"Next and final battle will be between Serene from UIMB and our guest Faes from Fairy Enchantment Institute. This battle will be a 3-on-1 battle, with Serene taking on all three opponents in one go. One pendant will be given to Serene and the other will be given to the team from FEI. The task is to take the pendant from your opponent.

Rules include:

Firstly, the pendant should be visible to the opponent at all times, you can’t hide the pendant.

Secondly, you can’t kill your opponent.

Other than these rules, use any means necessary to steal the pendant from your opponent. I wish the participants, good luck." Lavaria Sensei announced the rules and I understood what my task was going to be.

Zeph and Ralph wished me good luck before heading back to their seats. Zilver, Ziva, and Alvene waved at me from the far end of the ground as well and I smiled back at them while Kilamin strode towards me and said in his calm voice:

"Keep your emotions in check during the fight. Try to put Layla to sleep first so Trikile will be distracted and then you can easily handle Druine. Remember what we practiced." He gave me one last piece of advice and I nodded. He then handed me a pendant with a green crystal about 3 inches long, hanging from it. I put it around my neck.

Kilamin approached the other team who had already arrived at the battleground and handed them a pendant with a purple crystal. That was my target. Druine wore the pendant around his neck, declaring he was the team captain. His powers intrigued me and I couldn’t wait to face him.

The horn sounded and we walked toward each other and shook hands. Druine had a polite smile on his face as he said: "Good luck."

I tried to smile and replied: "Good luck to you as well."

Layla and Trikile acted indifferently. I didn’t care at this point. All I wanted to do was get it over with and visit Arlo. His screams were still in my head

and I was pissed.

We took our positions and opened our wings. They flapped behind me as I flew in the air. I could hear the crowd gasp below me. My opponents did the same and Layla instantly attacked me with her ice. She had the power to control ice. A large icicle was hurled toward me but I had brought my shield up, it collided with my shield and fell apart.

Trikile and Druine wasted no time in attacking me as well. Trikile with his wooden spike attack, he could make spikes at will and throw them at his opponents, while Druine had the power to create small purple balls which paralyzed whomever they hit. I had my shield up so I didn’t care for their attacks.

It was my turn now, I pulled my bow and shouted: "Arrow of drowsiness and sleep," a single light yellow arrow formed and made its way toward Layla. They thought it was a single arrow but instead, there were three arrows I had launched disguised as one. As it drew near Layla dodged it by flying upwards, it split in three at the last second, and Trikile who wasn’t expecting the attack got hit straight in the chest.

I could hear the crowd chant my name from below as Trikile’s eyes closed and he began to fall like an autumn leaf. Layla shouted: "NO" and rushed to catch him and I launched my second arrow.

"Arrow of Paralysis" the arrow shot straight for her but Druine launched his second attack and threw a green bubble at my arrow which engulfed it. Yes, just like me he had two powers. The green bubbles could engulf whatever they came in contact with. He was now covering Layla, his greyish-blue wings flapped behind him as he threw one of those green balls at me.

I effortlessly dodged in mid-air and flew up. Layla had laid down Trikile and was back in the air. She was looking extremely pissed at me. She hurled three ice balls at me but it was of no use. They couldn’t break my shield. So she flew directly at me creating an icy storm all around her. Her icy blue wings flapped rapidly behind her as the storm she had created raced toward me at full speed.

"You dare hit him." She hissed at me.

I waited till the last second before flying up and lodging "Arrow of Sadness" and my icy blue arrow flew and plunged deep into her shoulder. Druine hurled his green bubble attack but he was too late. Layla instantly began to cry at the top of her voice, she quickly flew down and sat beside Trikile and began to wail. I felt sorry for her but I had no time to pity her right now. I had to wrap this up and fast, my energy was draining due to constantly keeping my shield up.

I could hear laughter from around the ground. I guess they were laughing at Layla’s wailing. She wouldn’t be able to control her emotions for at least an hour now. My range had increased rapidly and it depended on the opponent as well. Weaker the opponent, the stronger the effect.

Now, I had Druine left. We were face-to-face with each other. I was ready with my next attack but so was Druine. He simultaneously used both his powers to daze my vision, as I dodged the purple and green bubbles some of them hit me and my shield began to weaken. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold onto my shield much longer.

He was already onto me, his hand forming a merged bubble of purplish-green shade. So he could merge powers too, I didn’t know this. Before I could dodge he pierced my shield with his bubble and it grazed my arm before disappearing.

I felt like an icy sword had been plunged into my arm, the skin vanished where the impact had taken place. And I couldn’t feel my arm. I looked at him in horror as a shriek escaped my lips. His face wore a sad expression and I understood he didn’t mean to hurt me.

He had a deadly power, my shield had saved me or the merged power would have taken my arm. It would be difficult for me to launch my arrows with just one arm. I flew backward, away from him as he threw a few more bubbles at me. I dodged them and flew below him, he chased me but I was faster, and balancing the bow under my arm through the small gap between my waist and wings with just one arm I launched the purplish-blue "Arrow of Sleep and Paralysis".

He was right behind me and didn’t expect me to launch an attack between my body and wings. As his purple bubble hit my right ear my arrow pierced his chest and his eyes fluttered for a second before closing. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

I quickly flew back and caught him before he fell and hit the ground. I slowly laid him down as his body was both paralyzed and had been sent into a deep slumber. I took off the pendant from around his neck and wore it around mine.

The horn sounded, announcing my victory and I folded my wings. My arm was bleeding profusely and I couldn’t feel the left side of my face and neck.

Zeph was the first one to reach me. "You alright," concern was written all over his face. I could hear the crowd clapping in the distance. Ralph and Kilamin had arrived at my side as well. They were saying something. Layla was still wailing in the background, and all these stimuli proved too much for me.

I could feel something gnawing at the back of my head and a split headache came over me. The last thing I saw was Zeph trying to catch me as my head spun and I plummeted towards the ground.

When I slowly opened my eyes again, I found myself in the infirmary. Kilamin was pacing in front of me, worry written all over his face. I glanced toward my arm and it had been healed properly. He saw me awake and rushed towards me.

"How are you feeling?" He asked in a soft voice, his expression holding worry as he stood by my side.

"Better, my head hurts though. What happened?" I asked glancing at him.

"You fainted due to fatigue and over-exertion. You depleted all your energy." He explained.

"Right, but I did win?"

"Yes, you did. You were excellent. I am proud of you." Kilamin smiled at me as he placed his hand on my head like a loving elder brother. Tears welled up in my eyes. I never thought I would ever hear him say that.

"No, no, no crying." He wiped my tears. "Would you like to eat something? You must be hungry and exhausted." I nodded my head.

"I will get you something to eat."

"Where is Zeph?" I inquired.

"Mariela Sensei kicked everyone out. She said you needed rest so they can only visit you tomorrow. Only I am allowed to stay here with you. I will bring you some food, now." He pointed to the nurse sitting at the far end to keep an eye on me as he made his way outside.

"So you had to follow my footsteps." A voice came from my far right and two beds away. I jerked my head in that direction.