Whoosh!
The match started the second the referee gave her signal. Elijah had predicted as much considering Sadia felt very… tense.
Whether it be water blocking her vision or throwing her off balance, Elijah was quickly able to win his match with only a minimal amount of struggle. After his fight with Bell and his team, there seemed to be this sixth sense he had gained about a superior ability of control.
Even the simple water spells had a small amount of current in them from Elijah simply moving the water as he conjured it in his hand. Wind was the affinity Elijah found was easiest to go against, while earth would definitely be his weakness if he only used his water affinity.
The final bout went in Elijah's favor with a tall wall of water that fell onto Sadia like a thirty foot door falling off its hinges. Red core mages can't quickly conjure spells to block large areas, so Elijah increased the height of his water shield he was using to block the hits, and sent it forward slowly after repositioning himself in a place that caused Sadia to defend herself. While Elijah was playing chess, he was also playing tic tac toe.
This time the surrounding arenas were not bombarded with an unavoidable current of water, but instead, a plethora of wages bounced back into the center of the arena solidifying Elijah's victory.
"Nice job Elijah, well played… Even with me throwing the first spell, I couldn't contend with your interesting ways of water magic." Sadia said with an exhausted tone after she was helped up to her feet by Elijah himself. Her clothes were soaking, including her hair that was tangled in many directions across her face.
…
Notes of white and orange lights flickered inside the arena of which Novius and a fire mage were duking it out.
No matter what Novius did, the strings of white lighting flowing from his fingertips were not able to fully block the flames that were pushed towards him. His affinity was rather unique in the sense it was not meant for defending whatsoever besides the capabilities of mana blocking mana.
Novius knew this fact, and was able to end the fight quickly albeit with at least a dozen minor burns over his body that would disappear with the simple touch of Elijah. Curving around the wall of flames conjured by his opponent, white lightning streaked, cracked the air, and made its way to its target while Novius was running sideways.
What looked like a sporadic seizure was an immeasurable amount of electrical current entering the fire mages body.
…
Small icebergs that were originally used as attacks were scattered around the arena as not just defensive barriers, but something the opponent of Theon never expected.
While the arena was convoluted with not just icebergs, but also walls of compact dirt, both parties were running through the cover of their barriers while icicles and bricks of earth were shot forward blindly. What both did not expect was how quickly their mana dropped. Theon quickly abandoned the idea of giving himself cover for the guerilla-like attacks of his opponent, and began charging forward while moving in between the cover that had already been created.
Small pieces of ice were thrown around the arena as distractions, and like a silent stalker, all it took was a single punch to the back, followed by an uppercut to the chin.
Of course, Theon's ice swords quickly changed to ice that covered just his fists as he realized his opening.
From above, Elijah saw the display of stealth and adaptability. If Theon had kept his sword, he would've been forced to deal a non lethal blow that would not have hurt as bad as a punch to the back. Memories from his Hunter exam came rushing back at the feeling of Cora kicking him in the back with a boot covered in ice.
…
From Elijah's point of view, Alexia was either not meant to be a fighter, or not meant to fight against fellow humans.
With every attack there was a slight hesitation, and with every defense, there was a hint of flinching that caused her to lose control of her magic every so often.
This was especially true against a fire mage. With every exploding ball of fire, or wall of fire thrown forward, the heat caused Alexia to back up in pain. And when a condensed beam of fire was shot right next to her ear, she kneeled to the floor in anguish and tears.
"Don't! She needs to make a decision herself!" Elijah put his hand up against Raylen's chest who was about to interrupt the fight. The fire mage, Darnell, had stopped throwing spells and instead, began throwing harsh words that dropped Alexia into a pit of embarrassment.
The ref quickly jumped from the ledge stepped slope made from steps, and put herself in the middle of both contestants. "If you do not get up within ten seconds, you will be forfeiting your match. Will you continue, Alexia?"
"YOU GOT THIS ALEXIA!!" Raylen, Theon, and Novius hyped her up alongside Elijah who gave the order.
With a nod, Alexia stood back up on her own two feet. She was walking with her back turned towards Darnell. Within her mind, all she wanted to do was walk away, but knowing Elijah was watching her – She found a sense of confidence that was partly due to her opponent's choice of words.
"Go!" The match had resumed, and while Darnell was creating a large ball of fire that he would throw over his head, Alexia raised her hand into the air, coursing strong currents of wind around her arm.
Words that Alexia weren't able to hear were being mouthed by Darnell, and once a ball of pulsating and glowing fire was lobbed into the air, alexia did nothing but stand still. With clothes and her hair that was slightly tinged from the heat of his spells, her right hand dropped and stopped midway at her chest when she began to feel the heat.
Water mages, who were clutching onto the tops of the walls in between each battlefield were readying themselves to jump into the burning hot flames.
All Elijah saw was a violent tornado colliding with a ball of fire. Alexia began clutching her chest at the loss of a massive amount of mana, but what followed her… was victory as both collided and began to mix together like oil and water. The air directed the flow of the flames while the flames used the air as a source of life – And slowly made its way to Darnell in the midst of him backing up in fear.
Visible to the eye, he began patting his clothing full of embers as it began burning from the air in the environment that was heating up to such a degree.
The battle was no longer about mana versus mana, but disaster versus whatever could stop it. Everytime Darnell threw a measly ball of fire, it added to its power.
Then it happened, an embarrassing mistake that solidified Alexia's victory.
The earthen ground was filled with icicles and stray pieces of dirt and rock. While frantically running sideways and continuing to run while conjuring every spell he could muster, he tripped on his own ankle – causing not just the ref, but also two healing water mages to begin combating the tornado. Alexia was not letting go of her control willingly, and eventually dropped to the ground in exhaustion.
"Winner! Alexia Sinclair!" The ref announced as she watched the water mages put out the flames all over Darnells clothes and body. Even the shield of water that caused the poor boy had been rustled from the fire tornado dissipating into the air.