ULTRAMagic Interlude

Chapter 16

Voidborne flew through the air, going straight to Blood-Wraith's hand. He exhaled and summoned the crystalline blade. Wanting to see what her opponent could do, Dunja started out by only activating one of her whip blades. Facing off with someone who had a major role in defeating The Lich of Old made her cautious. She needed to scope out what he could do and not rush into a particular strategy right out of the gate. Dunja expected the boy to attack first, but he did not. Five steps of circling each other prompted her to attack first, slamming her whip on the ground.

The dust cleared quickly, revealing nothing. Dunja then glanced upwards only to see Blood-Wraith right above her, ready to bring Voidborne down upon her. It was impressive how quick and nimble he was. The queen responded by whipping out her unactivated blade, using it to parry the attack. This knocked him away and caused Blood-Wraith to fall to the ground. He then quickly transformed into Indigo Wolf, which created a shockwave that knocked Dunja back. It was unorthodox yet smart. The maneuver afforded him some breathing room so he could regroup.

After a series of failed strikes, Blood-Wraith quickly realized that Dunja could easily counter him with her whip blades. The thing was that they only had so much range though. Thinking of which form would be ideal to give him some space, he decided Azure Spider was the way to go. It could get up into the air with ease if he needed to quickly escape. Golden Dragon could also get into the air, but the form was large and cumbersome. Dunja could easily beat on it and prevent him from getting into the air. What he needed was speed and agility, not strength and endurance. Plus Azure Spider was less of a strain on his body.

Dunja was met by a barrage of fireballs from an opponent that was hard to keep up with. The minute she approached, Blood-Wraith would just leap to the other side of the arena. Dunja noticed that Blood-Wraith was using the fact that the audience was protected by a magic barrier to his advantage. He could freely fire off attacks, keeping the queen on her toes. She assumed he would eventually corner her, but something different happened. A lasso of silk tightened around her waist, binding her arms to it. A very sneaky and well done move.

Blood-Wraith flung Dunja up into the air and shot several, massive fireballs at her. Naturally she was not going to take this lying down. "AHK, AR, VEY!" She shouted from her throat as the web broke and a protective barrier formed around her. The audience was on the edge of their seats.

Over at the royal court box, Dragoslava and Desislav were amazed by what they just saw. "What was that!?" Dragoslava demanded to know.

"I don't think I've ever seen magic like that," Desislav remarked.

"Void magic, children," Englehart answered.

Radovan elaborated. "Dunja is naturally proficient in it. Akin to necromancy, it is a rare type of magic that calls upon the Cosmos itself to enact the caster's will. Not many void callers are known to exist, however."

Aureolus was also amazed. "Awesome... but why does she speak her magic? I don't have to do that..."

Dragoslava and Desislav looked at Aureolus, but Barna spoke up. "Well if I remember correctly, she was working on that before Milosh happened..."

"Indeed, brother," Englehart replied.

Back at the fight, Blood-Wraith was having trouble countering the void spells. "Dunja, is that void magic?"

She smiled. "Right you are, kid. First time?"

"Kind of. Aureolus can do similar, but it never crossed my mind to spar with him over it..."

Dunja swung her whip at him, forcing him to dodge. "Well then maybe I should train you a bit after this is all said and done."

After a few more evasions, it was Blood-Wraith's turn to smile. "What was that you said about cards, coffins, and fate yesterday?"