Trest dismissively stared at Ynahvla. He did a light jump, beginning to float as well, reaching the same height as the headmaster.
"What now, miss headmaster? Do you dare to fight me? You are barely a fledgling, don't overestimate yourself."
"If this is what you think, then there is nothing left to say!"
Finally, Ynahvla had enough. A wand appeared in her hand. It was unusually long, made form pink tree branches. It looked more like a toy for little girls instead of a serious weapon. But with the appearance of the wand, the surrounding mana instantly turned obedient, rushing towards Ynahvla as if to worship her.
For the first time Trest felt a hint of pressure. He frowned and decided to make the first move. He flicked his wand, and the sand turned into incredibly sharp spikes, shooting towards Ynahvla.
The young woman did a graceful twirl, her movements like a dancer's. A soft breeze flowed through the battlefield. When it hit the sand, the seemingly solid spikes fell apart without resistance and the sand was blown away.
Although Trest didn't think Ynahvla would handle his attack with such ease, he never expected it to actually hurt her. Instead, his purpose was to buy time for the construction of the massive magic circle which now appeared behind his back.
Creating such an enormous circle in such little time showed that Trest indeed deserved the title of high professor. Mana was absorbed relentlessly and suddenly rocks began to appear, piling up like a mountain. Its shadow darkened the battlefield. A moment later they got moving, rolling towards Ynahvla like a landslide.
However, the headmaster remained calm. While still dealing with the spikes she had simultaneously spread her own mana. With a simple thought the entire sky was suddenly filled with small magic circles. Instantly bullets of wind shot from the sky, dense as rain, each bullet fierce and accurate as if it was fired by a sniper rifle.
The bullets crashed into the rocks, turning them to dust. The large mountain served as a shield for Trest, but it was quickly shrinking. Seeing this, the mage's eyes narrowed. He cast another spell, and a thick protective layer surrounded each of his rocks. But it wasn't enough, the rocks were still shattering under Ynahvla's fierce attack!
"How?!"
Trest was indeed shocked. He didn't understand how Ynahvla's spell had so much power. She didn't absorb more mana than him and was using standard wind magic.
The only one who could answer didn't deign to do so. Since birth Ynahvla had been a magical genius. The old headmaster had discovered her early on and taught her relentlessly. Ynahvla never struggled to learn any spells, developing a deep understanding of their structure. Until she eventually began to improve them. With little tweaks of the magic circle, the mana flowed more smoothly, increasing the spell's power.
Trest, only looking at Ynahvla's age, severely underestimated her. And now he had to pay for it. The range of his own spell was constantly shrinking under Ynahvla's barrage. Soon, his defence would be breached.
"You little…"
The experience mage gritted his teeth. He wouldn't fall this easily! Focusing his mana, Trest suddenly disappeared with a flash step. Sparks erupted behind Ynahvla's back.
"Careful!"
"Watch out!"
The players were anxious seeing that the headmaster didn't notice the sparks, keeping her eyes to the front. But to everyone's shock, Trest didn't appear behind Ynahvla's back! It was just a feint! Instead, his body materialized at her side, holding the tip of his wand at her head.
"Goodbye, headmaster!"
Trest showed a twisted smile as a thick sword made from rocks erupted from his wand, piercing towards Ynahvla's head.
"NO!"
The players were anxious. Especially Cyclone and Balm had quickly come to admire the young headmaster despite barely knowing her. They were afraid of seeing her fall.
With a sharp sound the sword pierced towards Ynahvla's head. She was frozen in shock. The sword hit and… Ynahvla's body popped like a balloon, turning into countless bubbles.
"What?!"
"Yes! I knew it!"
"Damn, she's such a great mage!"
"Quite impressive…"
While Trest was shocked, the players cheered joyfully. They looked around, trying to find Ynahvla. Suddenly they felt something. Raising their heads they widened their eyes in disbelief as a gigantic magic circle appeared in the sky. It was large enough to cover a small town. Dark clouds shrouded the sky and a storm blowed through the battlefield.
"No! How could you deploy such a strong spell in such little time?!"
Trest doubted his own knowledge of magic. He knew that if he wanted to set up a spell of that magnitude it would take him at least one minute. He couldn't fathom how Ynahvla had done it.
However, now that it had already happened Trest frantically set up a defence. He continuously waved his wand, gathering huge amounts of sand to surround his body.
Meanwhile at some distance a wall of water appeared, surrounding the battlefield. It was affected by the storm and started moving in circles, creating a powerful whirlpool. Suddenly it began to shrink towards Trest, who was caught in its centre.
The whirlpool closed in, starting to shave away Trest's defence. It even contained terrifying prohibitions making it impossible for the mage to teleport away. The players only saw the water rising from the ground to the sky while violent winds tore on their bodies.
"Awesome!!"
Trest definitely didn't share Cyclone's feelings. His breath was growing erratic as he realized that he was actually losing. Even if he managed to cast another spell, the whirlpool sucked up so much mana that Trest wouldn't be able to sufficiently fuel his attack.
While the professor tried to think of countermeasure, he suddenly felt something wet on his nose.
"Oh no…"
Suddenly the sand around him was torn apart. Water drowned his body. Trest couldn't fight against its power. He was swept away, going in circles within the whirlpool, rising towards the sky.
Ynahvla stood above the water with a cold face, like the goddess of storms. Seeing that Trest was captured in her spell she was ready to deliver the final strike. Rising her wand the top of the whirlpool caved in towards the centre, delivering a blow which aimed to bury Trest into the ground.
The high professor was dizzy but suddenly his instincts screamed of danger. He managed to catch a clear thought. Intense anger took over his body. He knew that losing here meant a life in prison with his magical abilities shackled.
"Damn you, Ynahvla! I won't let you succeed!"
Unbeknownst to Trest himself a trace of a violet colour began to ferment in his eyes. He pointed his wand to the side and created an inconspicuous dust cloud. The small cloud usually stood no chance against the raging currents. But this time, something strange happened.
When the dust came into contact with the water, it began to destroy the magic holding the water together. Even the mana itself was corroded. A hole formed and Trest hastily escaped. He fell out of the whirlpool as if it were a high tower, almost slamming into the floor, saving himself at the last second.
Panting, the mage laid in the sand, watching what was happening above him.
For a moment Ynahvla didn't even realize that Trest had escaped. But suddenly she noticed something. Looking closer she saw a hole in her whirlpool, gradually increasing in size, its edges showing the characteristics violet colour of void energy. It was like a flame burning through a piece of paper.
"TREST! What have you done?! Are you crazy?!"
"Crazy? Haha, why would I be crazy?! Look at this! Look! This is the evidence that my work hasn't been in vain! I have succeeded! Empowering spells with void energy is possible! This is a weapon we can use to combat the void!"
"You have lost your mind…"
Ynahvla wore a solemn expression as she cancelled her spell. The water immediately fell to the ground, soaking the sandy desert. But the void energy remained. It continued burning in the air, slowly spreading. Ynahvla waved her wand, creating a barrier to temporarily contain it.
"Haha, Ynahvla you can't stop it! HAHAHA!"
With an increasingly insane expression Trest suddenly began pointing in random directions, unleashing small dust clouds which quickly grew by corroding the surrounding mana.
Ynahvla gritted her teeth. She suddenly appeared next to Trest, pointing her wand at his head. A bullet made from wind shot out. The players were shocked. Trest was like a lamp running out of oil. He had nothing left to defend himself.
Luckily Ynahvla showed mercy. She only knocked the high professor out before doing her best to prevent the void energy from spreading. A moment later she appeared next to the players, worriedly overlooking the desert.
"This is not a permanent solution… I need to find some priests to combat the void here."
The young headmaster sighed and turned towards the players. She was taken aback for a moment when she noticed Cyclone and Balm staring at her with stars in their eyes. Ynahvla had to chuckle lightly while saying:
"Let me take you back first..."