The Last Primal

Whilst Aiden's and Sir Arthur's fight continued to be nothing more than a fantastical light explosion of dark and silver light shows, as the two figures battled with inhumane speed, the spectators noticed the strange glowing glyphs that the masked girl draw in the air.

One after another, strange, unknown glyphs appeared as her slender index finger swiftly drew lines after lines. From a distance, not much could be seen apart from her inexplicable, puzzling movements.

Suddenly, as she completed the third symbol and placed the final touch, a dot above the mysterious glyph, suddenly a loud humming sound could be heard, instantly filling the room and grabbing the attention of not just the already rocked audience, but even the battling speedsters as well.

They both stopped in their tracks and turned to look at the masked and hooded girl with differing states of amazement. For Sir Arthur, it was akin to a shock. For someone of his past and stature, he would never have believed that he would see the return of the mythical rune magic one day.

This mysterious and long-forgotten form of ancient magic was believed to be completely lost to the sands of time, never to return. He himself only read about it in dusty old books at the deepest, darkest sections in the Royal Library.

Whilst he couldn't be sure, the floating runes were vastly familiar to the descriptions in those dusty old tomes…

"What the… How?!" He muttered, with an avowed expression on his face. Utter disbelief and shock replaced his previously calm, warm fatherly smile.

On the other hand, Aiden though equally as shocked as the old man, was, instead happy for the unbelievable revelation. How did Galina acquire the skill? He himself didn't get it yet… Though he was only a breath away from completing the almost decade-old system analysis, it was still just a bit shy from that 100%.

So, how did Galina inherit… no, ACQUIRE the skill when he himself does not have it.

No, that would be impossible. Also, whilst her drawing was vastly similar, there was a slightly different feel to it compared to when Granny was doing her spell casting.

Listening to his troubled, confused thoughts, Enya's voice resounded in his mind in the next moment, confirming his suspicion.

'[Just as you expect, Aiden. This is not Rune Magic, but instead a combination of Light, Nature, and some basic Rune Casting. While I can't be accurate without the system backing me up, but I believe she is using a Fused, combined version of these three skills. She must have inherited most of your runic knowledge but since the skill wasn't created, she somehow created something… new. Something unique to her.]'

As the seconds passed with both figures watching with keen interest what wonder would unfold from Galina's spell cast, the floating runes' golden shine continued to increase its intensity. Soon, the symbols could no longer be seen, as their luster merged together before rapidly expanding. The light enveloped the entire arena, forming a huge barrier made out of the same golden-colored energy. From the outside, it was like an impervious, thick metal dome. Nothing could be seen from the inside, whilst those that were trapped in its circle could clearly see everything.

As soon as the shield formed, Galina was already drawing another runic symbol in the air, this time, however, its shine was closer to platinum rather than straight-up matching the color of her eyes.

With a swift motion, she drew two distinct, unique-looking symbols in quick succession, and before anyone could react, she completed yet another cast.

In the next moment, the floating milky-white letters stretched out, changing into the shape of a cloak and shot towards Aiden, wrapping him in a smaller, but similar protective film of primal power.

At the wondrous, amazed eyes of the two men, and the team spectating at the side, the thin coating swiftly seeped into the boy's body, causing his stunned shock to be replaced by a joyful one.

His spent stamina, energy were instantly refilled, the smaller cuts and bruises covering his body began to heal at a pace visible to the naked eye.

Sir Arthur watched with shock and astounded amazement as the strange, but incredibly powerful magic was completed, and its effect restored his youthful opponent to his peak state.

He didn't seem to mind, as a satisfied-looking smile crept up at his lips and curved its edges upward. He nodded at the boy as his kind smile returned to his face, then slowly began to look around and spectate the strange, golden energy-dome covering them.

"Amazing… Truly amazing…" He muttered, lost in the beauty of the golden threads. Lost in the miraculous spectacle, he even forgot that they were in the midst of a heated joust. He threw the huge broadsword over his right shoulder, as his interest was now clearly shifted to the masked girl's actions.

"Miss Galina…" He exclaimed as his eyes darted around the inner arched sections of the cupola. "I have to say… this is truly remarkable! I can hardly find the words to describe it…"

His eyes suddenly turned to look at the girl, he stepped forward and began to walk towards the girl.

With hurried steps, he completely forgot the boy that he originally wanted to test out, his attention was now fixated on this enigmatic young teenage girl.

However, his mistake was brought to daylight as his path was suddenly blocked by an obsidian blade. The boy stepped in front of him, blocking his path, instinctively protecting his partner.

Aiden didn't say a word, but from his stern outlook and fierce-looking golden eyes that were faintly glimmering, he didn't even need to.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to…" Realizing his mistake, Sir Arthur was looking rather abashed. He took a step back and lowered his weapon, so the tip of the blade was touching the ground.

"I meant no harm, I am only interested in… no, let me rephrase that…" He coughed with an embarrassed smile, before continuing. "I wanted to ASK from the Young Miss if what she just used was Rune Magic or not."

"Why do you ask? What does it matter if it was or not?" Aiden asked the stern look not leaving his face.

"Well…" Looking at the boy then at the masked girl's golden eyes, he heaved a long sigh, fixing his posture.

"Lorn, you can leave, we have learned what we wanted. They are not tainted." He muttered, causing his broadsword to respond with a faint barely audible beastly roar before it suddenly changed shape, returning to a small silvery ball of energy and flew into its master's, the old man's chest, vanishing from sight completely in the next moment.

Sir Arthur simply sighed at this and shook his head.

"For being an ancient weapon with a soul that should be centuries-old… you can be quite childish with these temper tantrums, you know…"

After the weapon disappeared from sight, Sir Arthur raised both of his arms in the air, surrendering himself and willingly giving up the fight.

"Look, I am unarmed now. I truly mean to cause no harm. I just want to talk with the little lady. Can I?"

"Did she pass the test?" Instead of answering the question, Aiden kept up his stern, offensive, cold stature, even raising Ryg against the man, warning him not to take any step closer.

Truth be told, although the scene seemed rather unfair, and may even be overly aggressive from the outside, one has to know that Aiden still wasn't sure where the old man's limits were.

From their clashes, what he understood was that he was incredibly powerful, much, much stronger than anything he ever faced. Though he can't be completely certain, he measured his power level to be similar to that thin shadowy figure's…

He couldn't even say if Number 3 could defeat him… At the very least, they would be quite closely matched…

As such, he couldn't just simply relax. Without the system, there was no clear escape method if he were to decide to kidnap Galina.

Looking at the boy, seeing the determination in his eyes, his adamant, obstinate stance, his desire to protect this unknown girl, Sir Arthur smiled warmly and did not try to take another step.

He kept his arms raised above his head, as he looked at the boy with his warm, gentle smile.

"I can see it in your eyes, boy. Rest assured, I will adhere to your request and not take any step until you say so. I also see you are all wary of me, which if I am being honest, I can understand." He spoke, slowly looking over both girls and even the other, spectating members of his team at the side.

"While it may have seemed otherwise, the reason I wanted to take on this test myself was to confirm something about you, boy. However…"

He then slowly shifted his gaze and fixated it on the girl's masked, cloaked and hooded figure.

"…after witnessing the miracle of what your partner just did… I am now certain that I have finally found what I have been searching for... for decades…"