They all deserved to burn; there was no way she could ever forgive them, especially the person standing before her, one of those directly responsible for that damned barrier appearing.
'Looks like she didn't last very long.'
Her eyes watched her opponent's body slowly carbonize until nothing remained. Turning around, she began searching for anyone who might have the same symbol on their chest as the man had before being burned.
'According to what he said, the favorites have that symbol, so I just need to watch carefully.'
Far from her, Valença saw the three girls she trained with fighting against some fifth-circle followers. Without a doubt, it would be difficult for them, so she thought about giving a little help.
'Even if I don't like playing babysitter, one of them is his student—'
Kaela grabbed her opponent's fist tightly and lifted him into the air. With her other hand clenched into a fist, she gathered fire magic.
'Remember, I don't need to copy him. I have to create my own abilities too.'
Her hand formed the head of a fire serpent. With a thunderous blow, her arm vanished from her opponent's vision, smashing his face inward. A flame shot through his head like a lightning bolt as her punch continued forward, killing him instantly.
"Serpent's Charged Impact."
Her opponent's head had vanished, leaving only smoke behind. Dropping his body to the ground, Kaela began brushing the dust off her clothes. She already had a few injuries since her opponent was nearly at her level, but she could still continue.
'Will the professor like this magic?'
Massaging her shoulder with one hand, she focused on her companions still fighting their opponents. One of the fights ended just a few seconds after hers.
"Spiritual Blade."
Sisaka, with several cuts on her face, unsheathed her katana with great speed and sliced through a shield conjured by dark magic. Continuing her attack, she spun in place, making a second cut as a purple blade enveloped her katana. Hitting her opponent's waist, she cleaved him in half.
'Spiritual Blade, Second Cut.'
With even greater speed, her blade was suddenly at her opponent's throat, on the opposite side of the previous cut. She severed his head effortlessly, sheathed her katana, and wiped the blood from her face before turning toward Kaela.
'Tsk, she was faster.'
Their opponents were at the same level, so this was a perfect moment for her to see if she had reached her rival's level.
'Ever since she started training with the professor first, I haven't been able to surpass her… I need to ask him for some special training.'
"Earth King's Punch!"
Hearing her other training partner, she saw Erina land an earth-enhanced punch to her opponent's stomach with such force that it cracked the ground—even through the barrier's reinforcement.
"I did it!"
With an excited expression, Erina raised her arm, full of confidence. Following Enrico's training was definitely the best choice; with this level, becoming rich would be much easier.
'I feel like I'm getting closer and closer to my dream.'
But the moment she turned and noticed her two companions had already finished, her excitement shattered—she had been the last to defeat her opponent.
'Damn it, why are they always stronger? I guess I'll have to push myself harder.'
With her arms hanging at her sides, she walked toward them feeling discouraged. From the distance, Valença sighed with a smile—seemed she wouldn't need to worry about them.
'Looks like I underestimated their abilities.'
Moving to hunt the next opponents, she found several ordinary cult followers attacking other allies. Among them, Seraphina observed everything with a neutral expression, trying to pretend she wasn't enjoying the moment.
'She pretends, but I can see from the trembling in her hand that she's enjoying this.'
The magic Seraphina used confused her enemies, making them see their friends as foes. It was a powerful spell, and as Enrico had instructed, she had trained physically these past two years to protect herself when out of mana.
'They must feel utterly betrayed seeing their companions turn on them… this is fun.'
'They are my followers, so I'm not sure if I should be worried or amused by this.'
'If you're going to keep talking to me, then have fun. I don't want you praising people I hate.'
Raising her finger, Seraphina began firing condensed magic at her enemies, targeting the fourth-circle ones to eliminate them faster. Hitting one in the head, she pointed at another and fired again—first piercing her opponent's leg, then his forehead.
'That makes twelve, and I'm still not satisfied… I guess I need to kill more.'
Kai, fighting two fifth-circle opponents alone in the distance, saw Seraphina rushing some followers and punching them in the face, sending them flying back.
'Why is she punching them? Cutting off their limbs makes them suffer more.'
One of his opponents attacked him from behind with a spear. Seeing the attack coming, he redirected it with his sword, causing it to hit the raised fist of his second opponent instead.
"Rising Tide."
Lifting his sword, a tide of water surged upward, throwing both opponents high into the air and then swallowing them. Infusing light magic into his sword, he executed a quick slash, splitting the tide in two.
'One arm gone.'
"Cactus Magic: Thorn Trap!"
Caught off guard, Kai had his arm pierced by several thorns as a cactus burst from the ground. Despite his arm being impaled, his expression remained neutral. With his own strength, he tore his arm free from the thorns and spun, driving his injured arm straight through the head of his second opponent.
'I think I killed him by accident.'
The thorns were huge, so they ran clean through the enemy's skull. A large cactus with arms tried to punch Kai from above. Seeing the attack approach, Kai raised his injured arm to block it with some difficulty.
'Fighting two fifth circles is a bit troublesome.'
Releasing an explosion of light from his body, he pushed the large cactus and its caster several meters away.
'Heal.'
With a desperate expression, his opponent watched Kai heal his arm with complete calm, not showing the slightest hint of pain. Those thorns carried enough venom to bring down a fifth circle in minutes, yet with simple healing magic, this monster neutralized the poison effortlessly.
'How do I—'
"Light Sword."
Before he could even think of a new strategy, his head was severed from his body as Kai moved. Swinging his sword, Kai flicked the blood off the blade with a hint of disgust in his eyes.
'I really don't like killing, but it's for the best. I can't risk them doing this again.'
Sheathing his sword, he looked into the distance where massive destruction was unfolding. He noticed Victoria bleeding slightly from her forehead. At first he was surprised, but that surprise quickly turned into seriousness when he saw her opponents were two sixth-circle mages.
'Shit.'