Eha escaped into the [mud floor] she herself had conjured but unlike her enemies she seemed to float atop the mud as if unaffected by the terrain. An advantage she was more than happy to use when her back was up against the wall. The mud would be a hindrance to her enemies but for her it offered nothing but an enhancement.

"[Mud wave]" Seeing Kiba approach she bent down, placed her hands in the mud and summoned a massive tidal wave that rushed straight for Kiba, rapidly rising in height as it moved blocking an aerial escape. "[Mud wave]" feeling as though that wasn’t enough she summoned two more waves that attacked from the left and right, boxing Kiba in, his rapid acceleration dooming him to run into at least one of the waves.

Splash! The waves struck and collapsed against Kiba with a thunderous crash, he was knocked prone, his head and parts of his wings aching from the concussive force but otherwise once the tide receded he was unharmed but surely Eha didn’t think that would be enough to truly hurt him right?

"[Mud bullets]" Another spell came as the mud levels naturalised, 1st circle, fast but otherwise pitifully weak, Kiba didn’t even bother dodging letting the bullets burst against his body. A slight tickle not much more but strangely a devious smile appeared on Eha’s lips, and she mouthed the words ’stupid beast’ for some reason.

Annoyed by this Kiba growled and charged straight for her but he encountered a slight problem. As soon as he started moving his body he felt heavy and somewhat restricted as though something was pulling at him. His speed, his most valuable trait had been halved, Eha had more than enough time to react to his attack, casting one of her movement spells [mud shift] which teleported her to anywhere within a 30 metre radius where mud was present.

"That idiot." Within the private space Frost was sitting on the sofa, drink in hand as he watched Kiba face off against Eha. Loki had unfortunately been remanded to bed until dinner time after consecutive yawns leaving him out here alone. Daki and Maya passed through but adamantly refused to get anywhere near him, afraid that he’d end up getting restless again before their somewhat mandatory engagement in the evening.

Praise escaped his lips in the beginning, Kiba’s ambush was perfect, his use of the frost drakes sublime and his wariness towards the mage Eha wise but what was he doing now. Who just lets magic hit them even if it’s low tier?

Kiba was playing in the palm of Eha’s hand, dancing to her tune while her teammates escaped, the frost drakes had a lot of defensive power and no small amount of attack, but they couldn’t chase after prey well, far too slow and cumbersome.

He did have to give the mage credit though, she might not have much in the way of talent but she was smart and resourceful, highly knowledgeable in regards to her use of the earth element.

Kiba’s faster, stronger, more resilient and quite frankly an opponent far beyond her yet Eha was holding her own, landing spell after spell and weakening him to the point where she was able to effectively manage him. Of course to do this she was straining herself considerably, her mind in an ever focused state and her mana veins likely screaming given how fast she was casting those spells with nary a break between. The mentality of someone willing to die.....A shame he might have enjoyed interacting with someone so resourceful.

Seeing Kiba covered in mud Frost shook his head and wondered whether he should explain his predicament through telepathy but in the end he simply sighed and said nothing to him instead he spoke with the C-rank officer in charge of that room and had him arrange a culling line in case Nanuk or Khiran managed to escape.

"If he fails then I’ll just double the training." Frost uttered such a chilling statement like it was nothing, effectively sentencing a member of his family to hell.

Eventually Kiba noticed that his body was dripping with mud, sticky, heavy mud that matted his fur, weighed him down and even made opening and closing his wings difficult. He wasn’t hurt all that much but couldn’t summon his usual strength. Eha had effectively debuffed him, lowering his threat level.

He was now at a level which she could more easily hit with her magic even if he dodged and his swipes lost the oomph required to instantly break her shields, but the situation was no different from a stalemate. She could endure his offensive, but she lacked the firepower to properly wound him, landing nothing more than glancing blows and minor cuts. She was also growing tired, to reach this so called stalemate she had to push herself 100% and then some but Kiba still seemed to be playing around as though trying to learn from this little experience rather than fighting for his life.

His attitude was obvious and it frustrated Eha, making her sense of inferiority fester. Talent, talent, talent all her life she’d been told she lacked this quality and that she should give up a career in magic. Whatever others could learn in a day she’d take five, her mana veins narrower and weaker than the average mage and affinity for even her strongest element subpar yet she did not give up. She studied hard, practised her spells over and over until she could do it without thinking, pushed herself until she coughed blood and felt nothing but agony throughout her body but she showed those naysayers that she was a well and truly proper mage in the end. Although she couldn’t be compared to a real talent she still managed to become a C-rank adventurer, a significant accomplishment amongst the masses and one she was damn proud of. It was literal proof that her efforts weren’t wrong that she could hold her head high in front of any other mage....but that would end after today.

She wasn’t strong enough to beat the monster before her, a frustrating fact that had her grinding her teeth. No matter the spell and no matter how she used it Kiba was barely fazed by her efforts, taking everything she had just to restrain his strength.

’Haaaaaa how pathetic.’ Her convictions in herself cracking in the face of true power. Perhaps those who said she should quit were right? Perhaps she could have had a more fulfilling life doing something else? Something that didn’t require her to repeatedly push herself beyond her limits.....Her sister was happily married living as a baker, her son Nanuk brimming with talent and potential already coming close to her level despite being almost twenty years her junior.

’What was it all for?’ She asked herself while continuing to sling spells at Kiba like clockwork, muscle memory almost. Blood was dripping from nose because of the strain, but she didn’t even notice, used to such pain after her difficult uphill road.

She’d always heard people saying that when you’re close to death your life will flash before your eyes, but she always dismissed it as hearsay but here she was experiencing it.

Strangely however the more she saw her past self stubbornly refusing to quit, standing up again and again after failure after failure she noticed something in each picture....she was smiling. Though tough and gruelling whenever she eventually succeeded a feeling of exhilaration would wash over her. She didn’t keep training to prove that others were wrong or because she was simply stubborn or a glutton for punishment no she did it because it made her happy, she loved magic even if it didn’t love her.

"Yeah, not a bad life in the end." There was much more joy than sadness.

Hearing these words Kiba balked slightly as a sense of....pity entered his heart but in the very next instant that emotion was quashed and replaced with a sense of foreboding. Danger, something he hadn’t truly felt throughout this entire battle. Something was coming, something that could actually threaten his life. Instinctively he increased his speed wanting to reach and kill Eha before she had a chance to do whatever was making him feel this way, but she slipped away with [mud shift] at the last moment, leaving him standing in the very centre of the mud floor.

"Let’s go out with a bang." Eha’s expression was maddened as though filled with an eery fanaticism. Kiba felt a shiver run down his spine as that sense of foreboding grew stronger.

"[Great earth answer my call, coalesce into mud and rend apart all those that stand in your path, wrathful nature [Mud Storm]]" Eha started chanting a full aria as blood leaked from her nose, ears, eyes and mouth. Her veins bulged and darkened as they pressed up against her skin. This was clear signs of mana overexertion, she was forcibly casting a spell beyond her limits, the 4th circle spell [Mud storm].