Chapter 12: To the ravine!
Aeris stood still, staring at Ethan as if her conviction had once again been proven right. Her eyes were wide, lips slightly parted, and her staff trembled faintly in her hand. She already admired him as the Herald, but his abilities still managed to surprise her every time she saw them.
"Oh Goddess, you really never get tired of being right..." she thought, a shiver running down her spine.
Beside her, Sylfie had her arms crossed, her body still dusted with ash from the earlier fight. Even so, her expression was hard to read. Her eyes were half-closed, analyzing every movement Ethan made after the battle.
She said nothing, but the tension in her shoulders and the slight grinding of her teeth gave her away. That display of power irritated her... and fascinated her.
The feeling of inferiority she used to have with Aeris had lessened ever since she met Ethan. But now, it felt like he was slowly taking her place.
High above in the stands, the three evaluators observed in complete silence.
The oldest among them, a man with a thick beard and hawk-like eyes, broke the silence with a deep tone.
"In less than ten minutes..."
The second, a man with white hair tied tightly in a bun, simply stroked his chin, eyes still fixed on Ethan’s hand where Nexus rested.
"No mistakes. No hesitation. Not even signs of magical exhaustion..."
The woman, upright and calculating, didn’t take her eyes off the young man.