Unregistered Fateweaver [3]

William stood in shock at Malphas's feats, but he couldn't afford to hesitate. In a swift motion, he clicked two buckles on the metallic brace around his arm, and it fell to the ground with a clang.

Flames roared to life, spreading across his right fist, with his left hand mirroring his right. He leaped at Malphas, throwing a jab, but Malphas dodged effortlessly. Another jab, then an uppercut, followed by another strike—but each time, Malphas evaded him with ease.

Irritation flared in William, and he put more force behind his next punch, gritting his teeth as his fist charged at Malphas ducking a previous blow. 

'Got you!' he thought as he swung with all his might. But just as his fist was about to connect, Malphas grabbed his wrist mid-strike.

A sharp jolt of pain flashed across Malphas's face, but he held on. He grabbed William's arm with both hands and, with a swift twist of his body, threw him across the room. William soared through the air, flipping upside down.

 He cursed internally as he righted himself mid-flight and aimed his palm toward Malphas.

'Take this!'

A massive burst of flames erupted from William's hand, engulfing the half the room. But Malphas didn't hesitate. He crouched low, his feet tensing before launching himself straight into the blaze. 

The force of his movement bent the flames around him, and he burst through them, reducing the inferno to nothing but smoke.

Before William could even register what had happened, Malphas shot out from the dying flames, his feet slamming into William's stomach. 

The impact was brutal. William hadn't even hit the ground yet, and already his eyes were rolling back in his head, his cheeks puffing as he struggled to hold back the bile rising in his throat.

He flew backward, crashing through the wall and slamming into one of the fortified vehicles outside.

Harmony, watching from the vehicle, let out a horrified scream as her brother's limp, bleeding body was thrown across the street.

"WILLIAM!" she cried, scrambling out of the vehicle. She ran toward him as the drivers lifted William's unconscious form from the rubble.

Tears streamed down Harmony's face as she fell to her knees beside him, her hands trembling as she hovered them over his wounds. A faint glow flickered from her palms, but it kept fading as she shook uncontrollably, her sobs growing louder.

"Miss Donstho," one of the drivers said gently, "please, you have to heal him."

Harmony looked up, eyes wide and filled with panic, before refocusing on William. Her hands hovered shakily over his chest, but the glow from her magic kept sputtering on and off. She was too distraught, her tears falling onto William's motionless (but not dead) body.

"I-I can't—" she sobbed, breaking down completely, her face buried in her hands.

"Miss Donstho, you must get yourself together!" the driver urged, but it was no use. Harmony was too overwhelmed with grief.

A cold, commanding voice cut through the chaos. "It's no use."

The drivers turned to see Lucinia emerging from the dented vehicle, she had surrounded herself with a glowing blue sphere with jagged textures. She wore light blue magician's robes, a crescent moon emblazoned on the back.

"Miss Numar?" one of the drivers gasped.

Lucinia sighed, stretching her fingers. "Looks like I have to get my hands dirty now. What a pain." She groaned dramatically, then smirked. "But at least I can settle the score. My power is no longer held back by the sun."

[Flaw: "Moon Charge" is now completely nullified]

[Reasonance: "Moonlight manifestation" is now in full effect]

A blue aura surrounded her, mirroring the glowing moon in the night sky.

----

Inside the building, Malphas turned around to face the remaining students, who were now rising to confront him. His eyes darted between them. 'There are too many,' he thought, stepping back cautiously.

'I have to retreat.'

Without hesitation, Malphas spun and leaped out of the hole in the wall, landing on the wreckage of the vehicle below. He quickly scanned his surroundings, only to spot Lucinia standing nearby, her aura terrifyingly powerful.

"Shit." He cursed under his breath. He could feel the intensity of her presence, far stronger than before. 'I have to get out of here. Now.'

But as he tried to flee, his foot froze in place, rooted to the ground by a strange, cold force. 

A wave of dread washed over him. He struggled to move, but it was no use. Glowing, hollow diamond-shaped restraints wrapped around his hands, pinning him to the ground. 

His chin hit the cold concrete, and panic surged through his veins. His heart raced, palms sweaty, eyes wide with fear.

"You won't brute-force your way out of this one," Lucinia said, her voice calm yet filled with authority as she strolled toward him. 

With a mere gesture, Malphas was flipped over and lifted into the air, his arms twisted behind his back, his knees scraping against the ground. He was forced into a humiliating posture, kneeling beneath her.

The students gathered around, watching in awe at Lucinia's display of power.

"She got him!" one of them whispered.

"Isn't she one of the strongest first-years?" another murmured.

"Yeah, they say at night she's a 4th-grade Fateweaver. Never thought I'd see her in action," a third added.

Lucinia crouched down, meeting Malphas's eyes. She inspected her nails lazily, completely unbothered by the situation. "So," she asked with casual authority, "what's your name, boy?"

Malphas froze at the question. 'Name?' He had never truly thought of himself as having one—only a label. But something stirred in him as if a memory was plucked from the recesses of his mind and replaced with something new.

"My name…" he rasped, his voice sending chills through the gathered students. He recalled the encounter from before, the words of that thing. 

"I am… Malphas. Malphas Darkwood."

The name felt foreign to him as if it didn't belong—but at the same time, it felt right. He was Malphas Darkwood, whether he fully believed it or not.