'I see…' She thought to herself while still trapped. Even with the mask she had on, the green smoke seemed to seep into her skin as the vein marks continued to increase.
'It's still effective even when not inhaled.' This ability was not that unique as there were people with such powers.
She felt herself getting weaker by the second as the vines closed in to bind her. Her expression then took a serious turn as she channelled her mana through her body, the temperature in the tiny space plummeting faster than she had done before.
The green smoke began to freeze due to the temperature drop as the spreading vein marks slowed done. Poison and cold never got along, and Julia used that to slow down the spread. Once that was achieved, she retrieved her sword and channelled her mana through it.
She briefly closed her eyes and took on a striking stance, her right hand holding the sword close to her chest and her centre of gravity lowered to gather as much force as possible.
In one move, she thrusted her sword forward and pierced the vine cage. But that wasn't all as she released a burst of mana through the sword into the vines, the cold mana seeping into them and they quickly froze over before…
BOOM!
Outside the vine cage, before Julia attacked, Winslow landed on the ground a few metres away from the cage with a victorious smirk on his face. His attention went to the watching students as he bathed in their shocked expressions.
'That should be a good lesson for her. The poison should slow down her reaction time and decrease her strength the more she's exposed, and soon, she'll be out cold.'
As quickly as those thoughts went by, he noticed the vines freeze and instantly frowned. The poison worked fast, and he had felt how strong her ice was, and it wasn't that powerful.
He had made an error in judgment as the ice Julia used earlier was nothing but a trick to hold prisoner for a short time. Preferably, till he got the message and cooled his head.
"What?!"
The explosion sent him back a couple of metres in horror, and when he turned his attention to the now-freed girl, he noticed the mask and the plummeted temperature. It was lower than what he felt before.
"Oh shit-"
He cursed himself as the only thing he had succeeded in doing was piss her off more than she already was.
Before his thoughts could be voiced, Julia was already on him, this time far faster than she moved before.
"!"
Winslow had a split second to respond to the sword moving towards him! He tried to move out of the way and succeeded in getting his chest region out of the way, but his left shoulder was still in the path of the sword.
The sword cleanly cut off his left arm from the shoulders and the cold mana seeped into the cut and instantly froze that region.
The armour he wore did nothing against the biting cold. Heck, it couldn't stop her sword from cutting through it.
"AH!!"
He screamed in agony and distanced himself before ending up slamming into a wall by his lonesome. He gritted his teeth in pain with muffled grunts, and his body convulsed in an attempt to dissipate the cold.
He was this close to dying as the cold nearly reached his heart. All of a sudden, he felt a cold breeze past him and his eyes widened in horror when he saw Julia stand above him with her sword pointed at him.
The look in her eyes showed no pity or mercy for putting him in that state. He gulped in fear and tried to distance himself from the blade, but with a wall behind him, there wasn't anywhere he could move.
"Next time you're told to buzz off, heed the advice. I don't want to see you anywhere near me again, is that clear?" Julia stated expressionlessly, completely embodying what it meant what it meant to be cold and unwelcoming, just like her element.
Winslow nodded with as much enthusiasm as he could, clearly getting the message. However, in the depths of his mind was a boiling rage fueled by humiliation. He had never gotten this injured before and was so close to dying.
But he was smart to not show any ill will towards Julia at the moment. There is always a next time, maybe not now, but in the future.
Without another word, Julia turned around and left. Her gaze moved on to the watching students and they quickly turned their gaze away.
"I guess it's time to leave."
"Yep, nothing to see here."
They promptly disappeared into the paths, continuing their journey to the top. The majority of the students cared little about coming out first and more about fighting and surviving the labyrinth. This was their first time with their lives on the line after all.
Once Julia got to Abigail's side, she noticed she was awake and watching. "How long have you been awake for?" She questioned and put the sword in its sheath.
The poison in her system was slowly eroding as her system worked to dispel its remains. Since the poison was created using mana, its effects were quickly worn off when cut from its source.
"Long enough to understand what happened," Abigail replied and then sat up, her gaze shifting to the figure of Winslow.
"That's good. Are you okay to continue?" She inquired as her gaze moved to the path the students disappeared into.
Abigail did the same and then felt her shoulders with her hand. A soft groan escaped her lips before turning to Julian.
"I think I can manage. But you'll have to do all the fighting." She replied and got up on her feet and did a few jumps.
"That's nothing new," Julia replied, not seeing how different that would be. She was already doing all the fighting, and all Abigail did was finish off the ones she didn't finish on time.
"Alright, let's get going then," Abigail suggested and went for her bow and quiver placed on the side. Once they were ready, they moved towards their chosen path after a quick scan.
Before they disappeared entirely, Julia looked back at Winslow who was looking at them with rage in his eyes.
Julia felt nothing seeing that and returned her gaze to the path before her. With no further words spoken, both girls disappeared.