Chapter 67: Fire & Phantoms

The only ones who seemed even remotely surprised by the reveal were Magnus and Celia, though for different reasons. For Magnus, his shock came not so much from Blair's family being involved in slave trading but more from the fact that it explained so many things he had found odd.

One example was when Blair first met him behind the mask.

At the time, Magnus had brushed it off, but the way Blair looked at him felt wrong. It definitely wasn't how you'd look at a fellow member of your own faction. Instead, it was as if Blair had already assigned a 'worth' to the persona known as Cain. Of course, that changed after the little incident during the meeting itself, but it still caught Magnus's attention.

As he pondered all of this, Magnus's gaze suddenly froze as a more recent instance of Blair's odd behavior came to mind. Slowly, he looked over at Celia, who was sitting next to him. Even before he saw her, he could feel her arm pressed against his, slightly trembling.

When Blair and Celia were introduced, he asked about her hair and, more specifically, the region her family came from. She had taken it as a harmless question, but if Blair's family were not just buying and selling slaves but also collecting them, then what he had asked was no different than a girl asking her friend where she had bought her new dress.

Celia realized this right away, which is why, at this moment, she was huddled close to Magnus, holding her arms, while her eyes stared blankly at nothing. Seeing her current state, Magnus couldn't help but sigh slightly. She was having a panic attack. He recognized it instantly since Wendy used to have episodes like this every once in a while.

Unlike those times, when he had no clue what triggered Wendy, he knew what was bothering Celia. She had told him herself, on their way to the arena. Nearly every citizen of the Batis Kingdom had a fact pounded into their minds, even from a young age, that they were lesser than the nobility. Although Blair couldn't touch Magnus for numerous reasons, getting his hands on Celia? A simple maid? It would hardly require any effort, especially considering what his family did as a business.

"Celia, just take a deep breath, okay? Try to relax; everything will be fine." Magnus spoke in a soothing tone, his hand gently rubbing her back. Celia glanced at him, fear glimmering in her eyes, but she managed a small nod. He knew mere words wouldn't ease her nerves, especially considering the fact that Blair would come back to sit with them when he was done with his match, which would only worsen her anxiety.

So Magnus leaned in and whispered something to her.

"After this match, we'll head back to the dorms, alright?" His words startled Celia, confusion and panic evident as she quickly shook her head, vehemently objecting.

"N- No, Magnus, you don't have to do that... I'll manage-" But Magnus interrupted her.

"Relax. Seriously. I've already caught all the matches I was keen on, and technically, I don't even need to be here anymore." After all, Cain had finished his match for the day.

"Oh, and I'll have a word with Luden about Blair, so don't worry," he added, flashing a reassuring smile.

Honestly, Magnus doubted Blair would actually do anything Celia did just based on his interest in her family's hair, but then again, he also thought Blair was a normal person when they first met until Luden cautioned him otherwise. Now that Magnus understood that warning, he felt like it couldn't hurt to be cautious. On top of that, even if he didn't consider Celia's current state, he still didn't know how he felt about being in the same faction as someone involved in slavery.

Hearing Magnus's reassurances, Celia didn't protest any further. She just lowered her head, nodded softly, and murmured, "Thank you."

As the wall of phantasmal insects descended, merging back into the darkness that engulfed a portion of the ground under Blair's feet, Fardeir clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Damn, what were those things? My flame pythons hit them full force without leaving a scratch."

"They're scorch ants," Blair replied, his head tilted slightly as he smiled and casually walked toward Fardeir. The hand he had cut with his knife had stopped bleeding; the blackened blood made it look like he was wearing a black glove. As he moved, the dark spot beneath him followed, marking his domain.

"They're mana beasts from the northern region of the Golden Curena Kingdom. They live in extremely hot places, like underground magma pools and semi-active volcanoes, and feed on heat. In fact, their unique exoskeletons make them highly resistant to fire. They can even absorb fire elemental mana to some extent. Alone, they're not much trouble, but when their count hits the millions, you would be surprised at what they're capable of." Blair's lecture made Fardeir grin.

"Oh, really? Maybe you should consider being a professor when you graduate." Fardeir acted unfazed, but his mind was racing.

Dammit, most of my spells are fire-based. If he can summon those things at will, that's a problem. Still, he said that scorch ants were resistant to heat and not completely immune. That means if they're hit with a spell that exceeds the limits of their resistances, it could possibly break through.

Pondering this, Fardeir took a deep breath and focused before unleashing his next spell with a flick of his wand.

"Apprentice Class Elementrix, Fireball!" Quickly forming the mana formation in his mind, which was sped up and intensified by the unique properties of his wand, Fardeir pulled a large amount of mana from his mana core, which quickly formed into a sphere in front of him. The sphere then further transitioned into burning hot flames before blasting forward, hurtling towards their target.

Seeing this, Blair couldn't help but scoff.

"The Fire Ball Spell? If your flame pythons couldn't get through, what makes you think that could?"

Placing his hand on the ground, Blair quickly called out, "Spectral Manifestation: Scorch Ants!"

Once again, a massive swarm of ghost-like scorch ants rose from the darkness at his feet, quickly forming a barrier in front of him. However, just as the fireball was about to make contact with it, it suddenly exploded. Splitting itself as it burst into four separate, smaller fireballs that quickly changed trajectory, arcing around the wall of scorch ants Blair had created to defend himself, coming in from for his sides and back.

Damn, that's not the Fireball Spell; that's Inferno Burst! Did he use his own incantation as a fakeout?

While many mages use incantations to speed up spellcasting, especially in tense situations, it wasn't necessary, and it wasn't fully automatic. Although Fardeir had spoken an incantation, he hadn't actually poured any mana into the mana formation it constructed. Instead, he secretly cast a visually similar incantation-less spell, using the supposed fireball as a cover.

In those brief seconds, Blair acted quickly. With a slight mental command, the circular domain of darkness under his feet began to morph and shrink, stretching into a thin line behind him, dozens of feet away, and creating another circular domain. It was almost as if the darkness had transferred itself away from Blair's position as much as possible without breaking contact with his feet.

Just before the fireballs made contact, Blair said something and a creature was summoned from the blob of darkness far behind him. It hadn't even fully taken form when its mouth suddenly opened, and a long tentacle-like appendage shot out, wrapping around Blair's waist and yanking him away in one swift motion that took less than a second.

As the four fireballs collided, a massive tower of fire exploded outward and shot into the sky, forming a vortex of flames that seared everything in its path, except for the wall of scorch ants that were disappearing along with the remaining bit of darkness where Blair had been standing.

Seeing that Blair had escaped, Fardeir didn't waste time talking and quickly gathered mana for his next spell. At the same time, the creature Blair had summoned fully took shape. It was a massive frog-like creature, though it was hard to see any details because of its phantom-like appearance. Still, it was clearly bigger than a car, and Blair stood on its head, his face now showing a more serious expression than before.

I underestimated him, thinking I had him at checkmate with the scorch ants. The leaflet Luden gave us said he mainly uses fire elementrix spells, so I thought I was safe. I'll have to be more aggressive.

Tapping his foot on the giant frog, the monster crouched low before leaping high into the air. It easily cleared the height of the arena's walls, leaping even higher than Magnus did when he fought Gozif. Seeing its blurred figure, Fardeir quickly cast his next spell.

"Apprentice Class Magic, Step Glide!" With a single step to his left, a small platform made entirely of mana appeared under his foot. The platform wrapped slightly around his foot, and he skated off to the left at a rapid speed. It was like riding a conveyor belt or rocket riding in some games.

Hmm, using mana as a propellant for quick bursts of speed—I never thought of that before. It's an uncategorized spell as well; I should try to replicate it sometime.

As Magnus had that thought, he noticed the dark patch that constantly stayed under Blair and his summons. Even now, as the frog arced through the air, the dark patch remained directly below the two of them, allowing the frog to land directly on top of it. Under its weight and fall, the ground cracked instantly, showing just how much force was behind the impact.

I see, so that's how the Phantasmal Dominion works. Neither Blair nor the creatures he summons are allowed to touch anything on the ground besides that dark patch. I'm guessing if they do, either the magic will be undone or the summons will disappear right then and there.

From what Magnus could tell, the Phantasmal Dominion's range wasn't infinite. Blair had to stretch it away from his position to summon that frog creature and avoid Fardeir's attack earlier. This meant that if Blair and his summons got separated far enough, he might be forced to abandon the summon in order to keep the dark patch under himself. Still, even though its weakness was clear, taking advantage of it was nearly impossible.

After all, as the user of the magic, Blair was surely aware of its weaknesses.

The moment he and the frog hit the ground, they both quickly turned to where Fardeir had dodged as Blair tapped his foot on the frog's head once again. Immediately, the frog monster opened its mouth, and its tongue lashed out towards Fardeir. However, the young mage was ready and instantly cast another spell.

"Apprentice Class Elementrix, Twin Blazing Spears!" Fardeir's mana came together, quickly forming two massive javelins made of pure flame, nearly three times as long as his own body. With a single movement of his wand, both javelins were hurled through the air; however, each had a different target. The faster of the two javelins pierced through the frog's tongue that was heading for Fardeir, pinning it to the ground.

As for the other one, it was sent directly towards Blair, who quickly signaled for the frog to dodge. It hadn't reacted at all to the pain of having its tongue pierced, and despite its tongue being stuck, the frog still managed to evade the second javelin, or so Blair thought.

"You're not getting away this time!" Fardeir yelled as he pointed his wand in the direction Blair and his beast had escaped. In response, the flaming javelin flew high into the air towards them.

"Apprentice Class Elementrix, Flamestorm!" While still in the air, Blair watched as the javelin suddenly erupted, scattering countless flames in every direction and falling towards the earth like rain. The moment the frog's body touched the ground, Blair made it disappear without making any impact while simultaneously summoning something else.

"Spectral Manifestation: Scorch Ants." The ants quickly formed a roof above Blair's head, protecting him from the falling fire as he cast yet another manifestation.

"Spectral Manifestation: Cloudstalkers." Under the protection of his scorch ant barrier, four more mana beasts quickly took form from the darkness under his feet. They resembled wolves, but their fur was extremely long, constantly flowing from their bodies, and their fangs were visible even with their mouths closed.

"Go." At his command, the Cloudstalkers darted out from under the scorch ant's protection. Despite the ongoing fiery rain, the strange wolves moved like the wind, their bodies naturally bending around the droplets of flame that exploded on contact. These creatures weren't limited to terrestrial movement either.

They could run in the air, their fur making them even more transparent as they moved freely, catching Fardeir's scent amidst the chaotic rain and the smell of burnt earth. The only way Fardeir could keep track of them was by the faint dark lines and patches stretching from Blair's position, staying directly under the Cloudstalkers.

His first instinct was to use the Step Glide Spell again and counter with another elementrix spell, but the Cloudstalkers were too fast for him to avoid; they moved as swiftly as the wind itself. Realizing this, he had no choice but to adopt a more defensive strategy.

"Apprentice Class Magic, Mana Barrier!" Mana surged from Fardeir's core, powering the barrier that quickly formed a few feet around him, and just in time. The Cloudstalkers might have looked like wolves, but as mana beasts, their attacks were far more dangerous. Instead of biting or clawing, all four Cloudstalkers rushed past Fardeir's barrier, just barely grazing it.

As they passed, a sharp gust of air followed, grinding against the barrier with enough force to cut through a large tree or the body of a normal animal. Like sharks sensing blood, the Cloudstalkers began their hunt, circling and cutting from every direction until their prey bled out. In this case, though, the only thing leaking was Fardeir's mana. As the Cloudstalkers circled, dozens of cuts appeared on his barrier's surface, only to disappear as fresh mana reinforced the construct.

Dammit, my flamestorm is ending. I need to do something, and fast.

Seeing the number of flames raining from the sky diminishing rapidly, Fardeir knew he had to act quickly.

"Apprentice Class Magic, Mana Barrier!" Fardeir once again conjured a mana barrier around himself. This one was smaller, creating two layers. Ignoring stability, he began to violently pour mana into the first barrier, causing it to become unstable almost immediately. The smooth barrier turned jagged and rough, with spikes of mana appearing across its surface, until it finally erupted.

A massive explosion of mana shot out in all directions, creating a shockwave that echoed across the entire arena. It blew away everything in its path and tore apart the Cloudstalkers that were too close to resist the raw force. The second barrier Fardeir had erected cracked from being at the epicenter of the explosion but held strong as a foot-deep crater appeared on the ground around him.

As the explosion ended, Fardeir lowered the second barrier and let out an exasperated breath as he looked around. Unlike knights, who get weaker as their Aura Intensity decreases, mages and their mana cores weren't intrinsically linked. So, even if they ran out of mana, they would be physically fine. However, casting so many spells in succession was still mentally challenging for Fardeir, especially since he was only a Pseudo-Adept level mage due to his Adept-level mana reserves.

"Now where the hell did he go?" Fardeir muttered. The area around him was clear, but dust obscured his vision a few meters away. Then he spotted it—a figure moving through the dust, heading into his blind spot. Without wasting a moment, Fardeir raised his wand at the figure and yelled.

"Apprentice Class Elementrix, Fireball!" This time, it was really a fireball. The sphere of flames condensed in front of him before shooting towards the figure, blasting away the dust. But then he realized the figure he saw wasn't Blair but a bunch of scorch ants mimicking the outline of a body. Fardeir immediately released his control over the fireball, allowing it to dissipate before it reached its target while simultaneously preparing to recast his barrier.

"Apprentice Class Magic, Mana Barr-" But it was too late. In the middle of his words, he felt something cold and sharp press against his neck.

"I have to admit, your spellcasting and reaction time aren't bad. You actually caught me off guard with that whole barrier-self-destruct move. But I can also tell you don't have much battle experience in high-pressure situations; otherwise, you would have noticed right away that wasn't me." Fardeir heard Blair's voice from right behind him as he stared at the scorch ants he had mistaken for Blair.

Although it was faint, he could see a curved black line stretching from where the scorch ants were to behind his back. It was hard to spot among all the dust, but if Fardeir hadn't been in such a rush and taken a moment before attacking, he would have seen it.

"Dammit," Fardeir sighed. There was nothing he could do in this situation. Although Blair couldn't kill him, he could easily cut open an artery with the knife he had pointed at Fardeir.

"I surrender," Fardeir said.

In comparison to the grandness of the arena, his voice was so quiet that no one in the crowd would be able to hear him unless they used magic or enhanced their senses, yet Eredim somehow managed to teleport onto the field the moment Fardeir surrendered. Hearing those words too, Blair moved the knife away from Fardeir's neck with a casual look.

With the match over, the domain created by Phantasmal Dominion slowly vanished, turning the strange darkness into an absurd amount of dried blood, and without a single pause, Eredim made his announcement.

"The winner of the eighth match is Blair Reinholt!"