Finale: Standing Ovation

Serpent Taming
The air had suddenly become heavy in the presence of these two individuals. Both were substantially powerful, no doubt, and they had no qualms in revealing the extent of their power right now. On one side, Artemis and his resolve burnt a brilliant gold, while on the opposite side Albion Trevelyan — a puppet in these events, really — was surrounded by an ominous cloak of dark green.

"Are you going to stand there all day?" Albion asked, as he suddenly summoned a double-bladed -like polearm to his person. He held it in its circular center, awaiting for Artemis to initiate his assault, all the while smirking at the current state of events.

"Probably." Artemis said, as his black glove shone with a red aura. "Fire!" Within moments, Artemis wrote various symbols on the air. They glowed with a fierce crimson before suddenly racing towards the Dark Mage's position. The increase in speed caused the faint red aura to suddenly blaze around the symbols with great ferocity, forging half a dozen projectiles of intense flames that intended to cause the Guild Master to completely corrode away.

However, all Albion did in response was snicker. The flames suddenly stopped in their tracks, exploding as if they came into contact with something despite nothing existing between them and the enemy. Artemis' eyes widened with surprise, even the likes of invisible barriers still possess some sort of actual resistance against flames!

"What's this, some sort of parlor trick!?" Artemis' anger started boiling. As it is, he pathetically lost to Aster just before; he couldn't afford to be so helpless again! "Time to change things up!" This time, Artemis' glove shone with a light brown aura. He wrote a single symbol on the ground, before exclaiming "Earth!" His gaze returned to meet Albion's, with the intent of causing him to collapse underneath his feet.

The plan did not go as intended. Rather than Albion collapsing, the space in front of him did! All the man did was laugh at Artemis, who continued to simply stand still in the face of this opponent. "This is far too easy. You're going to die now, kid!" The green-haired man spun his polearm one hundred and eighty degrees. He then gripped it with his right hand and swung it outward in an arc, increasing the strength of gravity in a localized region around Artemis, forcing both him and the ground to concave under the weight.

"S-shit..." Artemis stuttered, as even his own magical power and strength wasn't enough to withstand this sudden change in gravity. "How...is he managing this?" Artemis attempted to speak, although the extent of Albion's suppression made all attempts almost futile.

"Hahaha, oh boy. You're so pathetically weak, kid!" Albion laughed aloud, as he decided to sit on his chair, ultimately losing his guard towards Artemis, who kneeled on the ground pathetically struggling.

"Yeah...and that's why you'll lose..." Artemis said softlyT, as he felt the magic around him becoming visibly less dense. "This is the opportunity!" Artemis released a surge of golden magic from his being, demolishing the increased gravitational pull around his being, leaving Albion to look upon him with shock.

"Shit...shit!" Albion attempted to gather magical energy through his polearm once again — hence why he spun it. His face reeked of despair, with the streams of sweat running down his face emphasizing this.

Artemis, on the other hand, was completely calm. The energy that surrounded his being was a soft blue. It permeated from him like ripples of water, as his finger pointed towards Albion. "Take me to that throne...Ehwaz." Artemis seemed to command his body, as the magic flared and began to consume the entirety of his body in a cloak of what appeared to words.

That precise moment incited panic within the Guild Master that opposed Artemis. The letters that Artemis' body had been deconstructed into flew through the so-called barrier that was erected before Albion. Artemis' body began to reconstruct and, with no time to waste, Albion attempted to strike him with his polearm.

However, Artemis' body regenerated in the nick of time; his arm flew outward to grasp the center of the polearm and upon making contact with it, pulled it towards himself.

Albion came flying forward, helpless to the oncoming assault. Artemis had already clenched his fist, imbuing it with a strong magic before sending it flying straight towards Albion’s chest. The collision’s impact reverberated throughout the Guild Master’s body, leaving a shockwave in its aftermath that rippled out from the epicenter of the strike.

In the succeeding moment, Artemis’ grip on Albion’s polearm was loosened, leaving the strike’s impact sending him flying backward to the makeshift wall he created with his magic, shattering it in the process as he slammed onto the floor, losing consciousness.

Artemis’ panting inhabited the whole room, “Haaah…haaah…” was all that could be heard. In exhaustion, the young man placed his palms on his knees before sitting down on the ground, knowing that no more enemies would appear before him at this moment.