"RAHHH!" Like a spartan, Harold roars at the world as his body is seemingly tempered by his flames, unleashing him into a berserk rage.
The flames, once orange, turn bright red like that of a rose, its color bright and vibrant, the heat so intense that even Arthur can feel it from a distance.
Harold's speed increases as a result and the wound that Arthur gave him was already healing. What should have been a fight ender was nothing but a meaningless attack.
"I'm going to burn you alive!" Harold lunged forward, both arms blazing, the heat distorting the air around him in rippling waves.
Arthur activated the runes.
Harold's speed matches that of the rune boots, forcing Arthur to give his all just to dodge while staying away from Tommy who is hot on his brother's trail.
Put on the back foot, Arthur moves between the twins with footwork that would make half the close range fighters in their class look slow by comparison.
"How is he able to keep up?" Garrett watches in awe, unable to hide his amazement at Arthur's footwork, something he himself has always struggled with.
"I've seen better." Angela weakly comments, not caring about the fact that Arthur is giving his all to protect her.
'But why does an artillery mage have such fine footwork…' She can't help but think. 'He's almost moving like…' Looking over, she glances at Mars who is trying to push past Amy.
"Let me go Amy, I need to help the captain take care of these scumbags!" Mars tries to use his good arm to move her but she remains steady.
"No! You remember what Arthur said, any students that come for us we leave to him. Our job is to make sure we complete the exam. We knew we might be targeted because of what Arthur did to Damien and we all agreed to let him sort out his own problems." Amy holds back Mars, keeping him on the ground.
"And besides, you're in no condition to fight. Look at your arm, it's barely been set." She returns to applying treatment.
Mars, looking over Amy's shoulder, can't help but yearn to help his captain but at last relents.
"Fine…I'll continue to get treatment but once you're done I'm jumping in whether you want me to or not." Mars crosses his arms and flinches as he flexes his broken arm too much.
"Fine, just stop moving then." Amy says flatly, not looking up.
Mars goes quiet eyes back on Arthur.
Arthur was now using quick bursts of his runes seemingly running out of steam to continue such output making the room of error smaller and smaller.
However Harold too looks to be running out of steam as his movements become more and more sluggish all while Tommy too can't get a hit in.
'Good, they're both running dry. And they probably think I am too. I just need to keep the act up a little longer…'
Arthur jumps back and fakes trying to ignite his rune shoes, his face going wide in panic.
"Got you now you bitch!" Harold, seizing the moment dashes forward his arm igniting in flames as he threatens to burn Arthur.
"Arthur!" Amy screams out seeing him about to get skewered.
And just as Harold's flame fist is about to connect, Arthur's runes ignite. Pushing him around Harold in a clean arc, he watches as Harold's face changes from triumph to surprise in real time.
"Thanks for the points." Arthur strikes Harold in the back of the head, his fist covered in mana, instantly dropping him.
Harold hits the dirt and doesn't move.
"Bro!" Tommy, seeing his brother go down, launches himself at Arthur who sidesteps it cleanly, uses the runes to slip behind him, and puts him out just as easily.
Tommy folds.
Silence falls over the clearing.
Arthur stands over both of them, fist still smoking faintly from the mana discharge, coat singed at the shoulder, breathing steady.
Behind him the squad exhales all at once.
"HE FAKED IT!" Mars's voice breaks the quiet like a cannon shot. "HE STOOD THERE AND FAKED BEING OUT OF CHARGES AND HAROLD FELL FOR IT HOOK LINE AND SINKER!" He's pointing at the clearing despite Amy still holding his arm. "DO YOU SEE THIS? DO YOU ALL SEE THIS?"
"We all saw it Mars," Garrett says.
"I've seen better," Angela says from against the tree, eyes already closing again.
"YOU WERE BARELY CONSCIOUS—"
"Mars." Arthur doesn't turn around. "Volume."
Mars clamps his mouth shut. Still vibrating.
Arthur rolls his wand back into his grip and looks toward the treeline ahead.
"You can come out now Elias. I know you're here, only you could have made runes like that in our grade."
Stepping out from the shadows a young man appears.
"Well I didn't want to spoil the fun." Elias stepping out from behind a tree is clothed in a dark black uniform, his face hidden beside his eyes.
He doesn't look upset.
If anything he looks entertained.
"I'll admit," Elias says, tilting his head toward the twins, "I didn't expect them to go down quite that cleanly, Harold especially. That berserker state of his is quite tricky." A small pause. "And who would have guessed you were faking your charges."
"A simple lie, but very efficient."
"Quit stalling, it was you who lured the panther and set up the trap against us. So for hurting Mars It's only fair I do the same to you." Arthur flicks his wand glyphs rising from it's tip.
"Hey hey no need to get hasty I was just on my way out." Elias holding out his hand snaps his fingers.
From the bodies of the twins a mark on the back of their clothes glows brightening blue encasing them and before their very eyes they vanish.
Arthur stared at the empty space.
"So that's your bloodline…" Arthur staring can't help but frown as a variable is being introduced.
"You could say it's a little handy, but don't worry I'm sure you'll see more of it later. Toodles." And with a snap of his own fingers he too wisps away, gone like the wind.
The clearing goes quiet.
Arthur standing in the middle of it sighs as he powers down his glyphs as he puts away his wand.
'They got my damn coat burnt…'
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