Machina Arcanis: Two Worlds Collided
Chapter 173. Iteration Nine

The loud clap, accompanied by a guttural grunt, filled the enclosed training ground. Two Novitcius mages from Virgo sat at the standby station, their eyes glued to the spectacular fight unfolding in the middle.

The figure clad in crimson armour moved with decisive precision, each punch delivered with real heft and a damaging impact. Meanwhile, the man in a dark coat drifted with smooth, fluid motion. These two fighting styles seemed poles apart, making the spar far more entertaining to watch.

“Woah! Have a look at that! They’ve been really going at it for hours! It’s an absolute slaughterhouse in there.” A short Virgo mage exclaimed.

“It’s a proper fight like this that is the most fun!” Another mage replied, raising her hands to her chin in thrill. A short girl nodded vigorously.

So engrossed were they, the long hours of their shift simply melted away.

On the battlefield, Astrid attempted to corner Zetius with her superior durability, boosted by the essence of Adamas.

“Stop dodging, damn it!” Astrid yelled, arching her hookshot towards Zetius’s side.

Zetius ducked and split his legs, feeling the air whiz past his hair.

Immediately, Astrid hurled her fists down.

With a quick reflex, he fanned his legs and locked onto the base of her arm, attempting to wrestle her down.

“Huh?” She grunted, then slammed both Zetius and her arm down, shaking the ground.

Zetius gasped as pain erupted from his spine. The Arc helm rang as it absorbed the damage.

“That only works on non-arcanists, fool!” Astrid bellowed, straddling him. Her eyes gleamed intensely with a bloodshot smile.

Each strike connected, reverberating with meaty thuds.

“NNNG!” Zetius gritted, raising his arms to protect his face, yet the sharp pain on his guarding arms was almost unbearable.

He grunted, wiggling his waist with all his might. But Astrid’s raw strength easily overwhelmed him.

“Had enough, then?” Astrid paused, pulling her gloved hands back. Her ruby eyes glinted from the shadow through the helm’s eye sockets.

Just then, her glowing skin began to fade away.

Noticing her dwindling Adamas, Zetius’s fist glowed red hot, having been charged. “EMPYRION!” he immediately cast, colliding with her side.

“AAGGH!” Astrid wailed, rolling from the momentum.

Her helm flashed as hairline cracks formed and spread. Their eyes locked, her expression now contorted with anger.

She raised her palm forward and cast, “Dynamis!”

Simultaneously, Zetius ran towards her, realising that when she didn’t perform a dual cast, her style revolved around alternating between the duration of Adamas and Dynamis. He surmised this was to conserve mana over the prolonged battle.

“Empyrion~Fire!” Zetius shot a fire blast, only for it to be blocked by her Phoros.

Knew it! Zetius seized this opportunity for a close-quarters attack. Surely, he’d be able to finish her if he managed to land even one flaming punch fully. He carefully anticipated. In response, Astrid’s attempt to counter with a punch eventually missed.

“Now!” Zetius’s fist, imbued with a powerful inferno, pulled back for the winning strike—

“Volcanic—” Astrid chanted, her voice thundering as she stomped. “Empyrion!”

Zetius’s eyes widened in shock. He’d never seen a move like that before. Instinctively, he broke away and scrambled in full panic.

The ground shook intensely. A massive eruption of lava burst from it, its powerful shockwave throwing Zetius twenty metres and slamming him into the nearby wall.

“Whoa…” The Virgo mages were utterly perplexed. Behind them, on the raised inspector’s seat, Yammi had been scrutinising the ruthless display of power with worried eyes. “It’s done,” Friederich mumbled, his eyes fluttering open since his mana meditation had been disturbed by the ruckus.

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“GAAH!” Zetius howled, pulling himself from the dust. His dull gold helm was shattered in half. He squeezed one eye shut, a desperation to block the blood dripping from his forehead.

In the middle, the black smoke soon faded, revealing the victor standing in all her glory above the protruding lava ground. Her red cape billowed in the gust of wind.

“Well done, Zeta. You made me use my advanced technique,” Astrid muttered as she approached him.

Then, just as Astrid opened her mouth—

She coughed up a massive amount of blood. In a panic, she looked for a sign of damage, only to find her armour was shredded, exposing her red skin.

That brought a conniving smirk to Zetius’s face. “Looks like I landed a critical hit on you, then.”

Astrid coughed violently. “But… Not powerful… enough…” she managed between coughs, her hands brushing against the intact helm. Then she spun around to find the Virgo mages behind her.

The combatants both settled down on the dirt, letting the medical team get on with the healing.

“Well, how’d I go?” Zetius asked Astrid as a Virgo mage sprinkled the glowing leaves of Iasis over him.

“Not bad,” Astrid said, kneading her exposed side. The angry red bruise started to mend, turning back to her normal skin tone. Then she spotted Zetius’s eyes on her wound. “But not good enough. I still won.” She tapped on her helm, cracked but still in one piece.

Zetius pulled his eyes away. “I know.” Then he yanked the remaining metal scrap from his head and tossed it amongst the pile of broken headgear.

“Nine losses, Zeta,” Astrid grinned, crossing her arms.

“Yeah, it’s not easy,” he argued, giving an appreciative nod towards the Virgo mages. They gracefully bowed before heading back to their stations.

His red eyes followed them absentmindedly.

“Hey! Stop gawking at them!” Astrid muttered sternly. “You bloody pervert!”

Zetius chuckled. “No, no. Their clothes just reminded me of a Virgo mage I met a while ago.”

“When you were an old uncle?” Astrid raised one of her brows.

“Yep.” Zetius clipped, his expression growing flat, like he was longing for a life long past.

“She’s that cute or something?” Astrid asked, visibly blushing. “Wait! But you already had a wife then?!” Her face easily shifted colour, turning red if she was embarrassed or angry: coincidentally the same colour as the Dynamis buff.

“Hahaha,” Zetius burst out laughing, slapping his thigh. “Nah…”

Astrid scowled. “What’d ya mean?!”

“In truth, she has a huge crush on Friederich,” Zetius whispered honestly, his hand shielding his mouth.

Her tensing shoulders relaxed in an instant. “Oh… No doubt about that.” Astrid spun and waved to Friederich from a distance, leaving the elven man in a daze.

“How about we give it another crack? Another match!” he proposed, his smile relentless.

“Nope,” Astrid replied in her characteristic deep tone. “We broke too many helms today.”

“Come on! Let’s do it! Without the protective gear this time!” Zetius tried to persuade her, ecstasy in his eyes.

“No,” Astrid affirmed, standing up and walking away.

“Astrid, come on! I know you’re strong!” Zetius insisted, joining her as they walked along the wall below the inspector’s seat.

“Zeta, you need a rest,” she replied, unbothered.

“Let’s go again, Astrid. We can duel for real this time.” Zetius continued, unyielding.

Astrid eventually sighed and turned to face him. “Practice is fine, Zeta. But you need to improve your technique and start advancing them.” She glanced him up and down. “I haven’t seen you experiment with other Empyrion forms of attack. Master Ignius was able to adapt his Empyrion in many variants to suit the situation as he pleased. You and I should be able to do that without fail, too.”

Her words struck true for him. “Hmm… I’ve got the lightning attack, but I can’t seem to use it effectively or in a way that doesn’t harm me as well.” Zetius contemplated, rubbing his chin.

“Today I showed you how I exploited the element of surprise, right?” Astrid rationalised, cupping her hands on his shoulder.

“Right,” Zetius agreed.

Astrid’s smile widened, not the despicable one she usually wore, but a genuine, almost warm kind. Zetius nodded vigorously, content.

“Let’s call it a day,” Astrid suggested, slapping him on the shoulders and ushering him towards the exit.

At the far entrance, Aurelia and Cubie arrived, their eyes sweeping across the quiet battlefield.

“Ohhh, wonder if they’re done already… There they are!” Aurelia greeted them as they spotted one another. They quickly rushed towards Zetius.

“Just finished, both of you?” Zetius asked with a smile as he watched Cubie bounce around in high spirits.

“Mm~hm!” Aurelia hummed, and Cubie piped up, “I can make walls! The greatest walls of all!”

“That’s awesome!” Zetius praised, his eyes following her as she circled around them.

She even bounced up to Astrid, “You will never penetrate my defensive wall, ever again!” Cubie taunted sassily.

Astrid looked like a vein was about to pop on her forehead; she would have exploded if it were not for Zetius’s hands on her crossed arms, imploring her to calm down.

Just then, the rhythmic sound of footsteps announced they were not alone. A small group emerged, led by Lyra, who was accompanied by Lunarius Severan and Aurelia’s father, Ryusei.

“Ryusei-sama?” Zetius murmured in surprise.

For reasons yet unknown, the royal entourage had business at the Arcana Institute, and their inspection seemed to begin here, at the training ground.

“Good afternoon, everyone,” Ryusei greeted them with a regal smile and a wave. He was dressed in a yellow and white royal uniform, exuding an air of grace and majesty.