NOVEL WEB Chapter 31 – Koa vs. Lia
As the sun was already down, the dueling fields were mostly empty. Very few students liked to duel at night, especially after a long day that usually accompanied life in the Academy. Arriving at the designated field at the back, the group excitedly and curiously connected their bracelets to spectate while Koa and Lia walked through the energy field, appearing in a blank space.
"Please choose the field of battle." The system's voice rang out, asking Koadriana, who just smiled, nodding towards Lia.
"I am stronger. I let my opponent choose it!"
"In a forest on fire!" Lia answered before the system had a chance to speak.
"It seems like she is taking it seriously." Aurora wrote in a group chat as they were all looking at the live feed from the arena.
"As she should." Ceiline answered, "After advancing, even if Koadriana is not yet used to the more vigorous mana circulating in her body, she is a Tier higher… And it is a Tier that is separated by a tribulation."
"That… makes a difference?" Keily asked, calling up the lessons of Dayen in his head. "I know there are big differences even in one Tier, but… I heard and read many stories that people defeated higher-tiered mages!"
"Yeah, and Lia is not weak!" Raufon nodded, remembering their clash on the first day.
"If she would be up against someone else, I would dare to argue this battle is winnable." Sion added, too, looking at the two, "But they are from an equal background."
"A prodigy would have a chance, facing higher-tiered mages." Ceiline agreed, "But we are discussing stages separated by a tribulation! Never forget that!" She warned, "Tribulations are nature's tests! They are a chasm that provides a clear-cut divide between mages! Even a prodigy must give his all to bridge that type of chasm! Now... we are watching two such people face off against each other!"
While she was explaining it to the two, inside the arena, Koa was unsurprised by Lia's choice. She would have been offended if she had chosen something that had no advantages for her side. Taking a deep breath, she felt the hot air rush to her lungs, and it was already hard to breathe. They were in a thick forest, surrounded by wild, raging flames, painting everything with the hue of orange. The sky was obscured by thick, black clouds and noxious fumes from the burning foliage. It would have been dark as night if not for the raging fire. She didn't wait for Lia to make a move, already waving her hands and casting two different spells simultaneously.
On her left hand, where her bracelet was, crystal clear water flew out, surrounding her body like a soft veil, shielding her from the heat and bad air. Her right arm, meanwhile, was in an upwards motion, a blue magic circle appearing before her, summoning a transparent shield of water that let out white smoke as soon as it appeared. The reason was very simple. Lia was also making her move the moment the fiery forest appeared around them. Just like her cousin, she flicked her hands while distancing herself from their starting points, using the trees as cover from Koa's possible attacks. With one hand, she was taking control of the orange flames, forming whips out of them, lashing out against Koa while she was forming a fireball in the other, yet to be thrown out.
The flames around them bowed to Lia's will very quickly and launched their attacks against the appearing shield of Koadriana. While Lia spent very little mana to control them, Koa had to summon water from nothing, transforming the mana in her body and releasing it as pure water. Even then, she was holding the advantage over Lia. After going through the tribulation, she now understood why her father said there is a big difference between the beginner and advanced stages of magic.
The fire she experienced in the past days was more intense than the one around her now. It was coming from deep within, burning away all of the impurities in her body and opening up all her energy points. She could only describe it now as someone who could finally breathe without obstructions or as someone who took her first deep breath of clear air. After the tribulation ended, she felt different. The world was more colorful, the scent of nature was stronger, and the sounds were crisper than anything ever before. It was almost like a rebirth, and she was unable to articulate it correctly if someone asked her.
"Fast…" Koa thought as she was dancing, moving like how water flows through someone's fingers, dodging Lia's attacks. The young teenager was quick, and her manipulation of fire was impeccable. "Hmph, she is the daughter of Reyra, alright!" Koa grinned as two fire-made arrows flew past her body, missing her by a hair's width. She then conjured another water shield, blocking four others aimed at her back while dealing with the whips from the front at the same time.
Lia was relentless in her attacks, knowing if she gave Koa any chance to catch her breath and go on the offense, she would lose her initiative. Hiding between the burning trees and the thick smog and fumes, her figure was obstructed from Koa's vision. Just as the growing fireball in her palm. It was crimson in color, burning way hotter than anything around her as it was conjured from her mana and not from the surrounding flames. Taking a glance at the projected image from her bracelet, seeing her mana quickly depleting, she knew she had one chance at this. She had to bog down Koa by manipulating the forest fire and do only one thing: Attack, attack, and attack.
"I'm getting the hang of it!" Koa thought to herself, getting faster in her reaction and could summon water by just thinking of it. Her bracelet quickly reacted, recording her thoughts, letting her mana flow through it, turning it into a magic circle, and summoning watery shields whenever a blade of fire aimed at her blindspot. "Now I really want my own artifact…." She thought, finding it immensely useful, helping her split her attention effortlessly. "What is she up to?" Koa asked herself, her eyes darting around the trees, trying to find her, but Lia's aura was masked by the intense flames.
By now, Koa was not even paying attention to the coming, rapid attacks, letting her mind react by reflex, parrying them with only moving her fingers, summoning counter-spells left and right. She never stopped moving her feet, carrying her around like a butterfly, leaving bluish energy trails wherever she went as she entered a strange but wonderful state of mind.
"She is beautiful…." Keily said, unable to keep his honest thoughts in his head, watching the battle from the outside.
"I have to admit… She knows how to wiggle her hips." Sion nodded with a faint smile, stealing a glance at Aurora, who feeling his gaze, simply shrugged.
"The boys she will take in will have a great time!" Raufon laughed while Ceiline scratched her throat.
"Not at the tower! I am your Overseer, and I won't clean up after you, kids! Hmph! I have standards!"
"Don't be jealous~" Sion teased a little, but Ceiline just harrumphed, pouting. She was jealous. But only a little.
"I don't think Boss can win…." Keily spoke up again, watching the two. By now, Lia became utterly still, unable to truly move. She was hiding behind a burning tree, concealed by fire, letting it envelop her body. The ball of fire was small and condensed in her hand, but it also started to consume the flames around her. "Koadriana is starting to read Boss's attacks and counter them in time. A few moments and she will break free…."
"Good catch." Ceiline nodded, praising the little bunny boy, making his face light up happily.
His words were speaking the truth. Koa was not simply dodging or defending but easily reading from where the subsequent attacks would come as soon as Lia took control of any wisp of flame around them. She was pointing at them, forming a finger gun, firing quick water spurts, and extinguishing the attacks rapidly. It was time for her to turn the duel and go on the offense and flush out Lia from her hiding spot. Flicking her wrist, her shields turned into curtains of water, going forward, splashing around the forest, extinguishing big swats of flames at once.
"Can't wait for any longer…." Lia thought, her eyes locked onto Koa's figure.
Her whole body was literally burning as her school uniform was flying off in patches from her small frame. Deep inside, Lia's mana was rampaging just as wildly as the fire around her, fueled by her will and emotions. It was painful, but her face remained calm and unflinching, even when her blood felt like sizzling oil as it made its rounds inside her body. She then remembered the words in the old book she had bought.
One has to have ambition, willpower, and passion for successfully controlling fire. Let your heart burn with intensity and let your emotions free. Then Lia's eyes suddenly twitched as she remembered the same book… but from the opposite end telling her how one had to have a stable mind, free of the chains of the heart. Calculate everything you see, feel, and perceive. Leave feelings out of the battle and focus on what achieves your goal. Only a cold mind can produce results. Let your mind cool your heart.
She suddenly remembered the feeling Heliett gave out when battling with Koa's will, and she managed to perceive it at that moment. She felt a faint, soothing coldness come from her brain, washing through her body, trying to battle the fires of her mana. For a brief moment, the flames in her hand flickered, tinted with a tinge of blue, but then, it was overwhelmed by her mana, turning back into crimson. It prompted Lia to move as it was now or never.
With a loud shout, she flashed forward, coming from the fire itself, leaving behind a trail of orange flames. Holding her hand out with the fireball in it, she grasped at her own wrist, keeping it steady, aiming at Koadriana. As soon as she let it fly, it immediately expanded into the size of a massive boulder and kept growing and growing while flying forward. It made contact in the blink of an eye, exploding and consuming Koa and Lia alongside a considerable part of the forest.
From the outside, the group watching the battle was blinded for a moment because of the sudden flash, and when looking back at the image, they only saw a rotating sphere of flames burning away the air, the earth, and the trees. They could hear the crunching noises of its heat, like a primordial beast's roar, and how it turned everything into ash in its wake. When it finally died, a deep crater was left behind, and the spell turned the ground chalk black. Inside it, right at the epicenter, Koadriana stood completely naked, steam coming from her tanned body. She was uninjured, wearing a satisfied smile and gently caressing her body, letting her fingers slip between her thighs.
"Don't look!" Ceiline said, covering Keily's eyes, who suddenly grumbled in a cute voice.
"I already know about it… I'm considered an adult back home, you know!"
"Knowing about it and seeing it is different!" Ceiline countered, not giving way to the youngest member of their group. "You are still innocent, don't go and ruin it!"
"Pft, come on!" Raufon giggled, "Let him look; she clearly doesn't mind it!"
And he was right. Koa did not mind anything at that moment, feeling turned on and ecstatic. When Lia's attack hit, it was powerful and destructive. She doubted if her watery protection would last through it, but it did. Perfectly. It has not just protected her body from any injury, but enough of her mana remained to close out the battle. Lia had already lost.
"Damn it… No damage?" Lia moaned, standing at the crater's edge, gasping for air, looking down at Koa. She was just as naked, her uniform burnt away in the explosion. "Not fair…" She moaned, pursing her lips, standing straight up, and breathing hot air through her nose. "I-" She wanted to say, but then Koa rushed forward, appearing next to her, covering her mouth with one hand.
"I said, I want to spank you~!" She whispered into her ear, then smacked her bottom so hard it sounded like a clap of thunder.
"YEAAAAOW! Nyooooooooh~ Sthooooop, pleeeease!" Lia cried out, trying to get free and pull Koa's hand from her mouth. Still, Koa just laughed, easily restraining her, smacking her fair buttocks until they turned bright red.
The sounds they were making were turning really weird, really quick, painting Keily's face into the exact hue of red as Lia's bottom. Even without seeing it.
"Well…" Aurora wrote, closing the feed, prompting the others to do the same, "She was rarely spanked. It is an experience, after all."
"The sounds were… cute." Sion scratched his throat, making the rest look at him weirdly. "What…? I'm just saying the same thing you were thinking!"
"Sometimes it is best to remain silent," Ceiline added, sighing, already bringing out clothes from her holding back, ready for the duo to appear and dress them up. Walking around naked… was not good for the Misfits' reputation. "Eh…" Ceiline thought with a deep sigh escaping her mouth, "The name alone already destroys all kinds of the reputation we could have had…."
The first is Erias Amarin!
But that is not all~ As it is Valentine's Day, Koa is here to give you all a present! Feel free to enjoy her! (NSFW! / 18+)
