Strongest Among the Heavens
Chapter 340: Princess Elara vs Theo

Chapter 340: Princess Elara vs Theo

Already, Kazi was concerned for Theo. From equipment and weaponry alone, Princess Elara von Aschersleben held the enormous advantage.

The man sitting beside Kazi bristled. He didn’t appear to be a royal but was certainly a magic-user. The way he looked at Princess Elara was that of a teacher.

The commentator’s voice dropped to a dramatic hush. He had hopped off the stadium and sat at the commentator’s desk, leaving the referee alone with the teenagers.

"Prepare yourselves, for this will be a clash of titans in miniature form! But before we begin a word from our sponsor. The Thunderstrike Brotherhood’s new brand of light bulbs are—"

’Sponsorships? Now? How shameless.’

Princess Elara’s staff glowed silver. Theo lifted his hands and had them close yet apart. The two contestants were born ready. The referee, an elder with a long, white beard, signaled the start of the match.

"BEGIN!"

Theo wasted no time and summoned a swirling vortex of fire in his hands. He launched himself at Princess Elara, carrying the growing scarlet vortex with him and woosh! Thrust it forward with open dual-palms! The ferocious red helix was impressive enough to automatically activate the stadium barrier to protect the spectators. Indeed, if this attack went sideways, hundreds would turn to crisp.

The same could be said about the princess if she did not act. As the stadium expected, she did not disappoint. She summoned the spherical barrier right in time. Riddled with symbols, its strength was enough to tank a second fire vortex. Then another, then another.

Boom! Boom!

Theo had stopped at some point to keep blasting away. He did not come too close. An intentional distance. Close enough to fully engulf her in an attack and far enough to avoid a counter.

"Brilliant defensive work from the princess!" the commentator exclaimed. "Not a crack in her barrier!"

’A short-range vortex of fire versus a barrier that the princess continuously is powering through incantations.’

Inside the bubble, her lips were moving. Kazi could faintly read what she was saying despite the explosions and the ensuing black smoke obscuring his view. His eyes were that good. Mist and smoke of any kind was ineffective.

Theo stopped, stepping back with a heavy breath, black smoke blowing from the palms of his hand. Elara didn’t wait for Theo to recover. The tip of the staff touched the inside of the barrier barrier and a Lightning Bolt shot forth from the barrier. Theo reacted quickly and rolled aside.

The Lightning Bolt proceeded to make a sharp turn and strike him anyway.

Theo didn’t have a spherical barrier. The damage was nasty and he rolled over several times.

The princess wasn’t finished either. The staff tipped the barrier and the barrier hurled three Lightning Bolts after him.

Theo pulled himself up on all fours. He did not stand. He chanted faster than a human had any right to and then slammed his palms down flat. A huge magic circle tattooed the ground and from the scarlet circle rose a serpent of fire nearly twenty feet tall.

’He summoned that huge thing so quickly!’ Kazi thought. ’Even I can’t cast spells that fast!’

The Lightning Bolts were wiped away with a single whip of its tail. Then, the fire serpent dashed after Princess Elara. A second layer was added to her barrier with symbols appearing on both barriers.

The serpent collided into the barrier. Not even a crack. The serpent was crushed by the force of its own tackle. Theo’s next spell was already activated; a larger serpent that had wisps of green in its fangs. This was different. This would not die from crashing into a barrier and the princess knew that.

Knowing and acting were two separate matters. Princess Elara didn’t have the time to process and counter and the serpent ended up opening its ferocious mouth and swallowing her into its mouth. The mighty crunch earned a crack in the barrier. The princess kept whispering her incarnations while she and her barrier were picked up high. The serpent’s green flaming fangs couldn’t break through. The spell itself was losing shape.

The serpent crunched down one last time, creating a larger crack, and then hurled her away. The princess bounced and rolled and eventually cut her barrier off to land on her own two feet. Thirty feet of space was created.

"By the gods," the commentator explained, "two back-to-back Flaming Serpents? Look at the size, the shape, the speed—and to add acidic green fangs as well! Ludiiicrooouuuuss!"

Princess Elara remained unfazed. The end of her majestic staff had the wings of an eagle that flanked a glass containing a blue-white orb of magical power. She tapped the glass on her palm and the orb resonated. Her blue and green eyes glowed with a fierce white light.

"Ooohhhh! Lookie here, people! The princess has activated the Aschersleben Orb! You know what this means!"

Panic seemed to take hold of Theo. In a rush, he slammed his hands to the ground and created a third fire serpent. This serpent was twice as large and thick. The fiery green flames that worked as its fangs were more pronounced. The serpent charged.

Princess Elara pointed her staff upward and with a jolt of lightning summoned a storm cloud above her, dark and menacing. Kazi couldn’t believe it. The sheer amount of mana in the swirling clouds was stronger than almost anything he had felt and she was controlling it with such ease. Such dexterity. The clouds swirled and collected and obeyed to her whims in an instant, as though second nature. As though nature naturally belonged to the princess.

The stadium went dark. Gasps ensued from the crowd.

’Wow...’

Dark clouds that flickered with lightning. Dark clouds that did not need magic circles. This was pure mana, refined and controlled. This was the might of a student of this world. Born with magic, raised with magic, taught magic, and creatively wielded it.

This was what separated players from Natural Borns.

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