Saitya couldn't lie—she felt a bit of fear when she saw the amount of magic her opponent possessed. Even so, she could still win because she had the numerical advantage on her side. And the best part? All of them were Circle Six, even if the skeletons were not as strong as Val'Drakar.
'She's also Circle Six. It's impossible for her to be superior, even with that spirit beside her.'
Incandis moved its wings, creating a giant tornado of fire across the battlefield. Valença might have been furious at the elf before her, but she wasn't stupid enough to use her abilities in a place where there could still be allies nearby. When she had whispered earlier, it had been to make Incandis remove any possible allies from the distance. That meant this entire zone was now safe from harming any allies.
'I'll focus only on this zone and keep my power concentrated in one point so the destruction doesn't swallow the entire castle and everything nearby.'
She would put her control into practice so her magic wouldn't cause excessive destruction while still using all her destructive power against the elf before her. Clenching her fist, a gigantic fireball filled the sky. Cescud took the lead among the four and placed his shield forward. A massive shield-shaped mana barrier collided with the fireball.
Marvud used his magic around his skeletal body and increased his speed with the sword in his hands. Raising the blade, he brought it down quickly toward Valença's shoulder. The moment the sword touched her shoulder and cut slightly, a fire explosion blasted her backward. Valença had created an explosive barrier around her body by concentrating on forming an offensive defense.
Now with that, her enemies wouldn't be able to touch her without getting hurt, and that worried Saitya. Crouching down, she began summoning a fourth body—a Circle Six mage she had kept. The three moved forward, creating a safe zone around Saitya.
"Fire Magic: Flame Barrier."
Across the entire area of her Volcanic Crown Field, a barrier appeared covering the zone. Valença had done this to release more power. Thanks to the barrier sealing everything outside, she would use all her strength—even the explosion of the Fire Nuclear Sphere if she had time.
"Incandescent Ray."
Pointing her staff at the four, she released an even greater quantity of fire mana than usual. Cescud placed his shield forward and was immediately pushed backward, his bones cracking as the ray dragged him along. The impact was so powerful that the Incandescent Ray pierced the shield barrier like a spear of fire. Cescud tried to hold the shield steady, but his bones began cracking under the absurd heat piercing through his defensive mana. The ground beneath him slowly melted as he was pushed back several meters.
Marvud appeared at Valença's side with his speed enhanced by the magic surrounding his skeletal body. Raising his sword, he brought it down with a brutal strike toward her shoulder. The moment the blade touched her body barrier, another short but violent explosion erupted around her, even though this time it managed to push her slightly aside.
'It seems this barrier still doesn't have enough power if my opponent can endure the explosion… well, at least one is gone.'
She looked toward Cescud and saw that her Incandescent Ray was still advancing. Cescud's barrier finally shattered. The skeleton was engulfed by the wave of fire and dragged across the ground as parts of his body burned and cracked under the heat.
'How unfair… how does she have so much mana?'
Saitya narrowed her eyes from within the protection formed by the Circle Four undead she had summoned, arranged like a shield behind Val'Drakar to protect her from several fire attacks falling from the sky. Pressing her hand against the ground even harder, a black circle appeared beneath her as bones began emerging from the broken earth.
"Rise."
The fourth corpse slowly began to stand. It was a former Circle Six battle mage. His skull was partially cracked and a broken metal crown remained stuck on his head. Green necromantic flames appeared within his empty eye sockets as he fully rose. Meanwhile, Valença finally ended the Incandescent Ray. The heat on the battlefield still made the air tremble as Incandis flapped its wings in the sky, scattering embers across the field.
"Do you really think numbers make a difference to me?"
Valença observed this for a moment with cold eyes. Saitya began to laugh beneath her torn hood. The arrogance of that human was unbearable. She had already decided—after killing Valença, she would turn this human into one of her personal slaves.
"Your arrogance is something I despise, human."
"How interesting… I despise you too."
Valença's eyes turned red and steam began rising from her body. Her skin gained a slightly redder tone—not a big difference, just as if her skin glowed faintly and her eyes flickered red. Saitya pointed toward Cescud's body and revived her guard once again. They could only truly die if she died.
"Now the fight is four against one."
The four undead advanced at the same time. Cescud led with his cracked shield, Marvud ran along the side with his sword raised, the newly summoned mage lifted a bone staff gathering mana, and Val'Drakar charged directly toward her with his black sword.
'Seeing him like this… is sad.'
Valença's eyes lingered on him for a moment—filled with anger and sadness. Closing her eyes, she raised her staff as the Volcanic Crown Field began pulsing more intensely. Cracks of magma appeared across the ground while columns of fire rose around the battlefield. Seeing this, Saitya frowned in discomfort.
'She's still increasing her power?'
A sphere of fire began forming above Valença—large enough to match the castle behind her. The sky inside the gigantic barrier spanning thousands of meters turned completely red as fire mana accumulated everywhere.
"Val'Drakar… I will put your body to rest."
She opened her eyes, revealing a ruby color like a precious gem. Her expression returned to its usual calm. Valença felt that she had awakened what Enrico had mentioned during the trial. It seemed that push had indeed helped her reach it faster.
[Unique Ability: World Mana]