*Gong!*
With that sound, all hell broke loose. Phoenix started lobbing firebolt after firebolt, going for quantity over quality.
She was trying to make sure Morticia didn't have time to break into her mind. So keeping the other woman on the move was paramount.
But Morticia was no slouch either. Since she knew that breaking into Phoenix's mind would be no easy feat, she went for the same tactic as her counterpart, sending out small mental bursts.
These minor attacks were battering Phoenix's brain like a sledgehammer, making her feel dizzy, nauseous, and then sleepy, in a random order, repeatedly.
Phoenix had to fight her own body just to keep on focusing. Besides that, she was also slowly taking damage.
It was no secret that psychics were most mages' bane, since they disrupted concentration with each of their attacks. But we could say the same the other way around.
A mage's mind was like a fortress for a psychic. So even if they battered the gates for hours, a powerful mage could withstand a weaker psychic's assault long enough to put them down.
Currently, Morticia was under a constant assault of small bolts of fire, some of which she couldn't dodge in time, and she was slowly accruing burns all over her body. So this battle was currently at a stalemate.
Astaroth was watching this go down from the bleachers and taking mental notes. But for all his quick thinking, his mind was having a hard time focusing on anything else than the fight.
It was so fast-paced for a magic fight that all the mages not present in the tournament currently were watching in awe. It was their dream and aim to be skillful enough to fight in this way.
The prowess both women were showing was what one would expect of high-calibre players. The precision and speed at which they fired their attacks were on a different level.
Astaroth had been teamed with both women, so he knew their fighting styles. And yet, he was still impressed by their ability to adapt to their opponent.
Every time one woman tried changing to a stronger spell that required longer charging time, the other redoubled the onslaught to disrupt it. So, even though they were both powerful casters, they could only use their weaker spells.
It didn't help either of them they seemed to know when these spells were being cast. It was like they were perfectly reading each other.
It startled Morticia the first time Phoenix interrupted her in one of her casting times. She was a trained psychologist, and was very good at reading body language, which made her adept at doing it.
But she had not expected Phoenix to do the same. It went to show the difference in ability between a top-ten player and a top-fifty player.
Astaroth looked at the arena intently. Athena to his side nudged him after noticing his stare.
"You noticed it too, didn't you?" She said.
"Yes. But it seems Morticia hasn't yet. And if she doesn't realize it soon, she will lose." Astaroth replied, frowning.
"Do you want her to win over Phoenix?" I'die said from the side.
pαпdα-ňᴏνêι·сóМ "It's not that I want her to win. It's more that I would prefer having to fight her later, over Phoenix." Astaroth answered.
"Ahh. Yes. That would indeed be better." I'die said, realizing his thought process.
It was all about who he fought next. Unfortunately for I'die, both women terrified him.
He was not an outstanding player in his mind. And he was far from having their courage.
Plus, the next combat was his against another pro player. So he feared losing already.
And even if he won, he would then have to fight the winner of this round in the next bracket. I'die started gulping his saliva.
Athena started comforting him as best she could. Astaroth could feel the bond between the two was strong.
He focused back on the fight happening down below, looking at the arena. He was seeing what Morticia was not because of her concentration.
Right now, from his higher standing point, what he saw could only be described as hell. Morticia might not have noticed yet, but all the players in the stands had.
The arena was slowly being covered in fire. And it wasn't going out.
Phoenix was missing around three out of four firebolts she shot, but the firebolts did land in the arena. And by some show of absolute control, Phoenix was keeping the fire alive with her mana.
Astaroth could guess that the technique he had taught her in the underzone of phase one was a big contributor to this.
Since her mana pool had expanded a bit, but she gained mana regen, she now had better resource management.
And she used that mana smartly, by barely keeping the flame lit, and slowly regrouping them in small spots around the arena.
At this pace, in less than two minutes, she would have transformed the whole pit into an inferno. And Morticia was none the wiser about it.
The fight kept going, with the two women battling it out, with a constant barrage of low-damage spells. It wasn't until it was too late that Morticia finally grasped the situation.
She was trying to kite Phoenix as best she could, but she suddenly went out of space. The fire was everywhere.
She gasped as she understood she had been played. She had been dancing in Phoenix's palm all along.
Phoenix, on her side, was smiling widely. She had stopped firing firebolts at Morticia, and was now spinning her arms wide.
The flames answered her silent call as they spun to follow her movement. Morticia knew she didn't have time to cast any tie-breaking spell, so she started barraging her mental attacks even more.
She didn't bother moving, as there was no space to, anyway. But Phoenix still had more health than her, and the match was set.
In a great blaze of glory, Phoenix cast her flaming tornado, which engulfed the arena entirely. When it finally died down, the only player standing was her.
Morticia has already disintegrated into particles.
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