13 Chapter 13 : Haven’t I seen that Skeleton?

Faith whistled watching the barrier being destroyed in one swing, Kenny's eyes sparkled as he watched her display. The crowd around them silent, mouths agape, disbelief written on their faces.

The old man clutched his quarter staff for stability in one hand and in his other, an Oracle Orb that was shining quietly in his palm. The surface reflecting the events unfolding before him, as this strange girl used two unranked spells to great effectiveness swinging the tide of battle in her favor.

Rebecca was stunned for a moment as her barrier was destroyed faster than she anticipated, luck was in her side however as she finished her incantation and her mana released in a dark flourish.

Streaks of darkened mana arced into the sky raining torrentially before the two ladies like a ring encompassing their view. Rebecca laughed maniacally, " You've may have broken my barrier, but you won't stop what's to come."

Annie watched curiously taking care not to touch the rain of mana, as it had begun slowly corrupting the area decaying the stone as though it were made eon's a go.

A shadow manifested within the ring that stood at a colossal height, with each step that shook the area a pearly white skeleton stood before Annie.

Like a hill before a mountain Annie looked up to the creature, streaks of dark mana ran across its body. No sooner had it appeared did a number of punches rain upon Annie, who gripped her sword an intense look flashed on her face.

Her body swayed about as though a leaf being pushed by a harsh storm, narrowly evading the oncoming flurry of fists. For its size it was amazingly agile in keeping up with her, Rebecca watched on like a wolf waiting to ambush their prey.

The crowd shocked at this sudden turn in tide few of them starting to pass out from holding their breath, the old man was stupefied muttering, "When did she get her hands on a Bone Guardian?! I've never let her go father than the edge of the forest!"

"Magic Item detected. Bone Guardian : Mid-Tier. Added to crafting list" The System chimed in Annie's head however it wasn't informative enough to give her an edge, while she darted about avoiding its blows ceaselessly.

Faith gently tapped her forehead in contemplation brows furrowed in a sense of familiarity, " Haven't I seen that skeleton before?" She questioned as an image surfaced to her mind. The scene of the skeleton being reduced to ashes flashed vividly before her eyes, they twinkled like stars as she lost herself to thought.

Kenny was still drooling over the two spells Annie used earlier, analyzing the characteristics of the first and second spells respectively nodding in approval. The wings resembled that of a bee with a low yet audible buzzing sound when in flight the sudden burst of speed could disorient anyone, the sword spell compressed and refined wind magic to its absolute limits releasing it in a destructive burst.

A loud explosion brought their attention back to the situation at hand, the crowd was hanging by the seats edge the intensity of the match was immense. While the victor was uncertain, it was no less entertaining to the crowd who cheered for the ladies.

In the arena Annie was looking battered, her hair was messy, clothes torn, blood dripping from various scratches on her body. The Bone Guardian didn't look any better with large cracks forming on its surface the fluctuations of mana was becoming more and more faint, it's attacks were slowing to a point Annie was able to strike back furiously.

Going from a disadvantage to a near stalemate as they exchanged blows, neither could gain ground on the other to deliver a decisive attack. Rebecca was rooted to the spot supplying the Bone Guardian with enough mana to continue its functions, while her Guardian was her trump card it came at a cost.

She was unable to use other spells or move around as it would break her link with it, but it was visibly starting to wear her out. Her breathing became heavy as though it was a struggle to catch her breath, but she willed herself to keep going losing was something she refused to accept.

Watching Annie slowly gain the upper hand without using anything but her own strength to power her movements, bewildered Rebecca's brows scrunched together in agitation cursing herself internally for being unable to provide support. As she hadn't cultivated it fully the guardian required manual control, which was cumbersome in a one on one fight.

She howled in rage a mixture of defiance and anger caused her mana to flare in a dark blaze, because of her link the Guardian roared empowered by the surge of mana.

It released a punch that moved slowly through the air, the surface of its hand radiated an unseen force that drew all life toward oblivion.

As slowly as it moved Annie barely had time to adjust her sword to guard before the fist was upon her, slamming into her wooden sword that splintered on impact leaving her body exposed to the remaining force of the punch.

With a sound like a cannon blast Annie was lifted off the ground into a tumbling stop at the edge, her arm dangling lazily off the side many in the crowd stood to get a better view.

Rebecca was stunned not only did her Guardian exhibit a technique that was new, but also broke and battered Annie in the process.

Slowly did her laughter begin to cut through the silence, a haunting laugh that echoed throughout the arena. The old man gripped his staff tightly and exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding. A few mages rushed to the side of arena to check on Annie, who hadn't moved for a moment.

"Well she did enough to hold her own so long against Rebecca, that magic she was using is incredible and her physical ability is not bad either. Now to question Rebecca on where she got that Bone Guardian, I've got a bad feeling about the answer. The old man mumbled to himself preparing to head down to the arena to confront Rebecca.

He barely left his spot when he felt a tremendous amount of power welling up on the stage, a single drop of water fell from the edge of his nose as the moisture in the air became dense.

It started to become increasingly difficult to move due to the denser water in the air, those rushing to Annie's aid felt as though their bodies had been slowed by an overwhelming force. Faith who was enjoying the display felt something was odd about the reactions of the crowd, it was pure, the surprised looks. Yet she couldn't understand why and placed it at the back of her mind, snickering at the drool running from Kenny's mouth.

An unearthly amount of mana erupted from Annie's body sending powerful shockwaves that shook the ground, the space beneath her fractured as jets of water broke out and wrapped her in a bubble that bounced lightly into the air.

To everyone's surprise and Rebecca's shock the wounds slowly closed, the bleeding slowing to a stop. Annie's eyes burst open flashing brightly with energy, the blood in her body was churning like a raging river.

Curling her fists a few times gave Annie enough understanding of her physical condition, "I had no Idea I could do that." She thought ," Though now, I don't have my sword. I guess old fashioned way it'll have to be, what you can't slash, SMASH!"

Shouting the last word in her heart Annie burst forth from the bubble, charging toward the Bone Guardian who exhausted the remainder of its strength the oppressive aura it once had vanished. It stood there like an empty husk waiting to receive Annie's attack, streams of dense water congealed around Annie's hands as she her lips mouthed an incantation.

As the water revolved around her hands it compacted to a more solid sphere of dark blue water, a single drop of this water weighed more than the arena itself and now a vast amount was compressed to its absolute limit.

Her hands felt as though she bore the weight of the world in them as Annie proceeded forward, each step she took shook the ground forcing Rebecca to struggle to stay upright leading Faith to burst with laughter.

Rebecca was in a panic as she tried to communicate with her Guardian but realized her link was already severed, this threw her further into panic because now it was vulnerable to attack and she couldn't recall it back.

She could only watch Annie's fist crash into her Guardian the water around it exploding out into a torrent of raging water that tore at the body, the heavy water ripped chunks out Guardians arms and legs causing it slowly fall toward the ground.

The cascading water roared covering all other sounds while the Guardian collapsed, dragged away by the current that rushed toward Rebecca frantically who hadn't recovered enough strength to move. The air in front of her shimmered slightly as the water was a hairs breath away, acting as a wall the water parted away falling harmlessly over the side.

Faith and Kenny who were watching started to move to assist Annie, unsure as to who was interfering with the match they didn't care as their friends safety was more important. An authoritative voice halted their actions as it reverberated in the air drawing everyone's attention, "Please forgive me for the interruption, I didn't see the reason to continue and put my grandchild in danger. I mean no offense travelers but can we call it a draw?"