"Zephyr Blades!"
A shout was heard, 4 Magic Circles shined brightly, razor-sharp blades of wind shot in a certain direction.
"Inferno Torrent!" in response to the upcoming spell, another shout was heard, enemy's 4 Magic Circles shined brightly as well, summoning a fiery whirlwind to counter the incoming wind blades. The two elemental forces clashed, creating a breathtaking yet destructive display of dueling elements.
The two mages looked into each other's eyes, the Fire Mage's eyes were filled with determination and will to win. He looked at his opponent with a grave look on his face, trying to figure out a way to win the battle.
His opponent, Leif Vesta, on the other hand, had a small smile on his face, reflecting his confidence. By no means, was the Fire Mage weak, he was a 4th Circle Mage, just like Leif, however, the ease at which Leif was handling this battle made it seem like he was fighting with a child.
"Aeroguard Shield."
Leif summoned a cyclone of wind, creating a protective barrier that swirled around him like a tempest.
"Fiery Wall."
His opponent did the same, summoning a wall of scorching flames. Unlike lower-level mages, they didn't have to focus on one spell alone. With the amount of Mana a 4th Circle Mage can store in his Mana Veins, casting four or even five spells at the same time wasn't impossible.
Of course, casting more than one spell at the same time was no simple matter and required extreme concentration and talent.
And the Fire Mage was one such Mage who could cast 2 spells at the same time.
"Inferno Snare."
And that is what he did, quickly drawing the required pattern for his next spell, the mage summoned fiery tendrils that shot towards Leif to breach his defenses.
"Heh." Leif however, just chuckled.
His Magic Circles suddenly started shining even more brightly, the Cyclone of wind that surrounded him suddenly became erratic and much stronger than before. Leif's black hair moved in the air, making him look like a Divine being who just descended from the heavens.
The Cyclone of wind quelled the flames that approached Leif as if it were the easiest thing to do.
The Fire Mage, however, didn't seem surprised, rather, he had already expected this.
After all, it was not the first time he was battling Leif. He had come prepared
"Pyroclasmic Grasp."
He spoke, his 4 Magic Circles shined brightly, this time, the Fire Mage didn't hold back, he used all the Mana he had stored up inside his Mana Veins, summoning a surge of superheated, molten energy, coiling it into powerful fiery tendrils. This spell is designed to not only breach an opponent's defenses but to envelop them in a fiery grip, causing intense burns and creating immense discomfort.
It was one of Fire Mage's trump cards.
Something that required him a lot of time to cast, the time he bought using Inferno Snare as a distraction.
"That looks quite dangerous," Leif muttered as he glanced at the spell the Fire Mage was summoning. The spells like these were troublesome, just from how the Mana was reacting to the spell was enough for Leif to understand how dangerous the spell was. The best way to deal with spells like these was to stop the Mage from casting them, however, Leif knew that even if he used the fastest spell in his directory, he couldn't stop his opponent from completing the spell.
The situation was grave, Leif was in a pinch,
Or… at least that's what the Fire Mage thought,
But then,
"I am quite impressed, Alex. You have shown me something great, I didn't expect to see such a performance from you."
Leif praised, then, a small smile appeared on his face, and,
"In exchange, let me show you something interesting as well."
And as if all the talking was done with an intention of bidding for time, Leif quickly summoned his counter spell almost instantly.
"Vortex Ascension."
The Fire Mage, Alex's eyes widened in surprise as he suddenly saw Leif soaring into the air, riding the winds as a tornado formed beneath him.
This man…
He was flying!
The Pyroclasmic Grasp, the spell that was made just to pierce through his opponent's defenses, it collided with the tornado, however, without any matter to burn and the horrifying pressure from the wind, the flames disappeared.
One of Alex's strongest spells was rendered useless and the worst part?
Leif wasn't done.
"Tempest Slam."
He descended rapidly, aiming to strike his foe with a devastating slap created by strong winds.
Alex was out of Mana, so without having any choice, he decided to run away, trying to gather Mana as he ran. An efficient process, but Alex didn't have any option.
*Boom* *Boom* *Boom*
Alex continued to run as wind currents descended from above, trying to crush him into the ground, Leif, who was still riding the tornado enjoyed the situation. His superiority was clear, his was currently in the air where most spells wouldn't reach him because of the tornado under him, in this position, he could continue to absorb Mana from the air, continuing the Battle without having to worry about Mana for as long as his Mental Strength allowed him to.
As for Alex, after already dodging three Tempest Slams, his body balance was already a mess, his speed had slowed down and he knew he couldn't dodge the fourth attack, so in desperation and panic, with whatever Mana he had, he summoned a Flame Wall to protect himself.
"That's a mistake."
Leif chuckled.
The Tempest Slam tore through the Flame Wall Alex had summoned. There was no way a spell cast in desperation could rival a spell as strong as Tempest Slam.
Not to mention the Flames Alex summoned were already unstable because of the Tornado beneath Leif.
"Arrgghhh!!"
Alex screamed in agony as the wind current forced him to the ground, he felt like he was being stepped on by a giant, and at the same time, wind currents started slashing his body, covering it with cuts and blood.
"Aaarrgghhh! Defeat! I admit defeat!"
Alex shouted at the top of his lungs, unable to take the pain anymore and the moment he did, the wind blades that surrounded Alex's body and the Tornado Leif was riding, everything disappeared as if it was all a lie.
"Ugghh!" Leif fell on the ground butt first.
"You did well."
A calm, mature voice was heard as a man with mysterious and strong air around him stepped in. The man had sharp features, with black hair and black eyes that radiated strength. The man's face was covered with wrinkles and he had gray hair, usually, this symbolized old age and weakness, the man, however, seemed different.
His back was straight, his aura was strong and noble, his eyes reflected boundless knowledge, no matter how one looked at him, he didn't seem like a normal old man at all.
And he was not.
"Grandfather." Leif greeted.
Yes, this old man was Leif's grandfather, Alaric Rhydian Vesta, Blood brother of the previous Head of the Vesta Family, Elysia Rhydian Vesta, and a prodigy known for his excellence in his time.
If it weren't for Elysia, Alaric would have been the one leading the Vesta Family, that was how talented this man was.
The old man held considerable power in the Vesta Family, even if the current Family Head, Astra Elysia Vesta, were to meet him, she would need to bow her head in respect not just because the man was her mother's blood brother, but because of his strength.
Alaric was so strong that even though she has reached where she had, Astra still wasn't sure if she could defeat him.
Of course, this didn't mean she believed she would lose, she was just uncertain.
And just that evaluation alone was enough to understand what sort of being Alaric was.
"Take him to the Healer," Alaric ordered.
4 servants walked and quickly took Alex away on the stretcher.
Ignoring the servants, Alaric turned towards his grandson and, "You should be more careful, if you have the absolute advantage, just ask them to give up, there is no need to follow through with your attacks."
"Are you telling me to go easy on my enemies?" Leif questioned as he rubbed his butt. It still hurt because of his sudden fall.
"That boy is not your enemy, Leif.
He is your sparring partner."
"He was my enemy till the spar ends. This is what you taught me, Grandfather. I do not go easy on my opponents."
Leif spoke with a determined look on his face.
"You are not in a place to do that. You need their support if you wish to become the next Head of the Family. Don't forget, other than your slightly better talent the fact that you are fooling Elric by acting subservient to him and making a fool out of him in the eyes of those who know the truth, you have no other advantage over the other heirs.
You need to bid for more time till you are strong enough to overpower all the other Prospective Heirs and in the meantime, you cannot lose those who choose to follow you just because of your reckless price.
The existence of our Faction is still a secret and that is what makes it more unstable.
You need to be careful."
