The crowds roared and the stadium shook as the announcers began their introductions. A duel for a potential platinum promotion was not common. Students, teachers, and the public - from far and wide - made the trip to Brookewood to watch the duel. The venue for such duels was the Old Coliseum, a ruin made from the same materials as the Labyrinth that stood near it. The Colosseum, like the ruins, was made from an Acreonite composite which absorbed magic. This made it the perfect venue for a duel involving magicians.
Lily slid on a pair of leather gloves, flexing her fists to ensure they fit. Behind her the strings of her leather corset were tightened and fixed.
“Leave a little room so I can breathe,” Lily said, yelping after the corset was overtightened.
“Sorry, I am bad with these,” Meimei responded.
“It’s all good. I am glad that you are the one to help me suit up, having you near me helps me relax.” Lily turned slightly backwards, looking towards Meimei.
“Wait, keeping looking straight or I am going to tie this crooked.” Meimei pushed Lily back to her previous position.
“Really, thanks for being here for me,” Lily said softly.
Meimei spanked Lily’s behind, causing Lily to jump forward and look back at Meimei with a confused expression.
“Now’s not the time to be mushy, now’s the time to get pumped up!” Meimei said, raising her fists into a fighting stance.
Lily laughed at Meimei’s assertiveness and nodded her head in agreement.
“You know, you used to be meek and quiet,” Lily said, still laughing.
“I really worry about your ability to judge people’s character. Anyway, someone has to cheer you on.”
Lily and Meimei stared at each other lovingly for a moment. Suddenly Lily had an expression of concern.
“Wait, do you mean no one else is cheering for me?”
Meimei looked at Lily with a disappointed face that seemed to say, “Are you an idiot?” The two laughed with each other as Lily finished putting her armor on.
The announcers - now finished introducing sponsors and VIPs - began their introductions of the two contenders in the duel. The crowd continued to roar with excitement as the stadium wizards began casting protection spells around the audience. Lily moved towards the Colosseum entrance arches, waiting for her name to be called. Meimei had already given Lily her good luck kiss and was on her way to join Manrin in the stands.
“The golden challenger in today’s match – a rare magical swordsman and user of flames – welcome to the arena, Lily Bergstrom!”
The spectators in the arena stood and cheered as Lily entered into the heart of the Colosseum. She waved towards the crowd, soaking in their excitement while wearing a confident smile. What the audience couldn’t see was her heart racing and mind focusing. She knew the fight ahead was going to be the hardest she had ever had. Lily looked ahead, towards the opposite entrance.
“Now, welcome the defending platinum magician, the Dragon Tamer and light magic user – Leida Li’nduin!”
The crowd went wild as a small figure walked into the stadium. Leida was wearing a blue and white school uniform, a special version of the Brookewood uniform typically only worn during foreign events. Her long white hair moved back and forth with the wind as she strode forward towards Lily. Ledia’s yellow dragon eyes seemed to glow with anticipation. She came to a stop at the start line on her end of the arena. Lily took in a heavy breath. She tried to calm her nerves. Ledia simply kept a confident smile, not saying anything. Lily looked up at the stands. By now Meimei should have joined Manrin in the student section. A magician with a large, pointed hat walked out onto the field between the two contenders.
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“Is the challenger ready?” the magician asked, his voice amplified by magic.
“Yes,” Lily responded.
“Is the defending magician ready?”
“I am,” Ledia responded.
The magician held up his hand.
“Begin!” The magician lowered his hand and jumped back as soon as he finished his motion.
Lily crouched down and manifested her magical sword. She instantly transferred a massive amount of her power to it, causing her sword to glow a bright orange. She knew that she only had one chance to end this without entering into a battle of attrition. Ledia was a summoner, if she could interrupt her summoning Lily was confident that she could win in a simple battle of magic. Ledia raised her hand and began to chant. Lily slammed her magic into her legs and sprang forward towards Ledia. She moved so quickly that a wave of white turbulent air formed around her. In less than a blink of an eye she appeared in front of Ledia. Lily moved the magic from her legs into her sword and slammed it down onto Ledia. The sword cut straight through Ledia and smashed into the ground, causing a massive explosion.
Smoke and steam formed a cloud which quickly dissipated. Infront of Lily remained nothing but melted rock. Lily could hear the announcer saying something, but she was so focused on the battle that the words had no meaning to her. Lily had feared this possibility. There was a type of light magic which specialized in illusions. Ledia had never used it before, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t. Lily looked around, trying to figure out where Leida really was. Suddenly she noticed a shimmer. Lily spun around, facing the true Ledia. It was, however, too late. Ledia had her hands above her head, creating a diamond with her two hands. She slowly lowered her hands. Lily realized that she would now have to switch plans. She stabbed her sword into the ground and knelt down, bracing herself. Ledia’s summoning was unlike anything she had ever seen. She had witnessed it once before.
A purple and blue line suddenly appeared far above Ledia and spread straight across the air before opening into a circle. The opening of the line into the portal created a thundering ripping sound. Then as the portal came to its full size a massive suction force nearly pulled the braced Lily from her sword. The winds whipped at Lily, seizing the air and dirt and lose debris from all around into the portal. A massive and eerie roar shot out from the portal, pushing back on the air that was being sucked in, creating a visible shockwave which leapt vertically from in front of the portal. Then a giant clawed hand reached out from the portal and dug into the sides of the now wavering round portal. Another hand reached out on the opposite side, digging into the portal in the same way. The beast pulled itself forward. To spectators it looked like some sort of self-birthing monstrosity, pulling itself from the womb. The face of the beast now peered forth from the portal. It had grizzled, long teeth. Each tooth must have been the same height as Lily. On each side of its face, it had two eyes. The eyes all seemed to be looking at different areas, with one looking directly at Ledia. The beast continued to pull itself out. Some spectators in the audience fled from the Colosseum out of fear.
The beast let out one more high-pitched roar before fully pulling itself out. It jumped onto the arena floor next to Ledia. The weight of the dragon slamming into the ground nearly flung Lily into the air. The dragon’s crooked and unusable wings stretched out wide. The thin membrane between the wings seemed to be ripped and shredded in many different places. Lily struggled to stand as the pressure from the being’s magical power surged against her. The pressure reminded her of the Incarnation that she had faced in the Labyrinth. Lily couldn’t help but smile. As terrifying and powerful as this mighty dragon before her was, a True Demon was even more powerful. Her smile betrayed her true goal in challenging Ledia. Lily wanted to know if she would be able to fight a True Demon at her current level of power.
Lily pushed herself to her feet and pulled her magical sword from the arena floor. What looked like an impossible match-up; an unfair, one-sided fight, did nothing to intimidate her. Lily looked straight into the dragon’s many eyes with a confident smile. The dragon looked back at her with a strange trepidation.
