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18+ Language Violence

The Last Spell 27.2

by SilverNight


Warning: This work has been rated 18+ for language and violence.

Cyrin was lucky to know Pia well enough— or really, unlucky enough— to guess that after that, she would strike quickly, in some way. He couldn’t have guessed that her attack would be pre-cast Flare spells flying his way, but at least he was already moving by the time that they were.

Heat rushed past him as he dropped and rolled out of the fire’s way, getting back on his feet the moment he had them on the ground. Since they hadn’t hit him, the fireballs burnt out in the air, fizzling into sparks.

“I see you got a refill,” Cyrin said.

“Glad my magic could help you do all the hard stealing work for us.” Pia shrugged as she watched the fire die out. “I can kinda see why Sparrow wanted you on his team that much. You’re a bit of a shitty mage, but you know your gymnastics.”

Cyrin scoffed. “Sparrow has enough people who are head over heels for him and would do flips for him if he wanted.”

Pia sneered, reaching for her MagicBox again. “Well, if you’re no good to him, then you’re just a shitty mage.”

Cyrin braced themself on the roof, ready to spring away from another volley of fire, but she didn’t throw anything at them. Instead, she dropped a spell on the ground, and the moment they were able to sense what she’d done was also the moment it was upon them. The wave of Tremor sent them falling on their back, sending a shiver through them. They could have gotten up near-immediately, if it weren’t for their limbs shaking.

“I thought that was your Hollow,” they heard Pia crow triumphantly through the ringing in their ears. “Going to be sick?”

Leilan’s words came back to them, for some reason. It wasn’t affecting you in the usual way. Normally, when they’re around their Hollow, Minor Mages feel really ill. They get really dizzy, think they’re going to be sick, have trouble standing up. You just got… strained and shaky.

Cyrin didn’t feel sick. It just felt like the vibrations were building up in their body and head, turning into the painful buzzing sound of static. They’d take the dizziness and sickness over it, but for whatever reason, they’d never felt that with their Hollow. It didn’t work that way for them.

They needed to use this time to think, since Pia was busy gloating over them, but it couldn’t be about that. They need to figure out what her Hollow was.

It couldn’t be Projection, obviously. She’d used Rationale on the snakes and Tremor and Flare on him. He’d used Concealment and Force around her at the Arcade the other day, so those two were out as well. That left— he racked his brain quickly— Acid, Chant, and Salve. None of which lent themselves particularly well to a fight.

He forced himself to ignore the shakiness in his limbs and pushed himself to his feet, giving Pia a dirty look as he brushed himself off.

“Not all that sick,” Pia said, sounding disappointed. “That’s a shame.”

Cyrin reached into his MagicBox, tossing a cluster of magic from hand to hand. “Just sick of you, if I’m being honest.”

She growled softly under her breath as she spun a spell in one hand— a large Flare one, not a series of small ones— but threw it his way rather than coming up with another insult.

Cyrin met the wall of fire flying his way with a quick Acid spell that caused it to immediately sputter out, then hurled a new spell at her. He was weaving by instinct, hardly thinking about what he’d actually woven, but he was fairly sure it was Force. Pia grunted as the spell pushed her backwards a few feet, but she’d been well-braced on the ground for it, and she stayed upright despite skidding.

“What are you here for?” they snapped at her while they each spun their next spell. “I know you can’t do anything for yourself, so what does Sparrow want?”

“You fucking bastard,” Pia snarled, flinging her newest Flare spell at them. Cyrin dodged, the heat warming his face. “You’d ruin everything if he let you.”

“Not sure how that’s an answer.” Cyrin stuffed their finished spell in a pocket and quickly started working on another one. “I definitely would willingly.”

“Well, unfortunately, he doesn’t want you dead, only stopped, so I won’t get to kill you here.” Her next fireball was much closer, enough that the heat was almost painful. “Saints knows why he’s refused to do that, but he won’t even place you in harm’s way.” She grinned. “Can’t say the same of your other friend, though.”

Cyrin froze, almost finished with their newest spell. “Which friend?”

Pia only laughed, curling magic into more Flare with a twist of her fingers. The gold polish on her fingernails flashed in the cityscape light.

Which friend, Pia?” they snarled, taking a step forward.

“It doesn’t matter. Getting out of that situation is entirely up to them.” She smiled sweetly, but the gleam of satisfaction in her eyes outshone it. “You can’t help them. And, as it turns out, they can’t help you either.”

Even though they’d been expecting it, her spell almost caught them by surprise. The fireball caught Cyrin in the hip, and it took a full second for the burning pain to strike— but when it did, it hurt. They dropped to one knee, seriously regretting this plan as the agony spread, and a faint cry escaped their lips. They smothered the fire quickly, but the relief didn’t come until they reached into their pocket and pulled out the Salve spell, pressing it to their hip until it healed the burn.

Pia snorted, unfazed. “You just knew you were going to get hit, didn’t you? Why didn’t you come up with something better?”

“I do have a secret plan, actually,” Cyrin said, hiding their other nearly-done spell in their hand. “Want to hear what it is?”

“Do share.” Her voice was amused, like she’d thought she’d won.

Cyrin lifted his hand to his throat, completing the final twist of the weaving with the barest flick of his fingers— and screamed.

The Chant spell amplified the volume of his voice tenfold, making it audible for what he was sure was several city blocks— and painfully loud on the roof. Pia moaned, sinking to the ground as she tried and failed to cover both her ears and stomach at the same time. She struggled for a moment, trying to get back up, but he roared again, and she all but collapsed.

“What—?” she gasped, through a weak groan.

“Chant’s probably the best magic to have as a Hollow,” Cyrin said, dropping their volume to an almost normal but still slightly loud level. “It doesn’t come up a lot in life. There are oaths, of course, but you’re not a terribly honest person. Too ready to backstab. You’re a bit like a snake in that regard.”

With a grunt, Pia slammed a fist onto the ground, releasing a tiny spell. The Tremor rippled their way and sent a shudder through them, and they felt a little weak in their footing, but the spell wasn’t strong enough to make them fall over.

“Why isn’t it working on you?” she cried in frustration and anger. “What the fuck is different about you?”

Cyrin didn’t know, and it scared him, but the risk to the others scared him more. He still didn’t know who Pia had been referring to, and he knew she wouldn’t tell him. It could be Mireya, Clarity, Autumn, or even any of the Heirs, if she was assuming they were his friends. To be fair, they might be. The seven of them had gotten this far with their differences and without disbanding.

He shook his head and turned around. He’d spent too long on this distraction. Shane and Kasumi were no doubt already with Sparrow, and he was going to be dangerously late.

“Get back here!” Pia shouted at him as he rushed to the edge of the roof.

“Can’t,” Cyrin said, hopping the railing. “I’ve got some friends to save.” With that, he gave her a wave before jumping off, landing on the balcony of the floor below, and swinging into the window as glass shattered around him.


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Sat Sep 30, 2023 7:20 pm
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Ventomology wrote a review...



Me out here whispering to myself in public: "he's a major mage he's a major mage he's a major mage ahhhhh."

Also? Love the comparison of Pia to a snake. 10/10. I think it would be so fun if you start characterizing her from here on as slinky and slippery and wriggly because that's what she is.

I don't have a ton to say... you always handle action sequences really well, with a good balance of strategy/thoughts/feelings and short, punchy action sentences. I like how this fight in particular has a lot of strong emotional drivers as well, like Pia dangling the threat to Cyrin's friends being in trouble over them, and them being able to take that emotional hit to turn things around and defeat Pia.

I think maybe you rely a little too heavily on the magic typing to describe this particular fight, when in reality different spells of the same type could have wildly different physical incarnations. If you maybe balance out how many times you describe a spell with its type and how many times you describe it physically, maybe that will help you find a middle ground that is both punchy and visually descriptive.

Annnd that's kind of it for this one! Hope this helps,
-Vento




SilverNight says...


Me out here whispering to myself in public: "he's a major mage he's a major mage he's a major mage ahhhhh."


;)

Thanks for the review! I second that it would be fun for Pia to be slinky and I will 100% include that later. I appreciate the action commentary too!



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Fri Sep 22, 2023 2:33 am
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Plume wrote a review...



Hey there! Plume here, with a review!

Oho this was quite the satisfying conclusion to that whole interaction. I loved watching Cyrin's quick thinking in this part in discovering Pia's Hollow. Her Hollow being Chant makes so much sense with her character, and I love the added effect that it allowed Cyrin to do that to get the better of her.

Reiterating the hope from my last review that the plan won't have been thrown off too much. I'm mostly curious about the people we've not heard from in a bit, like Leilan, Mireya, Dawn, and Kaja, and what their roles in this plan have been.

Specifics

“Which friend, Pia?” they snarled, taking a step forward.

“It doesn’t matter. Getting out of that situation is entirely up to them.” She smiled sweetly, but the gleam of satisfaction in her eyes outshone it. “You can’t help them. And, as it turns out, they can’t help you either.”


I love the fact that I'm also not sure which friend Pia is referring to here; I feel like as a reader, I get to partake in Cyrin's anxiety, and that is a lovely thing.

“Chant’s probably the best magic to have as a Hollow,” Cyrin said, dropping their volume to an almost normal but still slightly loud level. “It doesn’t come up a lot in life. There are oaths, of course, but you’re not a terribly honest person. Too ready to backstab. You’re a bit like a snake in that regard.”


YES CYRIN ABSOLUTELY OWN HER.

“Why isn’t it working on you?” she cried in frustration and anger. “What the fuck is different about you?”

Cyrin didn’t know, and it scared him, but the risk to the others scared him more.


So he doesn't know either? Is this not the thing about his identity he didn't want to tell Shane in the last chapter? I'm a bit confused. Or is it a secret third thing (quite literally in this context).

“Can’t,” Cyrin said, hopping the railing. “I’ve got some friends to save.” With that, he gave her a wave before jumping off, landing on the balcony of the floor below, and swinging into the window as glass shattered around him.


I love this Main Character Moment for them.

Overall: loved seeing Cyrin get the best of Pia; definitely felt like free therapy after all you've been putting us through these last few parts. This review's a bit on the shorter side just cause I loved this part so much. Cannot wait to read the next chapter tomorrow.




SilverNight says...


Welcome back Plume!! Thank you as always!

So he doesn't know either? Is this not the thing about his identity he didn't want to tell Shane in the last chapter? I'm a bit confused. Or is it a secret third thing (quite literally in this context).


Quite honestly, it's a little of all this. Everything's a secret here, even from Cyrin XD



Plume says...


Ahh ok I gotcha!



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Mon Aug 21, 2023 8:42 am
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IcyFlame wrote a review...



Hello hello hello! It's Monday morning, so I'm reading instead of doing what I should be doing!

Cyrin was lucky to know Pia well enough— or really, unlucky enough— to guess that after that, she would strike quickly, in some way.

A bit of a clunky sentence... possibly too many commas? I enjoyed the sass in their thoughts that even mid attack they're like 'knowing Pia is unlucky' xD

“I see you got a refill,” Cyrin said.

I love how this is as casual as if it were a refill of soda.

Cyrin braced themself on the roof, ready to spring away from another volley of fire, but she didn’t throw anything at them. Instead, she dropped a spell on the ground, and the moment they were able to sense what she’d done was also the moment it was upon them. The wave of Tremor sent them falling on their back, sending a shiver through them. They could have gotten up near-immediately, if it weren’t for their limbs shaking.

“I thought that was your Hollow,” they heard Pia crow triumphantly through the ringing in their ears. “Going to be sick?”

Ahh I love that we're bringing this back, especially just after Leilan had the conversation with them about it not making them sick! Does this mean Pia has a hollow Cyrin can use against her?

He shook his head and turned around. He’d spent too long on this distraction. Shane and Kasumi were no doubt already with Sparrow, and he was going to be dangerously late.

“Get back here!” Pia shouted at him as he rushed to the edge of the roof.

“Can’t,” Cyrin said, hopping the railing. “I’ve got some friends to save.” With that, he gave her a wave before jumping off, landing on the balcony of the floor below, and swinging into the window as glass shattered around him.

Ahhh I loved this whole interaction! When Cyrin's used magic before I haven't been feeling a huge amount of danger but this was good at both showcasing his magic and creating tension from Pia. Kinda sad she didn't fall off the building, but at least she's been put in her place!

I'm back to being all caught up now so...*throws down glass* ANOTHER!





Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
— George Santayana