The Transmigrated Author - C.113: THREE-WAY RACE (3)

[Pinnacle Academy, Stadium 1 - Arena A: Student Hallways...]

Where did she vanish to? I'd only turned my back for a moment...one moment...

Normally, finding Valencia would be easy, But because of how hard I struggled to sense energy or mana I needed at least a trace of Valencia's mana.

But I couldn't even tell the difference between a regular student and a cat...

shit...

I cursed under my breath.

Damn this tournament, and damn whatever serum they pumped me full of.

It wasn't just my normal abilities dulled but the fatigue was crushing, making each step feel like hauling dead weight uphill.

But no, instead, I was reduced to this…this human snail's pace.

haah...

Whatever, I just know that the game Morwen was playing, was dangerous, and Valencia was out there, alone.

If Morwen reached her first… Then parts of the story will most definitely be distorted

"~~devils?~~"

"~...No..."

WHOOSSSH!!!!

Muffled noises drifted through the empty hallway, a spark of hope against the clenching unease in my gut.

Legs burning, I forced myself to move faster, each clumsy step a battle against the unfamiliar exhaustion.

"Please…please…" the words were ragged gasps in my skull as I rounded the corner.

"...!"

There. Morwen, unmistakable with his shock of red hair and those piercing green eyes.

And Valencia, trapped, a look of horror turning her features as his magic trapped at her feet.

Dammit! Could this get any worse?!

Valencia was about to fall unconscious.

I had to reach her. "System, I can activate Clockwork of Time right?"

FWANG!

[Warning!!!]

[Activating any ability will decrease the duration of the AMR drug. Are you sure?]

"Yes!" I rasped. The familiar rush flooded my veins.

[Clockwork Of Time Has Been Activated!]

The world blurred, my perception stuttering and stretching as time slowed around me.

Morwen's smirk seemed suspended in mid-air, as did Valencia's terrified expression.

I lunged forward, every muscle straining against the sudden weight of Valencia in my arms.

My fingers, numb and unresponsive, barely managed to hold her katana.

But I had to try.

[Projectile Disarm Has Been Activated!]

I could feel the energy flowing to my hand, but something felt…different.

A familiar darkness began to spread, but this time, it wasn't contained to my hand.

It flowed from my fingertips, engulfing the entire blade of the katana.

Black energy crackled and pulsed along its length, a halo of burning electricity arcing around the metal.

It was both terrifying and exhilarating.

The colour of black changed the entirety of the sword.

I raised the electrified katana, aiming for the incoming dark beam.

It was like a scene straight out of a nightmare – a monstrous serpent of shadow lashing towards us.

[Clockwork Of Time Has Been Deactivated!]

huuuuu...

With a desperate grunt, I swung...

...

...

...

[Parry Successful!]

The blade connected, the dark energy mixed in a blinding flash.

SHAAAA!

The attack parried, it splashed against the walls in a burst of inky blackness.

The impact reverberated through my arms, the electricity biting into my flesh.

But it worked.

FWANG!

[AMR Drug Duration: 2 minutes 32 seconds]

For now...

Looking up to Morwen's face his smirk had vanished.

replaced by a mask of surprised fury. "What the…" he snarled, his voice strained.

"What did you do?"

"It's as clear as it looks," I said, holding Valencia tightly. "I deflected your attack."

Morwen's eyes narrowed.

"Impossible… Elemental attacks can only be countered with an opposing element, but you…you had no element within that attack... and you didn't use aura either. What did you do?"

His voice was rising, the smugness replaced by anger.

My fingers throbbed where the impact had coursed through them.

I kept my reply simple. "I parried it."

Morwen gritted his teeth, fists clenching.

"You use a bow, yet you fight barehanded. You break the laws of mana, the very principles of elemental power! It's…" He spat the next word as if it were poison. "Disgusting."

A shiver ran down my spine, not from fear, but from the revulsion in his voice. "Anomaly," he snarled.

"Eyesore. You shouldn't exist. You're not worth killing, but..."

His voice lowered, each word dripping with malice,

"You've shown me this…this abomination you possess. Now you will pay the price."

SHAAAA!!!

Dark energy swirled around him, a crimson crack appearing in the air like a bleeding wound in reality.

"Die a painful death, uncanny archer," Morwen hissed.

The panic bit at my guts. to run now, how much distance could I cover before the attack hit?

But I was already trapped, dead centre in this cursed hallway.

The worst spot to be in.

Should I just Jump out a window? Take the fall and the damage, and somehow save Valencia… it was a fool's hope.

But why should I go to such lengths for her?

Yet, a cold certainty swept over me.

Running was useless.

The movement would only drain the AMR faster, and time was my greatest enemy right now.

It looked like this might be it... but I refused to die like a b***h.

"I'll parry it," the words were breathless, but against all odds. "And then I'll run."

My eyes narrowed with grim resolve.

He wants me dead, alright. No plans from here. Just…luck.

[Projectile Disarm Has Been Activated!]

My grip tightened on the katana, fingers aching even as 'Projectile Disarm' activated once more.

It was a desperate prayer, a plea to a fickle fate that had never been on my side before.

Morwen's voice, a death sentence, echoed in the hallway. "Die..."

RAHHHHHH!

And then it came.

A monstrous blast, erupting from the crimson portal, not just dark energy, but something writhing.

Hands, arms, and misshapen faces writhed within the beam, a dreadful sound of despair.

RUMBLE...RUMBLE...RUMBLE...

The impact shook the very foundations of the building.

My eyes darted to the System window.

[AMR Drug Duration: 42 seconds]

haah...

A twisted smile touched my lips.

Well… I lived an okay life.

Looking towards Valencia I knew I had to apologise for my incompetence as an author...

"I'm sorry, Valencia," I whispered, the words lost in the monstrous roar.

WHOOOSH

"...!"

A shadowed figure appeared right before me was this an illusion, a glitch in my fading vision?

Before I could process it, the figure raised a hand.

shaaa...

The air glowed, and then... colour. A faint, black infused his hand, a contrast to the blinding light of Morwen's attack.

He took a stance, one I hadn't seen before.

As the monstrous beam rushed towards us, the figure's fist flew forward, connecting in an explosive burst.

BANG!!!

A shockwave of pure force rippled outwards, splitting the darkness, the grotesque forms within it shrieking as they disintegrated.

The force was so powerful, that it rushed back towards Morwen, shattering his crimson portal with a sound like breaking glass.

The dust settled, the world slipping back into a semblance of normalcy.

In front of me stood a man, bathed in the harsh lights of the hallway.

A white coat, its back emblazoned with a single, chilling word: Guild Leader.

In front of me was Gerrard Freya.

[AMR Drug Duration: 0 seconds...]

Darkness was creeping in from the edges of my vision.

The AMR timer must have hit zero.

A wave of dizziness washed over me, my legs giving out just as a pair of strong arms caught me.

Someone lowered me carefully, placing Valencia right beside me.

[You have fainted!]

[Your body will be undergoing a recovery process... time: ???]

...

...

...

"Took you long enough, Kang…"

Gerrard's voice, normally so composed, held a hint of impatience.

"Unlike you, I wasn't smashing through walls like a bull in a china shop,"

Kang replied with a familiar ease. He carefully laid Rel and Valencia side-by-side against the wall.

Gerrard chuckled. "Fair enough. Looks like someone owes the Academy a repair bill."

haah...

"I Didn't believe those emojis when your daughter sent them, though," Kang said.

"Figured a kidnapping had to be dramatic to earn that many panicked faces."

"Call it a father's intuition."

Their light banter, filled with a long-standing friendship, felt strangely out of place as they turned to face the figure standing down the hall.

Despite Rel's falling unconscious, a shiver ran down his spine.

Gerrard already knew who it was.

"Well, well," Gerrard said, his tone hardening, "Aeliana told me your spells were tough, but to think you were her student once… frankly, it baffles me. You're the exiled mage, aren't you? Morwen?"

"..."

Silence descended. Morwen stood motionless, a menacing presence at the end of the corridor.

Morwen's gaze flickered to Gerrard.

"Yes, I am the exiled mage," he admitted, his voice laced with a chilling calm that belied the situation.

"For you two – The great heroes of the old generation – that should mean nothing. To think I'd earn the honour of your presence…"

Gerrard's jaw tightened.

"Old is a little rude, don't you think? But I'll accept it as your apology."

Kang placed a restraining hand on Gerrard's arm.

His voice, when he addressed Morwen, was surprisingly level.

"If you hand yourself in, we can ensure you'll live a far better life than the previous members of Quadra, Morwen."

A twisted smile stretched across Morwen's lips.

"How generous, Centurion. But you seem unaware of our plans…"

"I would gladly fight you here and now," Morwen continued, "but unfortunately, my time is up."

A crimson portal flashed into existence, swirling with the same malevolent energy as his previous attack.

Gerrard was about to lunge forward, but Kang's voice cut through the air.

"Don't chase him. We need to alert the Academy…they've been infiltrated."

tch...

Gerrard clicked his tongue, a sharp sound that echoed in the broken hallway.

"We could have taken him down. Easily,"

He muttered, his eyes still fixed on the fading crimson portal.

"I know," Kang replied, his voice steady.

"But what if he placed a curse on Valencia? A trap we didn't see? What would you have done then, with him dead and no way to find answers?"

Gerrard scowled. "Fair point," he admitted begrudgingly.

"But dammit, Kang, I hate it when you tell me what to do."

Kang scoffed. "Whatever. Someone's got to knock some sense into you."

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Pinnacle Academy, Tournament Arc: End...

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Authors Notes:

- Centurion was Kang's nickname during his early years as a member of Golden Horizon.