There was a battle transpiring simultaneously with a lecture. At the same time that students weaved, dodged, and countered, they listened to Himitsu's over-the-top lecture, fitted with multiple visual examples.
"Along with just fortifying yourself with mana, there are other ways you can implement mana in a battle in which it should have no place." Himitsu grabbed two missiles out of the air that were being launched towards the backline before spinning midair and tossing them back at the sender with double the velocity. An explosion ripped through the air in the distance, and faint shouts could be heard.
Himitsu then pointed to two approaching jetpack users. "Exhibit A: Distraction." Saying that, he held his hands out in front of him and used a light spell. A dazzling gleam of light was released, and the two people on the jetpack were disoriented as they shut their eyes and covered their faces to block the bright light.
Using that brief moment of distraction, Himitsu jumped into the air and landed on the backs of the two flyers, using them as stepping stones. He made a sweeping gesture with his hands before saying, "You can use your spells for more than just attacking. Creating chaos on a battlefield is a surefire way to gain an advantage!"
The two flyers had finally gotten their bearings, and they immediately turned to fire out a rocket blast at Himitsu. However, Himitsu had already moved away, and instead the rockets smashed into each other, engulfing the two clueless men in the explosion.
Himitsu landed on the ground once again, and without pause began to twist and dance out of the way of gunfire, all the while tossing up defense spells to prevent any students behind him from getting hit by strays.
"Most importantly, you need to think outside the box!" He shouted as he took down two more vanguards, who wielded electric swords. He turned around to see Genji sliding away from a trio of people wielding swords.
As they charged at her, she activated a light spell, causing a radiant light to blind them.
However, the light also blinded her as well. It left Genji just as vulnerable as the three sword users in front of her.
Just as three swords began to swing wildly, Himitsu intervened, making use of simple blocks with his arms to redirect the blades towards the wielders allies. With minimal movement, Himitsu had made the three swordsmen slay themselves.
Tossing a glance at Genji, who was still recovering from the shock of the light, he said,
"It's important to not get caught up in your own distraction. Don't let yourself be overcome with tension. You've got to loosen up but remain reactive." Just as quickly as he had appeared, he vanished, travelling to the other side of the battlefield, where Luka was struggling to overpower a brute of a warrior who wielded a massive hammer.
Himitsu appeared next to the boy, gesturing to the ground. "Think outside the box. Use the terrain to your advantage."
Luka, shocked a bit by Himitsu's sudden appearance, nodded when he heard his words. Stomping a foot on the ground, he used earth magic to slightly raise the elevation, causing the massive brute to fall backwards and be buried under his own hammer.
Himitsu gave him a round of applause. "Perfect! Don't limit yourself just because you think your kit has been removed from the game. Instead, think of a creative way to apply it outside of how you normally would. The more outlandish your ideas, the better!"
In the next moment, Himitsu found himself standing atop a rock. Looking down, he could see Ichijo hiding behind it, attempting to seal a wound he had received from a sword.
"You know, you really shouldn't get stabbed. I heard it hurts a fair bit." Ichijo's eyes snapped upwards in fear, but he let out a relieved sigh when he noticed that it was just Himitsu.
Leaning down, Himitsu took a glance at Ichijo's arm. He let out an overexaggerated sigh before using a weak flame spell to cauterize the wound. "Don't go around thinking you're invincible and just taking sword slashes to your body. Do I look like a healer?"
Ichijo just laughed dryly before replying. "You should take your own advice. Hey, maybe don't get hit by rockets; I heard they hurt a fuckton."
Placing a finger over Ichijo's mouth, Himitsu stood. "No profanity. Next time, I'll drop your grade." Flashing away in an instant, he made his way over to where he saw Erika dicing her way through an endless wave of enemies. She was using mana to fortify her body. He watched as she slid under an enemy and cut them down before using her blade to tip two rockets away from her and into the distance.
She spun to dodge the wide sweep of a spear before using the momentum to cut down the wielder of the weapon and multiple other people close by.
Noticing a massive boulder of a person approaching her, Erika placed a hand on the ground and used flame magic to make multiple pillars of flame rise from the ground. The man stopped in a slide before the wall of flames, not wanting to approach any closer.
Erika came charging straight on through the wall of the flames, using the obvious to surprise her opponent.
In an instant, she had landed so many slashes that the man's suit of armor crumbled to pieces and he was covered in blood. As the man crumbled to the ground, she used his body to launch herself into the air. Acrobatically, she descended upon two more opponents, cutting them down before sliding behind two people with rifle-like weapons that shot energy blasts.
"Hey guys! Who are we shooting at?" She said this as she placed her arms around both of their shoulders, as if they were the three musketeers. The two shocked soldiers wheeled around, only to see nothing, as Erika had already appeared behind them and cut them down. Erika then twirled once again, preparing to take down another two enemies; however, she allowed herself to be lost in the moment and ended up tripping on a rock, killing her momentum and causing her to also lose focus and botch a spell.
Interrupted in the middle of processing the sequence, the spell didn't just cancel but instead came out half-baked. All flame, no heat. Erika's fiery red hair caught on fire, becoming a literally fiery mane.
Erika rolled to a stop on the ground, where a group tried to get the jump on her; however, Himitsu arrived, putting his body in between Erika and the attackers. In less than a second, he quickly dispatched all of them, but not without taking multiple wounds.
Still, he didn't allow himself to act like he was hurt in any way. It was so the hopes of the students didn't fall. He had to serve as their role model in order to make sure they didn't fall into despair, and so he couldn't show any signs of being hurt or slowing down.
Looking down at where Erika was lying, her face contorted in an expression of frustration, Himitsu smiled. "Don't let yourself become too loose now. You still have to pay attention to your surroundings after all."
Erika was left in a bit of momentary shock before nodding with a determined look in her eyes as she rose to her feet once more.
Himitsu returned to the center of the battlefield, where Suijin was fighting expectedly. She used massive spells of water to create mass creatures and waves of water. Of course, the spells themselves couldn't hurt their opponents; however, they provided good enough distractions for Suijin to go in herself and deal the finishing blows without being stopped.
Watching as she fought, Himitsu jumped in, making use of her distractions to pick off a few more.
With that, they were able to momentarily force back the front line. The men began to fall back, relying primarily on long-range attacks from missiles and rockets.
Himitsu noticed Erika aggressively overextending, and so he stopped her with an earth spell that created a binding. He then set up multiple defensive spells to block out the rockets.
He turned to the heavy-breathing Suijin. "Well then, what did you think?" He asked while making a dramatic gesture with his hands. "I'm sure the first half of the lesson was more than to your liking, your royal highness?"
Suijin stared at Himitsu with an 'are you crazy?' expression.
However, on the inside, she was more than just a bit impressed. Every single part of the lesson that Himitsu gave was considerate, adaptable, and perfect.
Despite the fact that he was in the midst of a tense battle in which the students were fighting for their fates, he managed to create an atmosphere where nobody would be able to be swamped in despair about the current situation.
He gave genuinely good advice, even managing to fit in multiple visual examples. He had gone towards multiple students and saved them, all the while giving them personal pointers. He had even managed to bring up the hopes of multiple students who were about to fall.
Even now, he stood strong, acting goofy, even though his body was covered in multiple injuries that made Suijin want to tell him to stop and sit the rest of this out. Suijin turned away, realizing that if she stared at him for any longer, she might actually say that.
"I-it's...above average."
Himitsu smiled. "Seems like I still have something to prove. All right then." He pointed in front of him. "And I have the perfect assistant approaching."
Suijin turned to see a figure with an immense magical aura approaching. Judging from the stature, their aura, the way they walked, and the way others moved out of their path, they were a general or leader of some sort.
His armor was more advanced and decked out with more designs and features than anybody else's. He also wielded a massive spear, with the edges glowing a bright blue color. Most horrifyingly, there was a body of a Theta student impaled on his spear.
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"What sort of 'plan' involves such a ridiculous suicide request?" Hikaru asked indignantly as Nova set her down along the railing of the glass walkway they had moved to, far enough to be safe from the brutal battle currently raging on in the sky right now.
Lightning and wind clashed in the air, and the sky seemed to shatter from the force of every blow. Waves of lightning and lines of wind flashed around in the sky like they were participating in an interpretive dance; their music was the sound of the explosions and thunder that rang out periodically.
"Listen, I didn't like the strategy much either, especially since I've fought against him face-to-face and know just how ridiculously powerful and untouchable the guy is. However, it was the only strategy that Raiden would agree to, and it was also the least dangerous out of all the ones he suggested." Nova replied, shifting to watch the light show in the sky.
Hikaru didn't even want to imagine how dangerous a strategy Raiden could create for himself. As she watched the battle going on from afar, a pang of hurt tore through her chest.
He promised, and yet... No, don't think like that. He's going to be completely fine. After all, he wouldn't dare break the promise he made.
Thinking that to herself, Hikaru began to stand.
Aura reached out a hand to help support her.
"Are you sure you're okay standing like that? Raiden did say that your legs were still shaky."
Hikaru nodded. "No matter what, we can't just sit around here doing nothing. We have to put our faith in Nova, Raiden, and the others. In the meanwhile..." Hikaru pointed towards the tower that stood at the top of the magic academy. "We have to see what they're hiding up there. Whatever it is, it's got to be important. I might even be the key for us winning this battle."
At the same time that the other two began to look towards the tower, Hikaru caught sight of two figures quickly making their way up towards the top.
Snapping her attention towards them, she squinted her eyes, but she couldn't properly make them out.
Applying the faint amount of mana to her eyes, she boosted her eyesight. At the same time, Nova and Aura did the same.
What they saw made all three of them gasp, but for slightly different reasons.
They saw Phi and Shindo making their way towards the tower.
Nova gasped in shock at seeing the two of them.
Aura gasped in the mix of shock and happiness that she felt seeing Phi okay.
But there was only one thought ringing loudly in Hikaru's mind.
Wasn't Phi supposed to be gravely injured?