Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: The Sorceress of Ashtown

A Sorceress's Power

While Caspian continued trading strikes with the two close-range fighters, Erica had to contend herself with the long-range attacker.

The beautiful Sorceress had to admit, her foe was a clever one. From the very onset of this battle, her enemy had been sending multiple attacks her way one after another in quick succession, all in an effort to keep her from chanting an aria. When she'd proven herself apt at evading their explosions, her enemy had sent the two currently fighting the boy to keep her busy while they waited for an opportunity, an opening to unleash devastation upon her. Had things continued as they had, she may have actually lost.

Perish the thought.

However, this person's lucky streak was about to change. Now that she had someone who actually seemed capable of protecting her, Erica was ready to turn the tides of this battle in her favor. She would show this fool what happened to those who tried messing with a Sorceress.

With her body moving faster than it ever had before, avoiding the many explosions that nipped at her heels, Erica continued to chant verse after verse in order to summon a spirit of incredible magnitude.

"Yee whose fire burns for seven days and seven nights, grant unto me the power to burn thine enemies in a holy conflagration. Melt their flesh, their organs. Turn their bones to ashes and their bodies to dust. Consume my foes with your divine flames. Amaterasu! Yours is the divinity that knows no bounds! The flame of divine judgement! Harken unto me and grant me your power!"

Upon the conclusion of her ten verse aria, what looked like a golden flame transformed into a bolt of lightning descended from the sky. It struck Erica too swiftly for the eyes to follow, unleashing a thunderous roar of unmitigated power. It did not consume her, this flame, but rather, it entered her, empowered her, and granted unto her a power that no mortal was ever meant to wield.

Her eyes glowed with a holy light, a judgemental flame that burned those who didn't follow the righteous path. Arcs of golden mana skittered and coruscated across her body, like tendrils of electricity racing along a wire.

Her foe must have realized what was about to happen, for a geyser of flames erupted underneath her. The attack did nothing, however. The pillar of fire dispersed seconds later, scattering in a burst of heat and a flash of flame, leaving the Sorceress they were meant to cremate unharmed.

Erica raised her left hand and pointed it at her foe, palm facing her opponent, fingers splayed. She gave her enemy a grim smile.

"Burn."

***

What happened within the next few moments would be forever etched into Caspian's mind as one of the most amazing things he had ever witnessed. All of the energy that had been dancing across Erica's body gathered into the palm of her left hand, creating a compressed ball of golden flame, a bright sphere of holy fire, which was then unleashed in a blast so powerful it created a shockwave that buffeted his hair and stung his eyes.

Forced to cover his ears, Caspian could do nothing but stare as a massive cone of golden fire nearly four times larger than he was tall burst from the woman's palm. Like an unstoppable force it tore across the ground, heading toward the long-range fighter at unprecedented speed, vaporizing everything in its wake. The very air they breathed seemed to detonate, the oxygen combusting from the intense heat. The scent of burning ozone stung his nostrils.

Caspian wondered if the individual staring down the sight of that terrifying fire was seeing their life flash before their eyes. There was no doubt in his mind that, were their positions reversed, that's what he would have been seeing.