Elias Leywin POV
I slid back as steel hammered down at me.
My blade arced up to meet the weapon. A ring tore across the sand-covered arena as the Warhammer that was aimed at my head was knocked off course.
The older boy pressed forward, the weight of his weapon dragging a low arc across the grains before rising, flinging up sand towards me.
I weaved back as he arced his great weapon horizontally, his strike aiming for my chest.
I twisted my hips, letting the head of the hammer skim past my ribs. Wind rippled in his strike's wake. His overextension caused him to stumble forward. Before he could refocus himself, I reclosed the short distance between us.
My blade snapped forward, glinting under the high sun as it cut toward the exposed flank.
Before I could, however, the haft of his weapon jerked up, catching my blade with a dull thud.
A grin lined his lips. "Too slow." He snarled as he headbutted me down into the sand.
He stood tall as he hefted his hammer upwards, its shadow swallowing his face as the sun caught the metal.
A pulse of flame burst from my left hand as I rolled away from his strike.
"Let me squash ya," he laughed as he pounced at me.
I climbed back to my feet as I dug in. Bringing my blade up, I braced for his wrath. Steel met steel as the force travelled through me.
He pressed down on me. The advantage of his size and power caused my foothold to falter.
'Damn it,' I grunted to myself. My knees and shoulders ached as he continued to press down upon me. 'I need too-'
Forcing mana to my arms, I jerked my sword up, breaking free from his grasp. The hammer slipped and smashed into the ground, burying its head as sand pulsed outwards.
Taking the brief window of opportunity, I shot forward, tightening my grip on my weapon and striking his open flank.
Steel sliced a red line along his side.
He roared in pain as he forced his hammer from the ground. He swung it in an erratic, wide arc and jumped back two paces in an instant.
I raised my blade high above me, the sun glinting over its polished edge, and pointed it at him. "Yield now, and I'll heal you up, free of cost," I smirked at him, "for now at least."
"Bastard," he growled as blood pooled around his hand. With a grunt, he pulled the belt that secured his breast plate loose, letting the slab of steel fall to the ground with a thud.
'Very well then'
I exhaled. Not being left much choice, I gripped the broad blade with a second hand and pointed it at him. "Ignite!" I commanded. Mana surged both within and around my sword as a radiant gold erupted along the length, blinding the battlefield in its brilliance.
The boy's eyes narrowed against the glare. His jaw clenched as he rolled his shoulders. Red stained his once white tunic as he now breathed heavy breaths.
He smacked his chest and sat on his ankles, and with a groan lifted the hammer again. He bent his knees and waited, extending an invitation for me to strike.
He wanted me to attack. He baited me in. A smile cracked my lips as I accepted his offer. With an exhale, I adjusted my grip and held my sword low. It drew a line in the sand as I shot forward and closed the distance. The golden flame burnt lines into the sand, blooming small crystals of glass from their brief exposure to the radiance.
The hammer came down in a crushing arc, aimed to meet me head-on.
I didn't slow, however. Instead, at the last possible second, I shifted to the side, my blade rising just enough to catch the shaft of the hammer rather than its head. Steel slid along steel as I redirected the force past me. The hammer slammed into the ground where I had stood a heartbeat before.
My sword cut low, forcing his guard down as he dragged the weapon free. The moment his arms dipped, I changed direction. The blade snapped upward, golden flame trailing close to his chest.
He twisted, barely avoiding the strike as my flame's heat washed over him. His grip loosened as I forced him a step back, his hammer still in the sand.
I drove forward, pressing onto him as he struggled against the heat.
He misstepped and fell onto his back. Raising his head, he met my blade. Steel hovered an inch from his nose.
Our eyes met, and with a click, he raised his sand-slicked hands high. "I yield," he exhaled.
"Good," I smiled. I dismissed my blade back into my dimension ring.
"Victory Leywin!" a man dressed in a neat suit announced
'Oh, I forgot you were here…'
"mhk mkm" The sitting boy coughed.
"Oh, right, the healing," I snapped my fingers, and gold illuminated his form.
I let out a sigh as I clicked my back. "These damn fights…" I groaned as it clicked again.
"Well done," I turned towards the voice, where I was met by a boy with long auburn hair.
"Art!" I called as I shot towards him.
"Wow," he exaggeratedly wobbled back a step, "You didn't move that fast the entire fight, but I'm glad you're happy to see me."
"I'm not carrying an oversized sword right now," I smirked.
He rustled my hair, "It didn't look too oversized; it was kinda like a claymore or greatsword."
"I guess, though it was your training that helped," I smiled as I leaned into his touch.
He lifted his hand free from my head as we began to walk.
"That was rather impressive, little Brother-"
Without turning around to face the voice, I cut him off. "No, it was not, Art." I looked up and met his eyes, "He's an augmenter and a second-year battle-mage student, whilst I, a 9-year-old conjurer, beat him in close quarters combat in less than 10 minutes."
"Is what I said any less true?" he smiled
"He's 3 core stages behind me and is nearly twice my age"
He scruffled my hair "My point stands."
"…I guess," I murmured as I swatted his hand away, "It's just how can people be so weak?"
He freed my head from his grasp as he looked down at me expectantly. "Perhaps you're just strong," He smiled.
"That's no excuse for his or the other two's weakness."
"Oh, right, that was your third successive win, right?"
"It was," I stated as I instinctively pulled my bracket paper out.
"Congratulations, that means you'll be fighting in the coliseum Saturday, right?"
I nodded once again and, releasing the final crease, I concentrated on the sheet as it dimmed to my name and my next opponent.
"Are you fucking me!"
"Language," my brother reprimanded.
"Sorry, sorry," I said, waving him off. "It's just I wanted more variety in who I fight, you know?"
"How so? Don't tell me it's another augmenter?"
I nodded. "It's my fourth Augmenter in a row and my second Earth attribute user, though this time it seems that he's a Gravity magic deviant." I refolded the magic paper and slid it back into my pocket.
"That's understandable, I suppose." He sighed. "Though Gravity magic, huh? That sounds interesting." Art hummed. "If you want, I could help you train to fight against it. While not perfect, I can still kinda use it when using my beast will."
"Thanks, Art, that'd be great," I smiled, looking up at my brother as a giant roar tore across the repurposed training field.
My eyes shot towards the sound where a hulking beast held a paw on the chest of a student.
"I yield," she said, shaking as she stared up at the beast that pinned her.
"That's enough, Grawder, she's given up," Curtis said, running a hand through the World Lion's mane.
With a grumble, he lifted his front paw free of the black-haired girl.
"Victory, Prince Glayder!" the proctor shouted.
"Former prince," Curtis corrected, offering a hand to the girl.
The reddened girl took it and let her hand linger within the prince's as she stood straight.
"Quit seducing the student body, my Prince!" I shouted as Art and I neared him.
The girl bowed and ran before we could talk further.
"I take it you also won your match up, Lias?" he sighed, leaning against his bond.
I ran a hand through the beast's mane before scratching his head. "I did, and I've got my fourth augmenter in the round of 16 on Saturday."
"That's unfortunate, but at least you've had practice."
"I suppose," I nodded.
"It's good to see you again, Prince Curtis," my brother said, bowing slightly.
Curtis waved him off. "There's no need for that, Arthur. We're all friends here," he smiled to my brother as he held a hand out to him.
My brother took it and shook.
"We're likely to be brothers soon enough anyway, so we might as well get comfortable with each other," Curtis said as he smirked down at me.
Mana surged to my fist as it slammed into the prince's side. He flew back 3 meters and collapsed to his knees.
"There was no need for that, Lias. I was only telling a joke,"
"Sure you were…"
"I was, I was, now heal me up!" he groaned, holding his side.
I ignored him and turned back to my brother.
"Lias, it's probably best if you did," Art said, an awkward smile lining his lips.
"It's best if you don't, Elias. The Prince deserved that hit for the disrespect he gave both you and Lady Kathlyn."
"Don't go siding with him, Bairon," Curtis snarled.
"Bairon," my brother mouthed. His eyes widened. His shoulders taut.
"It's good to see you again, Lance Wykes," I bowed slightly.
"It's good to see you, too, Elias. I take it that the boy to your right is your brother," he said curtly. A faint smile lined his lips as he looked down at me.
"It is, this is my brother Arthur Leywin," I smiled up at the tall blonde, pointing with my arm. "He's quite talented, so I'm sure you'll hear a lot about him once he graduates,"
"More so than you?"
"Let's not go that far," I smirked, "but he is a quadra-elemental mage and a triple deviant, so he isn't useless."
I raised my shoulder and braced myself for my brother's response.
But he did nothing.
I looked back at my brother, whose face had lost all of its colour.
"Art?" I whispered, nudging him slightly.
He stirred at my call and shook colour back to his face.
"And this is Bairon Wykes, one of the Lances, though you probably know that…"
The lance held a hand to my brother. Art took it hesitantly.
"Are you also participating in the summer series?" Bairon asked him mid shake.
"N-no I-I'm not a student yet, so I'll be taking part in next year's." Art stammered as they released each other.
"Oh? So you're starting this year then?"
"Yes, Sir, In September." Art nodded once.
'Sir? When has He ever called someone Sir? He calls the former King of Humanity by his first name for Gods Sake… Weird…'
"My younger brother, Lucas, is also starting after the summer. I hope you two can get along."
Art's jaw tensed. "I'll try my best."
"I do wish the summer series were around back when I was a student," the lance sighed. "Though I suppose there was no need to encourage getting stronger so much back in such a peaceful time."
"It seems quite peaceful to me," I smiled as I looked over the expanse of green that spread before us. Birds chirped and sang as they flew about, free of any care of the duels that was fought below them.
"Dicathen has been at peace for the best part of two decades now, and that's all fighting-aged people have known. As it's our first contact with an alien nation or nations, it's best we show our strength." He smiled as he watched one boy splash another with a water ball.
Our eyes drifted to the still kneeling boy.
"Are you Serious? Get up, you big baby!" I shouted at the former prince of humanity.
"It really hurt," he murmured.
I strode towards him and placed a hand on his head. Golden flame encompassed his form as heat radiated around us.
"Better?"
"Much," he sighed, rising to his feet.
Using his bond as a crutch, we made our way back to Art and Bairon. "Oh come on," I groaned, "It can't have been that bad."
"My Prince," Bairon nodded, "your father wishes to speak with you ahead of this weekend's fights."
"Very well then… Lias, who did you say you had in the round of 16 again?" the prince asked, standing straight in an attempt to regain some dignity.
"Uhhh, I think his name was Theodore Maxwell."
"Oh, Theo?" he smiled.
"You know him?" I asked, leaning closer.
"We've had a few classes together this year. I won't spoil it, but he'll be a good fight for you."
I clicked my back, stiffness from my earlier fight settling in. "If you say so."
"Well then, see you Saturday, Lias, Arthur," he said, nodding between the two of us.
---
Rius here,
I have now completed all of my uni work for the next 3 months, so I will be able to write more again.
We will be returning to our Wednesday and Sunday 6 pm BST release schedule until the completion of 'Book 1' (Academy Arc). There will be a serious deviation from the main story that will have lasting consequences on the larger story as a whole. I hope you continue reading as I strive to make my vision for Fated Heirs come true.
Thank you all once again for your patience and support.
If there are any questions, do not hesitate to ask me.
Rius Out