"I'm ready when you are," Atticus said calmly.
Amara's gaze narrowed, her heart pounding in her chest. Atticus had basically just asked her to make the first move.
Normally, a 16-year-old boy telling a seasoned fighter well into her 30s to attack first during a spar would be seen as insulting. However, Amara didn't feel a shred of that.
'What the hell…' Her heart was racing, and she was trying to figure out why. Then it hit her.
'Ah… he stopped restraining his aura.'
That overwhelming and deadly aura, the same one they had all felt when Atticus entered the airship after leaving the chasm, was now palpable. Since they were about to battle, he had no reason to keep restraining it.
A 16-year-old? It seemed unbelievable! Atticus didn't even feel like any 30-year-old she had ever met.
Amara took a deep breath, calming her nerves. She wasn't going to falter here.
Her resolve firmed as the earth beneath her began to swirl, enveloping her whole body. Atticus watched calmly as the brown earth started changing color and composition, becoming silver and steel, hugging tightly against her body. It looked both hardened and flexible at the same time.
Amara's gaze turned ice cold, and with her focus locked on Atticus, she moved.
The ground trembled, fissures spidering outward as she vanished from sight, appearing in front of Atticus in the next instant, leaving a trail of sonic booms in her wake.
Her left leg stomped forward abruptly, her right hand bulking up before shooting toward Atticus's head.
Atticus remained calm, not a flicker of emotion crossing his face. As the punch neared, his stance shifted subtly. His head moved just enough to evade the incoming fist by a hair's breadth.
In an instant, his body surged forward, closing the distance. His movements were fluid, perfectly timed, and precise.
Amara's eyes darted left. 'A right hook,' she predicted. Just as her left hand moved to block, her eyes widened in realization, 'It's a feint!'
Before she could react, Atticus's fist hammered into her midsection.
The impact was brutal, crushing the air from her lungs. Her body crumpled inward, and with a deafening crack, the force sent her hurtling backward, carving a deep trench into the earth as she skidded to a halt.
The entire coliseum fell silent, every single onlooker wide-eyed, trying to comprehend what had just happened.
Amara breathed heavily, spitting a little blood from her mouth. 'I was right… he's way stronger,' she thought.
She staggered upward, trying to ignore the wrecking pain in her stomach. Despite the fact that the armor covering her body wasn't something a Master+ rank could easily damage, especially with just their fist, Atticus had done just that.
A fist-shaped indent marred the armor where he had punched, and she had felt the entire force through her body.
Amara breathed in and out heavily, regaining her composure. 'I'll have to bombard him.'
The ground beneath her rippled like water, responding to her will. She slammed her palms down, and the earth obeyed, jagged spikes shooting up from the ground, racing toward Atticus.
Atticus's body blurred as he dodged to the side. Each spike barely missed him, shattering upon impact with the ground where he had stood just moments before.
Amara didn't relent. She thrust her hand forward, and a massive slab of earth erupted from the ground, hurtling toward Atticus like a battering ram.
Atticus leaped, twisting in midair to narrowly avoid the crushing weight of Amara's attack. As he landed, the ground beneath him cracked open, a fissure racing toward him with terrifying speed.
With a quick dash, Atticus sidestepped the oncoming chasm, his movements smooth and precise. He could feel the earth shifting under Amara's command, but he remained unflinching.
Amara clicked her tongue in frustration and raised both hands. The ground trembled violently as massive pillars of stone shot up around Atticus, forming a cage to trap him.
She clenched her fists, willing the pillars to close in and crush him.
But just as the pillars began to move, they abruptly stopped. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't force them to close in any further. It was as if something unbreakable was resisting her control.
Atticus manipulated the earth with ease, and the towering pillars crumbled instantly, disintegrating into sand.
Amara's eyes flashed with disbelief. She stomped her foot, liquefying the ground beneath Atticus, intending to pull him down. Earthen spikes erupted from the ground, aiming straight for his heart.
But with a burst of mana, Atticus propelled himself upward, escaping the sinking ground. The spikes followed him, but just as they were about to strike, they halted mid-air, shocking Amara.
Only an earth elementalist with greater control over the element than her should be able to manipulate her own creations!
Did this mean Atticus had greater control over the earth element than she did?
Amara gritted her teeth as Atticus's gaze locked onto hers.
'I guess it's time to end this,' Atticus thought. He had been curious about the strength of master+ ranks and how other elementalists of the Ravenstein family fought, which was why he accepted the spar.
Before Amara could summon another attack, Atticus had already moved.
His movement left a trail of afterimages, each one fading like a dying ember as he appeared in front of Amara.
His fist shot forward with intense momentum. She barely managed to raise an earthen shield in front of her, but the force of his punch was overwhelming.
The shield cracked under the impact, shattering into dust as his fist connected with her chest.
The impact was thunderous, a shockwave rippling out from the point of contact. Amara's breath was forced from her lungs, her body lifting off the ground as she was sent flying backward.
She crashed into the earth with a heavy thud, the ground caving in beneath her, creating a crater from the sheer force of the blow.
As Amara struggled to stand, Atticus was already there, his hand gripping her throat, lifting her off the ground effortlessly.
Amara tried to summon her power, the earth beneath them trembling in response, but Atticus's grip tightened. Her vision blurred as the strength drained from her body.
'It's over,' she realized, acknowledging her defeat.