If the flames reached Naoko, the result would be fatal. The fire was approaching her quickly. She felt that if they reached her, it would be her last fight.
Then a loud crash was heard. The ground began to rise and crack. A huge block of earth rose from the floor at an unimaginable speed. Positioned in front of Naoko, it created a wall that blocked the flames and protected her.
Breathing heavily, Seki was breaking into a cold sweat, his pupils dilated and his heart racing. Lowered down, one of his hands rested on his knee, while the other was firm on the ground. He was the one responsible for preventing Yesenia's flames from reaching his friend.
It worked… even with all this water, the ground is still firm, he thought, as his heartbeat returned to normal, relieved.
She better not think this barrier is going to stop me, Yesenia thought, frowning, indignant at the interruption. Her hands began to form new flames, even more intense than before.
Crystals were launched across the space and a bit of blood splattered. It hit Yesenia's left cheek directly, which already carried old burn marks. The wound was small, but deep enough for the blood to run down her face.
Surprised, she turned her head and looked back, facing Minami and Akiko, who were together.
"Akiko, you got her attention," said Minami, hiding behind Akiko. She felt fear under the woman's gaze, and it showed in her low voice, trying to go unnoticed.
"I didn't mean to, I just wanted to scare her," Akiko explained, taking a few steps back, equally frightened, trying not to engage in direct confrontation.
The battle between Yukino and Heidi was happening in parallel. Breathing heavily, Yukino showed signs of exhaustion, but remained attentive to any attack that might come.
Damn, she disappears completely in the water. Waiting for clear signs, Yukino noticed a slight disturbance in the water. Without hesitating, she aimed her palm and attacked with ice.
When it froze, the movement turned out to be distorted, without human form.
It was just a distraction, she thought, looking at the block of ice.
But the distraction worked, and beneath Yukino, a thick layer of water emerged, grabbing her hands. She cried out in shock, but couldn't break free, the pressure was too strong.
Seki turned his attention back to the other battle. Miyu arrived beside him, running quickly toward the situation, worried, calling out for her friend.
Yesenia now had her focus on Minami and Akiko. Taken by anger, she didn't hesitate, raised her hand and unleashed a powerful wave of flames toward the two.
Crying in fear, they ran in the opposite direction. Minami hesitated for a moment about which way to go. Akiko, behind her, gave small pushes to get her out of the line of fire.
"Minami, run, we don't stand a chance!" Akiko pleaded, desperate, tears running down her face.
"O-okay… but what now?" Minami moved, but seemed tired, her mind showing the pressure of the fight.
On the second floor, Adonis had made a wide opening and could now understand the movement happening in the courtyard.
"Yesenia!" he murmured, his raised eyebrows showing his concern.
His hand stretched toward the outside area of the school. All the fire that had been thrown toward Akiko and Minami was quickly redirected into the palm of his hand.
The fire disappeared! Yesenia looked at that in confusion. She wondered who could be capable of such a thing. Then she looked up and came face to face with her companion.
It didn't take long for her to understand what had happened. The boy was startled by the emptiness in her gaze and felt afraid of her next moves.
"Ado—" she shouted, without finishing the name, because at that moment a massive amount of water rose behind her.
Yesenia turned, but it was too late. The mass of water wrapped around her in a kind of giant bubble, trapping her. The high density didn't even allow her to touch the ground.
Her mouth opened, but her screams were silent. The bubble muffled all sound. Her movements had no effect, as she couldn't reach the surface of the bubble.
Also trapped by the water, Yukino tried with all her strength to free her hands. Even giving everything she had, it seemed impossible to escape that trap.
Heidi used the water in a way that maintained great pressure, pressing Yukino and making escape even harder.
Then vines appeared and wrapped around Yukino. The strength of the plants was not enough yet to free her, but it helped keep her from being completely swallowed by the water.
Seki once again used his earth Potentia. This time, he kept his hands in the air, pointed toward where the battle between Yukino and Heidi was happening.
The entire ground began to shake. Beneath Yukino, the floor cracked and was gradually swallowed. Until finally, an area of the ground opened, large enough to drain a great amount of water.
Yukino was startled, but Miyu's vines revealed their real purpose. It wasn't to pull her out, Seki and Miyu were working together on a plan to weaken the opposing water Potentia.
As the water drained, Heidi revealed her human form once again, but this time without the possibility of hiding again. With the ground open to a considerable depth, she began to fall. However, her fury was so great that she remained holding onto Yukino's wrist, who was supported by the vines.
"YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!" she shouted, pulling Yukino down.
While Yukino's right hand was being pulled by Heidi, her left was free. Yukino froze her opponent's hand, which was still in liquid form.
"THAT WASN'T SMART! MY HAND IS NOW STUCK TO YOU!" Heidi mocked.
The woman's warning was real, Yukino had just bound herself to her enemy. It would no longer be possible to separate in a normal way and the ice would take too long to melt, which could bring negative results to the battle.
But what became clear was that Yukino did not intend to separate in a conventional way. She raised her left leg quickly and struck the frozen hand with full force.
The sharp, crystalline sound of ice breaking spread across the entire courtyard. Heidi's frozen hand shattered into pieces, leaving only her wrist. With nothing left to hold onto, Heidi fell, disappearing into the darkness of the abyss that had been formed by Seki.
Yukino finally managed to grab onto the edges of the hole and climb back up to the courtyard. The conflict with Heidi had ended.
During that time, Yesenia remained trapped inside the water bubble. Her body moved involuntarily, twisting, her eyes rolling in intense internal pain.
The screams ceased and silence took over the entire courtyard, all that remained was the sound of dripping water. Yesenia's body no longer responded and entered a state of rest. Her mind was clear and the pain had ceased to exist. Her hands, which had moved in agony, now rested.
The bubble dissolved gently and Yesenia's body was placed on the ground, motionless. Adonis, who had rushed down the stairs, arrived at the courtyard and came across the body of his compatriot.
No… no pulse, he confirmed. He realized she had not survived, but a trace of hope made him search for a sign of a heartbeat, but it was in vain.
Now he was there, kneeling, without reaction. No tears came from his face, but his heart felt tight.
"Adonis… you were still at the school…" said Hikaru, who had also come down to the ground floor, saw his friend and crouched down to be closer to him.
Outside the danger zone, Yukino was on her knees on the ground, recovering her strength.
"Yukino, are you better? Are you okay?" Akiko asked, massaging her back. Yukino coughed and breathed deeply, but was already better than before.
Little by little the tension dissipated, and everyone began to regroup.
"It's over?" Aino asked, who had stayed in the courtyard the whole time without knowing how to react. Beside her, Minami looked at the situation with sadness.
Exhausted and with light burns and scratches, Naoko was on the ground with her head lowered.
"Naoko…" Seki called, lowering himself to her level, checking her condition.
"I'm… better…" Naoko replied, her tired voice showing she had spent a great amount of energy in the battle.
Miyu was just watching in silence, shaken by everything that had happened. But when she saw Adonis, her heart grew heavy, she had never seen him with that expression.
"Adonis," she called from afar, even knowing he wouldn't hear.
Hikaru managed to get Adonis to stand up. The moments seemed to pass more slowly for everyone, who had just gone through an unexpected situation.
"Come on, let's go outside…" Hikaru said, guiding him.
"Okay… okay…" Adonis replied, disoriented, allowing himself to be led.
As the two boys walked toward the school gate, questions filled Aino's heart as she looked at her classmates.
"She… died? Was that necessary?" she voiced her thoughts.
Hearing those words, Naoko raised her tired face and looked at Aino.
"Aino… she's the same one who attacked Megumi. She attacks to kill…" Naoko explained, her voice faltering.
"BUT WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT SHE DID AND WHAT YOU DID?" Aino interrupted Naoko, her words were harsh, but not filled with anger, her feelings were confused and she was trying as much as possible to hold back her tears. "YOU'RE ALWAYS LIKE THIS, NAOKO! AGGRESSIVE! I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOUR WAY OF THINKING."
"AINO!" Yukino called.
Hearing her cousin's severe voice, Aino immediately stopped speaking and swallowed hard. Yukino then spoke.
"The difference is that we only responded to the attack… They only didn't kill the entire school because you, Minami and Akiko were quick to take everyone outside. The floors were in flames." Each word carried the weight of her discomfort.
In a loud and clear tone, like a command, Yukino showed her classmate that things were not as simple as Aino thought.