The musician staggered but forced herself upright, inhaling sharply as she prepared to continue her song. Her mana reserves were running low, but she had no choice. If they wanted to turn the fight back in their favor, she had to push through.
She stood tall, opened her mouth…
Another streak of yellow ripped across the battlefield.
Faster than before.
The bolt struck her clean in the chest.
Ding.
This time, her body seized from the impact, her legs giving out completely. She crumpled to the ground, unable to continue.
Ethan smirked, lowering his hand as the charge faded from his fingertips. He had seen her gearing up to sing again and had taken the shot, this time pumping even more power into it, making sure she stayed down.
He felt a tiny twinge of guilt seeing her collapse, but only for a second. This was a battle, and she had been a threat.
But even he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up. His mana reserves were running dangerously low, the railgun-like blasts taking more out of him than he had anticipated.
Still, he steadied himself, charging one final shot.
Waiting for the perfect moment.
At the same time, Jace had already moved.
Taking advantage of the opening the shockwave had created, his sharp gaze scanned the battlefield.
Astra and Orion were both in tough spots.
His decision was instant.
Summoning two large ice spears, he twirled them in his hands before rounding the ice wall and hurling them at high speed, one toward the man who had charged Astra, the other toward the dark mage trying to bind Orion.
The moment he let them fly, the battlefield exploded with sound.
A familiar crack of thunder roared across the arena. Another streak of lightning ripped through the sky, slamming into the musician a second time.
Jace smirked as he skated forward. "Seems Ethan handled that for me."
Inside her dome, Astra remained still, listening to the subtle shifts in the battlefield around her. The sound of fire hissing against ice. The vibrations of movement. The pressure of mana pressing against her defenses.
Then she felt it, Jace's magic caused her opponent to dodge, forcing him back.
"A chance," she muttered, her grin returning.
Bursting from her dome, she moved in one fluid motion, an ice disk forming in her hand as she twisted her body and threw.
Her opponent, having barely dodged Jace's spear, reacted on instinct. Wind magic surged beneath his feet, sending him hurtling sideways at the last second. The dodge was sloppy, forced, it put strain on his body, but it kept him from losing another point.
For now.
At the same time, Orion felt the dark tendrils wrapping around his legs.
Damn.
Not only had he given up a point, but he hadn't recovered in time to avoid being trapped.
His mind raced, searching for a way out, but the lingering frustration clouded his thoughts. He wasn't thinking as clearly as he should be.
Just as the tendrils began to constrict, Jace's ice spear slammed into the dark mage's position. She was forced back, breaking her focus, and breaking Orion free.
He didn't hesitate, pushing backward to create distance, trying to steady himself.
But even with the breathing room, his shaken state made him reckless.
Instead of reassessing the battlefield, he immediately resumed his bombardment, targeting the metal mage who now wore a full suit of armor.
The man barely reacted, shifting his armor into a massive metal plate, absorbing every impact with ease.
Then, with a sharp nod, he gestured to the dark mage. Go get him.
She clicked her tongue in irritation but obeyed.
Vanishing into the shadows, she reappeared behind Orion, an acid coated whip forming in her hands.
She reeled back, the toxic weapon crackling as she aimed directly for his back.
The whip struck true, snapping across Orion's back.
But it wasn't the only attack that landed.
The familiar crack of thunder split the air as Ethan's lightning railgun fired.
The dark mage had exposed her back, fully focused on landing her own attack, Ethan didn't hesitate. He lined up his final shot and let it fly.
Ding. Ding.
Both attacks connected cleanly, bringing the score to 9-2.
Jace was already on the move. Skating full speed toward Astra and her opponent, he knew that if the two of them worked together, they could end this match quickly.
He just wished they had actually paid attention when the announcer said how many points they needed to win. Ten or twelve, right? Either way, they were close.
"Hammer him!" Jace shouted as he reached Astra, his skates carving sharp turns as he circled their opponent.
With a quick flourish, he formed a massive horseshoe-shaped ice wall around the already off balance man, cutting off his escape.
Astra's grin stretched wide. She took his words literally.
Summoning a large ice hammer, she hoisted it over her shoulder. "I'm the hammer, that's the anvil, and you're the metal!" she bellowed, swinging down with all her might.
The man glanced around, realizing too late that he had nowhere to go. The towering ice wall sealed his fate.
"Shit."
Ding.
Aurora watched as the scoreboard flickered.
10-2.
They had won.
She exhaled, the tension in her shoulders easing slightly. It wasn't relief, as much as it was confirmation. This was the expected result, the outcome that had always made the most sense.
Selene nudged her. "You're not even going to grin a little?" she asked, tilting her head. "That was a pretty dominant win."
Aurora blinked, snapping out of her focus. "They performed well," she said simply.
Selene couldn't help but chuckle. "You act like that wasn't insanely one sided."
Aurora didn't respond immediately. Her gaze lingered on the battlefield as their team gathered, as Ethan casually stretched like he hadn't just carried the match, as Astra practically bounced with energy, as Orion rolled his shoulders, trying to shake off his frustration of giving both points.
Her eyes drifted to Jace. He had stayed in control.
Good. That was what they needed to keep moving forward.
She allowed herself a small nod, more to herself than anyone else.
"Ah." Selene said leaning in with a smirk. "That was it, wasn't it?"
Aurora glanced at her. "What?"
Selene grinned. "You weren't worried about the match. You just wanted to make sure Jace kept his head on straight."
Aurora didn't confirm or deny it. Instead, she simply turned back toward the arena exit. "Come on. We should meet them."
Selene laughed but followed. "You're so obvious, Captain."
Aurora wasn't sure about that.
But either way, they had won.
And that was what mattered.