Chapter 15: I'll Do It In 5

Name: Lyra Nocturne

Age: 19

Birthday: 21 September

Personality: Usually very composed, graceful, caring towards most people, cold to Kian (but she secretly likes him). Not against a good fight, though with the grace that is expected of a noble

Strengths: Analytical, very good at staying mobile, high standards

Weaknesses: Can allow her emotions to cloud her judgement, too high standards, lying to herself

Favourite things: Kian Voss (would never admit this), butterflies, a nice cup of sweetened tea

9 minutes 40 seconds left until the death of Lyra Nocturne

Sharya, with a fury in her eyes, rushed at the Dame again, dagger in hand, poised to strike, but the Dame in question simply sat there, continuing to twirl her throwing knife. "I'd watch your step if I were you."

Sharya stepped on a particular floor tile. Runes began to appear around it and it released a volatile blast of poisonous gas, which Sharya was barely able to dodge.

Unfortunately for her, she landed on another rune.

The Dame smiled. "My Poison Trap Magic: Tox Bomb."

In an effort to get away, she used a mobility spell she had cloned from Frida when no one was looking.

"Cloned Amethyst Crystal Magic: Glissando!" The shining purple platform appeared beneath her feet, and she sped away, evading the second poison blast

…

In the raging battle with Lord Kivn, amongst all the chaos, Frida sneezed.

…

The Copy Mage, instead of getting close, resolved to keep her distance from Dame Velda Thorn, using her fan daggers to block the poisonous bursts that the Diamond Kingdom mage more often than didn't launch. Sharya cloned her dagger, then threw it at the enemy, raising her hands and unleashing a spell.

"Clone Magic: Dagger Squall!"

She multiplied the thrown daggers, to which the dame simply raised her hands.

"Poison Magic: Acid Wall~"

A wall of acid appeared in front of her, melting almost every single dagger.

"Clone Magic: Phantom Shift!"

Sharya rushed at the Dame head on, getting ready to launch a downward slashing attack, but Thorn simply stood up, sidestepped and touched her on her side.

"Poison Magic: Death Wish~"

Sharya began to crumble into dust as a result of the Dame's quick acting poison spell. Little did Velda know, the real thing was right behind her.

Sharya, who had been silently watching, stepped out of the shadows and attacked with a second weapon she had found in the dungeon: retractable blades attached to her wrist by fingerless gloves that went up to her wrist, and she now slashed at the noble, who just managed to dodge.

8 minutes 50 seconds left

"Cheeky girl, aren't you~" she hissed. Then a sliver of blood rolled down her cheek. The Dame's expression contorted to one of abject fury.

"How dare you, you insolent little urchin, cut my figure! You need to be put in your place," she said, as she brought out long throwing needles. Each one was around 30cm in diameter, with a pointed tip that looked like it could pierce through rock. She threw three of them with surprising accuracy and fury.

Sharya raised her hands. "Sorry to have to borrow one of your spells, Lilian, but I have to do this. Cloned Prism Magic: Prismatic Flare!"

She released the powerful attack, seemingly destroying the three throwing needles, and then heading straight towards the Dame. Velda Thorn, however, was unfazed. She dodged the beam with surprising speed.

"Magic that relies on other people's techniques?" she scoffed. "Disgustingly average, and quite unsightly. However, to your credit, you do know how to pick a good spell."

Once the dust settled, Sharya looked down. A venomous needle impaled what she presumed to be her stomach. She coughed up blood.

8 minutes 10 seconds left

Sharya, with quite some pain, pulled out the long throwing needle from her stomach. She knew that if she kept it there, less of her blood would be lost, but at the cost lf her mobility.

And mobility was her greatest asset.

She grinned, and acrobatically threw the Dame's own throwing needles at her, cloning them, flying towards the mage at double speed.

"Clone Magic: Return to Sender." she grinned. The needles multiplied incredibly, but the Dame simply used another acid wall to shield herself from the onslaught. She put her hands on the floor.

"Poison Magic: pH Zone~"

The ground under Sharya turned so acidic it started melting through her boots. She leaped onto a wall and used her hand blades to make footholds.

"That's a dirty trick," she snarled.

"Watch your step~" the Dame crooned.

7 minutes 30 seconds left

Sharya cursed inwardly. She was really in for it now. Then she remembered: Lyra was still on the floor. She cursed again, this time audible to everyone present.

"Such unsightly words," the Dame said. "Maybe if I poison you, it will get you to watch your mouth…"

Sharya ignored her and cast her next spell.

"Cloned Insect Magic: Moth Wings!"

A pair of giant moth wings appeared on the clone mage's back, and she carried her friend to safety. She made a clone and handed Lyra over to her, then turned her gaze towards Velda Thorn.

The Dame's eyes narrowed as she watched Sharya take to the air, her patience clearly waning. "Playing nursemaid, are we?" she mocked, twirling another of her poisonous throwing needles between her fingers. "Such a waste of time, little girl. You can't save her and fight me at the same time."

Sharya glared back, her moth wings shimmering in the dim light of the dungeon. "I don't need much time. Just," she checked a watch that she had had on her the whole time, another one of her treasures from the dungeon, "2 more minutes."

7 minutes left

She raised her wrist blades and dove toward Velda Thorn in a blur of speed, her wings giving her a momentum boost. Mid-flight, she began to clone herself again, multiplying into a flurry of Sharya doppelgängers that spiralled around the Dame in an unpredictable pattern.

"Clone Magic: Doppelganger Blitz!" she shouted, her voice seeming to come from all directions.

Velda sneered, raising both her hands. "Poison Magic: Foul Breath~"

A putrid cloud of toxic gas erupted from her fingertips, filling the space around her and expanding outward, ready to dissolve anything that came too close. Several of the clones disintegrated instantly, their forms crumbling into dust as they touched the poison mist. But the real Sharya, hidden among them, swiftly manoeuvred out of the way, using her wings to stay just ahead of the spreading poison.

"Persistent little pest, aren't you~?" the Dame hissed, her patience visibly wearing thin.

Sharya landed on the far wall, sticking to it with her blades as footholds. "You talk a lot for someone who's been dodging me this whole time," she shot back, her eyes scanning for an opening. She felt the sting in her abdomen intensify, the poison from the earlier needle wound making her limbs slightly sluggish. Time was running out for both her and Lyra.

Velda's eyes glinted with amusement. "Oh, trust me, dear. You haven't seen what I can really do yet~" she purred, lowering her hands to the ground.

Sharya's senses screamed at her to move, but before she could react, Velda unleashed her next attack.

"Poison Magic: Serpent's Snare~"

The ground erupted beneath Sharya's feet, sending thick, poisonous tendrils shooting up like vines. They coiled around her ankles, pulling her down toward the venomous earth. Her wings fluttered madly, but the snare was too fast, too strong. The acidic tendrils tightened, burning through her boots and searing her skin.

Sharya clenched her teeth, feeling the poison course through her veins. "I'm not going down like this…" she muttered. Her hand shot out, summoning a new clone that formed beside her in an instant.

"Clone Magic: Mirage Step!"

In a blink, she switched places with her clone, leaving the fake Sharya to be pulled into the acidic pit while the real one reappeared behind the Dame, her wrist blades gleaming in the light.

Velda's eyes widened, just barely reacting in time to block the slash with her poisoned gauntlets, but not before Sharya managed to graze her arm. A thin line of blood welled up from the cut.

"You...!" Velda spat, stepping back, her composure slipping for the first time as she glared at the wound. "You filthy—"

Sharya's grin widened. "Gotcha."

6 minutes 45 seconds left.

Sharya didn't waste a second. She flicked her wrist and the cut multiplied. "Clone Magic: Wound Multiplication."

Velda gasped in shock as more cuts began to appear across her arms and legs, shallow but enough to draw blood. Her rage flared, her eyes turning wild as she staggered back. "You think—" she hissed, "you think this is enough to beat me?!"

The Dame's hands trembled as she raised them, conjuring her next spell. "Poison Magic: Venomous Rain~"

The air darkened as droplets of lethal, glowing green poison formed in the sky above them, ready to shower down on Sharya and the entire battlefield. Sharya knew that if even one drop touched her or Lyra, it would be over.

"Insect Magic: Web Trap!"

Thick strings of spider silk appeared from the ground and began to ensnare Thorn's wrist. Lyra lay in the clone Sharya's hands, her resolve steeled, her violet eyes piercing the Diamond noble.

"Huh?" the Dame said, clearly displeased with this interruption.

But Sharya's eyes stayed focused. She dashed forward with a final plan in mind, her wings propelling her with newfound speed. She twisted her body mid-air, ready to strike, remembering something her mother had told her.

She was back in the dimly lit room of her childhood home, the scent of burning incense filling the air. Her mother, with her own sharp, discerning eyes, stood across from her. A woman of few words, with a presence that commanded respect—a legacy Sharya had been destined to inherit.

Sharya, barely 14 at the time, held her freshly acquired grimoire in her trembling hands. It was sleek and dark, with the symbol of her magic etched into it: two humans, just above a four-leaf clover grimoire. The weight of it felt heavier than she had imagined, and not just physically. She stared down at it, waiting for her mother to say something—anything.

"You understand what this means now, don't you?" her mother asked, her voice as cold as the air around them. She circled Sharya slowly, examining her daughter's posture, her resolve.

Sharya nodded, but her silence betrayed her hesitation.

Her mother stopped, standing just behind her. "This life isn't just about the blade, Sharya. It's about silence, precision, and timing. Your magic will reflect that. But a weapon is nothing without a mind sharp enough to wield it."

Sharya swallowed, still unsure if she was ready. She looked down at her grimoire again, and then back at her mother. "What if I'm not—"

Her mother's hand fell on her shoulder, firm but not unkind. "You will be ready when the time comes. And when it does," she continued, stepping in front of Sharya now, her eyes piercing, "you must never doubt your instincts. Never hesitate. Do you understand?"

Sharya nodded again, but this time more confidently. "I understand."

Her mother's lips curled into a small, approving smile. "Good. Because hesitation in our world means death."

She was back in the physical world now. Her gaze shifted to one of steely resolve.

"I told you," Sharya said, her voice cold. "I'll finish this in five minutes."

With a flick of her wrist, she summoned her final spell.

"Clone Magic: Vanishing Mirage."

In the blink of an eye, Sharya disappeared, leaving only a faint afterimage where she had once stood. Velda's eyes darted around in confusion, the rain of poison still hovering ominously overhead. Before the Dame could react, Sharya reappeared behind her—this time, her wrist blade pressed firmly against the Dame's throat.

"Game over, prima donna…" she snarled.

"You think you've won?" Velda snarled back, her composure completely torn to shreds. "I am better than you, you stupid copy mage. I am the beautiful Dame Velda Thorn of the Diamond Kingdo-"

"Shut the hell up already. Cloned Insect Magic: Wasp Stinger," Sharya whispered, her free hand turning into a wasp stinger and stabbing the poison mage.

Velda froze, her expression twisting into a mix of fury and disbelief. Then she keeled over in pain, the wasp's poison rendering her unable to move.

"Would you look at that?" Sharya said to no one in particular. Lyra's strength started to return, and she got out of the clone Sharya's grasp. She flashed a shaky smile at Sharya, who smiled back, and looked down at the Dame.

6 minutes left

"I did it in four."

There was silence, and then Sharya spoke again.

"Soooo... what's the deal with you and Kian?"

Lyra turned crimson, and it wasn't a resurgence of the poison.