The Greatest Sinner

Chloe and Lewis were ready to attack them at any moment. Before the fight had even begun Evan said:

"There's no point in me fighting you, even if you win you'll get seriously hurt, I think we should just split up. You can attack someone else."

Evan was telling the plain truth. He wouldn't get anything out of fighting Chloe and Lewis. Sure, if he beat them, he'd get rid of two potential competitors, but why would he do that? Sooner or later, Chloe and Lewis would have to face off against the other contestants, in which case there would be fewer contestants, and Evan wouldn't have to put himself in needless danger.

Chloe shook her head in response, "No way. We attacked you on purpose, you're our target, not her. Anyway, we aren`t going away, you're too much of a threat."

Evan frowned and said nothing back.

<It's me they need, but that's not the main problem. That wench put it that way on purpose to put me in a precarious position.> Evan thought to himself, looking at Chloe.

Her words meant that if Gerda decided to run away now, they wouldn't be chasing her. Chloe and Lewis would concentrate on Evan and the two of them would have an easier time taking him down.

Gerda was weaker than Evan, but he knew it would be very hard for him without her. She would at least be able to take on one opponent, thereby giving Evan more leeway. That was good enough for an easy victory.

Chloe and Lewis were in no hurry to attack, it was as if they were waiting for Gerda to decide.

The girl was just as well aware of the position she found herself in: <Run away? They aren`t going to chase me...>.

Gerda thought to herself, but she quickly made a decision. The girl slowly stood behind Evan and prepared to fight.

Gerda could escape and she knew it, but if she left Evan alone, she would no longer have such a strong ally. She would escape now, but she would be all alone from here on out. Of course, Evan's help wasn't forever, but she would think about that after the fight.

Evan smiled and said: "I think it's about time you showed them that you lasted ten seconds not for nothing. There's definitely nothing wrong with your head."

Whoosh.

Immediately after those words, the snow-white blade of the scythe was covered in a layer of blue ice. Chloe nodded and stepped aside, she wanted them to fight in pairs: she versus Evan and Lewis versus Gerda.

"Amplifier vs. Amplifier and Creator vs. Creator, right?" Asked Evan looking at the focused girl.

She didn't answer anything and just waited for Evan's actions. She had already seen him fight, so she hesitated to attack first. Gerda and Lewis did the same. They stood across from each other and prepared to attack.

Whoosh.

Evan was the first to act. He quickly ran toward Chloe waving his scythe. The girl prepared to block the blow, but suddenly Evan changed his grip and pierced the air with his weapon like a spear.

Bam.

At the same moment, a snow-white beam flew out of the tip, headed toward Lewis.

"Two one-on-one duels are fine, but I'm not going to play by your rules. We're on a battlefield, not a tournament." Evan said harshly and lunged toward Lewis.

"Shit!" Shouted Chloe. She hadn't expected Evan to act so suddenly and defiantly.

Chloe thought that Evan was willing to fight her one-on-one and not touch Lewis, but she was fooled.

Lewis and Gerda were just as taken aback for a second, but they instantly concentrated. Evan wanted to get rid of Lewis right away, and Gerda had to help him do it.

Boom.

A white-hot beam flew past Lewis and pierced several trees behind him, followed by a deafening explosion.

Lewis started to gather mana to cast the spell, but by then a huge boulder was already falling on him. Gerda was a little faster than he was.

The boulder couldn`t crush Lewis to death, but it did make him distracted by the looming threat. It was enough for Evan to get close enough.

Whoosh.

The next moment, three magical circles appeared around Lewis, and three thick roots quickly emerged out of them. They wrapped around the boulder and stopped it, Lewis was saved, but not for long.

Swing.

Evan swung the scythe and brought the white blade down on Lewis. He didn't have time to dodge as he was busy immobilizing the boulder before that.

Clang.

Suddenly, Chloe appeared between Evan and Lewis. She blocked Evan's punch.

"Not bad, but you haven`t enough time."

Evan said calmly, watching Chloe's sword get covered in a thick layer of ice. The girl, however, had her own way of getting rid of it.

"You must think this ice is heavy, then let me show you something." Said Chloe and at the same moment her "Warp" spun.

Whoosh.

Her two-handed sword began to be coated with a solid layer of stone. The weight of the sword increased with every second, but that wasn't a problem for Chloe.

Whoosh.

Chloe swung her sword and attacked Evan. The young man quickly retreated. Evan had never seen such a spell of Amplification Magic before, he had to find out what its effect was.

Bam.

Chloe struck the ground with her stone sword. Dust rose, and a deep indentation formed under the sword.

<I see...>.

Evan thought to himself and said: "You are incredibly strong, how much does this sword weigh?"

Evan was amazed at what he saw, one attack was enough to make him realize how heavy this sword was.

<Of course, it's impossible to chop anything with this sword now, but it doesn't need to. It's not a sword now, it's a damn heavy club, if it hits me even once it'll break a bone or two for sure.>

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

Evan was about to attack Chloe, but suddenly several deadly drops of water flew toward Evan.

The young man reflexively dodged these drops and took a few steps back. It was Lewis' attack, he`d cast "Water Bullet", a simple but very effective spell. It was perfect for mid-range battles.

After his attack, Lewis quickly stood behind Chloe, only she could protect him from Evan, otherwise he would die in seconds.

Step. Step. Step.

Evan paced slowly toward Chloe, he watched her intently and her every move. Their duel could only be decided by one successful attack. If he defeated Chloe, Lewis would have no chance of winning.

Chloe rose into a fighting stance, she was ready to take any blow Evan might throw.

Whoosh.

Evan came close enough, but instead of attacking, he gave Gerda a hand gesture. At the same moment, the girl cast the "Wind Cutter" and two wind blades headed toward Chloe.