It was then that he began to incant one of the most basic spells from the textbook. Compared to the magic he had cast so far, it should have been utterly beneath him. Then, he released it effortlessly. Flames shot through the air. They looked to be at full strength.
“Yes! I knew it!”
“What?! How did you negate my Suppress?”
“With that spell I cast just now! It canceled out the weakening magic!”
“That shouldn’t be possible!”
Naturally, it took a full understanding of a spell’s effects to be able to cancel it out. Suppress was no exception.
“Does this mean you have seen through my family’s magic?”
“I knew you could do it, Arcus! Fill me in on the deets later!” Susia called.
“He will not!”
Before Claudia could unleash another Suppress, Arcus prepared to cast a spell of his own, one he hadn’t yet used. She didn’t recognize many of the words. She heard a “snore,” a “bugle,” and “musicians.” None of those would be much help in an offensive spell, but supposing it was supporting magic, she wasn’t sure what to expect. Regardless, she braced herself for something offensive.
“Bewildering Bubble.”
“What?!”
“This is one of my best spells!” He didn’t seem to be lying either; he was puffing out his chest. Never had he looked so smug. Though, he was probably bluffing.
He is proud of blowing bubbles? Ah, wait a moment...
If Arcus had the ability to put together such a spell, he wouldn’t waste it on creating soap bubbles. Susia was telling the onlookers around her to get back; this magic would have a wide-ranging effect.
A single offensive spell ought to dispatch those bubbles. And that may be precisely what he is counting on.
Bubbles were breakable—Arcus wanted them to break.
“A valiant effort, but not good enough!
Blow, o wind. The note of a mild flutter. Mist, haze, fog, and smoke, be dispelled and scattered. Gentle breeze, drive away the fog.
Fog Cutter.”
She had come up with it on the spot. If the bubbles mustn’t be popped, she would blow them away with wind. They started to drift back in Arcus’s direction, and he incanted again. Claudia caught only snippets of his spell. Some of the words were utterly unfamiliar; others seemed to call back to her own incantation.
Curses! He is taking advantage of the fact that I cannot cast anything offensive!
Arcus would have known that he could take his time while Claudia grappled with the bubbles.
“Fog Cutter Mark 2.”
He had taken her spell and reworked it. The wind his magic released was more powerful than hers, but not powerful enough to break the bubbles. It also kept them traveling in a straight line. They curved between the streams of wind, like balloons being squeezed by a pair of hands.
Claudia decided it would be best to see the spell through with something defensive, rather than to introduce more wind into the equation. If she used something short with plenty of aether, she would be able to make it.
“Cover. Surround. May this tender warmth become a curtain to protect me. Envelop me, great palm.”
She’d pulled it off with time to spare. She felt confident until Arcus stuck his tongue out. He pulled a coin from his pocket and threw it—not at her, but at the bubbles drifting through the air.
“No!”
The moment it hit one of them, they popped one after the other. An explosive sound battered Claudia’s eardrums. She couldn’t even hear herself scream. The attack had left her temporarily deaf. She could feel her head shaking violently—right before her vision blackened.
A short time passed...and then Claudia heard a voice.
“...dia! Lady Claudia!”
She groaned. “What happened?”
Had she fainted? She shook her head, trying to get her bearings as she pulled herself up. Her followers must have used healing magic on her, because her ears didn’t hurt. However, that fact lent itself to an inescapable conclusion.
“What of the duel?!”
The boy who had called to her hesitated. “Arcus Raytheft won.”
“He did?”
Arcus stood a small distance away, and Susia beside him. Claudia couldn’t have been unconscious for very long.
“I see. That noise made me faint.”
“That’s right, My Lady. A magical shield will not block what is essential to the caster,” Arcus said. “I daresay that is a common weakness shared by all barrier spells.”
As he had implied, such magic did not repel sounds or smells; such an effect would require bespoke spellcraft.
“I cannot recall that ever being taught in class,” Claudia said.
“I’m not surprised. It probably never even crossed our professors’ minds that a magician would be caught in such a situation.” He sounded confident in his assertion, but these were the Institute’s honored instructors. If not for the skill he had displayed, Claudia would have thought his statement conceited. She had the sense he held knowledge that was beyond the reach of even their learned teachers.
If Arcus was to be believed, it meant he had read Claudia’s movements down to the last. Perhaps Professor String’s lecture had been right on the money: high-powered battles were about reading your opponent and forcing their hand. He’d had her dancing in his palm till the very last moment, and had wanted her to use that defensive spell.
“I am the heir to the dukedom...and yet, I lost...”
Claudia couldn’t escape the truth that she had underestimated Arcus due to his lack of aether. It had been the entire starting point of this duel. Despite her preconceptions, most of her spells should have downed him in a single cast. She may have underestimated him, but she had given the fight her all. But she couldn’t admit her carelessness; it would damage her reputation as a magician.
How could I have avoided this loss?
Could she have used Suppress again as her final spell? No, she wouldn’t have made it. Suppress had a relatively long incantation, and the result would have been the same. Arcus had had plenty of opportunity to break those bubbles. Her victory would have required separate measures.
“Mmh...”
“Mmh?”
“Don’t think for one second that this is over!” Claudia sniffed quietly before bursting into tears.