Jordan frantically scanned her surroundings, but saw no one who could help her against her enraged sister. If things continued like this, Cate was sure to kill her. Finally, Jordan's panic began to subside, replaced by a dawning clarity. She understood now that she had gone too far with her demands. The clan had no claim on Cate; their connection was tenuous at best. Cate had only lived with the clan for a single year after her birth, a year in which she had survived three assassination attempts. This was the only reason she was still alive. Their father, though he disliked having a bastard on his hands, was still her father. He sent Cate to live in an isolated palace deep in the mountains, a decision that saved her life but also cruelly abandoned the young child.
The isolation was sure to sever all ties between Cate and the family that had so callously cast her out. On top of this, Cate had already paid the clan back for all the resources they had spent on her. She had even calculated the interest and added extra as a show of goodwill. She was essentially asking to separate from the clan amicably, and the matter should have ended there. But Cate had gone on to create this powerful new spell of hers.
The spell was an improvement on the Mage Born's spell, but that wasn't how magic worked. A spell couldn't be improved; one could only create a better version of an existing spell. This was because changing even a single word in a spell made the new spell completely separate from the original, even if the two spells achieved seemingly the same effect.
All these thoughts flooded Jordan's mind. For some reason, she couldn't get her mind to settle and focus on escaping. She kept thinking about things that couldn't help her in this situation, and her anxiety grew worse once Cate began walking toward her. Jordan stopped running and began walking backward instead.
"She shouldn't be this scared!" Mary muttered, watching everything as if she wanted to perfectly store each move Cate made in her mind.
The Mage Born nodded in agreement. Jordan was a powerful Master Mage. Even though Cate had proven she was in a league of her own as a Master Sorcerer, that wasn't enough to explain the fear that covered Jordan's face. Jordan had the power to fight back, but instead she staggered backward like a fool.
Cate closed the distance with each passing second.
"She's using a spell to attack Jordan's mind," one of the judges said.
This was when everyone once again remembered that Cate had just proclaimed herself a Sorcerer. Sorcerers used spells, but they didn't have to speak them aloud. This was because they used their will to reach into the magic directly, which allowed them to communicate with the magic without having to say anything. Their thoughts became a driving force for their magic. Cate had cast a spell, and no one had noticed until they saw the effects on Jordan, who was now confused and staggering about as if drunk.
"She's already defeated," someone cried out. They were shocked by this, and so was everyone else. Jordan was a powerful Mage from the Staranse clan. She had great magic flowing within her blood and was already a Master Magician. With the spells from the Staranse clan, there was no reason for her to be in this state unless Cate was simply far too powerful.
When the other participants saw how easily Cate had decimated the powerful Jordan, they grew jealous of the Sorcerers. The fact that Sorcerers were the most powerful magicians had never been debated, and everyone could now see why. Without uttering a single word, Cate had defeated her enemy without anyone realizing what kind of spell she had used.
Usually, Magicians would get a hint of the spell they were about to be hit with, which would allow them to use the appropriate defensive spell. With Sorcerers, this was not possible since they didn't need to speak to cast their spells. Cate had also just used a Soul Spell, a type of spell that directly attacked the soul while ignoring the flesh. These kinds of spells were very rare and dangerous. The Avalon Society was a powerful organization, and yet they didn't have a single Soul Spell. This was because these spells were very difficult to create since humans didn't have direct access to their souls, thus limiting their understanding of what the soul was. Since these spells were so rare, there were few means to defend against them.
Right now, Jordan had fallen prey to this fact. She could do nothing to stop the attack even if she knew what was happening. Cate stood before Jordan, who had collapsed to the ground, and smiled down at her. Cate didn't want any trouble, which was why she had at first chosen to cut ties with the Staranse Clan peacefully. This did not mean that she was scared of their power. In this world's history, there had been many powerful clans, some even more powerful than the Staranse clan. These clans had risen and fallen, and Cate/Medusa had contributed to the fall of some of them. If the Staranse clan did not know what was good for them, Cate was willing to help in their fall.
"Do you have any last words?" Cate asked the trembling Jordan.