A Game of Chess II

Jack Blazespout smirked as he leaped from the edge, descending gracefully into the valley, controlling the ambient mana to slow his fall. He landed with a casual ease, his presence exuding confidence. The tension thickened as Ren, Seol-ah, and Jin tensed instinctively, their eyes locked on the descending figure. They had barely survived his spells, and now, Jack himself was stepping in.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Jack's voice carried mockery as he surveyed the three of them. "Three of the best from different academies… yet you still haven't learned that resistance is futile."

Behind him, the students of Slatemark Academy seemed to breathe easier, their expressions lifting with relief. In stark contrast, the faces of Mythos and Starcrest students darkened. They could feel it—Jack was operating on a different level.

Ren, the closest in strength to Jack, clenched his teeth. He launched off the ground using gravity magic, time mana accelerating his speed as his body became a blur of motion. His fist, glowing with condensed energy, drew back.

Void Fist—Second Movement: Gravity Crush.

Ren thrust his fist forward, the air distorting as it barreled toward Jack, fueled by an intense gravitational force. But Jack merely smirked, lifting his hand effortlessly. His white flames spun like a disc, absorbing the attack with ease, dispersing the power as if it were nothing.

Ren's eyes widened in disbelief. His God's Eyes tried to decipher what had just occurred, struggling to make sense of Jack's effortless defense. It had taken Ren months to refine his Grade 6 art. He had honed it during his summer break, shaping it into something far deadlier than before.

But now? Now, Jack had stopped it with a wave of his hand.

"There's a reason pure spellcasters can match martial artists, Ren," Jack said calmly, his voice betraying no strain. With a fluid motion, he kicked out toward Ren, his leg cutting through the air with terrifying speed.

Ren's God's Eyes followed the movement perfectly, allowing him to react just in time. He inverted gravity, propelling himself out of Jack's reach, avoiding the kick by a hair's breadth. But the gap in power was glaring. Jack wasn't just strong—he was overwhelming.

Seol-ah and Jin exchanged quick glances, their resolve tightening. They had to act fast.

Seol-ah darted forward, her sword moving in elegant arcs as she activated her own art, Skyward Lotus—Third Petal: Divine Gale. Wind magic coiled around her blade, sharp and swift, as she slashed toward Jack. The attack was precise, meant to strike a critical blow.

But Jack, with a flick of his wrist, summoned a barrier of flames. Seol-ah's strike met the wall of fire, the wind magic barely piercing through before being consumed by the inferno.

Jin Ashbluff gripped his twin shortswords tightly, his expression colder than usual as he channeled his mana. His eyes gleamed with a dangerous resolve as he prepared to attack Jack. The air around him darkened with necromantic energy, the eerie wisps of his Soulweaver's Sorrow art coming to life.

Jack stood calmly, watching as Jin moved, his smirk never fading.

Jin dashed forward with incredible speed, his twin shortswords slicing through the air in a blur. Soulweaver's Sorrow—Third Movement: Phantom Blades. The spectral energy imbued in the swords twisted and morphed as they slashed through the air, creating ghostly afterimages of each strike. These phantom blades were not just illusions—they were manifestations of the souls Jin controlled, capable of striking both the physical and ethereal planes.

As Jin closed in, he swung both blades in a perfectly synchronized attack, aiming for Jack's vital points. The phantom blades converged, creating an unavoidable attack, or so it seemed.

But Jack, calm as ever, raised a hand, summoning a shield of Nirvana Flames. The white-hot flames crackled and flared, absorbing the phantom blades' energy and dissolving them into nothingness.

"Is that all?" Jack's voice oozed mockery, his smirk growing wider.

Jack Blazespout's smirk deepened as he effortlessly parried Jin's twin strikes with a simple flick of his wrist. White flames erupted from his hand, devouring the necromantic energy surrounding Jin's shortswords, neutralizing their deadly power. Jin staggered back, his breath coming in ragged gasps, disbelief flickering in his eyes.

"You're just like the rest," Jack taunted, his voice dripping with amusement. "Always thinking you can match me. But you're wrong."

Seol-ah gritted her teeth, pushing through her fatigue as she leaped into the fray. Her sword gleamed in the low light of the valley, and she moved with the grace and precision of a true swordmaster. Her Gift, Heavenly Sword Soul Body, pulsed through her veins as she executed her sword art, Skyward Lotus—Fourth Petal: Skyward Fall, unleashing a torrent of sword strikes at Jack.

The sheer speed and precision of her attacks forced Jack to backpedal, but his expression remained calm, almost bored. With a wave of his hand, Nirvana Flames erupted around him, forming a blazing barrier that deflected each of Seol-ah's strikes.

"You're strong," Jack admitted as he parried her final strike with a burst of flames, sending her skidding backward. "But not strong enough."

Seol-ah's chest heaved, her breath labored. The toll of fighting at full power was catching up to her, and she could feel her body slowing. Her mana reserves were running dangerously low, and the artifact that should have been protecting her was now useless, its enchantments quietly 'purified' by Jack's sinister Gift.

Ren, sensing the danger Seol-ah was in, roared and surged forward again, his fist blazing with the raw power of Void Fist: Void Collapse. He poured all his mana into the strike, determined to shatter Jack's defenses once and for all.

But Jack didn't flinch. Instead, he raised his hand, summoning a massive, spinning disc of white flames. The Nirvana Flame Disc clashed with Ren's fist, and for a brief moment, the valley was filled with an ear-splitting crack as the two powers collided.

Ren's fist trembled under the pressure. Jack's flames were relentless, pushing back with an intensity that Ren had never faced before. Finally, the force of the flames sent Ren flying backward, crashing into the side of the valley with a bone-rattling impact.

"Ren!" Jin called out, his face tightening as he watched his ally struggle to get back up.

But Jack didn't give them a chance to recover. With a snap of his fingers, he summoned another wave of Nirvana Flames, this time aiming directly at Jin. The necromancer barely had time to raise his swords before the flames consumed him, sending him sprawling to the ground, his body scorched and his mana reserves depleted.

Jack stood above them all, untouchable, his aura radiating absolute dominance. "This is the best you've got? Pathetic."

He looked at Seol-ah, who was struggling to stand, her sword shaking in her hand. Her eyes burned with defiance, but her body was on the verge of collapse. Jack's smirk widened.

"Looks like you're done, Moyong."

From the edge of the valley, the professor began to move toward Ren, assuming that the artifact had done its job. With the threat to Ren neutralized, there was no immediate reason to worry about the others. After all, Seol-ah's artifact was still intact—right?

Jack's eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he shifted his gaze toward Seol-ah, who was barely standing, her sword trembling in her hand. Unbeknownst to the professor, Jack's tiny ember had long since corrupted her artifact, leaving her defenseless. Now was the time to act.

Jack subtly directed his mana toward the cliffside, letting his Nirvana Flames eat away at the foundation. The ground above Seol-ah trembled, and with a small, almost imperceptible gesture, Jack triggered the landslide.

Rocks and boulders began to fall, gathering speed and momentum as they hurtled toward Seol-ah. She looked up, her golden eyes widening in horror. Her body, fatigued from battle, wouldn't respond in time. The professor, still preoccupied with Ren, didn't notice the danger until the first boulders were already crashing down.

By the time the professor realized something was wrong, it was too late.

Seol-ah's artifact, which should have activated by now, lay dormant.

Just as the first massive boulder was about to crush her, a flash of radiant light appeared.

Arthur Nightingale.

Arthur moved with such speed that the world around him blurred, the Heaven's Descent Walk carrying him across the battlefield like a gust of wind. His sword hummed with the power of his water aura, its edge gleaming as he swung upward, cleaving the largest boulder in two with effortless precision. The rocks shattered into harmless fragments, crashing down around them as his mana shield absorbed the rest.

Arthur landed softly in front of Seol-ah, not pausing for a moment before scooping her into his arms. His footwork activated once more, and he moved them out of the danger zone in a single fluid motion, as though the air itself bent to his will.

Seol-ah's chest heaved, her golden eyes wide with disbelief as the reality of how close she had come to death settled in. For a moment, words failed her.

"Arthur…" she whispered, her voice barely more than a breath.

He set her down gently, his expression calm but focused. "You're alright now," he reassured her, scanning the area for any lingering danger. "It seems like your artifact malfunctioned."

Before she could respond, the professor, having now fully realized what had transpired, spoke with a booming voice laced with astral energy. "Everyone, pause! No more fighting for now! All students must check their artifacts! Ren Kagu and Seol-ah Moyong, you are both eliminated."

The valley fell silent as the command rippled through the air. The students, who had been poised for more combat, hesitated before slowly lowering their weapons. The professor's presence was undeniable, and even Jack's smirk faltered as the realization set in that his plan had been interrupted.

Seol-ah, still shaken, glanced down at the broken remains of her artifact. If it weren't for Arthur, she wouldn't be standing here.

Arthur met her gaze, his expression unreadable but reassuring. "Take care," he said softly before turning his focus back to the situation, his mind already calculating the next move. 

As the professor's astral energy enveloped Ren and Seol-ah, marking their elimination, Arthur's thoughts raced ahead. The battle might have been paused, but this was merely the beginning.