Chapter 15 The Last Demonstration #2
He regarded us with his cold, almost calculating gaze, and I felt a shiver down my spine. I seemed to be the only one who was suddenly feeling creeped out. All the other students seem to be captivated by the Archbishop's intimidating presence.
He started by giving a speech about the burden of power and what it meant to be gifted.
He talked of the responsibility of being Manaborn.
Since he himself clearly wasn't Manaborn, I wondered what gave him the right to advise us on how to deal with the responsibility of our power.
Then I flushed guiltily, wondering why I was having thoughts that were so hostile about a man I had just met.
The other students seemed to drink up his words.
I was the only one who, after a while, grew bored with his assumptions and the arrogant way he delivered his message.
By the time he held up his hands and closed his eyes, I was so grateful that it was nearly over, I closed my own, only to give thanks to the Goddess for finally bringing an end to the priest's speech.
When the Archbishop had taken his seat again, the Principal called Vivian Salvina down from the stands to take her place in the arena.
She was the first to give her demonstration.
She wasn't the best or most impressive student in our class, but she was reliably good, consistently meeting expectations.
The applause in the stadium was well deserved.
I liked Vivian. She was down-to-earth in a way that made me think we could be good friends if we got to know each other a bit better.
Seeing as we'd been mentored by different instructors this term, we hadn't had as many interactions as I would have liked, even though we'd shared a dormitory.
She had mostly been friends with Natalie and Kristin.
I found myself hoping to get to know her better next term.
Amber, Oliver, student after student gave their demonstrations, and not a single one choked.
Oliver gave the best demonstration of magical ability he had thus far, and it was clear he had studied and practiced very hard for this moment.
Naja, his Lamia Princess, seemed equally impressed.
She ended up kissing him so zealously that some people cheered and whistled, others clapped awkwardly, laughing while they blushed.
I was one of the latter, but I was pleased for Oliver.
He was blushing too when Naja finally released him, giving him a chance to come up for air.
As before, the students were allowed to leave after their own demonstrations if they wished.
Oliver didn't waste any time disappearing with Naja, and I didn't have to wonder why.
I guessed he wanted a repeat of that kiss before the Princess disappeared back to her own realm.
I clapped for my friends, my own nervousness completely forgotten, as I was incredibly proud of them.
The crowd was just as excited and pleased by the different demonstrations from the Apex Group.
They cheered energetically, but only one student's performance drew a standing ovation from the spectators.
Cleopatra Invicto, of course, performed her spell flawlessly.
It was more controlled than the first time she had performed her Holy Light fusion magic.
It was a thousand skillfully thrown darts rather than a singular sledgehammer.
The crowd cheered and cheered as if they were never going to stop. Had hers been the last demonstration, it would have ended the day's festivities on that highest of notes.
Unfortunately, there was only me left. I still needed to perform my own demonstration, and I realized I couldn't possibly compete. Not against Cleopatra and her flawless show of skill.
Who said you were competing against her in the first place?
I wondered at this as I walked quietly down to the middle of the arena. After a murmuring among the spectators, a hushed silence fell where it seemed I could hear every distinct beat of my own heart, where the whole stadium seemed to be holding its breath.
I summoned Vaerath, and he was just as beautifully dangerous as always. "Here we are again," he said as he stood in his human form. "You can do this, My Love. You just have to know you can."
Then he stood behind me, my Abyss Dragon, ready to give me all the strength and protection I needed.
The straw targets had been replaced. I looked at them and realized it should be easy to destroy them if I gathered as much power as I had in my mid-term demonstration.
The same amount, I thought, just keep a better hold of your emotions.
It's yours to control. It was true, it belonged to me.
For better or worse, I was Manaborn, and I should be as familiar with this power inside of me as I was with my own limbs, with my own senses.
If I could control my own legs, make them obey my command, why not this?
It was then that I realized I'd only been competing against myself all along. It didn't matter how the other students performed their magic. What mattered was what I did with my own.
I gathered the power within me, scooping like a bucket in a pool of water.
Visualizing it like that helped some, and I felt it rise within me.
Higher and higher it rose. It felt like there was so much of it.
I refused to be intimidated by its size this time.
Something was happening in the physical world.
I stretched out my hands, and again a perfect sphere of pure fire burned into existence in front of me.
It grew as I watched. It was almost as large as it had been the first time, before I had lost control.
This time, I sensed what I needed to do.
Casting my will on the fiery sphere, I tore it apart.
I exercised my will on it, and it divided into three spheres of equal size.
They floated in the air in front of me, perfectly controlled.
Three spheres to represent the Trinity. It seemed right.
Using the force of my own magic, I lifted these spheres into the air and brought my hands forward, pushing them, launching them at the straw targets. They blazed through the air, three identical fireballs of destruction, and hit the targets perfectly, destroying all of the straw men.
When it was done, I allowed the spheres to wink out of existence. My chest was heaving. Despite only standing rooted to one spot during the demonstration, it had taken a physical toll on me.
It was only then that I realized the crowd was cheering.
They were cheering for me. I felt my cheeks flush.
Vaerath came over then, and his blazing eyes were filled with unbridled pride.
When he took my face so suddenly in his large, rough hands, I realized he was feeling both pride and lust. He was overjoyed by my victory as much as I was.
He kissed me with a passion he had never dared before, and I understood why Oliver and his Lamia Princess had almost lost control.
The crowd fell away as I closed my eyes and melted into that kiss.
Our tongues met warm and wet; it was perfect.
I kissed Vaerath until he disappeared back to his own realm.
Only then did I open my eyes.
Amber was laughing as she came down from the stands to hug me. Then I turned as Principal Lucius spoke my name. "Congratulations, Miss Wood. I knew you had it in you."
Crystalline stood next to him and beamed warmly at me. Principal Lucius gently took her hand. "Come on, my love. Let's leave the girl so she can celebrate the end of the term with her friends."
The Ice Phoenix seemed disappointed, but she melted into her monster form and then took to the skies. Principal Lucius looked back at me. "She's very proud of you, you know. If I'd let her, she would've talked your ear off, and you probably need time to get ready for the ball."
Amber and I looked at each other. The end-of-term ball! We only had a couple of hours to get ready before it was supposed to start.
We excused ourselves and hurried away as Principal Lucius stared after us, amusement dancing in his eyes.
I felt like I was flying high, as high as the Frost Phoenix.
I would only hear next term if I were advancing, but in my own way, I had managed to perform three spells on Iron level.
The next level was Steel, and if I wasn't mistaken, Principal Lucius had just informed me in his own subtle way that I would be advancing.