Lillith - Chapter 12 - Duel! Esmeralda x Armand!

Attention, this is a work of fiction, and all characters are adults, over 18 years old!

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The sky above the private arena was tinged with a deep orange as the sun began to set, casting long shadows over the polished stone floor. Esmeralda walked confidently to the center of the space, the sound of her heels echoing across the battlefield. Her green eyes glinted, and a slight smile played on her lips as she spotted Seraphina and Armand already waiting.

Armand, with his hands clasped behind his back, looked nervous yet determined. He was already at the center of the arena, his eyes fixed on his opponent. Seraphina’s expression, on the other hand, was one of pure disdain mixed with amusement as she awaited the start of the fight. The rules were simple, but in this battle, much more was at stake than just honor.

Seraphina approached Esmeralda with a warm smile and greeted her with an elegant nod. “Esmeralda, darling, are you ready for the fight?”

Esmeralda responded with a slight nod and a confident smile. “I’m always ready.”

Seraphina gave a low, sarcastic laugh, turning toward Armand. “And you, Armand?”

The warlock clenched his fists. “I’m ready for the fight,” he replied firmly.

Satisfied with his response, Seraphina took three steps back, raised her hand in the air, and began counting, her clear voice cutting through the air. “Three... two... one... Fight!”

As soon as the word left Seraphina’s lips, Esmeralda moved with the speed and precision of an experienced hunter. She snapped the fingers of her right hand, and all the runes and enchantments that Armand had spent over an hour setting up around the arena simply vanished like smoke in the wind.

“You really thought the same trick would work twice?” she taunted, her voice dripping with disdain.

Armand felt disappointed but wasn’t surprised that the most strategic teacher wouldn’t fall for the same trick that had fooled Lillith. Before he could react, Esmeralda snapped the fingers of her other hand. A complex magical shield design appeared in the area of Armand’s groin, glowing with a pale light before shattering like broken glass.

“A protection spell?” Esmeralda raised an eyebrow, her voice filled with contempt as she mocked Armand. “Really? So obvious.” She let out a short, cold laugh, shaking her head in disdain. “You’re really scared I’ll castrate you, aren’t you? How pathetic… using a spell like that to protect your precious jewels. Terrified of the idea of me hitting them, aren’t you? Can’t blame you… they’re so easy to target. Big, unprotected, and so… vulnerable.”

She took a step toward him, her eyes fixed on his, full of provocation. “But that spell won’t save you, Armand. Nor will your precious testicles. You entered this fight knowing the risk, knowing that a single blow from me could bring you to your knees, wishing you’d never been born with these ‘easy targets.’ And honestly, you should be worried, because I’m not stopping until I make you regret accepting this duel.”

Armand’s face flushed with anger, the runes were one thing, but discovering the shield spell?… How? He finally advanced, his magic enhancing his speed. His feet glided across the floor as he unleashed a series of rapid attacks. Esmeralda dodged the first three with ease, her movements fluid like the wind. However, Armand’s fourth strike found its mark, hitting Esmeralda directly in the stomach.

The impact made her let out a gasp of pain, the sound echoing through the arena, shock evident on her face. Armand savored the moment, but shortly afterward, a faint purple aura appeared around Esmeralda’s abdomen.

“Shield?!” Armand thought.

“Got you,” Esmeralda thought maliciously.

Without wasting a second, she crouched and, with a swift and precise movement, swept Armand’s legs out from under him, sending him tumbling to the ground. While he was still airborne, off-balance, Esmeralda murmured with a smile, “Let me show you what I’ve been teaching my students… PHANTOM PUNCH!”

Armand’s face twisted in pure despair at hearing Esmeralda’s words. He knew exactly what was coming. The spell she had cast… he tried to think as fast as he could, his body was in the air, he was falling, defenseless, his mind racing through multiple ways out of this situation… all quite dangerous… after all, this was just a duel, and he didn’t want to send anyone to the hospital.

Armand decided to use a spell but held back to avoid making the duel too dangerous…

A white aura began to envelop Armand.
“Bozhestvenny impuls!”

This white aura expanded, sweeping through everything in its path, including Esmeralda, who was thrown back as dust began to rise around the arena.

“Did I overdo it?…” Armand thought.

“Those powers… this time, it’s different from when he fought Lillith; he’s really fighting seriously…” As the dust settled, Armand couldn’t see Esmeralda. He looked around, but the woman was nowhere in sight—until he looked up just in time. Esmeralda was falling toward him from above, with the Phantom Punch still active in her fist.

“What?! She used the impulse to gain altitude?” he thought, doing his best to dodge…

Esmeralda’s hand passed less than an inch from the primary target, and Armand narrowly escaped.

At that same moment, a kind of electric particle began to form around Armand. He extended his hand, and the particles concentrated in it. Armand’s hand moved toward Esmeralda, and to his surprise, instead of trying to dodge, she met the blow head-on, placing both of her hands against his. This made the electric shock hit her body, and she collapsed to the ground…

Armand smiled, looking at Esmeralda on the ground, dirtied and exhausted…

He looked at Seraphina. “So, judge… is this the end of the duel?”

Seraphina analyzed, preparing to raise her hand, but before she could, Esmeralda stirred, and Seraphina’s hand lowered again.

Armand looked down, took a deep breath, and began to gather sparks in his hands once more.

"Give up, Esmeralda, it’s over..."

"Aghn... yes... it’s really over..."

Esmeralda replied.

"I am the victor!"

Armand simply ignored her and started to walk toward her to deliver the finishing blow when suddenly he found himself frozen in place.

"Huh?... what... I... what is this?! I can't move?"

Seraphina looked surprised at the scene, Armand was in shock, and Esmeralda began to stand up slowly.

"Here's a warning for you, Armand... out of all the teachers in this school, you will NEVER be able to mess with me..."

She lifted herself a bit more.

Seraphina, curious, closed her eyes, channeling all her mana into her vision. Moments later, she reopened them, a glowing Egyptian eye formed from mana surrounding her gaze. She looked at Armand, noticing his body was completely bound by a yellow chain...

"Sabotatio chains?... How?... You need to mark the start and end points of the chains on the target's body..."

Seraphina then spotted the origin and endpoint of the chains… both marked on Armand's hands, precisely where Esmeralda had gripped him.

Armand, still in shock, confronted Esmeralda.

"You allowed yourself to be hit just to mark rune points? Are you crazy? If I had gone full power, you could've died!"

"This is just a duel," Esmeralda replied. "I know you wouldn’t use anything too dangerous... that’s how things are, Armand, play dirty but play smart... and that's the thing, I’m too smart for anyone in this school..."

Esmeralda finally stood up fully, much to Armand's dismay. He focused his mana and tried his hardest to break free from the chains on his body. Esmeralda noticed his efforts and taunted him.

"Oh, come on, Armand... I know you're powerful, but... you know breaking these chains is nearly impossible." She took two more steps toward him.

Armand ignored her, continuing to concentrate. Seraphina watched with a serious expression, feeling that, to her, this fight wasn’t over yet.
Armand stayed focused as Esmeralda drew closer, inch by inch.

"Well... since we're here, let's end this once and for all."

The glow on Esmeralda’s fist reappeared, her Phantom Punch was active again as she approached.

"Prepare yourself, Armand, for the world of pain only men can feel!"

She shouted as she pulled her fist back, ready to strike. At that moment, Armand's eyes finally opened in surprise. He managed to break free from the chains and threw himself backward, a perfect dodge… or so he thought… but once again… his balls were too heavy to keep up with his body’s movement.

In the next instant, Esmeralda's fist collided directly with his left ball with brutal precision.

For a moment, absolute silence reigned. There was no sound, no movement. The world seemed to have stopped. Even the wind in the distant trees seemed frozen.

Esmeralda, with a malicious smile on her lips, took a step back, still struggling to stand, and looked at Armand with a mischievous look. She made a quiet "pop" sound with her mouth...

It was the final trigger. Armand's body convulsed violently, and a guttural groan escaped his lips, slicing through the silence with palpable agony. "My... balls..."

Esmeralda, still standing over him, watched with disdain as Armand writhed in pain on the ground, clutching his injured parts with both hands. She shook her head in disapproval.

"It’s really a terrible idea to be a man and challenge a professor to a duel," Esmeralda said, her voice soft but filled with mockery. She looked directly at Armand, a malicious smile forming on her lips. "Especially a man like you, carrying those... big, vulnerable balls between your legs. Honestly, I always wonder how you manage to be so foolish. Such large targets, practically painted there, just waiting to be crushed..."

Seraphina, who had been observing the fight, finally breathed... still processing everything that had just happened, and said, "Well... it seems that went as expected..." She began to clap, "Very well done, Esmeralda!"

She approached Esmeralda.

"The winner is Esmeralda!" Seraphina proclaimed.

Esmeralda smiled triumphantly, feeling Seraphina's admiring gaze upon her. "It was a good match, but you need to learn a bit about nature..." she replied, looking at Armand's motionless body on the ground. "I hope you've learned your lesson."

Esmeralda limped toward the exit, while Seraphina looked at Armand lying there...

"Ah... it was a good duel... she's right about that... Don’t be discouraged, Armand... Esmeralda is the best strategist in the school... Well! I have things to do; when... you know... your balls leave your throat, please return to work."


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OK! I basically deleted the other 2 episodes that were ready, because ... they were broken in a way that I couldn't get ready, so ... What will the future of this series be?
Well ... the next episode will be something more loose too, just to finish this Esmeralda presentation arc, then in EP 14 finally start the main story at once! This chapter was very long, and I won't lie, I changed a lot, a lot, a lot in him, before he was so basic ... Minus ... the fight was over, but after talking a little with the readers, I I saw that I needed to make more details, and start developing a few more things ... so ... more than half of this chapter were ideas taken on time ... so, I hope you enjoy, thanks for reading! And get ready!

Previous chapter:
https://www.reddit.com/r/BallbustingStories/comments/1gf5wtq/lillith_chapter_11_esmeralda/