Blade of Ruin- Aspiration to the Heavens: Becoming the Supreme Mage Vol 3

Episode 94: The Black Warrior of the North

I held my hand out, drawing the dust still in the air toward me. Gathering into sand, I hit myself with it.

The Minese turtle stared at me with shocked eyes.

Once the cloud of sand vanished, it revealed an ice free me.

"Earth beats ice!" I yelled, transforming the sand into a giant lance and throwing it at the guy.

He retreated into his shell. The sand exploded upon contact with it.

I need more sand. The remnants of the crushed pillar that had fallen to the ground rose up as I raised a hand to the air once again.

"It's over!"

"What makes you think that?" a voice called out.

I gasped and turned around to see a girl who resembled the guy's human form. She had also participated in the games. Was she his twin sister? Where had she come from, though?

I pointed the giant lance at her. "Want to be the first to die?"

She smiled and transformed into a giant serpent, grabbing me. Her tail flung me toward a partially dried lake. A pillar of wind emerged from around the lake, ripping through the clouds above.

Ethan was using his oni transformation already? How powerful was his opponent?

I spun around, gathering stones around me and flew away to avoid getting caught in Ethan's wind pillar. Even though my base form was stronger than his, his oni form blew that out of the water.

Hopefully, Anastasia was having more success than us.

I tucked my arms in. Sound waves burst out of my hands as I spread my fingers out, shattering my defensive sphere.

There was no one at the edge of the forest. Had they left to meet back up with Isabel? But I'd only been gone for a few minutes. That girl could jump high, but she would be highly visible if that's how she was moving around so quickly.

I sighed. Maybe it was best to join back up with my team. No, Ethan and Ana could handle anything those guys could possibly throw their way.

I ran ahead. Ethan was giving it his all, and I was sure the same went for Ana. It would reflect badly on me if I slacked off.

"Team Barragan, you can do it!" I yelled.

"Hmm, you haven't succeeded yet? So much for an elite team," a voice called out behind me.

I turned around and saw a smirking redhead. How a guy who got beaten so badly years ago could have such a cocky smile was beyond me.

Not that he hadn't grown a lot since then.

I sighed. "What are you doing here?"

He walked past me and put his hand on my shoulder. "What? Can't a guy care about his fiancée?"

I gritted my teeth. "I'm not going to marry you."

He closed his eyes and snickered. "I doubt you would go against the system."

"I'm not. I'll be marrying the original person it had picked for me."

He raised an eyebrow. "Hew? What, are you going to kill Nia?"

I scoffed and removed his hand from me. "No. I am not like you."

He wrinkled his nose. "Who have I killed who wasn't an enemy? Nia might be from here but she is our ally."

I snorted.

Bernard spread out his arms and stepped back. "Are you alright?"

I clenched my stomach. "Y-yeah. It's just." Laughter escaped my lips. "I never expected to hear those words from you."