Holding a bracelet, Durnstag summons a chained, ghostly-looking Nartheis. That bracelet had been given by Sandro himself, making her the second favorite after only the circle seven with the most potential.
Name: Darkness Nartheis, Ranvil Rank, Level 2
Magic: Night
Unique Ability: None
Darkness points her finger to the sky, making everything around that area go dark. Even Morther had copied this ability because it was extremely useful for people with similar magic.
"Attack them—"
To his surprise, that Nartheis didn't move, only looking to the left. Noticing something, she moved toward that spot, making the magic disappear. The three girls in front of her were a bit confused as everything returned to light, still in defensive formation.
"Don't tell me there's someone with light magic here?"
She pressed her fingers to her forehead, trying to calm the throbbing pain. It seemed she would have to fight all three.
"Miss Lyria, step back."
Lyria took a few steps back, preparing some magic to intervene in the fight whenever needed. After all, she was the daughter of the cult leader, so she wasn't going to stay behind in this battle. She needed to earn merit.
'I have to eliminate at least some students, or my father will look at me that way again.'
"Fire Bull."
Summoning a red bull with flames shooting from its nostrils, Durnstag thrusts her hand forward. With an impulse, the bull charges at Yumeha, Aoi, and Rina, exploding when it reached three meters from them.
"Let's see how they handle this."
As the smoke cleared, Komainu had created a barrier around Yumeha and the other two. The barrier shattered under just one attack, which made sense since none of the three were at Victoria's level in terms of being an aberration.
"Decomposition."
Rina breaks the ground beneath them completely, catching Durnstag off guard. Taking advantage of the moment, Aoi commands her five-tailed fox to spit a giant blue fireball, engulfing Durnstag. Moments later, multiple fire streams shoot above their heads. With quick movements, all three dodge in time.
"Aoi, we go behind, Yumeha handles the front."
"Got it."
Letting Yumeha attack head-on, the others move to different sides, forcing Durnstag to make a decision—but Yumeha was right in front of her, blocking any choice.
"Aka-Oni."
A red aura envelops Yumeha, darkening her skin; her new magic overflows through her body. Her physical abilities increase drastically.
'Time to kill her, then the girl with the symbol.'
Her body brims with red magic, a portion of her hair swaying to reveal her eyes, a strong ruby red. This wasn't her new magic—it was her true eye color.
'How infuriating.'
Yumeha felt her anger from the past two years explode; she had endured too long without hunting these people, and she had no intention of retreating.
Rina, Aoi, and Yumeha lock eyes for a second and move in perfect sync, executing the team strategy they had developed over two years.
The ground cracks under their simultaneous charge. Yumeha moves first, her body tinted by Aka-Oni, releasing red shockwaves with every step. Durnstag reacts with a concentrated flame explosion from her fists, intercepting the direct punch. The clash sends shards of red energy and fire flying in all directions.
Yumeha spins her leg, creating a force arc that cuts the air; Durnstag blocks with her ember-wrapped forearm, sliding backward, carving grooves into the ground.
"Partial Disintegration."
Rina stomps the ground, raising irregular zigzagged strips of corroded earth toward Durnstag. She jumps back, only to see Aoi appear with her five-tailed fox. The creature opens its jaws, releasing blue flames, a spiraling beam that forces Durnstag to spin her arms, creating a wall of fire to clash with the blast.
'This is excellent synchronization from these girls.'
"It's not over yet."
The impact generates a wave of fire, which Aoi cuts with a side jump, while her fox dissolves into embers and reappears behind her. Durnstag charges Yumeha again, and they meet with punches that explode the air in circular waves. The brute force of Aka-Oni pushes Durnstag back slightly, but she plants her foot and summons, materializing a pair of flaming horns before advancing.
"Flaming Horns."
The horns collide with Yumeha's hardened forearm, sending sparks and red energy flying. Yumeha slides a step, rotates her hips, and lands an uppercut that breaks part of the right horn. Durnstag counters with a fire-charged kick, hitting Yumeha in the stomach and sending her crashing into a building.
"Total Disintegration."
Rina seizes the opening, unleashing a wave that corrodes the air, earth, and trees in its path. Durnstag leaps high to avoid being hit.
"Blue Fire Sphere."
Aoi intercepts midair, commanding her fox to spit three crossing blue fire spheres. Durnstag spins, creating an ember arc that destroys the spheres before impact.
'Time for a small trap.'
Smiling slightly, Durnstag concentrates mana in her feet, exploding the ground and leaping to the only safe spot. The three pursue instantly, moving as a perfect team—but they've fallen into a trap. Forcing a stop mid-motion, she spins and launches a full-power charge toward Aoi.
"I…"
Aoi immediately realizes that the attack will kill her on contact and, to make matters worse, she can do nothing; the strike can't be dodged, even with her speed.
"AOI!"
Rina and Yumeha panic seeing their friend about to be killed—but then, they feel something surge from her body, exploding into mana, reaching in time to stop Durnstag by grabbing her shoulder.
"What?"
Surprised, Durnstag is thrown away by a double kick from the two, breaking her ribs.
'Impossible… they injured me?'
Hitting the ground, she immediately rises, seeing the two girls smile with excitement. Yumeha and Rina turn to the barrier around the original Astrong Academy. Aoi, surprised, understands immediately, turning her head in that direction. Trembling slightly and with a gleam in her eyes, she smiles.
"He really is the best master for them."
Durnstag, confused, looks in the same direction and sees the barrier collapsing in pieces. It seems the circle ten finally destroyed it.
'Wait, I feel three powerful manas—two of them belong to these girls—but how is this possible? They did it.'
Suddenly, Durnstag feels a massive chill coursing through her body. Looking again at the barrier, she sees the original academy heavily damaged, the ground littered with Nartheis corpses still disappearing.
"What the hell is this? I came back, and all I see is chaos?"
Stepping on a Nartheis head, Enrico, with slightly longer shoulder-length hair, some scars on his body, and shirtless, looks at Durnstag, already seeing her as an enemy with cold, empty eyes.
"Looks like I'll have to kill someone after all."
The power Enrico radiated was that of someone who had just evolved to the sixth circle, ready to kill his next opponent.