That's So Wizard

Chapter 30 - The Dark Mage Rises

Two wizards, vastly different in both style and technique—Kevin had never seen one wizard battle another before. He could barely keep up. Without magic eyes, he figured, he would be unable to tell illusions apart from reality, and it was simply difficult to comprehend it all. His heart pumped nonetheless. Nothing he had seen was this exciting, and he could only imagine how the actual combatants felt.

Kevin tried to follow. Eldrian had blinked, but so had Ouray. At least, that's what he guessed had happened. Neither were in the same place anymore. He saw a frozen spear come from Eldrian. It nearly met its target, but the martial artist was too quick. This continued for a few moments. His poor friend could barely land a spell, but at the very least, he had not been crushed into the ground again—as close as a few strikes had been. Were they taking this too seriously? Kevin thought to himself. He realised that he had no idea what a wizard battle taken seriously looked like. Was it crazier than this?

"I've never fought or even met with a wizard with a body as strong as yours," said Eldrian, catching his breath.

"Neither have I."

Eldrian let out a sharp chuckle, and he began to shift his feet around in place.

"Fair enough. Do I get a compliment?" he asked in response.

Ouray thought for a moment before replying with, "I've never fought or even met with a wizard that spoke as much as you."

"Come then. See if you can keep my mouth shut."

The only noise Kevin heard was the slide of the man's boot against the tiled stone. Because after that, he shot forward through the air like a notched and fired crossbow bolt. As he soared, a spiritual panther enclosed his body. The stance he took was identical to that of a wild cat's pouncing paws, and his action was the same. He meant to catch Eldrian like a fleeing deer.

"Da-jo-ji!" came a quick phrase from Ouray's mouth.

Eldrian shot up into the air. It was a quick rise at first, but he began to drift on an angle back down towards the basement entrance, and it was still apparent he was getting a grasp on lengthy magical flights. At the very least, it dodged the attack, and he was able to land back down behind his opponent.

"Do you think me to be that oblivious?" he asked. "Do you think I didn't see?"

Ouray turned a glare at Eldrian. Behind his foot, in the center of one of the tiles, was a chalk circle that Eldrian had discreetly drawn with his foot. It glowed a gentle cyan hue. Clearly, it was some kind of magical glyph, but Eldrian's foe had seen right through his deception.

"I knew you were stalling to draw that," Ouray said. "I wasn't born yesterday. You'll have to do better than that, if you want to grow stronger, Eldrian!"

"And you need to open your mind."

Eldrian, with a swing of his body, resembled a mime tugging on an invisible rope. It happened so quickly that not even Ouray was able to notice what was happening. The stone tile was yanked up from the ground, and it slammed into the fighter's back with incredible force, which in turn pressed the arcane symbol against him. His eyes widened.

The air was knocked out of his lungs, and an explosive shock covered his body with arcing currents of electricity. They coiled around his body like hissing serpents. His body froze, and his teeth clenched as the power left him trapped and vulnerable—only able to watch Eldrian dash towards him. His skin went pale and he panicked. There was nothing he could do. He lost. The wizard's hand came right up to his face, and he awaited the magic strike that would end him.

Suddenly, the door swung upon. The tiny red devil Kribba glanced around, but stopped his search when he saw Eldrian in the center of the ring.

"Hey! Marionette's here! Don't leave her waiting, yeah?" he said as he jerked his thumb back.