Chapter 559- Camilla vs Edina (Part 2)

Kanae's jaw dropped at Darren's revelation. She heard of Ortesian Fencing and witnessed it in action before. It was when two noblemen came to blows during her ball. The form of fencing involved very quick thrusts, much like how the Saint Priest displayed just moments earlier. If Camilla had never lost a duel, then Edina was in for the fight of her life.

"Still, that doesn't change that Camilla is up against an endless army of undead. She's going to run out of stamina eventually. I wonder if whatever she's equipped with is enough?" Kanae swallowed hard.

"Perhaps I may illuminate you on that question, Master. And hello, brother." The Knight of Silver descended the steps to join them.

"Sister." Darren acknowledged Esta without so much as taking his eyes off the fight.

"Mom!" Feraline leaped off of Suvee, accidentally tail-whipping her sister on the way out, to climb onto her mother's back.

"You just got back from vaulting Permafrost?" Kanae asked.

"Yes." She nodded. "Runald helped. He's still at Silver Hall facilitating the paperwork. It needed to be transported in an anti-magic container, because the staff naturally emits the Frostbite affliction. Permafrost is actually classed as a cursed magical item, which harms whoever wields it. Saint Priest Bocchiri was the only one who could suppress its debilitating effect, but he is incapacitated."

Yet despite the curse, Bocchiri nearly defeated Petyr. Talk about impressive.

Esta continued, "As for Saint Priest Camilla, she is wearing several magic and enchanted equipment. None of which are dangerous like Permafrost or the Horn of Glentir, I should preface. The vault also serves as Aidenhall's trove of power. For one, Camilla is wearing the Plates of Agility. It provides defenses equal in strength to one's DEX and weighs next to nothing. The rapier is called Nail and grants the ability, Deflect Spell."

"What about that holy fire? How is she able to do that?" Kanae asked.

"It's an enchanted block of flint affixed to her upper forearm. Drawing Nail across it temporarily imbues the weapon with holy fire," she explained.

Archbishop Patrice went all out just to give Edina a fight. And it was working. Camilla was unfathomably fast. The rapier burning with holy fire stoked an existential dread in Edina that Kanae had never seen before. The lich fled from the strikes like her life depended on it… and probably did.

"Tsk! Necrotic Volley!" Edina twirled her staff, and the fiery brazier atop the Pillar of the Damned fired off a barrage of deadly bolts.

"You will have to cast more than that!" With pinpoint accuracy, Camilla knocked away every single bolt in the volley. She knocked the spells in every direction, harmlessly hitting the barriers around the arena. That was Nail's Deflect Spell at work.

Any regular weapon would have fallen apart at the first bolt, and its wielder dropped to the ground as a corpse from being hit by the rest.

"Deflect this! Fog of Death!" Edina growled. A dark miasma gushed from the staff, flooding the arena with the debilitating death cloud. Spectators recoiled when the fog reached the stands, only to be blown back by the magical barrier. Mages were on standby this time, actively reinforcing the shields. Sweat drenched their faces as they pushed back against the spell.

However, Camilla remained steadfast. She tested Nail by swinging it against the Fog of Death surrounding her. The rapier carves through it easily, and the clouds part in its wake but quickly fill back in. Edina summoned another Legion of the Dead, which advanced upon the Saint Priest unimpeded by the miasma. If anything, they looked empowered by it. Meanwhile, Edina cackled from atop her undead dragon and watched from a safe distance.

"As much as I like Edina, she vastly underestimates Camilla." Esta sighed.

In a flash of light, the Saint Priest cut a swathe through the marching horde straight to Edina. The feline beastman looked completely unfazed by Fog of Death, mouth sealed and grinning.

"Is she… holding her breath?!" Kanae gasped.

The undead dragon lifted a large talon and slammed down on Camilla, kicking up a dust of dirt and sand. Edina looked desperately for her opponent. She ordered her undead dragon to beat its tattered leathery wings, clearing away the debris. Unbeknownst to her, however, Camilla had climbed onto the dragon's tail and up on the spine.

"Oh, no! Auntie, she's behind you!" Suvee yelled.

But with the crowds as loud as they were, the warning didn't reach Edina. Camilla leaped high, Nail thrusted forward to deliver a killing blow. The necromancer spun around just in time, putting the Pillar of the Damned between her and the holy-imbued rapier.

"Gotcha. Sealing Strike!" Camilla's blow on the staff erupted with a shockwave, dissipating Fog of Death entirely as if the spell had never been cast.

"How?!" Edina flew away from her dragon and ordered it to fend Camilla off. She landed in the middle of the undead army, smacking Pillar of the Damned as if to knock it back into working condition. The fires on the brazier waned a little and weren't as intense as before.

"Exactly as the skill implies, I've sealed your spell. Sealing Strike negates any spell and magical effect. For a time. You'll be able to cast it again later once I've won." Camilla vaulted off the undead dragon, severing its head on the way down.

"Unfortunately, that works both ways," Esta said.

"What do you mean?" Kanae asked.

"Camilla's Sealing Strike can't be used again for as long as Edina won't be able to cast Fog of Death. In other words, she can't seal another troublesome spell," the drakeling explained.

Kanae watched as her squirreling friend burst into laughter. The guffaw masked a nervousness in Edina that only those closest to her would recognize. For the first time during this tournament, the lich faced a very real chance of defeat.

"Fine then. Sacrifice Undead!" Edina boomed.

Scores of minions shattered. The undead dragon that was about to reform broke apart, too. Camilla darted away as bones amalgamated on Edina, creating a skeletal chimeric monstrosity. It boasted the lower body of a dragon, a giant ribcage bristling with necromantic energy for a torso, and the mammothian skull for a head. Harmless spectres levitated into the sky, serving as their lich master's eyes and ears from above.

Camilla's ears flared out sideways in anticipation of danger like felines normally displayed. She scanned the unreachable spectres above, seemingly taking a mental note of their positions.

"Die!" The lich hissed.

A swing of the Scythe of Soul Reaping carved into the earth and flung chunks of debris across the arena. Camilla easily evaded them, quickly making her way to Edina. The enormous abomination made for a big target. She carved into it with deadly precision, shaving off chunks of bones. However, the ball of necrotic energy in the ribcage's chest wove the fallen pieces back on.

Edina's tail swept across the ground and knocked Camilla off her feet. The first blow dealt to the Saint Priest. It lifted high up and came crashing down. Camilla narrowly rolled out of the way. She jumped back to her feet, sliding Nail against the tinder to reignite the holy flames.

No matter how much Camilla cut off, Edina reformed herself to perfect condition again. It was beginning to look hopeless until she smirked.

"What are you so happy about? The only way to beat me is to destroy my urns, but you're stuck here," Edina taunted.

"There are more than one ways to defeat someone. Heh. You've been letting me land blows on you this entire time. Is it overconfidence, I wonder?" Camilla tapped her cheek.

"I'll show you overconfidence!" The lich swung her massive scythe, only for the Saint Priest to finally draw her dagger.

"Compel Duel! Ultimate Parry!" An inescapable ring formed around them, and Edina's scythe connected with Camilla's parrying dagger.

Shing!

The Scythe of Soul Reaping bounced back in an ear-piercing ring.

"You let me hit you because you were confident about this armor you've wreathed yourself in. I've been shaving away at your defenses with Decimate. Are you still highly-resistant to physical damage, Edina?" Camilla asked.

"Shit!" Edina gasped after a pause.

Kanae didn't need to see the squirreling's reaction. It was entirely in her voice. The skeletal chimera took a step back, but her hind legs and tail pressed against the hard invisible surface that was the ring of Compel Duel. She couldn't leave.

"Expose Weakness." Camilla drew a circle in front of Edina.

This was the skill that preceded Minestra's defeat when they fought! However, instead of parrying an attack, Camilla dashed forward and plunged the holy-infused Nail into the chimera's chest. The bone amalgamation exploded, sending shards and fragments flying in every direction.

Edina fell to the ground flat on her back, robes in tatters, and face wracked in agony. Camilla casually walked up to the necromancer to deliver the final blow.

"It was fun, Edina. But it looks like I'll be facing Petyr Stormcloud in the finals," Camilla said.

"Spectral Form!" Edina turned incorporeal just in time as Nail plunged through her ghostly body and into the dirt. "Clutch of the Lich Lord!"

A giant skeletal hand burst out from where Edina was lying. It tried to seize hold of Camilla. She leaped back into a second hand catching her. The crowds gasped. Esta and several of the other Knights of Colors jumped to their feet in surprise.

"Whew!" Edina picked herself up and returned corporeal.

"You had a skill like that waiting this entire time?" Camilla sighed.

"Well, I was planning on surprising Petyr with it." She compelled an undead minion to retrieve her staff, then brandished the tip of the scythe's blade at Camilla's head.

"I forfeit! I'm not looking to be bedridden like Bocchiri!" the Saint Priest exclaimed.

Archbishop Patrice descended from the sky with a scowl on her face and brows knitted, evidently not at all happy about Camilla's surrender. The Saint Priest only offered a little shrug.

"Oh, Camilla." Esta palmed her face and shook her head.

"Victor, Edina Hackett!" the archbishop declared.

"Yay!" Suvee bounced up and down in cheers, holding Kanade's hands.

Mikki and Teana screamed at the top of their lungs. Revah and Pan likely would, too, if they were still here. Even Arenade couldn't help but swallow her pride and applaud. As though fate had deigned this to be the only possible outcome, Petyr and Edina were going to face off in the finals now.