“Your roll as support will involve assisting your teams from the outside with these.” Lucian pulled a deck of playing cards out of his pocket. He spread them out with one hand like an expert stage magician, then flicked three cards to each of them. The cards floated through the air as if guided by an invisible force, landing face down in front of either of them.
“Nice trick,” Max said, impressed. “Magic never ceases to amaze, does it?”
Mizuki picked up one of the cards and glared at it. “What do we even do with these?”
“Each one of your cards possess a particular effect that you can activate once per room by stating its name out loud as well as thinking about the intended target if it only applies to one player,” Lucian said. “Once activated, the card’s effect will go into play for one room. It will not continue onward, and as there are three challenges, and three rooms, the choice of when to activate each card is up to you. To activate a card, you simply lay it down in front of you and speak its name.”
Max looked down at his cards, feeling a mounting pressure at what he should do. His cards stated the following:
- Slow: “When Slow is activated, it slows down an enemy for 3 minutes.”
- Titan’s Touch: “When Titan’s Touch is activated, it enhances one player’s physical strength at random, slowly building with each moment.
- Impervious Skin: “When impervious skin is activated, it reinforces one player’s skin to a hardness that is impenetrable by physical objects such as claws, swords, or fists. Impervious Skin does not protect from magical attacks.”
He rubbed his chin then raised his head to the screen, wondering whom his teammates would be.
Mizuki growled as she scooped up her cards in a frustrated motion, frowning at them. “I would be much more useful on the inside than out here playing games.” Her cards stated the following:
- Immune: “When Immune is activated, it grants all allies immunity to magical effects.”
- Flame Caster: “When Flame Caster is activated, it grants the ability to manipulate and use fire to one player.”
- Knight’s Shield: “When Knight’s Shield is activated, it summons a magical shield of protection for one player.”
She grinned at the Flame Caster card, slapping her fingers across with a roll of her eyes. “Wouldn’t need this card if I was in there.” How stupid was it to have a card that granted the ability to manipulate fire when she could just use her Furys to do the same? She wanted to be inside fighting alongside a teammate instead of playing silly cards as backup. She scoffed.
“Let the games begin,” Lucian said with the wave of his hand. The giant screen showed the two teams moving about their respective rooms.
Mizuki smiled at the sight of having Vincent and Alexander as her teammates, watching them face down the bear. “So I get the two silly boys.”
Max frowned at the sight of Isabella and Alacard facing off against another female vampire that he had to admit was kinda sexy. He was not pleased at all to be on Alacard’s team. It also looked like Alacard was trying to take matters into his own hands and getting beat down for it, which made Max shake his head. Granted, Isabella did have a cute flare of her own so he didn’t mind helping her even though he’d much rather be helping Mizuki.
Max and Mizuki both shuffled their cards in different ways, then after glancing at one another, zoned in on their teams.
. . .
Vincent stared at the charging bear, stepping backward as he shook his head. Alexander, in the meantime, had lifted a clenched fist to his chest, his eyes closed in a concentrated manner. He was envisioning what he wanted to create with his magic, as he had been taught. It was one way to cast a spell, even though he wasn’t all that good, or quick, at it. Still, he had time.
Vincent had no idea what he was doing, eyes wide. “Alex, w-what are you doing, man?”
As the bear got closer, Alexander imagined with all his heart what he wanted to create and willed his magical aura into a spell of flame. He opened his eyes and lifted his palm toward the beast, sly smile on his face.
“Boom,” he said, and a little spark emitted in front of his palm, like the striking of a match or the attempt at getting a lighter going. It fizzled to nothingness, a small puff of smoke rising from the spot. He blinked and stared at his hand incredulously, then frowned. “Well, that’s not good.”
He was so in the zone, so confused at the situation, that he forgot about the beast upon him.
Watch out! Vincent wanted to shout, but was unable to move or speak, his throat dry, his heart thumping against his chest as he watched in horror as the beast descended on Alexander, swiping mighty paw and sharp claws.
Alexander moved out of the way but wasn’t fast enough to dodge fully and took a hit that ripped through his jacket and skin, blood flying from the wound as he slid backward and fell to a knee, clutching his bloodied arm.
“Misjudged that one,” he said through gritted teeth.
The bear spun on him and charged again, which was faster than he anticipated.
“No!” Vincent screamed, finding his voice, his eyes going wide as he felt a sudden instinctual urge come bursting forward. He kicked off the ground and moved on the bear with incredible speed that even surprised him. He was able to reach the bear before it could attack Alexander, and he put his head down and knocked his shoulder into the bear with all his might, effectively making the bear’s strike miss Alexander by inches.
Vincent and the bear tumbled to the ground. While the bear was fast, it had fallen awkwardly and had a hard time getting up. Vincent scrambled to his feet and backpedaled from the beast, his moves anxious, his focus weak, and so he tripped over his own legs and fell on his butt next to Alexander.
“Nice save, man,” Alexander said with a winced and a wink.
“What do you think you were doing with that crazy move?” Vincent said with a rising anger in his voice. Vincent assumed that if Alexander knew what he was doing that a spell which had been cast. It wasn’t so his assumption was correct in that Alexander was essentially winging it.
“A little magic,” Alexander said, shrugging. “I thought I could just blast the thing, but I guess I’m a little rusty.”
“A little rusty?” Vincent said with incredulousness at the idea of trying to pull something off in a challenge like this. He had to keep his rising anger at bay, because it felt like he was going to explode if he didn’t, so he shook it off. “This is no time to be testing things out,” he spat, his anger rising. Why was he so upset? He needed to calm himself. “Next time, just coordinate with me when you plan on doing something random or rash.” He had to calm himself down. This wasn’t really life or death, even though it felt that way. Was this sudden rush and rise of anger because of his Beast Mind?
“My bad,” Alexander said, rubbing the back of his next in an embarrassed fashion. “I guess I need more time to build up my magical aura.”
Vincent didn’t have time to think more about it as the bear grunted and growled, scrambling back up to its feet and kicking up dirt. It narrowed its beady eyes on Vincent, which made him gulp. As Vincent met the beast’s eyes, it clawed the ground aggressively, and Vincent sensed it was going to charge.
This wasn’t the time to berate Alexander or be angry. He had to come up with a plan and use Alexander’s magic to their advantage, if he could even pull it off. All of this was crazy. Fighting a bear in some magical arena and claiming to be able to create fire with a spell. Nuts was what it was, but he had to accept this as a new reality, even if it was a supernatural one.
“Well, whatever you need to do,” Vincent said, watching the bear as it lumbered forward, moving into a run. “Do it now.” He jumped to his feet, waved his hands about wildly, screaming, “Hey, stupid, follow me!” When the bear looked at him and charged, he ran backward as fast as he could, keeping his attention on the bear as it came at him, hoping it would give Alexander the time to build his magical aura or whatever. He didn’t care, he just wanted Alexander to fry this thing.
As he saw the beast come on him, he felt a little shame at being so afraid and relying on Alexander to pull off something crazy. Still, his task wasn’t anything easy either as the bear was quickly gaining on him. He did his best to envision that moment back when he had leapt into the air in an attempt to go over his fence that early morning and how invigorating and alive it made him feel.
“All right,” Alexander said, nodding and clenching his fist to his chest again, closing his eyes and concentrating. He imagined the flame again, the desire of wanting to bring the glorious fire to life, focusing his thoughts and will on it entirely in the dark space of his mind.
Vincent’s heart beat in rhythm with the slow motion of the bear coming at him, closer and closer, even though he was back peddling, glancing over at Alexander from time to time. “I don’t know how this stuff really works,” he said, breaths heavy as he was giving considerable effort and focus. He looked back at the snarling beast, right in its hungry eyes as its growled and showed its sharp teeth, saliva driving from its mouth. Vincent gave Alexander another glance as the beat beat beat of his heart hit him with thudding anticipation in unison with the bear’s massive paws against the ground. “But I assume that you can hear me. I’m going to bring this sucker right to you in a few moments, so be ready with something… firework worthy.” He let out a little chuckle, licking his lips as he looked back at the beast and gulped.
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It was nearly on him, so he turned a bit and headed right for Alexander, waiting for a moment to be crazy and random himself.
Alexander nodded, giving a sly smile as a small flame flickered in the darkness of his mind, bursting to life with a small fury, providing him the signal he needed to unleash his spell. “I’m ready,” he yelled, as he stood and opened his eyes to a sight that made his heart leap.
Vincent was upon him, just a few steps away, and then he suddenly shifted, pushed toward the beast, and as the bear snarled and slashed at him, Vincent leapt into the air, just like he had leapt over his yard’s fence, the bear slashing and snapping its jaws, barely missing his body. He didn’t land well, and so he shoulder-rolled to a knee, twisting around to see the action unfold.
Luckily, the bear had lost its footing, so desperate to take a chomp out of Vincent, that it had tumbled to the ground in a heap of dirt and debris. Right in front of Alexander.
. . .
Mizuki griped the three cards in her hand, biting her lip as she watched the bear fall into the ground and Alexander lift his hand to unleash the spell. She wished she was in there to fry that bear’s butt, but she wasn’t, so she did what she thought was best as the support and laid down a card. She focused her thoughts on Alexander as the intended target and spoke the words to activate it.
“Flame Caster!”
The card set off a luminous light and floated into the air, then it began to vibrate, finally evaporating into a magical, glittery dust of nothingness.
“This will ensure you toast that thing to ashes,” she said, clenching the two remaining cards very much wanting to be in on the action.
. . .
Alexander lifted his palm toward the bear as it scrambled and scratched itself back to its feet, leveling his intense eyes on the beast, and unleashing his spell of fire. He had this moment of worry, though, as the flame did the same thing as before, trying to ignite in a quick spark, then just letting out a poof and small trail of smoke. A second later, though, he felt something surge through him, and he smiled because he knew that this would allow him to unleash a furious fire unlike anything he could do alone. And while part of him was bitter about this help, he didn’t hold back and unleashed it with all he had.
“Take a bite of this, sucker,” he said, watching the bear correct itself, turn to him, and slash its massive paw at his body. He didn’t flinch, he didn’t relent, he just smirked.
A fire erupted from his palm, engulfing the bear’s body in a roaring flame. The bear cried out in agony, losing its footing, falling to the ground with a thud as it jerked and convulsed and curled into a ball. Then it went silent, save for the furious flame cooking through it with popping and cracking and hissing noises just like a fire burning through wood.
“Ginga,” Alexander said, his eyes wide at the insane flame that he had unleashed. While he knew that something had come over him, something from the outside assisting him in his output, he had no idea it would be that furious, that efficient, that effective.
Vincent stepped to the side of Alexander, and they both stared down at the burning beast.
“Who, or what, is Ginga?” Vincent asked.
Alexander stood bewildered at the raw power of what he had just done. It certainly wasn’t his magic that had done that. If it was his magic, it would have totally fizzled, and he would have been dust himself. He took a step back and rubbed a shaky hand through hair. “Oh, it’s a curse word, sorta. Ginga’s, like, the supernatural god, worshiped by elven all over the world and many beings in the Mainland. So, you know,” he said shrugging with a smirk. “Taking its name in vain and all that.”
“Oh,” Vincent said, watching the bear burn, relieved they had defeated it but feeling sad for it at the same time because of the unrelenting flame Alexander had just cast, wondering where he had been hiding all that raw power. “Well, at least you took the teddy bear down.”
“Yeah,” Alexander said with a little chuckle. “Quite the teddy.”
Eventually, the fire died down, and the body of the beast dissipated into a glittery dust that was whirled away by some kind of magical wind. Behind the body of the bear appeared another hovering red door that glittered and emitted a low hum.
Alexander patted Vincent on the shoulder with his good arm, wincing from the pain of his wounded arm that was still bleeding some and looked much more gnarled up close. “Well, seems like we passed our first test.” He grimaced and fell back on his butt, letting out an exhausted sigh.
Vincent moved to him, concerned. “That looks pretty bad. We gotta do something about it.”
Alexander laughed and coughed. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”
As Vincent stared at the torn flesh, taking in its metallic scent, he also sensed fear radiating from Alexander which made him want to give into a hunger he never thought was possible. He licked his lips at the smell of delicious flesh and fear emanating from Alexander whom was probably in a lot of pain at this moment, worried he would end in this challenge and be transported back, even if it wasn’t real, it would feel real, as the headmaster had told them. Which was weird, because Alexander didn’t show the fear, or the worry. Vincent could just sense it, as strong as the smell of blood oozing from his wounded arm. And he was wounded, and it would be an easy kill.
Vincent leaned back, placing a hand against his head as he felt a pathetic feeling wash over him at the thought of giving into an animalistic nature that wanted to tear Alexander’s arm off and devour him and how delicious that would have been. He shook that crazy thought off and refocused on the task at hand, telling his Beast Mind to stop bothering him, to go away and never come back as it was not needed, the fight was over.
And it worked, at least for the moment. Which was good, because he still knew so little about the Beast Mind and the Power of the Were. Still, that thought about Alexander’s flesh smelling delicious, even if for a moment, made his insides turn, which almost let to him vomiting.
Vincent knew Alexander had expended lots of energy, and became worried as he looked at the arm, licking his lips as he was not able to totally evade the nasty thought of wanting to take a chunk and… eat it. This was his friend, and he needed help, especially if they were going to get to the end. He needed his teammate, so he sucked it up and leaned down next to him.
“Here,” he said, ripping off some of his own shirt, fastening a torniquet above the wound, Alexander letting out a pained grunt as he did. “This will help.” He pulled it tight then leaned back and wiped an arm across his perspiring forehead.
Vincent sighed and leaned back, taking a moment to think things through before moving on. “How did you come up with such a gnarly spell after fizzling that first one?”
“I didn’t,” Alexander said, propping himself up with a grunt. “I mean I had a spell ready, and I felt confident.” He looked down at his hand, clenching it into a fist. “Something else was there, though. Something strong and supportive, like a guiding force that told me to unleash the fire and it would be more than I had ever seen before. I think it was help from outside.
They both looked up at the sky that was filled with stars that reminded them of Lunestra’s starlit sky.
“Hmm,” Vincent said, rubbing his chin. “That makes sense.” He turned to Alexander. “You gonna be okay?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Alexander said, clenching the hand of his good arm. “My arm, not so much.” He chuckled, then gave a serious look as he took in a breath, removing his jacket tenderly, then ripping his dress-shirt sleeve off to reveal the bloodied, gnarled wound. Hovering his good hand over his bloodied arm, he braced himself. “You might want to look away.” He shoved the piece of cloth into his mouth and concentrated on his good hand, closing his eyes as he did.
“No way,” Vincent said, stumbling his words. “You’re not gonna do what I think you’re gonna do?” He moved back and turned away.
“Mhmm,” Alexader said as he produced a wave of heat that emanated from his hand, and as it did, he placed it down on his wound. He let out a muffled cry, tears filling his eyes as he bit down on the cloth in his mouth. His hand had essentially become hot coils of a stovetop, and it seared the skin and wound, cauterizing it.
Normally, a spell like this with such precision would be difficult for an amateur magician and could potentially just burn the whole arm to a singe. And Alexander was basically an amateur, even if he didn’t act like it. So, as he fell back with an exhausted sigh, almost passing out from the pain, he thanked Ginga for the magical support of enhanced fire.
He wasn’t sure how long he had been knocked out, but he blinked his eyes open to a concerned Vincent.
“Hey man, are you alright?” Vincent said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“Super-duper,” he said with a pathetic thumbs up that both made them chuckle, because what else do you do in tense and tough situations that seem like straddling the line of life and death? Sometimes you gotta laugh in those dark moments, even if the dark moment wasn’t permanent as this was only a challenge, even if it didn’t feel that way.
After their moment of random laughter, Vincent pushed himself to his feet and extended his hand, and a smile, to Alexander. “Ready to go?”
“Definitely,” Alexander said as he nodded and slapped his hand into Vincent’s, and they made their way through the door.
The other side was the same except now it was blanketed in snow.
Alexander rubbed his arms, shivering. “F-freaking hate winter.”
“Here,” Vincent said, throwing Alexander his jacket. “It’s not much, but it’ll help.”
Alexander pulled it on, wincing from the pain of his cauterized wound. “T-thanks,” Alexander said, rubbing his hands together and blowing arm air into them. “Lucky you’re a w-werewolf.”
Vincent smiled. “Yeah, it’s weird.” He looked down at his open hands. “Don’t feel cold at all.” He surmised it was possibly due to his werewolf being. Which made sense as he had never really liked the warmer weather but felt home in the cold.
Alexander blinked with confusion, also looking at his hands. “It’s gone. The power I had in the last room. I-I don’t have it anymore.”
“Hmm,” Vincent said, thinking. “It must be something from the outside, the support Lucian was talking about. Some kind of ability that is gifted to us, temporarily, perhaps depending on time, or per room.”
Alexander rubbed his good arm across his chest, hunkering down. “W-wish I had it now. I’d make a bonfire outta one of those t-trees.”
Vincent laughed. “You still got your magic, so that’s all we need.”
Vincent’s vote of confidence made Alexander feel better, warmer even. “Such a gentleman, Vince. We gotta f-find you a lady.”
Vincent smiled and shook his head. It was better to compliment and be uplifting than be realistic, especially since none of this was real. And after Alexander’s little stunt to try to take the bear out in the last room with his magic, Vincent couldn’t help but be a little worried, but he certainly wasn’t going to let it show. And since he sensed Alexander’s drop in energy, he thought it pertinent to give a little confidence boost. It wouldn’t hurt anything, right?
“Now’s not the time for ladies,” Vincent said, looking around warily, wondering what would come at them next.
“It’s always t-time for ladies, bro,” Alexander said with a shiver. “Imagining me and fine minx lying next to a roaring fire keeps me g-going.”
Vincent noticed that Alexander was shivering more, his teeth clattering a bit, and he seemed to be not fully there as his wound and weakness were probably getting the best of him. He also wasn’t talking as smoothly as he usually did. With the cold and combination of his wound and energy drain, he could be in trouble. Still, they had to stand strong, and he would stand for both of them.
Their attention was pulled to two pine trees that began to move and shake snow and needles off their branches. Both trees shapeshifted into tall, gaunt forms of pure ice, which made Alexander and Vincent stare with wide eyes.
“W-what is that?” Alexander said with chattering teeth.
“I don’t know,” Vincent said, readying himself. “But we’re about to find out.”
. . .