Chapter 43: Student Council War 9

Chapter 43: Student Council War 9 The scent of burning mana and scorched wood had become a constant companion across the shattered battlefield. Wind carried distant echoes of steel, crackling spells, and the cries of warriors on both sides still locked in desperate combat. Above it all, a reddish haze filtered through the branches—residual flame dust from the Phoenix’s earlier wrath. Nature itself seemed to be holding its breath. In the heart of it, Seraphina moved like a blade through water—silent, fluid, and sharp. Three Galat warriors flanked a wounded Lucan from Crimson Dawn, their axes and runes gleaming in grim coordination. Seraphina didn’t hesitate. An arrow soared from her hand before her bow even fully formed, striking one squarely in the chest. Before the others could react, she pivoted, loosing two more—one in the shoulder, the other in the thigh. Non-lethal, but decisive. Lucan looked up, dazed. "Seraphina?" She didn’t answer. Her gaze swept the clearing. To her left, more movement. A squad of four Galat side-blades attempting to regroup after losing their commander. "I’ve got this side," came Liora Nowa’s voice, light and crackling with magic. She stepped into view from a crumbled grove, her hands weaving shimmering sigils. Behind her trailed three support casters and two lightly armored scouts from Crimson Dawn. Liora flared her fingers, and the sigils burst outward, forming a prism wall of reflective light. The first Galat soldier ran into it, his sword bouncing back and nearly slicing his own leg. "Cover and deflect," she told her team. "We make a wall. Let Seraphina pick them off." As if on cue, Seraphina launched another arrow, this one aimed low, skimming the dirt before bouncing upward into a Galat soldier’s knee. He screamed and dropped. The remaining three hesitated. A tactical mistake. "Scatter them," Liora said. One of her support casters threw a burst sigil—a delay rune laced with a disruption charm. It detonated at their feet, sending the Galat soldiers stumbling. Before they recovered, Seraphina was already on them. She darted into close quarters, switching to her crescent daggers. The first opponent swung wide—too wide. She ducked and slashed his thigh, forcing him down. The second came at her with a spear. She caught the shaft between her blades, twisted, and broke it. Then elbowed him in the throat. He collapsed. The third raised both hands, mana pulsing. "Don’t," she warned. He hesitated. Too late. Liora’s spell hit him in the chest—an arcane shock that paralyzed his arms. Seraphina lowered her daggers. "All non-fatal," she confirmed, nodding to Liora. "We’re getting good at this," Liora said, breath short but proud. Their remaining squad—Miris, Renn, and Vael—secured the fallen Galat side-fighters and activated the teleport failsafe for each one. They shimmered away, out of the forest. The field grew momentarily still. Seraphina glanced to the left where the tree line shook. Sasha. And Kali. The others followed her gaze. "Let’s go," Seraphina said. They arrived just in time to see Sasha blasted backward by a curling stream of toxin-infused water. She flipped midair, landed in a crouch, and launched two orbs of bloodfire toward the figure emerging from the mist. Kali. Untouched. Unflinching. Her cloak was slightly torn at the hem, and a single droplet of red streaked across her cheek, but otherwise, she stood immaculate in the eye of her personal storm. Her left hand controlled a looping spiral of darkened water, and her right toyed with a scalpel-thin blade laced with glowing venom. Sasha wiped her mouth. "That stung." Kali gave her a mocking smile. "Did it? I’m only playing, you know." Seraphina flanked left, while Liora and the others formed a semicircle. Sasha didn’t look away from Kali, but her posture eased slightly, reassured. "I’m fine," she muttered. "Just... contained." "She’s using rotational flow and scent-based tracking," Liora muttered. "And if I’m right, her toxin changes properties mid-battle." "Adapting venom," Seraphina said. Kali heard them. She stepped forward casually, flicking her blade to remove a single blood droplet. "Do continue. I love when my enemies explain how I’m about to ruin them." Sasha snarled and rushed forward again. Her bloodfire blazed in her hands, the heat warping the air. She struck low—aiming to shatter Kali’s footing—but Kali simply stepped aside, lifting her hand to twist Sasha’s fire with a veil of moist wind. The flame curled upward, losing coherence. Then Kali’s left hand struck. A precise jab to Sasha’s gut—not deep, not lethal, but disruptive. Sasha stumbled, coughing as the venom entered her system. Seraphina moved. Two arrows shot toward Kali, arcing to pierce her from both sides. Kali spun once, and her water spiral solidified into a shield. The arrows clanged off harmlessly. Liora launched a light burst, trying to blind her. Kali responded by flipping her dagger into a rune-grip and slicing through the incoming radiance. The spell shattered like glass. "Predictable," she said, twirling her blade again. Sasha re-engaged, now slower, her bloodfire sputtering. Kali didn’t even raise a barrier. She side-stepped, caught Sasha’s wrist, and twisted her into the dirt. "Still too impulsive," she whispered. Seraphina was behind her in a heartbeat, daggers poised. She went for the tendons behind Kali’s knee. Kali dropped low, planted a kick into Seraphina’s midsection, and rolled away. She came to a stop, arms wide. "Three on one?" she asked. "Not very noble." "We’re not noble," Seraphina spat. "We’re furious." "Then burn." Kali slammed her palms together. A ripple of water surged outward, catching the damp ground and hurling debris like shrapnel. Liora threw up a reflective prism, catching most of it, but even her barrier cracked. Miris and Vael attempted to flank, but were caught in a rising mist. "Don’t," Seraphina ordered. "She’s too fast. Let us handle it." Kali strolled forward, casually tossing a toxin dart into the air and catching it again. "Honestly, you should thank me," she said. "I could’ve ended this. But I’ve been gentle." Sasha coughed, her skin slightly pale. "I can still—" "You can’t," Seraphina said, voice tightening. "Get back." But Kali didn’t let her. She moved faster than sight. Her blade whipped forward, coated in that terrible shimmering venom, arcing toward Sasha’s chest—aimed not to wound, but to end. Sasha’s eyes widened. And then her body convulsed. Not from the venom. From something within. A glyph on her neck burned bright red. A curse. Her curse. The air twisted around her as if reality itself tried to deny what was rising. Kali halted mid-strike. She blinked. "...What?" Sasha rose. Her body radiated bloodfire unlike anything before—deeper, older. The battlefield darkened as if the forest itself recoiled. Seraphina stepped back. Liora’s hands trembled. Sasha looked up. Her irises were now rings of molten crimson. And the curse fully bloomed. Everything went still. Then everything burned. Fire did not roar. It howled. Sasha’s curse bloomed in silence, but the silence itself broke the world. Bloodfire spiraled from her body in towering columns, distorting the air with impossible heat. Her feet barely touched the earth as she hovered, suspended by the fury of her own burning will. Kali did not flinch. She did not speak. Her eyes narrowed, and for the first time—only the first—she looked at Sasha not as prey, but as challenge. The two forces collided. Sasha surged forward, faster than before, each step cracking the ground. Her fist, wreathed in living flame, struck toward Kali’s side. Kali parried with a swirl of water-venom, barely redirecting the impact. The result was not a block—it was survival. The clash sent a shockwave across the clearing, flattening trees and tearing apart the mist. Kali spun back, arms weaving defensive arcs. Sasha followed, relentless. She no longer spoke. The curse had silenced her voice. All that remained was wrath. She unleashed a spiral of flame in a wide arc, then dashed through it, emerging with a backhand swing that cut through the air like a guillotine. Kali ducked, countering with a venom-laced swipe that nicked Sasha’s shoulder. The flame didn’t falter. Sasha twisted, catching Kali’s arm in a grapple and hurling her through a fallen log. The impact shattered it into splinters. Kali rolled, regained her footing, and launched a tidal burst of toxin-infused water. Sasha didn’t dodge. She raised her hand—and the water evaporated before contact. Kali exhaled slowly. "So this is what your curse hides." Sasha screamed without words, and the flame surged again. They collided once more, fists against blades, fire against water. The battlefield screamed with them. Every blow left scars in the land. Each attack was met with a near-perfect answer, but Sasha’s strength grew erratic, overwhelming, wild. Kali remained composed, but the effort showed—her breath sharper, her left arm bleeding from a missed parry. Sasha’s flames didn’t just burn—they remembered. Every blocked strike came back faster. Every dodge was met with a new angle. The curse learned. But it came with a price. Sasha’s legs trembled with each move. Her breath shortened. Blood leaked from her nose, then her ears. The fire within her wanted more than victory. It wanted to consume. Kali moved again, faster than expected, slashing twice—once across Sasha’s side, once across her leg. Sasha roared and released a sphere of fire that detonated between them. Kali was flung back. Her cloak burned away, and her arm hung limp. Sasha dropped to one knee, flames flickering. Kali rose slowly, bleeding but defiant. "Impressive," she murmured. "But this is where it ends." She raised her dagger for the final strike. Sasha forced herself up, body shaking, bloodfire flaring one last time. She leapt. And struck. Her fist slammed into Kali’s chest, igniting on impact. Kali screamed as the spell-fire surged into her, too fast to absorb, too raw to resist. Her body shimmered with teleport glyphs as the forest recognized elimination. Kali vanished in a burst of light. Sasha staggered forward. Then collapsed. The bloodfire around her shattered like glass. Her body twitched, breath ragged, vision blurring. From the treeline, Seraphina rushed forward. But the failsafe had already activated. In a glow of crimson runes, Sasha’s broken form shimmered—and vanished. Eliminated. But not defeated. The forest stood still again. Two titans, gone. And all that remained was silence and ash.