The fox girl's thoughts sharpened as she closed the distance.
*Another mage…*
Her eyes narrowed.
*Right after the last one.*
The first had been dangerous because he had been careful—because he had held back, aware of Draven behind her, afraid of what might happen if he committed too much too soon.
But this one—
This one wasn't showing that same fear.
His stance was looser. Confident. Almost smug.
*No…* she thought, tracking the mana gathering in his hand.
*He's not afraid of the one behind me.*
Her tail flicked once.
*That doesn't matter.*
Her focus tightened.
*He's the one I need to deal with.*
The rest—she could leave to the others. That was enough.
Her body moved faster. Closer.
—
The mage lifted his arm, and a circle flashed into existence.
Earth surged upward—sharp, fast.
A line of spears shot toward her path.
Her eyes flashed.
"—Tch."
She kicked off the ground and leapt.
The spears tore past beneath her.
But before she could land—
Another circle opened beside her.
Wind. Arrows. Dozens of them.
Her ears snapped back.
*That fast—*
She twisted midair, cutting her body sideways.
The wind arrows ripped past, slamming into the opposite wall in a sharp barrage.
Stone cracked. Dust burst outward.
And she landed not on the floor—
But on the wall.
One foot. Then the other.
Lightning crackled around her limbs as she ran sideways along the stone, claws forming again, her body a streak of electric motion in the narrow corridor.
*Keep moving.*
—
The mage's eyes followed her.
Then his hands shifted.
Another set of circles ignited.
Fire.
Mana bullets burst from the spell arrays in a rapid stream.
Her gaze hardened.
She didn't slow.
She pushed off the wall, twisting her body as the bullets tore through the space she had just vacated.
They shattered against the stone behind her.
She was already crossing the corridor again, using the wall like solid ground, bouncing off one side and launching herself toward the other, lightning sparking through her legs.
*Still no barrier.*
Her eyes narrowed.
*He's keeping it open.*
That was the mistake.
She saw it just as she launched toward him. Her claws were already in motion.
The mage smiled.
And that was when her eyes shifted.
Behind him—
A second figure sprang out from the shadow of the corridor.
A man. Already moving.
Too late to be noticed by anyone who wasn't looking for him.
His arm was raised. And in his hand—
A spear of fire.
Dense. Compressed. Already thrust forward. Straight for her head.
Her pupils shrank.
*—What?!*
The strike came from behind his ally's guard line.
Perfect timing. Perfect angle.
A kill shot.
For a split second, the fox girl felt suspended between the two attacks.
Front. Back.
She could evade one—
Not both.
And in that moment—
Her lips pressed thin.
*So that's your game.*
Her expression shifted. Cold. Focused.
Her claws twisted mid-swing, lightning tightening around them like wire pulled taut to the breaking point.
She didn't try to dodge backward. Didn't retreat.
Instead—
She twisted into the attack.
Her body snapped sideways in a violent arc, lightning exploding from her frame as she forced her momentum into a near-impossible turn.
The fire spear grazed her shoulder—
Close enough to burn. Close enough to remind her—
*That would've killed me.*
—
The heat tore across her skin, searing through fur and flesh in a sharp line of pain.
But she didn't stop. Didn't freeze.
—
Her body completed the twist—
And she **pushed off the air itself**, lightning detonating beneath her feet—
—
**CRACK—!!**
—
She shot backward. Fast.
Creating distance in an instant.
—
Landing low, sliding across the ground—her claws still active, her stance now defensive. Measured.
—
Her eyes locked onto them.
Both of them.
—
The mage.
And the one behind him.
—
The second man stepped fully into view.
Calm. Composed.
The faint glow of mana pulsed differently from the mage's—more structured. More refined.
—
The fox girl's gaze sharpened.
"…Two."
—
Behind her, the boy skidded to a stop.
"…What?"
—
The man from their team stepped closer, voice tense.
"…They've got two—two of them using mana—!"
—
The fox girl didn't look away. Didn't blink.
"…Yeah."
Quiet. Certain.
Her tail flicked once.
"…One's a third-circle mage."
Her eyes shifted slightly to the first.
"…And the other…"
Now—to the second.
"…Two-star rune master."
—
A faint pause.
"…Just like me."
—
Silence.
—
The boy frowned, confusion cutting through the tension.
"…Wait—how?"
His eyes darted between them.
"…I thought only one person per team gets their mana back."
—
The fox girl exhaled slowly.
"…They don't belong to one team."
—
A beat.
"…That's why there are five of them."
—
The meaning hit.
The boy's eyes widened.
"…No way…"
—
The man swallowed hard.
"…Two teams…?"
—
The fox girl nodded slightly.
"…They teamed up."
Her gaze stayed sharp. Focused.
"…Cooperating to secure a zone."
—
Her ears twitched slightly.
"…The rune master masked his presence."
A faint narrowing of her eyes.
"…Using the mage's mana as cover."
—
A small breath left her.
"…That's why I didn't detect him."
—
Across from them, the mage smiled faintly.
"…Figured it out already?"
—
The rune master beside him rolled his wrist slightly, faint runic patterns glowing along his arm.
"…Doesn't matter."
—
Behind them, the remaining three shifted. Positioning. Closing angles.
—
The corridor tightened.
—
Five against four.
—
But more importantly—
—
**Two with mana.**
—
The fox girl lowered her stance slightly. Lightning flickering again—stronger now. Sharper.
"…This just got worse."
—
The boy clenched his jaw.
"…So what now?"
—
A faint pause.
Her eyes didn't leave them.
"…Now?"
—
Lightning surged—
"…We stop playing fair."