The crowd returned to the stands like a wave crashing against the shore. The arena was once again filled with noise, conversation, the sound of footsteps, and excitement so thick you could almost touch it.
The flames around the central circle flared up with renewed intensity. The break was over.
The commentator ran onto the arena, full of energy as usual.
— WE'RE BACK! — he roared so loudly that even the birds above the stadium took flight. — The semifinals of the top class war team tournament are about to begin! We have two powerful battles ahead of us: DRAGON'S PURSUIT vs. FOREST SHIELD and WOLF'S EDGE vs. BURNING SAND!
The crowd roared louder than before.
— And first — the commentator pointed to the gate on the left — we call on DRAGON'S PURSUIT!
Valdor went first. Behind him were Mayuri, Noah, Kael, and Arwen. Their steps were steady, their gazes cold and focused. The adrenaline from the earlier fight had worn off — now it was readiness.
On the other side, a second gate opened.
— Their opponents! Proud defenders of the forests, masters of nature magic, winners of the previous round — THE FOREST SHIELD!
Five warriors emerged from the darkness. They wore armor as light as leaves, green and silver, perfect for swift movement. Their weapons gleamed, each one different, each one unique.
Mira carried a sword with a silver blade. As old as runic languages. It was said that its edge could cut even a spell in flight.
Yla leaned on a staff from which small green leaves sprouted. The magic of nature pulsed through it like the veins of a tree.
Kaen twirled two curved daggers of elven origin in his hand. Silent, swift, deadly.
Hisagi held a powerful two-handed sword in both hands. When he moved it, the air trembled.
Kaien opened the spell book. The pages turned several times on their own, as if they had a life of their own.
When the two teams faced each other, the arena fell silent.
The commentator raised his hand.
Gong
— THE FIGHT BEGINS NOW!
They separated almost immediately, as if they had instinctively matched each other.
Arwen found herself facing Kaien.
Kael encountered Hisagi.
Mayuri faced Yla.
Valdor was to face Mira.
Noah against Kaen.
***
Kaien lifted the book, and the pages turned by themselves, as if they had been waiting for battle for hundreds of years.
The runes ignited with green fire.
— VIENTUS ACUTA. — he said in a priestly tone.
The air in front of him thickened, then exploded toward Arwen in hundreds of miniature wind blades.
Arwen awakens her wolf form and dodges them all.
Arwen lunged at him from the side.
— Your magic is pure, but predictable. — she said.
Kaien pressed his hand against the side of the book.
— LIGNUM PARMA.
A translucent wall of magical wood grew up before him.
Arwen bounced off the wall.
Kaien looked at her without fear.
He simply said:
— You won't be able to get past me.
And he opened the book to the next page.
Vines shot out of the ground—dozens of them, one after another.
Arwen jumped back, but the plants chased him like beasts.
— You want to imprison me? — she said.
He waved his hand. Runes flared around him like a blue storm and collided with the vines.
The air filled with the smell of burnt plants.
Kaien just watched.
That was just a warm-up. — he replied.
***
Hisagi took the lead.
He didn't run — he walked.
Every step was as heavy as a hammer blow.
Kael moved like the wind. One thrust, then another leap. The blade flashed in the arena's light.
The steel clashed with the two-handed sword, and there was a loud clang.
— Free — Kael said, jumping back. — Heavy.
Hisagi raised an eyebrow.
— Stable. You can't break the foundation with a single blow.
He swung, striking from above.
One blow — but like a battle axe to the door.
Kael parried, but the force of the attack pushed him back several meters.
The crowd gasped as they saw Kael's boots digging into the sand.
— All right... — Kael licked his lip. — This is going to be fun.
He ran up again.
A blow, a cut, a series of lightning-fast thrusts.
Hisagi blocked everything with cold certainty, as if he already knew his opponent's rhythm.
— You're fast — he admitted, — but I don't feel any weight in your attacks. They lack heart.
Kael smiled wildly.
— This is just the warm-up.
His eyes flashed, and runes of light surrounded his blade.
The flash exploded across half the arena.
Hisagi shielded himself with his sword, but Kael was already upon him, flying through the air like a shooting star.
This time, the force was there.
Block.
Metal sliding on metal.
Hitting the ground with a bang.
The sand flew up like dust after an avalanche.
***
The fight began quietly.
Yla touched the arena with her staff.
In an instant, the sterile stone ground turned into a carpet of greenery.
Grass, moss, delicate flower buds.
Mayuri looked like a figure standing on the border between two worlds — civilization and wilderness.
— The forest doesn't attack, it consumes. — Yla whispered.
The roots shot out of the ground like tentacles.
Mayuri made a rune sign above her hand, and the energy tore the root in half. The second one lunged at her — she jumped over it.
The third one wrapped around his ankle — the runes cut him like a razor.
— You have beautiful magic — Mayuri replied. — But it's too slow.—
She created a circle of sigils in front of her.
The rays of light shot through the air.
Yla raised her staff.
— LIGNUM FORTIS!
The tree grew right in front of her, as if it had sprung up from the ground.
Mayuri's rays pierced the trunks, but the wood did not crack.
Yla responded with a counterattack — the trees grew like living shields, and the leaves turned into blades.
They flew toward Mayuri like a green storm of daggers.
Mayuri vanished — the rune teleport moved her a meter behind Yla.
— Now it's my turn. — she whispered.
Runic explosion.
Blue fire danced across the arena.
Yla flew back a few steps, landing on one knee, but got up without hesitation.
— That was good. — she admitted, dusting off her shoulder. — But the forest remains. Always.
And she summoned another wave of greenery.
Their fight resembled two elements that refused to give way.
Light and nature.
Precision run versus relentless growth.
The arena was their testing ground.
***
The commentator shouted louder and louder.
— WHAT A MATCH! EVERY CLASH COULD REWRITE THE HISTORY OF THIS TOURNAMENT! AND THIS IS ONLY THE FIRST HALF OF THE FIGHT!
The audience rose to their feet.