Yelena narrowed her eyes, looking up at the smokescreen. No movement. "They're not rushing in blind," she muttered, then tensed as a familiar tingling sensation crept over her skin.
They had studied both of Ethan's previous matches. They knew about his crystals, an advanced form of magic that amplified power and allowed for spell augmentation in unpredictable ways.
They didn't need to see the crystals forming to recognize the rising surge of mana.
"They're digging in and charging up!" Gia huffed, exchanging a sharp glance with Yelena. They had to break their setup before it was too late.
Yelena nodded. With a twist of her fingers, the smokescreen surged upward in a twisting spiral.
At the same time, Gia clapped her hands together, launching stone shards skyward. The jagged projectiles speared through the swirling smoke, their erratic paths making them harder to dodge.
"Let's see how they handle this surprise," Yelena said with a smirk.
Selene saw the smoke rushing toward them. Since Yelena had already set it in motion, she knew the other mage couldn't control it anymore.
Stretching out her hands, Selene sent her magic forward, weaving her shadow energy into the smokescreen. With a sharp pull, she cleaved through it, parting the thick veil like a curtain, just in time to reveal the incoming spikes.
Now able to see, Ethan launched himself into the air, positioning himself above their opponents. His three crystals hovered in formation. With precise control, he fired a bolt into the first crystal.
The energy charged within it before splitting into two, arcing toward the second and third crystals, amplifying the spell further.
The first bolt shot straight at the incoming stone shards. Lightning met earth in a violent explosion of crackling energy and shattered rock.
The second bolt, honed more for speed than raw power, streaked downward toward Yelena.
Her instincts screamed. Wind surged around her as she twisted her body, trying to push herself aside.
She wasn't fast enough.
The bolt grazed her shoulder, sending a crackling jolt through her nerves. A stinging burn lingered where the lightning had made contact, but at least she had avoided a direct hit.
Yelena gritted her teeth as she landed in a crouch, forcing herself to exhale, hoping… just hoping…
Ding.
"Damn it," she muttered.
"We gotta stop their momentum!" Gia yelled. Slamming both hands onto the ground, she wrenched up a massive chunk of earth and hurled it like a boulder straight at Ethan and Selene, not just to hit them, but to break their footing entirely.
Yelena shook off the lingering effects of the lightning, pushing through the sting as she channeled her magic. This time, she combined two spells, hurling a twisting storm of wind and fire toward Ethan's landing position, forcing him to deal with both the boulder and the incoming storm at the same time.
Their focus on Ethan was a mistake.
They had completely forgotten about Selene.
With a sharp motion, she extended her hands, channeling her Wood magic. Elastic like roots shot out between two platforms, stretching and bending under the weight of the massive boulder, before snapping back like a slingshot.
The rock hurtled toward Gia at high speed.
Meanwhile, Ethan spotted the fiery winds surging toward his landing spot. So he simply didn't land there. Instead, he stepped lightly onto one of his floating crystals, using the moment to summon a fourth.
Gia's eyes widened as her own boulder came flying back toward her.
"Oh, hell!"
She dove to the side just in time, barely avoiding the massive projectile as it slammed into the platform behind her. The impact sent dust and debris scattering through the air, forcing her to shield her face as she hit the ground, avoiding the sharp shards of rock flying past her.
Yelena, however, smirked, her gaze snapping to Ethan.
"Alright," she admitted, "that was kinda clever."
Gia pushed herself up, exhaling sharply. "He's stacking too much power. We need to stop this now."
Yelena cracked her neck. "Then let's try this."
With a sudden burst of wind and shadow magic, she vanished. Moving so fast she seemed to disappear, she reappeared midair above Ethan, a shadowy blade forming in her hand.
She smirked, bringing it down in a sharp arc.
At the same time, Gia made her move, not to attack, but to distort. She channeled fire into the air, superheating the battlefield and creating an updraft of shimmering heat waves, warping visibility.
But Ethan didn't need to see her.
"You think you're faster than lightning?" His voice was cold.
A bolt of electricity struck Yelena before she could finish her attack.
Ding.
A shockwave of searing pain exploded through her body. For a split second, her limbs locked up, her vision flashing white.
Then gravity took over.
Wind howled around her as she plummeted toward the lava below.