Chapter 61: Duskwood Trial Grounds (VII)

Cassandra blinked at him, her lips parting a little.

“…Lose your memory? What do you mean? How?”

Gray just looked at her in silence.

His eyes didn’t waver, but no answer came.

“Emryn—” she pressed again, reaching for his sleeve.

“…Forget it,” he cut her off gently, shaking his head.

“Let’s get out of here.”

“Hmph….” Cassandra pouted slightly, her brows knitting. But in the end, she nodded and followed.

The two of them walked side by side, and the moment they stepped past the temple’s threshold, her entire mood flipped.

Her pout was gone, replaced with that smug, confident grin.

“Alright~,” she said, stretching her arms out with renewed energy. “Let’s go. I still feel like killing some weaklings, just because—why not~?”

Gray raised an eyebrow at her sudden change, watching her bounce back into her cocky self as if nothing had happened inside the temple.

“…You’re something else,” he muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” she tilted her head, grinning.

“Nothing.”

She motioned him forward with a playful wave.

“Come on then. Don’t tell me you’re scared~”

“…..”

Flick!

“Agh!”

Cassandra groaned, rubbing her forehead as Gray’s finger snapped against it.

“There should be at least two hours before sunset. You’ve got plenty of time to play around,” he said casually.

“So?” She squinted at him.

“Let’s cause a little trouble, shall we?” Gray’s lips curved slightly.

“…What do you mean by that?” Cassandra tilted her head, looking at him with a curious gaze.

—

“…You’re a fucking genius.”

Half an hour later, Cassandra’s eyes were wide as she looked around them.

The entire stretch of forest was blazing, flames climbing trees, smoke rolling upward in thick black waves.

Gray stood calmly, watching the fire spread like it was nothing.

“But wait, what was that? You don’t even have fire affinity, do you?”

“Nom ” Gray shook his head.

“Then how—?”

“I forced mana into the air until it sparked.” He lifted a finger, a faint shimmer of pressure distorting the air around it.

“When you compress mana fast enough, it heats. And heat… becomes fire.”

Her jaw dropped slightly.

“After that, I just pushed it with more mana, let the air carry it. The forest did the rest.”

“…You’re insane,” Cassandra muttered, but there was a grin tugging at her lips as she watched the flames devour everything.

Gray nodded slighly, but then, his eyes narrowed slighly.

“Look over there…”

Cassandra followed his finger. The flames that had been raging moments ago suddenly died down, leaving only smoke curling into the air.

“…Students?” she asked.

“Mhm.” Gray nodded again.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Cassandra shouted, already turning in that direction.

Before she could move, Gray bent down, picked up a stone, and tossed it into the distance.

“[✧Swap ✧]”

In the blink of an eye, his body flickered and reappeared where the stone landed—right in front of Cassandra.

“W-what?!” she gasped.

“Keep up,” Gray smirked before leaping onto a tree branch and using the momentum to launch himself forward.

“NOOOO!”

Cassandra’s frustrated voice echoed behind him as she realized that she was going to lose the imaginary race against Gray.

It took about five minutes to reach the place, and when they did…

Fwip!

The space cracked as a chunk of earth dissipated into nothingness.

“Leon and Maelis, huh?” Gray muttered, recognizing the two figures instantly.

“Mhm…” Cassandra finally caught up, and when she saw them, she smirked smugly and tossed her hair back.

“Heh, they’re strong, aren’t they?”

Gray only tapped her shoulder.

“Keep Leon busy for me.”

“Wait, what? Why do I have to fight Leon?” Cassandra blinked, but Gray didn’t bother answering; he was already walking ahead.

Her pout deepened when her gaze slid over to Maelis.

“…Is it because she’s beautiful? Hmph. But I’m pretty too…” she mumbled to herself before running after him.

BAAM!

“GRAY!”

Leon wasted no time.

The moment Gray stepped into view, Leon charged, drawing his sword at lightning speed.

Maelis also lifted her staff at the same time, magic swirling around her.

But Gray calmly stepped back…

FWIP!

CLANG!

A scythe met Leon’s sword.

“Hagh!” Leon grunted as the impact forced him back a step. His eyes widened when he saw who it was.

“Ca… Cassandra?!”

She twirled her scythe with a cocky grin, her long hair whipping around her face.

“Why hello~ I’ll be your opponent, little prince~”

Cassandra didn’t waste a single second.

“Let’s dance, prince!” she laughed, swinging her scythe in a wide arc.

CLANG!

Leon blocked with his sword, the clash shaking the ground beneath them. But before Cassandra could press forward, his eyes flashed.

Crack!

Space split in front of her like broken glass, and a blade of warped air shot out.

“Tsk, I was careless….” Cassandra twisted her body mid-step, the edge slicing past her cheek.

A thin line of blood dripped, but she only smirked wider.

“Not bad at all, little prince!”

She spun her scythe, the blade carving the dirt as she launched herself forward again.

The curved weapon whistled through the air, aiming right for Leon’s chest.

Leon grit his teeth, raising his sword to parry.

But Cassandra shifted her stance at the last moment, flipping the scythe’s handle to slam the blunt end against his ribs instead.

BAAM!

“Ugh!” Leon staggered back, coughing from the heavy blow, but before he could fall, his body blinked.

Fwip!

He reappeared several feet away, space magic pulling him out of reach.

Cassandra clicked her tongue, tapping the scythe against her shoulder.

“Oh? Running away already? What happened to the brave little prince?”

But Leon wasn’t rattled as he gripped his sword tighter, cracks of distorted space crawling around his sword.

“…Don’t underestimate me.”

…Meanwhile, Gray stood still, his gaze locked on Maelis.

She curled her lips into a sneer the moment their eyes met.

“Do you really think you can beat me?” she asked mockingly, lowering her staff as if he wasn’t even worth her energy.

She knew his rank… at least, she thought she did. After all, she had fought with Gray’s other soul, so compared to her, he was much weaker.

And on top of that, she was a special gravity mage. That gave her enough confidence to fight against him.

Gray didn’t answer right away. He only smiled lightly, though his eyes were empty and cold, like bottomless pits.

“You see… my little sister.”

He picked up a rock from the ground, tossing it lazily into the air, juggling it as though he wasn’t even paying attention.

“…Did you forget who taught you how to defend yourself?”

Fwip!

The stone flicked out of his fingers with sudden speed, cutting through the air straight toward her face.

Maelis didn’t flinch, tilting her head just slightly, letting the stone fly past her cheek.

Her eyes closed for a moment, almost mocking him with her calm demeanour.

“Pathetic.”

But when her eyes opened again…

He was gone.

Drip…

A thin line of blood slid down her pale skin, trailing along her collarbone.

Her body stiffened, every nerve tight with shock.

Gray was standing behind her now, so close his breath brushed against her ear. The chill of his presence pressed into her spine.

His voice was quiet, yet it cut through her like steel.

“…Did you already forget what I taught you… to be so careless?”

GRIP!

Maelis’s hand clenched around her staff as soon as she heard his words. Her eyes flashed as the air around her twisted.

BOOM!

A wave of gravity exploded outward, crushing the ground where Gray had been standing.

Dirt cracked, stones broke apart, and the air itself seemed to bend under the force.

But Gray wasn’t there.

He had already slipped aside, his body moving smoothly as if he knew what she was going to do before she even raised her staff.

“Still too slow,” he said with a small smile, his eyes never leaving her.

“Shut up!” Maelis spun, her staff swinging in a wide arc, aiming for his ribs.

Gray leaned back just enough, the tip of the staff brushing past his shirt with a sharp swish.

He stepped in close and swung his arm out.

CRACK!

His fist slammed against her staff, knocking it hard. The shock made her grip falter.

She stumbled, her foot catching on loose stone.

“—Ah!”

Her body tipped forward, losing balance. But before she hit the ground, an arm caught her firmly around the waist.

The staff clattered from her hands.

Clang!

It rolled across the dirt, useless now.

Maelis gasped, her breath catching in her throat.

Her eyes lifted, and she found herself staring straight into those endless black pits that Gray called eyes.

Cold & Empty.

But somehow pulling her in.

Her lips parted without meaning to.

…Ah…”

For a moment, she was lost.

But then, Gray’s voice cut through it, ruining the moment sharply.

“Did you fall in love with your step-brother? How disgusting.”

Her face twisted with sudden rage, as heat flooded her cheeks.

“You—!”

She twisted her body, snapping her leg up fast toward his chin.

WHIP!

The sound of her kick slicing through the air cracked loudly.

But Gray simply let go and jumped back, landing lightly on his feet. The heel of her boot missed his jaw by a hair’s breadth.

He stood there, smirking faintly, his eyes mocking her.

“Careful. You might actually start to look desperate.”

Maelis’s hands trembled as her anger boiled over. Her teeth clenched, and her grip on the air tightened like she wanted to crush him into the ground.

“You think this is funny?!” she shouted furiously.

“Fine then…. take this, fucker!”

She lifted both arms high, her magic surging like a storm. The air warped, heavy and crushing, pulling everything toward the center where Gray stood.

“GRAVITY BOMB!”

BOOOOOOM!

The ground split open as a huge blast of condensed gravity exploded outward. Rocks shattered, dust and smoke swallowed the space whole.

The shockwave howled, bending trees and flattening everything nearby.

For a moment, Maelis stood there breathing hard, her lips curling into a sharp grin.

“Hah… let’s see you crawl out of that…”

But then the dust began to thin.

Her eyes widened.

He wasn’t there.

“—What?” she whispered.

A voice drifted lazily from behind her.

“That was a really good attack… but did you forget you shouldn’t shout your special attacks? Because people will know it’s coming.”

Her head snapped around.

A few meters away, Gray was sitting calmly on a flat rock, legs stretched out like he had all the time in the world.

Between his lips, a cigarette glowed faintly.

He took a slow drag.

Puff…

A thin stream of smoke curled out of his mouth. His eyes didn’t even bother to focus on her.

“I warned you multiple times about that,” he added faintly.

Pop!

A vein of anger instantly appeared in Maelis’s forehead.

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