Lee ran through the woods at a fast pace towards the old man's house. He'd tied the pouch containing the black roses around his back to keep the wind resistance from crushing them. Sweat dripped from his body as he pushed himself harder using magic to increase his speed. He'd never moved at such speeds for such a long period of time.

He wanted to get there quickly but was also taught by the old man to always think before he acted. He needed to be sure when he got there he wouldn't be in such bad shape that he would become a burden. He also didn't want to move so fast that he couldn't stay on his guard. While he suspected it was some kind of signal for him to hurry up; he also considered it could be some kind of warning.

If that was the case then he shouldn't have thrown that spell into the air and announced his location to the entire world. He doubted that was the case. If there was some trouble then surely the old man could handle it. Lee knew his strength as well as anyone even if he'd never seen the true depth of it. In any case, it wouldn't hurt to be careful.

As it turns out, that lesson from the old man saved his life. He detected a fire spell coming at him from above and behind. It was fast and powerful. If it hit him he likely would have been dead. He dodged it by only an arms length. He raced to get out of the open. A water spell came from directly ahead. He used wind to push himself backwards and to the side. There were two enemies it seemed.

He was about to return fire but they backed up deep into the words and didn't create any more magic. He couldn't detect them from that distance unless they were casting. Directly above him he suddenly felt a large amount of earth magic. It was compressed and moving fast. It then broke apart and came down like heavy piercing rain over a large area.

There was no dodging it and so he used wind as a shield.. As he was blocking it a fire spell came from the left. He used one hand to continue to block the earth from above and with his other he caused an upward gust to force the fire ball up into the air. A water spell came from the back. He quickly moved his other hand to block it with another wind spell.

While doing this he lost concentration on the wind wall about him and a piece of earth went through cutting him along the back in a long thin slice. The blood felt warm on his back. He blocked the water blast and then tried to make a run into the woods. He sensed more spells attack him while running and used wind element to dodge. He now knew there were 3 enemies, at least he hoped it was only 3.

He tried to get away but one always stayed ahead of him and forced him to the side. They seemed to be staying in some kind of triangle formation so that he couldn't escape. Whenever he tried to run toward one to break through the other 2 would use magic from behind and he'd need to come up short.

If he tried to double back to one of the wizards behind him the other 2 would close in and again he would be forced to retreat. Clearly this was something they had practice and done before. If they were much weaker than him there may have been an easy way to handle it but they were not weak in the least.. All 3 of them felt like they were in the A rank.

Another flurry of spells came at him. He was a bit slow with his dodge and a wind spell got him. He felt a small but deep cut across his arm. Now there were 2 places blood was leaving him. He was forced to constantly move which made it hard for the wound to close. He didn't have enough time to do any healing magic. It required too much concentration and he would practically need to stand still.

He felt himself growing tired and knew that a bad sign if things continued this way. There was no choice but to try to break though even if it was reckless. He used more wind magic to push forward even faster. It was the same speed he used to close the gap with the man who was about to kill Victoria Sun's guard. The one in front used magic to try to stop him but Lee dodged to the left at the last moment.

The other 2 were on his heels and launching spells at him. He couldn't afford to block them as that would slow him down. He dodged going to the left and forward and then to the right and forward. The first spell he managed to dodge cleanly. The 2nd one would've hit him if not for a tree which blocked it. Hitting a quick moving target in the woods was no easy task.

He faced the man in front of him. For the first time he got a good look at one of his pursuers. An older wizard in his young 30s. Lee went straight for him. Usually he would have liked to take his time and faint to the side but the other 2 were closing fast and he needed to go the quickest route possible. The wizard shot a water spell directly at Lee and Lee fired a spell of his own.

The collision exploded in mid air. Lee went straight through it and built up a wind spell in his hand. The other wizard going backwards built up a wind spell as well to throw when Lee threw his; but Lee didn't throw his spell at the wizard. He intended to use it to cut right through him with his hand. If the other wizard shot his spell Lee would just block it with the wind gathered in his hand and continue his attack.

The other wizard seeing Lee hold his spell held his own. They swung their arms once in range of each other. At the last second the wizard realizing Lee was about to kill him came up short on his attack. Lee got him deep across the chest but not enough to be lethal. Even though the wizard pull up short he still cut Lee pretty deeply on his side. Lee felt blood flew from a third spot on his body. The other wizard fell to the ground cover him wounds and Lee ran past him.

Lee's vision started to blur as he put his arm over the cut on his side and forced himself forward. Spells came from behind by the other 2 wizards. Even though Lee was ahead they were starting to gain on him. Were they getting faster or was he slowing down? He tried his best to dodge but his magic was getting harder to use and every time he used his right hand to push himself with wind he would need to stop covering the wound and more blood would come out.

A spell came from his right and behind. He attempted to use wind to dodge but his reaction was too slow. He dodge it but the blast was too close and made him tumble across the ground. He tried to stand up but he had badly turned his ankle. He forced himself up to face the 2 wizards. It'd be impossible to run away now.

“You're damn fast boy. No one has given us this much trouble in a while.”

Lee spat on the ground. A little blood came out with the spit.. “I killed your friend. If you don't want to join him you'd better be off.”

“Just who did you say you killed?” A 3rd man walked out of the woods. Blood was on his shirt but there was no wound. He could use healing magic too?

“If you want to keep fighting it won't be easy. I don't know what your goal is but I plan to take you all with me.”

“Our goal is your life young Lee. I suggest you stop the fighting now. If you do I can give you a painless death. Continue to struggle and you'll only make it worse for yourself. You're a smart boy. You know you have no chance to win or even take one of you with us. Make the wise choice.”

“Has anyone ever taken that deal?”

“Not yet. But a few ended up wishing they had. Who wants to suffer through broken bone and cut off limbs?”

Lee used wind on the ground. Maybe if he made a smoke screen he could get away. With a bunch of dirt thrown up in the air he felt spells came towards him. He used his one good leg to jump to the side. He got to his feet and began to move as fast as he could with his badly limping foot. Each time he put it down shot pain through his leg. A water spell was coming directly at him. He tried to block with wind he was now too to act slow and got knocked on his back.

He tried to push himself up with the same arm which cast the wind but but he felt pain shoot through it. It was broken. He used his other arm to get to his feet. Just as he stood a fire spell came at him. He diverted it into the air but the quick jerky motion hurt his leg and arm badly. A ball of earth came from the side. He tried to use wind to block but was too late.

He'd only managed to block part of it. Most of it missed but part of the earth spell hit him in the ribs. . The impact knocked him to the ground and he felt a number of ribs break. It hard to breath now much more blood was being spit up.

“Okay, he's down. Let's finish this up and get out of here.”

Lee tried to used magic but everything felt fuzzy. It was as if his own body felt heavy but at the same time distant. He saw a wizard standing over him. He saw him gathering wind in his hand. Lee tried to gather wind himself but his hand wouldn't move. He remembered he needed to get the black roses to the old man.

What about Peter? It was still on his back right? Yes the attack had missed it. That was good. He just needed to get up now and go find the old man and everything would be alright. Why couldn't he just stand up like always? Reality snapped back as he saw the spell was ready. This was it. He was going to die. He should have told his parents he loved them more. That was the thought on his mind as tears started to fill his eyes.

“What the hell?!” A spell of lighting came at the man. He dodged quickly jumping backwards. The other 2 turned their heads to see the commotion. A wall of giant fire was coming at all 3. One used an earth wall in preparation to block. Lee thought dimly that he was about to be burned to death. Then the spell was canceled just short of him.

“They're just here to distract us! Kill the boy!”

One of the men fired an fire spell directly at Lee. Right before it was about to hit Lee felt a gust of wind and then a familiar shape cast the same spell Lee had done many times before. It sent the fire up into the sky where it dispersed.. The form in front of him spoke.

“This guy here is under the protection of the Cloud house. If you want to live you'd better turn tail and run.”

“Mary?” Lee's vision cleared.

“I told you the Cloud house pays its debts didn’t I?. Just relax. We'll take it from here.”

He saw other familiar faces around him. Derrick, David, Amanda and Tom. Where were the old man and Peter? Surely they should have come.

“Where are the others?”

Derrick quickly whispered to Lee “they're busy right now. It's a long story. Do you have the black rose and do you have enough mana to heal yourself?”

Lee took stock of his mana. “I think I can slow the bleeding a bit at least. I have the dark roses in my pouch.”

Derrick nodded. He took the pouch off Lee and tossed it to David. “Slow the bleeding as best you can. Don't worry about anything else.”

Lee didn't need to be told twice. He slowly was able to move his one good hand towards the gash in his side. He managed to stop the bleeding there but was now out of mana. He still had 2 other serious cuts on him. Before he could think of what to do next his consciousness faded.

“Is he dead?” Amanda asked in a worried tone.

“He's still breathing” Tom bent down to check his heart rate. “He has a pretty steady pulse too.” It wasn't very strong which was worrying.. He'd need first aid soon or he wasn't going to make it.

The three wizards looked over the 5 students. “Don't throw your lives away here. Give us the boy and we'll let you live.”

“Let's do it just like we discussed!” Derrick yelled out. “Mary you're the striker. Tom do support from the outside. I'll be the home base which directs the attacks. Amanda you provide the fire power. David, you're the physically strongest. Get Lee back to the old man's house as quick as you can.”

Mary stood in front of the others. Tom went way out to her left. He would be on his own confident he could dodge if need be. Amanda was to the right but only half the distance away Tom was. Derrick stood behind both Amanda and Mary so he could exam the fight and give support to either. David quickly wrapped cloth around Lee's wounds. He picked him up and put him over his shoulder. He stood behind the rest preparing to make a break for the old man's house.

The wizard in front of the other 2 laughed. “You foolish children. Do you wish to die so young?”

“David, don't waste time, get going we'll hold them off.” Tom was anxious to start. David ran into the forest behind the rest straight in the direction of the old man's house.

“Should we give chase?”

“No, we'll just quickly deal with these four then finish him off later. He won't be able to move that fast carrying that much weight around.”

“Mary, we're depending on you to set things up like we need them.” Derrick then motioned Amanda to begin.

Amanda built a large fire wall that went almost as high as the tree's and pushed it towards the wizards. It grew wider as it went forward.

“What a waste of mana!” One of the wizard built a large earth wall to block the attack. Derrick seeing the earth wall built fired his own earth spell at it to break through a large section of the wall. Seeing the fire was about to be upon them one of the wizards created a water spell to block it.

Black smoke filled the air as the water and fire struck each other. Tom from the side fired a number of water attacks. The wizards seeing them coming acted accordingly. One blocked and the other counter attacked with his own water spells. Tom easily dodged them wuth his agility while keeping their attention sending more spells at them.

Mary burst through the black smock at great speed. It had acted as a smoke screen for her and gave them almost no warning time of her appearance. They had not expected such a bold move. She used her wind to knock the wizard furthest on the left backward and to the left away from the other 2. They tried to attack her but she quickly backed out and disappeared into the black smoke.

“Are you okay!?” One of the wizards yelled to the one who was knocked away.

“Yes, I’m fine. It was weak. There just kids after all.”

He could feel the magic of the 4 in front of him. He wanted to keep track of their movements incase they tried anything else that was tricky. He heard fast foot steps running at him from behind. He turned to see it was that David brat. Wasn't he carrying Lee towards the old man's house? Way was he here?

David hadn't used any magic to get into his position and out from behind the wizard from the cover of the woods. Because he didn't use any magic and just his speed to close the distance he wasn't noticed until he was only a few yards away. The wizard gathered fire magic in his hand. It was time to show these young upstarts how foolish they were being.

David summoned lightning to his hand. The wizard, seeing this, thought he being foolish. Lightning magic took a long time to prepare and was best used for long distance assassination. His own attack would be ready long before the boys.

The lightning didn't build and focus to a single point in David's hand but dispersed quickly in all directions. It was so fast and wide it was impossible to dodge from this distance. It was an attack the wizard had never heard of before. It made his ability to react to it in any meaningful way impossible.

When it hit him it didn't hurt exactly but his body stiffened and went numb. His knees buckled and he felt like he may fall over. It was suddenly hard to control any part of his body. He knew lightning could cause this kind of effect on the body but usually it was incidental. The pure destructive power was usually the main concern.

David was now right in front of him. He gave him a punch to the diaphragm which knocked all the air out of him. A shot to the chin caused him to stumble backwards and off balance. The effects of the lightning had worn off but he was completely dazed by the physical assault. Mary with great speed came up from behind him as if she expected this outcome from the beginning. She let loose a wind attack directed at his neck and his head fell to the ground followed by his body.

The other 2 wizards were shocked. “You, you damn kids!”

David and Mary circled around to enemies to walk over to Derrick and Amanda's location. “It was a great plan Derrick. It went just as we hoped.”

Not knowing what else to say one of the wizards complained. “Weren't you going to bring your friend back to the old wizards house?”

Derrick laughed at this. “Honestly, why would you ever believe anything your enemy says on the battle field?”

Derrick whispered to David “this time go back to the old man's house for real. Lee's in really bad shape and the old man will need those black roses to save Peter. Come back as soon as you can just in case.” David nodded his head and ran back behind them into the forest where he had placed Lee and the pouch.

The 2 wizards looked at each other. Could this be another bluff and would he attack again from the forest? This is exactly what Derrick wanted them to be concerned about. The threat of an attack can be just as effect as an actual attack in certain situations.

Tom walked over to the others. “Well what now clever guy? One attack is all we had time to organize on the way here.”

“We'll just need to figure it out I guess. I'll direct from behind the the lines and supply defense. It sad to say it, but my attack potential isn't all that good compared to you 3 right now. These are A rank wizards after all. Anything I try would just be useless I think.”

Mary scoffed “That' fine. Just run things from behind the scenes. Leave the troublesome stuff to me. I want to teach these bastards a lesson after what they did to Lee anyway.” She clenched her hand in a fist as she looked at the 2 remaining wizards.

Amanda was breathing hard “that last attacked used a lot of mana. But I think I can do something that big maybe 2 more times.”

“2 more times is plenty.” Derrick gave her a smile.

“Tom, you're job is to be Mary's back up. When she goes in you go right after here. I'll stay back and guard Amanda while she pins them down and give some support. Mary, you just worry about attacking as long as Tom is at your back. If one of those wizards makes a break for me and Amanda our defense won't hold long. Tom, you'll need to retreat to us. Mary you cover him as he pulls back while pulling back yourself. That's the hardest job of all but if it's you then you can do it.”

“You're a sweet talker sometimes. Maybe you should try it when not getting a girl to fight your battles for you.” Mary lifted an eyebrow as she said it. That was her making her best attempt at being playful. She then turned towards the 2 wizards. She started to get an excited look anticipating the thrill of testing her improved strength.

“But Mary, you should know girls who fight my battles for me are my favorite type!” He gave them the smile of a mad scientist. As if he was about to see the results of some diabolical experiment.

Amanda looked to Tom nervously. “Maybe we should get new friends.”