Deep in the Forest, Shalltear groaned as she stirred from unconsciousness, her limbs weak and sluggish from the lingering effects of the electric shock. She felt drained, her magic still unstable from the sudden jolt.
Gritting her teeth, she struggled to sit up, instinctively patting herself down to assess the damage. Fortunately, she was alive, though she wasn't sure if that was luck or misfortune. She hadn't even had a chance to stutter out a spell before being struck down, and now, she barely had the strength to fly.
Her stomach growled. 'Damn it,' she needed to find something to eat before her body fully recovered. She was just about to crawl out of the bushes in search of food.
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion erupted nearby, shaking the very ground beneath her. Shalltear tensed, her eyes snapping toward the source of the commotion.
She pushed through the tangled undergrowth and peered out just in time to witness a remarkable scene.
There at the heart of the battlefield stood a familiar masked figure, beaten and bloodied.
'One of those smugglers,' she realized, recognizing Thunderbird. Only now, he looked nothing like the arrogant, untouchable duelist she had seen earlier. He was a mess, his pristine robes in tatters, his face streaked with blood and dirt, his body swaying unsteadily as he clung to his wand.
Shalltear snickered. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen."Her amusement quickly shifted, however, when she turned her gaze toward his opponent.
A young wizard, barely an adult, stood across from Thunderbird, his posture sharp, his aura unwavering. 'So, this is the one who did that to him?' Shalltear's eyes narrowed slightly.
He was strong. That much was clear.
'…Could he be an old vampire in disguise?' She frowned. 'No, that wasn't right, his magic felt different. Lightning-based.'
Then it clicked.
Her fangs bared in irritation. 'So he's the bastard who knocked me out earlier!'
She glared at him, annoyed that this random human had disrupted her plans. But just as she was about to scoff and turn away, something changed.
The air crackled. A monstrous surge of magic flooded the clearing. Shalltear's body tensed instinctively. Her annoyance evaporated, replaced by a shiver of unease. 'What… the hell…?'
Her crimson eyes widened as she watched Thunderbird's aura explode outward. The pale-blue Fiendfyre burst forth, expanding at an unnatural speed.
A power unlike anything she had ever seen before.
Even at a distance, she could feel it, a suffocating force, ancient and overwhelming, as if the very air had turned to molten fire. The pressure alone sent shivers crawling down her spine.
For the first time, Shalltear felt something rare, a sense of impending doom.
***
Alex felt it instantly. The moment Thunderbird's magic flared, every instinct in his body screamed, RUN. 'This isn't something I can block.'
Without hesitation, he severed his connection to the Thunder Whip, sacrificing the spell before the backlash could reach him. The enchanted chains of the Spirit-Binding Lock shattered under the rising flames, reduced to nothing in an instant.
He had no time to even regret their loss. His mind moved fast, he needed an escape, now. "Apparate!"
Nothing happened. Panic flashed through him. 'Blocked? But how?'
Alex had accounted for the Anti-Disapparition Jinx placed on his own body, but he had left a failsafe, a backdoor that should have let him bypass it in case of emergency.
Yet, when he tried to Apparate, the magic simply failed. His eyes darted to the expanding blue flames.
'It's not just fire'. The Fiendfyre had altered the battlefield itself. It wasn't just burning everything, it was warping space, locking down any means of escape.
'Oh, hell no.' Alex didn't need to think twice, He ran No hesitation, no looking back, he turned on his heel and sprinted at full speed, his boots digging into the snow as he bolted.
His hand shot toward his space ring, yanking out a tightly folded fabric. He barely had time to unfurl it before snapping it over his shoulders.
A surge of magic rushed through him as the Flying Cloak activated. He kicked off the ground, instantly propelling himself into the air.
Normally, he avoided flying in battle, too exposed, too vulnerable. It made him an easy target against experienced duelists. But now? Now, he needed speed.
As Alex shot into the air, his first instinct was to ascend straight up, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the inferno below. However, within seconds, he realized that was a mistake.
The Blue Fiendfyre wasn't just expanding outward, it was rising. Like a monstrous tidal wave, the cursed flames surged forward, devouring everything in their path. Two massive walls of fire split from the main surge, stretching out to either side, closing in on him like the gaping maw of some unspeakable beast.
Even worse, the top of the inferno was beginning to curve inward. Alex's mind raced. If he kept going up, he'd either be overtaken by the advancing flames or trapped when the walls sealed shut above him. 'Damn it!'
There was only one option, he needed to pick a direction and fly straight through before the flames fully encircled him. He veered sharply, angling toward what seemed to be the fastest escape route. His cloak flared as he pushed his magic to its limit, his body cutting through the frigid air.
Then he saw something up ahead. A figure. A small, white-haired bat-like creature scrambling weakly in the snow.
'What the, ?'
Before he could process it fully,
"FUCK! DON'T COME OVER HERE!!!" A panicked scream rang out.
Shalltear had been watching from the distance, comfortably hidden in the underbrush, treating the duel like an elaborate performance for her amusement. The battle had been far enough away that she felt no concern, even when Thunderbird erupted with his absurdly powerful Blue Fiendfyre.
She had watched it all unfold like a spectator at a grand show. Until Alex started flying. That was when she finally turned her head in interest.
'Flying?' She narrowed her eyes. 'Since when can human wizards fly without a broom?'
Her first thought was that Alex had to be some kind of royal vampire, a Blood Prince, perhaps? It would explain his refined demeanor, his composed battle stance, and the fact that he still looked impeccably dressed despite the chaos around him.
But if that were the case… 'why was a Blood Prince fighting smugglers? Was it for her?'
She knew she was a rare prize. Her bloodline was ancient, noble, powerful. It was only natural that someone of her status would attract interest from beings of equal standing. Her mind spun with wild speculation. Then she saw it.
The Blue Fiendfyre wasn't just expanding, it was heading straight for her. Her thoughts screeched to a halt. 'Oh shit.'