Luz skidded back into the surrounding trees, recoiling from the powerful ice blast she sent at the monster. Just as she had suspected, this was a Drabug. Body of a common Isles dragon, head of a giant cockroach.
Her eyes darted again to the mysterious girl, who was now standing up. Her face was completely neutral, giving Luz a deep sense of unease. Luz was about to summon another ice blast to immobilize the Drabug, but stopped as the unfamiliar witch girl was staring directly into the void eyes of the monstrous creature. Luz reached out a hand in fear, and was about to yell again, but had to immediately duck when the Drabug burst out a harsh flame.
Luz cautiously stood back up from her cover, and was frozen by the sight in front of her. The unknown girl, still planted directly in front of the creature, had summoned large constraints made out of vines from the ground. Luz saw her clench one fist and slowly twist it, forcing a sharp squeal out of the Drabug. She could see the creature start to tremble in anguish.
Luz could see no emotion in the girls eyes. After constraining the beast, the girl quietly said "Ice Abomination, rise." Luz felt the ground shake and jumped back a bit, keeping her eyes locked on the tense scene at hand. A mixed abomination? Wait, she was using abomination and plant magic at the same time?
Underneath the Drabug, a giant Ice Abomination rose. It was lying on its back, stretching out its two large arms. The abomination started to engulf the Drabug, causing the beast to cry out in a sharper pain. Flailing its head around, it shot out another large fire blast at Luz. The girl didn't notice it however, she was paralyzed due to the pure shock from this girl mixing magic.
"Ice Abomination, block!" The meek girl now shrieked in pure determination, flying her hand in Luz's direction. The Ice Abomination shot out a third arm to bear the brunt of the fire blast, following its creators command. The abomination let out a low growl, evaporating rapidly due to the intense heat.
The Drabug continued to struggle in the vines, but the mystery girl kept her stance strong. Luz could see no signs of weakness in her face, only power. Luz quickly twisted her finger, preparing a quick spell to knock the Drabug unconscious in an attempt to aid the girl in front of her. But as she was about to cast it, she heard the monster cease its pained screeches.
The girl in front of her was now twisting both of her fists, successfully knocking the Drabug unconscious. Seeing this unfamiliar girl completely in control of this creature's fate, Luz was completely lost for words. The girl cast a levitation spell, lifting the beast off the ground, sending it flying far off into the dim sky.
Luz could only stare at the girl now, completely entranced by the sheer energy she gave off. The girl never faltered, and still had the same neutral expression on her face.
"Hey!" Luz shouted at the girl, whose head instantly turned. Luz saw her eyes go wide, though the rest of her face remained still.
"Thanks for saving my life! How did-" Luz was cut off by the girl scampering off to a nearby tree. The mystery girl opened up the tree trunk and went inside. Luz could see for a split second something inside. A room? What?
Luz lifted a finger, as if to protest the reality of what she just saw. She almost wanted to go see the girl again, but decided it would be best to turn around and head back home. Who was that, and how was she so powerful? What? That was all that could run through her mind. What? This girl took out a Drabug, using effectively no ice magic, all on her own. And saved Luz's life.
"Wow." She whispered under her breath, and she started walking away from the scene. She pulled out her scroll and opened the map used for the Boiling Isles, setting a pinpoint to where the battle took place. She labeled it "Mystery girl… house?"
Luz sighed, and continued back home. She couldn't think about her now, she needed to focus on Manubrius. They needed her for some reason, and she had to figure out why before it was too late.
She was now ready, Lilith thought to herself. Strolling through Sternham, Lilith was searching for a tournament to enter her pupil in. Tourneys were common throughout the Isles, allowing witches to test their strength by battling their peers. Whether it be social credit, money, or the promise of power, it was always a valuable test of a witch's worth.
In the middle of town, there was a large board of upcoming contests. Sternham, although a smaller town compared to the rest of the Isles, was well known for its variety in competitions. Lilith's finger traced the board, until it landed on the exact type she wanted.
A small tournament for older adolescents, the key being its use of masks. Lilith couldn't let anyone know Amity existed, after all. It was already a huge risk letting her see the way other witches lived. The tourney was small, only 8 witches would be competing, with no prize. Just the opportunity to show off what they've learned in school. It was perfect.
Lilith headed over to the building to sign-up her apprentice. On the way, she changed her appearance. She cast a light illusion spell to make her hair color a soft brown, and shifted her features around subtly. While people in town didn't care about her presence, she couldn't risk making it known that she had a pupil.
Walking into the non-distinct building, she saw a man-spider, whose eight solid black eyes locked onto the coven leader. It wasn't a very impressive building, which was perfect for Lilith's purposes. "You here for the tourney?"
"Yes. I would like to-"
"Sorry lady, all slots are full. We're holding one next week though, where-"
Lilith dropped a bag onto the man-spider's desk unceremoniously. "Here. Now, I would like to sign my student up for the tourney."
"What's all this about? You trying to bribe me?" He cautiously pulled the drawstring, revealing hundreds of Snails. He brought one up to an eye, knowing how common fake currency was on the Isles. But this was the real deal.
"Huh, well then. No one else knows we have a full roster yet so uh, I can kick one of the other kids out. Alright." He pulled out a rough piece of parchment and a quill. "Since this is anonymous, all I need is their name and uh, coven track thing. Oh, and don't say their real name, gotta keep it a surprise for the end. Say some fake name that fits them."
"Masked. Plant track." Lilith focused her eyes directly on the man-spiders features, as if to dare him to question her answer. Lilith knew that even if Plant magic wasn't Amity's strongest suite, it was the most powerful magic in isolation. She wished that her student could show off her full powers, but knew that the time would come if she continued playing into Belos's hand.
"Uh, well. Huh. Masked?" He tapped the quill on the paper, pondering if it was worth kicking someone out just for this amount of money. He smirked, of course it was. "That's new. Alright, "Masked" is signed up. Very original. Tourney's in three days, just show up back here and some signs will direct you where to go."
Lilith turned away without another word, tired of the man's fumbling words. Now it was certain, Amity would finally face a true opponent. No, not true. These witches were below Amity's power, even if it was being limited. No, Amity would finally see why she had been trained for all these years to kill Belos.
She would finally face the consequences of Belos's decisions, and see the witches weakened against their own will.
It was pitch black by the time Luz got home, as she opted to saunter slowly on the walk back. Even though she knew what she had to do at school the next day, it didn't make thinking about it any easier. The thought kept running through her mind.
The school paid her parents to convince them to sign her up. And they decided to do this before she had any skills. Luz knew it was pointless to keep analyzing it, but the thought was much too daunting to let go of.
Thankfully, when she arrived back home, Hooty was fast asleep. She loved talking with the demon owl sometimes, but she was exhausted after what had transpired in the woods. There was no way she would be able to handle his antics right now.
She creaked open the door, and lingered into the kitchen. Dinner was thankfully left out for her, which she carried up to her room to eat. Thankfully, her parents had already gone to bed. She wasn't quite ready to talk to them, and just wanted to try to sleep.
She didn't expect to see King sitting in bed, eyes pouting in the direction of the door. "Where were you?! I couldn't fall asleep, I was so worried about you!" King scampered over to Luz, squeezing her leg tight.
She stifled a giggle, always happy to see King when it was just the two of them. She loved him a lot, they had gotten into a lot of adventures growing up. In many ways, King was Luz's sibling. Mama and Mami found King in the forest when Luz was still an infant, and decided to adopt the demon to bring more life to the house.
King wasn't always the easiest to take care of. He never seemed to emotionally grow up, and still was the source of many messes for the family. Around Eda and Camila, he would always spout off about how he was the King of Demons, and how one day he would reclaim his throne. But around Luz? He was just King.
"I'm sorry King, just. Something happened and I needed to be alone for a bit." Luz scooped her friend up into a tight cuddle. She felt the tension that had been present all day relieve a bit as she felt his warm fur.
"Why didn't you come to talk to me? You know we can always be around each other, oh no. Did I do something wrong, Luz?!" Luz could sense the anxiety in King, so she carefully set him down.
Luz was always worried that King had an unhealthy attachment to her. And honestly, her to him. Nobody at school really cared to make friends with her. Always the odd one out, the human-witch that the teacher's always glorified. Witch-human?
But King knew she was just Luz, and that they would always be there for each other. But, Luz was scared to tell him that she wanted to join a coven. King might think she didn't like him anymore, that he wasn't good enough to provide Luz company.
That was never it though, Luz just needed to get out of this house. It was all she ever knew, and while she loved the comfort it provided, it was almost time to move on to the next part of her life. It felt so constricting, and her conversation with Mama didn't help at all. What if she couldn't join the Emperor's Coven after all? One of the biggest reasons she wanted to join it so badly was to get away from home, to see new sights.
Luz sat down on the floor, inviting King into her lap while she pulled something out of her bag. "Enough about that, I made a new version of the potion today!" King's eyes lit up with pure elation, paws coming up to cup his own cheeks.
"Weh? Do you think it'll work this time?" King's tail was now wagging excitedly, unable to contain himself as he grasped his hands toward the potion. Luz smiled, setting it down on the floor as she took a bite of her food.
Mama said that members of King's species usually grew up to be taller than an average witch. But King was only a foot or so tall. She suspected that nothing was wrong with him, just the way he was born. The family never commented on it, as King was always self-conscious about his stature. Why wasn't he like the others?
"I don't know, but Professor Hedio is confident in this one." She picked it up, and studied it again. This potion, what her and Mami had been working on for the past few months, would be a specialized growth potion.
If it worked correctly, it would modify King's genetics to grow to a height similar to other members of his species'. Luz never wanted to do it, she thought King was perfect the way he was. But once King heard the idea, he insisted that she at least try making it. And Professor Hedio was interested in the idea, encouraging Luz as always.
Luz continued to think as she swirled around the potion, swatting away King's grasping paws. Did Professor Hedio really have the best intentions for her? He always encouraged her ever since she started taking his classes, just like every other teacher. But she could talk about more than just potions with him. She trusted him to listen when she was frustrated with school. But was he really just like every other teacher, only caring because of, whatever reason?
"Here," She handed the potion to King, who was now bouncing with excitement. "We can try it. But please be quiet, Mama and Mami are trying to sleep." She rested her palm on the bottom of her face, smiling at King in an attempt to distract her own thoughts.
King swigged it down, but once again, no effects were immediately noticeable. His head turned down, as he slumped down in protest. "Maybe it isn't instant, and it'll just take a few days. Thanks for trying though, I really want it to work. I believe it, this time is the one!"
Luz frowned, knowing how important this was to him. The effects should be instant, a gradual but noticeable growth, but she didn't have the heart to tell King that. She grabbed the empty flask and placed it back into her bag, frustrated with its lack of results. Luz finished the rest of her dinner, brushed her teeth, and scooped King up into her bed.
"We should try to get some sleep. I don't know if I will but, it's been a long day." She flopped down in her bed, dreading the oncoming thought storm that would certainly continue from earlier in the day.
King raised his head toward his best friend. "Hey wait, what did happen today? You never told me, and you always tell me everything! Where'd you go?"
"I, don't really want to talk about it right now. I still need to figure things out." King looked down with sulking eyes. "But, I'll tell you all about it later. Trust me. And, thank you for looking out for me."
Luz ruffled his head, and turned off her bedside lamp. Slowly, she let the night take over. Her last thought before drifting off to sleep was, would that mystery girl like King?
It had around a week since Amity fought off the Drabug, and saved that girl's life.
And Amity could not stop thinking about her.
It was the first time she had ever seen anyone else, it was such a foreign concept to her. Of course she knew there were witches and demons on the Isles, that her and Lilith weren't the only ones alive. But the only real evidence she saw were witches in her textbooks, and the occasional demon in a diagram.
For the first time in her life, Amity was scared. But she refused to acknowledge it, either that or she didn't know how. It was impossible for Amity to know. All she knew was, that girl changed everything. It was just a simple Drabug, but that girl almost died because of it. Another reason to trust Lilith, this girl must be proof of the weakening caused by Belos's rule.
Thinking about Belos helped keep Amity's mind off of her. Now that she finally had a visible goal lying ahead, she knew where to channel her powers. She spent most of the week going through her textbooks, though she couldn't find much information on the emperor. The only mentions of him were done in praise, as if he was a god instead of a fellow witch. Perhaps Lilith would tell her who Belos really was. But she didn't dare think of asking such a question, for Lilith would only reveal what was necessary.
Lilith walked in the front door, and had something in her hand beyond the normal supplies. Amity instantly recognized it, a mask. But not just any mask. One from the Emperor's Coven?
Lilith threw the mask behind her while setting down supplies. "Put this on. You are ready to fight other witches. We are now going to head into Sternham, you have a tournament to win." Lilith strolled back out the front door, never once making eye contact with her pupil.
Amity obeyed, as always. But the shock was present in her mind. She was leaving her home? Surely she would come back, but if not then it would be okay. Lilith would make sure it would be okay. She always did in her own Lilith way. The textbooks mentioned the tournaments on occasion, but Amity never even entertained the thought of entering one.
And now, Lilith chose it for her? Lilith was truly the only mentor she ever needed. Amity put on the mask. She almost pondered on why it was a mask from the Emperor's Coven, but quickly ended that train of thought. Lilith chose it for a reason, and she didn't need to know why.
"Get on my staff." Lilith was facing away from the hidden house now, sitting on her hovering, carved stick. Amity had rarely seen it before, and knew she would never be able to make a palisman to power it. Maybe someday, the materials would be available again. How incredible it was that her mentor would allow her to sit on the staff.
As they soared over the forest, Amity was enthralled by all the sights. While the actual flight only took five minutes, Amity thought it to be infinite. Seeing the sky unblocked by trees, amazed by all of the creatures flying through its vast purple air. Amity almost fell off the staff from shock, but kept her balance. To her, this world was completely new. Disconnected from what she had known for her whole life.
But when she blinked, she saw a flash of an unrecognizable scene. A wide open field, with green trees in the distance? Amity shook her head, and focused. These illusions were only a distraction of the mind, one that she still needed to control. Focus was always essential.
They landed in front of the tourney building, and Lilith walked in. Amity followed behind her, now trying to keep her head straight. Her body tingled, seeing dozens of witches and demons walk around her. Amity's muscles stiffened, an automatic response from her body to keep her safe. She kept close behind her mentor, and remembered that she was to fight in a tourney.
Against real witches.
Inside, there were two signs. "SPECTATORS" and "FIGHTERS". Lilith walked to the right, as Amity followed. There were some names scrawled over doors, with one labeled "Masked". What did that mean?
Lilith picked up a sheet of paper, a tourney bracket. "Amity, you will only use plant magic for these fights. Although it is stronger to mix magic, doing so would get us petrified. Plant magic is the strongest individual magic, as you know. First, you are fighting an Illusionist. I will be watching from the stands."
Lilith walked away, and Amity was again alone. The room felt familiar to her, in that it had no distinct features. There was only the tourney bracket on a sheet of magic parchment. She would be fighting "Phantasma". Amity pondered about the match-up. Plant magic is effective against illusion magic. It can fight many targets at once, and-
A scruff voice caused Amity's false ears to fly back. "Alright kid, you're up."
"Professor Hedio, can I talk to you for a second?" Luz was halfway through school, and ready for lunch. But her hunger for food could wait. She needed answers now, the thoughts had fully taken over her mind. She could barely focus in her classes, and couldn't stand the anxiety that filled her body any longer.
"Ah yes, Luz. Did the potion take effect on your pet?" He set down another student's potion he was studying, and focused his attention on his favorite student
"No, but that's not what I wanted to talk about." She sat down on one of the front desks, nerves running through her system. She took a deep breath and continued.
"My Mama told me something last night and, well. Why do you treat me like I'm this amazing student or something?" Luz looked away, shrinking back a bit in embarrassment.
"Hmm, well. You are the top potions students at Manubrius, you know that. Every teacher has had nothing but great things to say about you. I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable Luz, you know that wasn't my intention in praising your work."
"Yeah, that's exactly it. Why do all the teacher's praise me? Is there something you guys know that I don't?" Luz leaned forward a bit, trying not to shout. The emotions of last night came flooding back to her in full force
Hedio's eyes brightened a bit in concern. "Well, what did your mother say to you? If you feel comfortable sharing, that is."
Luz knew she didn't have to say it, but no progress would be made if she didn't. "She told me that the school pays for me to go here. Ever since I was a child, before I even had magic. Is that why you guys treat me like this? What's really going on here?" Luz could barely contain her voice, but her panic settled as Hedio spoke again.
"If I'm being honest, Luz, I assumed you knew. I would be lying if I said that I knew why they paid your family, but it has certainly made all the teacher's think better of you." He saw Luz shrink a bit, and quickly continued. He didn't want to upset her.
"My apologies, I don't think I said that right. They don't like you because the school pays your family, they like you for who you are. All the teachers see so much potential in you because you try so hard in every class, and you care about everything that's taught to you."
"The fact that you are paid to go here, from what I've seen, has nothing to do with how strong of a student you are. It's only an affirmation for teachers. They see it as a good thing that the school cares enough to pay your family."
Luz felt a tear run down her cheek, smiling as she once again realized things might be okay. But her expression turned grim quickly as realization set back in. "Thank you Professor, that means a lot. But, if you don't know why they pay me, who does?"
Hedio sat back in his chair, thinking for a moment. "Perhaps you should see Principal Facet. As you know, she's always available to talk with students."
Luz stood from the desk, staring with a newfound light in her eyes at her professor. She slapped her forehead. "Of course, why didn't I think of that, she'll know! Thank you Professor, see you later!"
Luz rushed out of the classroom, knowing that if anyone had the answer she desperately sought, it would be the Principal of Manubrius herself.
Amity was led into the arena by the man-spider. Her eyes widened at the sight in front of her, the stadium was filled with hundreds of spectators. Focus. She was certainly overwhelmed at the sight, never having seen something so open yet so constricting. But ahead of her was the so-called Phantasma, and she needed to focus on them.
A referee came to the middle, calling both fighters over. Amity stole a glance from her opponent, seeing empty threats in their eyes. A frilly mask with feathers, donned in a deep purple. She wondered what this Illusionist had up their sleeve.
"Alright, rules are simple. Start when the bell screams. Fight ends when one of you can't get up. Don't kill each other, and don't remove each other's masks. Have fun." The referee stepped back into the crowd, which Amity glanced at. She could not see Lilith, yet hundreds of eyes were focused on her.
Amity stood still, ready to win this fight. She ran through a simple plan in her mind. Surely, their illusion magic can't be too strong. Amity wasn't sure what her enemy had in mind, but knew one thing. She couldn't waste time trying to find the real target. The most common use for illusion magic is to duplicate yourself, a juvenile tactic to throw off unsuspecting witches.
The bell screamed, and Amity first drew a spell to conjure a few dozen simple snapping plants on the ground. They would provide a simple trap, one that would trip up whatever her rival had in store.
At the same time, Phantasma summoned fifteen or so weapons, and scattered them to their left right sides. Amity could see swords, axes, maces, spears, and a few bows. At the snap of a finger, Phantasma cast the illusion spell Amity easily predicted. Now there were over a dozen Phantasma's, and one Amity. The odds were in her favor.
Amity cast a plant vine spell, effectively extending her right pointer finger into a razor sharp whip. With her other hand, she shot out small, weak puffs of plant toxins at a few of the illusions. Some of them were hit, but were only temporarily stunned. Phantasma's copies started to form a circle, shuffling themself and their weapons to hide which was the true fighter.
Amity knew it was useless to keep track of their trick, instead focusing on increasing the power of her snapping plants. They started to slowly move toward the illusions, who were now breaking out of their circle. Amity flung her whip finger up toward the sky, and slammed it down onto the ground.
The arena rapidly shook, as a few of the illusions lost their balance and fell. Amity took the opportunity to grab a sword from one of the standing illusions, who was wobbling one leg, as she stabbed it in the heart. She knew that this wasn't the real Phantasma, the real one must have a stronger weapon. It vanished.
She flung the sword at two of the Phantasma's on the ground, who also vanished into thin air. This was almost boring to Amity, was this really all that people in the Illusion track were taught? How to control clones of themself?
There was so much more to illusion spells, Amity thought. You could summon unimaginable thoughts from inside your head. Terrify any witch with the sight of the worst demons the Isles could offer, then blast a fire spell at them. Amity was tempted to show this kid what illusion magic could really do, but remembered what Lilith had said. Only plant magic. She must obey.
An arrow was shot toward Amity, who caught it with her whip finger. She let it drop to the floor, and summoned a few mobile snapping plants. Although they were larger than their floor counterparts, and could target enemies easier, they were weaker.
Phantasma's illusions couldn't handle the barrage of magic being thrown their way. One by one, Amity continued to slash and conquer. The weapons were useless to her, she only threw them to the side. Her whip finger easily tripped many of the Phantasmas up, who vanished when they landed on the snapping plants.
There was only one Phantasma left. The real one. Amity and the Illusionist stood on opposite sides of the arena. Amity retracted all her magic, preparing one final spell. Phantasma was breathing heavily, and Amity wanted to as well. But that would be a sign of weakness. She forced her breathing to remain still.
Phantasma summoned a halberd, an axe-spear combo. They ran at Amity in a pure blind fury, but she only stood still. She twirled both of her fingers, and summoned a giant snapping plant, who's gaping mouth stopped the Illusionist in their tracks. Amity simply walked in front, snatching the halberd from the frozen Illusionist.
She thrust the blunt end into Phantasma's stomach, instantly forcing them to crinkle to the ground. The crowd remained silent, then burst out into a cheer.
Amity had won, as expected. Her chest wasn't even hurting, as using only one type of magic was less of a toll on her. She had to keep her head strong.
As she went back to her room to prepare for the next round, she couldn't help but feel bad. She knew Lilith was right in the witch's of the Isles being weak, but now she saw it first hand. If she could defeat a decently equipped Illusionist with only plant magic, what was the point in fighting here at all?
It would be best to train with more experienced witches, perhaps fighting the Emperor's Coven itself. Amity stopped this train of thought, of course she couldn't fight the Emperor's Coven. Not yet at least, Lilith still was a part of it. There was no reason to question Lilith. Amity needed to continue fighting in the tourney.
She looked at the magic tourney sheet again, as it updated with the next round of fighters. Semi-finals were next, as only four fighters remained. Amity would be fighting an Abomination specialist, with the pseudonym of "Murcurse".
"Principal Facet, are you busy?" Luz peaked inside the welcoming office.
"Hello, Luz! It's an honor to see the potion track's best student yet again. I'm not busy at all, please, come in."
Luz carefully clicked the door shut behind her, and sat down. "Nothing's wrong if you're worried but, I have a question. It won't take long, so I just need your answer."
"Of course! Ask away." The principal sat back in her chair, awaiting the answer of one of the top pupils at Manubrius.
"Okay so, my Mama told me last night that the school pays for me to go here. And, why? I just want to know why? I asked her and Professor Hedio but, neither of them know. Can you please tell me?" Luz sat forward, feeling the nerves climb her spine. She was anxious, carefully awaiting a satisfactory response.
Facet's face dropped all signs of joy, as she let go of a deep breath. "It's quite simple, Luz. You are a human-witch. Despite your mother's reputation on the Isles, we wanted to see how the first human-witch would do in school."
Luz blinked, as she looked around confused. "So, you pay us because I'm a human-witch?"
"Yes." Facet sat unmoving.
"And, that's the only reason? I'm not doubting you but, that's really it?"
"Yes."
Luz squirmed in her seat, and quickly got up. "Okay, I guess. Thanks Principal Facet, I'll see you around." Luz gave a dejected smile and wave, and quickly exited the room.
Great. It still didn't make sense, and the only person who knew why told her everything. Or, at least everything she wanted to. No, Principal Facet wouldn't lie. Luz walked away, trying not to think at all.
Amity was well experienced with Abomination magic. However, Lilith told her that the Isles' views of Abomination's were severely limited by the one-track rule. When combined with other elements, Abominations became unmatchable. But nobody knew that anymore, and if they did, they refused to act on that truth in fear of petrification.
Lilith told Amity that there was one advantage to the one-track rule. Especially for Abominations, many witches would find out how to fight within those tight limitations. Amity herself rarely used the standard, goopy form of an Abomination. It seemed very uncivilized to her, many other forms of magic could easily replace whatever function a vanilla Abomination provided.
That's exactly why when walking out for semi-finals, she was a bit more nervous than she was when fighting against pure Illusion magic. She knew she would still be able to beat a simple witch that only trained in Abomination magic, but how was the real question.
Murcurse wore a simple mask, some generic patterns filled with rainbow swirls. Perhaps Amity overestimated her opponent, and this would be a simple fight. Her mind started racing with tactics, determining how to overwhelm whatever abomination attacks were sent her way.
When the bell screamed, Amity prepared several traps on the ground once again. However, these plants were not meant to physically attack. An abomination wouldn't be affected by a snapping plant, but could be hurt by toxins.
Her spell casting was interrupted by a loud shout. "Abominations, rise!" Amity was unable to summon as many poisonous plants as she wanted, as she prepared for the onslaught of sludge. She flinched backward at the booming voice, but kept her stance strong.
Murcurse rose high into the air on the shoulders of a large abomination. The ground was already being covered by ooze, as some abominations quickly lost form. Amity wasn't too surprised, this witch was obviously overwhelming themself. But she realized it may have been intentional, as many of the toxin plants were smothered by the purple glop.
If only she could summon a fire spell, it would easily turn the tide in her favor. It was extremely frustrating to be limited here, as many of the retaliations in Amity's mind consisted of mixing magic. She opted to summon a two-handed, sharp blade of grass.
Amity had not only learnt a lot from her mentor and the textbooks, but from the surrounding nature at her home. A minuscule blade of grass could become a dangerous, yet easy to wield weapon when amplified to a large size. Amity summoned more toxin plants on the ground, while dodging and weaving between the numerous abominations.
She swung the blade of grass with one hand, pushing the center of it through the numerous abominations with the other. While it could pierce the sludge easily, it was still a flimsy blade. It did exactly what Amity needed, however, by breaking up the abominations into smaller forms.
She ran back to a clearing in the arena, as more abominations dissolved into useless slush. The large abomination that Murcurse rode seemed to be autonomous, as Amity noticed the witch frantically making gestures to control the dozens of ground creatures.
Amity couldn't knock the witch off of the abomination beast with a long-range attack, as it would kill them. Besides, any physical attack could easily be absorbed by the sludge hand of an abomination. Thoughts continued to fly in Amity's mind, but all solutions involved other magic.
The abominations were starting to override all of her plants, as the ground continued to fill with purple goo. Amity was about to snap and break her mentor's order, when she had one last idea. The ultimate gambit.
Amity dissolved her grass blade and toxin plants, and sprinted head first into the enormous abomination. She held her breath, and as soon as she entered, she summoned a massive plant from the ground. It flew halfway into the beast, stopping its slow movement. The momentum of the plant shot Amity up to the head of the abomination, where she could finally face Murcurse head-on.
She grabbed the terrified witch, and flung her down into the large abomination. While the ground abominations were now dissolving, the main abomination flung around in agony. Amity summoned a thick plant stem, keeping her distance from Murcurse. She thrust it into the back of the witch, who was now flailing to their lack of air support. They both were now on the surface of Amity's plant, inside the monumental abomination
Amity was quickly losing breath as well, but managed to summon a massive toxin that destroyed what little stability was left in the abomination. Now able to focus, Amity brought the massive plant to the ground, re-summoning her blade of grass in the process.
She held it to the neck of Murcurse, who raised their hands in surrender. The crowd cheered, even louder than before, as Amity casually strolled back into the fighter rooms. A simple victory, their abominations were ultimately weak. Only used to delay the inevitable.
Only one opponent left. Amity's nerves were shot when she read the name of her final enemy. "Florus". Below it read the two words Amity dreaded. "Plant Track". Amity was growing a bit tired, but needed to stay focused. She could come out on top of this mirror match, but it would require much more thought than her previous victories.
It had been a few days since talking to her professor and principal, and Luz could feel herself only going through the motions as time dragged on. One night, while she was alone in her room with King, she decided to bring up the girl to him. It would help distract her from the dull thoughts.
"So, y'know how I went off into the forest because of the whole school paying us thing?" Luz stared at King, who was distracted with a toy.
He dropped the toy from his mouth, and plopped himself down onto the ground. "Yeah, what about it?"
"Well, something happened there. And I haven't told anyone yet." Luz saw King's eyes grow big, knowing once again he was hurt by the fact Luz was keeping something from him.
"There was a giant Drabug, oh you would've loved to see it. But that's not important, there was this girl there, right? And she was, wow. She saved my life King, that Drabug almost killed me. And you know the best part? She mixed magic! Like, she didn't even know me, she saved me, and she got rid of this giant beast all on her own!" Luz's eyes were sparkling with wonder. It felt good to finally tell someone what she had seen.
King grew a bit jealous, but realized there was no need to be. Luz still loved him, even if she saw something cool without him. "Ooo, that's neat! Do you have any pictures of that Drabug?"
"No, sorry, I was too distracted."
King crossed his arms, and spoke after a bit of silence. "So wait, this girl was just in the forest?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. So after she wrecked that Drabug, I tried to thank her. But she freaked out and went into, get this, a tree trunk!" Her hands flew up toward the ceiling, saying it out loud made the whole event even stranger.
"Huh, that's weird. Have you thought about going back to see her?"
Luz's face filled with a light shade of red, as she sputtered her next words. "Uh, why? Why would I need to see that cool mystery girl again?"
King picked up his toy again, and started fidgeting with it. "Well, you said she ran away after you tried to thank her. So, maybe go back and try again? It is the least you could do, she saved your life and didn't ask for anything in return."
Luz blinked at the demon, and stood up. "You're right, King! Wow, seeing her again. I wonder what she's like, why did she go into a tree? And that magic, she was so strong! I gotta go, I wanna see if she's still there! Bye!"
King saw his best friend leave the room, and his face drooped down. She didn't even ask if he wanted to come along.
Amity summoned her pills, waiting for the final fight. Although she wasn't in too much pain, she couldn't risk losing focus against the plant user. She was growing tired of this, and now saw why Lilith encouraged her to mix magic so often. This fighting was so simple, the limitations were starting to drown her. It only encouraged the young witch to fight harder, though. If she could beat them with only a subset of her skills, it would prove her worth to Lilith.
When Amity won this tournament, Lilith would know she was ready for the plan to be executed. Whenever that would happen. Maybe, Amity could help with the final stages of planning. All she wanted to do was to make sure Belos was killed, especially after seeing what the witches had to offer. She could only imagine the power they could wield, if they only trained multiple types of magic.
It was time for the final fight. She stepped back into the field, where no referee was present. Just her, and Florus. Florus's mask consisted of elaborate carvings, filled with green plant symbols. How garish, Amity thought. All that time spent making a mask, instead of training.
The bell hadn't shrieked yet, but Florus shouted out. "What's up with your mask? You're not part of the Emperor's Coven, you wouldn't be fighting here! And that name, "Masked"? I mean, really? How'd you even get to the finals with some stupid name like that?"
Amity was startled as Florus's voice grew in power, but Amity refused to shrink down. Amity refused to answer this girl's taunts, and waited for the bell to shriek. Focus. Win.
The bell finally screamed, and Amity drew a quick circle. With a slam of her palm on the ground, large plant spikes shot up across the field, acting as obstacles while she prepared her next spell. She dodged a barrage of needles from Florus, and continued to focus on her next spell.
"Is that all you got, Masked? Some stupid spikes?" Amity ignored the taunting, and summoned the same plant whip she used against the Illusionist. There was very little time for her to analyze her opponent, but it looked like Florus was a ranged attacker.
Florus summoned a bow, and various long needles. Amity could see that the end was laced with some sort of poison, and quickly summoned a plant shield. It was made up of thick roots, and would block any attack the opposing force had to offer.
Florus ran around Amity's spike obstacles, shouting as she shot arrow needles. "Why're you hiding, are you scared? Come on, no need to be afraid! It's all in good fun!" She emphasized her last word by casting a curvature spell on one of the spikes Amity was near, throwing Amity off-balance as it teetered down toward her.
Amity was quickly growing tired. It was obvious that this Plant witch was no beginner, and knew how to conserve energy. It wasn't a style Amity had ever given any thought to, preferring to barrage her target's with multiple spells.
Amity continued to dodge the needles, and summoned small snapping plants near Florus's feet. "Come on, you can do better than that! What, have you finally met your match?" Florus disintegrated her bow, and summoned a long spear made of plant stems. "Don't be a coward, fight me!"
Amity narrowly ducked below the flying spear, as Florus pulled one of Amity's spikes from the ground. She started charging toward Amity, who was completely over this simple fight. Amity dodged, and cast away the ground spikes.
Amity summoned a massive, lop-sided leaf from the ground. The stem below it grew high into the air, with Florus struggling to keep her footing. She grabbed onto the edge and swung below the plant. Amity stomped her foot, wanting to snap the stem and trap her opponent below.
The physical force wasn't working, so Amity prepared a quick spell circle to slam the leaf into the ground. She wasn't prepared for Florus to jump behind her onto the leaf, with the stem spear back in her hand. Amity's balance was lost, as she quickly made the leaf entire vanish.
Florus pinned her to the ground, spear directly above Amity's heart. "You're nothing! I didn't even want to be in this plant track, my parents forced me to! And you want to be in the Emperor's Coven?! Face it! I beat you at your own game, Masked!"
Amity couldn't hold back any longer. She was done playing by Belos's rules. Amity screamed at the top of her lungs, "Fire Abomination, rise!" The crowd gasped in a mix of fear and shock, taking in the unfamiliar sight of mixed magic.
Florus stumbled onto the ground, but quickly scampered up to flee from the unhinged girl. She struggled to keep her mask on, as Amity summoned a massive ice wall behind the Florus. She could sense the blaze of fury in this girl, and knew she crossed the line.
Amity twirled her finger, and rose the ground beneath her and the Fire Abomination. As Florus was running away, Amity summoned massive rocks, hurling them downward at the girl. Amity cast a slide made out of smooth stone. "Fire Abomination, corner her!"
The abomination slid down at a rapid speed, and sprinted at Florus. Florus was petrified, how could any witch do this? Amity followed her abomination down, and summoned a sword entwined with roots and sharp leaves.
Florus was now trapped by the elements, as Amity marched toward her enemy. Florus fell onto the floor, fearing for her life. "Wh-what are you?!"
As a last ditch attempt, Florus cast a powerful encompassing spell that temporarily surrounded the ballistic girl. It allowed Florus to grab the sword, with the Fire Abomination quickly losing its form. The ice wall behind her vanished, as Amity no longer was able to keep it stable.
Florus pointed the sword directly at Amity's neck. "I won't let you kill me, you disgusting wild witch. Any last words, "Masked"?"
Time slowed to an agonizing crawl for Amity. Her left pointer finger was ready to cast a simple disarming spell, but what came next was completely out of either witches control.
The tip of Amity's finger beamed a blinding white, as pure magic flew from her body.
Amity could finally hear again, and saw the body of the enemy witch fly toward the ground. Florus's mask cracked, with pieces of it scattering in every direction. Amity could see her face now, and she. Was just a normal witch.
Before Amity could reflect on what she had done, she felt her arm being grabbed. She looked up to see an unfamiliar face, but Lilith's staff. "Get on." Amity knew this was Lilith, with a simple illusion spell. She could see through her mask.
Lilith weaved herself and Amity through the forming mob, flying back to the Gladiolus forest. Amity couldn't tell how Lilith felt at all. Infuriated? Elated? All Amity knew was, she had never cast magic directly like that. What happened?
Luz carefully snuck out of the house, and headed toward the forest once again. Over the past week, she tried to spot out that mystery girl at school. But there was nobody that looked like her. It made some sense, this girl appeared to be a wild witch.
She kept replaying the scene in her mind on the walk there, in awe of how brave the girl was. All she wanted to do was thank her and, maybe find out why she was living in a tree. Was she even living in a tree? Maybe Luz was hallucinating it.
Luz found the clearing, and saw no signs of life beyond the deep red trees. She recognized a seam on one of the tree trunks, and saw a short stump coming off of it. Bingo, that must be the handle.
Sucking in her breath, Luz carefully knocked on the door.