The match horn sounded and without hesitation, Yume began her attack; she took her wand and pointed it in my direction, "Wind Wall... Razor Wind". When Yume whispered, wall of wind erected in the middle of the battlefield, shooting a barrage of wind blades, thinking quickly and managed to evade the attack.
One Month Prior
About a month ago, I met with Professor Greenwitch to prepare for the upcoming tournament. I sat in the Locker room of the arena maintaining my breathing, the professor entered the room and sat next to me, "Ready for training?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
Professor Greenwitch's usual cheerful expression morphed into something that was more serious, he almost looked like a completely different person, "Look Myrlin, you're really strong, honestly, probably the strongest student I've ever had the pleasure to teach, but there's a favor, I'd like to ask of you."
This was a bit sudden, I mean, up until this point, I was doing just fine, I had all my assignments turned in and I've been practicing my magic and making sure that I can protect those that I care about, This feels like a red flag.
"Please, Myrlin," he continued, "exercise restraint... Whatever you do, do not, I mean under no circumstance, use magic during your Advancement Match..."
"Any particular reason why?"
Suddenly, Sams appeared on my left shoulder, "To be frank, MyrMyr, you have an extremely rare signature, coupled with a neigh infinite cache of mana. If there were clever mages in the stands, they just might pose as a problem for your family."
Professor Greenwitch nodded his head and took a deep breath, "Sams is right. There are a lot of people that will see your magic and try to take it for themselves... And since you have this unique ability, Lady Eos and myself agreed that the use of magic is prohibited from your side."
"That doesn't seem fair."
Sams used his tail to thumb my forehead, "Life isn't fair, MyrMyr."
Professor Greenwitch chuckled, "It may not seem fair, but your opponent will be at a complete disadvantage if you used that Time Stop ability... Focus on your swordsmanship and prove the crowd that you don't need to rely on spells to defeat an enemy…"
I stared deeply into my reflection from my blade, Don't rely on spells, huh?
You'll do fine, MyrMyr… I promise… Sams stated telepathically.
My professor and dragon familiar both gave me a warm smile before we left the locker room.
Present Day
With grace, I drew my weapon and pointed it in Yume's direction, "I, Myrlin Samael Wyllt, hereby declare you, Yume Mugen, as my enemy... And I shall defeat you, using only the steel from my blade(not actually made from steel; wooden blade)".
Yume tried her hardest to hold back her laughter, "You think you can beat me, just using that rickety old sword? This must be a JOKE!"
In that instant, Yume shot several wind blades toward me, that I was able to deflect the attacks with my sword. I leaped backwards and repositioned myself, gripping my katana tighter.
I'm sure I can use a flash step to finish this match... I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. In a flash, I was gone; Yume seemed surprised and checked for her surroundings.
As I approached Yume's wind wall, I was stopped by a flurry of wind blades that I barely had a chance to evade; I jumped back several meters to stand clear of her attack range. That's going to be an issue... Even with my thought acceleration, I was barely able to dodge that!
"Ho-Ho-Ho," Yume chuckled. "I'm telling you this fight is over! I've already won!!!"
I gritted my teeth in response and exhaled sharply; I gripped the hilt of my weapon once more and changed my stance, "Asura Style: Fifth Kata: Nuki Uchi!"
Yume raised an eyebrow as I leaped in the air and lunged toward her. The wind wall continued to shoot multiple wind attacks in my direction. I was able to deflect majority of the attacks and even managed to launch one of my own. Two extremely powerful gusts of wind collided with each other, causing the a massive explosion. When the dust settled, both Yume and I were back on our respective sides of the field; the crowd grows silent in anticipation.
"You're stronger than I gave you credit for," Yume stated condescendingly.
Like clockwork, I rolled my eyes at her remarks and switched an underhanded grip while assuming another sword stance; Yume braces herself for another attack.
"Asura Style: First Kata: Shōmen!"
A flurry of wind blade came shooting toward me, this kata was the perfect match up with this tired ass attack. But I thought that too soon, as Yume wind blades started to change directions, she erupted in laughter once more.
This is getting annoying... I can't get passed that stupid auto attack she has!
"Give up yet," Yume mocked. "Ready to admit you bit off more than you can chew?"
Forgive me, Professor, but I can't beat her without using magic, I slowly brought my scabbard up and sheathed my sword.
In the Stands
The professor and Father sat in the stands watching with close intent, "Shit," Professor Greenwitch whispered, Father's eyes widened in shock.
"Dmitri," he said with a stern voice.
The professor gave Father a nervous laugh and redirected their attention back to the battlefield.
On the Battlefield
I focused on my breathing and in that moment, my perception of time increased rapidly, "I'll admit, Yume, I had fun during this match, but I have to be honest with you, I haven't been taking this fight seriously..."
The demoness bursted in laughter, "Puh-LEASE!!!! Everyone knows you have the weakest magic in Caliburn! There's no need to lie to make yourself seem stronger!"
"Stasis."
At that exact moment, I activated my Stasis Chamber and my eyes began to glow a brilliant gold and runes appear on my face and hands and time froze around me. To the outside world, it just looks like I vanished, but in reality, I'm just moving so fast that no one can comprehend my movements.
Yume, the audience, and even the announcer had no clue what was going on, "WHAT'S THIS? IT APPEARS MYRLIN HAS JUST, DISAPPEARED, THERE IS NO TRACE OF HIS MANA SIGNATURE ANYWHERE!"
I looked around and saw that that the entire arena is almost at a complete standstill. For a bit of context on how my ability works, so Stasis freezes the kinetic energy within a fifteen diameter, anything outside of that radius won't be completely frozen in time, just moving really slowly. The fascinating part about this ability, however, is the fact that I can control where the center point of the radius, which means, I can essentially teleport, that's my Sub-Signature, Stasis Dash.
After I made the preparation for my trap, I casually walked toward Yume, admiring the beauty of her attack. I carefully made my way behind Yume and placed my blade across her neck. When time resumed, all the attendees gasped in horror; I slowly leaned into Yume's ear, "I have the weakest magic, you say?"
Yume broke into a cold sweat and started stammering, "How'd you-?"
I chuckled and smirked solidifying my victory, until I felt an icy hand on my right shoulder. I couldn't move, this was a response I only had when my father or uncle flexed their power, what is this, who is this?
The person behind me leaned into his ear, it was a woman's voice, and out of the corner of my eye, I recognized her as the woman I saw outside the window when I first started attending this school.
Her voice was both warm and cold at the same time, "You should have listened to that professor of yours," she said as she tightened her grip on my shoulder and activated a teleportation circle.
In the Stands
Father and Professor Greenwitch both exchanged a troubled look and attempted to make their way down to the battlefield, "I told him not to use any magic," shouted the professor.
"No time for that now, we have to stop her," Father launched himself in the air using his sand and landed in front of the woman, however it is too late.
"Too slow, Lord of Time," the woman said, giggling menacingly.
The woman and I vanished instantly; the crowd began to panic and the arena attendants had to start evacuating the stands.
Father's face twisted into a scowl, "Dmitri, retrieve your master... NOW!"
Suddenly, Professor Bouldier joined Professor Greenwitch and Father and the two instructors accepted The Demon Lord of Time's demand.
The two instantly vanished and Father took a long winded sigh as he looked up toward his family in the stands.
Elsewhere in the Astral Cape
The dark haired woman took me to what looked like some sort of dark and damp dungeon, equipped with a gurney. I tried to check my surrounding, but before I could find my bearings, the dark haired woman used a sleeping spell to incapacitate me, "Oh, no-no-no! You're too curious for my liking, I'll just return the favor by peaking in that head of yours," the woman said, smiling maniacally.
To be Continued...