She vanished.
I was ready for that this time.
Haste.
I was swinging at the spot just in front of Patrick in an instant. I didn’t need to be able to see how fast she was moving if I could predict her behavior.
Selys-Lyann cracked against the scales on the side of Mizuchi’s arm. She whirled toward me as the ice began to spread.
Sera jabbed at her from the other side, leaving a gouge in Mizuchi’s scales.
Mizuchi turned around toward Sera, but Sera stepped back and raised her off-hand to point. “Bind.”
A swirling ring of symbols appeared in the air around Mizuchi, then contracted until they touched her scales and disappeared.
Mizuchi tilted her head downward. “Really? You’re going to do that right now?” She shook her head. “You think you can turn my own powers against me? Let’s see you try.”
I swung at Mizuchi again while she was speaking, but she just stepped to the side. Patrick threw a blast of lightning, but it bounced off Mizuchi’s scales without effect.
Mizuchi pointed at Sera, producing a blast of flame.
Sera waved upward, raising a wall of ice.
The fire blasted straight through it, hitting Sera. I saw her barrier shatter on contact, and she flew backward and hit the floor.
Mizuchi turned, shaking her head. “Amateur.”
Sera shuddered on the floor, smoke rising from her torso.
Patrick screamed and lunged.
Mizuchi caught his sword in a single hand.
“You’re right,” she said. “It’s not the real thing.”
Then she snapped it in half, flipped the broken blade around, and plunged it into Patrick’s chest.
He stumbled back a single step, gasped, and then swung again with his broken blade.
Mizuchi just stepped to the side.
Patrick fell forward and joined Sera on the ground.
I jabbed toward Mizuchi’s throat.
She batted the sword out of the way with ease, then swung her tail at me.
Jump.
I blasted myself backward, avoiding the swing.
“Ooh, interesting. You’ve got a bit of spark. But now this one,” she pointed toward Marissa, still on the floor. “Has no one guarding her.”
A sphere of flame manifested in her hand, glowing brighter and brighter.
Then the fireball moved, but not toward Marissa.
Sera was still on the ground, but she’d crawled closer to Mizuchi and lifted her sword.
The ball of flame moved into Ceris’ blade, causing the sword to grow red. Then Sera swung it right into the back of Mizuchi’s leg.
The sword bit in deep, and flames burst out of the wound.
Mizuchi screamed.
She kicked backward, hitting Sera in the shoulder hard enough that I saw Sera’s shoulder pop out of place.
Sera hit the ground and screamed herself, the sword slipping from her grasp.
I aimed the tip of my sword toward Mizuchi’s eye.
Jump.
Mizuchi caught the blade. Her hand began to freeze.
“Irritating.” She pulled her hand back, shattering the ice, and then swung her other claw at me.
I couldn’t dodge effectively without releasing my sword.
Instead, I side-stepped to diminish the impact, and focused on the mana thread that was still connected to my shield sigil.
I felt the shield’s power — and I moved it, all into one spot. Right at the point of impact.
Her claw hit the barrier and rebounded off the focused shield.
My shield shattered. It had blocked her blow — barely — but that one strike had taken up the entire barrier.
I responded while she was surprised, channeling transference mana into my off-hand and punching her in the chest.
It was like punching a solid stone wall. She didn’t even budge.
She released her grip on my sword, shaking her head, then swung her other claw at me.
Jump.
I wasn’t fast enough.
Her claw gouged a wound in my left arm before the power of the ring carried me out of the way.
And then, by the time I’d oriented myself, Mizuchi was in front of me again. She was just that much faster than I was.
I made another jab with Selys-Lyann, but she manifested an aura of flame around one hand and batted it harmlessly out of the way.
“I am curious where you got that. But not curious enough to keep you alive.”
Mizuchi raised a claw, an aura of electricity manifesting around it and growing thicker by the moment.
I tried to step back, but she lunged too quickly.
She would have hit me if someone else hadn’t hit her first.
“Star descends from sky.”
The attack was now all-too-familiar, but it wasn’t Marissa who executed it.
Professor Conway slammed a fist into Mizuchi’s face, knocking her back just a few feet. “Go, Corin. Get your friends to safety. I will hold her as long as I can.”
I stepped back to disengage.
My left arm was burning from my wound, but fortunately, the regeneration function of my phoenix sigil was dulling that enough to keep me somewhat functional.
Professor Conway jumped and kicked Mizuchi in the chest, knocking her back further.
I found Vanniv finally moving, dragging Sera away from the battle.
“Can you get her out of here?” I asked.
Vanniv nodded, looking determined.
“Corin…” Sera coughed.
“Grab Marissa, too, if you can.” I instructed him.
“I will.” Vanniv slung Sera over one shoulder and Marissa over the other, then took flight.
I found Cecily pulling the sword fragment of out of Patrick’s chest. He wasn’t moving.
“Can you get him out of here?” I asked her.
“Not alone,” Cecily replied. Then she added, “Not being stubborn. I physically can’t carry Patrick.”
I nodded. He was pretty heavy.
And honestly, I didn’t know if he was even safe to move. That chest wound looked pretty bad.
I knelt down and put a hand on his chest, focusing my mana.
I hadn’t practiced healing magic, but this wasn’t exactly a good time to be picky.
At least I’d read up about the theory.
I concentrated and poured life mana toward the wound, then spread it and began to conceptualize the type of damage I was trying to repair. Bone and muscle began to knit themselves back together.
I wasn’t going to try to heal him completely. I just needed to try to stop the bleeding so he could be moved.
I didn’t get the chance.
Professor Conway’s body hit the ground a few feet away from us.
I looked up just in time to see Mizuchi’s tail whipping toward my face.
Cecily moved faster than I did.
She reached down and grabbed her umbrella, blocking the tail and deflecting it out of the way.
Then, with one smooth motion, she pulled back on the handle of the umbrella and revealed a blade hidden inside.
Mizuchi swung a claw at her, but Cecily deflected it with the blade and riposted, sending Mizuchi stumbling back a step.
An arrow hit Mizuchi from behind a moment later, causing her to turn and rampage toward the guest section.
I turned my head toward her. “I…thought you said you weren’t a fighter.”
“That was in relative terms.”
“Relative to who?”
Cecily shrugged, standing. “Keep healing him. I don’t know how you’re healing him, but it seems to be working.”