision point of the two attacks, filling the arena with a dense fog. Eventually, the spectators and even the two commentators could no longer see the duel.

  “The attack seems to be evenly matched! Unfortunately, the mist is so thick that even my eyes can’t make out what’s happening. How about you, Alan? Can you see what’s going on down there?” Wesley screamed with frustration.

  That was not the only scream resounding from the commentator’s terrace. Under bright red eyes radiating blazing light, Alan’s mouth hung wide open.

  “No! Damon’s losing!” Alan yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice so loud that his words were carried to the audience even without the use of the crystal orb.

  Atop the stage, Damon’s spell had ended, and the flood of water erupting from between his hands stopped. Water Torrent was able to materialize a lot of water, yet the spell had a limit. Unfortunately, Claire’s wind could be sustained as long as she had power remaining. He had lost in the head-on clash.

  As soon as his spell died out, he leaped to the side with as much force as he could muster in his legs. But he was not an Auron. The flaming vortex tore past his previous location, the outer ring crashing into his legs. The bracers on his arms activated, verdant barriers forming around his body.

  Crack. Crack. Crack.

  He heard three loud cracks as two of the barriers shattered completely, and the third was heavily cracked. As he rolled across the smooth tiles, the third finally shattered as well. The light being emitted by his bracers dimmed.

  Three barriers gone, huh? Was I too cocky? Why did I say those arrogant words to Lilith and Nolan? Claire is stronger than I imagined. But fire? That counters most of my ice spells. Have I been too focused on cold? But this is good. This is exciting.

  His thoughts ran through his mind quickly as adrenaline pumped through his blood vessels. He was having fun.

  Through his Mindsense, he saw Claire building up a new layer of wind while pushing the fog away. She did not look at him, as though she had yet to discover his exact position. His lips parted into a smile. He needed to make use of the mist before she got rid of it.

  He grabbed three arrows out of his quiver and held them up into the air as he channeled his power into casting Ice Spears. This time, he would embed an arrow into them to prevent the flames from just melting through the attack. On top of that, he would time the attack with another Lesser Shardburst.

  That should do the trick!

  The thought of letting Claire win had vanished from his mind entirely. He had to give it his all. Anything less would be an insult to her. Now, he focused wholeheartedly on the duel, whether he won or lost. He just wanted to enjoy the fight with Claire.

  “Yes! He survived… Three barriers broken… That’s okay, he can still win. Arrows? What is he doing with those? Oh! Inside the spears? What a genius!” Alan mumbled under his breath as he leaned over the table and scrutinized the white fog below. With his arcane sight, he could barely make out the outlines of Damon and Claire.

  “Stop mumbling and relay the information to the audience! I don’t have anything like arcane sight to see through the mist! Come on, at least tell me what’s happening properly!” Wesley pulled on Alan’s robes as he begged piteously. However, he was ignored by Alan.

  Alan could only focus on two things currently. Watching Damon as closely as possible, and the wooden slip creaking under his tight grip.

  I can’t see anything. The moisture in the air is slowing my wind as well. This isn’t good.

  Claire looked around as the winds slowly gathered around her. The fog encompassing the arena was gradually pushed away, but the process was too sluggish. With time to prepare, Damon was the scariest foe she could face.

  He’s probably going to use Shardburst, since he has the opportunity. Is he casting the spell right now? I need to find him!

  She pushed forward with her hand, and thin blades of air sliced through in numerous directions ahead of her. They held no real power, only useful for occasions like this, where she just needed a direct line of sight to her opponent.

  “There you are!”

  Claire spotted Damon standing at a corner of the platform. Surprisingly, what hovered above him were three Ice Spears like earlier, not the countless ice shards she was expecting. She grinned.

  Is he out of arcane power to cast Shardburst? I can win!

  The winds around her began to pick up speed as she prepared to launch another flame vortex. The Ice Spears launched through the fog and zoomed toward her, just as she expected. She pushed her arms out, just like before, and a wind funnel formed. Following immediately were the blazing flames.

  Claire watched with keen anticipation as she tried to see through Damon’s plans. Why was he using a failed tactic? The next moment, the smile on her face froze. The flaming maelstrom had passed through the spears, melting them into vapor, yet three black lines pierced through and arrived in front of her.

  Ack, he got me!

  Contracting all the muscles in her abdomen, she twisted her upper body to the side as quickly as she could. At the same time, she punched forward with a fist.

  Two of the sleek, black arrows missed her by a hair's breadth. The last one stabbed toward her right hand. A layer of wind spiraled in front of her arm, forming a drill against the rapidly spinning arrow. The impact lasted a split second before the wind drill split apart, and the arrow continued on its trajectory. Green barriers materialized in front of her and blocked it.

  One. Two. Three.

  It penetrated through three barriers before finally coming to a stop against the fourth. A heavy sigh of relief escaped her throat as she stumbled backward. Her foot caught the very edge of the platform.

  Lifting her gaze, she saw Damon standing in the distance with his left arm extended. Her legs wobbled as strength escaped her body. That stance could only mean one thing.

  “Oh, no.”

  The fog had not completely dissipated. Though the immediate vicinity of the stage had been cleared, the rest remained.

  Whoosh.

  The chilliness in the air bit at her skin. The sound of objects rushing through the air echoed from within the mist. Then she saw them.

  Numerous small projectiles soared out from the encircling mist, flying toward her from the top, sides, and back. She had been trapped.

  “You really are going all out. I guess… I should too.”