The abjuration runes pulsed around the platform, weaving a translucent dome — both a Physical Barrier and a Magic Barrier sealing the space. The audience leaned forward in anticipation.
Lucian stood relaxed, sleeves rolled up, cloak discarded. His storm-grey eyes scanned Nerida. She looked composed, but her mana was already flaring like a flame beneath her skin.
The bell rang.
"Combust." — Tier 1
A spark detonated inches from Lucian's side — not cast, just triggered. He twisted, dodging back as the air exploded where his ribs had been.
He blinked. That was fast.
No circle...
And then, he felt it. That instinct. That thread. The magic wrapped around her… wasn't normal. It was one with fire.
Arcane Attunement kicked in.
"Flame based trait," he muttered. "So that's the trick."
He raised a hand.
"Mana bolt"
Blue light flared and shot toward her. Nerida didn't even blink.
"Curve." — Cantrip
The bolt curved away harmlessly.
Lucian frowned. Fast reflexes.
Nerida didn't give him a breather—
"Fireball."
It bloomed from her palm in less than a second. No circle. No chant. Just flame.
Lucian cast.
"Wind Blade." — Tier 2
His was slower — full circle and runes, brief charge — but sharp and true. It sliced through the Fireball and scattered embers into the air.
"Nice shot," she muttered. "Now dodge this."
Another Fireball.
And another.
And another.
Each one cast in 0.8 seconds or less. They roared toward him with deadly arcs, assisted by—
"Curve."
"Slip."
"Bend."
All cantrips. All meant to disorient.
Lucian deflected one with a Magic Barrier. Another with raw wind. The third—
He leapt over it.
Feet sparked on the platform. He landed, eyes narrowing. I'm not matching her casting speed…
Then I'll change the tempo.
"Telekinesis."
He caught her next Fireball mid-air—with his mind—and slapped it aside.
The room gasped.
Lucian didn't stop as he landed
"Feather weight" — Invocation Spell. A spell that invokes the lightness of wind into your body.
Wind exploded beneath his feet.
He vanished.
A flicker.
Then he was in front of her, arm outstretched—!
"Physical Barrier." Tier 1
The shield flared just in time—Lucian's hand slammed against it. The impact shook the air. Nerida flinched. A heartbeat later, another Fireball blazed into existence—Lucian retreated before it could catch him.
But he was smirking.
Because when his hand touched the barrier…
…his mana had clung to it.
Backpedaling, he muttered:
"Sensory Drift."
The world dimmed. His consciousness reached out.
He found the shield's weave — like threads woven into glass and connected to his mana.
He reached.
"Twist." — Cantrip
The structure warped.
Crack.
The barrier shattered.
Nerida's eyes widened. But before she could recover, Lucian just stood there.
He didn't press forward.
Didn't end it.
She straightened, eyes sharp. "You're holding back...."
"I won't attack a defenseless person."
"Don't insult me."
He blinked once. Slowly.
Then his smile faded.
Replaced with something colder. Quieter.
The expression of someone who had been in real fights.
If Erza had been here, she would've whispered—That face again…
It was the same as when he saved the caravan.
Lucian's shoulders lowered. His stance dropped. "Very well..."
Calm. Dead calm.
The air chilled.
Across from him, something answered.
Nerida's mana ignited. The flames crawling up her arm brightened—shifting.
From orange-red…
…to crimson.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wind.
That was the one Lucian had always liked.
Ellie had made him dabble in all the elements—fire, water, even earth—but wind felt like freedom. It was control without weight. Grace without strain. And ever since the reforging of his pathways... it responded.
His body didn't buzz or burn like it had during his first spell.
Now it hummed—like a perfectly tuned string, resonant and steady.
His mana pathways, once prone to sputtering and overflow, now carried energy like polished channels of light.
Just as Ellie had said:
"Acies isn't just for amplification, Luci. That staff is for focus. Precision. Built for finesse, not brute force."
She was right. Even without the staff in hand, he could feel it—how smoothly his mana flowed. Every spell prepared, every thread of casting unraveled with zero resistance.
That was when the crimson fire rose.
Nerida's hair whipped violently in the wind vortex of her own mana.
Crimson flames licked up her arms and legs, spiraling around her like coiled serpents. The Flameborn trait in full bloom.
Lucian didn't blink.
The air shifted.
She moved first.
"Flame Lash." — Tier 2
A whip of fire cracked through the air, searing toward him.
Lucian responded—
"Wind Blade." — Tier 2
Snap! The two forces collided midair—wind shrieked, flame hissed—vanishing in a sudden gust of smoke.
He didn't stop.
"Lesser Wind Vortex." — Tier 2
He didn't cast it from his palm.
He spun with it—dragging the spell up his leg and along his arm. A spiraling column of wind burst outward, twice the standard size.
Nerida's eyes narrowed. Creative.
She dual-cast.
One hand carved a curved mana barrier into the air. The other conjured a condensed bolt of fire shaped around a mana spear—fast, tight, deadly. It flew.
Lucian ducked sideways, barely avoiding the blast—
—and raised his hand.
"Water Ball."
The glowing orb shot out—not toward Nerida—but slightly off course, landing just behind her and collapsing into a puddle.
Nerida allowed a smile. That'll be your undoing.
She snapped her fingers.
Dozens of tiny embers swirled around her.
"Phoenix Feather Shower." — Tier 3
The embers ignited midair and launched at Lucian like homing meteors. He raised a hand—
Abjuration: Element Water.
"Water Bubble." — Tier 2
A shimmering shell of water enveloped him—but it was weak. The flaming feathers struck, pierced it, and—
HSSSSSSSSHH!!
A massive cloud of steam exploded from the collision.
Nerida extended her senses, watching for movement—
Zoom.
Something was coming.
A mana bolt tore through the mist.
Too slow. She began forming a barrier—
—but the bolt flickered.
Tiered runes spiraled over it mid-flight—precise, layered, condensed.
It doubled in speed. The barrier hadn't even fully formed when—
Fsshhh!
It missed her cheek by an inch. Strands of her hair drifted to the floor.
She stumbled back—into the puddle.
Her eyes dropped.
Water?
The steam cleared.
Lucian stood, fingers twitching.
"Splash Bomb." — Tier 2 (weakened)
BOOM!
Water detonated upward with explosive force.
Nerida was launched into the air—flames hissing and sputtering as fluid drenched her limbs. She managed to flare her mana and mitigate the worst of it—but the blast still sent her crashing into the floor.
She landed hard, wide-eyed, smoke curling around her.
Silence.
Lucian stood at the far end of the podium, hand still raised.
Wisps of mana drifted from his palm.
His voice didn't gloat. It was simple. Certain.
"Cornered."
And for the first time since the duel began…
Everyone watching realized—
Lucian hadn't even started trying.