“Will he be alright? I was so excited about his getting the items from us. Don’t you think he’ll be sad if he’s got to hand it over?”

  Cilene badgered into Wayne’s ear. He showed a remarkable amount of restraint as he looked upon the field. He knew what that creature was and was feeling he might have been too hasty with his bet. At this rate his student would lose and he would have to come out of pocket with the cash for the spirits he needed. It was a disaster for his wallet.

  The boy was a fast learner but that meant little on the battlefield. Death wasn’t on the line but if it had been. His student would have long since perished. The rules being in his favor was all that kept him from being defeated so easily. At the moment he wasn’t confident in his own students' victory.

  “Yes, it will be a shame.” He spoke darkly.

  “You truly think the boy will lose?” The Tyrant asked.

  “It is more than likely. We should have just stripped the Oni of their skulls and sold them. We wouldn’t have had to deal with this ruse to get a mere grade two.”

  Cilene cringed at Wayne’s words but her eyes burned brightly. If things were to go south he might just take their heads anyway. She stood up from her seat and shouted loudly, rattling the skull as she did so.

  “YOU CAN DO IT.”

  “I think you underestimate your student. And over estimate the enemies. A Scylla isn’t all that scary. Not for a smart young man.”

  Ten seconds had passed as steadied his breathing. Where he had been crouching below the window whined. The sound of cracking and sizzling echoed down the hallway. As it garnered his attention a small hole burst open from the wall shooting lethally into the opposite wall before stopping. Nate realized this was probably his opponent's ruse.

  The shot against the outside wall corner, and then hitting the opposite wall from the window. He had to be aware of his own ten second rule. He had meant to kill the Poppet right then and there. The long halls of the concrete building were no longer safe. With his enemy circumventing his best defense he’d have to take a risk. The plan clicked into place.

  Just as he couldn’t summon his full set of teeth for a time, Fancis had a wait time as well. Ten seconds that was the window, as long as he could get him to shoot once he could activate his teeth and end it with one move. Having learned from over committing the first time he wouldn’t so easily use his full power. Everything he learned from the battle so far would go into the final confrontation.

  Francis wasn’t sure where Nate might be in the hallway and didn’t dare give him a window of attack. Nate summoned forth the four largest fangs, the Canines formed into a shield. He wasn’t certain which would work best as a shield but these seemed to be the most appropriate. Their collective coverage meant he would be defended across his whole body.

  Nate swore to further explore whatever magic would come his way in the future. He wouldn’t let this blunder of not knowing the intricate details of his magic draw him down again. Once he jumped out he’d block the first shot and then use twenty of the remaining fangs to kill his opponent. The rain seemed to lighten up as he made his move.

  With a deep breath he stepped out and the remaining rain immediately started to sizzle against his upraised shield. Just as he’d hoped, Francis took this as Nate was trying to rush toward him and the crack of a shot barreled toward him. Dropping the shield down the impact pushed Nate back several paces. Feet digging into the soft ground he slid to a full stop. As the three second mark neared only a small amount of rain pattered onto his body.

  A hole formed along the upper right canine. He used the placement to look out at his opponent. The two met eyes. Nate had expected a shocked or worried face on Francis, but there was none. A pleased smile covered the man's face from ear to ear. Before the ten seconds was finished a blast slammed into Nate’s right arm. This time blasting the last piece of canine away. The poison spread rampantly as the rain finally came to a stop.

  Rain water now only came down in one location. Standing behind Francis was the glowing silhouette of a spirit. With the end of the rain its full appearance was uncovered. The body was formed by dripping rain water. The living embodiment of rain water.

  The Scylla had the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a lion. Splitting of where the lion's tail should be were two viscous scorpion tails. Long back and dripping with water and poison. Any precise aspects of its body are obscured by the sparkling rain.

  “You foolish boy. Did you think I could only shoot once? I thought they raised you to be smarter now.”

  Nate struggled as the poison surged through his body fogging the mind. The pain was mild aside from the hole in his limp arm. Things were feeling all too familiar to him. He stared back up with shaking eyes. The shadows of the building lightly dusted over his body. Francis felt victory wash over his body. No one could survive the poison of his prized Scylla.

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  Twenty teeth flew up from the ground on either side of his body, a formation of jaws carrying them up from the ground. With a thunk they impacted into his body and stopped. An invisible shield glowed along the outline of his body.

  “Your Apprentice is a joke. Did he not even think I would have an artifact to protect spells from attacking me? Maybe I should kill him for real given his stupidity. Nothing is touching me from the outside of this robe.”

  In the stands Wayne brought a depressed hand to his face. He truly had been too quick to throw his student out into the world. Practical training only mattered when on the foundation of solid knowledge. A critical error in his teaching method.

  “Think he’s lost have you?” The Tyrant clacked.

  Cilene the whole way through was glued to the action. Whereas Wayne had given up she cheered even louder. He might have not been able to hear her but that didn’t matter. He had to win, not just for the payout but the honor that he carried of their clan.

  “HAHAHAHA.”

  Nate’s laughter brought Francis to a stop. As he eyed the boy in front of him. The fangs on his arm slowly fading away. If they stood side by side he wouldn’t hold a candle to him but now he was on the ground. He should be groveling at his feet for mercy. The neurotoxins rendering him incapable of movement within just a few short seconds. Yet, he laughed?

  “What's so funny?”

  “If.. If I can’t attack from …hah… outside. Then why not inside?”

  An audible crunch rang out in the ring as the fangs bulged up from within his clothes and spilled out into the air. Hot blood soaked the ground as Francis fell to his knees. Panting heavily he tried to stay awake. Casting the spell to spawn within the perimeter of his shield would zap more energy. To circumvent the power loss Nate concentrated the power into just two fangs. These two despite not being the largest that he could employ burst forth with added power. Growing to double their full size. The ward still kept the man from being split clean in half.

  “How?” Blood shot out of Francis' mouth as he spoke.

  “Shoot quickly.”

  Panic filled his voice as he pointed to where Nate should be. He had been just beyond within the shadow of the building but now he was gone. His spirit lacked the intelligence nor the correct kind of housing to act on its own. So the spirit stood without a target in sight. The inherent flaw within the contract that he had made.

  Nate was pulled tight into the embrace of his shadow manipulation. It would only last a few seconds but that was all the time he needed. All the fangs returned to Lupita who formed crouching at his side. His own manipulation of the spell was limited but now that she was before him his body eased.

  Lupita, much like the spirit they were facing, had a greater control over her own ability that came with her physical form. Still hidden within the shadow she focused and then let her own jaw widen. Rows of pearly white lethally sharp teeth pulsed and snapped back shut. The fangs formed once more around Franics’ fast bleeding body. This time all forty two formed into giant maw. The molars slammed into the shield shattering it into thousands of motes of light. The rest of the teeth followed, tearing away at his muscles, slicing through his fragile skin, grinding him into a bloody mist.

  The Poppet sat there in Lupita's muzzle as she repeatedly brought her jaw up and down. The time between the appearance of the bites went down to zero. Even if it was just the Poppet she went into a bit of a rage. The shadows faded around Nate. The danger had passed as the rain spirit slowly faded away back into the real Francis spirit building. Pseudo limbs, blood, and organs splattered the field as slowly the fangs faded away. Lupita breathed a long sigh of relief. Wiping away at the Poppet’s face before returning to the spirit house. Nate opened his real eyes as the poppet took its last breath.

  Sitting across from him Francis wore a shocked face. Had this new necromancer truly killed him so easily? Was this all his long years had culminated too? He would have been dead if he’d just survived for a few seconds longer. This was a critical error. Just as he was about to spiral into an existential crisis Nate’s figure loomed above him. His eyes shot to the young man. He flinched as something approached his body. Gingerly he peered up at Nate, he found an outstretched friendly hand.

  “You would have killed me if you were using your full power. Thanks for taking a handicap. I learned a lot.”

  Francis took Nate’s hand as he helped him up from where he sat. Energy returned to his body as his opponent's words filled him with relief. He wasn’t all that far into his own career so it was natural to lose when placed with a handicap. At least that's what he told himself.

  Nate was genuinely thankful to Francis. He didn’t like his attitude or the vanity that was clearly the core of his being. That didn’t mean he would have treated him poorly. It was a fight like this that had brought Kent to his side. It also happened with Karah. Nate thought to himself that he might need to change his way of getting to know people.

  From where they sat in the viewing box Cilene jumped into the air with cheer. Wayne looked conflicted. He knew his student would lose, no he had been certain of it. The Scylla was more powerful then the average ones on the market. Furthermore Francis had not only one bluff but two.

  At that age, in his students' shoes would he have been able to defeat his opponent? The thought went without an answer. The Tyrant pulled his attention as cool blue flames mingled with the normal green.

  “Should have made you bet on it. Could have got back at everything I’ve done for you.”

  “I don’t see how you’ve done anything for me recently. I haven’t been by in years.”

  “Yes, many years of debt.”

  Nate was speaking idly with Francis. Questioning him over how he came up with such methods to trick him. In equal measure he compared notes to Nate’s battle pattern. An exchange outside of any contract. Wayne looked at them thinking back to his younger days, when he didn’t have the power to stomp out anything in his way.

  “You can talk shop later, let's settle our accounts.”

  Wayne ignored the quiet musing of the Tyrant. Cilene began to swarm around Nate like a fan girl as they made their way out of the arena. The prize lies ahead.