“Wow, what a huge arena.” Flavia exclaimed after they arrived at the training grounds.
“Is this where Narias trained growing up?” Ileena asked, clearly impressed by it.
“Yes, my little Narias was so eager to learn magic, he would sneak out to train all the time. I lost count of how many times we had found him here sleeping, exhausted from his training.” Alvina told everyone, memories flooding through her mind.
“Ok, so who’s fighting first?” Flavia was eager to start already.
“Layla isn’t here yet, unfortunately. May I suggest you warm up while we wait for her?” Narias’s mom suggested.
“Oh, right. That’s a good idea.” Flavia agreed and instantly went to do stretches.
“Greetings everyone. I apologize for taking so long to prepare.” Layla showed up after a short while. She was wearing a two-piece uniform of sorts, black and brown in color with the lower part of it being pants instead of a skirt.
“Don’t worry, Layla. That’s not a prob… huh?” Ileena was about to say it wasn’t a problem but stopped after noticing something in Layla’s hair. “Oh…”
“Is something wrong, Ileena?” Alvina noticed her curious gaze.
“Ah, no. Sorry, it’s nothing, Mrs. Talrone.” She said, lowering her gaze right after.
“Alright, I’m all warmed up now.” Flavia was itching to start.
“I’d like to go first, if you don’t?” But Ileena cut her short by saying she wanted to be the first one to step into the arena.
“Hey, I was about to say I want to go first.” Flavia pouted her lips, also crossing her arms in front of her.
“Sorry, Flavia. I insist.” But Ileena wouldn’t budge.
“Fine…” Flavia reluctantly agreed.
“It’s ok. All of you will have a turn.” Layla didn’t mind who of the three will go first.
“Ok, let’s start. Please be careful everyone. I will stop the fight if I see it is becoming too dangerous. After all, this is only for you to show your abilities.” Alvina informed, clapping her hands excitedly.
“I don’t want to sound rude, but you must be very confident about your strength if you are willing to take the three of us on your own, Layla.” Ileena stated in her usual tone once she and Layla were in the middle of the arena.
“I’m sure all three of you are very strong.” Layla simply smiled at Ileena.
“Hmph…” Ileena squinted her eyes, seeing Layla didn’t react in a way Ileena expected she would.
“Are you ready?” Alvina asked from where she was. “Start.”
“Lighting Bolt.” Ileena raised her hand to cast a spell.
“Flame Orb.” Layla responded by raising her hand up in the air and casting a spell of her own. An orb of fire materialized above her hand, a size of a tennis ball, blocking Ileena’s Lightning Bolt that shot from the sky and absorbing it on impact. The Flame Orb disappeared right after.
“Huh? What?” That wasn’t something Ileena expected to happen.
“Hmm…” Layla smiled at her, not moving from her spot.
“Ahem…” Ileena fixed her glasses, pretending it wasn’t a big deal. “Lightning Strike! Lightning Bolt!”
She instantly cast two spells simultaneously, one spell shooting from her palm while the other one blasting itself down from the sky again.
“Flame Orb.” Layla cast the same spell calmly, absorbing the Lightning Bolt spell just like the last time she did. However, the Lightning Strike spell was still flying at Layla. Just when Ileena was about to procure a satisfied smile, thinking that her plan worked, Layla swiftly sidestepped to the right, avoiding the second spell with ease.
“Ah?” Ileena couldn’t hide her astonishment this time. It wasn’t because her opponent evaded Ileena’s Lightning Strike spell, it was more because of how effortlessly Layla evaded it.
“I’m sure you can do better than that, Ileena.” Layla smiled again, triggering something within Ileena.
“I’m sorry. I was holding back because I didn’t want to hurt you, Layla. I didn’t want Narias to get upset with me, but it seems I can get serious after all.” The air around Ileena changed, sparks of lightning starting to blister around her.
“Please do. I want to know how serious you really are.” It was an interesting choice of words on Layla’s part, but it seemed like Ileena knew what she meant.
“Lightning Bolt.” Ileena cast the same spell as before, but that was only a distraction. As soon as Layla raised her hand to cast her Flame Orb spell, Ileena pointed her hand forward, purple lightning enveloping her palm. The hair on Ileena’s head released lightning sparks as she chanted another spell. “Chained Lightning Strikes.”
Multiple Lightning Strikes shot out of Ileena’s palm, jumping left and right, connecting to one another, then splitting apart again, all the while rushing forward towards their target. Layla was still standing where she was, staying calm as her Flame Orb absorbed Ileena’s Lightning Bolt spell.
Instead of disappearing into the thin air this time however, the Flame Orb fell down, stopping right in front of Layla as she moved her hand. Right before the multiple Chained Lightning Strikes reached her, Layla jumped to the side, motioning with her hand to control the Flame Orb she had out. With the swift movements of her hand, and dodging to the sides to make distance between herself and the onslaught of Ileena’s multiple Chained Lightning Strikes, Layla’s Flame Orb was blocking and neutralizing every single one of them. It gave an impression Layla knew exactly where each Lightning Strike would hit, guiding her Flame Orb to meet each one of them as they flew at her.
“Lightning Crush!” Just when Layla’s Flame Orb was about to pick up the last Lightning Strike flying at her, Ileena threw herself forward. A claw created by purple lightning was about to crush Layla at the spot she was standing.
“Flame Cone.” But Layla didn’t panic. Instead, she cast another spell without releasing her Flame Orb spell. A burst of flames shot from the ground in a cone, blocking the lightning claw’s path. Two spells collided with each other, but only one remained after the impact.
“No way!” Ileena exclaimed in shock, seeing Layla’s spell stop her Lightning Crush spell.
“Woooah!” Flavia jumped to her feet, impressed by what happened.
“Wow, Layla is… really strong.” Emilia couldn’t stay quiet either. She was lacking words on how to express her amazement.
“She is, isn’t she?” Alvina giggled, finding Flavia’s and Emilia’s reactions amusing.
“Impressive. You’re really strong, Ileena.” Layla complimented her opponent, and it was a genuine compliment on her part.
“Thank you, but I’m not done yet. Lightning…“ Ileena was about to proceed, but…
“Ok, that’s enough!” Alvina raised her voice, clapping her hands at the same time.
“Huh? What? But…” Ileena stopped, taken aback by the fact her duel was over.
“So sorry, but I cannot allow you to continue. You might get a little too serious going forward.” Narias’s mom said with an added smile.
“Oh, I…” Ileena’s eyes still had sparks of purple lightning in them. But then she took a deep breath to calm down before turning to Layla again. “Thank you for the duel, Layla.”
“My pleasure, Ileena.” Layla bowed in a way a maid would.
“I’m next.” Flavia stated, not waiting for an invitation. Seeing how effortlessly Layla neutralized Ileena’s spells made her want to go out there and prove herself next. She was in the middle of the arena in an instant. “Yo’ Layla. I’ll be your opponent next.”
“It’s a pleasure, Flavia. Please go easy on me.” Layla greeted the bunny girl politely.
“No way. I already know what you can do.” Flavia stated, pointing her finger at Layla, which only made the maid smile.
“Welcome back Ileena. That was a wonderful performance on your part. I didn’t expect you to be able to control your Chained Lightning Strikes so well. All that training definitely paid off.” Emilia congratulated her friend when she came back.
“Thank you, but… it wasn’t nearly enough against Layla.” However, Ileena was slightly disappointed with her own performance.
“No need to be so down, Ileena. You did wonderful.” Alvina tried to cheer her on. “I could tell right away you are taking your training seriously. I am certain you will grow up to be a wonderful mage.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Talrone.” Ileena bowed her head respectfully.
“Alright, can we start now?” Flavia couldn’t stand still any longer.
“So sorry, Flavia. Yes, please begin.” Alvina announced.
The moment the announcement flew out of Alvina’s mouth, Flavia dashed forward, sprinting so fast, she closed the distance between herself and Layla by half in two seconds.
“Wow, Flavia is going all out from the very beginning.” Emilia couldn’t help but gasp, seeing Flavia won’t be playing around.
“Hayaa!” And she was right. Once Flavia was close enough to reach Layla she jumped up, doing a backflip in the air and landing on the ground with a somersault kick. The earth cracked at the spot her foot hit. Unfortunately for Flavia, she missed her target.
“That was a strong kick, Flavia.” Layla complimented her, standing several meters away from Flavia.
“Hah, you’re quick on your feet, Layla.” Flavia smirked, feeling even more pumped after Layla got out of the way in order to avoid her attack. “But that’s only the beginning. Here I-“
“Flame Scorch.” Whatever Flavia was about to do she was stopped by Layla casting a spell. The battle maid waved her hand in a half crescent moon motion, creating a half-bent flame which shot directly at Flavia.
“Woah!” Flavia had to react quickly to not get burned by it. “Hah, that’s nothi- Wha… Yikes!”
Flavia had no time to talk, because more Flame Scorch spells were flying at her. The bunny girl was jumping and leaping to the sides to avoid getting burned. The distance between Flavia and Layla was becoming wider and wider until the last Flame Scorch spell evaporated into the thin air. Apparently, it had a limited range. But the spell did its job. There was enough distance between Layla and Flavia for the maid to cast another spell.
“Hidden Flame Eruptions.” However, nothing happened after she said that, or so it seemed.
“Huh?” Flavia had a curious facial expression. “Hah! It seems like you’re out of mana. You better give up now or else.”
Flavia jumped up, not waiting for Layla to respond. But as soon as Flavia’s feet touched the ground again, she felt heat gathering below her.
“Eh? Woah!” Flavia jumped away just in time, flames erupting from under her feet. “Hey! When did you cast that spell?”
Flavia was beyond confused.
“What do you mean, Flavia? I’m all out of mana.” Layla responded, her comment sounding like a taunt.
“Alright, if that’s how you wanna do it.” Flavia dashed forward faster than before, triggering flame traps one after another as she passed them. “Haaa!”
The bunny girl was picking up speed, throwing herself one way or the other, so she wouldn’t get burned by the flames erupting from the ground. She was closing the distance between herself and Layla fast.
“Flame Cone.” Layla cast another spell, blocking Flavia’s advance.
“I knew you’d do that.” Flavia anticipated it, pushing herself to the side, feeling confident she’ll reach Layla with another jump. “Take that!”
Flavia pushed herself forward and was about to land a kick on Layla with her left foot. Layla didn’t try to jump away or dodge Flavia’s kick in any way. Instead of trying to get away, Layla shifted her body to the side, sliding her hands under Flavia’s leg and pushing it away with a nimble thrust. Layla used her opponent’s force to her own advantage, and since Flavia was in motion, Layla simply redirected Flavia’s kick away from her. Flavia was thrown up in the air, making her spin around in a backward flip and almost fall on the ground face down. Luckily, Flavia managed to regain her balance at the last second and landed on the ground on all fours. Before she could fully stand up however, a spell shot out of Layla’s hand.
“Whoops!” Flavia reacted in time, pushing herself up with all fours and avoiding getting hit by Layla’s another Flame Scorch spell.
“Well done, Flavia. I wasn’t sure if you be able to evade my last spell.” Layla congratulated her once Flavia was up and ready to have a go again.
“Hah, that was nothing.” Flavia was clearly faking it. She escaped Layla’s Flame Scorch spell just by a hair. “The real fight starts now. Anima-“
“Ok, that’s enough. Please stop!” But Alvina’s voice stopped her.
“Wuaa… what?” Flavia stumbled under her feet before turning towards Narias’s mom. “Not now, we were getting to the good part.”
“I’m happy to see you so motivated, Flavia, but Narias might get upset with me if I let either of you get hurt.” Alvina said, her kind smile melting Flavia’s frustration in an instant.
“Well, if you put it that way…” Flavia rubbed the back of her head, turning to her opponent right after. “You’re really strong, Layla. We should duel again sometime.”
“I’m looking forward to it, Flavia.” Layla bowed down respectfully.
Flavia grinned wide at Layla before running back to her seat.
“I guess it’s my turn now.” Emilia stood up, ready to go.
“Yo, show her what you’ve got, Emilia.” Flavia cheered for her.
“Thank you, Flavia.” The Ice Princess smiled before walking to where Layla was waiting for her.
“Those were some nice moves, Flavia.” Ileena complimented her after Flavia sat down.
“Thanks, but Layla surprised me with that weird spell that shot up from the ground. I couldn’t see her casting it at all. I almost burned my tail trying to run away too.” Flavia remembered the flames erupting from the ground.
“But she did. Layla planted the Hidden Flame Eruption spells when you were running away from her, Flavia.” Alvina told to the girls.
“Huh? Planted?” Flavia tilted her head to the side, confused about it.
“Yes. The Hidden Flame Eruption is Layla’s special spell. It is a timed spell which is triggered by someone getting too close to it. Once a person steps within its range, flames shoot up from the ground, burning anyone caught in it.” Alvina explained it in more detail.
“Wow, that’s a very scary spell.” Ileena was impressed.
“Hah, I was still fast enough to avoid getting burned by it.” Flavia said, probably wanting to impress Narias’s mom more than she already did.
“Actually, Layla cast it so it would have delayed activation. If she had cast it for real, the flames would’ve jumped up the moment your feet touched the area within range.” Alvina added with a mischievous smile on her face.
“Eeek! It had delayed activation?” Flavia shivered, remembering she was just barely avoiding getting burned.
“So, Layla was holding back all this time?” Ileena was more thinking out loud than seriously asking a question.
“But of course. As I said, I don’t want anyone to get hurt.” Narias’s mom gave her the warmest smile. “Now, let’s see how Emilia fares against Layla. They seemed to be ready to start.”
Niuniax
━━━━━━━━━
Thank you for reading. Leave a comment and favorite the chapter if you enjoyed it. Apologies in advance if you find a weird sounding phrase or a grammar error. These are draft chapters after all.
Read 10+ extra chapters on my Patreon (including the artwork not available anywhere else) – Extra Chapters on Patreon
━━━━━━━━━
Extra thanks to nonomo4 and Lynderyn for extra support and help.
“Wow, what a huge arena.” Flavia exclaimed after they arrived at the training grounds.
“Is this where Narias trained growing up?” Ileena asked, clearly impressed by it.
“Yes, my little Narias was so eager to learn magic, he would sneak out to train all the time. I lost count of how many times we had found him here sleeping, exhausted from his training.” Alvina told everyone, memories flooding through her mind.
“Ok, so who’s fighting first?” Flavia was eager to start already.
“Layla isn’t here yet, unfortunately. May I suggest you warm up while we wait for her?” Narias’s mom suggested.
“Oh, right. That’s a good idea.” Flavia agreed and instantly went to do stretches.
“Greetings everyone. I apologize for taking so long to prepare.” Layla showed up after a short while. She was wearing a two-piece uniform of sorts, black and brown in color with the lower part of it being pants instead of a skirt.
“Don’t worry, Layla. That’s not a prob… huh?” Ileena was about to say it wasn’t a problem but stopped after noticing something in Layla’s hair. “Oh…”
“Is something wrong, Ileena?” Alvina noticed her curious gaze.
“Ah, no. Sorry, it’s nothing, Mrs. Talrone.” She said, lowering her gaze right after.
“Alright, I’m all warmed up now.” Flavia was itching to start.
“I’d like to go first, if you don’t?” But Ileena cut her short by saying she wanted to be the first one to step into the arena.
“Hey, I was about to say I want to go first.” Flavia pouted her lips, also crossing her arms in front of her.
“Sorry, Flavia. I insist.” But Ileena wouldn’t budge.
“Fine…” Flavia reluctantly agreed.
“It’s ok. All of you will have a turn.” Layla didn’t mind who of the three will go first.
“Ok, let’s start. Please be careful everyone. I will stop the fight if I see it is becoming too dangerous. After all, this is only for you to show your abilities.” Alvina informed, clapping her hands excitedly.
“I don’t want to sound rude, but you must be very confident about your strength if you are willing to take the three of us on your own, Layla.” Ileena stated in her usual tone once she and Layla were in the middle of the arena.
“I’m sure all three of you are very strong.” Layla simply smiled at Ileena.
“Hmph…” Ileena squinted her eyes, seeing Layla didn’t react in a way Ileena expected she would.
“Are you ready?” Alvina asked from where she was. “Start.”
“Lighting Bolt.” Ileena raised her hand to cast a spell.
“Flame Orb.” Layla responded by raising her hand up in the air and casting a spell of her own. An orb of fire materialized above her hand, a size of a tennis ball, blocking Ileena’s Lightning Bolt that shot from the sky and absorbing it on impact. The Flame Orb disappeared right after.
“Huh? What?” That wasn’t something Ileena expected to happen.
“Hmm…” Layla smiled at her, not moving from her spot.
“Ahem…” Ileena fixed her glasses, pretending it wasn’t a big deal. “Lightning Strike! Lightning Bolt!”
She instantly cast two spells simultaneously, one spell shooting from her palm while the other one blasting itself down from the sky again.
“Flame Orb.” Layla cast the same spell calmly, absorbing the Lightning Bolt spell just like the last time she did. However, the Lightning Strike spell was still flying at Layla. Just when Ileena was about to procure a satisfied smile, thinking that her plan worked, Layla swiftly sidestepped to the right, avoiding the second spell with ease.
“Ah?” Ileena couldn’t hide her astonishment this time. It wasn’t because her opponent evaded Ileena’s Lightning Strike spell, it was more because of how effortlessly Layla evaded it.
“I’m sure you can do better than that, Ileena.” Layla smiled again, triggering something within Ileena.
“I’m sorry. I was holding back because I didn’t want to hurt you, Layla. I didn’t want Narias to get upset with me, but it seems I can get serious after all.” The air around Ileena changed, sparks of lightning starting to blister around her.
“Please do. I want to know how serious you really are.” It was an interesting choice of words on Layla’s part, but it seemed like Ileena knew what she meant.
“Lightning Bolt.” Ileena cast the same spell as before, but that was only a distraction. As soon as Layla raised her hand to cast her Flame Orb spell, Ileena pointed her hand forward, purple lightning enveloping her palm. The hair on Ileena’s head released lightning sparks as she chanted another spell. “Chained Lightning Strikes.”
Multiple Lightning Strikes shot out of Ileena’s palm, jumping left and right, connecting to one another, then splitting apart again, all the while rushing forward towards their target. Layla was still standing where she was, staying calm as her Flame Orb absorbed Ileena’s Lightning Bolt spell.
Instead of disappearing into the thin air this time however, the Flame Orb fell down, stopping right in front of Layla as she moved her hand. Right before the multiple Chained Lightning Strikes reached her, Layla jumped to the side, motioning with her hand to control the Flame Orb she had out. With the swift movements of her hand, and dodging to the sides to make distance between herself and the onslaught of Ileena’s multiple Chained Lightning Strikes, Layla’s Flame Orb was blocking and neutralizing every single one of them. It gave an impression Layla knew exactly where each Lightning Strike would hit, guiding her Flame Orb to meet each one of them as they flew at her.
“Lightning Crush!” Just when Layla’s Flame Orb was about to pick up the last Lightning Strike flying at her, Ileena threw herself forward. A claw created by purple lightning was about to crush Layla at the spot she was standing.
“Flame Cone.” But Layla didn’t panic. Instead, she cast another spell without releasing her Flame Orb spell. A burst of flames shot from the ground in a cone, blocking the lightning claw’s path. Two spells collided with each other, but only one remained after the impact.
“No way!” Ileena exclaimed in shock, seeing Layla’s spell stop her Lightning Crush spell.
“Woooah!” Flavia jumped to her feet, impressed by what happened.
“Wow, Layla is… really strong.” Emilia couldn’t stay quiet either. She was lacking words on how to express her amazement.
“She is, isn’t she?” Alvina giggled, finding Flavia’s and Emilia’s reactions amusing.
“Impressive. You’re really strong, Ileena.” Layla complimented her opponent, and it was a genuine compliment on her part.
“Thank you, but I’m not done yet. Lightning…“ Ileena was about to proceed, but…
“Ok, that’s enough!” Alvina raised her voice, clapping her hands at the same time.
“Huh? What? But…” Ileena stopped, taken aback by the fact her duel was over.
“So sorry, but I cannot allow you to continue. You might get a little too serious going forward.” Narias’s mom said with an added smile.
“Oh, I…” Ileena’s eyes still had sparks of purple lightning in them. But then she took a deep breath to calm down before turning to Layla again. “Thank you for the duel, Layla.”
“My pleasure, Ileena.” Layla bowed in a way a maid would.
“I’m next.” Flavia stated, not waiting for an invitation. Seeing how effortlessly Layla neutralized Ileena’s spells made her want to go out there and prove herself next. She was in the middle of the arena in an instant. “Yo’ Layla. I’ll be your opponent next.”
“It’s a pleasure, Flavia. Please go easy on me.” Layla greeted the bunny girl politely.
“No way. I already know what you can do.” Flavia stated, pointing her finger at Layla, which only made the maid smile.
“Welcome back Ileena. That was a wonderful performance on your part. I didn’t expect you to be able to control your Chained Lightning Strikes so well. All that training definitely paid off.” Emilia congratulated her friend when she came back.
“Thank you, but… it wasn’t nearly enough against Layla.” However, Ileena was slightly disappointed with her own performance.
“No need to be so down, Ileena. You did wonderful.” Alvina tried to cheer her on. “I could tell right away you are taking your training seriously. I am certain you will grow up to be a wonderful mage.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Talrone.” Ileena bowed her head respectfully.
“Alright, can we start now?” Flavia couldn’t stand still any longer.
“So sorry, Flavia. Yes, please begin.” Alvina announced.
The moment the announcement flew out of Alvina’s mouth, Flavia dashed forward, sprinting so fast, she closed the distance between herself and Layla by half in two seconds.
“Wow, Flavia is going all out from the very beginning.” Emilia couldn’t help but gasp, seeing Flavia won’t be playing around.
“Hayaa!” And she was right. Once Flavia was close enough to reach Layla she jumped up, doing a backflip in the air and landing on the ground with a somersault kick. The earth cracked at the spot her foot hit. Unfortunately for Flavia, she missed her target.
“That was a strong kick, Flavia.” Layla complimented her, standing several meters away from Flavia.
“Hah, you’re quick on your feet, Layla.” Flavia smirked, feeling even more pumped after Layla got out of the way in order to avoid her attack. “But that’s only the beginning. Here I-“
“Flame Scorch.” Whatever Flavia was about to do she was stopped by Layla casting a spell. The battle maid waved her hand in a half crescent moon motion, creating a half-bent flame which shot directly at Flavia.
“Woah!” Flavia had to react quickly to not get burned by it. “Hah, that’s nothi- Wha… Yikes!”
Flavia had no time to talk, because more Flame Scorch spells were flying at her. The bunny girl was jumping and leaping to the sides to avoid getting burned. The distance between Flavia and Layla was becoming wider and wider until the last Flame Scorch spell evaporated into the thin air. Apparently, it had a limited range. But the spell did its job. There was enough distance between Layla and Flavia for the maid to cast another spell.
“Hidden Flame Eruptions.” However, nothing happened after she said that, or so it seemed.
“Huh?” Flavia had a curious facial expression. “Hah! It seems like you’re out of mana. You better give up now or else.”
Flavia jumped up, not waiting for Layla to respond. But as soon as Flavia’s feet touched the ground again, she felt heat gathering below her.
“Eh? Woah!” Flavia jumped away just in time, flames erupting from under her feet. “Hey! When did you cast that spell?”
Flavia was beyond confused.
“What do you mean, Flavia? I’m all out of mana.” Layla responded, her comment sounding like a taunt.
“Alright, if that’s how you wanna do it.” Flavia dashed forward faster than before, triggering flame traps one after another as she passed them. “Haaa!”
The bunny girl was picking up speed, throwing herself one way or the other, so she wouldn’t get burned by the flames erupting from the ground. She was closing the distance between herself and Layla fast.
“Flame Cone.” Layla cast another spell, blocking Flavia’s advance.
“I knew you’d do that.” Flavia anticipated it, pushing herself to the side, feeling confident she’ll reach Layla with another jump. “Take that!”
Flavia pushed herself forward and was about to land a kick on Layla with her left foot. Layla didn’t try to jump away or dodge Flavia’s kick in any way. Instead of trying to get away, Layla shifted her body to the side, sliding her hands under Flavia’s leg and pushing it away with a nimble thrust. Layla used her opponent’s force to her own advantage, and since Flavia was in motion, Layla simply redirected Flavia’s kick away from her. Flavia was thrown up in the air, making her spin around in a backward flip and almost fall on the ground face down. Luckily, Flavia managed to regain her balance at the last second and landed on the ground on all fours. Before she could fully stand up however, a spell shot out of Layla’s hand.
“Whoops!” Flavia reacted in time, pushing herself up with all fours and avoiding getting hit by Layla’s another Flame Scorch spell.
“Well done, Flavia. I wasn’t sure if you be able to evade my last spell.” Layla congratulated her once Flavia was up and ready to have a go again.
“Hah, that was nothing.” Flavia was clearly faking it. She escaped Layla’s Flame Scorch spell just by a hair. “The real fight starts now. Anima-“
“Ok, that’s enough. Please stop!” But Alvina’s voice stopped her.
“Wuaa… what?” Flavia stumbled under her feet before turning towards Narias’s mom. “Not now, we were getting to the good part.”
“I’m happy to see you so motivated, Flavia, but Narias might get upset with me if I let either of you get hurt.” Alvina said, her kind smile melting Flavia’s frustration in an instant.
“Well, if you put it that way…” Flavia rubbed the back of her head, turning to her opponent right after. “You’re really strong, Layla. We should duel again sometime.”
“I’m looking forward to it, Flavia.” Layla bowed down respectfully.
Flavia grinned wide at Layla before running back to her seat.
“I guess it’s my turn now.” Emilia stood up, ready to go.
“Yo, show her what you’ve got, Emilia.” Flavia cheered for her.
“Thank you, Flavia.” The Ice Princess smiled before walking to where Layla was waiting for her.
“Those were some nice moves, Flavia.” Ileena complimented her after Flavia sat down.
“Thanks, but Layla surprised me with that weird spell that shot up from the ground. I couldn’t see her casting it at all. I almost burned my tail trying to run away too.” Flavia remembered the flames erupting from the ground.
“But she did. Layla planted the Hidden Flame Eruption spells when you were running away from her, Flavia.” Alvina told to the girls.
“Huh? Planted?” Flavia tilted her head to the side, confused about it.
“Yes. The Hidden Flame Eruption is Layla’s special spell. It is a timed spell which is triggered by someone getting too close to it. Once a person steps within its range, flames shoot up from the ground, burning anyone caught in it.” Alvina explained it in more detail.
“Wow, that’s a very scary spell.” Ileena was impressed.
“Hah, I was still fast enough to avoid getting burned by it.” Flavia said, probably wanting to impress Narias’s mom more than she already did.
“Actually, Layla cast it so it would have delayed activation. If she had cast it for real, the flames would’ve jumped up the moment your feet touched the area within range.” Alvina added with a mischievous smile on her face.
“Eeek! It had delayed activation?” Flavia shivered, remembering she was just barely avoiding getting burned.
“So, Layla was holding back all this time?” Ileena was more thinking out loud than seriously asking a question.
“But of course. As I said, I don’t want anyone to get hurt.” Narias’s mom gave her the warmest smile. “Now, let’s see how Emilia fares against Layla. They seemed to be ready to start.”
Niuniax
━━━━━━━━━
Thank you for reading. Leave a comment and favorite the chapter if you enjoyed it. Apologies in advance if you find a weird sounding phrase or a grammar error. These are draft chapters after all.
Read 10+ extra chapters on my Patreon (including the artwork not available anywhere else) – Extra Chapters on Patreon
━━━━━━━━━
Extra thanks to nonomo4 and Lynderyn for extra support and help.
