But although he moved too fast to blink, Elyliyah intercepted him with her coiled blade. The whip writhed in the air, targeting Ares with fine precision.
The whip moved erratically, but she still aimed it perfectly for his vitals. Ares blocked with his shield and parried with his sword, and the harsh sound of clashing metal and electricity filled the air.
Ares took a final lunge, swinging his sword high into the air. Unfortunately, the follow-through never came.
“Did I forget to mention that I’ve got two?”
A second coiled blade extended from Elyliyah’s left hand, piercing Ares through his right arm.
“I’m not done yet—!”
It took more than that to stop Ares. Although the bladed whip was piercing his flesh, he dragged his arm forward through sheer will, pointing his blade toward Elyliyah.
“Azure thunder, str—”
Just as Ares was about to release his lightning, countless metal thorns suddenly burst out of his arm from within.
“Aurrrghhhh—!!”
Ares screamed and fell unconscious.
“Hmph, no fair. I wanted to see what his eyes looked like after he lost hope,” muttered Elyliyah, sounding profoundly bored. “Oh well. There’s still more punishment to come!”
Elyliyah stroked her other coiled blade, lashing out at the now unconscious man. The chained blades would probably cut through the metal armor he was wearing like butter…
“Barrier!”
A wall of light suddenly appeared, repelling the whip. Rhiann had leaped in front of Ares to deploy a magic shield.
“What do you think you’re doing? Get in my way, and I’ll kill you, too.”
“The fight is already over!”
“This isn’t a fight, you nincompoop; it’s punishment. Wait, was that what you thought this was? I’m sorry, he was so weak, I didn’t even notice!”
Rhiann gritted her teeth. She knew if she opened her mouth now, something awful would come out. The mortification and fear in Rhiann’s tear-filled eyes seemed to have put Elyliyah in a good mood once again.
“Ah-ha! Fine, you can be next. I’ll tell you what: If you can protect that little worm, you win. I’ll even let you take me into custody. But I doubt you’ll manage to put up much of a fight.”
“I don’t mean to brag, but I was the best at magical barriers in the entire Seminary.”
“Such confidence! In that case, allow me to crush both your barrier and your confidence in a single blow.”
Ares collapsed to the ground as the bladed coil that had been suspending him off the ground diffused into red mist and disappeared.
“Barrier upon barrier, multiply and protect me!”
A new wall of light appeared, overlaying the first. The magical barrier protecting Rhiann and Ares was now three layers thick. The crawler sharks had been easily capable of breaking down stone walls, but a single one of Rhiann’s barriers had repelled wave after wave of them. With multiple layers, she now had a veritable fortress.
When it came to defense, at least, Rhiann was confident that she was second to none. People had high expectations for her, even whispering that one day, she might become as strong as her sister in the Holy Protectorate of the Shield.
It was the fate of those like Ares and Rhiann, who were born with such exceptional siblings; from a young age, they had gotten used to being compared to their gifted brothers and sisters, and they had grown up wrestling with the sense of inferiority this instilled. After much blood, sweat, and tears, they had finally become strong, having come far enough at last to at least stand somewhere on the same playing field.
Rhiann couldn’t fail now; there were important people she needed to protect. How was she ever going to reach her sister’s level if she lost now to Elyliyah? It would be proof that no amount of effort could ever catch up to inborn talent.
Rhiann poured every ounce of hope and willpower she had into her triple-layered barrier. And then Elyliyah shattered it with a single strike.
“What?”
It happened so quickly that even after the blow hit her, Rhiann still didn’t understand. Elyliyah had flicked a single drop of blood from her hand. The drop had then transformed into a series of steel poles that tore through the magical barrier, striking Rhiann head-on.
As Rhiann lay on the ground, staring up at the sky, tears came unbidden to her eyes.
“What did I tell you? Weak. A bunch of talentless lowlifes like you could never defeat me, Elyliyah. I know you don’t want to believe that you’re ordinary, but it’s time you accepted the truth and—”
Before she could finish speaking, Elyliyah was suddenly sent flying.
It took Homura a moment to realize she had just punched Elyliyah. By the time she registered the heat and pain coming from her flaming hand, a fountain of invective was already streaming from her mouth.
“‘Don’t talk back, or you’ll be in trouble!’ ‘What about the relationship between Aurerich and Galdorssia?’ Well, boo-hoo, guess who doesn’t fucking care?!” Homura’s eyes had ignited, causing the air to shimmer with heat. “I won’t let you talk about my friend like that anymore!”
Elyliyah’s mockery had finally spurred Homura into action. Elyliyah was still a little dazed, having just been punched in the head, after all.
“Punched? Me? Elyliyah?” she muttered, incoherently, before finally turning her gaze toward her attacker. “Again with those eyes…I told you not to look at me like that!”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure I can put up more than enough of a fight for you. Don’t feel too bad if you turn out to be the one to get ‘punished’ this time, okay?” said Homura as she pointed her staff toward Elyliyah. She was talking a big game in order to psych herself up.
Homura couldn’t just stand by while injustice occurred.