Shattered Sanity

While Batista was busy getting punched, Randy found himself fighting two opponents at once, desperately parrying one student’s sword while keeping an eye on the second, who suddenly slammed his palm against the ground.

[Earth Spike]

Randy immediately jumped aside as a sharp spike of stone erupted where his foot had been planted, only for the swordsman to capitalize on his distraction and slash towards his shoulder.

CLANG!

Randy barely managed to block.

”This wasn’t the fucking plan!” Randy screamed.

”Plans change!” Batista shouted back.

”OF COURSE IT CHANGED, YOU MORON, YOU’RE THE ONE WHO FORCEFULLY CHANGED IT!”

Randy barely finished shouting before the swordsman closed the remaining distance and punched him squarely across the nose.

THUD!

Blood immediately spilled over Randy’s upper lip.

Randy stared at him.

The student stared back.

”You bastard.”

Dark Aether immediately gathered around Randy’s feet.

[Shadow Slip]

His body blurred into the shadows beneath the surrounding trees before he emerged several meters to the swordsman’s side, catching the student completely off guard as Randy drove his fist across his jaw.

BAM!

Nearby, Flair wasn’t having an easier time.

”Hold still!”

[Flame Bolt]

A condensed sphere of fire tore past his head and exploded against the tree behind him.

KABOOM!

Flair ducked as burning pieces of bark scattered across his shoulders, before immediately throwing himself sideways when another Aureate student extended his hand towards the ground.

[Frost Patch]

Ice rapidly spread across the forest floor.

Flair’s foot landed against its edge and immediately slipped, sending him stumbling sideways just as the Flame user rushed forward and smashed an elbow across his cheek.

”UGH!”

The blow left the entire left side of Flair’s face throbbing.

Flair touched his cheek.

Then glared at the student.

”Oh, you fucking asked for it.”

[Flame Burst]

Flame Aether erupted from Flair’s palm at close range.

BOOM!

The Aureate student barely managed to raise his arms before the blast struck him and threw him backwards through a cluster of bushes.

The fight rapidly lost whatever remaining structure it possessed, as elemental attacks began flying between trees while Aureate and Argent students crashed through bushes, stumbled over roots and desperately attempted to use their single mastered abilities whenever an opportunity presented itself.

Batista, however, seemed to be enjoying himself more with every passing second.

An Aureate student rushed towards him while Earth Aether gathered around his fist.

[Stone Fist]

BAM!

The reinforced punch slammed directly across Batista’s cheek and snapped his head sideways.

Batista staggered.

Blood immediately began dripping from his nose.

The Aureate student grinned.

Batista slowly turned his head back towards him.

Then smiled.

[Iron Skin]

Earth Aether spread beneath Batista’s flesh as his skin visibly hardened, covering his body in a faint metallic sheen.

”Oh, fuck me.”

”HAHAHAHA!”

Batista charged.

The Earth user hurriedly raised his [Stone Fist] again, and the two reinforced fists collided directly between them.

BANG!

The Aureate student’s arm recoiled violently.

Batista’s barely moved.

”My turn.”

Batista punched him across the mouth.

THUD!

The student stumbled backwards, only for Batista to grab him by the clothes and drive his reinforced forehead straight into his nose.

CRACK!

”ARGH!”

”HAHA! THAT FUCKING HURT!”

Batista didn’t clarify whether he meant his own forehead or the other man’s nose before another Aureate student attacked him from behind.

[Vine Lash]

Several thin vines erupted from the surrounding vegetation and wrapped around Batista’s right arm.

”Got you!”

The student pulled.

Batista’s arm jerked backwards.

He looked at the vines.

Then at the student.

”That’s adorable.”

Batista planted both feet and pulled in the opposite direction.

The Aureate student’s expression changed immediately.

”Oh.”

Batista dragged him forward.

THUD!

His Iron Skin-covered forehead smashed directly into the student’s face, sending him collapsing backwards with blood pouring from his nose.

Across the battlefield, another Aureate student finally managed to create some distance from Randy before pressing his palm against the ground.

[Stone Wall]

RUMBLE!

A waist-high barrier of stone erupted between them.

Randy immediately changed direction as the student retreated behind it, expecting the wall to buy him several precious seconds.

Instead, Randy disappeared.

[Shadow Slip]

Darkness rippled beneath the trees.

”What the—”

Randy emerged from the man’s own shadow behind him.

The Aureate student barely managed to turn before Randy kicked the back of his knee and drove him face-first against his own Stone Wall.

THUD!

”Should’ve made it taller.”

Meanwhile, Flair had barely recovered when the Frost user came after him again.

[Frost Patch]

Ice raced towards Flair’s feet.

This time he was ready.

Flair jumped onto an exposed root and avoided the spreading ice, before extending his palm while still moving.

[Flame Burst]

BOOM!

The blast struck the frozen ground between them.

Ice shattered outward alongside a cloud of steam and dirt, forcing the Frost user to cover his face as Flair charged straight through the obscured space and slammed his shoulder into him.

Both crashed through the nearby bushes.

”FUCK!”

Several thorns immediately tore into Flair’s sleeves.

The Frost user groaned underneath him.

”Get off me!”

Flair punched him.

”YOU dragged ME into the fucking bush!”

Back near the center, another Aureate student finally found enough space to activate his own ability.

[Light Flash]

A brilliant burst of Light Aether exploded between the trees.

Everyone nearby instinctively recoiled.

”MY FUCKING EYES!” Batista screamed.

For several seconds, the entire battle became even more ridiculous.

Nobody could properly see.

Someone punched the wrong person.

”OW! RANDY!”

”That was you?!”

”WHO THE FUCK ELSE WOULD IT BE?!”

Batista simply started swinging towards whichever footsteps sounded closest.

”COME HERE!”

”BATISTA, STOP FUCKING PUNCHING BLIND!”

”THEN TELL THEM TO STOP MOVING!”

By the time everyone’s vision recovered, whatever remained of the original formations had completely disappeared.

Aureate students were scattered throughout the clearing, some separated by bushes while others had been pushed several meters away from their companions, and the three Argent students were hardly in better condition.

Yet the chaos benefited Batista more than anyone.

Every time the Aureate students attempted to regroup, the Iron Skin-covered lunatic crashed straight into the middle of them before they could coordinate their abilities.

The Flame user tried creating enough distance for another [Flame Bolt], only for Batista to tackle him before he could release it.

The Earth user attempted another [Earth Spike], but Randy emerged from the shadows beside him and kicked his casting arm away from the ground.

The student with [Vine Lash] successfully caught Flair around the ankle, only for Flair to fire a [Flame Burst] into the ground beside the vines and burn through enough of them to tear himself free.

One after another, their individual abilities became increasingly difficult to use inside the chaotic melee without risking hitting their own allies.

However, the Aureate students continued landing blows of their own.

Batista took another [Earth Spike] across his guard hard enough to split his lip despite [Iron Skin].

Flair’s already swollen cheek took another punch that sent him stumbling into a tree.

Randy emerged from [Shadow Slip] directly into an Aureate student’s waiting elbow, leaving blood pouring from his nose for the second time.

Nobody came out untouched.

Batista’s nose bled freely above his split lip, Flair’s left cheek had swollen noticeably, while Randy had blood smeared beneath his nose and several scratches running down one side of his face.

The seven Aureate students looked considerably worse.

Their numerical advantage had gradually disappeared beneath the confusion of the opening trap and the brutal close-range fighting, until eventually only two remained standing with enough strength to continue.

The Flame user stood beside the student with [Light Flash], both breathing heavily as Randy, Flair and Batista gradually approached from three different directions.

Around them, their five companions were either disarmed, unconscious or struggling to climb back onto their feet.

Batista wiped the blood beneath his nose with the back of his hand as [Iron Skin] gradually faded from his body.

His grin hadn’t disappeared.

”Come on,” he said, cracking his knuckles as he stepped forward. ”There’s still two of you.”

The Flame user raised his hand.

A weak flame flickered above his palm.

Flair immediately raised his own.

A considerably larger flame appeared above it.

Batista looked between them.

”Ooh. Fire fight.”

”Shut the fuck up,” Flair muttered.

The Aureate student’s flame disappeared.

He looked around at his defeated companions before reluctantly dropping his weapon.

CLANG!

His partner lasted another three seconds before doing the same.

Batista immediately raised both arms.

”HAHA! SEVEN!”

”Don’t celebrate,” Randy replied, breathing heavily as he touched his bleeding nose. ”We could’ve done that without getting our fucking faces rearranged if you’d waited another thirty seconds.”

”But where’s the fun in that?”

Randy stared at him.

Flair emerged fully from the nearby thorny bush with several thorns still clinging to his clothes and one embedded through his sleeve.

”I genuinely fucking hate you, Batista.”

Batista laughed even harder.

The three eventually gathered the seven Aureate students together, confiscated their weapons and began binding their hands with the ropes they had brought, although by then, there was little resemblance between the clean ambush Circuit had originally planned and what had actually happened.

They had still captured all seven..... However, they did it without any semblance of control.