[41.5] A Fiery Start to the Competition

As we traveled through the uncomfortable and pressing space, I felt the urge to vomit. Luckily, we landed before I had a chance to get sick.

I collapsed to my knees and held my stomach, "Ugh… I hate it. I hate it so much."

Cyrus glanced around, "I will admit it wasn't pleasant. I guess only the Headmaster can use transportation magic so flawlessly."

He helped me back up to my feet as I groaned. I looked around and realized we were in the middle of an ordinary forest. I mumbled, "So what do we do? Just start walking?"

He nodded, "I think so. From what I understand, each group has its own maze. It's all the same, but we are all in a different area so we should never cross paths."

Cyrus started walking in front, but I pulled him back. I tapped my nose, "It's better if I take the lead."

He raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

I grinned, "I'm better at seeing traps than you."

He rolled his eyes and stood by my side, "But I'm better at seeing illusions than you."

"Okay…" I pondered for a moment, before my expression lit up, "Then let's walk side by side."

He smirked and held my hand, "Sounds like a good idea."

I laughed as we started walking down the makeshift path in the trees. Occasionally, I would stop him, point out a magic circle, and change it so that the trap wouldn't detonate. Cyrus would also stop me to point out an illusion that he would break so we could continue walking. Eventually, we found ourselves in the middle of a clearing.

I looked around, "This is different. Does it mean that we are almost finished?"

Cyrus shrugged, "I have no idea-"

I took a step forward and heard something click beneath my foot. I looked down with a cold sweat, "Um… I stepped on something."

A bright explosion of light suddenly came charging at us as if it was alive.

I grabbed my wand, but I felt Cyrus pounce on me before I could do anything.

The bright light rushed just above us, barely missing us.

However, just as if it was alive, it turned right around and charged at us again.

I created a barrier causing it to ricochet off.

Feeling Cyrus still covering my body with his own, I smiled mischievously, "What are you doing?"

He shouted back, "I'm protecting you!"

I laughed, "No, I'm protecting you!"

He raised his head to see the barrier around us, "Oh."

Hehe!

I have an idea.

I raised my legs and started to straddle his waist.

His face turned pale to red in under a second, "What are you doing!?"

I teased, "You're the one who jumped on top of me."

"Stop! Stop doing that!"

"Doing what?"

"This suggestive position!!"

I smirked, "Hmm? What's suggestive about it?"

Suddenly the innocent look on his face turned to one of lust, "I can't control myself if you keep doing this."

I froze.

How did he suddenly turn from prey to predator!?

I put my legs down, "S-Sorry…"

He tilted his head with a toothy grin, "Don't stop now."

I tried to change the subject to distract him, "Is it just me or does that little fireball have the desire to burn us alive?"

Cyrus glanced at it and watched as it collided with the barrier before bouncing off, then barreling back to attack.

"It is a bit odd. I don't think there was supposed to be the possibility of death on this island. This island is intended more for mind games and puzzles than for life or death situations."

The fireball hit the barrier again, causing vibrations to travel along it.

I scoffed, "Well this puzzle is certainly more aggressive."

He gave me a humored look, "How exactly did you set off the trap? I thought you said you were the best at finding them?"

I pursed my lips and whined defensively, "I'm best at finding magical traps! This one was mechanical! It was made without magic!"

He hummed, "That's strange... I wonder if that means the Islanders installed nonmagical traps then. If that's the case, it may not be dangerous. If they didn't then it's probably not safe."

"Well… There's only one way to find out."

I waited until the fireball bounced off the barrier before pushing him to the side and jumping up.

I released the barrier and held out my arms, "Come here little fireball!"

The fireball came charging back, but before it could hit me, Cyrus pulled me to the side so that it flew past me instead.

He shouted at me anxiously, "WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO!? DIE?!"

I shrugged, "No. Been there, done that. I'm just trying to see if it was trying to burn me alive or if it's harmless."

"How will that not kill you!?!"

I tossed my hair, "My skin has invisible armor for fire. It can't hurt me."

"What does that even-"

The fireball came charging back at us at an even faster speed.

Cyrus thought fast and pushed me away from him just in time for it to come soaring between us.

We both looked down at the ground and saw the singed grass turn black from the heat.

I gulped, "Okay… So maybe it's trying to kill us."

"You think!?"

It came charging back to us once more.

I gave it a nod, "Heads up. It's going for you."

He dodged it quickly with a scowl, "It's getting faster."

I pulled out my wand and sent a large snowball towards it to extinguish it.

The fireball dodged it and then turned back around to charge at us.

I paused, "...Maybe even smarter."

Cyrus clicked his tongue and dodged the next attack, "So now what?"

I created a large baseball bat from ice and squared up against the charging fireball.

I gave a smirk, "Batter up."

I swung the large bat just in time to hit the fireball. I grit my teeth as I felt the resistance of the fireball, burning into the ice bat.

My grip tightened harder and I used all of my strength to twist and push.

The ice bat shattered but luckily it was enough to send the fireball flying. Cyrus and I both watched as the fireball disappeared into the distance.

I gave a whistle, "Wow! Home run. I don't think I ever was able to get one of those as a child."

Cyrus stared at me in surprise before he turned to look at where the fireball flew, "Hopefully you didn't just direct it to someone else."

I gave a shrug, "Eh. Not our problem. They have an emergency beacon they can use."

He let out an exasperated sigh, "This is precisely why I was nervous."

"Hmm." I hummed as I watched an ominous fog start rolling toward us. I pointed at it, "And what about that? Does that make you nervous?"

His expression darkened, "Among other things."

I glanced back at him, "Should we run?"

He shook his head and grabbed my hand, "No. We could run across a trap and get in even more trouble."