Bab 42: Red princess (2)
The next morning, having finally escaped from Seleria's room through the window, I headed to the guild house. It looked somewhat different... No, the building itself was intact, but its surroundings had changed significantly. I had to ask what they had done while I was away.
The castle gate was tightly closed, no choice, we now had a stone fence, but to my horror, it had numerous huge holes, as if caused by lightning or fireballs. Circling around the gate through the nearest hole, I tried to open the door to the house. It was difficult to open, as if something was blocking it from the other side. Peering into the gap, I found Kurone curled up on a doormat under the door. What did she think, that she's a house cat?
Inside, the sight was even more peculiar. Near the couch, Katrina was levitating, surrounded by kitchen utensils: knives, forks, spoons, and several pots and pans. In her hands, she held a massive ladle, and next to her stood an imposing cauldron. We didn't have all these things in our house, did they sneak into the kitchen at night?
But the most horrifying part was that in the cauldron, amidst carrots, potatoes, greens, and other ingredients, was Ragni, wrapped in dough! Were they trying to cook dragon soup? Phew, thank goodness they hadn't thought of putting the cauldron on the fire.
Someone was missing! Peeking into the bedroom, I found Levris and Grain, who were not involved in cooking, peacefully cuddled up on the couch. Well done, Grain, you don't waste time.
Quietly, so as not to wake anyone, I crept back to the corridor, pushed Kurone aside, and demonstratively slammed the door with all my might.
The sound quickly spread throughout the closed space, waking the yesterday's drunkards from their slumber.
Startled, Kurone, behaving like a typical house cat, leaped onto the nearest cupboard. Due to the unexpected awakening, Katrina weakened her magnetic field, and a hail of pots and pans showered down on her.
"What? I wasn't sleeping!" the frightened princess, not quite understanding the situation, reflexively stirred the contents of the cauldron with the ladle, not immediately noticing what was floating inside.
"Mmm?" Waking up from the poking with the ladle, Ragni first tried to stand up, but upon seeing a carrot float by, she decided to snack first.
Two particularly guilty members of the guild jumped out of the bedroom, as red as tomatoes.
And the last to wake up was the heavy hangover accompanied by unbearable headaches.
"Ragni, if I ever try something from your hands again," Katrina threatened the floating dragoness with a raised fist.
"Nah, if you don't want it, don't drink it," Ragni replied, as if not bothered, "and, by the way, why is there someone among us who looks all fresh and perky, as if they weren't partying with us yesterday?"
Everyone simultaneously cast a scornful and envious glance at me.
"Haha, well, I didn't really drink much yesterday. I had some other business to attend to," this wouldn't quell their animosity, "I'll explain everything later."
Taking our places on the couches in the hall, the accomplices of last night's mayhem made me prepare tea for them. Nobody could remember exactly what happened yesterday, except that the kitchenware was the only new addition to the house. The backyard, however, looked quite different. In addition to the enormous holes in the freshly installed fence, the entire field was plowed by impacts of unknown origin. But the main attraction was right behind the house – a life-size statue of Ragni, crafted in detail to resemble the dragoness. It seemed like Grain's work, and to capture this moment, the statue was treated with intense fire magic until it turned into dark volcanic glass. Surprisingly, in their drunken state, they managed to create something beautiful. Next to the Ragni statue, there stood an even more impressive sculpture – an old man with a beard and a robe, towering almost ten meters high. His face couldn't be distinguished from the ground, but it was probably the rector. Thank goodness no one attempted to melt him into glass; I wouldn't want this creation to stay here for long. It looked like they were holding a contest for the most beautiful statue.
Everyone fell silent; there was nothing to say, at least no one wanted to remind each other of last night. The silence was broken by a knock on the door.
"We're not here today!" Katrina growled.
But the knock persisted after half a minute.
"I said, there's NO one here!"
And then someone behind the door began drumming incessantly, waiting for a response.
"Let's go together; my head is already splitting," even our resilient dragoness couldn't endure this pounding.
Annoyed, the guild master went to the door, and to avoid the consequences, I followed her.
"CLOSED! What part of it don't you understand?" the princess roared, barely opening the door.
Beyond the threshold stood a familiar figure in red.
"I have an important matter to discuss with you," she said.
"I already told you, we're closed! Haven't you noticed the lock on the gates?" Katrina pointed to the heavy padlock hanging on the gates, but upon noticing the two-meter hole in the fence next to the gates, she decided to hold off on further conclusions. "Well, what do you want?"
"I need him!" Seleria, puffed up with pride, pointed at me.
"Tomorrow, everything, everything tomorrow," taking a step back, Katrina slammed the door right in front of the red princess's face.
"Hey! How dare you close the door in front of me? Open it immediately! Or I'll knock it down!" The cries were accompanied by intensified pounding on the door, to everyone's annoyance.
"Well, what else?" Unable to hold back, Katrina opened the door again, facing the danger.
"I challenge you to a duel! And he will be our prize!" Seleria pointed at me with an affected look.
"Hmm, understood. Everything tomorrow. Today, we are closed," having heard the proposal from the red sorceress, Katrina nodded and closed the door in her face again before she could respond.
"Yiiii!" squealed Seleria with frustration, realizing that it was all futile, and walked away.
The day passed unnoticed, spent wrestling with hangovers and the aftereffects of the heavy dragon brew. We still couldn't figure out its composition. Discovering that there was still about a third left in the bottle, Ragni suggested continuing the celebration, but received a sharp refusal and a head slap from Katrina.
The next day, after classes, we gathered in the guild to discuss our further plans. Of course, Katrina probably couldn't remember the reason why the red wizard nervously tapped her heels standing at the guild's gates.
"You're late! I've been waiting for you since lunch!" Not immediately recalling what had upset her, Katrina asked in surprise, "Hmm? And what's this about?"
"You-you-you've got some nerve!" She was practically glowing with anger. "I challenged you to a duel yesterday!"
"Oh, right, right, I remember now," recalling yesterday's events, Katrina tapped her fist on her palm, "And why?"
"If I beat you, he will be mine!" The red princess pointed at me again.
"Hmm, well, he's not really mine, why should I fight for him?" the carefree guild master shrugged.
"Excuse me, Lady Katrina, but if he leaves, Lady Ragni will leave with him, and we won't be able to open the guild. And if we don't find a replacement within a week..." Kurone explained to our scatterbrained princess.
"Hmm, there's some sense in that. But I wouldn't fight just for him." Oh, Lady Katrina, your words hurt me to the core.
"Perhaps you can offer something more tangible in case of your defeat?" Katrina raised her eyebrows in a business-like manner.
"What, are you asking me for money?!" I was appalled.
"Hey, Katrina, what if she agrees to join us if she loses?" I thought it was the best solution.
"But I don't want her in my group," Katrina made a displeased grimace, pointing disdainfully at Seleria.
"Well, think about it. She's a princess from a fairly wealthy country, and she probably receives a good stipend. Her money could really help our guild. Maybe we could buy something for the guild to decorate it somehow."
"Hmm, your words aren't without logic, but do you think she'll agree to stand against you? It seems like an uneven exchange to me." Her words hurt more than her actions.
"What are you talking about over there?" Our whispered conversation was interrupted by Seleria's angry voice. "If you want me to join your...," she disdainfully glanced around the house, "ehem, guild in case of my defeat, then, in the event of my victory, you'll disband it, end of discussion."
Satisfied with her announcement, Seleria crossed her arms on her chest and arrogantly raised her nose.
"Hmm, is it really worth it?" Katrina suspiciously glanced at her fellow guild members. "I don't think having one new member is worth the whole guild. And I wouldn't want to lose all of you."
For her, these unexpectedly warm words touched even the heart of the red princess.
"Well, then, if you lose, I'll become the guild master," Seleria said confidently, curious about what she was capable of.
Katrina frowned; she didn't like this proposal, but she wasn't one to back down.
"Alright, if you're ready, let's go to the backyard."
We didn't know the extent of the red princess's powers, but she came from a royal lineage of fire mages, so she should have been quite strong. We were well aware of Katrina's strength, so, just to be safe, we stood a little farther back, and Grain and Levris erected a formidable protective wall in front of us.
At first, the girls tried to size each other up visually, but tired of waiting, Katrina made the first move. Gathering a medium-sized lightning bolt in her hand, she hurled it at the fire mage. Of course, she could have unleashed a larger bolt, but she didn't intend to kill Seleria.
To our surprise, the red princess didn't even budge. The lightning bolt didn't reach its target; a couple of meters before her, it curved and broke into several smaller charges, scattering in different directions.
"Eh? An antimagic shield?" Kurone ventured the first logical guess, but there was something else going on here.
"Hmm, quite a clever trick," it seemed Ragni was the only one who deciphered the entire trick, "Do you not notice anything around her?"
"It seems like the air around her is shimmering from the heat," I noticed that she looked slightly distorted, and the ground around her was rapidly drying.
In the next moment, bright flames erupted around the red sorceress. She stood within a ring of fire, showing no signs of discomfort.
"But how can she use fire to block lightning?" Levris still didn't grasp the essence of the trick.
"Ha, master, you're not so foolish," Ragni's remark lacked respect. "The hotter the air, the worse it conducts electricity; the wall of fire can redirect the discharge. But it's impossible; such intense heat would harm her more than it benefits her."
"I can't understand that either. No matter how strong a fire mage she may be, she wouldn't be able to repel lightning with fire that wouldn't harm her," Ragni pondered for a moment, "But perhaps if she has other sources of magical protection..."
Katrina didn't give up and a few more lightning bolts hit Seleria's shield. It was evident that attacking her from a distance was ineffective, but the wall of fire didn't allow getting too close either.
Smirking, the red princess finally decided to respond to the attack. Waving her hand, she unleashed three fireballs towards Katrina. Struggling to dodge two of them, Katrina tried to block the third with lightning, but the collision with the fire caused the lightning to explode, throwing her back several steps. Now there was no need to dodge the fireballs. Katrina deflected Seleria's subsequent attacks with precise lightning strikes. The electrical discharges neutralized all the fire arrows, but the balance was in favor of the red sorceress.
Only five minutes had passed, but the exchange of attacks had drained Katrina, while Seleria remained in perfect condition, breathing evenly. Moving was becoming difficult for Katrina, as the aftereffects of constant lightning spells were taking a toll on her body. Something seemed suspicious: with each attack, a small reddish-metal bracelet, once given to her by Krito, became increasingly heavier. It was a subtle hint for Katrina to find a way out of this situation.
Gathering her strength, Katrina dashed towards Seleria.
"Distance won't help you," the red princess unleashed a fireball at Katrina, but she dodged it with incredible speed, far beyond that of an ordinary human. "Hmm, what about this?"
Seleria created a massive fireball that no one could evade from such a distance, regardless of their speed. The fireball could have incinerated her on the spot, but Katrina didn't change her trajectory. Almost at the edge of the fiery wall, she performed a somersault and cut through the fireball with an equally powerful lightning bolt, causing no explosion. The discharge went into the ground without breaking through the fiery wall. Doubt flashed across Seleria's face, and she tried to leap away from Katrina, but it was too late. A powerful explosion erupted from the ground. The explosion destroyed the fiery wall, and Seleria was thrown back. Taking advantage of the moment, Katrina rushed at her with inhuman speed and delivered a close-range lightning strike that rendered her unconscious for a few minutes.
When Seleria regained consciousness, the battle's outcome had already been decided.
"Not bad for an unlucky princess," Seleria gritted her teeth, "But how did you perform that trick with the ground? I don't understand."
"A little observance, nothing more," Katrina smirked and demonstrated by tossing a coin into the air. The coin embedded itself forcefully into the ground. "While we were fighting, I noticed that metal objects on my clothes started attracting towards the ground. Usually, my lightning, without an outlet, grounds itself and dissipates into the earth. But here, they accumulated underground, gradually magnetizing it," Katrina explained, "Most likely, there are magical shields under the entire academy, dividing the ground into small sections, preventing charges from completely dissolving into the earth. So, I decided to strike harder at one such shield. If it hadn't exploded, at least it would have been redirected towards you. In any case, everything worked out even better than I planned."
"And where did you get such speed?"
"Once, I saw this trick performed by my master," a hint of sadness appeared in Katrina's eyes, "By directing the mana of lightning into the muscles, you can temporarily enhance them to the maximum. Unfortunately, it has quite destructive consequences, and only years of training can surpass them."
Suddenly, Katrina began to collapse to the ground, seemingly drained of all her strength. I easily caught the weakened princess and carried her inside.
"Father will be angry... But there's nothing I can do," Seleria was upset with herself for her carelessness.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone