Chapter 31: Showdown

  There was something haunting about getting his hand this time, knowing it could be the last. Vanderborn stood fifteen feet away, staring him down with cold malice. Whatever spells the old man cast, they were likely to hurt. Ambrose only had one shot to do something, anything, to leave a mark at least. If he could give the archwizard something to remember him by, it might make it worth it.

  Round 1

  Cantrip: [Vampiric Kiss], Creature: [Night Terror], Signature Creature: [Hateful Imps], Spell: [Shred Mind], Spell: [Tap Thoughts]

  His hand size and mana had grown since the Wildcard raised his affinity level to four. This was the perfect hand to immediately control a fight and put pressure. It was his specialty, in fact, and he could cast every spell. But what could he do against a man with three affinities nearly mastered? His deck size was rumored to be in the dozens, but…Well, what did he have to lose?

  And what would that Wildcard do?

  The rain resumed, and he immediately cast one of his favorites, [Shred Mind]. It likely wouldn’t do much, but this was a group suicide pact anyway. Rather than make his hand come to life with dark tattoos, a summoning circle formed on the ground a few feet away.

  “Oh, by all means,” said Vanderborn, loud enough to be heard over the falling rain. “Send your best at me. See what good it does you. You face a true master, not a bunch of half-trained children.” He planted himself between them and his office, their only possible way out.

  Yep, suicide, but at least he wasn’t alone.

  The summoning circle finished filling in, and just as his Enhancement card suggested, Ambrose’s normal spell had become an imp. It was a skinny, spindly thing, all limbs and sharp claws, without any wings. [Shred Mind] skittered across the ground, along with creatures from his friends.

  His friends. Gods, it was so weird to think about. A surge of anger went through him. It wasn’t fair to have this sort of realization before dying horribly, but it was too late to change things.

  [Reggie] came charging in, and Jessica’s [Astral Viper] was hot on his heels. A [Kindling Phoenix] flew overhead, and together with the imp, attacked Vanderborn at nearly the same time.

  The wizard waited until the last second, then swept his free hand to the side. A freak blast of arctic wind blasted all four creatures away from Vanderborn, and off the garden entirely. [Reggie] lasted the longest by digging in, but after a couple of seconds, he hit the ground hard and tore up a patch of flowers as he skidded off the side.

  “Reggie!” Raeleq cried in horror.

  “That was one cantrip,” said Vanderborn, “Advanced to its final form. I have three. Do you really think you can do anything to me?”

  “Who knows,” Ambrose said with a grim smile, “maybe we’ll leave you something to remember us by.” He cast his next spell. [Night Terror] wouldn’t do any real damage, but maybe it would disrupt some of the bastard’s plans. The others stopped next to him and summoned their next creatures as well.

  Four more creatures came forth. The [Night Terror] was another imp, this one made of constantly shifting shadows, and a dozen glowing yellow eyes randomly spread over its body. It was accompanied with a [Fire Hatchling], an [Ancestral Archer], and a [Pack Raptor]. Three of them went into the fray, while the archer stayed back and nocked an arrow.

  Again, Vanderborn waited until the opportune moment. He pointed his gnarled staff at the flying hatchling. Runes along the staff lit up bluish-white, and then discharged a focused bolt of lightning that pierced the baby dragon and carried through to the raptor behind it. Both creatures disappeared from sight, but it left the other two free to attack.

  The [Night Terror] got there first and slashed a shadowy claw through their headmaster’s head. He blinked and recoiled as the incorporeal imp forced him to discard two cards from the top of his deck. Out of how many?

  Ambrose didn’t know, but it distracted him long enough for Luthor’s archer to let loose and hit Vanderborn in the shoulder. The arrow landed and he grunted in pain, but it didn’t seem to hurt as badly as it should have. As one grew in power magically, it made one’s body stronger, often deceptively.

  Their opponent may have been in his sixties, but chances are he was tougher than all of them combined. He proved it by reaching over and ripping the arrow out with barely a wince. He may have been ready to cast another spell, but Ambrose beat him to the punch, casting his cantrip.

  The [Vampiric Kiss], rather than siphoning life away, became yet another imp. This one had large, pointy fangs and wings like that of a bat. It screamed when it came into existence and joined the [Night Terror] and archer in harassing the aged wizard.

  This time, when the creature bit down on the man’s leg, it glowed with a dark red energy and Ambrose felt a few minor aches and pains disappear entirely, as his cantrip still healed him in creature form. If that spell did, then that must have meant his others would cast on attack as well. Maybe [Oops All Imps] was legendary for a reason.

  Vanderborn kicked the imp at his foot, and barely dodged the next arrow while the [Night Terror] circled and took the occasional swing. Ambrose was already casting his next spell, [Thought Tap], while Raeleq, Raeva, and Luthor advanced with weapons drawn. They looked as scared as he felt, but just as resolute in the face of death.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  For a second, while his newest imp came into being, Ambrose thought he saw a hint of fear in Vanderborn’s eyes. Just a single second of doubt, irritation, maybe annoyance at the ankle-biting terror that wouldn’t relent, but it filled him with joy and hope.

  And then the headmaster’s spell finished casting. Several skulls with purple, comet-like tails circled around his body, wreathing him in the spell’s power. They continued to swirl in fluid patterns, shielding his body.

  [Bulwark of the Damned: Heroic. Edict. The fallen foes now must protect. For the duration of 3 rounds, the user can neither take nor receive direct attacks, and will only draw thralls until the Edict ends.]

  Edicts were a rare, powerful type of card, similar to enchantments, but with no maintenance cost, and very few ways of dealing with them outside of filling their conditions. It was almost always a change to the rules or terms of the fight. They were only available at Affinity Level 6 or higher, and one could only have one edict in their deck per affinity. They were only usable once per combat, and that was usually enough.

  “Shit,” Ambrose said. His newest imp stopped at his side, looking up at him in confusion.

  The others were on the same page. They’d nearly closed the distance when the Edict went up. The three of them stumbled as the magic halted their aggression. Jessica stopped next to Ambrose, jaw dropping.

  “I don’t think you children realize the position you’re in,” Vanderborn called out. “Better wizards than you have fought me and failed. How about I introduce you to them?”

  The Timer was nearly up, but there was still one remaining spell to be cast. As their enemy summoned his first creature of the fight, Ambrose called on his Signature Creature.

  [Hateful Imps] started casting with just a second left before the round ended for him. No doubt the rest of them, save Vanderborn, had already gained a new hand. The first thing he noticed was the change in name. True enough, two summoning circles appeared in front of him, next to the [Thought Tap].

  As quick as they were to arrive, Vanderborn’s first summon came first.

  The summoning circle was different, glowing red and green in chaotic swirls as the humanoid figure stepped out of it. Whereas they all had creatures bound to cards, this was a human. Or it had been, anyway. Worse, Ambrose recognized him.

  [Lennar Kaul, Doomed Druid: Unique. Thrall. The former champion of Itharos, now reduced to a shell of his former self. There is enough of him left to dream of the jungle he once called home.

  Special: Echo Magic. This wizard has access to his Cantrip, Signature Creature, and one spell per affinity level, usable once per round.]

  He’d been a fourth year when Ambrose and the rest had been first years. Lennar had been at the top of the class, and even won the tournament that spring. And then, almost as fast as his star rose, he disappeared without a trace, but rumors and sightings circulated freely.

  Well, mystery solved.

  The Countdown ended a second after the twin imps finished forming, providing Ambrose with a semi-circle shield of vicious little monsters. Vanderborn was frozen mid-cast, summoning up what Ambrose was willing to bet was another former student turned summon card.

  Round 2

  Cantrip: [Vampiric Kiss], Enchantment: [Mark of Service], Creature: [Festering Wretch], Creature: [Black Hound], Spell: [Assassin’s Strike]

  With his new draw size and without filling the newly emptied slots in his deck, it took only two rounds for Ambrose to cycle through all of his cards. While good luck had let him cast everything in his first hand, he’d only be able to cast his cantrip and one other spell, thanks to the [Night Terror] costing two of his five available mana to keep around.

  But he still had five imps out on the field, and would soon have two more. It would be enough to swarm the poor thrall, and get him out of the fight. Hopefully.

  When time sped back up, Raeleq was the first to react. He pivoted and swung his [Ironwood Club] in a wide arc. Lennar ducked out of the way, moving too fluidly to be natural, and slashed with his hand. Vanderborn’s summoned thrall called his own Signature Creature forth. A tree grew out of nowhere in the center of a rose patch, maturing until it topped twelve feet. Then it uprooted itself, and the bark opened to reveal a hungry maw. The roses around it grew as well, popping out of the ground and walking on their roots like little feet.

  “Ambrose,” Jessica started, and he realized she’d been frozen there for several seconds.

  “What are you waiting for?” he demanded. “Fight!”

  She may have been frozen, but the rest of them weren’t.

  Luthor had his sword and shield out, and moved to flank Lennar and attack from behind. His [Spirit Hound] dove into the walking roses, and quickly disappeared under them. He and Raeleq worked in nearly perfect tandem, knocking Lennar down with a shield bash before his tree monster grabbed and picked Raeleq up in one spindly, wooden claw.

  Vanderborn’s next summon appeared, a Bedamin warrior wielding two enormous swords. Raeva had paused, frustrated at her inability to target the wizard to use her stacking Cantrip damage. Seeing a mockery of her people, she immediately pivoted and cast [Singe] at him. He took the burn without blinking and summoned a creature as well. The biggest summoning circle yet appeared behind him, and a tortoise the size of a carriage appeared, shell lined with spikes.

  By the next time their headmaster summoned a creature, Ambrose understood what was happening. They were being toyed with. Every creature Vanderborn called would call more of their own, until they were overwhelmed. Three rounds of that Edict, which meant three of his rounds. With his spells being more powerful and his Timer longer than theirs, he was going to wear them out until they couldn’t fight back. Then, he’d bind them like he had their current opponents.

  There was only one way out of this. Vanderborn couldn’t be harmed, but he couldn’t harm them either. All he could do was summon more thralls, or some of his own rare creatures. And all they could do was kill them as fast as possible.

  Ambrose could do that.

  “Attack! Shred! Kill!” He screamed, pointing needlessly at the Bedamin thrall. All five of his imps made a beeline for him, a vicious gang made of teeth, claws, and hate. He let out an unhinged cackle as they swarmed the poor thrall and got him on the ground.

  Another thrall appeared, and another. Soon there were four, six, eight of them. And that’s when Jessica gasped.

  “He’s casting multiple spells at the same time,” she realized. “That shouldn’t be possible!”

  Possible or not, it was exactly what he was doing. They no longer had the numbers advantage on their side. Now, it was eight -- seven, as Raeva drove her [Obsidian Spear] into the fallen warrior’s chest -- against the five former students. And there was no telling what else Vanderborn would be able to conjure against them.

  “Do you see now?” Vanderborn bellowed from behind his Edict. “You have no chance. Either surrender, or make peace with whatever gods you follow. These thralls are your future!”