Magic's Return: I Can See The Spirits

"W-What are you doing!? I-Is that how a Mage supposed to fight!?

Just where in the hell did you learn something like this!?" 

Elric screamed, his annoyance was clear from his tone. Elara was throwing those stones at her at a constant pace, not giving him a break even for a single moment. 

Elara, on the other hand, didn't reply to Elric's words, she was focused on throwing the rocks while calculating how long could Elric keep this up. 

No matter how optimized a spell was and how much Elric had practiced and used the same spell, every spell needed Mana, for Spells that practically allowed a Mage to fly, the Mana consumption was even higher. 

Right now, the Stone Plate Elric had summoned was around 10 meters above the ground and was holding all of Elric's weight while moving around, Elara was sure that Elric didn't have enough Mana to continue this for long, at least not until she ran out of stones. 

All she needed to do was to keep hitting Elric with stones and not allow him to cast any spell. 

As for Elric's words, Elara already knew that was nothing but a result of his annoyance. It was a Battle Tournament, not a Magic Display Event, sure, all people here are mages but this didn't mean that using methods other than Magic to win a battle was wrong. 

Thinking about it, Elara continued to throw stones at Elric and the longer this continued, the more frustrated Elric got. 

Elric could tell, he was losing. 

No, it would be better to say that he was checkmated already, if this continued like this, he would run out of Mana soon and unlike Elara, who stood in a safe position, he would directly fall into those flames without any way to defend himself at all. 

The situation was dire, Elric needed a solution as soon as possible, he could fly above, to a level where Elara's stones wouldn't reach him, and end the battle with a spell. However, as perfect as this solution sounded, the reality was far from different. 

Stone Plate was merely a 3rd Circle Spell, how could it possibly allow someone to fly freely? The higher he went, the harder controlling the Plate would be, not to mention the risk of falling down from that point wouldn't just be because of the fire, just the impact alone would be enough to kill him. 

This method was not practical. 

Elric needed to think of something el-

Suddenly, Elric's expression changed. 

There was a way. 

A big smile appeared on Elric's face as he glanced at that arrogant bitch throwing stones at him, 

'Don't blame me because you are the one who started this.' 

He spoke as his eyes shined in a cruel light, then, he rapidly descended from above, aiming straight for the top of Elara's head. 

His goal was clear, attack Elara with the help of the Stone Plate, it would hurt him a little in the process, however, Elara's condition would be much worse than his. 

Seeing him descend, Elara's expression changed, Elric, however, didn't give her a lot of time to think, and, 

*Bam* 

He shot down. 

"ELARA!" 

Vaan screamed in worry. He wanted to jump into the arena and save his fiancée, but suddenly, his body froze. 

He couldn't move. 

It was a familiar Magic. 

Vaan glanced at his mother only to see her looking at him with a cold look in her eyes. 

'If you trusted her enough to let her fight, then let her follow through. No one ever said that she wouldn't get hurt.' 

Astra's voice was heard. 

Vaan, of course, had no way to reply to her, and neither was Astra looking for a reply. This wasn't a request, it was an Order. 

An Order of the Head of the Vesta Family telling him not to interfere with the battle. 

Vaan had no choice but to helplessly watch the battle fold out. 

Smoke covered the stage, the audience focused on the battlefield, trying to understand what happened, Elric however, could tell that Elara had already jumped away in the last moment. 

"Ugghhh…" 

He then heard a groan filled with pain. 

It was Elara. 

She did calculate the best she could but even then, she couldn't completely avoid the flames surrounding her, and as she jumped away, the flames engulfed her right arm. 

Of course, Elric wasn't in his best condition either, he could feel his leg wobble because of the impact of coming down at such a high speed, the Stone Plate didn't act like a cushion at all, his knees had to bear all that impact on their own and even now, Elric was having a hard time standing. 

This, however, did not take away the smile from his face. 

"This is quite a novel experience, don't you think, Elara?" 

He commented. Both of them, standing in close proximity, were surrounded by fiery flames. Their bodies bore the wounds of their intense clash. 

"…" 

Elara on the other hand, didn't say anything. 

Her right arm, burned by the engulfing flames was a sight that evoked both awe and concern. The once smooth and delicate skin was now transformed into a canvas of agony. The surface of her arm was marred with angry red patches, contrasting starkly against her pale complexion. 

As the fire had licked at her flesh, the burning heat had seared the skin, leaving behind a charred texture that disrupted the natural contours of her arm. 

Yet, despite the pain and torment she endured, Elara stood strong, her determination shining through the agony that etched her face. 

This was the first time she was in such agony, however, this didn't make her back down, rather, she wanted to continue, she wanted to win for Vaan. 

"That looks bad, surrender." 

Elric spoke as he glanced at Elara's arm, inwardly disgusted by the ghastly appearance. Elara's arm continued to tremble in pain, her determination, however, didn't waver. The look in her eyes gave Elric the answer he needed to hear. 

"Do you truly believe you can win against me in this condition?" 

He questioned and at the same time, he started absorbing surrounding Mana. Although he was telling Elara to surrender, he was preparing for another round just in case she didn't listen to him. 

Elric didn't mind teaching the fool a lesson. If she wanted to go against him time and time again, then it was probably time to show Elara her place and keep her in check. 

Not to mention that with Elara's arm the way it was, this second round was no different than a win served to him, there was no way Elara could focus on the battle when her arm was sizzling with intense pain and trembled nonstop. 

"I do." 

As he imagined his victory, Elric was pulled out of his reverie as he heard Elara's arrogant answer. He glanced at the girl, confused, but then noticed her running towards him with a dangerous look on her face. 

"What are you trying to do?" 

He questioned, confusion clear on his face. Elara, however, didn't say anything, within a second, she closed the distance between the two and directly aimed to punch Elric's face with her left arm. 

Elric dodged the punch as he stepped back, but soon noticed the flames behind him before realizing that Elara was coming at him again. 

The girl looked oddly similar to a certain purple-haired man, their figures overlapped in Elric's eyes, and this acted like a trigger. 

"Do you truly believe you can defeat me like this?" He questioned, his pride was hurt. He wasn't a Martial Art expert, however, this didn't mean that even a frail woman like Elara could defeat him even when she was in a perfect state, not to mention when one of her arms was unusable. 

Elric dodged Elara's punch again as he sidestepped, getting away from the flames, then, he tried to grab her hand, wanting to end the battle, Elara, however, was quicker than he expected and stepped away. 

Elric followed through, trying to catch Elara, the girl continued to dodge, but then, Elric touched her right arm, pressing on her marred skin. 

"Aaagggghhh!!" 

Elara screamed in agony as puss-like liquid came out of her arm. Her entire body momentarily froze from the intense pain she felt and using this chance, Elric quickly grabbed her left hand and a big smile appeared on his face, completely ignoring Elara's moist eyes which were filled with pain. 

He had won. 

And that was all that mattered. 

"I told you, you should have surrendered. Don't blame me, I only did what was required to win." Elric spoke. 

"I won't go easy on yo-" 

"I am sorry." 

Elric wanted to say something, but suddenly, he heard Elara's voice. She was looking down, so Elric couldn't tell what sort of expression she had, however, feeling how she was trembling in pain, he could already tell that she was not in a good condition. 

"What?" He leaned closer, thinking that Elara wanted to apologize for her actions. 

And that was what she did, 

"I-I am sorry. I shouldn't do this b-but I have no choice…" She spoke. 

Elric's frown deepened, "Do wha-"

He wanted to question, but then, 

"AAaaagAAaaggGGGgGggHHHHhHhHHH!!!!" 

Elric screamed in intense agony as his eyes turned red. 

Elara had kicked his balls with everything she had. 

"I am really sorry!"