Chapter 39: Blood Reckoning
Was this the power of six-circle spells? My mouth dropped at the staggering amount of mana present in the spell, far overwhelming anything I’d experienced. The massive magic circle rotated slowly, hundreds of feet above the arena, and emitted a terrifying aura. Chunks of rock and fire materialized within, clumping together to form a solid mass at the center. Even with my mind muddied with pain, I knew we couldn’t survive this.
Soltair slashed toward me, releasing a wave of light from his sword. I turned, open-mouthed as it flew above my head and into the descending sword of Kirla. She’d gotten within striking distance without me noticing, and would surely have landed a finishing blow.
The elf screamed as her sword was blown away and she was sent tumbling through the air. A hollow grunt escaped her lips as she hit the ground, rolling several dozen feet. I breathed a sigh of relief as she tried to get up, but failed. Niece screamed and fired a few arrows, but Soltair was already at my side. He deflected the shots and raised his hand, unleashing a third-circle spell. A golden burst of light swept the archer off her feet and smashed her against the arena wall, sending thick cracks running through the reinforced stone. The archer cried out as her arm bent at a horrific angle, the shattered bone breaking the skin and leaving her crippled.
I turned to Rochelle, but it became apparent we had nothing to fear. She remained in the same position, covered in blood and staring blankly at a cracked crystal in her hand. It took me a moment to realize it was the focus of her staff, which lay in splinters around her. I almost felt bad, as the weapon obviously meant a lot to her, but her previous arrogance kept me callous.
An immense pressure overshadowed us, and I was abruptly reminded of the meteor. "Soltair!"
"I see it," he said, gripping his sword tightly. I shifted nervously, finally able to behold the full majesty of a sixth circle spell. According to Selena, this was when magic really started getting scary.
The meteor was fifty feet of craggy rock and fire, blazing with the fury of a raging volcano and overshadowing everything within the colosseum. With a triumphant look, Ronin slashed his spear down, and the magic circle disappeared. The meteor shuddered as gravity seized it and plunged downward, rapidly blotting out the entire sky. The rushing wind overpowered the roar of the crowd, but I could still see the thousands of shocked and excited expressions heralding the mighty spell’s descent.
I ran through our options, but came up dry. Even if I was stronger than Ronin, I lacked the mana to use Dispel Magic. Reflection was out of the question. There was no way a third-circle spell could contain something of that magnitude. Even if it could, Ronin himself would be unlikely to survive it. I recalled hearing that powerful wards protected the lives of anyone in the colosseum, but were they really accounting for this?
A comforting hand fell on my shoulder, and I looked to find Soltair calmly gazing upward. "You can rely on me," he said, lips rising into a confident smile.