Chapter 13 — That Time I Floated and Copied Her Spell

Alex POV's

It’s been like 10 minutes since the blue flare went up.

Right now, I’m squaring off against the striker and the support from Team Skystride of the Eryndor Kingdom.

Kael’s been throwing attacks nonstop, and Florentina’s backing him up—buffing him hard.

But none of it’s landing on me. I’ve just been dodging everything, lowkey toying with them both.

I looked at them and casually asked,

“So… y’all wanna take a break?”

They both froze for a sec, like what?

“What do you mean by that?” Kael shot back.

“I mean, literally. A break. Chill for a bit. What else could I mean?” I explained.

“Appreciate it, but no thanks,” Florentina said with a smile.

“Aw, man.” I sighed, a little bummed.

“Alright then. Come at me, both of you.”

But instead of attacking, they suddenly locked eyes on something in the distance.

I followed their gaze—and yup. A meteor.

“Gerald… bro, why you always gotta be this extra?” Florentina muttered.

“This is way over the top,” Kael added.

I let out another sigh.

I started charging up a spell from where I stood, aiming to blast the meteor from below—

But Kael came at me outta nowhere with a full-speed charge.

I barely dodged in time.

“HELLO?! Do y’all not see the giant METEOR UP THERE?!” I yelled, kinda panicking.

“We don’t care,” Kael replied, dead serious.

Bruh.

I took a deep breath. “Fine then. Let’s do this.”

Florentina started chanting again—another support spell for Kael, I figured.

Sure enough, his speed spiked big time.

Okay, now they were getting serious. I needed a plan, fast.

But while I was dodging Kael’s strikes, suddenly the world around me shifted.

I was surrounded by flowers. Like… a whole dreamy field of them.

Tch. I knew it.

“This is one of Florentina’s illusions.”

I’d totally misread her. I thought she was buffing Kael again—turns out she was prepping this.

Now I had to recalibrate.

Illusions like this usually have a weak point. A glitch. Something fake.

I scanned the area and spotted it—a shadowy figure just barely outta place.

Gotcha.

I blasted it with my magic—and boom. Illusion shattered. Florentina vanished too.

Alright. Just Kael left.

And I gotta wrap this quick before that meteor fully drops.

He came at me again, but I slipped past him and hit his blind spot—

One clean hit. He went down.

Then I turned to face the meteor again. No time to chill.

“Arc Flare—Burst Line!”

My spell launched right at it—direct hit. It cracked apart mid-air.

But that wasn’t the end. Debris started raining down like hellfire.

I raised a dark shield around myself, bracing as the fragments hit the ground one after another.

Didn’t lower it until the last piece dropped.

---

Haruto POV's

I saw Selena lose right in front of me. And yeah, it stung. But I know I shouldn’t let that get to me.

I try using that anti-gravity spell I’d been practicing. The one from that terrifying training.

I keep trying. Again. And again.

Still nothing.

Do I need adrenaline or something? That’s dumb... but maybe not?

I focus—really focus—and then, finally… I start floating.

I’m actually doing it! But... oof, balancing’s another beast. This is rough.

Suddenly, she appears. Artemisia. Flying straight at me. And of course—she’s launching a spell as soon as she gets close. I dodge.

“Why do you keep dodging my love, Solaris Luxflare?!” she cries.

“I told you already—my heart’s with Selena Alvaréz. Also, what kind of ‘love’ involves you trying to blast me into ash?”

“Are you mad at me for beating you in our past life? For destroying your precious light?” she goes on.

“Well then—I’m sorry!”

sigh... classic Artemisia.

She keeps spamming dark magic at me. I’m getting tired of playing dodgeball.

Should I just try copying her spell? Worth a shot.

I focus—watch her hands—and mimic the motion.

Boom. It works.

She’s shook.

“WHY?! WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!”

She throws more spells. I throw them right back. We’re about to clash—

Then suddenly…

A red flare shoots up.

Match over.