Chapter 74: Demon Combat Practice. (5)
He adjusted the position.
He pressed his chest to the creature’s nape, closing the space even more. His legs tensed, fixing control.
"That’s it," he murmured, without losing his breathing rhythm. "Don’t move so much."
The pressure increased.
The chimera’s strength began to fall.
Its movements became erratic. Then slower. The paws stopped hitting with the same intensity.
The reptilian head opened its mouth one last time, releasing hot air without direction.
Bīng Xuě maintained the grip.
He didn’t squeeze suddenly.
He held.
He waited.
The creature’s body finished yielding.
The tension disappeared from its muscles. The weight collapsed onto the sand.
Bīng Xuě released the grip and jumped up with a short leap, landing to the side lightly.
He shook the dust from his hands.
"That was good," he said, looking at the motionless chimera. "You hold out longer than the previous ones."
Morgana observed the lying chimera a few seconds. Her fingers moved slightly and the sand responded. The creature’s body tensed, as if something was fitting back together from inside. A tremor ran through its paws before standing up again.
Then the woman turned her head toward the stands.
"Diana Vangelis," she said.
From the stands, a girl stood up without hurry. Silver hair, gathered in a curl rolled over one side of her head, with a careful style that mixed modern with more classic details. Her golden eyes looked over the rest, with reluctance. She chewed gum at a constant rhythm.
She descended the steps without looking at anyone in particular.
"Is this really a class?" she commented while walking. "I thought we’d left behind the crappy tests."
She stopped in the sand, releasing a small bubble that exploded in front of her lips.
"And on top of that with... that."
She pointed at the chimera with a brief gesture.
"How tasteless."
The creature was already in motion.
It launched without warning, digging its claws into the sand and advancing in a straight line.
Diana didn’t even move.
The chimera’s body pierced through her figure.
The image distorted and disappeared like a broken reflection.
A few meters away, another Diana appeared, leaning her weight on one leg, looking bored.
"Slow," she said, chewing. "Pretty slow."
The sand began to fill with more figures.
Two. Four. Six.
All identical. Same gesture, same posture, same chewing rhythm.
The chimera turned its head, observing.
The illusions moved in different directions, surrounding it without getting too close.
"Are you going to keep charging like an animal?" one of them said. "Because it bores me a bit."
The creature advanced toward one of the copies.
It went through it.
Another disappeared when it tried to bite it from the side.
Diana clicked her tongue.
"At least try to do something interesting."
The illusions began to move with more intention. Some approached, others disappeared and reappeared at another point. The sand reflected their steps, but the footprints didn’t always match the positions.
The chimera stopped.
Its two heads lowered slightly.
The feline sniffed the air.
The reptilian opened its mouth, releasing a short exhalation.
Diana kept moving.
"What’s wrong?" said one of the copies, spinning around. "Are you lost?"
The creature didn’t respond to the provocation.
It turned slowly.
It advanced in another direction.
Not toward an image.
Toward an empty point.
Diana appeared there an instant later.
Her expression changed.
Only a second.
The chimera was already on top.
The charge was direct.
Diana tried to move. Her figure duplicated at the same instant, generating three copies in different directions.
The claw pierced through two.
The third received the impact.
The blow lifted her from the ground.
Her body was thrown several meters before falling hard on the sand. The sound was dry. The air left her lungs upon impact.
The illusions disappeared.
Diana didn’t get up.
The gum fell to one side.
Her breathing was irregular.
An arm was left in a strange position.
In the stands, some students leaned forward.
Gerald pressed his lips.
"Fuck..."
Morgana observed the scene without changing expression.
"Enough."
The chimera stopped.
Morgana turned her head toward the stands.
"Bīng Xuě."
He raised his hand without fully standing up.
"Yes?"
"Bring her down."
She indicated Diana with her gaze.
"Take her to the infirmary."
Bīng Xuě sighed, standing up.
"Really?" he descended the steps slowly. "I wanted to see more fights."
He approached Diana’s body and crouched beside her.
"Don’t move," he said, with a softer tone. "This is going to hurt anyway."
He lifted her carefully, adjusting the weight so she wouldn’t fall to one side.
"What a waste..." he murmured while walking toward the exit. "Just when it was getting interesting."
He didn’t look back.
The sand was silent again.
The sand didn’t stop.
The next name came without pause.
"Cyril Aven," Morgana said.
A tall boy, with light brown hair and straight posture, descended decisively. He wore the uniform impeccably, without a wrinkle. Upon reaching the center, he placed a hand on his chest and exhaled slowly.
"I can handle this," he murmured to himself.
His ability appeared in the form of light circles under his feet. He moved fast, leaving behind bright marks that exploded on contact. The chimera received the first impacts on its torso. The skin tensed, but resisted.
Cyril tried to maintain distance.
It worked for a few seconds.
The creature closed the space with a long jump. The tail spun in the air. The stinger reached his leg as it fell.
Cyril screamed instantly.
Balance broke.
The second charge finished the combat.
Morgana didn’t even change posture.
"Next."
"Derek Voln," she announced afterward.
He entered without hurry, shrugging.
"Okay... doesn’t seem that complicated either."
His body was covered with a grayish layer, as if his skin became stone. He advanced straight toward the chimera, seeking a frontal exchange.
He held the first blow.
The second too.
The third displaced him several steps backward.
Derek smiled.
"Is that all?"
The reptilian head opened its mouth.
The heat impacted directly.
The hardened surface cracked in several points. Derek gritted his teeth, trying to maintain the form. The chimera took advantage of that moment. It launched itself, knocking him down completely.
The weight fell on top.
The resistance wasn’t enough.
"Out."
Another body dragged out of the sand.
"Elena Farseer."
A girl with dark hair and fixed gaze descended without saying anything. Her hands moved precisely. She formed figures in the air, translucent structures floating around her.
She didn’t attack first.
She waited.
The chimera advanced.
The structures reacted alone. They interposed in the trajectory, diverting the impact, absorbing part of the force. Elena moved among them, repositioning them, guiding the combat.
The rhythm changed.
The creature began to fail.
An opening.
Elena took advantage.
One of the structures compressed and pierced through the chimera’s side with a clean impact. It wasn’t enough to knock it down, but it was enough to stop it.
Morgana raised her hand.
"Enough."
Elena lowered her hands.
She breathed faster, but remained standing.
"Acceptable."
The combat ended there.
The flow continued.
Names.
Attempts.
Errors.
Blows.
Some lasted longer.
Others barely a few seconds.
The sand accumulated new marks with each turn.
Until Morgana spoke again.
"Enough for today."
Silence fell suddenly.
Some students tensed, others released held breath.
Gerald raised his head.
"Huh? Already?"
Aku showed no visible reaction.
But his gaze relaxed slightly.
His turn hadn’t come.
Morgana turned without adding anything more.
"Withdraw."
The class had ended.