Chapter 53: Clash of the Best: The Finals

We walked back from the medical ward to the gym as we heard the crowd shaking the gym with their cheers. I even heard my name called out a few times; I guess our team was more popular than I thought. Quinn nodded knowingly, "Altaria might factor into that; her voice is pretty powerful in this city. Plus, I am sure that a lot of people default to who they consider the underdogs." I smiled, "We'll see about that underdog thing; I am pretty confident we have a solid game plan, and I know their team pretty well at this point."

Our team was given the east side to start at, which really made almost no difference, but before we got there, someone was waiting for us. Professor Castweaver was leaning up against the side of the stands; she smiled a little when she saw me. Professor Castweaver patted me on the back, "Congrats, kid; you beat my team not once but twice. Today your team is the favorites in my mind."

I nodded, "You made both matches exciting; I was seriously thinking we would lose the last one." She smiled, "Just give them hell for me. Oh also." She pulled out a small card, "Make sure you take this in with you; it's a special memento from my mom. Take good care of it." I asked shocked, "Why are you giving this to me?" She turned away, hiding her face a little, "Look, just take it. You remind me of her, is all. Now make sure you finish the job here." I nodded; I slipped the piece of paper into my pocket as I followed my team onto the gym floor.

Eris announced, "This is it, folks! The last battle! The teams need introductions. The undefeated Grin Reapers have crushed every other team up until this point. With their captain Lucius swapping back to his finals team, will he be the deciding factor? Or will the team that clawed their way from the brink seize victory? Only time will tell how Team Dream will perform with Prince Sorbek, our wildcard of this tournament."

The teams glared at each other; everyone had someone to prove. We went with a bit of a mix-up formation. I was in the back with Lysandra as usual, but the three melee fighters were in a close formation in the front. Likewise, Prince Sorbek was in the tight formation with Pylus. Professor Berkley and Mynus provided their center support. They all seemed to be guarding one student, the tri-mage Gwen. She looked playful as she glared at me with determined eyes as the final match of the tournament began. Eris gave the signal, "Let the all-out warfare begin! Let only the best magic team stand!" With that, everyone began fighting with my blitz strategy kicking things off. Quinn and Lulith dashed forward with Yuna holding her blade ready to counter should anything happen.

Quinn transforms into his true form, a black sludge of flesh, teeth, and knives as he rises in the air. His body attempts to slam down on Prince Norvus, and Lulith tries to strike him with a kick. He scoffs as the black torrent of Quinn crushes down on him; he holds his feet in place with ice, slamming Quinn off him. The kick lands, knocking him back a little, but he mocks, "I could tell you wanted me gone, so obvious with your formation. I can't let you take on the covenant with such basic tactical knowledge." He brings down the blunt side of his blade, charging it with magic, and effortlessly slams Quinn with it. Quinn goes flying, the hit sending him past me. Yuna changes her target, shifting her focus to Professor Berkley as the plan doesn't go as expected.

Professor Berkley laughs, "Mynus, give her a lecture on manners." She slices with her sword, "Eyeless Slash!" The blade is stopped by the boy next to the professor, Mynus; he sends her Katana flying out of her hands. Lulith, however, smiles, "Let's send you for a ride, Prince Charming." She roundhouse kicks him with her foot; normally, that would break a person's leg slamming into such hard armor. For Lulith, it is effortless; her body is superpowered now as she slams Prince Sorbek into the air. However, Professor Berkley smiles, "Ah, that just won't do. God's hands." The move he used to originally knock the Prince out would now assist him as he flew effortlessly back to the ground.

All of that happened in a matter of seconds as I tried to understand exactly how I could provide assistance. Eris shouted, "Already we are blow for blow here with no side having a clear advantage yet." Lysandra mocked, "That will change right now, starting with their supporting cast." The boy Mynus tried to hit Yuna with his bat, but I was quicker, "Bacura!" A barrier formed, blocking the blow, giving her enough time to jump back to pick up her sword. Meanwhile, Quinn has recovered; he made his way back in front of me, not attacking just yet. Lysandra, taking her chance, decided to fire off one of her new ranged spells, "Sirius Photometric Cannon!" A solar cannon fired out; almost like he was ready for it, Professor Berkley stepped in the way. He formed a magnetic barrier, but it was too late; the intended target was lit up. Mynus managed to avoid the full blast, since Professor Berkley shielded him, but he was a mess on the ground.

Poor guy; he has been lit up in almost every battle he has been in. I guess that's the problem with not having any real defensive magic. He was out of the match, and Yuna grabbed her sword again. I whispered to Quinn, "Hey, I want to try what we discussed on Sorbek, something he can't avoid." I whispered some details to Quinn before the match started of something I wanted to try; he seemed amused by it, "Yeah, sounds good, Lucius." Just as I said that, I heard him say, "Enough, you little fly. Feel the cold of space. Celestial Chill!" He puts his hands on Lulith as he begins freezing her body in a cocoon of ice, holding her in place. He is about ready to slam her out of the ice, which would slam her into the barrier. I decided it was now or never; I yelled, "Lulith, close your eyes! Festhora! Dustdevils Embrace!" A large explosion of wind and earth shoots forward towards Prince Sorbek; it is my only other concentrated spell.

The air around him was filled with tiny particles; he immediately grabbed his eyes, "Ah! What in the gods is this? I can't see!" He swung his sword around wildly as he tried to deal with the dust in his eyes. Meanwhile, Pylus, seeing what was going on in front, tried to calm him. Pylus shouted at him, "To your right! Quinn is to your right!" Quinn had made his way around the Prince; he had taken on the appearance and voice of Pylus. He said in a worried tone, "No prince, they're tricking you; I'm on your left! That monster has taken my form!" The prince, still blinded, stated, "Your little tricks won't work, monster; I'll silence you for good." He took a stance now, his voice clear as he stated, "Face the wrath of the endless winter. Face my judgment! Eternal Winter!" His sword glowed a light blue frost as he struck the air in a wide arc; cold wind slashed through the air, taking everything around it with it.

The air frosted over, and the shot was aimed directly at his own teammate, Pylus. He had guessed wrong. Pylus could have maybe dodged, but the Professor and her unconscious brother were behind her; they would get hit. She brought her blade forward, blocking the giant slash head-on, but the magic was too much. Her arms began to break and bleed as she tried to block it; she saved everyone behind her, but it cut into her body. Pylus collapsed in a pool of blood as she had failed to absorb all of the magic. Meanwhile, as this was happening, Gwen seized her own chance; she called out, "Rainbow's End!" Lysandra had no means to defend herself; she had just cast a spell as the shots raced out. The shots raced forward, all the colors of the rainbow raining down on Lysandra as she collapsed. It would appear that had been enough to put her down, as it was now a 3vs3 battle. Lulith was still fine, but she was useless as she was captured in ice, unable to break out.

With that in mind, Professor Berkley seemed like he had a plan in mind, but Quinn moved first, his claws ready as he transformed into his normal human form. Prince Sorbek smiled, "There, take that, you little shapeshifting rat." Behind him, Quinn stabbed him in the back; he said mockingly, "I prefer cats to rats, young one." Prince Sorbek fell to his knees; he frowned, "Vulture." With the wounds he received from Mynus and the stab to the back, he was out of commission. He passed out in a heap of blood as the medical team paused the match for a moment to collect the bodies. Once they raced out, Yuna took a stance; it was now a 3v2, but Yuna never wanted to work together. She attempted to use one of her signature slashes, but Professor Berkley didn't even move.

He stated with a grin, "Say, that sword is metal, is it not?" In a flash of light, Yuna slashed downwards; a pool of blood opened up. However, I almost had to rub my eyes; the blood wasn't the professor's blood, but rather Yuna's. She looked up, her eyes growing pale, "How could- filthy mage..." She passed out from what I saw; her own blade was turned on her at the last moment; he used her momentum to cut her with his magnetic force. He looked down at her, still smiling, "Metal is my plaything; swords won't work on me." That was it then, 2vs2: Professor Berkley and Gwen vs Quinn and me. We geared up for the second phase of this battle, a battle so ferocious that everyone was playing to their limits. I would need to grow right here, right now in order to win this tournament; for a moment, a face flickered in my mind. The face was Era's, someone I swore to save no matter what. Quinn's eyes glowed in response to my thoughts. He smiled, "Hold your head high, Lucius; our best is yet to come."