Counter attack

Achievements are given to people to recognize their effort, and titles are one of the many things bestowed upon them. And this practice continues even here. Within each mage exist six circles that contain their power, and as you venture further down, more strength is given to you. However, out of the six circles each person can wield, two of them are special compared to the rest. The fifth and sixth circle contains strength and magic prowess comparable to hundreds of mages in one. And as you enter those two circles, your magic drastically changes in appearance. Their magic turns completely pitch black. Because of this change in appearance a nickname has been given to mages who have reached this stage…..they are called-

"Black Mage…"

The words slipped from the mouth of Zephyr as he continued to watch the fight. The crowd of examiners all looked on in awe and shock at seeing such a reveal. Even Elise, who had so much pride from her upbringing, could only look on with her mouth open as Zain stood before her.

Ice particles fell from Zain's clothing as he walked forward. He stretched his limbs and neck, moving his once confined body before focusing forward. His eyes landed on Elise as he opened his palms up. In the next instant, Zain was on the assault. Lightning coursed through his hands as he leapt forward with great speed. Caught off guard by his sudden increase in speed Elise hurriedly raised a barrier of ice to separate them. Yet it was meaningless as Zain simply kicked through the obstacle in his path, blowing away solid chunks into her path. She yelped out in surprise as Zain continued his assault. A black bolt shot down at her at high speeds, but was intercepted as she created another barrier.

"Another shield?...You already know that won't stop me."

Zain landed on the ground before crouching low. Lightning coursed along his body as he dashed forward. He had full intent to destroy her barrier in one go, but it broke down before he did anything.

"Don't push your luck!" Her voice screamed out from behind the rubble as an army flowed out and charged forward, weaponry at the ready. They trampled on the ground beneath them as thunderous echoes bounced off the walls. Elise's face was filled with nothing but anger and frustration as she stared daggers at Zain. Her mind was clouded with nothing but the desire to put him into his place, to make him beg for mercy and stand victorious, but her wish was quickly put to a stop as Zain massacred her entire army in seconds. Black lightning flew around the battlefield as her soldiers all fell one by one, portions of their body being blown out and sending ice in every direction. The bolt finally stopped and reverted to Zain as he stood face to face with Elise. His red irises looked down upon her, while all she could do was look up at him in terror.

"I told you it was meaningless…..try something else."

'Who...who is this bastard?' Elise questioned inside of her mind. Someone who was clearly a peasant, a low class born to struggle in the world, was facing her down and challenging her.

"You were born to stand above others. That is why you have this strength."

The familiar voice of her father rang out inside her head. Those were the words spoken over Elise in her daily life. She was always raised up believing she was the strongest, that no one could match up against her. Her teeth clenched tightly as she closed her fist tightly. The mana in the air took a heavy turn, the temperature quickly dropped as the heat quickly got drawn from peoples bodies. Elise had thrown her pride to the wayside in her anger and shouted to the sky as a torrent of frigid wind and ice gathered around her. Zain leapt back as the ground beneath him froze solid, causing his footing to be slippery. As the ice formed over Elise her figure was shrouded, and replaced with a giant golem. The formation shouted towards Zain, blowing even more frigid air towards him, yet despite it all Zain gave a smirk.

"Now that's more like it…"

The moisture in the air froze to an edge as a large axe formed in the hand of the golem. It bellowed before crashing the blade into the ground, shattering and breaking apart the arena, sending debris everywhere. The test examiners could only duck for cover as the destruction grew larger and larger.

"Sir! This is getting very dangerous! Even most members from a royal household dont deal this much damage! If we don't stop them soon this entire area might collapse!" Zephyr's assistant pleaded with his headmaster as he saw the chaos that was happening down below them. However against his pleas, Zephyr continued to watch the battle below him with baited breath. His heart began pounding as Zain moved out of harm's way at the last second yet again.

'Why?! WHY CAN'T I HIT HIM?!' Elise screamed in her mind as she controlled the golem herself. Every attack she tried to hit him with would either miss, or just hardly scratch him. All the while Zain hardly had to put up any struggle. Her eyes filled with anger more as shards of ice started to rise from the floor, causing the already destroyed ground to break apart further and further. Her large axe swung into each pillar, sending massive shards Zain's way. Effortlessly he dodged as more destruction rose around him and blocked his pathway. His back was up against a massive block of ice, as his front was covered by her massive spell.

"There!" Elise, thinking she cornered him, raised her axe high above her head before bringing it down for an overhead swing. The following blast from her attack spread frigid wind across the entire room along with more destruction. Elise panted as she looked down at the ground, seeing her weapon lodged deeply in the earth. She panted as the dust settled.

"Incredible attack power. Easily strong enough to split a mountain apart…" Zain's voice pierced her ears, sending her into an even more aggravated state. "However….it's all too slow. Your attack motions are wide and easy to read."

"How dare YO-" Her sentence was cut off as a chunk of her golems head got blown off by a crimson spear, causing her to stumble backwards. Her footing was loose, and in the process she let go of her weapon.

Zain wasted no time running up her large axe before leaping off and summoning another spear in his hand. The air crackled with electricity before it was flung straight into the chest of the beast. Elise's eyes opened wide as the wall before her got broken down, and an explosion went off in her face. She screamed in surprise and pain as she saw Zain's feet land inside her creation. Her teeth clenched tightly as she glared at him.

"You...you shouldn't have this kind of strength! You're just some lowborn commoner!" Her emotions ran at an all time high. The world she had created around herself started to fall apart as a single mage, a lone commoner, had defied her strength.

"Is that so…? Then why are you running away?"

"Wha-What?!" Elise opened her eyes in confusion before feeling a solid wall at her back. Without knowing it, she had walked herself into a corner as Zain faced off against her.

"No need to be so surprised. Strength and experience….that is what makes up a mage. The more they have of it…." An image of the masked mage showed up in Zain's mind as he spoke. "The more they dominate the battlefield.."

"I won't let you get away with this….YOU HEAR ME?! I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET THE DAY YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE ABOVE ME!"

"I don't think I'm above you." Instantly Zain dashed in front of her as a magic circle formed in the palm of his hand. "I am above you."

And with those words, Zain unleashed his spell. The room was covered in a bright red glow before her giant golem exploded in a cloud of dust and debris.