Still, Richard managed to persevere. He patiently waited for an opening to use his power to push her back. A single swing with all his might could not only blow back the sword that tried to defend against it, but shatter a bone or two as well. Emma was certainly aware of that—she fought like she was on thin ice.
The others surrounded the battling two from a safe distance away, waiting for the moment that the battle was decided—to be more precise, the seconds before the victor was declared. Emma held the advantage in this situation, but Lewis was using his healing magic on Richard to maintain the balance of battle. It was imperative for the two to be exhausted by the end of the battle; if Emma beat Richard quickly, she could easily take the rest out. Lewis seemed to be the kindest out of the six, but it was clear that he had a nasty streak of his own.
Alice prepared her spells, but her aim wasn’t Richard—it was Oscar and Isabel. As a mage, she had no means of defending herself against surprise attacks and remained wary against the cunning duo of the bunch.
However, Oscar and Isabel were prioritizing Richard and Emma’s defeat. Since Lewis and Alice were ranged attackers, Oscar and Isabel knew that they could easily gain the advantage if they closed the gap between them. If Richard and Emma, who possessed an insane amount of stamina, weren’t beaten first, they would all be destroyed.
Everyone was vigilant against each other, the situation once again reaching a standstill. Since Richard and Emma had to conserve their stamina for the rest of the battle after their duel, they didn’t go all out. Despite the gridlock, the orphans were as serious as ever, focusing their senses to look for the perfect opportunity.
However, one person was tired of this battle.
“I’m bored,” Serena grumbled.
She was upset that this battle wasn’t as exciting as she had expected. She didn’t want to see a battle of wits—she wanted a show of the orphans forced into a situation of suffering. Oscar had assumed this, but he failed to understand just how impatient she was. The short-tempered and arrogant heiress snapped her fingers to activate some spells that she had prepared. A ring of fire surrounded the orphans and gradually began to close in on them.
“That lady’s way too impatient!” Richard snapped.
“Tsk, guess I’ve gotta act,” Oscar muttered.
He stood in the middle as the other orphans rushed at Richard and Emma. If their master wished for a quick battle, they had no choice but to comply. Otherwise, even the victor would meet a tragic end. Isabel likely thought the same as she ran ahead. Lewis prepared a miracle of fire resistance upon himself, while Alice chanted a barrier spell to defend herself against the flames. If she could endure Serena’s magic, Alice felt that she would have an edge.
Pandemonium erupted as Richard, Emma, Oscar, and Isabel fought amongst themselves.
“Not bad!” Serena said. “Not bad at all!”
She clapped her hands in delight as she gazed upon the fighting four. Though the orphans battled reluctantly, it was rare to find someone who was so openly joyful watching others suffer. While Richard and the other three fought, Lewis and Alice did their best to resist the flames.
“Please, God, provide me with a miracle!” Lewis chanted.
His prayers were heard, and he successfully evaded Serena’s fire.
“I did it!” he crowed. “God is great! I knew it!”
Serena once again snapped her fingers at seeing Lewis celebrate. An even more massive pillar of fire enveloped a triumphant Lewis. His fire resistance had its limits. The miracle that he had called upon was mercilessly burned through, quickly turning him into a ball of fire.
“Aghhh!” he shrieked.
“I’m the one who’s truly great,” Serena said. “You don’t seem to understand that, do you?”
She was miffed to hear him shower God with praise. As a priest in training, it was only natural that he would have faith in God, but she wouldn’t tolerate even that—clearly, she was being incredibly unreasonable. She healed him with her magic, and he got off with minor burns. It was clear, however, that he was in no state to continue the battle. Alice’s barrier had managed to endure the flames as well, but she froze in terror when she saw Lewis’s state.
That demonic lady had found it impudent simply to defend oneself against her magic, and Alice knew that she would soon suffer the same fate if she remained within her barrier. After some quick thinking, Alice reached a conclusion: to play dead. She would act like her barrier couldn’t withstand the fire, envelop her body with her own flames, and act as though she could no longer move, just like Lewis. Serena was especially perceptive to these situations and could keenly sniff out these attempts, but Alice believed that she could do it.
The moment Alice undid her barrier, she chanted fire magic and surrounded herself with her own flames. Her magic protected her, and she felt no heat as she rolled on the ground and played dead. My acting is flawless, Alice thought. This is perfect.
She continued to lie on the ground when she heard a low, clear voice ring out.
“Have I been underestimated?” Serena asked. “Did you think such shoddy acting could fool me? Or are you perhaps testing me?”
She began to chant a new spell, and Alice immediately realized what it was—explosion magic. It was so powerful that a massive boulder would be blown to bits. Alice swiftly stood back up and chanted a barrier. Serena’s spell activated, and a deafening roar reverberated through the garden. The ground quaked, and at the center of the explosion staggered Alice, who fell to the ground. It wasn’t an act this time; the impact of the spell had caused her to fall unconscious.
“You have no way of resisting my spells,” Serena said. She pointed cruelly at Alice and guffawed.
Meanwhile, Richard, Emma, Oscar, and Isabel’s battle had also shifted. The four acted like they fought against each other, but in truth, Oscar and Isabel were working together. They skillfully used Richard as their shield as they aimed for Emma. While Richard technically had their support, he was the one who received the brunt of Emma’s attacks.
“Screw you both!” Richard shouted. “Fight properly!”
Of course, Oscar and Isabel weren’t willing to listen to such complaints. Emma had also realized the ploy, and now forced to fight against three by herself, she found herself on the back foot. She had no choice but to focus on Richard and get him out of the way as soon as possible.
“Rah!” Emma shouted.
With a tinge of panic racing through her, Emma jumped high in the air and aimed for Richard’s head. Oscar had predicted as much and swiped her leg with his wooden sword.
“Ack!” she cried.
She lost her balance in the air, and Richard mercilessly swung his own wooden sword down.
“Take this!” Richard roared.
He had aimed the powerful blow squarely at her right shoulder, slamming her into the ground. Emma could no longer fight with her dominant arm out of the picture. Richard had purposefully avoided a vital area, showing that he truly treasured his friends at the end of the day.
Isabel, on the other hand, showed no mercy. From behind the large boy who was kind despite his demeanor, she rushed out to attack. Richard received a hard blow to the back of his head and fell forward to the ground, completely motionless.
Only Oscar and Isabel were left. All the while, the ring of fire drew closer. They knew that they didn’t have much time to spare. As they clashed, they quickly made vital calculations in their heads. The two were practically equal when it came to swordplay, and at this rate, they would both be burned to a crisp. They had to end the battle quickly, but if either of them dared to lose on purpose, their demonic master would see through their scheme in a flash.
The two locked eyes and tried to mentally work out a plan. Oscar turned his back against Serena to feign a misstep and blocked her line of sight. Isabel used that moment to knock the blade from his hands—the two had decided to perform this little trick to naturally hide their play. As the fire closed in, they were confident that there was enough to distract Serena and succeed in their plan. Oscar fell to his knees in defeat and did his utmost best to act vexed.
“Well done, Isabel!” Serena shouted. She praised Isabel’s victory with a beaming smile.
We did it! She doesn’t sense a thing! Isabel thought. She was certain that Serena hadn’t seen through their little trick.
“But even I can’t extinguish those flames,” Serena said. “Do your best to escape from there.”
“Huh?!” Isabel and Oscar gasped.
At once, their expressions turned dark; even the cunning duo had underestimated just how nasty Serena’s personality was.
That day, the six squire candidates all suffered from horrible burns as the duke’s personal physician worked tirelessly to cast healing magic on them.