Page 123 of Ashes of Aether

The four elementals charge at me again. They come at me from all directions. I am at the center. Cornered.

I can’t let them defeat me.

“Ignir’quatir!” I rasp with all the desperation in my heart.

My shield explodes, slamming into all four of my opponents. The hawk takes the brunt of my attack. Thanks to the damage I previously inflicted, and its vulnerability to fire, the air elemental is obliterated.

The hawk bursts apart, disintegrating into tiny fragments. Remnants of air magic descend on me like crushed diamonds. My face tingles as they land on my cheeks, but they cause no harm.

There’s no time to relish my victory. Three enemies remain. The water stallion advances.

Its kelp-like tail lashes out, and its nostrils flare. A bolt of pressurized water darts toward me.

“Tera!”I call, carving out an enormous boulder from the ground. I launch it at the blast.

Water sprays across the arena, soaking me. The salamander’s flames are momentarily doused by the splash.

The elk bows its head. Green light glows between its antlers. A giant onyx thorn springs forth. Its point glistens as it rushes at me.

“Ventrez!” Air magic bursts from my fingers. The furious wind tears through the thorn. Dark pieces of bark scatter across the arena.

Flames crackle behind. The salamander spews a fireball. I notice the attack too late.

I swerve back. The flames catch my shoulder, singeing my cerulean robes and scorching my flesh. I let out a sharp cry of pain but have no chance to check the wound.

The elk stomps. Green light spreads over the ground.

The earth rumbles, and vines sprout from beneath the arena. Thorns cover each tendril. They wrap around my ankles, and their needlelike points penetrate the leather of my boots. A sharp stabbing pain tells me the thorns have penetrated far enough to draw blood.

The vines curl tighter, securing their hold around me. They creep higher up my leg and press in deeper. It feels as if thousands of needles are digging into me.

I use the pain to fuel my fury. Aether boils in my blood. I unleash it as a powerful blast of air magic.

“Tempis!”

A vortex erupts. The sharp winds slice through the vines, and the severed remains fall in a heap of foliage. The vortex continues forth and crashes into the earth elemental. The violent winds are as sharp as blades and carve through the vines which form its body.

My spell shreds the elemental apart. Earth magic drifts from its remains in a cloud of green light. Now only two enemies are left.

Both the water stallion and the fire salamander charge at me. I stumble back. The pain shooting through my leg, where the thorns ripped through, makes it impossible to leap away.

So, I don’t. I draw on my magic and wait for a moment. Then another. When both elementals are upon me, I release my spell.

“Laxus!”

I fade into aether. My two enemies crash into each other. The water stallion’s enormous wave devours the salamander and destroys its flames. It disperses into red light, and ash scatters through the wind.

Only one enemy remains. The water elemental.

After its collision with the salamander, the water stallion is left disoriented. It takes a few seconds to recover.

I don’t hesitate before launching my next attack.

“Veitis!”

Emerald light strikes the ground. Vines burst up, reaching for the remaining elemental. They wrap around the water stallion. It struggles beneath the vines, but their grasp tightens.

An anguished whinny pierces the silence of the arena. Then the elemental bursts apart.