Akari clung to the wooden rail as she stumbled downstairs. By now, the other students had broken through the library’s front door, and mana flashed all around the lower chamber.

The building itself held together, but things looked even worse than before. One whole bookshelf was frozen in a block of ice, and scorch marks covered the windows, obscuring the images beneath. More flames erupted from the shelves on the second floor, and smoke choked the air.

She spotted Zukan fighting on the level below, and she limped down another staircase to meet him. As always, the massive dragon fought with a flaming spear and shield, cutting through his opponents like paper dolls.

Akari kept her head down as she crept closer, wary of any stray attacks. Pure mana flowed through her channels, ready to form a shield at a moment’s notice. She kept her spacetime mana on the back burner for now. Her fight with Elise had left her drained, and she only had one good portal left.

Eventually, Zukan rammed a spear through his last opponent, and he whirled to face her.

“Hey.” Akari gave the dragon a half-hearted wave. “How do I look?”

Zukan gave her a quick once over. “Wounded,” he replied in his gravelly voice. “And wet.”

“Never mind.” She’d almost forgotten he didn’t have a sense of humor.

“Moonfire?” he asked.

Akari shrugged. “I threw a water tower at her, but I never saw her die.”

Even checking her score wouldn’t confirm much at this point. The game masters would delay points from ambiguous kills to keep things interesting. She could have searched the rubble, but Dream Artists could make themselves invisible. Akari had seen her share of action movies, and it seemed smarter to stick with Zukan than to tempt fate.

The dragon nodded, showing zero surprise at Elise’s betrayal.

“What about the others?” Akari asked.

“Dawnfire returned a few minutes ago.” Zukan gestured to the ground floor where Relia fought back several other students. “Trengsen went back to build the bombs.”

Akari let out a sigh of relief. She’d figured her friends were fine, but it was still good to hear. Especially after Elise had impersonated Kalden.

“Do you have any portals left?” Zukan asked.

She held up a shaky finger. “One.”

“Good enough. We’ll need that water downstairs.”

Akari followed his gaze and noticed even more contestants pouring through the front door. Talek. She’d expected them to give up by now. Clearly, she had to stop underestimating the power of angry mobs.

Zukan eyed her wounded leg, then got down on one knee. “Hop on.”

Akari blinked at him in stunned silence. Did a seven-foot-tall dragon just offer to give her a piggyback ride into battle?

On second thought, that sounded awesome.

Akari hobbled forward and put her arms around the dragon’s thick neck. His body was hot to the touch, like a stone left out in the summer sun. Even his muscles felt more like stone than flesh.

He rose to his full height, then charged down to the lower level. A few contestants tried to flee from the dragon’s path, but that didn’t save them. Zukan hurled his flaming shield like a boomerang, sending one boy into a wall. Then his flaming spear doubled in length, taking another boy between the shoulder blades. All the while, he sprinted through the levels, never losing momentum.

When they reached the second floor, Zukan grabbed the balcony railing and leapt over the edge. His body grew even hotter as he flared his Cloak. So hot, she almost let go of him on pure instinct.

The floor cracked beneath him as he landed, and he ran straight for the front door. More enemies had gathered there, and they released a storm of techniques in unison.

Guess it’s my turn.

Akari let go of Zukan’s neck and collapsed on the floor behind him. Then she formed a portal, pointing it straight out the front door.

For the second time that day, a torrent of water erupted in midair. It slammed into their attackers, hurling them back like unwelcome guests. A few tried to dodge, but Akari tilted the portal with pressure from her channels, twisting it like an overpowered garden sprinkler. Most survived, but the weaker ones broke into white mist as they hit the door frame.

Talek. She could get used to this kind of power.

~~~

Relia watched Akari hurl a sideways waterfall out the front door. Her friend’s wet hair was plastered to her face, and white light leaked from a dozen wounds around her body.

Thank the Angels she was still alive. Relia had expected the worst after Elise's stunt with the simulacrum. Where had Akari gotten the water, though? The game masters hadn’t stopped her, so they must have converted it to dream mana before it fell through her portal. She clearly hadn’t gotten in trouble yet, but it might come back to bite her later.

Zukan fought back several more contestants with his flaming weapons, and Akari crawled to safety behind a fallen desk.

Relia jogged over to heal her friend. Before she could, a storm of metal Missiles closed in, and she raised a protective shield around them both.

“What happened to you?” she shouted over the chaos.

“Guess.” Akari leaned around the desk and hurled a pure Missile at their attacker.

Relia shook her head as she blocked several more attacks. “Never mind. Stupid question.”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than a burst of water soared straight into the main chamber. At first, it seemed like far too much water for the middle of campus. Then the truth struck her just as hard: someone was using Akari’s attack against them.

Akari must have realized the same thing, because the portal snapped shut. Zukan dodged the water, but it swirled into an ice prison around him. Several massive green vines burst out of the floor in the same moment, thick as ancient tree trunks.

“What the hell is that?” Akari shouted

“My classmates,” Relia said. They’d faced a few second-years already, but others had held back, using the first-years as cannon fodder.

“Zukan,” Relia hollered across the chamber. “We need to retreat!”

The dragon rounded on her as he sliced through the ice and vines. “Trengsen needs more time.”

Another vine closed in on Relia, but she pressed her palm into its dark green surface. It shrank back at her touch, but not as quickly as the ones before. Tessa Greenleaf had clearly sunk her full power into these.

“My mana’s less than ten percent,” she said to Zukan. “Yours can’t be much better.”

Another vine slammed into Zukan’s shield, and the Construct faded to orange mist. He tried to form another shield, but he only got a puff of orange mist.

“We need to go,” Relia repeated. “Now.”

Zukan sliced apart several more vines as he made his way closer. Then he scooped up Akari, threw her over his shoulder, and headed for the basement.

Relia followed close behind, forming a shield to deflect more vines and ice projectiles. Several attacks drew white light as they struck Zukan’s back, but he didn’t slow his charge. Clearly, those giant muscles paid off.

They descended the stairs in a blur of motion. Tessa’s vines followed in their wake, smashing through brick, wood, and drywall. Ceiling tiles collapsed all around them as they reached the basement. Water poured in through the gaps, followed by half a dozen other aspects.

Relia flared her Life Cloak and raised a shield of pure mana above her head. Akari did the same for Zukan, but she couldn’t block everything. The second-years’ techniques were an endless tide, and the dragon leaked white light all over his body.

Zukan pumped his legs harder when they reached the last stretch, and Relia matched his pace. Together, they dodged a forest of mana and falling debris, relying more on instinct than thought.

Kalden and Arturo waited at the hall’s far end, and their makeshift bomb sat on the stone floor beside them. Relia saw the worry etched on their faces, echoing her own fears.

Zukan and Relia collapsed in a heap. Akari flew straight over Zukan’s shoulders when he landed, crashing into Kalden’s open arms.

Arturo activated his sigils, dividing the library’s power into two parts. One half would power the bomb, while the second half powered their shield.

A dome of protection mana formed around their team, and the world became a blur of pale blue light. Their surroundings darkened beyond the dome as the library crumbled.

“Here.” Kalden knelt by the spot where Zukan had collapsed, producing a remote control with a red button at its center. “Press it.”

Relia breathed a sigh of relief. At first, she’d worried that Kalden wouldn’t be able to finish the bomb in time. But who was she kidding? Kalden had once made her a pill in the back of a moving van.

Zukan reached out a clawed hand to accept the remote. This was it. Once he pressed that button, he would win the qualifying rounds, and they’d be a real team.

Kalden’s arm stiffened, and his fingers dropped the remote. The device clattered to the stone floor, and he let out a gasp of pain. Relia looked up to see white light spilling from a narrow gap in his windpipe.

What? No! They were safe in their shield. How could this happen?

More light shot out from Akari’s throat, then Arturo’s. All three of her teammates faded to mist, eyes wide in shock.

Relia forced her confusion away and bore down on the intruder with all her mental might. Finally, she saw Elise Moonfire holding a dagger in her right hand. Water dripped from her hair and clothing, and lines of makeup ran down her cheeks, mixing with the white light of a dozen wounds.

So, not only had she betrayed them, but she planned to steal their victory.

Zukan was still lying on the ground, out of mana, and half-conscious. Elise would probably attack him next.

Instead, her sister lunged for the fallen remote.

Oh, no you don’t.

Relia’s blood boiled as she met that pair of icy blue eyes. She’d tried to meet her sister halfway. She’d tried to give her a chance, even when no one else on her team would.

As usual, no good deed went unpunished.

Relia Cloaked her muscles and sprang forward, moving more like an Artisan than an Apprentice.

Elise’s finger was an inch from the red button, but that wasn’t close enough. Relia pressed a palm to her sister’s heart and forced death mana into her body. Her aspect normally moved slowly like falling leaves. but Relia squeezed her soul for every drop of power and speed it could muster.

Elise faded even quicker than her victims, leaving Relia alone with a half-conscious Zukan. The shield held steady around them as the library burned and crumbled.

Relia knelt on the floor and grabbed the remote, feeling dizzy from such a powerful attack. She cradled the device in her cupped hands like a newborn child, taking care not to press the button herself.

Her own vision blurred as she crawled toward Zukan and placed the remote in his outstretched hand. “Come on, big guy. Someone’s gotta win this thing.”

Zukan’s finger curled around the button, and fire engulfed the world.