Chapter 53: Blood Mist I

The first spell shot towards him from the left.

A sharp gust tore through the trees, followed by a compressed blade of wind that sliced through the darkness toward his chest. Caelus shifted his weight and let it pass. The projectile detonated a tree behind him.

Two fire spells followed before the tree had finished collapsing.

Caelus slipped through the narrow space between them.

The flames crossed behind his back and slammed into the trees beyond, erupting against the trunks with enough force to scatter burning splinters through the darkness.

The earth beneath Caelus’s feet suddenly bulged upward.

Soil cracked apart as the ground swelled beneath him, rising violently as though something enormous were forcing its way toward the surface. He pushed off a heartbeat before the earth ruptured.

A jagged stone spike erupted through the place where his leg had been, tearing through roots and sending chunks of soil into the air.

Caelus landed several meters away, his sword still lowered as his eyes moved across the formation, cataloging the mana radiating from each of them.

The Earth Knights had taken the front, their heavier frames forming the first layer of the formation. Behind them, the Wind Knight remained just far enough back to fire through the gaps, while the Fire Knight moved along the right flank.

The martial artists spread outward.

They were closing every obvious path of escape.

The three mages stayed farther back, protected by the formation.

Reasonable.

Annoying.

One of them spoke.

"Advance."

The voice was eerie. It sounded rehearsed.

Another candidate stepped forward immediately.

Caelus’s eyes narrowed.

Possession?

He had written nothing like this into the academy examination.

Something cold settled behind his eyes.

So that was what this was.

He’d been wondering why ten students would willingly violate the academy’s rules and throw their lives away.

The answer was apparently worse than he’d expected.

The Wind Mage raised a hand.

Caelus moved before the spell formed, disappearing behind a tree.

Wind compressed around the mage’s palm.

A burst of air tore through the trunk, and wood exploded across the ground.

The Fire Knight charged through the debris.

Caelus turned the blade aside and slipped past the second strike.

An Earth Knight closed in from his flank.

Caelus twisted aside just as a stone-coated fist tore through the space beside his cheek, the force of the missed blow sending debris skittering across the ground.

The three attackers didn’t pursue blindly. The martial artists closed the gap while the mages repositioned.

They were learning quickly.

Caelus clicked his tongue.

This was going to take longer than he’d hoped.

He didn’t particularly enjoy prolonged battles.

Especially against ten people.

His sword lowered slightly. Mana shimmered around it.

A spell structure formed around his hand.

The nearest Fire Mage reacted immediately.

"Fire."

A wave of heat rushed toward him.

Caelus released his spell.

Veil Mist.

Water exploded outward, mist swallowing the clearing.

Caelus vanished through the forest.

The Fire Mage’s attack tore through the fog, lighting part of it orange before dispersing into steam.

Several voices shouted at once.

"Can’t see!"

"Where did he go?"

The Wind Mage responded immediately.

Air surged outward.

The fog tore apart in a widening corridor.

The group could see again, but Caelus was nowhere to be seen.

The Wind Mage frowned.

"Search."

The candidates moved.

Then a blade appeared behind one of the martial artists.

Water Sheathe shimmered along Caelus’s sword.

The Fire Martial Artist barely turned in time.

Steel met enhanced water.

The blade cut through his shoulder.

Blood sprayed across the mist. The martial artist stumbled.

Caelus stepped past him.

A small magic circle appeared beside his free hand.

The wounded candidate looked up.

A compressed sphere of water shot through the fog.

The projectile curved.

The candidate’s eyes widened. It struck directly into the wound. He collapsed to his knees.

Caelus glanced at him.

It had worked.

He’d tested the spell against injured creatures before, but this was the first time he’d used it against an opponent who could actively react to it.

The tracking was better than he’d expected.

A wall of earth erupted behind him.

Caelus pushed off as the ground slammed upward beneath him.

A fire spell followed.

He twisted in midair, the flames grazing his coat. He landed several meters away.

The fog shifted with him.

They were trying to clear the mist.

Caelus didn’t need to hold one position.

He simply needed to keep the battlefield covered.

The Wind Mage realized it.

"He’s moving the fog."

A flicker of satisfaction crossed Caelus’s eyes.

At least one of them was paying attention.

The mage raised both hands, and a larger current of wind spread through the clearing.

The mist thinned rapidly.

The candidates tightened their formation.

They expected him to appear.

Instead, the fog withdrew farther into the forest and stopped.

The group advanced.

A Fire Mage burned through another section.

A chill ran down the Wind Knight’s spine, prompting him to turn his head.

"Behind!" he barked.

Too late.

Caelus emerged from the mist directly, Water Sheathe ignited along his blade.

The Knight turned and raised his sword.

Caelus altered the angle of his strike at the last instant. The water edge slipped beneath the block and carved through the Knight’s forearm, making him recoil.

Caelus stepped in, his blade blurred.

The second slash crossed the Knight’s neck. The head fell into the mist.

The body remained standing for another heartbeat before collapsing.

One down.

One of the Fire Mages took an involuntary step backward.

The Earth Knight roared and charged.

Caelus vanished again, blending with the mist.

The Knight swung through empty air.

The Wind Knight launched a blade of compressed air into the fog.

Caelus sensed it coming.

He moved.

The projectile passed through the mist and struck a tree.

Another followed.

The Wind Knight was sweeping the area.

Caelus adjusted his position each time, moving through the spaces between the attacks.

The Eclipse Ring made the difference.

He could feel the air carrying moisture around the weapon.

He could feel the disturbed humidity where bodies moved.

He could feel their breath.

Blood.

Heat pulling moisture from the air.

One of the Fire Mages shouted.

"Burn it all!"

Flames spread outward, and the mist boiled around it.

Steam erupted across the forest.

"We found him!"

A martial artist charged toward the disturbance.

The Earth Martial Artist struck the ground.

The earth shook.

Caelus jumped away before the vibration reached him.

Three opponents attacked the location he’d occupied.

Nothing.

Their expressions changed.

Then the fog closed around them again.

Caelus had already moved. He couldn’t afford to drag this out.

His mana wasn’t limitless. Neither was his stamina. He needed to reduce them before that happened.

Caelus lowered his stance, and his awareness expanded.

Nine.

He counted the remaining heartbeats.

The wounded martial artist was still alive.

He raised his hand.

Death Stalker formed.

The Fire Mage saw the magic circle through the thinning mist.

"Incoming!"

The projectile launched.

The mage moved. The spell curved toward him.

He raised a barrier of flame.

For an instant, the Water Bullet held together.

Then the surrounding heat tore through its structure.

Steam exploded outward as the sphere destabilized, scattering droplets through the mist.

Caelus’s expression remained unchanged.

The Wind Knight attacked through the opening.

Caelus stepped aside as the Knight’s blade swept past his throat by mere centimeters.

He immediately turned into the opening.

Water Sheathe flared along his sword as the two blades collided.

Caelus countered and drove the Wind Knight backward.

His blade tore through his chest.

Blood spread across the mist.

Caelus stepped away.

The Wind Knight stared at the blood running down his chest.

His breathing changed.

Confusion flickered behind his eyes.

His fingers loosened around the sword.

"Wait..."

The word came out fractured, barely audible.

"Please."

He looked around at the bodies.

"I couldn’t..."

His breathing became ragged and erratic.

"I don’t remember..."

His head jerked sharply to the side.

He froze.

For one terrible moment, his expression went completely blank again.

His sword hand trembled, then tightened. His pupils rolled upward. Then his body moved.

Caelus didn’t hesitate.

His sword passed through the man’s neck.

The body collapsed.

Two.

Caelus stared at the corpse.

There was no satisfaction in the kill.

Whatever had possessed them could return, and he couldn’t afford to gamble his life on the hope that it wouldn’t.

The mist thickened again. A fireball tore through it.

Caelus ducked, the projectile shooting past his head.

Another followed.

They fired into the mist together.

Caelus moved deeper into the fog.

The Earth Knights positioned themselves around the mages.

The martial artists moved ahead.

The Fire Knight stood at the center, sword raised.

If they couldn’t find Caelus, then they would make the fog itself impossible to survive in.

Heat flooded the clearing, enhanced by the wind.

The mist began to thin.

Caelus watched the opening form.

He walked toward it.

The Fire Knight saw a silhouette and charged, their swords colliding.

The impact rang through the mist, and the Fire Knight immediately drove forward behind it, forcing Caelus back beneath a second sweeping cut.

Caelus turned his wrist and caught the blade on his own, redirecting it just enough for the strike to scrape past his shoulder.

The Knight recovered almost instantly.

Another attack came from below.

Caelus shifted his weight and let the blade pass beneath him, stepping over the rising arc before bringing his own sword down.

Water Sheathe flared.

His blade sliced across the Knight’s ribs.

The Knight staggered.

Caelus’s free hand rose, and a magic circle formed.

Death Stalker launched.

The Fire Knight saw it.

He blocked, and the projectile shattered against his sword.

Caelus tilted his head.

Not bad.

The Knight charged again.

Caelus met him head-on.

Their blades collided, steel grinding against steel as the mist curled around them. The Knight could barely see through the fog, while Caelus felt every shift in his stance and every change in his breathing.

He twisted.

Water Sheathe passed through the Knight’s guard.

The blade cut into his neck, and the head separated cleanly.

The body collapsed into the mist.

Caelus withdrew his sword.

And he was already beginning to feel the cost of maintaining Veil Mist.

The spell wasn’t going to last forever.

Neither would they.

Caelus looked through the fog.

The Fire Mages were preparing another wide-area attack.

The Earth Knights had changed positions.

The martial artists were spreading out again.

They were making this unnecessarily difficult.

He raised his sword, and the mist thickened around him.

The remaining candidates could no longer see where he was.

But every heartbeat inside the fog remained clear.

A breath.

The faint movement of their blood beneath their skin.

Caelus’s eyes opened.

The darkness had become his advantage.