24. Match Three Begins with A Bang
Just as Aria threw the flame spear at Gamma, Gamma launched a surprise hidden attack from beneath Aria, impaling her with a dark ice shard.
The thrusting force of the attack made Aria cough a sparse amount of blood, which splashed on the floor, creating faint signs of red on the white polished tiles, which had been wrecked by the previous training match.
Aria grabbed onto the ice shard, her hands trembling mildly, sparks of red-hot flames burning at the tip of her fingers, immediately melting the ice and turning it into steam.
Suddenly, the dark steam began to reform into icicles, they lay before and above Aria like a miniature array of stars.
Gamma placed a hand on her waist, bending slightly in a mocking manner, she raised her other hand, folding four of her fingers, leaving only one unfolded. She moved it slowly back and forth in a mechanical manner, a grin forming on her face.
"Tch, tch," she pursed her lips. "Did you really think that I used normal ice?" she laughed sarcastically, her sharp fangs showing faintly. "Dark Ice Incant:--"
She directed her long but finely kept claws towards Aria. The icicles flipped, turning their sharpest ends towards her—it was quite evident that she had some level of control over them.
"Down thrust!" She let down her hand meticulously.
The icicles followed suit, barraging Aria with multiple strikes. The attacks were so intense that they raised dust as they struck, briefly obscuring her presence.
The other summons watched the match closely from the bench at the extreme end of the training field. Raymond cleaned his sleepy eyes lightly, not even allowing his eyes a single peek at the match.
"Haaaaa..." He stretched his body on the bench, flexing his arms tiredly. "Am getting hungry." He turned his head lazily. "Beta? Got anything to eat?" he asked her lacklusterly, not minding her awkward mood.
A crooked smile formed on Beta's face.
"I don't remember being your babysitter..." She dipped her hand into some kind of subspace. "But... here you go." She handed him what seemed to be a chocolate bar.
He gripped it energetically from Beta's hand, mildly roughening the edges of her well-pressed sleeves.
"Yay!" He exclaimed energetically, raising both his hands up in bliss. He smiled innocently, bringing a little life to his dull face. "Beta! You are the bestest ever!" He tore the wrapping of the chocolate bar hastily as he began to munch lazily on it.
"Yes, yes, I know I am." She looked at him with what seemed to be a mutual smile on her face, then quickly corrected her facial expression.
"I can't believe he's the strongest out of us all." Lux stared at Raymond with a harsh gaze.
Zzzzzz... Lux didn't reply, for he had already begun his timeless slumber.
Duran paid them no mind, he was much more invested in Aria's match.
Lamina let out a concerned sigh. "Do you think she'll be ok?" she turned towards Duran.
He stared more intensely at the training ground. "There's your answer." Immediately he uttered those words, a burst of flames emerged at the center of the training field like a towering volcano, burning with great intensity.
"5th Trigram, Scribble 9:---"
A vortex of flames formed at the center of the training ground, taking the form of a spiraling great dragon as it surrounded Aria.
"Umbra Lock!"
The spiral dragon lunged forward at Gamma, radiating a flaming aura. Gamma tried to offset the attack with a shield, but the dragon continued to push her backwards, eventually breaking through her defenses, scorching her sleeves.
Gamma stepped forward angrily, her fury rising, a blister forming around her.
'We aren't looking for a winner. Thi
s is enough for a practice match.'
Revet said boldly, his voice cutting through the chaos. If he let this continue, it wouldn't end well for either party.
"I... I... agreed with Revet-dono. Any further fighting would be... meaningless... and lead to unwanted... consequences," Nirvana said.
Both Aria and Gamma stepped out of the training field, giving room for the next matchup.
'Famel and Raymond are up next.'
Revet had honestly picked this matchup because he was curious about Raymond. He didn't have a threatening presence, but Revet could feel a strange power surging within him.
Famel walked into the arena, his dark wings spread vastly, he held onto his trident firmly.
Raymond, on the other hand, dragged himself lazily onto the training ground. His eyes still remained tiredly closed. He covered his mouth with his hand as he let out a loud yawn.
"Listen brother, I don't really think we have to do this," he addressed Famel tiredly. "You can have the victory, I quit." He started to walk backwards towards the observation bench.
Famel couldn't care less, he simply stood with an unbothered facial expression as he took on a battle-ready posture.
Nirvana squinted her eyes faintly. "Just give it a try... Raymond," her voice echoed sparsely.
He turned around slowly. "If you say so, Imperator!" He addressed Nirvana calmly.
"Let's have a lucrative match," Famel stated boldly.
"I hope not." Raymond rubbed his silky silver hair lightly. "I just wanna go back to sleep!" he groaned. He smashed his hands together. "That's it, let's just end it quick," he said energetically with an awkward smile.
'You may now... BEGIN.'
Even when he was a bit excited, he still looked tired. What was even more concerning was that he didn't emit any spirit energy. Entria had told him earlier that all things—dead, alive, or inanimate—emitted some level of spirit energy. Even when Revet tried to suppress his spirit energy, it still managed to leak out in minute quantities. But this guy had managed to fully suppress his spirit.
Revet was honestly looking forward to how this match would turn out.
Foosh----
Famel appeared in front of Raymond, swinging his trident diagonally.
Clack....
His attack bounced off as if he had just hit an invisible shield.
"You are quite fast."
Raymond appeared behind Famel in an instant, Revet's eyes could barely follow his movements.
Famel pivoted, twisting his trident upwards. Before his attack could reach Raymond, an invisible shockwave blasted him a few meters back, making him lose his balance. Before he could recover, Raymond teleported behind him and kicked him upwards into the ceiling.
"You are quite sturdy!"
He said with a tired voice.
'The practice match will soon be approaching its climax. I wonder how Famel will respond?'