Becky’s fist curled so tight her knuckles cracked.

  She was moments away from exploding.

  That arrogant, smug witch that was the headmaster was talking down to them like they weren’t even people.

  She was about to lash out, but then…

  A cough.

  A ragged inhale.

  A movement.

  "Ohhooo! that stung quite a bit!"

  The laughter stopped.

  All eyes turned—

  And there, slowly pushing herself off the ground was Kintovar.

  Her sunglasses lay in the dirt beside her. She reached out and grabbed them with an annoyed flick of her wrist.

  She placed them back onto her face and adjusted them with a casual tilt of her head.

  "Seriously," she muttered while stretching her shoulders. "You damn near ruined my coat, you litte--"

  Roselle’s breath caught in her throat.

  Risebelle took a step back with her eyes widened.

  Arlysa’s lips parted slightly.

  The once triumphant Headmaster stood rooted to the ground in disbelief.Her heart slammed against her ribs.

  "No way…" she whispered with horror. Then her face became filled with rage "HOW… ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!"

  Elena stepped out from her hiding spot behind the trees of the mystical forest with widened eyes.

  "No way”, she murmured while trembling. “I know I aimed right for the heart… I know I did!"

  A telepathic shout came to Elena from the headmaster:

  "YOU WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO MOVE!”

  Elena flinched.

  The others turned their eyes on her.

  Kintovar, brushing dust from her coat gave a small chuckle. "You all get excited too easily…Did you really believe I’d come unprepared?"

  She adjusted her coat casually.

  "I guess Solene’s battle with me hasn’t reached you yet."

  Aimathema’s face darkened.

  "I already know Solene is dead, and you’re the one who did it."

  Kintovar’s lips twitched. "Oh, I know you know." She lifted a finger to tap the side of her temple. "But what you don’t know is why that little stunt of yours failed."

  She dusted off her sleeve.

  "Let me rephrase it for you, since I know you like fancy explanations."

  Kintovar held out the hem of her coat and gave it a small flick.

  "Every inch of this outfit is tailored with material designed specifically to counter magic I’ve encountered before."

  She smirked.

  "Every single thread disperses the impact of magical attacks, drastically reducing their damage. Solene found that out the hard way."

  Her gaze flickered to Elena.

  "And now, so have you."

  Kintovar reached into her coat pocket and brought out a small devicee, which she then tossed to the ground.

  The space above it twisted and then, in a controlled burst of light, a massive weapon materialized in front of her.

  The BG-356.

  It hovered for a moment before Kintovar reached out and grasped the handle. Then, she slung it across her shoulder with ease.

  The black metal frame gleamed. It’s glowing blue veins pulsed.

  "Now then…" Kintovar spoke casual yet she tilted her head slightly with a grin creeping onto her lips.

  "Shall we begin?"

  Becky felt a familiar rush burn through her veins. She swung her hefty hammer from its holster. The glowing inscriptions flickered along its length as if sensing its wielder's intent.

  She let out a wild, sharp-toothed grin. "Hah! Iv’e been waiting to kick some ass!"

  Sybil reached to her side. There was no sheathe, no visible storage and yet, when she made the unsheathing motion, a blade materialized in her grasp.

  Its edges were unnaturally refined and pulsed with a greenish glow.

  Sybil said nothing, but looked ready for combat. Her crystal-like eyes flicked toward the Headmaster.

  Elena gritted her teeth and fired rapid, razor-thin blasts of yellow energy toward Becky and Sybil.

  The beams sliced through the air like whispers of death.

  But—

  They missed.

  Becky sidestepped one, then ducked another with a grin.

  "Tryna sneak us?" she barked. "Ain’t gonna work! We already know where ya are now!"

  With a roar, she swung her hammer down and aimed to flatten Elena like a bug.

  But Elena vanished in a blur. Becky’s hammer slammed into the sand around them.

  In that exact moment, Sybil moved. She cut through the space between them like a phantom with her blade arcing outwards.

  Elena managed to just barely slip past the strike. The tip of Sybil’s glowing sword grazed her cloak, but not her flesh.

  Elena’s heart hammered in her chest. ‘I need to pull back’, she thought while dashing backwards.

  Becky saw the hesitation.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  And she charged.

  "Get back here!"

  With a sharp look over her shoulder, Becky barked toward Kintovar:

  “Yo Doc! We got this one! You can have the Headmaster, but make sure to save a whack for me!"

  The battlefield shuddered as the tension between Kintovar and Aimathema reached its breaking point.

  Without warning, the Headmaster’s silver eyes narrowed, and her hands raised.

  Psychic energy crackled around her, sending waves of power that pulled at the air itself.

  In the blink of an eye, Kintovar’s body was yanked off the ground like a mere doll in the grip of an invisible force.

  Kintovar’s breath caught—her feet was no longer touching the earth.

  “You’re an arrogant fool, Kintovar,” Aimathema spoke coldy. “You can’t escape this. Nothing can escape the will of my psychic control.”

  Kintovar’s lips twisted into a slight grin. She took aim with the BG-356 directly at the Headmaster from her position.

  "Oh, is that so,” the Scientist muttered to herself.

  The massive weapon erupted in a screeching roar and released a concentrated blast of energy straight at Aimathema.

  The moment it struck the air around her, a barrier of psychic energy burst to life in front of the Headmaster.

  It was invisible—

  But it was there and could be seen briefly as a ripple of psychic force just before it reacted to the attack.

  For a split second, the psychic shield shuddered.

  Then—

  A crack appeared in the middle of the shield that spread outward like a web of shattered glass.

  The barrier held, but not perfectly.

  Kintovar observed the crack with an approving smirk.

  In her mind, she noted, ‘ It seems she placed Psychic shields around her before I attacked. They are powerful, but every shield has its breaking point. ‘

  Aimathema’s eyes flashed with fury after seeing this.

  “Impossible…” she hissed.

  Kintovar slowly lowered back down with her boots touching the ground once again with a soft thud. “Don’t worry, Headmaster. It’s just a matter of time before that barrier breaks wide open."

  Aimathema began to channel her psychic powers to a greater extent. Her aura of mental domination expanded and enveloped the entire beach in an oppressive energy.

  “Psychic Dominion"

  Everyone found themselves under the oppressive weight of the Headmaster's psychic influence. Their thoughts became muddled, and it became increasingly difficult to focus.

  With a wicked grin, she directed her attention toward Kintovar.

  "Psychic Dominion," Aimathea declared with smugness, "is a power that bends minds to my will. You may be resourceful, Kintovar, but in this state, even you will find it challenging to utilize that brilliant brain of yours."

  A suffocating pressure seeped into Kintovar’s skull, clawing at her thoughts like spectral fingers trying to rewrite her will.

  Her vision blurred for a second, but her instincts screamed louder than Aimathema’s control.

  Her fingers twitched, and with a sharp breath, she snapped back.

  “Deploy.”

  The word cut through the air. From the small storage device at her hip, a flurry of mechanical pods shot into the sky.

  They were small—sleek, dark and riddled with glowing blue etchings—but the moment they launched, they fanned out and covered the battlefield.

  Each one locked into position like silent sentinels above. The Skyborne Bombs hummed with energy.

  Aimathema’s silver eyes flickered upward.

  “Tch—What is this?”

  Kintovar grinned. "Insurance."

  Aimathema’s silver aura twisted. Tendrils of psychic force snaked around each Skyborne Bomb.

  With a flick of her wrist, the hovering explosives froze in place.

  "You set up your own demise," she purred with amusement.

  The bombs, once Kintovar’s trump card now drifted ominously under the Headmaster’s control.

  "Did you forget?" Aimathema’s eyes gleamed. "My Psychic Power isn’t limited to just minds. Objects, weapons— even these pathetic machines —all bow to my will."

  Kintovar’s jaw clenched.

  Of course, she knew that. She wasn’t an idiot.

  One of the Skyborne Bombs lurched downward with thrusters igniting as it barreled toward Kintovar.

  Kintovar dashed forward.

  Aimathema’s smug grin widened at first—then faltered.

  Her eyes widened upon seeing Kintovar’s trajectory.

  Kintovar whipped her hand to her side, and a sleek grappling hook gun snapped into her grip. The hook launched and latched onto the bomb mid-flight.

  Then, with a sharp yank, Kintovar redirected it straight back at Aimathema.

  "Catch."

  The words were barely out of Kintovar’s mouth before the bomb slammed against the Headmaster’s psychic barrier.

  Aimathema’s shields cracked.

  Then, a pulse of blue fire erupted. The force shattered the barrier into fragments of dissipating energy.

  Smoke swirled.

  The Headmaster eyed Kintovar with a glare after her shield shattered. She raised her staff and called,

  "Temporal Acceleration!"

  Aimathema’s silver aura pulsed violently—and then, in an instant, her entire body flickered. A radiant green glow wrapped around her.

  Then, the headmaster vanished from sight, only to reappear halfway across the battlefield in a blink.

  To Kintovar, it was like watching time cheat. Blasts of raw psychic magic erupted forward toward her at a speed that felt unnatural.

  Kintovar’s muscles tensed. She barely ducked, twisted and sidestepped. She raised the BG-356, aiming to fire, but Aimathema’s next volley came instantly and slammed against the weapon, forcing Kintovar to stagger back.

  Her fingers tightened around the grip, but—

  —Too many blasts. Too little time.

  She had no choice.

  With a grunt, she wrenched the weapon from her back and tossed it aside. Her hand darted to her belt. With a sharp click, she slammed a device into the ground.

  A metallic disc unfolded beneath her, glowing blue with kinetic barriers. “Portable shield generator!”

  An energy dome flickered into existence that intercepted the next barrage of psychic blasts. The attacks collided against the shield and sent ripples through its surface.

  Kintovar took a breath.

  This wasn’t good.

  She had just lost the BG-356.

  And Aimathema was accelerating.

  BZZT! BZZT! BZZT!

  The barrier flickered. Cracks spidered across its surface.

  Kintovar gritted her teeth. Before she knew it, The kinetic shield exploded into fragments of blue energy.

  "Tch—!"

  Kintovar kicked off the ground. Her fingers darted to her coat. There was another device—she just needed to—

  "Too slow."

  Before Kintovar could even react, the Headmaster materialized in front of her, her staff thrust forward and the tip aimed directly at Kintovar’s forehead.

  Aimathema’s smirk curled with merciless amusement.

  "Unless that’s another one of those portable shields," she murmured, "that was a bad move."

  Kintovar’s breath hitched.

  And then—

  Aimathema fired.

  BOOOOOM!

  A massive psychic beam erupted forth, engulfing Kintovar in a blinding explosion of violet energy.

  Her body tumbled violently across the battlefield—

  Once.

  Twice.

  Three times before slamming into the earth.

  A cloud of dust and debris billowed into the air.

  For a moment, silence.

  Then—

  A shift in the rubble.

  Kintovar got up very slowly.

  The headmaster raised up her staff and then formed a large yellow-colored energy from it that split into several blasts which went towards Kintovar.

  Kintovar quickly evaded the rapid blasts of yellow energy sent her way. Despite disorientation, she managed to aim her grappling hook gun at a hovering bomb nearby and tried to direct it towards the Headmaster.

  However, the Headmaster barely moved. The bomb sailed wide of its mark and exploded harmelessly.

  Before Kintovar could regain her bearings, the Headmaster closed the distance with alarming speed. Her staff connected with Kintovar's chest and sent her staggering backward.

  The Headmaster roared outwards with a shout that echoed through the battlefield.

  "Psionic Break!"

  Her staff crackled with intense psychic energy, and a concentrated beam of pure psychic force formed at its tip. This beam took on an ominous black hue as it homed in on Kintovar.

  ‘Quickly!’

  Kintovar’s mind raced.

  Her fingers snapped to her belt, and she yanked another storage device.

  With a press of a button—

  FWOOOSH!

  A surge of energy erupted as a massive black cannon materialized before her.

  It was labeled ‘GBC’ in glowing red letters.

  Beneath it, scrawled in the same fashion as the BG-356 was a small inscription:

  "Because Overkill Is Underrated."

  The sheer size of the weapon dwarfed even the BG-356.

  Kintovar slammed her hands on the controls.

  The dark, crackling psychic beam twisted through the air and barreled toward her.

  Kintovar’s teeth clenched.

  She pressed down. Hard.

  The cannon’s mouth glowed with an intense, spiraling red light—

  Then—

  BOOOOOOOM!

  A colossal beam of energy erupted from the cannon’s maw.

  The two attacks collided.

  Psionic Break.

  GBC’s Obliteration Shot.

  A violent shockwave rippled across the battlefield. Crackling black psychic energy twisted against raw, technological might.

  The air roared with unstable magic and spiraling power.

  Neither side relented.

  The battlefield erupted in a massive explosion as both attacks canceled each other out. Smoke and debris filled the air.

  When the dust settled, Kintovar exhaled sharply and left the GBC where it lay—its massive frame still sizzling with residual energy.

  Her hands moved to her sides.

  She swiftly unholstered two sleek, compact weapons with a polished black finish and glowing blue streaks running along the barrels from her belt.

  But the moment she raised them—

  A cold realization struck.

  Her own Skyborne bombs—

  They hovered all around her and encircled her.

  Kintovar’s eyes narrowed.

  “She made them move all at once?!”

  From above, a wicked, mocking laugh rang through the battlefield.

  Aimathema.

  Floating high above, the Headmaster’s silver eyes gleamed with malice.

  “Oh, Kintovar,” she cooed, “for all your inventions, you still underestimate me?”

  Her aura flared violently. “You will find it quite… difficult to escape this predicament.”

  Her laughter grew more sadistic.

  The Skyborne bombs hovered ominously.

  Kintovar knew that at the slightest gesture from the Headmaster…

  They would all detonate at once. Sweat dropped from her forehead.

  Project Mage