by Tj Dixon
“Oh… Yes, we were, weren’t we? Ok, I guess you earned a day of fun. After the tournament is over of course. I’m going to skip the rest of the training. I’m not feeling quite right.” Peter says and ports away.
“Well, at least I won. I would have preferred to have won without… whatever that was. I hope Peter’s alright.” I say to myself and I really am worried.
(Peter)
I cleanse myself with magic and get into bed. It is completely dark in the room but my senses allow me to find my way to my bed easily enough. Then I lie there trying to empty my mind. Trying unsuccessfully of course.
What’s going on up there? To say the stars are agitated would be like saying fire is warmer than ice. What really has me worried is that so many of the stars seem to be watching Hades very closely. Very closely indeed. Normally Hades would give them hell for so much as looking her way, but she is silently sitting there without so much as glaring at them.
I’m worried, but there’s nothing I can do. The stars aren’t interested in talking to me. They aren’t talking at all, but their silence speaks far louder than words. Not that they were talking before, but this isn’t just a lack of words. This is true silence. If they were human I would describe it by saying that they are sitting there holding their breath and glaring fiercely at each other, and at something else I cannot see. And at Hades of course.
I need to focus on what I can do. Somehow I need to put this all out of my mind and rest for tomorrow’s match with Ash. That is easier said than done. No matter how much I try to empty my mind the thoughts of the stars are simply too strong to suppress.
“Peter.”
“Lucy!” I exclaim and open my eyes. It is light in the room now. A strong blue light surrounds Lucy in a kind of ball. A gentler pale blue fills the rest of the room. Lucy is still wearing her usual improvised skirt and mini top, but the blue light makes their green appear to be a dark blue.
“I finally convinced mother that I was ok to leave her home. That bloody Grunti messed up. Sure he restored most of my power, but this body just can’t handle my full power, even with the help he gave me. I wish he’d just given me back my proper body. Anyway, it seems like you’re worrying about something, so spit it out.”
“By the way, where are the others?” I ask.
“Don’t worry, Dairon, Kai and Elucia all made it back safely, and so did that swarm of faeries. I hear you’ve spoken to Sakura since you got back here.”
“Yes.”
“So have you had her start training you yet?”
“No. Was I meant to?” I ask surprised.
“Faeries are legendary because of their skill at dimensional and illusionary magic. There’s a lot she could teach you.”
“Do you think she can help me beat Sor?”
“Beat Sor?”
“She entered the tournament so I’m going to have to fight her.”
“Then you should have started training with Sakura the moment you found out!” Lucy exclaims.
“I didn’t think of it.” I admit.
“So who are you fighting tomorrow?”
“Ash.”
“I heard about her. You’ll have no trouble as long as you don’t underestimate her. So what were you worrying about before I came back?”
“The stars.” I admit.
“They’ll still be there to chase after you win the tournament, so forget about them for now and focus on tomorrow’s match. Or better yet, get some sleep so you’re ready for it.” Lucy scolds and I nod. I hope she is right, that they really are still there to chase. Especially Hades. Was Juliet talking about Hades the other day, when she said about a star getting burnt? How could she know though?
“So where are the others?” I ask, realising that Lucy never answered my question earlier.
“Dairon, Kai and Elucia are still at my mother’s home for now.” Lucy tells me. So I’m not going to be able to take power from Elucia, but against Ash that shouldn’t be a problem.
“But they’re ok?”
“Yes.” Lucy says and I can tell from her aura she is telling the truth.
“Ok, I’ll get some sleep then.” I say and close my eyes.
“Sleep well.” Lucy tells me and as if her words were a spell I find myself drifting to sleep as soon as she has said them.
I wake and feel refreshed, despite the cold stone under me. Since I returned to the academy I still haven’t managed to get a single night’s sleep without waking on the floor at least once. Last night I woke on the floor twice. It is just past dawn and the window is visible so I can see clearly. I’m not sure who keeps making it visible each night, but I’m not too concerned. You can only see one way through it as it isn’t a real window, so it isn’t like anyone can see in whilst we sleep.
I quickly get up and see that Hermes and Asuna are both asleep. Lucy is also sleeping on my bedside table, wrapped inside a small green blanket. She must have had that made, but she normally relied on magic to keep her warm at night, or during the day for that matter, so I am a bit worried about whether she really is ok.
“Morning Peter.” Asuna yawns. I turn and see she is sitting up now, though still in bed.
“Sorry, did I wake you?”
“No.” Asuna yawns shaking her head.
“Did training go well?”
“It was fine.” Asuna answers. Then she frowns. “Cherry seemed a little worried after your session with her. Did anything happen?”
“No, nothing.”
“You sound worried.”
“I’m not worried.” I tell her but she is clearly unconvinced. “What I do need to worry about is my match with Ash.”
“You’ll be fine as long as you don’t go easy on her.” Asuna assures me.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going easy on her.”
“When you fight Sor, I still think you should take someone with you.”
“There’s no point thinking about my match with Sor yet.” I tell Asuna.
“I suppose that’s true. For now, just focus on beating Ash.”
“That’s what I was doing.” I tell Asuna and she winces.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t worry.” I shrug.
“Good morning, Peter, Asuna.” Lucy tells us, sounding wide awake. Hermes is still fast asleep.
“Good morning Lucy.” We both reply.
“I’d better wake Hermes.” Asuna says and gets out of bed to do so. Her thin blue night dress really shows the shape of her body as she does so. Asuna leans towards Hermes ear and says loudly. “Good morning, Hermes.”
“Morning…” Hermes yawns.
“Before I go to fight Ash I’d like to take power from you both. Is that ok?” I ask Asuna and Hermes.
“Sure.” Asuna replies. Hermes isn’t really awake yet and just stares forwards blankly, so maybe I should have waited before asking. “Hermes?”
“Oh, um, yeah, that’s fine.” Hermes nods. “Can I get washed and dressed first though?”
“Sure.” I nod.
“So, um, could you look away, please?” Hermes asks.
“Oh, sorry, of course.” I blush and look away. I clean myself whilst I wait. A couple of minutes pass in near silence.
“You can turn around again.” Hermes tells me.
“Thanks.” I say as I turn to face her. Asuna and Hermes are both in their uniforms now.
“You can kiss us and take our power now.” Hermes tells me. I don’t actually have to kiss them to do so, but I don’t remind her of that. Instead I get out of bed and kiss Hermes and then Asuna. Their power has strengthened me, though nowhere near as much as Elucia’s power does.
“You still have a little time before the match.” Asuna reminds me.
“Even if it is only against Ash it is my first match against 2A and I haven’t fought one of these matches in a while now, so I’m a bit nervous. I think I might just head there and wait. It isn’t like there’s much time before the match.”
“We’ll come with you then.”
Hermes tells me and Asuna nods. Lucy just flutters onto my left shoulder.
We walk to the arena to save power for the fight. I’ve already drained both Asuna and Hermes of almost all their power so I can’t ask either of them to port us. I’m worried about Lucy, so I’m not going to ask her either. It doesn’t take long and once we get there we see Ash sitting in the front circle of seats. It will be busy here soon, but for now it is just her, us and a teacher who seems to be setting up an enchantment in the centre of the arena.
“You’re here too.” The teacher laughs as we approach the centre. “Better too eager than not eager enough, but the match can’t start until it is time. We could hardly allow the whole academy to miss the fight.”
“I know.” I nod meekly and take a seat close to Ash. She looks nervous and so is her aura, so I ask her. “How are you feeling?”
“Not good.” She answers and her voice is trembling.
“Don’t worry so much. Even if I beat you, I’m not going to treat you badly.” I tell her.
“That’s not what I’m worried about. It will be my first time controlling a demon since…”
“Do you need to rely on demons?”
“They’re what I’m best at, so if I’m to stand a chance I need to use a demon.” Ash tells me and from her aura I can tell she is being honest.
“What’s the worst that can happen?” I ask.
“It breaks free of my control, kills me and steals my soul, before attacking anyone else nearby. In other words, you.”
“That would be bad. I don’t want you to die in this fight.”
“So you’re not worried for yourself?”
“I’ll be fine. Probably.” I answer. I’ve fought demons before, but I don’t have Elucia’s power to aid me now.
I can’t think of anything else to say so we pass the rest of the time in silence. Hermes, Asuna and Lucy remain silent too. The rest of the students and teachers start to arrive soon, and not long after that every seat is full. Then it is time for our match.
“Peter and Ash, please enter the arena stage.” The announcer calls out from her seat on the other side of the arena. It is loud enough that everyone here can hear. The judge is waiting in the centre for us and goes over the rules as usual.
I place the gem she gives me on my neck and create a simple chain so it hangs there. It would be a problem if I lost the gem, because I would of course lose the match and my freedom. Hopefully Ash would free me, but that’s not the point.
The arena is gone and I am standing on hot sand under the beating sun. Back at the academy it looked like a cold day outside, typical of this time of year. To be this hot we have clearly been ported a long way from the academy. The heat will help a fire user like Ash, but at least there is plenty of sky above me in this battlefield. The air is completely still and is as dry as a bone, but it should allow me to make good use of my flight magic.
There is a port block around Ash and she is some way from me, but I port as close as I can and then jump into the air. I race towards Ash but her port block was wide and it will still take at least half a minute to reach her. I sense an invocation that feels a little demonic. I doubt I will reach her before she finishes, so I will soon have a demon to fight.
I’ve almost reached Ash and am wondering whether I can interrupt her invocation in time, but I sense a demonic gate open and a moment later a demon is standing in front of her. I don’t hear her words but she points towards me and the demon jumps into the air towards me. Ash begins a second invocation.
The demon is silvery and looks metallic. It feels attuned to the water and fire elements though, and it moves through the air like it should be attuned to the wind element, even though it doesn’t seem to be. The demon has a vaguely human like shape, but although it has a head of sorts, it has no face. Its feet and hands each have seven long claws instead of fingers or toes. Its arms, legs and even its main body are much longer than a human and twist at odd angles that no human could survive. In fact they seem to stretch as it moves. If it were standing like a human it would be at least twice as tall as even Professor Schwarz, so it is at least fourteen foot tall.
The demon reaches me before I can get close enough to attack Ash. I blast it with lightning and then a wind slice, both of which hit. It ignores my attacks though, and lunges straight for my throat. I dodge, but only just. It has a weird way of flying, because of the way it twists its body. It can literally alter its flight path instantly in any direction without even slowing down.
The time I spent with Cherry was fun, but it also helped to practise dodging, so I am glad I spent the time with her this week. I doubt I could have dodged these attacks if I hadn’t. I am flying as fast as I can and am only just staying ahead of the demon. It also easily blocks my attempts to get past it.
I need to defeat this demon to reach Ash, and I need to do it quickly or I’ll be fighting another demon at the same time, which could prove deadly. Even this demon could prove deadly. I know I told Ash to fight seriously, but this demon isn’t trying to beat me. It is trying to kill me. Oh well, I knew the tournament would be dangerous, so I can’t complain. I just need to kill the demon before it can kill me.
As I get used to the demon’s attacks and strange way of flying I begin attacking it again. Again it just ignores lightning and wind slices, so I quickly change tactics. I try wind punches, but as expected they have no effect. Next I try sending ice shards at it, which it dodges. If it is dodging then, maybe ice is effective against it. I wish Rin were here, since ice is her specialty, but I’m never going to admit that to anyone. Especially to Rin.
I let the demon get a bit closer and then send more ice shards, but again it dodges them. Getting closer is risky, because it is hard enough just keeping my distance. Actually getting close enough to hopefully hit the demon could easily mean getting close enough for it to close the rest of the distance and kill me. Especially since I need to focus more to launch an ice attack than a wind or lightning based attack.
I throw more ice shards and again it dodges them. I feel a claw scratch my left leg, but just about avoid any serious harm. The demon didn’t even pierce my skin, despite its razor sharp claws.
My next ice attack hits but, although the demon howls in pain, it shrugs off the attack. How it howls without a mouth or even a face I don’t know, but it does and it is a bit disorienting. I realise there is dimensional magic involved and I am almost skewered by twenty eight claws. I recover almost in time to dodge but this time it does pierce my leg with one of its claws and the pain is agony. My left leg still skewered I throw a huge amount of mana into a far larger ice based attack and it hits. This time the demon falls towards the ground and fades away before it hits the ground.
I turn my attention back towards Ash and race towards her as quickly as I can. Before I can close the distance though, there is a second demon standing beside her. Well, more like burning beside her, since its body is pure fire. A very large flame that reminds me of the one that Juliet briefly summoned the other day. I can sense its demonic presence though, so it feels very different to Juliet’s flames. It is also very different to the fire mana that I fought at the start of the academy year.
Unlike the previous demon it doesn’t leap into the air, but instead sends about fifty balls of fire straight at me. I of course dodge, but to my shock they change direction and chase me. Thankfully they are slower than the last demon, and more importantly slower than me. The demon sends more fire balls at me but I easily dodge them. Now that I know they will continue targeting me, I make sure not to let my guard down.
