Everybody has a magic circuit. The difference is in the number of active circuits, their length, and the quantity. Most people have no active circuits, only inactive ones. A longer active circuit processes more energy, allowing complex conversions of seither to magic. More circuits stores more energy and made the procedure faster.

But Nos only had a single active circuit. And it was also considerably short. Lacking the biology for any of the flashier spells his classmates are known for, he became a Spellblade with wit, training, and sacrifice.

Specifically, blood sacrifice.

With every swing of his blade, Nos felt his heart pumping faster, blood coursing through his veins in beats of war. It burnt, not just from his body heating up, but because with each passing moment of battle, Nos is forcibly turning a little more of his blood vessel into magic circuits, trading away his health and life for short bursts of power.

He was seeing red. Literally.

Seither was rushing through his body with every strike. Whenever mages are nearby, they drew in seither from their surrounding. So Nos learnt to drain more. As his blood pumped faster, they ran through his sacrificial circuits, eating up any surrounding energy. When his blade struck Joachim's wind infused weapon, the spark of magic gets eaten up by Nos, stolen to further fuel his bloodrage.

He stepped in, faster than he was half a minute ago. His thigh muscles pushed and he closed the distance between himself and Joachim in a quick single stride. Muscle memory carried his dagger forward in a thrust under Joachim's arm. The latter used his free hand and slapped the blunt side of the blade, pushing the weapon away.

With his offhand dagger, Nos closed in again with a short forward leap and a cut down. Joachim spun on his feet, curling the yo-yo around his body and whipping the weapon down, meeting the blade mid-strike in a metallic clash.

Don't let up!

The yo-yo was standing between Nos and his target. The split second opening was closing and Joachim was about to move back and create further distance. Nos was not sure how long his body could handle the strain of his blood circuits.

He needed to end the fight quickly.

With a jump forward, Nos slammed his hand into the yo-yo string, catching the metal line between his palm and the ground, preventing Joachim from calling the weapon back. Nos swung his legs around like a pendulum, hoping to knock Joachim of his feet. But his opponent merely kicked upwards while sending a gale of wind straight into Nos's chest and blasting him back.

Nos rolled on his back and pivoted on his shoulder, flipping back up into a standing position. The air around them was thick with released seither. He would have no trouble keeping his blood circuits powered. He could even push it further, sacrificing more of his veins to power his magic, but that would cause his body to burn up faster. Was he willing to risk it?

As he took the split second to think, Joachim had already retrieved his yo-yo. He reached to the pouch behind his back.

He then pulled out a second yo-yo.

Nos cursed, “Shit.”

With his choice made for him, Nos burnt through his veins and a line of light lit up his right arm from finger to shoulder. He let out an unwitting grunt of pain as his blood vessels cooked with magic.

Joachim attacked, swinging out both yo-yo in rapid succession to which Nos could only parry. Each hit blasted out a gush of wind that stoked the sparks from the contacting blades into bursts of ember. It was a barrage, each contact striking off small fireworks. Nos felt as if he was trying to pelt away droplets of fire.

But with each successful parry, he drew a little more magic from Joachim. Second by second, he felt his body lighten with waves of speed and his muscles tighten with magically enhanced strength. And as he grew stronger, he watched Joachim weaken from fatigue. The energy of maintaining the barrage was draining him.

Just a little more!

A left parry. A right swing. A dodge from a straight. Nos was getting into the rhythm of the attack. His body was also catching up with the speed. Then, the opening came when Joachim let out a huff to catch his breath between attack. Joachim threw out two slow successive straights and Nos moved in to intercept. Taking a step forward, he slapped the first attack away. With one leg behind, he pushed in with a rush, cutting down the second yo-yo quickly. Joachim was now open, eyes wide in shock, and Nos took the chance to charge in.

That was it. There was no way in which Joachim could defend himself. Nos had won. A dagger through the heart would be the cleanest, quickest kill. The blood was rushing into his head and all he saw was red. Part of it might be the magic, but Nos felt most of it was anger. Anger at them having to even reach that point of fighting. Anger at The Janus for dragging them into her scheme. Anger at their misfortune of having been picked.

Anger that Joachim forced his hands.

Nos slowed to a jog, and quickly down to a pace. Finally, he stopped before Joachim, dumbfounded as he made his realization.

“You bastard,” he said aloud. “Why didn't you just attack me with both yo-yos at the start? You could have killed me outright. Why escalate? Why wait?

For the first time, he noticed Joachim's eyes. All year, Nos had been trying to understand what his mute classmate was saying, always to no avail. But for the first time, he could see his eyes speak. They were no longer that of blood. It was that of fear. Or to be precise, cowardice.

“You're scared. You don't want to kill me. You want me to kill you!” Nos exclaimed angrily. “You don't have it in you to kill yourself, so you want me to do it for you!”

Joachim's eyes dart away, unwilling to meet Nos's stare. The former gulped, found strength, and shot a accusing glare back. And even though Joachim did not speak, Nos understood. Joachim picked Nos because Nos wanted to kill him.

Nos sighed and escaped the conversation. “I don't have time for this. I'm going to help Lua.” Disappointed, he shook his head and began walking away. “Feel free to follow when you swallow some guts.”

He made his way towards the door Lua went through, leaving Joachim behind. As he walked on, he heard the familiar sound of Joachim's metal blade slicing out of its shell and Nos turned around with weapons at the ready, expecting an attack. Instead, Nos watched as Joachim brought his blade up to his own neck.

“What are you doing?” Nos asked in a panic.

Joachim took a deep breath.

“Don't do it! We can fight The Janus.”

Nos was wrong. Joachim was not being cowardly. He was ready to die, but simply looked to Nos for mercy. When it came to it, his friend was willing to put his life on the line to save theirs.

Joachim's fists clenched.

“Stop!”

Blood splattered the ground.