Chapter 408 - Star Fall

Robert (cont.)

Outside East Fort

The hammer impacted the ground similar to a ballistic missile from Before. That much weight falling from so high up sent snow and dirt flying in every direction, along with a deep, drawn-out thud. Perfect for a starting gun, even if Robert didn’t agree with the duel.

Upon impact, spells from the two fighters were cast instantly. Blazing fire mana coursed through Vanessa’s hand and into a spell structure so fast he could barely see it, let alone study what kind of spell it was.

Zuri was even quicker, as her element lent her the necessary speed to outdraw the Flame Witch. Starlight blazed as her freckles intensified, coiling out of her arm and into a beam sent straight at where the flame spell was just beginning to activate.

Both spells collided in an explosion of force that sent wind whipping in every direction and throwing up snow once more. The impact from the hammer hadn’t even subsided before their view was obstructed once more.

The five people not actively fighting blunted the waves of force in various ways. Robert exerted a bit of aura to shunt it around him. Ryan stood behind Bri, and she blunted it for both of them with a shield of mist cast in front of her.

Michael waved a hand, causing a red haze to appear in front of him, while the last of the five just stood there and let it wash over him.

Robert watched, half an eye tracking the duel, and the other stuck on Christopher. He still hadn’t taken a step back, remaining the closest to where Vanessa and Zuri were fighting.

If Robert knew him less, he’d assume foul intent, but his intuition vetoed that thought. Not only was he known for his old-fashioned ‘honor’, but Robert also didn’t sense any deceit or underhanded preparations being made by the man.

His hammer, which had landed about a dozen feet in front of him, suddenly lifted out of its impact crater of its own volition. Robert’s attention was drawn to it immediately, pushing the spells of fire and starlight exploding against each other to the back seat.

The reason it drew such a reaction from him was that there wasn’t any mana involved. All [Manipulation] skills took some mana. Some more than others, but all of them took at least some, [Ice Manipulation] included.

The dossier Fitz had on the Northern Viscount confirmed he had [Ice Manipulation], and it was suspected he also had [Wind Manipulation].

Neither skill was what was being used.

Is that pure Aura manipulation?

It was too difficult to confirm if that was the case. Auras were much harder to sense minutely than mana was, and the surrounding environment couldn’t have been more chaotic even if it tried.

Vanessa and Zuri had both opened the floodgates and released whatever hold on their auras they had, while the rest of them used theirs to ward off the pressure. Some more so than others.

Whatever fascination Robert could have gathered ended when the hammer landed back in Christopher's waiting hand, where he then placed it back on the ground where it had been originally. Both his hands rested on the weapon’s pommel while the head was planted firmly on the ground as he observed the duel, but still kept an eye on the spectators as well.

I’ll need to update Fitz. Control like that is… unheard of.

The rising explosions drew his attention back.

All of the snow in the area had long since melted from the heat. The only spot that still had the white flakes was a small area around Christopher. The rest had turned the ground slick with mud, not that either woman noticed.

Mage battles were… different than Warrior duels. With Warriors, it was easy to clearly see who had superior technique, skill, strength, and all other aspects that dictated a fight. Even when both participants were evenly matched, you could still pick out mistakes or advantages one had over the other.

Magic didn’t have that same luxury. For Robert, at least. He wasn’t a Mage and didn’t have the experience or knowledge needed to have an expert opinion on what exactly was happening as it was happening.

To his untrained eye, Vanessa seemed to be losing, but from the way Michael seemed unworried watching his Leader fight, that didn’t appear to be the case.

Every spout of flame or fireball she sent out missed Zuri by dozens of feet. Enough to sear robes, but not enough to have a large impact. Alternatively, every beam or spear of light hit the shields Vanessa had to conjure.

One forced a defense while the other got away with just dodging. Simple arithmetic dictated that Vanessa was losing.

That was until the larger picture became clearer.

Every spell Vanessa had cast from the start was still burning. Even if it missed, it impacted the ground around them and continued to burn. A ring of fire was slowly but surely being constructed with every spell that was cast.

Zuri seemed to notice this and kept her back toward areas already aflame. She forced Vanessa to either send spells at an area already alight, or to waste time and mana igniting where Zuri wasn’t anywhere near.

They're both being cautious, he thought. Neither were throwing around large, mana-heavy spells, resorting to smaller, targeted ones instead. Neither has called on their Bloodline yet, either.

They were both still cautiously prodding, trying to gain both knowledge and an advantage. Plus, it didn’t seem like either was ready to duel to the death. There was a lack of extraordinary vigor and righteous commitment that was present when death was on the line.

Robert knew of that feeling more times than he cared for, even before the world Changed.

The explosive game of back and forth changed in a flash.

He hadn’t noticed at the time, but the instant all surrounding fire mana became prominent, and there wasn’t a spec of ice mana still in the area -besides around Christopher- Vanessa exploded in flames.

Her hair, which was already a fiery red, looked to ignite and dance behind her. Her eyes glowed a cherry orange, which he had assumed was reserved only for piping hot metal from the forge. It was subtle, but her fingernails became slightly pointed, and if he had to guess, her canines as well.

It wasn’t only her physical appearance that changed, but her aura and mana signature as well. Both ignited with a forceful wave of flame, intensifying massively, much more than any physical transformation she had gone through.

It was clear she focused her Bloodline on magic.

Beastial, most likely draconic. No other Bloodline would provide such magic augmentation that matches. Phoenix, Fire Titan, Pyromane, and other High-tier Fire Bloodlines didn’t match what Robert was seeing.

“[Flame Nova]!” Vanessa yelled as soon as the change finished.

With her as the center, a sphere of searing hot orange fire erupted and expanded over the entire field of battle. The wave of condensed mana alone would have staggered weaker men, let alone the force and flame that accompanied it.

The grass, what was left of it, turned to ash in a flash from the intense heat, leaving a circle of scorched black and barren earth. With nothing left to burn, the fire finally went out, but only in the center. The ring was complete and still ablaze, trapping Zuri inside it.

For the first time, Zuri had to shield herself from the damage. The sphere moved fast to escape, and it left no area to dodge, forcing her to surround herself in a shield of glittering white light, dense with mana and Law.

When the shield of light fell away, it revealed Zuri had undergone a transformation as well. Lines connected what used to be independent dots of light on her face, forming unknown constellations. Her hair, which had once been a dark black, had specs of light radiating from it, as if it held stars itself.

Her eyes radiated a pure white light, and a glowing mist trailed in her wake.

Celestial. Spirit or elemental based. He hadn’t studied starlight-affinity Bloodlines enough to know more than that. It didn’t appear to come from a beast, as she would have undergone more prominent physical transformations.

“Did you think I would be weaker because it’s not night?” Zuri goaded after dismissing her shield to show no damage. “I don’t need darkness or twilight; you forget that the Sun itself is a star.”

“I’d beat you even if it was midnight, just like I’m going to beat you now,” Vanessa responded evenly, lacking the searing anger from before. “[Ring of Fire]!”

The circle of flame encompassing both fighters intensified, rising dozens of feet in the air. It not only cut off escape without consequence, but concentrated the heat inside the ring immensely. The air already began to distort, even with only a few seconds having passed.

Robert saw Michael relax now that the ring was in place. Like with the trap set, all the rest was a given.

Zuri seemed unbothered, but she was beginning to sweat from the heat. Her aura blunted most of it, but it was impossible to keep out the heat entirely. Mana gathered at the top of her staff, the crystal flaring bright for a flash, before shooting up into the air.

She held her staff aloft while mana continued to swirl upwards, growing more and more concentrated. Vanessa started to cast in response, but didn’t make it in time before the spell finished.

With a strenuous heave, Zuri brought her staff down and yelled, “[Star Fall]!”

The mass of pale white mana started slowly, but picked up speed faster than a runaway train. It hurtled down so fast that even Robert wouldn’t have been able to dodge.

Vanessa didn’t even try. Fire wrapped and coiled around her in a protective suit of armor. Its shape was mostly undefined, but Robert swore that some of the flames arranged into interlocked scales. She drew fire from the ring, and it obeyed instantly.

Starlight met fire, and the largest explosion yet rocked the area. Even Christopher was forced back, and he hadn’t moved since the start. Robert himself was forced to slide back, and he even had to use one of his defensive skills.

What kind of force is at the center if this is just the shockwave?

Robert blinked away the eye-wateringly bright flash only to see a cloud of dust obscuring his vision of where Vanessa and Zuri stood.

Before the dust could clear, Christopher’s head snapped to the right, and he picked up his hammer with a twirl. His aura began to ooze out of him threateningly as he shifted away from the duel and towards Robert.

“Don’t.” Christopher rumbled. One word. No threats, no posturing. Only one word was uttered. Don’t.

Michael backed him up a moment later, his mana hastening and his hands ready to start casting. The fire didn’t respond as eagerly as it had to Vanessa, but it still leapt at the call.

It took until he looked behind him at where Bri and Ryan stood that he understood. Ryan was midway through casting something with Bri coiled to leap into the cloud of dust as soon as it cleared.

The Northern Viscount’s words weren’t heeded, as the two continued what they had started.

“NO!” Robert screamed, but it was too late.

Ryan’s spell finished, casting a soft light upon Bri, and she shot forward faster than anyone expected.

Everything was going to shit, and they still didn’t even know if the duel was over or not.