Chapter 55: To Catch Lightning
The sixth day of the prefectural competition kicked off with a spree of crackling lightning. Melina had promised as much.
She had a premonition that her opponent had already found a way to neutralise her lightning shaping. From the round of sixteen, they had allocated the whole field of the coliseum to duels, giving him more room to use it to his advantage. She had already prepared various strategies if it came down to it.
Considering his display the other day, Melina’s first task was to make sure to stay off his radar from the very beginning, making sure all her casting would be unhindered. Lightning was the most volatile element to shape; any mishaps during the shaping might even strike the caster.
With Arilyn’s uncanny perception to see through her casting, keeping her weaving beyond his scope of manipulation would be impossible. Melina already had some plans against that, though she feared none of them were foolproof and would even decrease the power of her lightning.
Now consider her incredulity when her opponent merely stood with his blade pointing skywards, with no intention of using his essence to defend himself, even when a violent arc of lightning crashed down on him.
His blade surged with torrential force as he swung, unleashing all of his aura at once, as if intending to face the bolt of lightning head-on.
For a moment, he even succeeded, the lightning charge scattering. But then Melina poured more essence through her weave, her lightning snarling back with devastating force, shattering through the sword aura to plunge into her foe.
Arilyn was flung away, his form crashing towards the barriers protecting the stands. In mid-air, his levitation boots came to life, holding him back from the crash, though there was already blood dripping down his lips and nose. It wasn’t a lot, but the lightning had struck right at his chest.
Arilyn spat and cringed, eyes unfocused for a brief second before he peered down at her. Melina returned a grin and once again shot a bolt of lightning at him.
After having a good taste of it, her opponent didn’t take it head-on. An invisible shield surfaced before him, protecting him from her spell. The lightning still broke through its defences, but the little instant was enough for him to scurry off up into the air.
Arilyn came straight towards her, swinging his blade in a menacing arc, but at the last moment he didn’t release the sword aura, instead whisking away beyond her line of attack. Her whip of cutting wind dissolved into thin air, missing him completely.
Melina swiftly flew into the air as well. She wasn’t using any levitation weaves, as that would reduce her attacking force. Instead, she used a pair of levitation boots similar to her opponent’s, especially brought for this match-up.
“Good shoes,” Arilyn praised, “but it looks like you still need some practice in them.”
He swooped at her, once again his aura rising in torrential force. Melina was prepared with her lightning, shooting away, but again, he shifted away before committing to a strike, as if only teasing her. She adjusted her weave to keep targeting him, but somehow he seemed to see through all her intentions, perhaps even a couple of steps ahead, remaining just off her area of influence.
It didn’t help that he had the whole field to roam around. Arilyn continued to tease her with his aura, but never committed to an attack, while her essence burned away with each weave she invoked.
Melina didn’t have access to an unceasing amount of essence. At the rate she was going, she’d run out of it within a couple of minutes. Of course, she could drink a recovery potion, but that wasn't a solution here. Even if she managed to triumph, she would be in no condition to fight the next duel.
Arilyn was saving his power for the same reason. Besides, with the exuberant confidence he was exuding, she knew he would keep this cat-and-mouse chase going for as long as it took.
It was at that time Melina decided to stop wasting her essence. She even went further and stopped all her offences.
“Why, are you giving up already?” her foe asked, not afraid to sneak within her zone of influence.
Looking at his smile, she had an urge to snap her weave into a violent charge of lightning and wipe the grin off his face. But she knew that was his intention as well. He was merely taunting her so that he could exhaust her essence.
“Well, if you’re not attacking, let me.”
At once, a great weight pressed down on her, making her skin crawl. Melina immediately pulled a shield around herself as she shifted away. Arilyn seemed to see through it all, hurtling a radiant sword aura at her. It crumbled through her shield, hurling her backwards as she managed to ward herself from feeling the full brunt of the blow.
But then, a tangible force seized her. Before Melina could even mount her defence and shove aside the essence threads surging with kinetic force, her levitation boots stopped working.
This can’t be, her mind cried. It was a completely new pair of boots she had gotten the other day. Her father had paid a whole two hundred and eight Gold Leafs for them. She had even got an authentic certificate from Dragonforge, guaranteeing their quality and durability.
But here she was, crashing down with the boots malfunctioning. Despite all her attempts, they refused to release any force. Clearly, her opponent had some hand in it. She had already seen him ruin fine pieces of armament as if they were scrap metal; what was a pair of levitation boots to him?
Yet an unbridled anger flashed across her face. The boots were brand new. She had gotten them after whining to her father all night. He had accepted only after she agreed to cut her monthly allowance from fifty Gold Leafs to twenty for the whole year. Yes, they were wealthy, but her parents, especially her mum, were stubborn when it came to money, fearing she might become profligate. Well, she was already a little spendthrift, but now, with the huge cut in her monthly allowance, she even had to bid goodbye to all those fine gowns and ornaments she had been eyeing. The worst part was that she didn’t even get to relish the piece of fabrication.
Well, she could get a free repair from Dragonforge, but they tended to take their sweet time. It would probably be weeks before she saw her pair of boots again. By then, she would already be done with the Oracle Academy admission test.
She glared at the person responsible for it. To punish him for it, she relinquished all her strategy and shot a potent bolt of lightning at him. It was highly unlikely she was going to win against him, but at least she could make him suffer a little.
Arilyn reacted as if it were well within his calculations. A kinetic shield manifested, deflecting her casting. More than that, his peaceful face infuriated her even more. Using a levitation weave, she hovered at his level and began shooting a spree of lightning bolts at the irksome fellow.
Arilyn remained on the spot, as if to make it easier for her, to atone for his crime. If only her spells struck him. His essence weave adjusted accordingly, mounting shield after shield as they deflected and dispersed her lightning with ease. Obviously, it was too much for a simple kinetic shield to block lightning, much less deflect it. Her enemy had allotted his aura into the mix, it flickering in a translucent oscillation over the shield rapidly, dispersing her lightning no matter how powerful and swift it was.
“Happy?” he asked.
Melina was not.
“Well, your lightning shaping has improved,” he continued, his eyes beaming as his pupils shifted in whichever direction her spells crashed at him. “I’d like to exchange some notes with you, but I have to conserve my energy for a nasty swindler. So this is it for now.”
“As if I’ll let you,” she snarled, shaping two branches of lightning. She saw her opponent shake his head, then he hurled his shields at her. Melina hadn’t even figured out what he intended when her lightning changed its course, deflected by those hurtling shields in such a way that it snapped back at her, striking her chest.
Melina yelped. A piercing pain surged through her torso, her sight darkening. Her chest burned, her heart malfunctioning, choking the air from her lungs as she fell.
Something caught her in the air. As her vision cleared, she looked aghast to find Arilyn before her, his sword pointing at her neck.
“Yhhh!” she wanted to scream ‘you’, but choked on her own words while the referee announced:
“Arilyn Arcis O’Ryon triumphs and enters the round of eight.”
There was a spree of applause and cheers, many whistles, and shouts of the victor’s name.
Melina felt like wailing, not completely because of the defeat, but because of the stinging pain in her chest. Well, even if she did cry, she wouldn’t let a single tear fall before the audience.
Swiftly dislodging herself from Arilyn’s grip, she shot off into the antechamber, one palm rubbing her chest, intending to seclude herself in the washroom. Unfortunately, she was stopped by the healer, who came to check on her injury.
Well, at least a simple life spell from him took care of the stinging pain, though she would need to see if the bolt of lightning had left a mark there or not. Thankfully, her shaper robe had held up against the lightning, or her defeat might have been even more scandalous.
“Big Brother Ari,” someone said, “you sure know how to treat a lady.”
It was a familiar voice. Melina craned her neck to glare at Leaf, who immediately raised both palms in surrender.
She eyed the boy who had defeated her one last time. She had been defeated twice in the tournament, both times it was against him. It seemed he wished to say something, perhaps apologise for being a blighted arse, but Melina had no time for him. She dashed into the ladies’ washroom.
When she got out, he was still waiting for her.
“So about the boots—”
“I’m not talking to you,” she said, and walked off, putting on a haughty air. Yes, that would teach him.
“You can’t be angry at me for beating you.”
Despite herself, Melina found herself saying, “I’m not angry at you for beating me.” Well, she was; some part of it was definitely related to her defeat, but no way in hell would she admit that. “It’s because of my boots you ruined.”
“It’s not ruined, though.”
Melina glowered at him.
“I merely broke a few of the essence veins to disconnect the formation from its energy source.”
“Isn’t that the same as it being ruined?”
“Not at all.” Arilyn caught up to her. “It’s only a few minutes’ fix.”
Melina studied his expression. He seemed earnest. He could probably repair her boots, considering his other vocation. However, her fury was still running too hot to accept anything from him.
“No thanks,” she told him. “I’d rather have them restored at Dragonforge.”
“I don’t think the journeymen of Dragonforge will be as skilled as I am.”
Melina spared him a look. “You think too highly of yourself, don’t you?”
“I’m merely speaking facts,” Arilyn said.
“Did you offer the same to the other girl whose whole armament you ruined?”
“No—”
“Then why the change of heart now?” Melina arched an eyebrow, peering at him. “Is it because I’m prettier?”
Come on, blush once, and I might forgive you.