Chapter 49: Lucius' Bold Offer

I was defenseless as I braced for impact; the flaming fist shot me into the barrier behind me, slamming against it hard. I think I felt my ribs crack, but I was still conscious, thankfully. In a pained haze, all I could do was listen as I heard the sounds of grunting and punching. After a short while, Lulith flew out of the barrier next to me, grunting in pain. We would lose at this rate. I had to think fast because I also noticed the boy with the orange hair was getting a spell ready.

I lifted up my gauntlet; we needed some wind. "Festora!" Wind flew out, knocking away a lot of the fog. Now we could see Professor Casterweaver rampaging. Quinn had turned himself into a solid ball of metal, trying to buy as much time as possible. When the fog lifted, he grabbed onto her arms with a tentacle. The boy with the orange hair was ready, though. "Shadowfire Abyss!" Darkness and flames mixed together to form a burning abyssal inferno. Quinn was about to get hit, but Lulith raised her hands. Using her own blood, she formed a blood barrier, "Blood Well." The shot was blocked at the last second.

Yuna, using this tempo, raised her blade down on Professor Casterweaver. But she was too fast, dodging around the blade even with her hands restrained. Nobody could lock down this beast of a woman. I thought up one more spell that could be effective. I breathed softly, "Arcanox!" I touched Lulith directly; this was a simple enhancement spell, but it should give her a temporary boost. Her body glowed with purple energy. She thanked me, "This power? Lucius, this feels great. You just save your strength for the finals; I will show you the new me." She raced forward. At first, I thought she was going to stab the Professor with her claws, but that was a feint. The professor thought the same thing as she tried to kick her with a flaming foot. She missed as Lulith dodged out of the way. Lulith was instead struck in the stomach with a fire punch. She didn't even try to dodge it with her enhancement, and her new powers; she tanked a full force blow from a professor. Instead, she brought out her dagger-like teeth. Clearly, she was in pain, but she bit down on Professor Casterweaver's neck.

The professor yelled out in intense pain; she pounded Lulith with both her hands, "Ah, get off me! How undignified!" The blows did nothing; instead, the opposite seemed to occur. Lulith grew more powerful, her muscles pulsing, her hair growing, and wounds healing. Professor Castweaver herself grew weaker and weaker; finally, the blows stopped as she passed out with Lulith sucking her blood like a vampire. The boy in the back tried to regain his senses, but he was still in shock. Lysandra, on cue, using her flames to propel herself effortlessly, jumped from one side of the gym over to him. Once she got there, she smiled, "I think it's time to give up." The boy cowered in fear; he raised his hands, "Wait, we give up, we give up, please don't hurt me." Eris shouted, "Amazing! Grin Reapers have done it again. They had some hiccups, but a clean sweep of Team Pyrotechnics! Truly, they are on another level—an almost formulaic victory and dismantling of Team Pyrotechnics. They will make their way to the grand finals where they will fight either Team Dream, Team Phantasm, or Team Pyrotechnics again."

As we exited the battle and made our way back to the medical ward, I laughed, "We really have come a long way, haven't we? Amazing performance; every one of you did exactly as I planned. Even Yuna, I mean, I can't believe you played that kid so hard." Yuna scoffed, "Don't get too comfortable; I could just as easily cut you down. I have seen mages like that boy before; is all I knew what he was trying from the start. Mages like him always try to surprise people by disappearing like this is some game. He is just lucky that I couldn't decorate the grounds with his corpse."

I ignored that last bit. I turned to Quinn, having now turned into his human form again, and said, "When you go all out, there is really no limit to your adaptation, is there?" He smiled, "Glad you think so, but this is still nowhere near my peak power. I still have a long way to go." I turned to the other two, Lysandra and Lulith, "Both of you are so consistent. Truly, I picked up two amazing women to have on my team." I gave them a bright smile; both of them turned away, saying in unison, "Just doing my job." They both had a hard time expressing themselves verbally, but I could tell they were happy about the results.

Professor Castweaver woke up from her little nap; she approached us not with anger in her eyes, but acceptance. She put out her hand, "Great match." I did the same, "Yeah, you too. Altaria was right; you really are amazing. Your destructive power alone would put any bomb to shame." She blushed a little, "Altaria complimented me. I guess I should consider today a good day then. Don't get too comfortable; I will see you again in the finals." She walked away proudly. I said, "We won't lose." She stuck out her hand in a wave as she walked away; her match would be decided by whoever won the next match. The next match was Dream vs Phantasm, and I was really excited to see that one since both teams are incredibly strong.

We got treatment for our injuries as usual; thankfully, none of them were too severe. Once we got inside, we overheard some angry chatter. I noticed Sorbek talking to Altaria in a panicked way. Prince Sorbek was holding his stomach, anger flashing on his face, "Do you know who I am? Let me out there; I can fight." Altaria held up her hand, "It is too dangerous; your injuries are too severe. You need to sit out for at least another hour, and plus the rest of Team Dream is out of commission too. Team Dream will have to just wait until next year." I walked in, confused, "What is going on, Altaria?" She smiled when she saw me, "Oh Lucius, congrats on your win. There was never any doubt; I just needed you to not get conceited. Talk some sense into this young man for me, will you?"

Prince Sorbek scowled when he saw me, "I can't believe this; some fossil is lecturing me on my health. You might be father's friend, but that gives you no right to deny my entry." I asked, "Is Team Dream okay?" Altaria shook her head, "Princeton, Kaiser, and Arthur, and Sorbek need time to rest. Frankly, I don't want any of them to fight anymore, but the Prince here thinks otherwise." I nodded, my brain coming up with a plan, "Well, can't you just use substitutions?" Altaria raised an eyebrow, "What do you suggest?" I suggested, "With three members out and Gwen being the only one ready to fight, have the Prince sit out of this next match, but sub in the other four members." The prince got up, "Absurd! I can still-" Quinn analyzed him; he stated, "You are in no condition. Being in battle will only strain you more. Heal up for another hour, and you should be okay."

The Prince clicked his tongue in frustration, "Dammit! Who are you to talk to me like that, simpleton? Who then do you suppose could fit as subs for the next match? Nobody, that's who. I am the only one who can carry our team out there." Lysandra got frustrated, "Listen here, Ice boy!" I put my hand up, quieting her, "Listen, Prince, with all due respect, give me a chance here. I want the finals to be exciting too. Gwen is more than capable of holding her own; she is a tri-mage. You didn't get to see it, but her tri-magic is on another level. Let me form the team for you. Take a rest, and then face us in the finals." That calmed him down a little; he muttered, "Who then? Who can take my place?" I suggested, "Well, we have some candidates who could be willing."

Altaria asked, "Who?" I suggested, "In my opinion, Professor Berkley, Mynus, Pylus, and..." I thought for a moment, "Me?" Altaria said, "What, you? We can't do that; that would be...? Would be..." I said, "I am fine. I don't use much magic so I should be good on that front, and my ribs are cracked, but the medical staff already healed them most of the way." Altaria looked at a loss, "You would be helping a rival team?! That is... unusual." I laughed, "I just want everyone to have a fair chance. It would be lame if we won by default. I want to save Era, but if we won in such a cowardly way, I think she would slug me." Prince Sorbek gave a complex face, "Why would you help me? I don't like it. I want you gone so I can avenge my brother, but to get help from you at this stage..." I held out my hand, "Prince, with all due respect, place your trust in me. I know it will be hard, and we will still fight for the right to pursue the covenant, but for now, trust me."

He gave me a look of frustrated resignation, "Heaven will fall down the day I shake the hand of such a tepid man, but it would seem I have no choice but to place my trust in you. Two matches remain for our team; are you saying I can leave both matches to you?" I retracted my hand, "Leave it to me." Altaria sighed, "The paperwork is going to be a pain, but I will create a new team just for you, and just this once. It would be boring if everything just ended for Team Dream by default." I walked away, leaving both of them behind. I smiled as I walked forward, "This is going to be fun. Take an hour nap, Prince. When you wake back up, get ready for our match." I walked out of the room to get ready for my next match as the new Team Dream.