Pieces of burned roots and vines scattered around the area as Dorin emerged from the burning pod.
"Hey, you okay?" Johan asked him.
"Fine," he replied. "Need a bit of help, though."
He started digging the ground where he emerged from, using shovels made of air.
"Something you left underneath?" Johan asked.
"A woman," he simply replied.
"Let me do it..." Johan closed his eyes in concentration.
The ground around them slowly began to rise and move outward, soon, the body of an unconscious girl was unearthed from the hole. She may be dirty from the dust and grime, but still her etherial beauty shone through.
[Dennison out] said a mechanical voice from around them.
[Silvius out] it added.
"Ehh?!?!" the two boys looked at Dorin's filthy clothes and was surprised to see his token broken.
"Did she do that?" Johan asked.
"I guess so..." Dorin scratched his head. "I told you women are scary."
"So, how many points are you left with?!"
"I think I'll still have about 360 points..." he replied.
"Then we need to win this thing to get the additional 100 points!"
"Dorin! Johan!"
The two mages turned around to see Margarette and Lilith running towards them.
"What happened here?!" asked Lilith, wide eyed.
"Goodness, Dorin, you lost?" Margarette said in disbelief.
"Sorry, I got careless."
"It's Dennison from the elemental weapons class!" Lilith gasped upon seeing the unconscious druid girl on the ground.
"You guys know her?" Johan asked.
"Everybody in University does!" said Margarette, "She have already finished her courses in the Magic division, and have just entered the Military division last year!"
"She was immediately promoted into a Captain position!" added Lilith. "That's how good–!"
"Look out!" cried Johan, pushing Lilith to one side.
Margarette looked behind them as something flashed towards the group, scrapping Lilith's shoulder.
"Heads up!" said Dorin, raising an arm.
"No!" Margarette quickly warned him. "You're already out of the game, our team will be eliminated if you help out!"
"In coming!" said Johan, brandishing his new sword.
Sharp gushes of wind began pelting them as four figures appeared from all direction.
"Oh, it's Xander," said Dorin as he stood at a corner.
Xander stretched both arms as if holding a box and aimed it at Johan. He opened his right fist, sending a thin needle of blue fire towards Johan's chest. Johan moved his bastard sword to block it.
"We didn't see you earlier," Dorin said once more, trying to keep up a conversation.
"Oh, we just didn't want you to see us," Mordecai said beside Dorin.
"You're not gonna fight?" Dorin asked him.
"I'm more of a back up," replied the other.
"Wind mage at 3 o-clock!" said Lilith behind Margarette.
"Got it!" Margarette answered, aiming her rapier at Boulvar who immediately changed his trajectory, going in a wide circle and landing between the two girls. Lilith immediately dropped to the ground, swiping her legs to get Boulvar off balance, while Margarette turned around and aimed the tip of her rapier's handle at Boulvar's crest.
She glazed it, chipping a corner, but it didn't break. Boulvar quickly leapt away, only to be assaulted by several rounds as Lilith took aim at him.
"I'll be your opponent!" hissed Venet, who sent a gust of air towards the Lilith, sending her back a few paces.
Lilith ignored him and sent another round of bullets towards Boulvar who turned around to avoid them. As he did, Margarette appeared in front him and grabbed him with her left arm. She easily raised the bulkier man in the air and slammed him to the ground, aiming her rapier at his chipped crest. But the blade did not land on it as a strong force of wind pushed her back.
"To me!" called Lilith. Margarette turned in mid air and landed next to the sniper.
"You dare ignore me?!" hissed Venet as he sent a volley of sharp winds towards the two.
"Vortex round!" Lilith cried, slamming a red bullet into her rifle in record speed and blasting it at the pissed out mage.
A flaming vortex shot out of her weapon, getting bigger at it made its way towards Venet. It engulfed the wind he aimed at the two and got even bigger. The viper cursed as he jumped out of the way, only to see Margarette standing right where he landed. Margarette quickly stabbed the crest upon his chest, sending him hurling to the ground, his token in pieces.
[Venet out]
"Two down," Mordecai said beside Dorin with a chuckle.
"Aren't you gonna help them?" he asked the medic.
"Nah... I'm more of an observer," said the other. "I only joined to fill up the 5th position.
Dorin watched the battle once more.
"Now, let's see what this Ignacius can do," Xander said with a smile as he faced Johan.
With a snap, he ignited Johan's surrounding with blue flames that burned towards the young fire mage, but the other simply waved his bastard sword, feeding it with the prince's flames, and leapt to the air towards Xander.
"A frontal attack," thought Xander, "How simple minded of you."
He readied his sword, surrounding it with his own blue flame and aimed to pierce the incoming opponent before the other could reach him. Buy as the other fire mage was half way in mid air, he opened one hand and send a blast of fire towards the 3rd prince.
"A distraction!" Xander quickly covered his face as dust ascended, hiding his opponent.
He turned around, sure that Johan would appear behind him, but found no one there. He quickly looked around the place.
"Where did he go?!" he asked himself. The dust was beginning to settle now, and as he scanned around him, he didn't notice the small crack nearing his feet.
"Wah!" the 3rd prince yelped as the ground beneath him opened up, swallowing half of his body and hardening around him!
"Your highness!" Venet screeched on the side, yet unable to do anything.
It was then that Johan Appeared, rising up from the ground. He snapped his fingers as a blast of blue flame consumed the prince's token.
[Alcione out]
"Woah!" Xander started patting on it as the token turned red. his clothes started to burn as well.
"Prince Alexander!" Mordecai quickly went to his prince's aid to douse the flame with water.
The prince's clothes were burnt, showing his chest underneath, it had turned red and showed some signs of first-degree burns.
"Why are you burned?" Johan asked as he went closer to Xander and his aid. "Aren't you a fire mage?"
He was so busy fussing over the prince that he didn't notice Mordecai stretch his arm and crack his token with an ice dagger.
[Ignacius out]
"Waaaaahh!!!" Johan screamed! Pointing an accusing finger at the smiling Mordecai whose own token was shattered by a sniper's bullet.
[Almicione out]
Mordecai looked at the direction where the bullet came from, but all he saw were a line of oak trees in the far distance.
"Oh, that must be Matt," Dorin said with a grin as he went over to Johan's side. "Now you're down to one."
"While you still have three members left," Xander said with a sigh as they watched Boulvar fight with Margarette and Lilith.
"You are fine opponents," Boulvar avoided Lilith's shot as Margarette tossed him yet again to the ground. "But a mere weapon is not enough to beat a true mage."
He clapped his hands together and called to the wind. "Wind Scythe!"
He slashed it at his opponents, sending a sharp gust of wind towards the two girls. Lilith's token shattered into pieces.
[Grayson out]
Margarette blocked it with her saber. "Haaaa!"
She held the blade with the palm of her other hand. The blade got chipped, the small piece flew towards her face, scratching her cheek.
"Weak!" she yelled once again as she twirled sideways and ignited the air, trailing the flames with the tip of her saber and slashing at Boulvar three times. The two reached him, as a couple of deep wounds cut his arm while he tried to guard against it.
"Those two are really tough, huh?" Lilith said as she stood with the rest of her companions.
"Hey, when are you going to let Prince Xander out of this hole?!" Venet snarled at Johan.
"Oops, sorry," said Johan who stomped his food and raised a finger. "I was too busy watching the fight."
"That's okay, it was a good fight! I had no idea you were an earth mage as well!" said the prince.
"And I had no idea you would burn!" said Johan.
"About that..." Mordecai piped in, "We would appreciate it if you people could keep that information to yourselves."
"Huh?" Johan looked puzzled. "Why?"
"Shh, the fight's getting hotter!" Dorin hushed them.
Hotter was the right term, since Margarette have created a fire vortex, avoiding the sharp needle attacks from Boulvar as she ran towards the bigger opponent."
"Wind Wall!" shouted Bouldvar when Margarette leapt towards him, aiming for his chest, but the tip of her saber was able to piece through it..
"Whip Blade!" said Margarette.
A whip of fire flowed from the tip of her saber and went towards Boulvar's crest, but the other blocked it with his arm. The Fire whipped around his arm, burning his sleeves, but it had no effect on the wind mage. He simply stepped back and pulled at the lieutenant.
Margarette hit the wall of wind, but would not let go of her saber. With a shout, she raised her left arm and smashed through the barrier with her fist, her outstretched arm, reaching for her opponent's token, was about to reach it too, when...
"TOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!"
A loud sound pierced the air.
"Oh, drat!" cursed Margarette whose outreached hand closed to a fist.
"Ah! The sun has gone down!" said Lilith, "And we were so close too!"
"What? It's over?" Dorin asked his companions.
"Yes, and it seems that there are no winners."
[Students, please return to Headquarters] said the mechanical voice from the floating devices.
"Great game!" Xander said happily, patting Boulvar on the back. "You almost won too!"
"I beg your pardon!" said Lilith, "Our Margarette clearly had the upper hand!"
"On the contrary," continued the prince, "Her sword is clearly of no use to her anymore."
The group looked at Margarette's sword whose tip was broken.
"That is true." said Margarette with a sigh. "My elemental cell has also been sipped dry." She looked depressed. "And with Boulvar holding half of my saber which he broke off, he could have easily cut my hand off as I reached for his token."
"Well, that is true, if this was a real fight to the finish," said Mordecai who smiled at his team mate.
"Yes. That is true." answered Boulvar, "But it is also true that you, lady Margarette, are a formidable opponent." Boulvar gave a small bow. "You have my respect."
"Why... thank you..." Margarette replied, blushing a bit.
"Well, it's time we went back to headquarters," said Prince Xander who dusted himself off.
"Are you fine with that burn on your chest?" Dorin asked him, "that long gush in the middle looks kinda bad."
"That's not a burn, it looks more like a scar..." Johan said beside him.
Mordecai took off his coat and placed it around his ward, covering his chest.
"Oh, that's just an old scar from when I was a child," Xander said with a smile. "Come, we should hurry and see who else were left standing in the tournament!"
"Boulvar, help Dennison up." Mordecai pointed at the still unconscious druid on the ground.
"Y-you know her?" Dorin asked him, worry visible in his face.
"She is our 4th member," Mordecai replied with a smile. "Don't worry, I've already seen to her. She's going to be fine."