Chapter 48: Fires of Deceit
Our team took our position on the west side of the field this time, keeping in mind their style of blitzing, we changed up the formation. I was in the middle, Lysandra in front of me, next to Quinn; Yuna was on my left, and Lulith on my right. This was the tight formation I had in mind to counterattack against any potential blitz. I decided we would play this match slower, keeping in mind the crazy firepower they had.
On the other side, it seemed that they were using a similar strategy to when they fought Starlight. The boy named Light had a cheeky grin on his face; he was in the back to the left facing Yuna. Professor Castweaver was in the front; she seemed relaxed and ready to sprint ahead towards our team.
There was the boy in the back with the orange hair; he was a threat last time, using some kind of reflection spell to devastate the other team. I would keep my eyes on him. Lucky for us, we have a lot of melee fighters, so that same spell might not work. We have almost no information on the girl with the purple hair and purple eyes in the middle, so she was our wildcard opponent. Lastly, next to Professor Castweaver stood the boy with the flaming hair and red eyes. We were ready for him since he had fallen last time to Starlight; in our eyes, he was the weak link.
Eris stepped forward and announced, "Finally, our first semi-final match. Only one team will move on for a chance to take the crown. Who will it be: the Grin Reapers, a team that was our unknown factor going in but have proven that they are here to win, or will it be our very own Team Pyrotechnics with the destructive power to smash through any challenge? Let your first semi-final match commence!" With that signal, the action got started right away. I told my team to hold off fighting just yet and wait for them to make a move before the match.
As we expected, they pounced like lions ready to devour their prey, but they would be in for a rude awakening. We are no prey but a shark ready to pull them under. Professor Castweaver employed the same tactic she had used on Starlight. Both she and the red-haired boy tried to blitz us, jumping forward ready to take on Quinn. I set him up like this for a reason, trusting him with our defense completely. We knew this was coming. For the first time since releasing him from his imprisonment, his body morphed into his true form. I cared not what he looked like; he was one of my first friends, and today he would show his skills to everyone here.
His form turned into a blob on the ground of flesh and teeth as his slime-like hands shot out to counterattack. Professor Castweaver nimbly dodged a bit, surprised at the display. However, the boy in red was not so lucky. He was caught by Quinn's fleshy arms, and he yelled, "Stop the match! Stop the match, monster!" Eris announced, "I should mention that our friend here, Quinn, as it should be obvious, is not human. We needn't say more; consider this training, students!" The tentacles lifted him high into the air as he struggled and pleaded for Quinn to let him go. Quinn did exactly what the boy asked for; he dropped him from about 17 feet in the air, and the boy landed on his face, unresponsive.
The battle continued as we had predicted. Professor Castweaver tried to hit Quinn with a flaming fist, but she failed to do any real damage to him. His body could change to whatever hardness he wanted at a moment's notice; he was truly the star of this battle. In response, though, the boy in the back, Light, stepped forward. He seemed to have a plan in mind as each of his steps led with purpose. We knew he fought with some kind of fire magic, but his other magic was unknown. However, if he was targeting Yuna, he could be in for a surprise.
He approached confidently, smiling as he sighed, "Such a mismatched team, no style. People with no magic really are so hard to watch. Let me show you the difference between us." Blades came out of nowhere, their flames shooting past my face from seemingly nowhere. They weren't aimed at me, though; Yuna took the blades to the legs, and she yelled out in pain.
It was the blades we had seen before from the girl with the purple hair. Was this her magic? What is going on? They just appeared in front of us, and we had no time to react. Yuna looked up, her eyes fueled with rage. I thought to command her to control herself for a split second. However, there was something else in her eyes, a fierce understanding, her light purple hair dancing in front of her. She yelled out, "Stupid tricks won't work on me, you filthy mages. Let me show you a real trick of the eyes!" She concentrated, the blood dripping down her legs as she looked at me, "God damn it, I hate to ask this, but you're useful, boy. I won't let this spineless mage mock me from afar; I will need your help. Give me an opening, and this sword will carve out their soon-to-be-vacant spines."
I nodded; I think that's the closest thing she has said that wasn't completely filled with venom for me. She dashed forward as Quinn was still keeping Professor Castweaver busy; the rest of my team was waiting for their opening. Yuna dashed for Light, her eyes glowing with power, and the boy merely looked amused. I used his blind spot as an opening of my own, waiting for what we both expected Light to try again. With a trick up her sleeve, she faked a slashing motion towards Light, who yelled out, "Right into my trap, as I predicted." Blades flew out from all directions, ready to fill Yuna with tons of holes.
Before that happened, though, Yuna smiled knowingly, "You mages always think you can predict the future, but know this, magic is for the faithless. Reap my rewards, sword of the scarlet night! Illusion blade: Heretic Guillotine!" The blades shot out, ready to stop whatever Yuna had up her sleeve, but the formless blades never hit their mark. I shouted, ready to go, "Bacura! Natrium! Infinity Pool!" The blades were all stopped in mid-air as they were blocked by a water barrier I put up.
In that moment, Yuna unleashed her attack on Light; she smiled as her power pulsed. She slashed to the side, trying to hit Light, but her blade never hit its mark as the slash hit air. The boy poked her in the back; I looked on in horror as he had one of the blades in his hands ready to drive it into her. He struck downwards, but she looked unfazed as he struck into nothing. She appeared behind him this time, nudging her blade into him, looking like a demon from hell, she pointed at his neck as he looked on in horror. Yuna, in a mocking tone, stated, "You may have a few tricks up your sleeve, but that is nothing to the infinite void of my illusions."
Suddenly, the slash that I thought had missed its mark from earlier slashed across the bottom of the boy's neck. It missed his vitals by inches, but the impossible had seemingly happened; her blade from earlier seemed to miss, but then it struck him later. She was covered in blood from the boy as he clutched his neck, sending shivers down my spine. She looked at the boy with cold eyes as he lie defeated, "I figured out your little trick when I saw it in the last match. You use darkness to hide your fire magic, but I can see it, boy. I have killed many mages that tried to use the same tricks, but you rats can never compare to real illusions."
She turned her attention to the girl with purple hair, and given the circumstances of her blood-soaked face, the girl was scared. She tried to throw her knives at Yuna, but she effortlessly deflected them like they were mere toys. She walked forward calmly as the girl backed away, small tears in her eyes, "Stay away, no, please, I surrender, I don't want to fight anymore." She was shaking as she fell on her butt; Yuna brought her sword high in the air, looking down at her like an uncaged animal. The girl closed her eyes, seemingly hyperventilating, she brought her large katana over her head.
She struck down with all of her might, but at the last moment, with the air of death coming down, she merely tapped her with the hilt. The girl passed out on the spot; she had felt the touch of death and couldn't stay conscious. Medical staff ran onto the field to take both of them away, and just like that, it was a 5 vs. 2 situation. However, Professor Castweaver looked hungry; she swapped targets to Lulith, but her sturdiness made her a hard person to shut out.
I decided to take out the boy in the back next; he was defenseless, but before we could make our move, the area clouded over. The fog took us by surprise as we heard a voice boom, one I recognized as Professor Castweaver. A laugh seemed to echo in my skull as she said playfully, "Good job out there. Taking out most of my cute students. I hope you don't get comfortable because this match is over. You made one mistake in your game plan. Firstly you made me mad, and secondly, you should have focused on me before I got serious." Suddenly, fire opened up in the fog as I was blindsided by an attack. A flaming fist roared out commandingly, ready to send me flying into the barrier behind me.