“That was an excellent performance, Layla. You are very strong.” Emilia complimented her after stepping into the arena.
“Thank you, Miss Emilia. It is an honor to receive praise from someone who comes from such esteemed family as yourself.” Layla bowed down respectfully.
“So, you know about my family?” Emilia tilted her head to the side with a smile.
“It would be very rude of me to pretend I don’t know who Frizz family is. I had never expected to get an opportunity to face against Emilia Frizz herself.” Layla smiled back.
“I see. In that case, I ought to give it my best against you, Layla.” Emilia added, her eyes catching an unusual, frosty glow.
“I wouldn’t wish for anything else, Miss Emily.” Sparks of fire flared in Layla’s eyes.
“Layla, Emilia, are you ready?” They heard Alvina ask suddenly. Both of them nodded in approval. “Begin!”
Instantly, the air next to Emilia was caught by frost, creating a gust of dancing snowflakes around her.
“Icicle Shot.” Four icicles shot out of Emilia’s palm.
“Flame Scorch.” Layla responded by casting a spell of her own.
Two spells collided, with the Flame Scorch catching and melting all the icicles in its way. The half crescent flame proceeded to fly forward towards Emilia.
“Ice Shards.” The Ice Princess cast another spell. Multiple ice crystals materialized at the front of her raised palm and hurriedly shot at her opponent. The ice crystals smashed themselves against the approaching flame, extinguishing it completely and proceeding to fly forward, towards Layla this time.
“Flame Cone.” Layla was forced to cast one more spell in order to protect herself. A tall flame burst up from the ground, stopping the icy shards in their tracks.
“Ice Block.” ButEmilia wasn’t done yet. Sizable ice crystals, up to seven feet tall, sprung from the ground, blocking the spot where the Flame Cone burst, shutting it down in an instant. “Ice Shards.”
“Flame Wheel.” Layla had to defend herself again. Multiple Flame Orbs appeared in front of her, instantly starting to spin so fast they created a burning flame wheel. Since Emilia’s spells involved shooting multiple ice shards or icicles in one go, a single Flame Orb wouldn’t have been enough to stop them. So instead, Layla cast multiple rotating Flame Orbs to block Emilia’s attacks.
“Huh? Humph. Icicle Shot. Ice Shards.” A slight surprise dressed Emilia’s face, but she quickly resumed her relentless attacks. The Flame Wheel was successful in blocking and melting the ice spells Emilia was throwing at Layla, but the Ice Princess was determined to push through it.
Another Flame Cone spell was cast as soon as the effect of the Flame Wheel diminished, followed by the Ice Block from Emilia’s side to extinguish the intense flames. Both of them were casting spells without a second of rest, with Emilia being on offense most of the time. Both parties continued casting their spells, and for a short moment there, it looked like Emilia was taking the upper hand. But pretty soon, her spells started to miss their target, landing just a few feet away from her opponent, freezing the ground as they did.
“Icicle Shot. Ice Shards.” But Emilia didn’t stop. She kept casting her spells, as well as, looking for the tiniest opening to land a hit.
“Flame Scorch.” Layla easily blocked the next Icicle Shot with her spell, letting the Ice Shards get past her since they wouldn’t have hit her anyway. “Please forgive me for being so direct, Miss Emilia. But maybe you’d like to take a short break? It seems your focus is starting to drop.”
“It is very kind of you to suggest it, Layla, but I was waiting for this exact moment.” Suddenly, Emilia’s snow-white hair was lifted by a gust of frozen wind and started to sparkle with a magnificent, frosty glow. She waved her hands in a semi-circle from the opposite sides, a breeze of snowflakes following their movement. Emilia closed her eyes, getting ready to chant a spell. Her hands came to a stop, with her palms almost touching each other. The next second, her eyes flashed a blue light, her hands extending forward and releasing the magic stored within them. “Ice Shackles!”
Layla had very little time to react as the ice pillars sprung from the ground from all directions, smashing at each other and trapping the maid within. It looked like Layla was about to be buried inside the huge ice pillars.
“Huh? Double Flame Scorch.” Layla cast her Flame Scorch spell twice with both hands, twisting her body and spinning around, her Flame Scorch spells cutting through one of the ice pillars like blades. One more ice pillar sprung from the ground, smashing itself at the previous one and blocking the view of what happened to Layla.
“Woohoo! That was awesome!” Flavia jumped from her seat. “I didn’t know Emilia could cast such an amazing spell. That thing is huge.”
“So, that’s what she was working on lately. Incredible.” Ileena was impressed herself, but her face went pale. “Wait… what happened to Layla? Is she…”
“Don’t worry, Ileena. That was an incredible performance on Emilia’s part, but Layla is a tough cookie.” Alvina said with a chuckle.
“Well done, Emilia. You surprised me with your spell there. Please, forgive me for what I said earlier. I shouldn’t have assumed you were losing focus. You were waiting for me to let my guard down.” Layla was standing some distance away from where the Ice Shackles spell hit.
“I’m glad you came out of it unharmed, Layla. I knew you were stronger than you tried to show. Although, I can’t help but be a little disappointed my Ice Shackles failed to even touch you.” Emilia tilted her head to the side with a smile.
“I wouldn’t say that. It was an amazing spell. However, would I be wrong to assume you hadn’t mastered it yet, Miss Emilia?” Layla asked.
“You are right. I’ve only recently learned it.” She admitted.
“I see. I am almost positive it would be difficult to escape it once you master it fully, Miss Emilia. But even so, you had proven yourself to be a capable spellcaster. I am really happy Narias has you as his girlfriend. All of you, to be exact.” Layla added with a smile.
“Narias? His girlfriend?” Emilia wondered for a second about what Layla had just said, throwing a puzzling stare at the maid. “Yes, I’m happy about it too.”
…
Emilia had proven herself plenty, but I suppose I could let them keep going for a little while longer, considering we have more spectators now. Alvina was about to stop the duel, but then noticed more people were present at the arena, so decided not to.
…
“Mrs. Talrone hadn’t given the signal to stop yet. Would you like to keep going, Miss Emilia?” Layla was probably expecting for the duel to end, but since Narias’s mom hadn’t stopped them, she was ready to continue.
“Oh? You’re right. Yes, let’s continue, Layla.” Emilia agreed, yet she had to stop and think what to do next. Layla is too strong for me to win against her. She can easily neutralize my basic spells, but using Ice Shackles again probably won’t work. I wonder what could I… huh? Aah… Silly me, what was I thinking? I’m not here to win against Layla. I’m here to prove my feelings to Narias. I can only use the first two steps of it for now, but this might be the only opportunity to do it. You’ve told me my magic is beautiful, so I’ll show you my most beautiful magic yet.
“Hmm?” Layla noticed the air around Emilia change.
“Frozen Ice Mirror.” Emilia raised her hand up, chanting a new spell. The ice shot out from under her feet, rushing forward to all directions and covering the ground around the Ice Princess in about twenty yards radius. Layla had to jump back to avoid getting her feet frozen.
“What an amazing spell, Miss Emilia. I can see my own reflection on the ice.” Layla complimented her, but it didn’t seem like Emilia could hear her.
As surprising to everyone as it was, Emilia shifted her body to the side, making a single step forward, her hands taking a position as if she was accepting someone’s invitation to dance. People started in amazement, anxiously anticipating what will follow next. Layla didn’t want to interrupt whatever Emilia was about to do, so she stayed where she was, waiting patiently.
As if the music actually started to play, and to everyone’s astonishment, Emilia started to dance. She moved gracefully, her feet sliding on the ice, her body elegantly shifting to one side or the other, with her floating, beautiful hair leaving a trail of frosty snowflakes behind it. The Ice Princess spun with such enthralling graciousness it forced the mesmerized onlookers gasp for air. Each Emilia’s step made frozen flowers sprung from the under her feet, only to burst into the beautiful snowflakes before she made another step. Each move of Emilia’s hand made the snowflakes fly up and gather at her fingertips only to start dancing together with her. Emilia’s snow-white hair led the way for more snow to follow, creating a gust of frozen breeze raise and dance together with the Ice Princess.
“Wow…” one of the spectators gasped, full of astonishment and adoration.
While everyone else was caught in the moment of admiration, seeing a snowy dance performed by the Ice Princess, Layla realized it was more than just a performance on Emilia’s part. As beautiful as Emilia’s dance was to gaze upon, the fire maid had a hunch there was much more to it. A lot more, actually. Layla could feel the air becoming colder every second, even if she was over twenty yards away from Emilia.
“Hidden Flame Eruptions.” Layla cast her special spell, jumping back to increase the distance between herself and Emilia. It probably was a good idea, because even the spectators could see frost materializing around Emilia.
Suddenly, Emilia shifted her body to the side, placing one foot behind the other. She raised her right hand up while lowering down the left one at the same time. The Ice Princess paused for a second and all the snow and ice around her stopped from moving, making it seem like the time was stopped as well.
“Ice Glacier!” With a sudden twist of her body, Emilia raised her lowered hand up, directing all the snow she had gathered around her to shoot forward. As if the snow was some sort of guide, ice leaped out from the ground and rushed after it, growing in size with each new climb. A single crystal of ice was replaced by an icicle, then a chunk of ice, then a boulder, then into a pillar until it became an enormously massive ice glacier, sweeping through the arena and freezing everything in its path.
“Flame Cone. Huh?” Layla cast a spell to protect herself. Multiple fire eruptions burst out from the ground as the ice triggered Layla’s Hidden Flame Eruption traps. However, the icy glacier was unstoppable. It rammed itself at the other end of the arena, extinguishing the fire on the way as if it was a small candle’s flame. A shockingly stunning amazement was felt in the air, with only the sound of the snow falling on the ground after the ice hit the stone walls.
“Woah… d… did you see that?” Flavia spoke, her mouth not willing to close up just yet.
“Y… yes. I…” Ileena couldn’t find words to express her shock.
“Oh, my…” Alvina covered her mouth with one hand, probably thinking she should’ve stopped the duel earlier.
But when the snow and the dust settled, Alvina, Ileena and Flavia were able to let out a sigh of relief, because they could see Emilia helping Layla come out from behind the massive mountain of ice.
“Thank goodness you’re ok, Layla.” Emilia let out a sigh of relief, seeing Layla wasn’t exactly hurt.
“I appreciate your concern, Miss Emilia. It was the most frightful experience yet, however, you make it sound like I was lucky I wasn’t hurt. If you wanted to bury me under your Ice Glacier spell, I wouldn’t be standing here right now. You never intended to hit me with your spell, am I right?” Layla thanked her after they walked out in the open.
“Of course not. As difficult to control it as it was, I purposely aimed it to pass you by. Although, with how strong you are, I believe you could’ve protected yourself against it.” Emilia said, giving Layla her warmest smile.
“Thank you, but I think you are overestimating my abilities, Miss Emilia. That was a very powerful spell.” Layla bowed down respectfully, acting the way she usually does.
“Thank you, Layla. And thank you for the duel, in more than one way.” Emilia bowed down herself.
"Huh? That is, it was an honor, Miss Emilia." Layla was slightly confused about how Emilia expressed her thanks, but didn't ask for clarification.
“Are you girls ok? I’m so sorry, I should’ve stopped the duel earlier.” Alvina showed up, with Ileena and Flavia beside her.
“That was so awesome, Emilia! How come you never used that spell in the dungeon? You would’ve squashed that Fanged Whitemane Wolf in an instant.” Flavia was overly impressed with Emilia’s spell.
“Thank you, Flavia. But I can’t exactly use that spell whenever I want.” Emilia told her.
“Phew, I’m glad no one was hurt.” Ileena let out a sigh of relief, throwing a suspicious glance at Emilia too.
“We’re both fine. Thank you for your concern, Ileena.” Emilia said, stepping closer to her then adding in half whisper, so others wouldn’t hear them. “You were right, she is.”
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.
“That was an excellent performance, Layla. You are very strong.” Emilia complimented her after stepping into the arena.
“Thank you, Miss Emilia. It is an honor to receive praise from someone who comes from such esteemed family as yourself.” Layla bowed down respectfully.
“So, you know about my family?” Emilia tilted her head to the side with a smile.
“It would be very rude of me to pretend I don’t know who Frizz family is. I had never expected to get an opportunity to face against Emilia Frizz herself.” Layla smiled back.
“I see. In that case, I ought to give it my best against you, Layla.” Emilia added, her eyes catching an unusual, frosty glow.
“I wouldn’t wish for anything else, Miss Emily.” Sparks of fire flared in Layla’s eyes.
“Layla, Emilia, are you ready?” They heard Alvina ask suddenly. Both of them nodded in approval. “Begin!”
Instantly, the air next to Emilia was caught by frost, creating a gust of dancing snowflakes around her.
“Icicle Shot.” Four icicles shot out of Emilia’s palm.
“Flame Scorch.” Layla responded by casting a spell of her own.
Two spells collided, with the Flame Scorch catching and melting all the icicles in its way. The half crescent flame proceeded to fly forward towards Emilia.
“Ice Shards.” The Ice Princess cast another spell. Multiple ice crystals materialized at the front of her raised palm and hurriedly shot at her opponent. The ice crystals smashed themselves against the approaching flame, extinguishing it completely and proceeding to fly forward, towards Layla this time.
“Flame Cone.” Layla was forced to cast one more spell in order to protect herself. A tall flame burst up from the ground, stopping the icy shards in their tracks.
“Ice Block.” ButEmilia wasn’t done yet. Sizable ice crystals, up to seven feet tall, sprung from the ground, blocking the spot where the Flame Cone burst, shutting it down in an instant. “Ice Shards.”
“Flame Wheel.” Layla had to defend herself again. Multiple Flame Orbs appeared in front of her, instantly starting to spin so fast they created a burning flame wheel. Since Emilia’s spells involved shooting multiple ice shards or icicles in one go, a single Flame Orb wouldn’t have been enough to stop them. So instead, Layla cast multiple rotating Flame Orbs to block Emilia’s attacks.
“Huh? Humph. Icicle Shot. Ice Shards.” A slight surprise dressed Emilia’s face, but she quickly resumed her relentless attacks. The Flame Wheel was successful in blocking and melting the ice spells Emilia was throwing at Layla, but the Ice Princess was determined to push through it.
Another Flame Cone spell was cast as soon as the effect of the Flame Wheel diminished, followed by the Ice Block from Emilia’s side to extinguish the intense flames. Both of them were casting spells without a second of rest, with Emilia being on offense most of the time. Both parties continued casting their spells, and for a short moment there, it looked like Emilia was taking the upper hand. But pretty soon, her spells started to miss their target, landing just a few feet away from her opponent, freezing the ground as they did.
“Icicle Shot. Ice Shards.” But Emilia didn’t stop. She kept casting her spells, as well as, looking for the tiniest opening to land a hit.
“Flame Scorch.” Layla easily blocked the next Icicle Shot with her spell, letting the Ice Shards get past her since they wouldn’t have hit her anyway. “Please forgive me for being so direct, Miss Emilia. But maybe you’d like to take a short break? It seems your focus is starting to drop.”
“It is very kind of you to suggest it, Layla, but I was waiting for this exact moment.” Suddenly, Emilia’s snow-white hair was lifted by a gust of frozen wind and started to sparkle with a magnificent, frosty glow. She waved her hands in a semi-circle from the opposite sides, a breeze of snowflakes following their movement. Emilia closed her eyes, getting ready to chant a spell. Her hands came to a stop, with her palms almost touching each other. The next second, her eyes flashed a blue light, her hands extending forward and releasing the magic stored within them. “Ice Shackles!”
Layla had very little time to react as the ice pillars sprung from the ground from all directions, smashing at each other and trapping the maid within. It looked like Layla was about to be buried inside the huge ice pillars.
“Huh? Double Flame Scorch.” Layla cast her Flame Scorch spell twice with both hands, twisting her body and spinning around, her Flame Scorch spells cutting through one of the ice pillars like blades. One more ice pillar sprung from the ground, smashing itself at the previous one and blocking the view of what happened to Layla.
“Woohoo! That was awesome!” Flavia jumped from her seat. “I didn’t know Emilia could cast such an amazing spell. That thing is huge.”
“So, that’s what she was working on lately. Incredible.” Ileena was impressed herself, but her face went pale. “Wait… what happened to Layla? Is she…”
“Don’t worry, Ileena. That was an incredible performance on Emilia’s part, but Layla is a tough cookie.” Alvina said with a chuckle.
“Well done, Emilia. You surprised me with your spell there. Please, forgive me for what I said earlier. I shouldn’t have assumed you were losing focus. You were waiting for me to let my guard down.” Layla was standing some distance away from where the Ice Shackles spell hit.
“I’m glad you came out of it unharmed, Layla. I knew you were stronger than you tried to show. Although, I can’t help but be a little disappointed my Ice Shackles failed to even touch you.” Emilia tilted her head to the side with a smile.
“I wouldn’t say that. It was an amazing spell. However, would I be wrong to assume you hadn’t mastered it yet, Miss Emilia?” Layla asked.
“You are right. I’ve only recently learned it.” She admitted.
“I see. I am almost positive it would be difficult to escape it once you master it fully, Miss Emilia. But even so, you had proven yourself to be a capable spellcaster. I am really happy Narias has you as his girlfriend. All of you, to be exact.” Layla added with a smile.
“Narias? His girlfriend?” Emilia wondered for a second about what Layla had just said, throwing a puzzling stare at the maid. “Yes, I’m happy about it too.”
…
Emilia had proven herself plenty, but I suppose I could let them keep going for a little while longer, considering we have more spectators now. Alvina was about to stop the duel, but then noticed more people were present at the arena, so decided not to.
…
“Mrs. Talrone hadn’t given the signal to stop yet. Would you like to keep going, Miss Emilia?” Layla was probably expecting for the duel to end, but since Narias’s mom hadn’t stopped them, she was ready to continue.
“Oh? You’re right. Yes, let’s continue, Layla.” Emilia agreed, yet she had to stop and think what to do next. Layla is too strong for me to win against her. She can easily neutralize my basic spells, but using Ice Shackles again probably won’t work. I wonder what could I… huh? Aah… Silly me, what was I thinking? I’m not here to win against Layla. I’m here to prove my feelings to Narias. I can only use the first two steps of it for now, but this might be the only opportunity to do it. You’ve told me my magic is beautiful, so I’ll show you my most beautiful magic yet.
“Hmm?” Layla noticed the air around Emilia change.
“Frozen Ice Mirror.” Emilia raised her hand up, chanting a new spell. The ice shot out from under her feet, rushing forward to all directions and covering the ground around the Ice Princess in about twenty yards radius. Layla had to jump back to avoid getting her feet frozen.
“What an amazing spell, Miss Emilia. I can see my own reflection on the ice.” Layla complimented her, but it didn’t seem like Emilia could hear her.
As surprising to everyone as it was, Emilia shifted her body to the side, making a single step forward, her hands taking a position as if she was accepting someone’s invitation to dance. People started in amazement, anxiously anticipating what will follow next. Layla didn’t want to interrupt whatever Emilia was about to do, so she stayed where she was, waiting patiently.
As if the music actually started to play, and to everyone’s astonishment, Emilia started to dance. She moved gracefully, her feet sliding on the ice, her body elegantly shifting to one side or the other, with her floating, beautiful hair leaving a trail of frosty snowflakes behind it. The Ice Princess spun with such enthralling graciousness it forced the mesmerized onlookers gasp for air. Each Emilia’s step made frozen flowers sprung from the under her feet, only to burst into the beautiful snowflakes before she made another step. Each move of Emilia’s hand made the snowflakes fly up and gather at her fingertips only to start dancing together with her. Emilia’s snow-white hair led the way for more snow to follow, creating a gust of frozen breeze raise and dance together with the Ice Princess.
“Wow…” one of the spectators gasped, full of astonishment and adoration.
While everyone else was caught in the moment of admiration, seeing a snowy dance performed by the Ice Princess, Layla realized it was more than just a performance on Emilia’s part. As beautiful as Emilia’s dance was to gaze upon, the fire maid had a hunch there was much more to it. A lot more, actually. Layla could feel the air becoming colder every second, even if she was over twenty yards away from Emilia.
“Hidden Flame Eruptions.” Layla cast her special spell, jumping back to increase the distance between herself and Emilia. It probably was a good idea, because even the spectators could see frost materializing around Emilia.
Suddenly, Emilia shifted her body to the side, placing one foot behind the other. She raised her right hand up while lowering down the left one at the same time. The Ice Princess paused for a second and all the snow and ice around her stopped from moving, making it seem like the time was stopped as well.
“Ice Glacier!” With a sudden twist of her body, Emilia raised her lowered hand up, directing all the snow she had gathered around her to shoot forward. As if the snow was some sort of guide, ice leaped out from the ground and rushed after it, growing in size with each new climb. A single crystal of ice was replaced by an icicle, then a chunk of ice, then a boulder, then into a pillar until it became an enormously massive ice glacier, sweeping through the arena and freezing everything in its path.
“Flame Cone. Huh?” Layla cast a spell to protect herself. Multiple fire eruptions burst out from the ground as the ice triggered Layla’s Hidden Flame Eruption traps. However, the icy glacier was unstoppable. It rammed itself at the other end of the arena, extinguishing the fire on the way as if it was a small candle’s flame. A shockingly stunning amazement was felt in the air, with only the sound of the snow falling on the ground after the ice hit the stone walls.
“Woah… d… did you see that?” Flavia spoke, her mouth not willing to close up just yet.
“Y… yes. I…” Ileena couldn’t find words to express her shock.
“Oh, my…” Alvina covered her mouth with one hand, probably thinking she should’ve stopped the duel earlier.
But when the snow and the dust settled, Alvina, Ileena and Flavia were able to let out a sigh of relief, because they could see Emilia helping Layla come out from behind the massive mountain of ice.
“Thank goodness you’re ok, Layla.” Emilia let out a sigh of relief, seeing Layla wasn’t exactly hurt.
“I appreciate your concern, Miss Emilia. It was the most frightful experience yet, however, you make it sound like I was lucky I wasn’t hurt. If you wanted to bury me under your Ice Glacier spell, I wouldn’t be standing here right now. You never intended to hit me with your spell, am I right?” Layla thanked her after they walked out in the open.
“Of course not. As difficult to control it as it was, I purposely aimed it to pass you by. Although, with how strong you are, I believe you could’ve protected yourself against it.” Emilia said, giving Layla her warmest smile.
“Thank you, but I think you are overestimating my abilities, Miss Emilia. That was a very powerful spell.” Layla bowed down respectfully, acting the way she usually does.
“Thank you, Layla. And thank you for the duel, in more than one way.” Emilia bowed down herself.
"Huh? That is, it was an honor, Miss Emilia." Layla was slightly confused about how Emilia expressed her thanks, but didn't ask for clarification.
“Are you girls ok? I’m so sorry, I should’ve stopped the duel earlier.” Alvina showed up, with Ileena and Flavia beside her.
“That was so awesome, Emilia! How come you never used that spell in the dungeon? You would’ve squashed that Fanged Whitemane Wolf in an instant.” Flavia was overly impressed with Emilia’s spell.
“Thank you, Flavia. But I can’t exactly use that spell whenever I want.” Emilia told her.
“Phew, I’m glad no one was hurt.” Ileena let out a sigh of relief, throwing a suspicious glance at Emilia too.
“We’re both fine. Thank you for your concern, Ileena.” Emilia said, stepping closer to her then adding in half whisper, so others wouldn’t hear them. “You were right, she is.”
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.
