Morad surged forward, his cheeks swelling as pressure built within. He was about to unleash
Piercing Shot.
"Take this!" he roared, his body spinning like a drill, water condensing into a razor jet.
SSSSHHHRRRRHHH!
The sound split the air a slicing shriek of compressed water tearing forward.
Watching Morad, I realized I needed to trust him more; I couldn't rely solely on our bond sense for this.
"Good one, Morad!" I shouted, urging him on.
But Astraya didn't flinch. She planted her feet, the grasses around her shook violently trembling beneath her. Wind coiled around her like a cocoon, then burst outward in a thunderous push.
A wind vortex snapped open before her, spinning against Morad's attack. The two forces met with a blinding clash of mist and sound—water shrieking, air howling until the piercing shot redirected upward, devoured by the sky.
Steam drifted down in thin sheets, glowing with scattered light. Morad's eyes widened, half in shock, half in awe.
"What— how did you?" he stammered.
Astraya exhaled, her hair fluttering in the breeze. "It's called a Reverse-Vortex," she said calmly. "I inverted the spin of the air and shifted the pressure from your water attack upward."
Morad replied, still disbelieving, "So you stopped it?"
"Your shot didn't stop, actually… I just gave it a new path." She glanced up at the fading trail of vapor. "Air doesn't block water, but it doesn't mean it can't redirect it."
Astraya extended her arm, palm open.
"O breath of the sky, converge and divide… form the path of acceleration — Path: Formation!"
The air shimmered, rippling in concentric circles as spheres of wind began to form around her small at first, then swelling, each one spinning on a slightly different axis.
They hovered in staggered rows nine in total their paths curving like invisible trails through the air.
Morad floated directly opposite her, twitched nervously. "You're not planning to throw all of those at me, right?" hahah he gave a nervouse chuckle.
A faint smirk tugged at her lips. "You guys wanted to use the speed advantage right ? Let's see how fast you really are."
She raised her hand. The first wind arrow materialized a sleek, translucent bolt that hummed with pressure.
"O Gale Sequence: Gather and pierce — Gale Arrows!".
The first arrow shot forward, piercing the nearest wind orb.
FWOOSH—THHHHHRRRRP!
The moment it passed through, its speed doubled, then doubled again as it tore through the next. The air cracked like a whip.
Morad darted aside, barely avoiding the shot.
"Whoa— okay, that's was fast!"
But Astraya was already weaving two more arrows, her fingers moving in precise arcs. The remaining orbs rotated into new alignments each a curved lane of acceleration.
"Round two," she murmured. Three new wind arrows spiraled forward, each one racing through its designated path of orbs. As they pierced each sphere, the arrows blurred faster and faster thin streaks of translucent force.
FWSSSHHH—CRACK! FWSSHHH—CRACK! FWSSHHH—CRACK!
Each impact against the last orb created a visible shock ring, rippling through the air. This was way beyond what I had envisioned.
Morad zigzagged, spinning and diving low, gust of air spiraling behind him in a thin wake.
Astraya's eyes gleamed, the wind rippling through her hair. "The more orbs they pass, the faster they fly," she explained, her voice steady despite the chaos she caused. "Every wind sphere adds a layer of compression that thrusts the arrow. Think you can keep up, Morad?"
He let out a sharp laugh between dodges. "Only one way to find out!"
She snapped her fingers, and more wind spheres began to form fifteen this time, creating new acceleration channels.
Morad's body was all focus, his blue aura circling around him as he dodged and circled wide. My bond sense also made me aware of something Morad's mana reserves were running thin.
"Let's finish this properly," Morad said, still confident he could change the momentum of this match.
The arrows launched, weaving through the wind orbs. Each time one pierced a wind ball, its velocity doubled the air rippled like thunder.
FWSSHHH FWSSHHHH CRRRAAACK!
Morad dodged the first barely. The second skimmed past, whipping his tail fin. The third
THMP!
It struck him square in the side, the impact cushioned by a burst of soft air.
Then another arrow came.
THWIP! THMP! THWIP!
Three more hits were quick, but harmless bursts of pressure pushed him backward in a spray of air.
"Game… set, and match," she said, oozing confidence.
Astraya lowered her hand, the wind dissolving around her gently. She smiled softly.
I yelled at Morad, "Morad, are you okay? That looked like it hurt!"
"Don't worry, brother...I reduced the impact with mana. We are in a practice match, after all," she replied.
Morad chuckled breathlessly. "Still feels like I got slapped."
"Sorry, still learning how to cushion impacts," Astraya admitted.
With a playful tone, her voice rang out:
"Astraya, 5! Astraga and Morad, 1!"
Astraya brushed a strand of hair from her face, grinning. "Your Mana Beast is pretty fast, Morad." I see why Mother called her a prodigy; it's no joke.
Morad just floated there, dazed but smiling, a small ripple of acceptance in his tone. "Yeah… and you're terrifying when you're on the offensive."
"Match over," I said softly, stunned at what I'd just seen. "Well done, Astraya, you definitely did show us. But I have to admit, I didn't know you knew this much already with Mom. I said.
Morad flopped in place, then threw up his fins. "I demand a rematch! Clearly, we Would win!"
Astraya only laughed, the sound light and victorious.
And then
"Wow, Astraya… you've improved and is that a mana beast i see."
We all froze. The voice carried warmth, pride, and something deeper familiar enough to make my chest tighten.
We turned toward the barrier's edge.
There he was.
Father.