Emil

  This violent surge of mana could only mean one thing.

  She knows Mana Arts too?!

  The suddenness of Liesel’s attack took Emil by surprise. There was no time to dodge. He covered his fist in a flimsy coat of mana and threw out a desperate counter.

  Bam!

  Their punches collided. Emil grimaced as the shockwave rippled down to the base of his shoulders. His knuckles rattled—the bones in his fingers popping from the explosive impact. Caught off guard, he had no time to properly reinforce his hands in mana. The result was a shoddy defense against Liesel’s devastating blow.

  Unperturbed, Liesel raised her knees. Emil immediately reacted with his off-hand to block the oncoming strike.

  The attack never arrived.

  Liesel instead stepped into Emil’s guard. Like a snake, she coiled her hands around his outstretched arms. Bashing her shoulder into his chest, she spun around and slammed Emil overhead into the ground.

  Thud!

  Agony blazed into his back. His chest screamed—the air knocked out of him as he struggled for air. Shadows loomed above. Liesel was relentless.

  Emil slammed his hands onto the ground. A stone column ruptured towards Liesel’s direction. She tossed her head to the side. Not expecting the hit to land, Emil immediately squeezed his fist causing the column to explode. A cloud of sand fumed the airspace. With her vision blocked, Liesel was forced to stop her advance. Emil seized the small window to roll onto his feet and jump back.

  A short distance of ten meters separated the two.

  Liesel swiped away the remnants of sand blocking her sight. A vicious sneer smeared on her face.

  “This is the second time you’ve flung sand at me! Don’t you know that a lady’s face is her most precious asset?!” she shouted with glee, hopping back and forth on the balls of her feet, “Come! You’re not the only one who can use Mana Arts amongst the freshmen!”

  Is she challenging me to close combat?

  Anger rushed up his throat. The reaction confounded him, but he quickly brushed it aside. If the Ice Maiden wanted to test him in his domain, who was he to refuse?

  Emil lunged at Liesel’s provocation, his fist extended, feigning an over-head strike. When he got close, he immediately screeched to a halt. Liesel sent out a high-arcing kick at his approach. Emil ducked and countered with a right jab. His attempt was brushed aside as Liesel slapped his arm away.

  Up close and personal, the two were locked in their relentless exchange, searching for an opening to land a direct attack.

  “What a spectacle! The two finalists are unrelenting, locked in a waltz of counters and feints! Who will be the first to make a mistake?!” Melody’s voice rang over the stadium accompanied by the abated anticipation of the crowd.

  I’m starting to get used to her habits. Emil thought as he deflected another punch.

  From her impressive balance and the viciousness of her strikes, it was obvious that Liesel had trained extensively in martial arts. Her issue, however, lied in experience. Training involved repeating the same set of fundamental movements and routines over and over again till perfection. That was good for building a solid foundation, but in actual combat, routines created predictability.

  Emil tossed out a punch, right at the same time that Liesel launched her attack.

  Boom!

  Mana spluttered in the air as the impact pushed both of them back. Emil dug his feet into the ground, redirecting the momentum to lunge himself back into the fray. Mana surrounded his right arm as he swung. Liesel reacted immediately to dangerous swell of mana, twisting her body to evade the blow.

  But it was feint. Emil stopped mid-swing before slamming his shoulders into Liesel’s body.

  The Ice Maiden staggered backwards; her eyes wide with shock at the unexpected reversal. Emil pursued the opening, stomping the ground as he charged to close the gap. A crater emerged behind Liesel’s foot. She stepped back into empty air, stumbling at the lack of foothold as her body descended to the floor.

  Mana swelled from beneath her. Emil stopped at the sudden influx of energy—just as a pillar of ice sprouted from the ground. Liesel’s falling body slid behind the pillar to safety.

  There was a snap. Emil covered his face, pre-emptively armoring his body in stone as the ice pillar exploded.

  Ice shards bounced off his stone armor, clinking off uselessly onto the ground. He was suddenly struck by a sense of déjà vu.

  Emil glanced up. Liesel had a smirk on her face as if reading his thoughts, indicating that her actions were intentional.

  She did the same thing as I did earlier. She’s mocking me.

  Emil found himself smiling. In many ways, their Gifts were similar. Liesel controlled ice while he controlled the earth. Aside from the difference in the element, the wide scope of their Gifts gave them an unprecedented amount of freedom. Their only limitation was their imagination.

  Show me more of what you can do!

  He was about to charge again when a lattice of mana circles emerged above Liesel’s head.

  “Sorry, but I might actually lose at this rate. I’ll concede that you’re stronger than me in melee!” she cackled.

  Icicles emerged from the mana circles, shaped in daggers, quivering with murderous intent. With a wave of her arm, the ice soared like missiles.

  “Bastion!” Emil cried, terraforming the field in his vicinity into a fortress of earth.

  The ground shook—a set of stone barricades rose from the ensuing vibrations to shield against the barrage. The bombardment of ice blasted against the rocky defenses, breaking apart into shards. A chimelike melody filled the Nautilus from the continuous shatters. Taking cover behind one of his barricades, Emil flung a chunk of stone at Liesel’s position.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  A barrier of ice shot up in the path. His stone projectile smashed into the makeshift shield. Fragments of rock and ice covered the air. The barrage of ice slowed for just a moment.

  I’m faster.

  Realizing an opportunity, Emil continued his assault. The ice bombardment stopped as Liesel was suddenly forced on the defensive. More ice barriers were erected only to be immediately destroyed.

  The momentum was his side. Solidifying the moisture in the air into ice took longer than lobbing stone from the ground. The split-second difference gave him the edge.

  Emil launched a colossal stone. The projectile tore through the stacked barriers with ease. As the ice and sand settled, his eyes narrowed. Liesel was nowhere to be found.

  Where did she go?

  Panicked, he twisted his head on a swivel, confused by her disappearance. Then, he heard the sound of air freezing accompanied by gasps from the crowd. Emil poked his head above the barricades, using the eyes of the audience to guide his search.

  He found Liesel skating on a wall of ice, skirting along the perimeter of his array of barricades from an elevation. The ice wall grew as she moved, expanding rapidly, threatening to swallow up his bastion. Emil gritted his teeth as their eyes met.

  “Fragment!” he shouted, flinging a projectile of stone in her path. Undaunted, Liesel sped up, easily overtaking the trajectory of his attack as the stone flew uselessly behind her. She promptly returned his greeting with another bombardment of ice.

  Emil turned the corner, ducking below one of his barricades. Ice cut through the air above his head—a frosty trail left in the aftermath. Liesel was now on the eastern side of the field—the wall of ice continuing to grow behind her. Nearly half of the field was covered in her domain.

  She’s trying to encircle me.

  Realizing her intentions, Emil sprinted towards the far side of the field that was still unimpeded. His action was instantly met with another bombardment.

  Emil jumped behind one of his barricades and launched another set of stones to counter. This time Liesel leaped into the air. She flew above the stone missiles. At the apex of her ascension, a mana circle appeared below her feet. The board of ice that she was skating upon suddenly expanded.

  It turned into a giant sword engraved in ice.

  You’ve got to be kidding me. Emil shook his head in awe.

  It was a mimicry of Rory’s signature attack, Excalibur. Once it finished its formation, the sword plunged. Gravity dragged it down, imbuing its descent with a terrifying force.

  Good grief.

  Emil shuddered as he watched the enormous ice construct fall from the skies. The sheer of mass of it blotted out the sun, shrouding his position on the field in a dense shadow.

  Well, it’s not the first time I had to evade an attack of this calibre.

  He stomped the ground, creating a small burrow in the field. He plopped down into the makeshift hole and sealed the top, strengthening the exterior of the hole with mana. The surface trembled with violence as the ice sword smashed against the ground.

  Liesel should be expecting this.

  He used the same maneuver to prepare against Rory’s Excalibur. There was no doubt in his mind that she would have foresee this outcome. Ready for anything, he surged out of his burrow.

  Immediately, something sharp cleaved into the side of his shoulder.

  “Ngh!”

  Glacial ice burned into his skin, leaving a glaring sear of frost. Emil spun around, finding Liesel wielding sword of ice. Before he could even react, Liesel abandoned the sword and conjured a pair of daggers. She surged, rushing for his throat.

  Emil leaned back as the daggers swiped the air.

  His heart pounded. Hairs rose on the edge of his arms. The familiar sensation of danger crawled along his back. But something was different about this time. Instead of being accompanied by the fear, he felt his chest swell with excitement.

  What is this feeling?

  He jumped back to create distance. Rather than pursue, Liesel’s ice daggers morphed into a spear. The extended range of the new weapon allowed her to follow-up without rest. Emil tilted his body, letting his left shoulder take the blow.

  Blood sprayed. Flesh tore. His arms burned from the searing ice.

  But the painful decision gave him space to retaliate.

  Emil formed his gauntlets and met Liesel’s next strike. She winced at the sudden counter as her spear was shattered. Despite losing the momentum, she was smiling. Her eyes glowed with a childlike joy.

  Is that what I look like right now?

  He stomped the ground, sending a wave of mana into the ground. Liesel glanced down, expecting to see a crater somewhere by her feet. But there was nothing. Instead, Emil lunged forward with a violent swing. His fist collided into Liesel’s torso. She folded, flung backwards by the nasty blow—stopped only by a cradle of ice that she conjured at the last second.

  Liesel held her stomach. She was reeling as blood poured out of her mouth. The audience stirred. For the first time in the Clash of Dawn, the Ice Maiden of Belle was struggling. For the first time in this event, she took a direct hit. With her teeth stained with red, her perfect track record had been finally tarnished.

  Despite all of that, she was still smiling. Happy. Excited. Ecstatic. Emil never seen so much joy on a regal face before. Especially not after being decked in the gut.

  “Are you finally starting to understand it now?” Liesel suddenly asked after spitting out a mouthful of blood, “This stage, this once-in-a-lifetime moment is where we Exalted can clash to our heart’s content! No politics. No hidden agenda. Nothing to gain or lose, except for our pride to be better than our opponent. On this stage, nothing else exists except for us!”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Emil asked, advancing to close the distance.

  His eyes narrowed, alert to any sudden movements or flicker of mana in the vicinity.

  “You still don’t understand?” Liesel scoffed, “I see. I had a feeling I needed something drastic to get through that thick skull of yours. Very well.” She opened her arms. Brilliant blue lights flooded as mana radiated from her body. “Let me show you a winter reverie.”

  The ambiance temperature suddenly dropped. The air thickened. Emil saw his breaths condensate into mist. A sheet of frost spread rapidly along the ground, sprouting from the numerous shards of ice and the ice wall littered on the perimeter of the field.

  Liesel’s specialty, Niflheim.

  I get it now. All of the attacks she tossed out earlier. The icicles. The ice wall. All of that was to spread traces of her mana, create shards for ice to form, and drop ambient temperatures to set up this phenomenon.

  Frost already clung to his skin. Cold hugged his body. His legs were on the verge of being encased in ice. Liesel stared at him with a jeering snarl.

  “Come on! What are you going to do?! Are you going to be the first person to overcome this specialty of mine?! Or will you fall just like all the others?!”

  A flash of anger crossed his mind. He sneered at the blatant provocation. Ice continued to climb up the length of his body.

  Emil could hear the whispers of the crowd. They watched open-mouthed with excited breaths, waiting for his response. How will he rise to this occasion? They stirred with anticipation. Their energy beckoned for him to show them an answer. Engulfed by the atmosphere, Emil was compelled to meet their expectations.

  The thought of being the first person in this kingdom to surpass the Ice Maiden’s Niflheim was tantalizing. It would be easy.

  All he had to do was activate Blaze.

  Wait, what am I doing?

  The question instantly dampened his fighting spirit. Did he seriously just consider outing his cover the sake of a winning match? Was he insane?

  No. No, I’m not.

  Emil let out a cold breath. The questions on his mind clicked with clarity. The message that Liesel had trying to convey to him with this match—he finally understood.

  I see.

  He glanced down at his hands. They were trembling—not from fear nor the freezing cold, but from a rush of excitement. On this stage, in the finals of the Clash of Dawn, without a single ounce of worry or anxiety, he was enjoying himself as he tested his mettle against the strongest prodigy in the kingdom.

  He was having fun.

  The realization thundered in his head. For the first time in ages, he wanted something. Not for Steiger. Not for the kingdom. Not for the Ordinaries and orphans that got tragically trampled upon. Not for Mia and Raz.

  This singular, selfish desire was something genuine that he wanted for himself.

  He wanted to win.

  To think I could still yearn for something.

  He was surprised at himself. Even after living this wretched excuse of a life, he still had the audacity to desire. He still wished. He still had things that he wanted outside of his obligations.

  I guess I still haven’t given up on myself.

  The discovery was enough for him.

  He shot Liesel a pensive smile. The Ice Maiden’s joyous eyes suddenly widened as if she had realized his intent.

  His fighting spirit disappeared.

  Emil closed his eyes, surrendering himself to the caress of the frigid ice.