Chương 45: Proxy War

Selena was only half-listening to Monk Ernesto's diatribe while keeping an eye out for the drama that was ongoing a few paces away. This was working out better than she'd expected. Initially, she simply thought that Cian Ander's challenge would be enough to get Lord Wesley's attention. And it had. At the sound of words like fraud and abusing vitality charms, the Lord had instantly tuned in, ignoring what the rest of the sycophants that surrounded him had to say. Even now, he was staring at Elric and his cousin.

However, a fight between the Earthbinders would be even better than what she'd originally planned. Selena knew without a doubt that Anne would wipe the floor with the fraud. Anne was one of the better ones in her year, and she had a decent bloodline trait, one that was practically inescapable. Of course, she likely wouldn't even have to use it, considering that the Mossborne hadn't utilized charms in weeks.

She was still powerful when marked against her peers, but not enough to beat a senior, which was what they were going to prove today. On top of that, the display would spur questions and raise the issue of illegal charms again. The situation likely hadn't reached Lord Wesley's ears. He was a hard man to get to, and he didn't pay much attention to rumors. But he would today. As they strolled, Selena slowly drifted close enough to overhear their conversation while Monk Ernesto droned about boring politics.

Anne was glaring at Arielle, who appeared unmoved as always, though the tension in her body spoke to how upset she was. There was going to be a showdown, and Selena hadn't even done much to make it happen. Of course, she'd planted a whole bunch of seeds before today, targeted comments that struck at Anne's ego and drew her competitive nature to the surface. Selena also mentioned Elric as many times as she could. There was talk amongst the clan elders that even the Patriarch wanted Elric to lead the family.

That was bad enough to warrant Anne's hatred, but then he had to go and find this cousin of his who now claimed to be a 'genius'. Anne could use this fight to get back at Elric and Arielle simultaneously. Selena was looking forward to it. Except that Elric was already shutting it down, putting his hand out in a placating gesture, while both girls were trying to go to war for their respective parents' tarnished honor.

That was another thing Anne was insecure about: that her mother had never achieved the rank of Master, despite being a nobleborn.

"Selena." Monk Ernesto's strict tone had her dragging her gaze back to him. He leveled her with a disapproving look."Don't think I don't know that you aren't listening to me."

"You're right, I wasn't." Selina smiled and slung her arm around the small man's stiff shoulders.

"Loosen up, Ernesto. You're not at the temple anymore, so you don't have to be so inflexible. Why would you come all this way here to justtalk to me about things that don't matter?"

"The Ashwich Kingdom matters. Pyronis matters. The Calorites are thinking of waging war, and they're becoming more organized and–""Blah Blah Blah," she said.

"Let them raise their armies. When I get home, I'll just destroy them anyway."

"Not every problem is solved by brute force and power." She raised an eyebrow.

"I've yet to meet one that isn't." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Elric and Emilia arguing, and Ari standing there with a measured gaze that betrayed nothing. She was always so composed, even when doling out insults. Always with that calm mask that Selena wanted to rip off. I look forward to seeing if Anne manages to shake her today.

"Let's go meet some friends," Selena said.

"No. We are not done with the convers–" It didn't matter because Selena was already dragging him to where the fun was happening. She used [Quick Step] on both of them, so they would walk faster, and also because it was hard for the Monk to maintain his composure while speedwalking, and she found that hilarious, especially when he glared at her. She blew him a subtle kiss as they stopped in front of the group, who were too focused on their argument to notice her at first.

At least until she cleared her throat and said, "Sorry to interrupt, but I'm too nosy for my own good. Is everything alright here?'

"Ah, Selena." Despite her clear anger and her shakiness, likely caused by Elric's authority, Emilia managed to give Selena a quick bow.

"It's just that this young thing has insulted me and refuses to apologize. So now my daughter is going to teach her how to behave around her superiors."

"I'm not apologizing to you unless you apologize to my father," Arielle said.

"You don't have to–" The larger Mossborne stated.

"No, father," the younger male interrupted.

"Ari can handle her. Let her do it."

"She's an ascendant."

"So is Ari." Elric fixed Emilia with a harsh look.

"Emilia, this is childish and beneath you. Simply say you are sorry and leave. Now." Emilia nearly bowled over from his targeted aura as she stared at him with all the hatred she had in her heart.

"I will never bow to you. Even if I die, I will not bow. You and your whore mother are the biggest mistakes this family has ever made." Perfect aim. Flawless Victory. Selena thought. Elric's gaze was cold, his lips pressed together as he stared at her with a mixture of disappointment and disdain. Then he looked at Arielle, who then turned to look at him.

"You want to?" he asked her. Arielle nodded.

"Fine." He looked at Anne.

"My cousin is offering you a duel. Since you are from two different ranks, it can only be a friendly duel, meaning no excessive force."

"Fine," Anne said.

"Don't overdo it," Elric said.

"I won't."

"I wasn't talking to you." He switched his gaze back to Arielle, who nodded. Selena frowned. Why was Elric directing that to his cousin instead of his sister? Did he not understand how strong Anne was? Was he stupid? Or was he still somehow feeding Arielle charms? Or had Selena herself misjudged this entire situation?

"Let's go," Elric said as he began walking towards the main hall, which held the duelling circles. There were a few families already there, but when he arrived, he clapped and said, "Clear the circles. A friendly duel has been issued." This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Oh..." Murmurs of interest spread across the crowd of about two dozen people as they walked away to surround the duelling circles. More individuals streamed in through the front doors, including Lord Wesley and his entourage, which had grown to eight people. The young sons of both women also stood next to them, and while one had a smile, the other had a frown as they regarded the scene.

"Where's the duelling master?" Elric asked.

"Right here." A familiar man walked in from the dining hall, still chewing. Elric knew he was the combat professor, though he had not been Elric's combat professor. He'd been hired just a few decades ago, after Elric's combat professor had passed on.

"Arielle," the man smiled fondly at her.

"Just the person to brighten my day. Who are you challenging today?"

"Her." Arielle pointed at Anne. The duelling master narrowed his eyes at her and opened his mouth several times, each time closing it with a perplexed look on his face. Anne rolled her eyes.

"Anne."

"Yes, of course." He snapped his fingers.

"That was my guess, too. Hm, a third year versus a first year. You know the rules, right?"

"Yes. I will only discipline her," Anne said, and he smiled.

"Yeah, that's what the last guy said. I will warn you that it didn't work in his favor."

"I'm not Percy*** Strauss, and circumstances have changed." The Professor winked as he smirked.

"Sure it has." Elric was starting to get concerned, not that Arielle would get hurt, but that Arielle would expose herself in front of all these people. Clearly, the combat professor already knew a little about how strong she was, and he seemed pretty confident that Ari would win. Which was a problem. She shouldn't win too obviously, but Elric wasn't sure if Arielle could pull off subterfuge of that level.

He shouldn't have allowed things to get this far, but he couldn't let it go after Emilia's blatant disrespect of Arielle and her family. He was so tired of ascendant nobles and their high society snobbery, their belief that they were superior to all other humans just because they happened to be born with cores refined enough to control essences. Still, it was Emilia's sin. Anne was only trying to defend her mother, and she was but a child. Well, eighteen, which was just a child to him. He should put a stop to this.

Despite Anne's talents, he was worried about her, too, worried about what Arielle would do to her. He'd never seen Ari so angry, even though she barely showed it. In fact, her expression remained the same except for the spark of anger in her eyes.

"Ari." He was about to warn her to be subtle again, but as she faced him, she seemed to have already gotten the message,"Don't worry," she said.

"I know what you're concerned about. I'll be careful." The fact that she could read that on his features surprised him and eased him a little. She knew what was at stake. As Arielle and Anne stood in the circles, he heard more families streaming through the front doors. He could hear bits of their conversation:"It's the Earthbinder heir versus the young genius...."

"... news of her genius was highly exaggerated..."

"I guess we'll find out today..."

"This is a proxy war. It's not Anne versus the girl. It's Elric vs Emilia."

Arielle stared at her supposed cousin, who told her, "This is your last chance. Admit you're wrong, and I might forgive you."

"I'm not wrong, and I don't need your forgiveness." Ari was still angry about what had been said to her father and was itching to fight.

"Okay," Anne said. The second bell dinged, she reached out her hand and said, "[Hammer of Justice]." The ground rumbled. A powerful wind had the floor tearing open as rocks and smaller boulders swept up. Slab upon slab they built, fusing until they formed a giant hammer with a slender handle, small enough to fit her grasp. The physics didn't make sense. Despite how heavy the hammer must be, Anne held it up with ease, likely manipulating its mass. Interesting. Anne smiled.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hit you. But just hitting near you is going to cause enough vibration to make you dizzy. Do you want to apologize now?" Arielle shook her head. Anne drew her foot and charged. She was fast, her speed clearing the distance within seconds.

"[Blink]" It got Ari out of the way, but she was still within the strike vicinity. As the hammer was about to hit the ground, Arielle pointed her wand and said, "[Cross Dissolve]." It split the rocks in four, and Anne had a second of surprise before she said, "[Earth Reassemble]." The weapon instantly built back together. She swung towards Ari again, and when Ari tried to escape, Anne yelled, "[Earthen Grasp]." The earth shifted, arms thrusting up from the ground to grab at her ankles.

"[Void Air Slice]." It was what she'd named the new spell that she'd created that put the void particles on the outside of [Air Slice]. They cut through the earth with ease.

"[Levitate]," she said, and she shot into the air, earning surprised murmurs from the onlookers. Levitate was a Tier 5 spell, and it was rarely utilized by beginners with such proficiency. Though Arielle took care not to use it as well as she had in Elfheim, they were still shocked to see that she could give it enough power to suspend herself a few feet above the ground. It was also mostly reserved for items and not people.

Ari hovered in the air, staring down at Anne, who looked disgruntled even as sounds of surprise reverberated through the observing crowd. The fury still simmered as she recalled what Anne's mother had said about her father. But it wasn't her turn yet. She couldn't let herself win this too easily. She had to drag it out and let Anne get her spells out.

"Is that your plan?" Anne asked.

"To keep running away?"

"No. I just wanted to get a good idea of what you could do," she said.

"I think I'm getting the idea." Anne didn't like that. She narrowed her eyes, pointed her wand at Ari, and said, "[Density Drop]."

"[Space Null]." Arielle's spell eliminated Anne's before it could reach her. Furthermore, she'd limited the effects of space null, only applying it to the space in front of her so her [Levitate] would still work. That mastery brought another sound of awe from the crowd. Anne's glare intensified, then once more, she said, "[Earthen Grasp]!" Bursts of stone-covered limbs emerged from the ground, climbing higher to grab her feet.

Arielle said, "[Blink]" blitzing away in the air to avoid them, while still holding [Levitate]. However, Anne attacked from another angle, using "[Mass Reduce]" to hoist herself in the air, on par with Ari, and swing her hammer towards her.

"[Air Shield]." As the hammer met shield, the echo it created did cause her eardrums to ring, which was likely Anne'sintention. The other girl smiled, though her eardrums probably rang too. As Anne landed neatly on the ground, she used her spell to leap again, and Arielle prepared herself.

"[Heat Flare]," Anne said, and a flare of heat burst toward Ari.

"[Space Null]."

"[Air Hold]."

"[Space Null]""You chit." The frustration showed on Anne's face. Was Ari making it too difficult for her? Perhaps she should let her get one hit in, just to balance out everything that Arielle was going to do to her later? She let herself land on the ground right as Anne tried her earth hammer again. Ari didn't want her eardrums to ring, so she used "[Air Pillow]" to prevent it from reaching the ground. Anne glared at her.

"Are you toying with me?" No. Arielle was simply trying to save her ears, and she also couldn't help notice the dents that Anne had created in the ground. Rava is going to be very annoyed when she has to fix that tomorrow. Anne held out her wand and said, "[Stone Fortress]." The words boomed, and Ari immediately knew it was a bloodline spell. It had the signature, a stack of Massa's that looked like a small shed, chained up. They surrounded her, and her body stiffened, the air growing more dense. She couldn't move.

On top of that, more rocks flew up and began to form like armor around her body, holding her in the stiff mold, covering every part of her, up to her neck. Her wand dropped to the floor. Anne smiled, dusting her robes off as he came to her. She held the hammer over her shoulder.

"Are you ready to give up now?" No. That was out of the question. The fight could not stop here. Arielle congratulated herself on doing a good job of dragging it out, keeping herself from going for the instant win. Thisshould be enough to convince people that she was normal and not outrageously powerful. But now she was in a small predicament because her wand was on the floor. Arielle had a few cards she could play. She could break the spell with just her gaze, but she wouldn't be able to explain how she'd cast it.

She had to escape in a way that she had a good explanation for, which was challenging to do under pressure.

"Just apologize, and this will all be over," Anne said.

"It can't be over," Arielle said.

"It's just getting started." However, it seemed to be the only way to escape was to expose her secret. Unless... Suddenly, Arielle had an idea. Right as Anne said, "Suit yourself," and raised her hammer in the air. Arielle blinked once, and as the hammer landed, the sound waves pushed through with enough force to generate wind and shatter earth, which was prevented from escaping only by the circle. It was instantly followed by gasps. Because Arielle was no longer in her cage.

It happened almost too quickly to register. Right as Anne's hammer hit the ground, Arielle's cage imploded from the impact, and her wand jumped back into her hand. Arielle also whispered, "[Blink]" which got her away before the debris had fallen. The quick escape triggered a surprised gasp from the crowd, even as Arielle landed and pivoted to stare at her opponent. Whispered words choked the atmosphere, all of them some variation of so fast and how did she do tha t? Arielle kept her eyes on Anne's back.

It took a second for the other girl to realize what had happened and turn around, astonishment stamped on her countenance.

"How did you…"

"Delayed reaction spell," Arielle explained.

"Space Null has a delayed reaction component, thanks to its Vacu triple bonds, that can be initiated during activation of the spell. I did that while your fortress was forming, and it took its time, but it finally worked."

"Liar," Anne said.

"Only adepts can use delayed reaction spells."

"Can you?" Anne's face flushed.

"I have been studying with Professor Valeria, and she told me about it," Arielle said, which was the truth. Valeria had mentioned it offhandedly during one of their meetings as something Arielle should eventually aspire to achieve, even giving her a list of Vacu-dominant spells that contained delayed reaction components. That gave her a convenient excuse now for why she'd escaped the worst of the attack. Though Arielle should have been pleased that her plan had worked, she was not.

This was not a fight for pleasure. Anne's mother had called her father a slur. Ari's fury was still there, burning her, even though she'd been able to keep it restrained for the bulk of the battle. She had given the other girl enough chances to apologize or to end this. To unleash her wrath. Now, it was Arielle's turn.