Lost
The golden spear with crimson patterns hissed through the air.
I parried the strikes with my sword.
Each clash caused destruction on an atomic scale.
Every cell in my body screamed, fervently urging me to kill her.
I spun the sword through the air; a blue wave surged forth and devoured Helene’s spear.
Purple flooded the space, then blue.
My aura was crushing hers.
I leapt forward in an instant—the same movement I had used against Gael, only far faster.
A precise strike aimed at her throat, then I twisted immediately to parry another attack from behind.
Teleport.
Tsk!
Hitting Helene under my current conditions would be extremely difficult. Her teleportation was truly overwhelming.
I accelerated the pace of the fight; it became a series of chaotic, rapid exchanges.
The mats went from scorched to fully ablaze.
We kept fighting.
Helene’s eyes were relaxed, her lips curved from one side to the other.
Blue light erupted, only to be swallowed by purple and then engulfed by red.
Crimson patterns began to crawl along my sword.
Blue fire burst from it, then condensed back into its original form.
Black dragons started forming along the blade.
My strongest attack.
“Try to endure this, sister.”
The noise faded as the air vibrated.
A blue wave swept the flames off the mats, and black dragons were born from the tip of the blade.
Helene kicked the ground and hurled her spear toward me.
It detonated with mana and aura, collapsing between the two energy sources.
The spear disintegrated midair while regenerating at the same time.
The dragons lunged and bit into it.
Serpents coiled around the dragons, strangling them.
The dragons shriveled like punctured balloons and vanished into the air.
The serpents wrapped around my body.
My sword fell to the floor with a sharp clang.
Blood spilled from my mouth.
Crack!
I felt several ribs shatter.
Merciless.
Then the pressure stopped.
The serpents vanished, and the spear—embedded through my hand from one side to the other—was pulled out.
“Sorry, brother… I’m really sorry.”
Helene withdrew the spear and grabbed my bleeding hand.
A warm sensation flooded me; a green spark ignited in my palm and spread through my body.
Flesh slowly rebuilt itself, bones knitting back together.
My plans had just become far more difficult.
My sister was a complete anomaly.
Considering the second spell she had shown, she likely possessed even more support magic.
In truth, it was hard to say—spatial magic and healing should not coexist within the same host.
Mana and aura are like parasites. While it’s possible to harbor both, it shouldn’t be possible to harbor multiple types of one.
There is a clear difference between harboring and being able to use.
Spatial magic, time magic, healing—these are among the magics that cannot be hosted more than once.
Helene’s teleportation was at least mid-circle.
Her healing could reconstruct flesh and regenerate bones.
There was too much wrong with her.
I wiped my lips.
My hand came away sticky and red.
“Will you forgive me, brother? I truly didn’t mean to hurt you. It’s just… fighting you was fun, so I went further than I planned.”
Helene was a good person—or at least she acted like one.
I couldn’t believe she was one of the minds behind the ambush against me.
“It’s fine, sister. I enjoyed our fight as well.”
I released her hand.
“Thank you, Assir. Ah—about what happened here, don’t tell anyone. We just fought seriously, but no one got hurt, alright?”
“I understand.”
Obviously, it wasn’t about the injuries—it was about revealing her healing magic.
Mages can naturally use fire and water.
They are opposing formulas, yet compatible.
Like two identical parasites with different functions.
There are others, but those two are the most stable.
I looked at my hand—the one she had been holding.
Whole again.
The mats were destroyed, and part of the ceiling had collapsed when the black dragons appeared.
!!!
Our parents scolded both of us for going too far.
Since we were siblings, our training was supposed to be done separately.
It made no sense. Just thinking that they had assigned me to teach Gael already disgusted me with its hypocrisy.
Helene stepped forward, blocking their view of my face.
After they vented enough, Helene and I left the room.
The staircase spiraled upward as we climbed to the second floor.
“You should restrain those expressions of yours,” Helene said, placing a hand on my head.
“You seem a bit out of control, brother. Did someone do something to you?”
I quickly removed her hand, but not before seeing her expression shift.
“I see… so that’s it.”
She broke into a wide smile.
“What do you mean?” I asked. Her tone and expression felt strange.
“Nothing. I just thought of a different development. Sometimes the future and the past are the same. Sometimes, when we think we’ll never be deceived again, we’re only deceiving ourselves.”
Did she find out something?
She fixed her hair and tied it back.
“Wow, I ended up fighting with my hair loose. Why didn’t you tell me? It’s a mess.”
She abruptly changed the subject. Since she didn’t seem threatened—and clearly wouldn’t explain—I stepped away.
“I forgot women care more about their hair than their own lives.”
“You—!”
Before she could say anything else, I jumped into my room and slammed the door shut.
My room had a desk by the window, two wardrobes, and a large bed with clean sheets.
One painting showed a man sitting beneath an apple tree, an apple striking his head.
Another depicted a woman in a bathtub, water spilling over its edge.
I lay down on the bed.
I wouldn’t be using it anymore, so there was no need to worry about dirt.
The maids would return from vacation next week anyway, and I’d be leaving tomorrow regardless.
I would have to bathe early tomorrow, but that wasn’t an issue.
Cold morning water is beneficial to the body, and anyone who can use aura doesn’t need to worry about temperature.
I closed my eyes.
