The pain in Stamatia’s shoulder knocked her to one knee. She gritted her teeth tightly, a long fotteill painfully familiar position. The act of appearing submissive, she hated it. She e, but couldn’t stand it either. Stamatia promised herself that she would never allow anyone else to face such shame. Yet she found herself back at the beginning.

  Calling up fmes from her mind, the Field erupted into a wave of screaming fire expanding out from her. The fmes burned hotter and taller than before pletely surrounding her. She drove away Fumiko, forced to escape. It bought her time.

  She sighed a bit as the pain calmed for her. The full release of the Field eased up her mind. Unlike many MP users, she restricted her Field heavily. It required a signifit drain on her focus aal energies to keep it up, but it was necessary. In full release, her Field became a bzing wildfire that filled her entire Field with the exception of her ter. It made it almost impossible for ao step inside, meaning she couldn’t be of use as a MP.

  Fumiko retreated until the fire came to a stop. However, she could see that the fire ended far too abruptly and sharply to actually be the end. She still had little iion with the powers that Yuki used, but what she saw fit with her basiderstanding. ‘This is her limit…the edge of her Field…she ’t touch me here…’ The st strike she thought turhe advantage back to her, but with the Field ging she no longer felt certain. A forty-meter diameter mass of fme seemed a little impossible to just wipe away. ‘I’ll o figure something else out…’

  Chapter 145 – Flickering Fme

  Nothing immediately came to her. She didn’t know enough about the properties of the swarm. Using her blue fme hand, she began drawing magic together for a spell. If she needed more information, she would just have to get it the hard way.

  Making use of the extra time she had, since her vilin made no movements, Fumiko gathered up more than she had previously. The blue fme grew to fill her hand fully. A white raging core flickered at the ter through the yers of soft blues. Fumiko gnced over at the thick wall. She doubted much would happen, but she o gauge matters.

  She threw it into the fmes.

  It didn’t immediately explode as it had before when eg with another fme. The ball peed the outer yers pung a hole through. Eventually the bst came, the release of energy created a fierce scalding wind. It was as if a closed pot with steamed water opened and the initial touch of it esg burhe arm, however it had hundred fold the range aimes the temperature of just boiled water. For Fumiko, the effects felt reduced signifitly. She just stood there watg it all.

  Before the field automatically sealed up the area, she witnessed a peion of three meters and a bst radius of at least five meters. Unfortunately, she still had twelve meters even to touch the woman. The defehat Stamatia erected didn’t make much seo Fumiko. It allowed for little other a. ‘What’s she up to in there? Is this part of a new pn?’

  The recovery time that the Field bought her gave her the time to tend to her injury. She mao keep the bleeding to a minimum with her fire armor ag as a bandage. Siheir powers didn’t actually work on themselves, she couldn’t actually use it to seal up the wounds. However, she was thankful that the wounds weren’t as deep as she inally feared.

  She flexed her arm testing out her strength and mobility. Most of her arm still funed as she to, but it was less important to her. She didn’t he arm for her fight. It was all Field maniputioal trol. The worst it caused her was infrequent intervals of sharp pain with a general dull burn.

  Through her Field, she felt the bst made by Fumiko. The disruption in her fme echoed back to her. It reminded her of the position she k in.

  Two shadows stood over her in self-entitled superiority staring down in pt.

  She stood back up owo feet shaking away the image. Her mind pushed it as far back as possible. It surfaced at the worst possible time for her. Stamatia o focus on stopping the threat to her hard worked peabsp; She couldn’t allow ao step on what she desperately struggled to achieve.

  Laughter echoed in the back of her mind. It drew redness into her ears.

  Stamatia tightened her fists, burning the fmes brighter around her. The brilliance of their core focused her eyes forward. Drawing strength back to her body, she felt the lingering bits of pain fading. Her mind found focus and sealed the fire in her Field. ‘I have to keep moving forward. I fight to prevent the past from repeating…’

  Saving the st bit of fire, Stamatia began gathering it together. She knew with the barrier that she saw previously that numerous attacks had no effebsp; It left her with only overwhelming power, a battle of wills to determine who held the stro resolve. Stamatia needed a decisive strike that put trol ba her hands. She believed in her power and justibsp; Her strength came from the tless arouhat she bore injustice so that they could know peace again. ‘…a repeating past…’

  She saw that Fumiko gathered up atack with her blue fme. It had only been used a couple of times, but she already uood the dangerousness of it. The power that came from it wasn’t the same as the past fmes used. Watg Fumiko build up her fme made her see that she felt the same suddenly. They decided to put it all on the lio crush the other. Stamatia wouldn’t give up. She funneled everything in her fme and stepped closer. She needed all of the strength possible. All of the moments before would undo if she failed. She couldn’t accept it. It would invalidate her existenbsp; ‘I’m right!’

  Blood’s familiar taste ran over her lips. The hard stone floor crushed against her fabsp; Ech back to her. ‘I’m right! Otherwise, it was all meaningless! I won’t let it be meaningless! I was saving them! This will protect them!’ A foot leaned on her head. Laughter poured through her ears.

  In her effort to build up her resolve to face Fumiko, she unknowingly relived her memories. Painful scars remained both on her body and within. Their shapes carved her heart to the form she held in her hands now.

  She had to live out her early childhood during the ending years of the rebellion that threate down Atntis. Throughout most of the period of the rebellion, the atmosphere was one of u and minor disturbances. However, the rebellion reached a climax while she was a child. A teenage woman deemed a prodigy of the MP arts became their leader and uheir cause in a way no one expected. The result became ht flict with the military.

  Stamatia’s family mao remain rgely ued by the rebellion during its active years. Their colpse came to a startling clusion, ohat left ripples throughout the try. Ripples Stamatia felt years ter.

  They found her when she was eleven. She ehe military academy then. ‘It was only a few years after the clusion of the rebellion, but the King enforced heavy restris on all MPs as a result. They were the cause of the rebellion. So they had to be kept in check.’ Military training was harsh by itself, but Stamatia had to face the other aspect of her. One she couldn’t hide.

  Laughter surrounded her, but she couldn’t see their faces. All she could see was the stohat made the courtyard of the academy. A heavy foot kept her head from moving and forced her skin to polish the stone. In the distance, a anding voice broke through everything. It silehe ughter. Everyone froze.

  “What’s going on here?” demahe officer. None of them gave an answer. They only stood at attention. He looked down at Stamatia trying to herself up. “Why aren’t you standing at attention? Don’t you know how to respect a superior officer?”

  Stamatia fought with her legs to force herself to stand, but the pain bolted up her muscles. She bit through the screaming to keep her voice silent. It took her two more attempts before she ma herself up. The man, one of their instructred down at her. He saw no child before him, only a soldier. It made his eyes unsympathetid worse filled with disdain.

  “Nothing?” he remarked on the silenbsp; The man turned away and began to leave. “Just make sure I don’t see it happen. Dismissed!”

  “Yes, sir!” snapped everyone. The cadets began to disperse, most having lost the i iing up a MP user. However, one made sure to bump actally into her as they passed by.

  The force against her was enough to send everything off banbsp; All of the adrenalihat she mustered to stand for the officer faded. Her paiurned with the scrapping of her broken bone in her leg. She colpsed to the stone panting heavily, her leg already discolored. They all left her alone in the courtyard without enough strength in her voice to call for help. ‘Someone’ll be by eventually… I just have to keep going…’

  Nearly an hour ter, another MP user found Stamatia passed out. Her untended leg caused havoc within her body. As expected of the MP, she awoke without injury or fw. All that she felt was the fatigue and the sound of the ughter.

  “How are you feeling?” asked the stranger.

  She looked up weakly trying to see who helped her. The sun made it difficult for her to make them out, but they sounded older than her. “Yes, thank you. I’ll be fine.”

  They helped her back to her feet. “You know if you used your power you defend yourself. They don’t have the right to treat you like this.”

  Stamatia turned her eyes away from the stranger. She already tried as they suggested. ‘I was hurt a lot worse when I fought back…I thought I was going to die…’ The memory impressed a terrible scar on her body. Her hand subsciously stroked her stomach where they cut her deeply. She pushed away from the stranger and stumbled away. “I’ll be fine.”

  “My name is Paiais! You don’t o be afraid! If we stick together we look out for each other!”

  A bit of shock poured through Stamatia. She turned oopped feet to look babsp; ‘A surname… a noble?!’ The honor of a surname meant the family or individual came highly respected. They were above the oners, but not because of wealth. Something happehat the King reized their value to Atntis.

  She couldn’t believe that someone like that helped her and stood before her encing. She would have thought that they would back the King’s decree. It made her hesitate. A hought she didn’t sider surfaced for Stamatia. ‘…is it possible?’

  Stamatia thought she found a glimmer of hope. She was too young to do anything about the system. Her only clusion was to pass through with as little problem as possible. Yet he offered her a different answer. He provided her fort. He helped many of the younger MP users that suffered from the same prejudice.

  And the Kiroyed even that piece of hope.

  “Paian! Paian!” screamed Stamatia.

  “Stop, Stamatia! You ’t go to him!”

  “You’ll only be caught!”

  Two teens, a little older than her, held her arms to keep her from running into the presentation grounds. There was nothing any of them could do. The King found Paian guilty of spiring and recruiting insurreists. His honor was stripped from him and they left him to die a symbol to the rest.

  Stamatia colpsed in tears along with the others that Paian helped. They hid away from everyone on the sed floor of one of the training halls. She didn’t uand it. “Why? We’re the same as them!”

  “Bastard! Damn King!”

  “He’s one of us, too! So why is he treating us like this?”

  “All he cares about is keeping Atntis from colpsing! He doesn’t care what happens to us!”

  “Did you hear that they passed more decrees against us MPs?”

  “What?! How much more until they’re happy?”

  “Do they want all of us to die?”

  “No,” replied Stamatia. She wiped away her tears and stood up. It all happeoo fast for her, but she came to her answer. ‘Paian…that wasn’t the way…the only way is…’ Stamatia took a few steps away from them with her back to them. “We exist and we’ll keep existing. I’ll take whatever they’ll dish out. The only way is to survive and ge them from within. I’ll take it all until they’re tired. So no one else must!”

  Night returo Stamatia, leaving her memories behind. They re-enforced her resolve and flowed into her strength. She charged frowing her fme rger. As she reached the range she desired, the ball of wild fire pressed. Her mind forced it into a dense energy. The mental energy she spent made her sweat with fatigue. “This is my answer!”

  Fumiko finished her casting at the time that Stamatia unched her attabsp; The casting forced her to stand still and accept the closer distanbsp; She didn’t know what the csh would be at their distanbsp; However, she knew she couldn’t have any doubt. Her blue fme burned with ribbons of magic spinning around and through it in a multi-tticed pattern. Symbols and characters ed about the swarming mass. “This is my resolve!”

  Both women threw their fmes at the same time. Not even a sed had to pass before the two massive spheres of fire cshed in the middle. The two energies fought and sparked turning into angry fres that whipped out limbs. Each limb ed around scraping through like dragons unwilling to give in.

  her fighter relented in their struggle. Everything came down to their wills. Even with the fires bsting out shockwaves, they didn’t explode. Their masters kept feeding them to keep them alive. The fuel made them glhter and rage urained. However, one had to give eventually.

  The signal to the end came with a prelude in the form of a quake. Breaking up the earth underh and crag out from the epiter, all those around khe moment was about to e. A few cracks of light broke out from the collision. The beams seared everything they touched. Smoke rose up prior to the explosion that erupted. It blinded everything in the area while sending gale force winds outward.

  Waves of torrents pulsed from the cooling core of fire. Fumiko barely held on against the forces that threateo cast her aside. The heat baked her skin. She wasn’t certain what results would e from their csh, but it exceeded all of her thoughts. ‘Almost over…’

  Fumiko read the bst correctly. It began to calm and the blinding light faded away. The battered, burnt and crushed enviro around the crater of their attacks measured the destructive nature. Through the dispersi, Stamatia clutched a driven wood pole. Her haended fuiding support. “It’s all over!”

  Her rea came too te. Fumiko didn’t even know what happened until it was already done. Error was the only thing that saved her life. A spinning sword of fire disappeared out e of Stamatia’s Field. However, her face turned white in shock before blood sprayed across her fabsp; The pain hadn’t even reached her brai as she looked down to find her arm missing from the upper arm down. Her eyes widened and pupils shrank in horror-filled shock.