“How is she?”

“She just woke up.” Ailluin answered. “She will bear no visible injuries, and she should be able to fight again in a week. She’s fine. It was close, but she is lucky. There is nothing to worry about.”

The match that had happened between the Protectors and the Hawk had been the discussion of the whole Finem in the past two days. They had no news about the health of the female sorcerer that Jorik had injured, but they didn’t really care.

What mattered was that Myrthil was fine. After almost a day and a half in a coma, they were glad to hear the woman was alright. She had been staying in the Protectors Circle’s infirmary where doctors hadn’t left her side for even one minute until this morning when she finally woke up.

“That’s a relief.” Jorik said.

Ailluin nodded. “Yes. The shock was impressive, but in the end nothing sharp cut her through… Anyway, what are you planning to do?”

“We’ll fight.” Mahon answered with conviction.

“Well, there is nothing wrong with giving up now, but if you insist…” Ailluin sighed. “Oh. And just a thing, before you leave. The Hawks were particularly aggressive in the battle against you, and the trio of sorcerers that came from the death group bear their insignia. Nothing good will come out of there. Please, keep watch on their fight against Rania. And if they manage to win, just surrender. No need to take that risk.”

Ailluin eyed the two young men in front of him, and although they nodded, he could see in their eyes they weren’t planning to give up. It was a strong quality, and made Jorik and Mahon even more likable and valued among the Protectors, but sometimes Ailluin couldn’t help himself from hoping promising people were less prone to walk into the lion’s den so willingly.

Five minutes later, the Protectors left their center to head to the tournament’s arena. Only three teams of Protectors would be competing today, but they were accompanied by no less than two hundred Protectors. They were here to protect their comrades from the Hawks if things turned awry, but mostly they came along for the show or simply to support their fellow bodyguards.

The procession came all the way to the side entrance of the arena where only the three still competing trios were allowed to enter.

Mahon, and Jorik, the winners from the first group, without Myrthil who was still recovering from their last fight.

Hortik and his two teammates from the second group, who had triumphed over Ylindar’s trio after a long and very close battle.

Rania and the two other sorcerers from the fourth group. They had not really met any challenge along the way, and the public was eager to watch their match against the last trio.

Virrion, Vivian and Varek were already waiting in the area reserved for the competitors, and the former threw them a smile as they arrived.

“It has been a walk in the park until there.” He grinned. “I hope things will get more interesting, now. But I have to warn you. We’re here for the first place, and we’ll not be kind to those that stand between us and the king’s favor.”

His eyes lingered on Rania, then switched to Mahon for a second before coming back to the woman. Rania smiled charmingly in answer.

“Words. Please, keep it for your lackeys.”

She paused for a bit and looked right in the eyes of the three people standing in front of her, one after the other.

“You should rather be grateful the king doesn’t want to make a mess of this public event, or Paegis would have already sent you back to your place.”

At the mention of Paegis’ name, the three Ill Immortals grimaced, but they didn’t add anything and waited in silence.

Five minutes later, the referees were ready and the first semi-final started. Even though they were only two, each one of them would have been able to defeat Hortik’s trio by himself, but Mahon and Jorik were too respectful of their fellow Protectors to play it that way.

Instead, they purposely held back their strength to offer the public an interesting show. It was also the perfect opportunity to teach the Protectors about their weaknesses. Hortik and his team were well aware of what Mahon and Jorik were doing, but they were grateful for it nonetheless. They got to learn and not be humiliated for being crushed at two versus three in a semi-final match.

A thunderous applause cheered their performance when Mahon finally landed the final blow on Hortik after an impressive attack pattern. The public was seduced and enjoyed it, but most of the competitors knew it was a match worth nothing. A simple warm-up for the real show, as the winner of the tournament would be decided in the next match.

The three sorcerers from the Protectors Circle against the three sorcerers from the Hawks.

Some guessed they were mercenaries from the Ill Immortals, but in this battle, it didn’t matter much. Since they had the insignias of the Hawks pinned on their uniform, they represented the Pack of the Hawks in this match. The Ill Immortals’ victory would be the Hawks’ victory.

“Start!”

Six swords ignited themselves at the same instant the referee announced the start of the fight. The trios approached each other cautiously, in formation. The Hawks seized the initiative as Varek rolled to the side and attacked a Protector.

A contest of burning blades ensued, with sparks spreading over each time they clashed. The other sorcerers didn’t wait idly, and a duo fight ensued between them.

The battle grew in intensity when the Ill Immortals started building up even more fire and invoked new weapons just like the female sorcerer of the Hawk did with her dagger during Mahon’s fight.

It wasn’t time for probing anymore as deadly attacks were exchanged at frightening speed. The Protectors couldn’t afford to hold back, and Rania invoked a whip of fire, shorter than her actual whip but still very deadly.

In front of her, Vivian was playing with some kind of fire shield that she was using to push away Rania. It wasn’t really a defensive weapon and more like a portable wall of flames.

None of the sorcerers had long-range techniques similar to the female sorcerer from the Hawks, and they all stood in melee with their newly invoked weapons and burning swords.

As the fight started to last while no side was taking the advantage, their blows became packed with so much strength that most of the spectators were instinctively clenching their teeth with each impact. The speed at which the sorcerers evolved was now at least twice faster than at the beginning of the fight.

After some time, the difference in power between the sorcerers started to become visible. Varek and one of the male Protector sorcerers stopped improving in strength and speed and even showed signs of exhaustion. Only Rania and Virrion seemed to be unaffected by the pace of the battle as both kept pouring more and more magic as they fought.

Rania bore a fearless smile as she was slowly starting to gain an advantage against the female Ill Immortal. Her whip wasn’t a weapon people were used to fighting against, and the weird movement she was allowed to perform by controlling it with her fire added to the unpredictability of her attacks.

Slowly, her advantage spread to her teammates, and the Ill Immortals were pushed back as the Protectors took the advantage.

“Virrion!” Vivian screeched between clenched teeth as she barely escaped an attack that almost took her head off. “Stop playing!”

The leader of the Ill Immortals held back a loud sigh and nodded. He had hoped he wouldn’t be pushed to such a corner and reveal all his power, but he had no other choice if he wanted to win this battle. He could now only hope that the old monster wouldn’t kill him right off the bat.

He moved back from the melee, letting his two teammates bore the brunt of the battle for an instant. He then pointed his arms at the earth and acted as if he was trying to uproot something with his magic.

Instantly, the temperature started to rise, and a glow appeared under the sand just under Rania’s foot.

A second later, and without any warning, a geyser of fire erupted high into the sky, blowing into oblivion everything that had stood in his path.

By sheer reflex, Rania had jumped backwards at the last moment and barely managed to avoid the explosion of magic.

After his fight against the sorcerer from the Hawks, Mahon had asked for some clarification on the techniques the woman had used. She was actually just a competent sorcerer and not a magician. The main difference between the two laid on their ability to control their magic. A sorcerer could only use it as long as it stayed in touch with his body.

A magician has no such limitations. And nothing linked Virrion to his geyser. It had just appeared from nowhere, and that could only mean one thing…

He’s a magician!

Rolling his arms around while waving with his palms, Virrion invoked a second and third geysers behind the Protectors so they couldn’t escape. A fourth one, even bigger than the others, then started to appear right under the trio’s feet. Their only escape path was forward, where Varek and Vivian were still standing.

“Down!” Virrion yelled the moment the Protectors rushed forward to escape the apocalypse that was growing underneath them.

Without any hesitation, Vivian and Varek jumped on the ground while five roaring fireballs passed above their heads.

An astounding explosion of fire made the whole arena trembled as the three geysers came to live, erupting like mad volcanoes just behind the Protectors and propelling them forward. Where fireballs the size of their chest came flying at them at frightening speed.

“ENOUGH!”

The sound almost covered the explosions before it got drowned by the immense burst of fire caused by the fireballs reaching the Protectors. No one was able to see anything for a time as a big cloud of smoke covered the center of the arena.

Mahon tried to Flow, but he had trouble stabilizing It even at the shallowest level, and he couldn’t see anything either.

The smoke slowly dissipated and revealed the three Protectors safe and sound behind a shining shield. When it completely cleared, the crowd watched with mouths wide open a man flying five meters above the ground with four immense wings of fire sprouting from his back.

It was none other than master Paegis. With a very angry expression.

“Why are you interfering?!” Virrion yelled at him. “It’s a violation of the rules of this tournament!”

Virrion started to glow as fire sprouted along his arms and torso like an armor.

“Shut. The. Fuck. Up.”

Each world reverberated in the arena like a clap of thunder while Varek and Vivian got propelled backwards, as if they were facing a wind so strong they couldn’t prevent being blown away. Their fire magic disappeared instantly, and only Virrion was able to stay standing, his flames flickering dangerously.

“Is this how Finem holds a fair tournament?” The Ill Immortal asked with a difficult expression as he struggled not to get thrown away.

A grimace barred Paegis’ face, and he raised his hand leisurely. He brought his fingers to his mouth and humidified them slightly before he pinched in Virrion’s direction, as if he was simply extinguishing a candle. Virrion’s fire immediately died off, and the man crumbled to the ground.

With his other hand, Paegis spread his fingers as if playing with a hand puppet and five golems of fire sprouted to life in a circle around Virrion. They had nothing in common from the golem Mahon was used to seeing when the man fought against Rania. These golems were three meters high, seemingly encased in heavy fire armors, with sledgehammers instead of hands and meter-long spikes covering their backs.

And you dared say you were going all out against me?!

The golems started to move towards Virrion who was struggling just to stay on his knees with a look of pure terror in his eyes.

“Paegis.” A calm voice broke the silence, and the golems instantly stopped their advance.

A battle of conflicting emotions took place on Paegis’ face for a few seconds whereas everyone seemed to be holding their breath and nothing could be heard.

Then the old master regained his self-control and made his golems disappear with a flick of his hand. His wings carried him at Rania’s side where they disappeared from his back along with the shield protecting the three stunned Protectors.

The old magician threw a look at the king who had interfered just in time and bowed ever so slightly. Surprisingly, the king bowed back as well.

“The Protectors forfeit this match.” Paegis said without turning back.

He then left the arena with the three Protectors in tow without adding any word. The silence following their departure was so heavy it was almost tangible. The king held back a sigh and spoke up after a few seconds of this unbearable tension.

“So our two finalists have been decided. We’ll take a break before the final so that everyone has a chance to eat and rest properly. The tournament will resume for its last match in two hours.”