22 A Planned Surrender (3)

A patch of earth rose up like a wave and turned into jaws that threatened to consume everything in its path. A mix of gasps and screams echoed in the hall. The teachers present fortified the barrier around the students and themselves.

Human instinct was funny thing. Whenever an imminent threat would present itself to animals, it would trigger a fight-or-flight response almost instantaneously. But it was different for humans. Some humans would choose to fight. Others would choose to run or secure their safety. A number would turn stiff and motionless at the sight of danger. And a minority felt nothing at all.

But 373 didn't run, didn't show any hint of freezing up, didn't seem ready to fight to the death. Even when the smaller female could feel the bloodlust behind Zain Amina's attack, the girl didn't bat an eyelash. She just stood there, waiting for the attack to hit her. And when it came, she calmly wove through the teeth-like mounds of earth towards the platforms of uneven ground like it was child's play. Her eyes were filled with so much life. It was almost as if she was enjoying the battle and every second of it.

Panic settled in Zain Amina's bones. She tried to widen the distance between herself and 373 by changing the landscape more and more. However, 373 advanced steadily while evading all the attacks sent her way. As soon as the tall dark-skinned girl was within her range, the little female began gathering her energy to cast a spell. It was the beginning of a spell Zain Amina couldn't recognize, not even after she had almost completely memorized the books in all their classes. Without thinking, Zain Amina flung out one attack spell after another while her Mutatio spell was still in effect.

Zain Amina's concentration became a mess. The ground beneath them trembled as the Mutatio spell started to fall apart. The older female's attack spells created a cloud of smoke and dust which hid 373 from view. Zain Amina stayed alert, her brown eyes shifting left to right frantically as she searched for the little girl. Her feet were still firmly planted on her makeshift pedestal, but her heart thumped in her chest as cold sweat trickled like a waterfall on her back.

A single fireball whizzed towards her with an accuracy and speed Zain Amina had never seen before. Using the direction of the fireball as her reference, she ducked and lunged forward towards the girl hiding behind the fog. Zain Amina cast fulcio to increase her speed, rearranged the ground beneath her feat, and haphazardly threw herself in the dust cloud she had created. As soon as she did, she realized she had made a mistake.

The next second went by in slow motion.

Zain Amina was keenly aware of how both her knees were bent as a single lightning bolt flew straight past her towards the fireball that was right behind her. The two spells collided and caused an explosion that pushed the dark-skinned girl forward. She lost control of her most powerful spell and the pedestal she had struggled to maintain crumbled beneath her feet. Zain Amina was falling fast towards the treacherous landscape she had created with the spell she knew she couldn't control.

With a sigh, Zain Amina realized she was probably falling to her death.

And she was going to die in the treacherous jaws of rock and soil that she had formed with her own spell.

While the brown-eyed girl was still in a daze, 373 appeared in front of her. A small voice whispered something as 373 stretched her small pale hand towards her and cast a spell. The words were said softly they were almost inaudible yet Zain Amina heard them clearly. She knew exactly what 373 had cast.

It was Mutatio. Mutatio Terrae.

The words left the little girl's lips and the ground heeded her call. 373's Mutatio was quick and quiet, much like the little girl. The ground shifted with a low rumble and shot up towards the two of them. Earth formed a sturdy arm and a palm made of loose soil and grass that cushioned the two girl's fall. The hand formed by 373's spell set the two children down on the ground slowly. When Zain Amina's feet finally touched stable ground, she realized that the field she had turned into a mess had once more become a flat stretch of land.

Her brown eyes met a pair of obsidian orbs. And for a moment, an odd sensation crawled into her veins as she felt those deep dark eyes staring into her thoughts.

"The Sanctuary… isn't beautiful," 373 said, her voice low and her words cryptic. When the porcelain skinned girl looked up at Zain Amina, the smaller female's gaze was full of worry. But as soon as 373's gaze swept towards the teachers observing the fight, the frigid cold that was contained in her black eyes sent a shiver down Zain Amina's spine.

With a blink, the smaller girl's iciness had gone. Her gaze turned apathetic. And the next words that left her mouth were loud and clear enough for the entire class to hear.

"I give up."

The adults and the students watching the fight were stunned. One of their teacher's quickly approached them, his hands and feet fumbling in shock because of 373's announcement.

"But why?" The teacher's face was flushed as he tried to reason with the smaller child. "You can't give up! You won! What about your slot for the Sanctuary?"

"I cheated," was 373's reply. After a breath, she added, "I should be disqualified."

The adult's jaw dropped. "…what?"

"Playing dirty is against the rules." 373 stated. It took Zain Amina a few seconds to realize that she was referring to the time when the little girl had thrown soil to her face. Technically speaking, 373 had lost the match the moment she decided to fight underhandedly. But the adults had let them continue the fight like nothing of the sort had happened. So why was 373 bringing it up now?

The little girl didn't wait for the rest of the room to catch up with her thought process and made her way to retrieve her book and leave the open field. The class of Aquarius and the teachers present fell into an awkward and stupefied silence. Some mouths hung open. Others were frozen shut. While they were busy trying process what had happened, 373 had silently packed her things and had left the room.

A few coughs were heard in the hall and the seconds ticked by like nothing had happened. The teachers called over a few higher ranking Spellcasters to restore the field to its previous state. The fights continued. The adults recorded the wins, losses and draws for the day as the children's ranks were changed. On paper, Zain Amina had won and had kept her number 1 spot.

Yet everyone who had watched the entire match knew – even Zain Amina herself knew – that the little girl had won.

And she, the girl ranked number 1, had lost.