Archangels of War

I stood inside one of the rooms that was built for dueling targets. Erika was standing across from me, and the target itself had been folded down into the seem on the ground where the rails that moved it lay, in order to create enough space to actually duel. The room was around the size of a shipping contain, just in more of a square shape. It was actually pretty spacey, but for a duel using magic, it might as well have been a coffin. 

A few people gathered outside by the window that allowed you to look into the room. At the front, I could see Masayoshi and Nova watching. I waved at them from my spot. Erika did the same. I turned to face her, taking a deep breath. "Didn't even give me enough time to get acclimated with the new wand. Are you really itching for a duel that much?" 

Erika gave a fierce smile. "I just really wanted to know. Whose sword is better? Your blade of pure obsidian black, or my blade of fiery red?" She began to twirl her sword which was still in its sheath. She was going so fast that it looked like a stick of fire. 

"And a simple test using the targets couldn't suffice?" I asked as I began to examine my own blade. Despite how basic I had originally though it looked, the black sheath and handle did look pretty good. I began to toss it from hand to hand, trying to get a good feel of the blades weight. 

"No way! The only way I could have gotten the answer I wanted would have been through a clash of steel!" Erika stopped twirling the blade, placing one hand on the sheath and the other on the handle, and standing in a wide legged stance, ready for battle. I on the other hand, stood straight up, holding my blade at my side. My other hand rested at my side as well. 

"3!" 

"2!" 

"1-" 

Just as she got to one, she dashed forward at me, also beginning to unsheathe her blade. A stick of red fire was coming directly for my throat. I dodged to the left, and as the blade seared past my throat, its direction suddenly changed. Erika aimed another 3 slashes in quick succession that I dodged; each one inches from my throat. I jumped back away from her brutal onslaught, however she just pivoted easily and dashed towards me. My back hit the wall, and I cursed at the miniature size of this room. I thought that I had had more space to work with! I barely managed to push myself off of the wall in time to avoid Erikas's stab. Her blade embedded itself into the wall, and I used this as an opportunity to counter. I pivoted and aimed a high kick. Erika blocked it with her sheath.

She used the sheath to push my leg out of the way and throw me off balance. By this point, she had managed to remove her blade from the wall and was aiming it in a downward arcing slash for my head. I used my sheathed sword to block the attack. Erika had put all of her momentum behind the blow, so I leaned back as my sword caught the slash and used it to toss her into the air. Erika must have been expecting that move, because she pushed into it, flipping into the air. As her foot touched the ceiling, she didn't immediately slip off, signifying that she was using some sort of attraction spell. Her hair fell Downard due to gravity, and she looked like a flame that just happened to have a human body attached to it. 

She put two hands on her sword, and I could feel mana beginning to converge and swirl in the area around her. He hair whipped in the wind that was created by the concentration of Mana. The temperature in the room was rising. Thats a seriously powerful fire spell. As I turned to face the spell, I could tell from just a glance that the spell was going to be extremely powerful. The red metal of her blade had already begun to ignite, and in a second, it was just fire with a handle on it. Erika took a pose, holding the flaming blade just over her shoulder and behind her head. The power of the spell seemingly increased tenfold, the flame growing larger, and the room getting hotter. Sweat trickled down my forehead. 

I won't be able to dodge this one. Along with me, everyone outside had been watching in awe at the strength of the spell. Although it would technically be classified as grade A, it most definitely wouldn't be wrong to consider it something beyond that. I grabbed the handle of my blade, deciding that now was not the time to resort to defense. I had to respond to this with a spell of my own, lest I be consumed by the raging hot fire. I began to gather mana around my blade. As I unsheathed my blade, revealing with the obsidian black. I allowed the mana to swirl as I decided what my best bet would be. I should probably just use a water spell. A grade A one like that will surely cancel out the flames. 

As I made my mind, I allowed the automatic sequence to play through my brain for a water sp- 

It was canceled. My eyes widened for a split second. I looked at the crowd from my peripherals. A bunch of unfamiliar faces. One of them had canceled my spell! Why? if I thought about it critically, anybody with the technique to cancel a spell, most definitely had the ability to actually sense what spell it was. Were they trying to send a message? Did they not like the fact that I was going for a water spell? Tch-! I didn't have time to consider the options right now. 

Instantly, I charged up enough mana for me to cast a grade a lightning spell. Lightning began to surround my blade in a massive flash of crackling, purple veined lightning. I held the blade at my side, letting the power build up. Erika smiled a devilish smile as she realized that the clash she was waiting for was really going to happened. She continued to up the power of her flame spell, until it seemed the magic had engulfed her body completely. I did the same, seeing that it was the only respectful thing to do. I upped the power of my lightning spell, until the flashing lights blinded my vision as well. 

A clash of blue and red. 

Lightning and fire. 

Erika swung her blade, and a wave of hellish flame erupted from her sword. "CRIMSON PHEONIX!!!!" 

I swung my own blade, almost getting got up in the energy she was giving off. "Thunder's judgment!" 

The two powerful spells clashed in a flash of white brilliance.