Arcane Manifest: A RWBY Story

Chapter 16: Snakes in the tall grass

Pyrrha ducks underneath a swing from Cardin. Pyrrha was in a rather good mood after her fight against Roman and her 'moment' with Emrys last week. At the very moment, she was in a sparring match against team CRDL as they had declared a challenge against her. During the fight, she quickly and, without any trouble, took out most of the team. Finally, she was facing off against Cardin Winchester. He continued to swing his mace as she dodged and deflected his attacks with Excalibur. Looking to end this match, she sticks her leg out, tripping Cardin. As he loses his balance, she slashes upward, sending him into the air. As he is about to land, Pyrrha hits him with an overhead slam with Excalibur denting him into the floor, shattering his aura.

Goodwitch: "And that's the match. Well done, Miss Nikos; you should have no problem qualifying for the tournament."

While Pyrrha didn't mind having to partake in the Vytal festival tournament on the outside, but on the inside, she despised the idea. She came here to be a huntress to move away from the life of a tournament fighter.

Pyrrha: "Thank you, professor."

Goodwitch: "Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match. Any volunteers? Ms. Belladonna? You've been rather docile for the past few classes. Why don't you-"

But another student raises their hand. Pyrrha looks over to see a boy with silver hair sitting next to a girl in a crimson red dress and another girl with bright green hair.

???: "I'll do it."

Goodwitch: "Mercury, is it? Very well, let's find you an opponent."

Mercury: "Actually, I wanna fight...her." Pointing at Pyrrha.

Pyrrha: "Me?"

Emrys: "Sorry I'm late!!" Emrys burst through the class door as Pyrrha's face lights up. "Apologies, Miss Goodwitch, the headmaster wanted to speak with me. Here I have a letter." Handing Goodwitch a small note.

Goodwitch: "*sigh* You're fine, Mr. Pendragon. Now, then Mr. Black, unfortunately, Miss Nikos has just finished a match, so I'll instead have you face off against Mr. Pendragon."

Mercury: "*groan*...Fine. Let's get this over with." He gets up and heads down towards the arena.

Emrys: "I hope this fight doesn't sour your mood even more."

As Pyrrha makes it back up to the stands, she sees Emrys with his battle gear.

Pyrrha: "Go, Emrys! You got this!"

Nora: "Looks like Pyrrha's got a boyfriend." Pyrrha scowls at Nora while Yang and Ruby giggle.

Goodwitch: "Are both combatants ready?" They nod. "Then begin."

Mercury rushes towards Emrys, trying to close the distance quickly but is forcibly stopped by a bright blue barrier. Stumbling backward, he sees an enormous ethereal wall in front of him. Trying to break through it, he begins to attack the barrier.

Emrys: "There's no use. This is a barrier that could hold the punishment of a Deathstalker. So you won't be breaking past it."

Mercury: "At least I'm fighting instead of hiding behind a shield like a coward."

Emrys: "I'm not hiding. I'm making the wall of your prison."

Mercury's eyes widen as the shield wall begins to envelop him into it. Trapping him in an ethereal sphere.

Emrys: "Give up?" Mercury begins to beat on the shield again. "Okay then."

The sphere begins to close itself around Mercury. Seeing this, Mercury tries harder to break through the orb and free himself, but the barrier never gives. Eventually, he cannot perform any attacks as he's forced into a curled-up position. The sphere stays in said position for several minutes until Mercury passes out due to a lack of oxygen. Following his inability to continue, the match is called, and the sphere disappears, and Mercury falls out of it, still unconscious. His two teammates come down from the stands to assist Mercury as Emrys casts a spell to wake him up.