The Scourge's Herald

Chapter 9

{~Overview POV~}

The energy of the crowd as the two students stared each other down was nothing short of electrified, the only sounds were that of the soft thumping from the speakers that surrounded the party. As soon as the gold band referee started the duel, the Mountaineer lunged forwards, the ground cracking beneath him as he propelled himself forward. Samuel smirked and stood his ground, his eyes never leaving his opponents. With a yell, Jasper slashed downwards as he came in range. Samuel sidestepped and spun out of the way, dodging the follow up slash from Jasper as well. The steel mage growling out "Stay still! Afraid you cant take a hit, coward!"

Samuel narrowed his eyes and everyone took a step back even through the barrier as he shot forward and landed two solid hits on Jasper's side causing the man to suck in a pained breath and turn to slash down at him. He spun then just as quick landed two more hits on the opposite side, Jasper yelled in pain and slammed his sword into the ground causing the ground in the arena to erupt and force Samuel back. Sam smirked as he stood staring down his opponent before he taunted "Do you know the main weakness of an earth mage? They are too solid, in almost all essence, they are walls. Rigid, unyielding, strong. Their greatest strength is their greatest weakness."

He made a grabbing motion with his hands and chains materialized out of the soft black and red haze that was hanging around him, the ends disappearing into nothing, murmurs erupted in the crowd before gasps as Samuel made a pulling motion and chains erupted from the ground around and underneath Jasper. He sneered as he used his sword to slash and bat away the chains. The more he slashed and batted the chains away, the more their attacks increased in ferocity. Jasper yelled again in anger as he sent out a magic pulse that sent the chains flying away, he stabbed his sword into the ground and slammed his fists together, his skin taking on a silver sheen as he encased his body in steel. The Mountaineer grinned and went to taunt Samuel before the chains shot forward giving him only enough time to shield his face before he was battered from all sides by the chains. Samuel had a passive expression on his face but his eyes were watching with an intensity that gave most of the onlookers shivers. He sighed softly before making a fist with the chains that caused them to stop before surging forward again, wrapping themselves around his arms and legs forcing him to his knees. Jasper realized too late and attempted to struggle, ripping a few of the chains apart and causing Samuel to narrow his eyes and more chains materialized around his extremities. Jasper growled and slammed his fist into the ground sending a large pillar of earth towards Samuel who waved his free hand and a wall of magic rose up stopping the pillar just before it hit him. He grinned as the chains tightened around Jasper like a snake. The more the giant man struggled, the tighter they became.

Sam made his way towards Jasper, kneeling in front of the man who was staring angrily up at him. He chuckled and remarked "Awe no more jeers and jokes? Let me ask, did you think that luck was the reason I rose to the top of the class? That I simply became number one because I was born special? I fought and bled for my position and you think that a simple act of the gods would dethrone me? You are naïve."

He shook his head in disappointment as he once again made a fist with the hand of chains then made a twisting motion, causing chains to wrap around his throat and slowly tightening. "Yield Mountaineer."

Jasper gasped as the chains tightened around his body, the crowd staring in silence as his steel skin began to crack in places before his rough voice sounded out "To you? Never."

Samuel nodded with a small smile on his lips "Honorable but you will not win."

Then with a kick, he sent the earth mage flying backwards into the barrier. Jasper managed to quickly send a spray of earth spikes towards Sam as the chains disappeared, causing him to jump backwards to avoid getting hit. It gave Jasper a few minutes of relief as he stumbled to his feet, his skin slowly mending itself. He held out his hand and his sword flew into his grip. Samuel nodded and the haze returned as the chains dematerialized from his palm and markings slowly appeared on his face. A savage grin greeted his opponent before he shot forward, cracking the ground underneath him.