Ever since the dawn of magic, the light element had been known to be useless in battle. It had no offensive spells and aside from healing small wounds, the exhaustion that spells below tier four caused on their patients made them a double edged sword.

Light magic experts always protested that such claims were ridiculous. There was no element weaker than the others. Yet aside from legends and fairy tales, no one had ever won a battle with light magic.

At least according to official history. There were many reports about magical beasts well versed in the use of the light element who were capable of using it for attacking. Scarlett had decimated the Talons' headquarters using light magic.

Lith would have died from Gadorf's Purge spell, if captain Yerna hadn't stopped him. Yet some secrets were closely guarded. Despite having lived for centuries, the person inhabiting Hessie's body had never learned how to perform even a trick like the one Manohar was using to compensate for his lack of arms.

The Mad Professor chanted his next spell, leaving Hessie with no choice but to summon her minions while she got out of the death trap of her own making. Because of the nature of the room, all elements besides light and darkness magic were disabled.

She could cast lightning, but it would be deviated by the metal in the room. If Manohar wasn't already floating, he would only need to jump to avoid the bolt before it was neutralized by the lighting rods hidden below the floor.

It was a safety measure to prevent an inmate to strike all their captors at once if the electrical current was trapped in the metal instead of being discharged. To make things worse, the cell also made it impossible to use even arrays, which left Hessie with only her body as a weapon.

'Once I'm back inside my mansion, I can use my arrays and my puppies to kill him. It was a mistake taking him prisoner, Manohar is too dangerous to let him live.' She thought.

Unluckily, her reasoning was based on a false a.s.sumption. She had never captured him. Manohar had allowed himself to be taken. When he noticed that the lightning array wasn't lethal, he was presented with a dangerous choice.

Resisting the array would have given the meat puppet the time to free its companion and take over the guards. Manohar would have lost his specimens and all the leads they had.

Playing possum, instead, would have had the same consequences, but it also meant letting the meat puppets do all the hard work and bring him right inside the enemy base.

After days spent literally chained to Jirni with nothing to do but wait, the gala with Mynna had helped the Professor to make up his mind in a split second.

'I don't fear slave collars nor meat puppets. I know how to jam and remove them. I'd rather risk my life than waste another single day with that brute of a Constable. I need to get back to my research!'

Had been his last thought before losing consciousness.

'Thank heavens regenerating limbs is much easier now. Without Lith's spell, I would be forced to turn this place upside down to find my arms.' Was his current trains of thoughts.

Contrary to Hessie's expectations, Manohar didn't rush outside the safety of his prison. He cast an array detecting spell before unleas.h.i.+ng a powerful earth magic shockwave that cracked all of the revealed arrays' lines of power.

It wasn't enough to destroy them, but that had never been his aim. The Professor remembered the materials Hessie's thralls had purchased and she had confirmed to him that she had been there for just a few months.

Setting permanent arrays required time, resources, and a talent Manohar doubted such a self-proclaimed genius could possess. His detection spell had only confirmed his theory, making his next move child play. At least for the Mad Professor's standards.

Temporary arrays had much lower requirements, but needed a fine balance to prevent their effects from interfering with each other. He had just dealt them enough damage to compromise their alignment.

If his enemy activated them, they would either fizzle or blow in her face.

A few perfect Carpenters arrived, their vortexes at full force to drain any incoming spell at the cost of their lives. The first one charged inside the cell like a mad bull, Hessie's will was absolute.

Manohar sneered as a giant sword made of pure light impaled the creature and those following it like a kebab.

"Seriously? Are you really a one-trick pony? I figured out the weakness of those things the first time I extracted my specimen. They can nullify spells of tier three and below, but tier five is another story.

"If the ability of your creatures is weaker than the one of whom guides the spell, it becomes useless. That's how I extracted your dear 'puppy', you idiot. I never failed to control one of my spells, and I have no intention of starting today."

Hessie stared in horror as the flesh of her creatures entered Manohar's body and gave him back his arms. Their life force was consumed as well, replenis.h.i.+ng his own.

'This man is a real monster.' Hessie thought. 'I must force him to run out of mana before he tears my house apart!' Unluckily for her, the Professor's bright purple core and his relentless practice of magic made his mana reserve almost as insane as he was.

***

Dawn Court branch, Outside the city of Othre. Now.

When Lith had heard the word "arena", his mind had pictured a place similar to the Earth's Colosseum. The place the Dawn Court reserved for ceremonial battles was akin to a huge theatre instead.

The fight would take place on a circular raised platform made of white stone, that only a thick cylindrical energy barrier separated from the front row of spectators. Comfortable armchairs were evenly s.p.a.ced on a balcony that surrounded the center stage.

The arena had a diameter of 40 meters (130 feet), which together with its high ceiling allowed the fighters to have plenty of s.p.a.ce to battle on both the ground and the air.

Lith had been spellcasting non-stop from the moment the challenge had been issued. When his opponent arrived, he had yet to finish his spell.

'd.a.m.n, they are afraid of the Lich as much as I am, if not even more. I need to stall for time.' He thought.

To Inxialot, he asked: "How can you be sure the Night Court will not send one of its strongest members?"

"The Foul Moon requires peers. You being a human and an Awakened one at that, makes everything harder." Inxialot sighed. They had waited for almost two minutes after he Warped them to destination at the end of the parlay.

"They need to choose someone whose practice of magic and time as undead match your age. Then, the Dawn Court has to verify the champion's ident.i.ty."

"I don't practice magic for seventeen years. How is it fair?" Lith lied through his teeth. He needed only a few more seconds.

"I don't make the rules, I just administer them. Otherwise I would have killed you all and went back home already." Inxialot snorted through his exposed nasal septum.

A clap of his hands made the barrier even stronger and signaled the start of the fight. Sylla, Kaelan, and Xolver were sitting next to each other. They all wore the same relaxed smile, like the fight was already over.

'I wonder if their sudden friends.h.i.+p and how fast the Dawn Court checked my opponent's background are related.' Lith thought. d.u.c.h.ess Ekna had been crystal clear. Lith had no friends there and he had no intention of making any.