En stood at the mouth of a cave. This would be the location of her second fight, this time against Camiel, a water-wielding, sand-burrowing Huser.

Helaina had fought tooth and nail to have the battle take place as far away from the sand as possible, eliminating the possibility of En’s opponent using it to her advantage. A decision deemed absolutely necessary after witnessing her fight against Lycus.

The narrow cave system, with its many branches paths, presented its own set of issues. Most obvious of which, in such tight space, using Imperfect Image would be impossible. En’s trump card was now gone, a price that was surely worth paying.

Of course, that was hardly the only issue. Caves limited the weapon forms En would be allowed to use. Anything too long could hit the roof of the cave, creating an opening for her opponent. And the branching paths and low visibility created opportunities for her opponent to sneak up on her. And there was always the possibility of water being located somewhere inside the cave, as a water-magic user this could be beneficial for Camiel.

En shifted the weight of the backpack she hid under her cloak. Packed inside were several small crystal orbs, each containing an impressive amount of compacted mana, liable to burst at a second’s notice. Affixed to them were specialized contraptions, sensitive to pressure, that when activated triggered a reaction in the orbs. Essential, they were landmines.

They were a “gift” from Helaina. Ever obsessed with war, battles, and cruelty, yet there was one thing Helaina hated, and that was putting herself in a position of disadvantage. If there was anything she could do to one-up an opponent, no matter how low she had to swop, it was something she was willing to do. Naturally, she’d force the same upon En.

En traveled deep into the cave. Her guard was high, not willing to repeat the events of her last battle. She focused solely on defense, not buffing anything else for now.  This could be a drawn out fight, she needed to be wise with how she used her mana.

Visibility was low as she traveled the tunnel-like cave. The walls were covered in glowing mushrooms, allowing her to see just barely enough. The uneven, winding tunnel was difficult to traverse, but even with its branching paths, it was clear which was meant to be the main path. She followed it until she reached a suitable spot.

Many paths seemed to feed into this one, making the probability that her opponent would cross through it significantly higher. If not, she could at least bait her opponent here. She began by plucking the mushrooms, ridding the area of most of its light.

She then placed down half her stock of orbs. It was a bit excessive, but better to guarantee the absolute destruction of her opponent than to risk half-finishing the job.

Finishing up, she regathered herself. She had stuffed the mushrooms she picked into her bag to avoid leaving behind any evidence. Her magical construct had been shifted into a short sword. While not ideal, it was the most suitable in her current environment.

The trap was set, if her opponent fell for it, she would instantly be reduced to nothingness. Of course, sitting around and waiting for that to happen would take too long. Now it was time for En to go on the hunt.

Thanks to Helaina’s resources, En had a novel's worth of information on Camiel. Taking that and their previous battle, En could predict possible actions her opponent would take. Traps and a surprise attack mostly likely awaited her. By investing everything in defense right now, she could probably tank an explosion or two. At least enough to heal up the rest. Not that she wanted to test that theory.

Eventually, she came upon an odd sight. The air around her was unusually humid. But strangest of all, there was a thick fog surrounding the path ahead. She was initially puzzled, before it became clear what was going on.

She stepped back, readying for an attack at any second. But of course, her opponent was hardly willing to step out of the safety of her veil. The fog could be covering an undetermined amount of area, any of which she or her traps could be hiding in. Waltzing right in would be nothing but an exercise in stupidity.

She took an orb, activated it, and tossed it into the fog. It instantly went off, reacting most likely to the impact of hitting the ground. The explosion was followed by several others, as it tripped some of her opponent’s traps.

Fog and shattered pieces of rock scattered violently. The ground trembled. En was left dazed, her sight wavered by the debris and flashing light, her ears ringing from the sound.

Before she could regather her senses, the fog came rushing toward her. From it came a blade, aimed for her neck. She blindly blocked, placing her sword in front of her. By mere luck, it managed to just block, the blade only tearing at her arm as it bounced off.

She leapt back to create some distance from the fog. It slowly crept towards her as her opponent hid in it, preparing for their next attack. But she would not allow them to.

En raised her hand, already fully healed, and stretched it toward the fog. The fog began to cool and crystalize. She’d weaponize their defense by freezing it. Noticing this, Camiel dissipated the fog before it could turn into her own prison.

No longer able to hide, she took one of the small rods she carried in a satchel and transformed it into a spear. She launched at En, who blocked, noticeably slower and less agile than Camiel had been told she would.

It seemed she wasn’t using any buffs. Camiel assumed it to be overconfidence. Right now, she was stronger than En and her weapon had more reach. All she had to do was end this quick. There was no point wasting time trying to chip away at her opponent. She just had to land a single fatal blow that would kill even this self-regenerating freak.  

They traded blows, as metal clashed against metal. Her attacks would occasionally hit her opponent, scrapping at her, drawing blood. But none were anywhere near fatal, all healing as fast as she could create them.

She formed a series of water droplets, shaping them into bullets and shooting them forth at her opponent. En responded by raising her hand to freeze them before they could hit her. Which was countered by Camiel forming more water around the frozen bullets to retain control. 

In this way, they fought back and forth for control of the bullets. As they did, Camiel began to form a trail of water on the ground, stretching under En. It was the foundation of a trap. She just had to hope En would be too distracted with the bullets to notice. 

As the pooling water began to freeze under her, Camiel realized her plan had been discovered. She released control of both the bullets and the frozen trail underfoot, stepping back as she raised a thick water wall to shield from the incoming torrent of ice.

With each failed attack, Camiel was growing increasingly anxious. Right now, En was fighting defensively. But at any second, she could go on the offensive, buff, turn the tables, and kill her. And each failed swing was one step closer to that outcome.

She lowered her wall, forming beads of water and shooting them at her opponent. En moved to freeze then. At that moment, she sent a mental ping her way. En shot back, seemingly unprepared. The beads pounded against her, assaulting her body. Camiel charged forward, striking at her opponent’s heart.

The head of the spear pierced through the skin. Blood squirted out as it dug itself in. But before it could dig too far in, it was met with resistance.

Camiel’s eyes widened as the sudden realization hit her. The reason her opponent seemed so slow, the reason it seemed she wasn’t bothering to buff, it was all clear now. Everything. She had poured everything into buffing her defense. She hadn’t been underestimating her, she knew full well who she was fighting and had adjusted her strategy in response. And now that Camiel had used a mental attack, En had probably set up defenses against that too.

She abandoned her spear and leaped back.

Think. Think. Think. Think. Think. Anything? Anything at all? What do I have that could kill her? Another spear? No. A sword. But it has to be a long sword, a heavy sword. Something that could cut through a wall. Something that could cut through her defenses.

She took another metal rod and formed as big and heavy of a sword as she could barely wield. She raised it up and swung it. But in her frantic state, she failed to take the space of the tunnel into account. It clipped against the wall of the cave. She lost grip, as the heavy sword ripped from her hands and she stumbled to the floor.

As she looked up at her opponent, desperation rang through her mind. She turned to retreat, only to be met with an explosion. More of those strange devices. She braced herself and charged forward. Rather than attacking, she ran past En, retreating down the main path, not willing to risk running into a dead-end if she steered off it.

En didn’t chase after her. In the direction she was heading, Camiel would eventually run straight into the trap she had laid.  

She slowly walked down the tunnel, cautious of any traps her opponent may also have laid. It was a long, tiresome path. Buffing her defense so intensively was beginning to take its toll on her. It was the first time she had pushed her buff to such an extreme. She had prepared for it to be taxing, but not to this extent.

Perhaps it had been all the healing she had done. Exhausted both physically and in terms of mana. She regretted not blocking more of her opponent’s hits. It had all been part of a mind game to psych out Camiel. The façade of an unkillable, instantly regenerating beast. To that end, it had been successful. But with her opponent’s head still attached to her body, the price could hardly be considered worth it.

En was banking on that trap doing its trick. That’s the only way all of this would be considered worth it.

As she approached the area, she noticed an all too familiar sight. Fog.

She moved to freeze it, when suddenly a hand appeared from it. It was large, beast-like, with scales and sharp claws. She rolled out of the way, barely dodging it. It circled back around swiftly as if detached from any arm.

The second it struck her, she noticed a distinct wet sensation from it. The moment she realized what it was, she instinctively moved to freeze the water illusion. In an act of carelessness, she had only managed to create a solid surface for it to strike her.

She was tossed into the air and sent flying forward. Water pelted her like bullets as she flew through the fog into a dimly lit area. One where several paths met. In the confusion, she poured every last bit of mana into buffing her defense. And then –

It started with one. The transparent, glass-like crystal gave way, as an intense energy output rushed out. Then another, and another. Like dominos, triggered by the force of the previous. A bright light filled the cave, blinding in its resplendence.  A series of powerful fires erupted. The ground shook like a tremendous earthquake. Debris scattered with the intensity of missiles.

The trap was triggered as the hand sent En tumbling into it. A cascade of explosions followed almost instantly. The first explosion sent her flying out of reach of the subsequent ones, only to trigger all the remaining orbs in her bag.

The events that followed would not be viewed by anyone, as they were swallowed in and joined as part of the rest of the chaos. 

A third set of explosions went off, the traps Camiel had foolishly placed down.

The orbs, the bag, and the traps all formed into a single mass. The sheer force caused the ground to crumble and give way, revealing a large ravine hidden underneath. Down they went, in the midst of collapsing rock, two figures falling motionlessly.

They hit a pool of water, breaking their fall.

After several drawn out minutes, one figure appeared, dragging itself to shallower waters. It was wounded. Blood poured out from it. Their scaled body was burned. Their limbs shattered. But she was alive. Only just barely alive.

She looked into the water. Falling debris created ripples on its surface.  Shredded up pieces of glowing mushrooms illuminated the water.  They were complemented by a beautiful indigo crystal that covered the walls of the ravine. She was awe struck, having never witnessed something so mesmerizing.  

Suddenly the water began to displace. A figure emerged from it. It was a haunting, sickening sight. This creature couldn’t be human, surely they had to be some demonic beast.

Most of their clothes had been burned off, revealing charred skin. Their left arm had been torn off, their right barely hanging on. Significant parts of their torso were missing, exposing a grotesque image. One of their eyes was gone, leaving only an empty socket. And yet they closed their remaining eye, looking down at her through the dark void past their eyelid.

Camiel was frozen in fear. She wanted to run away, but her shattered body failed her. She crawled backward, making insignificant progress.

The mangled beast dropped to its knees. She looked upon it in terror.

It was cold. Her eyes were heavy. Her body began to feel sluggish. She could feel her sense of self fading. Her sensation was numbing, with it the pain. All, but the terror.

Her head drooped, tearing her eyes from the beast. As she looked down upon the water, that was when she noticed it. A layer was forming on the water’s surface. It crawled up her body, thin and slightly transparent.  This was…

Ice.

They were freezing the water, freezing her wet body. Was this it? Was this how she died? Lost in some ravine, where her body would never be found. How could she ever accept such a thing?

No. There were still things she had to do. Reasons why she had agreed to fight. It couldn’t end like this. There was no way she would ever let it end like this.

The ice crawled up her neck, reaching her head. Slowly, slowly covered her face. With it, her consciousness slipped further and further. She could feel herself being dragged into a dark void, one she may never be able to return from. Finally, her eyes froze in place, staring at nothing.

Her mind screamed, but no words escaped her mouth.

ArantChronicles

As you've probably noticed, there's a lack of authors notes for both of these chapters. Sorry about that, I haven't even gone through either of these fights. I'll probably edit both these chapters at a later date. Anyways, here's the voting: