Schneider took a wand from his chest and waved it twice. A huge snowstorm began to rage between the field and the stands!
“What are you doing?!”
“I thought I’d ask the audience members who can’t take the snow to leave. They’re in the way.”
It was too sudden for me...and I didn’t like his methods...but I had to agree. I didn’t want any of them to get hurt.
Terl came back up to Schneider. It seemed the poison had worn off. The two quietly walked to the center of the field.
I looked back to the stands to see everybody making a dash for the entrance away from the freezing cold.
“Kodak, guide them to somewhere safe. They’ll catch cold.”
“So, I’m just a burden on you too... Take care, Miss.” Kodak gently hugged me before jumping to the stands.
“Things are quiet now,” Lou noted.
A few minutes later, there were only three people left in the audience: my father, with his legs crossed; my brother, watching me with his face resting on his hand; and Ziek, who was rubbing his shoulders with his eyes closed. My father and brother apparently had a light magic veil around them. Ziek had used his tornado to blow away the snow. Absolutely no restraint.
I glanced at my father, and he nodded a little. He would protect Ziek for me. Kodak would likely come back when he finished his duty as well; he was my one and only teacher, after all. Take good care of both of them, father.
Lou jumped off my shoulder and glowed, turning to full size as soon as he landed on the ground. My magnificent holy beast lifted his head at my right side, glaring at Schneider with a haughty air.
Just then, two huge magic presences fell from the sky with a flash of light! When the light subsided, I saw a full-sized Asu, his long trail of feathers hanging down, standing on the shoulder of his one and only, Gillain.
Asu called him...
“Of course,” Asu’s voice sounded in my head.
Gillain landed in the center of the stands, the sun shining behind him, and began to walk slowly toward the front row...toward the snowstorm. He was in his black military uniform, and his icy-blue eyes were scanning the stadium with what almost looked like nostalgia. Once he spotted me through the veil of snow, he shot Schneider an icy glare.
“Emperor Gillain... You’re here.” Schneider smiled defeatedly and stopped the snowstorm instantly. “You also look well, heavenly beast of the south.” Schneider knelt down as a proper greeting, then stood back up without getting a response. “You have a lot of guardians here, Serephione.”
“I’m popular.”
“Are you afraid you can’t beat me on your own?”
“I nearly died last time. Of course I’m going to use everything in my power now.”
“When are your companions going to jump in?”
“When I ask them to, I suppose.”
“We’ll beat you into the dust if you hurt Sere,” Lou growled. “But I don’t intend to let that happen. Not this time.”
“Lou... I would hate for that to happen. I care too much about myself for that. Right, Terlnight?” Schneider stroked Terl’s head.
I noticed that Terl’s eyes were actually brown. They weren’t as cloudy as before. That was a good thing for Terl...but it may not have been such a good thing for us.
“First Prince Schneider,” spoke Gillain in a low, grave voice. “I have no interest in your future or the fate of this kingdom. However...” He gave me a sidelong glance. “Serephione belongs to me, and I will have no mercy on anyone who hurts her. I will use all of Galé’s power to bring you and your kingdom to ash. Be warned.”
Schneider’s eyes were wide. “I thought you two were just engaged out of convenience since you both have holy beasts... You actually have feelings for each other? I’m surprised.”
Yeah, we’re tied together by a super thick red rope, so what? I desperately tried to stop my face from turning beet red, to no avail.
“Here we go!” Lou swirled sand up from the ground, hiding me and himself.
“Speed!” I made both of us faster. When I looked at Schneider and activated Map, I saw two red dots. With this, I would be able to keep track of Schneider and Terl.
The sand dancing in the air all grew hot at once—scalding sand. Lou spun it freely to surround us.
Schneider tried to blow the sand away with wind magic, but Lou’s sand wasn’t that weak.
I jumped up inside the sand and started to throw shurikens from above, ten at a time. My brother had taught me his trick to take them out from his Magic Room instantly.
I had paralyzing and sedating poison on each shuriken. Terl was deflecting them left and right, but each time, he was making contact with the poison. His movements were still agile, though. Maybe that meant the drugs I’d extracted from the nearby plants didn’t work on him. He’d probably also developed resistance to Miyu’s poison from before.
Lou came around to where I touched down. I got on his back, and we closed the distance between us and Terl at once. He shouldn’t have been able to trace our motion visually. We circled behind Schneider and away from Terl, and I jumped off Lou’s back again, taking my kunai from my wrist and aiming it right at Schneider’s neck from above!
Of course, I mentally hesitated a bit...but I didn’t want to see my loved ones hurt any more than I already had. I was finally going to get my hands dirty.
As I fell at high speed, Schneider looked up and spotted me. He took his rose from his chest, and the vine instantly stretched out and stole my kunai. Terl noticed me behind him, turned around, and tried to defend, but I cast paralysis on him using wind on top of the sand that Lou had hardened around his feet!
I obediently let go of my kunai, rotated in the air, and aimed a roundhouse kick at Schneider’s face with my right leg. Schneider crossed his arms in front of his face to block. I swung my leg at full strength, sending him flying all the way into the wall!
I hadn’t been even close to a match for him last time. I hadn’t been able to break through Terl’s defenses or land even one attack that did any damage to Schneider. But this time...I could do it!
Even denser sand assaulted Terl, who was far from Schneider now. Lou wasn’t letting up on the offense. I’m sorry you’re committing a taboo for me again, Lou...
I took my short lance from my hip, spiraled flame around it, and dashed at him at the speed of sound.
Schneider waved his wand as he braced himself. A gigantic wave of water, too big to avoid, came crashing down from the heavens! As I caught myself so I wouldn’t be swept away in the current, Lou’s sand all fell to the ground.
No! I leaped backward and returned to Lou.
“This is as much water as Lake Lelia.” Lou shook the water off his fur. I used dryer magic on the both of us drowned rats, lightening our bodies.
“This is your chance, Sere. Don’t give him an opening! Close in!”
“Okay!”
I put my short lance back in its sheath, used Lou as a stepping stone again, and leaped as high as I could. Then I used the lava that Asu had passed down to me! Papa, brother, gramps, Gillain! Out of the way! Lou jumped onto the wall separating the stands and the field.
I lifted my hands to the sky to concentrate my magic into them, then thrust them at Schneider on the ground below and shot burning magma directly at him. The unexpectedly smooth magma fell toward Schneider with perfect aim!
I can do this!
Just as the bright red magma was about to make contact, Terl stood in front of Schneider! I suddenly felt unbelievably heavy. I crashed down from the sky and fell to the ground.
“Serephione!” My brother ran to the very edge of the stands and leaned out. I saw his hood fall back, revealing his worried face.
This was...gravity. The pressure held me down. I deactivated the magma, since it didn’t work except when cast from above, and used strengthening magic, but it wasn’t enough. I was as flat as a squashed bug. My bones felt like they were about to break.
“Sere!” Lou sent out a blade of wind like a boomerang aimed at Terl.
So this gravity magic is Terl’s. I remembered when he had used meteorites before.
When the boomerang hit Terl, the gravity weakened, letting me take a deep breath again.