Pando swung for what felt like the thousandth time. Or rather, would have felt like.
She counted. It was the 113th time. Up until now, her bat had managed to break swords, kick up pavement, and mainly scare away the guards.
Everyone's hoods had already come off. Their pointy ears had stunned the four normal priests at first, but even they quickly focused again. In battle, no body part mattered more than the arms.
And now, the battle was at a deadlock.
It was all going according to plan. But that didn't mean it was a forgiving experience.
Her body felt painful all over, and she hadn't even been hit that much. The bracelets helped tremendously, but her muscles were still doing most of the work. They'd had enough.
The rest of them weren't doing too great either.
Except Capcsium. She had been holding the enemies back with ranged attacks, so, even if she was tired too, it was a very acceptable level.
... Come to think of it, Venus was fine too. Her body was just too tough to be worn down by mundane exercise.
So, only Urtica wasn't doing great.
'Good. It means most of us can keep going.'
She included herself in this group. She knew that she wouldn't give up, no matter the burden.
They had retreated to beyond the gates. There, they started holding their ground again. Some time along the way, a new female priest shot up from a straiway a joined the fray a face brimming with enthusiasm.
Bouts grew fiercer after her arrival. It was maybe the effect of an artefact, or maybe it was simply her role in the group. Breaking through now would prove difficult. But they needed to in order to assist her captain or reach the vault door deep inside.
Pando was calm, now fighting four people at once. All this time, she hadn't missed a second of the scene downstairs.
***
After yet another destructive swing that got dodged like all the others, Baoba huffed and puffed to catch his breath. Seeing another wide blow coming -from miles away, in fact- he gritted his teeth and blocked it head-on.
They were now well into the corridor leading up to the vault door. He had pushed Dow repeatedly to that specific direction, giving up on core fighting principles just to gain a bit more space.
Despite the attempts at poorly hiding the plot, the student was wary of his surroundings. Taking yet another step back to avoid a blow, he smirked. "You know, I have this annoying thing where I keep overestimating people. Right now, I'm thinking..." He momentarily stopped talking, tensing all his body to deliver two powerful flaming crescents on his stalwart foe. "...He has to have a plan, right? I mean, I have to assume you know what you're doing. But no matter how much I look and investigate, it's just a normal hallway. Come on, Bob !"
He sharpened his daggers again, intensifying the heat storm. "Don't dissapoint me !"
In guise of response, Baoba hurled his dagger at Dow, charging right behind it too. At the exact moment the human made a movement to swat it away, he recalled it and launched his ambidextrous assault fiercely.
Dow kept walking back, properly preserving his strength for the rest of the fight. This was without a doubt the best tactic. There was no point in holding your ground when you had a lot more to give.
Baoba didn't seem to think so. No matter what, he kept pushing Dow with all his strength.
He blocked a heavy, flaming hit with his bone sword, which started to show signs of wear. He would've countered with the dagger at the exact same time, however, his tired body didn't approve, so he retaliated slightly slower. This let Dow dodge without giving up any ground, and Baoba now had to chain another heavy blow to force him back.
He discarded and recalled his dagger at every chance he got, partly to save energy, partly for extra range, partly to confuse his opponent. That last part got less and less effective as the fight went on.
Eventually, they reached a point where Dow was no longer comfortable with walking back. Focusing, the human sharpened his twin blades once more, amplifying the heat even further.
It was increasingly obvious that this wasn't the item given by the church. They had taken all the useful offensive ones with them on the ambush, so the rest was only mildly helpful utility. Still about as precious as a house, but nowhere near the value of these two daggers. They were so powerful Baoba was starting to wonder how the wielder was supposed to endure the heat. Maybe there was another item to help with it. Maybe he just persevered.
That wasn't his business right now. Now was the time to not get burned to death.
Baoba started dodging more as he stopped advancing. This time, he truly had no choice. Not retreating was already the reckless option.
As it stood now, there was no way to force him any further.
He took five steps back, retreating for the first time since he drew his sword. Both fighters caught their breaths.
Dow had more breath to spare.
"Now what ?" He asked. "You got me here. I let you take me here. And now I've decided I won't go any further, so, now what ? No matter how much you bluff, you can't fool me : this corridor is perfectly normal. Nothing is hidden here.
"Answer me, Bob" He spat the name like an insult. As he walked one step forward."Now. What ?"
Baoba hadn't caught his breath yet, but he was close. He could at least spare enough to answer : "What do you mean ? We were just fighting. It's just a good idea to take as much ground as you can, isn't it ?"
He tilted backwards and stretched his back, not even looking in front of him. "But yeah, it looks like you're not going any further, so..."
He suddenly snapped back into position, looking 100% refreshed. "...This'll have to do."
He tensed up, his every muscle prepared for effort, his dark eyes sharp and focused on the next course of action...
And did a backflip. A pointless backflip.
Dow had reacted immediately, ready to counter any move the elf could throw at him, but he was still caught off guard.
This posed no threat whatsoever !
***
A couple moments before, in the upper battlefield.
The elves had maintained the combat to the gates. This was also part of the plan.
Unless the priests destroyed them, only so many could go through at once. The attackers showed no desire of getting in, and retaliated fiercely whenever a defender crossed the line. They had confined the battlefield to this exact point.
Of course, the preists could probably force the blockade if they put their minds to it. But why would they ?
It was a good situation. As it stood now, only the elves were exerting themselves. Plus, time was with them.
The more they waited, the more likely it was for reinforcements to come. Wether it was the return of the ambush party or the police, someone would eventually come and help them.
The school didn't particularly want to involve the police, but in this situation, it was inevitable anyway. Furthermore, it was a fact that the church was being attacked by outsiders, the law was with them.
So this situation was quite benefical all around.
Pando was exhausted, weary, hurt, but calm. She had never once taken her senses off the underground scene.
She was so focused she could almost lip read the conversation.
So, when her captain started to prepare a backflip, she immediately yelled :"Now !!"
Without missing a beat, Capcsium dropped the slingshot, closed her eyes and put her hands together, as if she was praying. She had decided two months ago this would be her 'focused' pose. And now, she did need to focus.
Before her weapon even touched the ground, a handful of small red pebbles beneath the preists' feet started glowing at the same time, just for one single moment.
And without further warning, the entrance went up in flames.
The fireball was big. Not big enough to blow up the building, way big enough to cover the entrance. And this whole time, all the enemies had been concentrated right at the door, for so long it didn't feel suspicious anymore.
It swallowed all of them.
Before the guards even had time to be surprised, the flames curved and folded, compressing instead of dissipating. The fire condensed into a ball of pure heat, radiating a blinding white light to the entire city, for one immolating second.
Then, just like a ballon, it popped. It didn't explode, since there wasn't any pressure buildup, but the flames dissipated into the air as quickly as they appeared.
The guards were injured, shocked, stunned, and disheartened all at once. A small portion already passed out.
But the goal was 100%.
Venus' body glowed green for the first time in this fight. Purple light invaded Urtica's veins, and ever-so-slightly infused his weapon, amplifying its anesthetic ability.
They both pounced forward into the remaining heat, knocking enemies out left and right.
In mere moments after the detonation, the battle was over.
...However, one priest still held on to his consciousness. He focused every ounce of willpower into his ring, which he had donned at some point, before collapsing. His mission was fulfilled.
***
Below the floor, exactly one second after Baoba's backflip.
Dow's ring relayed images.
His eyes immediately widened.
He saw how mere pebbles created the fireball. He felt the heat, and he heard the screams. He knew what was coming.
He didn't know why it hadn't happened to him yet, but he guessed the red haired elf couldn't make multiple fireballs at once.
He was not going to find out. Now, the reason for Baoba's behaviour was clear. The hallway was indeed trapped. And he had no way of getting to safety.
Or rather, he wouldn't have any, if he wasn't a part of the School.
All of a sudden, his shoes disintegrated.
Dow turned into a lightning bolt. A bolt that went straight past Baoba and to the vault door, several meters behind. This was a waste of this item. The shoes wouldn't come back, it was a one-time use.
But no matter. He was alive.
Breathing roughly, Dow recovered from his stress while the elf charged at him.
He had escaped a near death scenario, after all. Even if the fight still went on, the adrenaline would still be comparatively lower.
...Except it wasn't.
The feeling of danger was still there. In fact, it was stronger.
Where did it come from ?
He found the answer as he laid his eyes on his opponent, readying his stance.
Baoba was smiling.
"Get bent, idiot !" He screamed, euphoric.
Under Dow's feet, a handful of red pebbles started to glow.