Unity III / The Right to Rule the World

“Ascorrada!”

An orb of flames blasted from the tip of Professor Seris’s wand, and I ducked to the left in response. But just as it was about to whiz past me…

“Nobode!”

… it suddenly curved at an impossible angle, striking my right flank.

I could feel my skin charring through two layers of clothing, but before anything could catch alight, I chanted a spell of my own.

“Funios!” A small, localized burst of air dissipated the remaining embers of his spell before they could wreak more havoc on my body.

I sucked in a sharp breath and swore, squeezing my sword handle to distract myself from the pain flooding through my body.

“Corrada! Corrada! Corrada!”

Three more fireballs fanned out toward me before I had a chance to find my bearings, forcing me to act immediately.

Well, if he can curve these goddamn things at me either way, then I’ll just have to meet them head on!

I kicked forward with tremendous strength, barreling into the flames as I slashed sideward. The incredible physical force warped the atmosphere into an invisible cyclone, dismantling the spheres in an instant as I streaked through the sparks left behind.

The room was spacious, but not for a battlefield. In a fraction of a second, I neared the professor, flipping my hilt mid-dash into a reverse grip. The moment I was within striking distance, I swiped upward at his chin with my sword pommel, aiming to concuss him in one blow.

My mercy was folly; I knew that, but I couldn’t overcome my nature.

“Osnesor!”

Mere milliseconds before contact, one of his fingers grazed my left shoulder as his repulsion spell triggered, flinging my entire body downward in an arc. The wooden planks beneath me splintered and cracked as my back smashed into them, the impact forcing all of the oxygen out of my lungs.

“Osnestal!”

The next instant, I was blasted across the floor, more boards tearing and dislodging in my wake. If our uniform jackets had been any thinner, I was sure my torso would’ve become a forest of wooden thorns by now.

I knew I had no one to blame but myself; if I had utilized my blade’s reach, I would’ve struck him long before he could unleash a contact spell like that.

I wish I knew Professor Anellia’s blunting spell for times like these. Or some kind of offensive magic to fight back without cutting him down!

I leapt to my feet as I scoured every inch of my mind for a strategy. I watched his gaze, attempting to read his intentions, but his expression offered no clues to solve my plight.

Should I start spamming my own spells? They’ll make me harder to deal with, but if I overuse them, it could be—wait, that’s it!

My eyes snapped to Professor Seris’s mouth. Though he was trying to hide it, I could tell his breathing had grown heavier and more labored since the start of our fight. Though his mana capacity far exceeded mine, it took time for a body to convert its raw magical reserves into usable fuel, and his immediate supply was already dwindling from his constant casting. Even just half a minute of rest would greatly ease his strain, so every moment of respite put me at a further disadvantage.

I torpedoed ahead once more without a thought toward my safety.

I’ll just have to react to whatever he throws at me!

Forced out of his recess, he whipped his wand forward.

“Lyostives!”

“Anfunios!”

A crackling sea of ice burst from the tip of his wand, crashing against the floor and flooding to the edges of the room in a great tidal wave.

But he’d made a grave mistake, and my response was swift. The instant my brain processed the first syllable of his words, I flung an arm downward and shouted my own incantation, which sent me flying above his tsunami with ease.

Ha! Using an ice spell against me!? How many thousands of times do you think I’ve heard her chant those? I’d recognize any configuration of a lyos spell in a heartbeat!

Realizing the oversight, he reversed his approach.

“Ascorrves!”

A torrent of fire erupted from his wand like a flamethrower, aimed at my still-skyward frame. The sweat stuck to my skin evaporated before the blaze even licked my flesh, and my throat burned as I opened my mouth to yell, “Loablis anfunios!”

From midair, I shot backward out of his fan of flames. I spun with the momentum of my spell to land on my feet, splashing into puddles as I hit the ground. Even yards away, this ice had melted from the heat of his inferno.

Damn. Trading spells two for two sucks, but both of his were high-powered. I think I still came out on top of that exchange.

The moment I felt the scorching temperature drop a single degree, I initiated my next assault, charging headfirst into the conflagration. Just as my instincts had predicted, the blaze dispersed into cinders right as I bounded into the spell, with only small patches of searing ash striking my skin as I carried forward.

Ducking low, I aimed for his shins and cleaved wide. I wasn’t foolish enough to impair my own range again.

This won’t take him out completely, but immobilizing him should do half the job!

The blade sliced clean through skin and bone, ripping two wedges of flesh from his legs. But despite the apparent victory, my heart sank.

That was too easy. Muscle doesn’t tear with so little resistance.

Even before the professor’s “body” crumbled to ethereal dust, I realized my mistake. All of my attention had been focused on listening for incantations, and that tunnel vision would be my undoing.

“Ascorrada! Itsenada! Moreo!” A series of howls roared out from the opposite side of the chamber.

Why do I keep falling for this bastard’s illusions! I spun around, praying I’d have enough time to react to his barrage.

As a volley of projectiles materialized before my eyes, the three spells began fusing together, melting into an elemental cocktail of crackling energy that extended the width of the tower.

I can’t dodge that. I can’t cut that. I can’t disperse it with wind. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t—

My brain’s processors fried themselves out trying to calculate an escape from the predicament.

I’m sorry, Shina.

I planted my feet, bracing my body to take it head on.

I wish I could’ve given you a proper farewell. But if I somehow come out of this alive, I’ll—

“Lyosves worato!” A shrill voice rang out, followed by the sound of something heavy scraping against stone.

In an instant, a gigantic wall of ice blasted between me and Professor Seris, pouring out from the now-exploded doorway.

No way…

The barrier cracked as the professor’s spells struck it, but by some miracle, it withstood the onslaught. Seconds later, it finally shattered, its structural integrity compromised from the impact. But in its wake…

“Everett!” Someone slid through the entrance toward me as they cried my name.

“How did you—”

“You could’ve left more details in your stupid note! You’re lucky I’m a genius!” Shina twisted to face Professor Seris as she hurled complaints at me.

I wasn’t sure how much she’d pieced together, but if nothing else, our battle would’ve been loud enough to hear as she ascended the tower.

“Thanks for the save. I don’t know if I would’ve survived that,” I admitted.

“Then don’t go off alone next time!”

Though we exchanged words, both of our gazes were locked onto the professor, awaiting his next move. He stared us down in return, but compared to before, he looked ragged and weak. A thin line of blood trickled down his lip, verifying my hypothesis.

“He used way too much mana in that last attack,” I whispered to my partner. “He’s been firing off spells nonstop since we started fighting. I think this might—”

Professor Seris tossed his wand aside and shrugged, freezing me in my tracks. “You win. I cannot defeat both of you at once.” Whether it was a good poker face or his honest feelings, he looked unbothered as he admitted defeat.

“What…?” I muttered, unable to conceal my shock.

He took a couple of unhurried steps forward, then stopped. “I did not prepare for a prolonged battle and overtaxed myself. It is as simple as that. It was foolish of me to attempt a one-on-one fight against a swordsman in such a tight space to begin with.”

I clenched my jaw, the fury from earlier rising back up. “Why the hell are you so calm right—”

“Everett! He’s activating a—” Shina yelled to grab my attention, but her warning was cut short as the entire tower quaked violently.

When the convulsions quelled a few seconds later, I finally noticed the blue glow that had begun emanating from the stone underneath us, exposed where the wooden tiling was uprooted. I had been too preoccupied earlier to realize, but this entire time, hidden beneath the flooring, there was one gigantic…

“Summoning sigil!?” Shina squeaked in shock as she beheld the situation. “Professor Seris, what have you done…?”

“What had to be done. Nothing more.” His voice had grown sickly, the remnants of his mana already absorbed by the sigil he stood on.

“Is it even possible to summon a Fragment this huge?” Shina was stunned as she examined the visible parts of the pattern, probably comparing it to the one she had been studying.

“Fragment? You underestimate me,” Professor Seris said, coughing up flecks of blood. “The Iccasians may possess an incomprehensible quantity of forbidden knowledge from across the ages, but they are not innovators. Mindlessly recycling the same magic from centuries past in the modern day? It is no wonder those fools have yet to accomplish their goal.”

“You don’t mean…” The look of horror on Shina’s face told me far more than the professor’s vague ramblings.

“If a lesser incarnation of an Anomaly Beast can be summoned, why assume it stops there? I strove for greater and greater results, as any scholar would. So behold, my pupils: the true form of Ames Nori, called back into this world by my hand!”

Shina stumbled backward, her legs shaking from his declaration. “W-why? Professor… why are you doing this!?”

“I wished for things to turn out differently, I truly did. But you bested me, and I was left with no other choice.”

“No other choice!?” I shouted. “What happens if we all die here? What happens if the Anomaly Beasts win? Did your ‘ideal’ account for that?”

“I do not know what fate the world will endure under the yoke of the Anomaly Beasts, but I do know how it will fare beneath the blessings of Aeresi. After millennia of their dominance, I would rather see history take a new path than repeat the old ways in perpetuity.”

Having heard enough of his rhetoric, I flipped my sword around in my hand, carefully pinching the blade between my fingers, and pointed the pommel forward.

“Ablis.”

Defenseless and resigned, Professor Seris did not react to the metal bullet shooting toward him. His body slumped to the ground as my flying hilt struck his forehead, knocking him out cold.

Unfortunately, the spell had already been activated, and the current condition of its caster did not stop the thick, purple ooze from seeping out of the sigil beneath us.

“Shina, grab onto my back, and hold on tight.” For some reason, the urgency made me feel calmer.

“W-what? Why? We have to get out of—”

“Come on, just do it! I won’t be able to hold onto your legs, so you’ll need to make sure your grip is solid.”

Awkwardly acquiescing to my request, she let me lift her into a piggyback position. After ensuring she was secured, I let go and ran toward the professor’s body.

I unconjured my blade the moment I touched it, then scooped him up in my arms.

“Everett, what are you doing?”

“We don’t have long before this nasty goo starts solidifying into a body, and taking the stairs will be too slow.”

Seeming to realize my plan, she shrieked in horror. “E-Everett, I don’t—”

“Please, trust me.”

She dug her face into my shoulder so she wouldn’t have to watch. “Fine. But I’m gonna be really mad if you get us killed!”

“Gotcha. Well, luckily, making you mad is the last thing I’d ever want to do.”

Taking a deep breath, I charged straight into the window at the end of the chamber, shattering it with my torso and sending the three of us careening down into the cliffside below.