Magic's Return: I Can See The Spirits

"AAaaaaAAgggGGggGhhHHHHHHH!!!" 

Elric screamed in agony, his eyes turning bloodshot and for an instant, he couldn't feel his body anymore, his knees were already weakened because of how he crashed on the ground, so they gave out the moment Elara attacked him and he knelt on the ground, feeling a sort of pain that he had never experienced before. 

"I am really sorry!" 

While he endured such intense pain, he heard Elara's voice and at that moment, his anger soared, 

"You fucking whore!" 

He cursed out loud, not even caring that he was saying that out loud. 

On the other hand, Elara, who was desperately apologizing for what she had done froze as well, staring at her brother Elric with absolute disbelief on her face. 

This annoyed Elric even further. 

"What are you looking at, huh!? Did you think you were some special person? A Magic Prodigy? Magic Prodigy my foot! You are nothing but a lowly whore who survives by sticking close to men, first, it was me, now you went to your little fiancé of yours. The only reason you are where you are is because of my Family resources that you used. How dare a whore like you attack me!?" 

Elric didn't care and continued to curse the little girl in front of her without an ounce of mercy, maybe it was because of the frustration he felt all these past few days, combined with the intense pain he was in, and the fact that Elara was the one behind this pain, it broke all the boundaries Elric had set and tore away the 'gentle and caring' mask he always wore. 

"B-Brother Elric…" And Elara, who listened to these harsh words coming out of her brother Elric's mouth couldn't believe them and went in a daze. 

And as if her dazed expression satisfied his ego, Elric continued this even further. 

"Stop calling me like you are close to me! It disgusts me to the core! I might have accepted you as my concubine before, but did you truly think I would do the same after you stuck to that bastard like a whore right in front of my eyes!? You delusional bit-" 

"Elara!" 

Vaan had enough. 

This time, even Astra, who was stopping him through Magic released him.

'Do not interfere with the Battle.' 

She warned. 

Vaan rushed from the viewing stand, some guards tried to stop them, however, he was physically much more athletic than them and avoided them easily. 

"Elara!" 

He called his fiancée again. 

Elara turned towards him, his response fairly slow, her eyes seeming dull. 

"Why are you listening to this bastard's nonsense? End the battle! We are getting late!" Vaan spoke. 

"Huh…?" Elara didn't understand. 

"End the battle! I have already arranged the bottle!" He spoke loudly and Elara's expression finally changed. 

"Bottle…" She quickly recalled what she was here for. 

Turning towards Elric, she noticed that he was trying to get up, however, his legs were trembling nonstop, making it hard for him to do so. 

"Go beat that bastard up!" 

Vaan cheered from the sidelines. 

A determined look appeared on Elara's face again, she was hurt, she never expected that brother Elric of all people would say such words to her, however, right now, rather than feeling sad and betrayed, Elara needed to win this battle. 

This time, not just for Vaan but for her own sake as well. 

"Go for it! Do exactly what I taught you in such situations!" Vaan shouted again, hyping Elara up now that he realized she was ready to do it. 

On the other hand, Elric prepared himself as well. He was in pain, however, his will to win never faltered, rather, it had only gotten stronger. At first, he didn't actually wish to harm Elara, now, however, with his emotions bursting out, even killing Elara didn't seem wrong. 

With his eyes bloodshot, Elric glanced at Elara, the Mana that he had absorbed circulated throughout his body, this was the final spell in the battle, a spell from a close proximity with no chance to dodge, however, 

"I am not sorry this time!" 

Elara shouted as she struck her knee right onto Elric's nose. 

"Aggh-ggmmppfhhhh!!" 

And before Elric could even scream properly, Elara shifted all her weight onto his body, Elric fell with Elara's knee on his head, the pain from Elara's knee and from the direct impact of the back of his head from the ground combined and his vision turned dizzy. 

One should know that Elric was not a trained fighter, rather, he had never even done a single set of exercises in his entire life, if it wasn't for the constant Mana that circulates throughout his body, one could even put him on an unhealthier side of the chart. 

His body was nowhere near strong enough to go through what it was going through, heck even the professional fighters would find it difficult to tackle such a situation where Elara did exactly as Vaan told her, targeting all his weak points, making it impossible to resist. 

"Now stand up! Don't use your hands!" 

Not to mention Vaan who still stood right beside the stage, even bearing the heat from the intense heat and suggesting Elara what to do next. 

Elara did as she was told, and the next moment, she stood up. 

"Stomp that little bitch to death!" 

Vaan ordered and, 

*Bam* *Bam* *Bam* 

Elara started stomping on Elric's face. 

"S-Stop it!" Elric shouted, trying to use his hands to block some of her attacks, Elara, however, had turned into a little demon as she started kicking his head, targeting the areas Elric's hands weren't protecting. 

Elara continued to switch between the two, if Elric tried to protect his eyes, she targeted the back of his head, if he tried to protect the latter, she targeted his ears, she had an absolute advantage in this situation and Elric had no way to stop her. 

"Agghhhh! Y-You fucking whore!! I will kill you!!" 

Elric cursed, feeling the intense pain that had become unbearable, not to mention the humiliation of being beaten like this in front of the entire Vesta City, it ate him away from the inside and his anger soared to another level.

"Elara! Curse that bitch as well! Show him!" 

Vaan shouted from behind, and Elara, who had already lost most of her reasoning and was only acting on Vaan's words quickly did as she was told. 

"You bad person!" 

She 'cursed' and the moment she did, Vaan facepalmed. 

'Ugghhh… why are you so adorable…?' 

He thought inwardly, then, he dropped the idea of making her curse and, 

"D-Don't curse anymore, you have no need to stoop to his level. 

Continue to aim for the nose, make him lose consciousness, don't forget his mouth either, don't let him speak. We don't want him to surrender. 

Make him pass out! 

That's how you truly win a battle and leave a long-lasting impact!" 

Vaan continued to deliver his lectures and as a good student she was, Elara continued to listen. 

"Agghu-You fuc-pppmmhhh!!" 

Elric couldn't speak, Elara's ruthless blows were unexpectedly heavy, and he could feel himself losing consciousness, at first, he tried to resist, however, realizing the helpless state he was in, being beaten up in the middle of a Stage, in front of the entire Vesta City, by a girl 20 years younger than him…

The more he thought about it, the weaker his will became, maybe the constant blows on his head played a part in it as well, and soon, 

*Bam* 

As Elara stomped on his nose again, Elric finally lost consciousness but Elara… was ignorant of this fact and continued to hit him even after he passed out. 

"Hit him! Hit him! Destroy that little bitch!" Vaan, of course, couldn't tell that either since he couldn't even watch the battlefield because of those flames surrounding it, he could only hear Elara constantly hitting Elric and continued to cheer her up. 

The thrashing continued for another 30 seconds or so, then suddenly, Astra heard a voice. 

'I believe you had your fun, no? 

I have been patient for a long time now.' 

Astra turned towards the source of this voice and saw Risia glaring at her. From the look in her eyes, Astra could tell that if it wasn't for her, Risia would have long since interfered with the battle and now, things have reached a stage where if she didn't stop the battle now, Risia would make her move, no matter whether Astra was here or not. 

A small smile appeared on Astra's face, 

'I apologize, I didn't notice that he had passed out.' She commented. 

Risia simply narrowed her eyes, waiting for Astra to make a move and Astra did. 

Elara's body froze, the flames that surrounded the Battlefield disappeared in an instant and Astra finally stood up. 

"This battle is over. 

Winner, Elara Flameheart." 

She announced and the moment she did, the audience, which was shocked by her sudden interference came out of their reverie and, 

"OOOOOOHHHHHH!!!!" 

The entire Vesta City reverberated with excited shouts and cheers again.