A Troubled Mind

"This guy... is he a three-element user?" Naige whispered, looking incredulously at the wizard. New roots kept sprouting from the ground. The larger ones were slow and unruly, growing as tall as the trees in the forest. The smaller ones moved quickly, avoiding the flames as they pursued the princess.

Naige ran over the roots that resembled tree trunks, trying to escape the magic and find a safe place. However, the entire road was engulfed by the magic, and there was no way for her to escape without venturing into the depths of the forest.

It didn't take long for the roots to hinder Jiro's fight. Even the black-clad swordsman became concerned and had to cut some of them that came in his direction.

"This is not good," Lince whispered anxiously. "They're coming this way... we need to get out of here."

But he didn't have time to flee as a huge root sprouted from the ground beneath the carriage, pushing it off the road and into the forest trees. Lince acted quickly, embracing the girl as they fell, cushioning her landing.

"Are you okay?" she asked, checking if Lince was unharmed.

"I'm fine... and you?"

"You didn't have to do that..."

Suddenly, they heard the coachman's cry, "Beware of the fire! Come here, quickly!"

The sight of the flames advancing toward them was terrifying. Immediately, Lince stood up, grabbed the girl's hand, and started running through the forest in the opposite direction of the flames.

Ran screamed in fear when one of the roots tried to wrap around her leg. Lince stopped running, turned back, and kicked the root away from her.

From a safe spot, Lince then focused his gaze on the road, which had become unrecognizable, resembling a forest of grotesque roots consumed by monstrous flames. The situation, which was already bad, had now gotten even worse.

Although it was his own magic, the wizard had difficulty moving. The roots could be treacherous, and he avoided the flames as if they affected him as well. But it didn't dampen his good humor, nor did it wipe the lunatic smile from his face.

"What do you think of my magic now, princess?" he chuckled. "This is just the beginning..."

Naige noticed that the wizard had stopped moving, intending to have better control over his magic while showing off. She then advanced towards him, ready to put an end to it.

When the wizard saw her approaching, he simply smiled indifferently and said, "You have courage, princess. I like that."

Naige continued to advance over the roots. However, halfway there, her instincts once again told her to retreat. Naige hesitated. Seeing this, the wizard drew a dark-bladed dagger hidden under his cloak's sleeve and moved toward her, getting close enough to attack her with his weapon.

Naige couldn't have been more pleased. After all, she didn't think she would lose in a blade duel. She was surprised, though, when he blocked her saber, using only a weapon with a one-foot blade. Frustrated, she attacked repeatedly, but all her attempts were thwarted by the black dagger's blade.

'Why can't I do it?', she thought, her mind filled with more frustration and anger.

Desiring to understand the reason for her failure, her thoughts were consumed by frustration. Naige continued to strike, persistently and quickly, becoming faster and faster. On the other hand, the wizard blocked all her blows, displaying a skill with the weapon that surprised and infuriated her.

"You seem surprised now, princess! Did you think I wouldn't know how to use a weapon?"

"It would be boring if you didn't," she replied to the wizard, her face tinged with irritation.

The wizard smiled with triumph.

Naige bit her lip, narrowed her eyes involuntarily, and gripped her saber more tightly. Perhaps it was just her pride talking, but she focused her subsequent attacks solely on the dagger, determined to wrest it from his hands. Doing so, however, made her movements inconsistent.

As the wizard used the weapon, his magic continued to run rampant. Naige wanted to use this to her advantage, so she forced her strikes to push the wizard backward, hoping that at some point he would falter.

The wizard soon realized the princess's intention. He had to overcome the thicker roots and avoid the smaller ones, and the flames were also a hurdle to be avoided. However, nothing wiped the smug smile from his face.

After a while, the wizard stepped on a root, causing it to move. He lost his balance, and his body leaned backward, falling a few meters towards the blazing ground.

'I've got you', Naige thought, smiling. She had long awaited an opportunity like this and hurled her saber towards the wizard's chest. However, just before it struck him, he put his hand on a root that rose to help him and executed a backflip. With this maneuver, he not only evaded the saber's tip, which wasn't that long, but also regained his balance and landed, already leaping toward her.

Finally, Naige realized that the wizard had faked the fall to set a trap for her and bit her lip hard.

"You're so naive, princess," the wizard sneered. "Fell for a trick like that, like a child..."

A root approached, and Naige turned her face to deal with it. At that moment, the wizard took advantage of her distraction and delivered a powerful kick to her stomach.

The force of the blow made her expel all the air from her lungs and threw her a few meters back. Naige felt her back ache as she collided with some roots and saw wind-blown flames approaching. She tried to get up with the support of her saber, but only let out a painful groan and gave up.

"I don't want to kill you just yet... after all, our fun is just beginning," the wizard said.

Naige took a deep breath, but her chest was filled with pain, contorting her expression.

The wizard smiled, "What's the matter, princess?"

Naige clenched her fists and punched the root beneath her body with such force that it made her hand bleed.