Levina gritted her teeth, attempting to shake off the string around her body, but it was not enough. She cursed and covered her fingers with electricity, cutting through the string, and jumped onto the branch of the tree. She gazed at her burned arms, cursing under her breath for lowering her guard.
The wind blew, piercing through her skin. She gazed down at the red-haired woman, who was also staring at her.
"Hestia," whispered Levina, drawing her katana from behind.
Hestia Candice Brinley is a fire element user one of the competent students in the S-rank and the only one that Levina is acknowledging. She was clad in a fitted, dark, long-sleeve top with a shadowed hood that allowed her to obscure her facial identity, matched with dark pants with leather reinforcement at the knees and thighs, and high leather boots with buckles and crisscrossing laces, offering protection and mobility.
"You looked tired," commented Hestia, drawing her dual sword behind her, covering their blades with her scorching flame.
Levina grinned as electricity coated her katana blade. "Tired? Don't make me laugh. I haven't sweat ever since."
"We'll see about that," Hestia murmured, parrying Levina's attack when she jumped off the tree.
Their weapons clash against each other, creating a clanging noise. The fight between the two women is too intense, making the audience fall into a deafening silence. They were all too focused, curious to see who would win the fight between the two.
"Levina seemed tired from the earlier fight with Joaquin and Thomas," Gwydeon Chavez commented, one of the seven A-rank students in Mysthic Academy.
"But she's still putting up a good fight with Hestia," Lincoln Saltiron replied, also one of the seven A-rank.
"Do you think she'll win again for this semestral challenge?" Sawyer Madrid asked one of the A-rank, too.
"We'll see about that." Lincoln chuckled. He's putting all his bet on Levina.
Hestia wiped the blood from her cheek when Levina managed to inflict damage on her face. Her smile faded and was completely replaced by concentration.
Levina, on the other hand, is catching her breath. She was covered in sweat and aware that she had already used half of her strength. It was her blunder when she used electroblast, knowing that it was one of her powerful attacks that consumed plenty of vitality.
Vitality is the lifeblood of every sorcerer, the inner force that fuels their magic. This is the core of every sorcerer in their world. Without this, they wouldn't be able to wield their abilities and put up a good fight.
Hestia noticed that Levina had exhausted herself from a previous fight, so she used that advantage to keep advancing toward her. Levina didn't have a choice but to keep fighting her opponent. It'd be a gamble if she used another technique, knowing that Hestia is still full of power and the other two might show up.
Her hunch was right! Amidst her battle with Hestia, Joaquin and Thomas emerged from the massive trees. Thomas is fully recovered—there are no more wounds found on his body. On the other hand, Joaquin still has some damage on his body, but it wasn't severe, unlike what Levina anticipated.
Some students who were watching them screamed in excitement when they saw the two men arrive at the fighting scene two. The four holograms changed into a big one since the four of them were in the same place.
Hestia felt the presence of the two men behind her back, making her halt her fight with Levina and draw a reasonable distance between them. She furrowed her brows, gazing alternately at the three. It'd be troublesome if she took them all alone.
Levina didn't move from her position; she just clutched her katana, eyes fixated on the two. She thought that perhaps Thomas healed themselves, which is why they looked fine from what she had imagined. She sighed and also thought the same way as Hestia, fighting against the three of them alone would be troublesome.
"Hestia!" Levina yelled, jumping on the branch of the tree beside the red-haired woman. "Team up with me."
Hestia's eyes widened as she shifted her gaze to Levina. Even the two and the audience watching them from the hologram were taken aback by her words. They all know that Levina is the type of person who hates to work with someone. She solely depends on herself and hates the help of others. For her, having companions is just a drag and would only burden her fight.
"Am I hearing you right?" Hestia chuckled, shifting her gaze at the two below them.
"I don't have a choice," she hissed, clutching her katana. "Let's team up and take care of them before we settle our battle."
"No."
Levina's brows furrowed, confusion was evident on her face. "What?"
"We don't need to fight anymore. Let's just take care of them and leave this place after," suggested Hestia, curling a mischievous grin.
Levina hesitated for a moment. She could feel that something was behind Hestia's words, but she couldn't figure it out. She doesn't want to agree, but she needs to eliminate her opponents, so she risks it.
"Deal."
Hestia glanced at her and just chuckled. "Alright."
Levina and Hestia jumped off from the three and exchanged a fierce battle against the two men. Levina takes care of Joaquin, while Hestia deals with Thomas.
"I thought you were already down from that attack," Levina uttered when their weapons clanged against each other.
"Your electroblast isn't enough to take me down." Joaquin laughed, shooting sharp blood on his opponent's body, but the latter parried them all using her katana.
Levina shouldn't be complacent since all of them are in the same rank. She knows that all of them are competent to fight against her, but she's only acknowledging Hestia's skills.
"Come on! Show me the strength of unbeatable S-rank student!" Joaquin shouted as he continuously shot his attack.
From the murmuring audience, a man with white hair emerged, eyes fixated on the hologram. He was clad in a dark gray ribbed knit sweater with a mock neck design black tailored trousers and two inches heel black shoes. A smile plastered on his lips upon seeing his four co-rank levels fight against each other.
"So she finally teamed up with another, huh?" he muttered, stealing the attention of some students, especially the seven A-rank who were watching the semestral battle.
"Nicholas! You're back! " Gwydeon exclaimed, standing from his seat to shake his hand.
The tall man shifted his gaze at him and to other A-rank students. "Hello, there. It's nice to see you all."
Blaze Nicholas Frost is also one of the S-rank students at Mysthic Academy. He has the ability of wind and water, which is very rare for every sorcerer to possess two elements at once. Since he has an ongoing mission when the semestral battle starts, he can't participate in it. However, to keep his position as an S-rank student, he needed to succeed in his mission, which he successfully did.
After greeting all of the A-rank students, Nicholas shifted his gaze back at the hologram. This time, the big hologram changed into two, showcasing Levina and Hestia, then Joaquin and Thomas. Nicholas narrowed his eyes upon seeing the severe state of the two men. They were bleeding a lot from the earlier battle against the two women that he failed to witness.
"F*ck!" Joaquin hissed, eyeing the burn on his left arm. "Why did you heal Hestia's scratch!?"
Thomas sat on the ground, hands hovering above his injured knee caused by Hestia. A glowing green light emerges from his palm as his injury starts to heal slowly. He shifted his gaze at Joaquin, a grin plastered on his face.
"The f*ck are you grinning about? Those two will leave this area at any moment while the two of us here can't properly move anymore." Joaquin winced when he accidentally gripped his wound.
"It doesn't matter if we don't come at first as long as Levina won't."
"What are you talking about? She teamed up with Hestia—don't tell me..."
"Yes. You're right. That's her plan." He stood up once he was done to heal himself. "Show me your wound, and I'll treat it."
Joaquin let Thomas heal his wound. He shifted his gaze to the way outside, narrowing his eyes. "Levina."
Levina and Hestia are closely reaching the exit when Hestia shoots an attack on Levina. The latter dodged it and drew some distance from the woman.
"I knew this would happen," murmured Levina, attempting to draw her katana from behind. However, Hestia's movement was too fast to dodge. She gripped her katana, its blade was covered with fire again, and slashed through Levina's left flank, blood spurting out from it.
The audience gasped upon seeing the scene. Some students even stood from their seats.
Levina's eyes widened. She gritted her teeth and kicked Hestia's stomach as she sprinted towards the exit. She didn't fight back anymore since the exit was too close already to their position and fighting her back would only delay her.
However, her wound is aching, and her sight is slowly getting blurry. She extended her arm, reaching for the exit until...
***