As a neutral force with no national affiliation, the entry requirements for the City of Mages are not particularly strict.
A mage with at least Tier Three strength, and who possesses a decent sense of justice and morality.
Under these conditions, regardless of which country or race one comes from, there is a chance to become a member of the City of Mages.
However, not everyone who joins the City of Mages has the opportunity to become a councilor.
A councilor represents the highest combat power and the highest moral standard of the Mage Council.
Anyone who holds this position must possess integrity far beyond that of ordinary people, and strength so rare it is almost unheard of.
Aside from someone like Viktor, who had just entered Tier Four yet conquered the Mage Council with his unique personal charisma and obtained a councilor seat, likewise, Cocotte, who voluntarily gave up her councilor status, naturally did not leave because the Mage Council forced her out.
She simply could not be bothered to argue. Whether she had the title of councilor or not made no difference to her at all.
So she simply abandoned the councilor position that originally belonged to her.
And the fact that she had already become one of the few councilors even before Viktor joined was naturally not because of some empty title like "Elf Queen."
The City of Mages has never cared about status.
It was only because...
[Cocotte: Lv49]
[Blessing of Nature]
She was one of the oldest and strongest councilors the City of Mages had ever had.
A pure surge of magic rippled through the space, and the round eyeball of the monster went rolling into Cocotte's hand.
In front of everyone, she weighed the eyeball in her palm, looking somewhat puzzled.
"I really don't know what's so tasty about this thing."
"Hey, you're not human, are you?"
The dust gradually settled, and a figure burst through the flying debris, leaping out violently.
No one saw her movements clearly. They only felt a white shadow flash out and then vanish in an instant.
But Cocotte was unhurried. Her finger slowly lifted again.
A soft green glow spread from her fingertip, quickly forming a double-layered magic array.
Before anyone could even notice the spell, it had already activated.
There was not even a clear trace of the magic formation left behind.
Thick vines instantly burst out of the ground, writhing wildly in midair like two giant serpents, crashing into one another.
They directly wrapped around the white figure, suspending her in the sky.
Like meat placed on a chopping block, waiting to be slaughtered.
Everything happened far too quickly. All anyone saw were two flashes of green swinging past.
By the time they came back to their senses, they discovered that the humanoid monster had already been bound in midair.
Aurelian stood beside Cocotte, looking up at the white figure struggling and tearing desperately at the green vines, her eyes filled with shock.
Such casting speed, she had only ever seen it from her teacher.
And now, Cocotte had shown her the same thing.
In less than a second, the magic had been released at extreme speed, and even the fleeting traces of magic had been wiped away.
Fluent magic, released with absolute naturalness.
So this is the basic strength of a councilor…
The cloud beneath Cocotte rose and fell as it carried her floating forward. She examined Safiroth's body up and down.
"Tsk tsk, you look pretty similar to a human. Could you be a demi-human?"
"But there isn't any demi-human species like you."
Safiroth's green vertical pupils, like those of a venomous snake, contracted slightly as she stared at Cocotte.
["Target detected. Danger level, High"]
["Switching, Combat Mode"]
A mechanical voice came from her throat, causing Cocotte to pause slightly.
Before she could figure out what was going on, two flashes of blade light suddenly appeared.
The thick, massive vines were cut apart in an instant.
After breaking free, Safiroth landed on the ground, her figure gradually fading from sight.
'Her body disappeared?'
'Magic?'
A sudden tearing sound of wind rang out, buzzing as it poured into Cocotte's ears.
[Banshee Echo]
The white figure appeared not far from Cocotte, opening its massive mouth filled with sharp fangs, and a piercing explosive screech burst forth.
The shrill sound made countless people instinctively cover their ears.
Realizing the attack, Cocotte swept her hand, using magic to block the wind pressure from reaching her ears.
By balancing the pressure inside and outside her ears, she easily resisted the monster's attack.
Seeing that her attack was ineffective, Safiroth quickly lowered her head toward the ground and then leapt upward violently.
Immediately after, two currents of air formed from leaves burst out of the soil, spiraling continuously toward the sky.
But she dodged them perfectly.
Seeing her magic avoided, Cocotte frowned slightly.
This thing's perception was astonishingly sharp.
Safiroth twisted her body midair and landed steadily on the ground.
She placed both hands before her chest, and two eyeballs actually appeared in her palms.
The eyeballs flipped backward, revealing mouths full of sharp teeth.
They opened wide, and two streams of flame instantly spewed out.
[Wall of Flames]
Intense flames formed a thick barrier, pressing steadily toward Cocotte.
The cloud beneath Cocotte seemed intimidated by the scorching heat and retreated slightly.
Clearly displeased, Cocotte swiftly kicked the back of the cloud, forcing it to float forward again.
With a gentle pinch of her fingers, two faint blue lights spread from her fingertips, and thick columns of water burst forth.
The high-pressure torrents pierced straight through the wall of fire, attacking Safiroth at extreme speed.
Everyone stood frozen as they watched this dazzling and intense battle.
The demi-humans could only watch from afar, completely unable to go in and provide support.
The speed of the fight was already far beyond what soldiers like them could interfere with.
Aurelian, however, stared wide-eyed.
As a diligent and studious child, she had gone through the monster encyclopedia Viktor gave her over and over again.
And every single ability used by the white monster before her could be found in that encyclopedia.
"Banshee Echo… that's clearly a powerful skill of the Dark Banshee."
"And that wall… that looks like the Flame Wall of the Flame Gorilla?"
She could hardly believe it, briefly thinking she must be seeing things.
But the next ability Safiroth used confirmed it beyond any doubt.
The two streams of water slammed violently into Safiroth's body, yet she stood completely still, as if her body had been fully petrified.
A gray, stone-like sheen covered her body.
"Gargoyle's Petrification!?"
Just as Cocotte had said, she was definitely not a normal human.
How could a human possibly use monster abilities?
Unless she were a mage capable of imitating such effects with magic.
But clearly, there wasn't even any noticeable magic fluctuation around her.
As the water subsided, Safiroth's petrification immediately lifted.
The next moment, her body glowed with purple light, like lightning constantly flowing through it, sparks flickering along the surface.
This time, Aurelian almost shouted instinctively, "That's Thunder Flow! Don't get close to her!"
"Thunder Flow only lasts a few seconds! After that, her speed will slow down!"
Hearing the warning, Cocotte immediately became vigilant.
Just as Aurelian said, Safiroth's body was wrapped in purple electric currents as she charged toward Cocotte, igniting flames in the air.
Trees around them were smashed in half by Safiroth's charge, wooden fragments flying everywhere.
At the critical moment, the cloud sensed danger.
Without even needing Cocotte to command it, the cloud cried miserably and hurried upward into the air, dodging the lightning explosion that detonated in an instant.
As the thunder gradually subsided, Cocotte clenched her hand, and a yellow spear of lightning rose from beneath her.
It surged along the ground and burst upward beneath Safiroth, tearing through the earth.
[Tier Four Magic: Radiant Lightning Spike]
Shhk!
The yellow lightning spear pierced straight through the slowed, stiff Safiroth, pinning her in midair.
This strike inflicted severe damage on her.
Yet instead of pressing the attack, Cocotte sat atop her cloud, looking down at Safiroth from above.
"You can't beat me."
"I'll give you a chance. Tell me who you are."
Cocotte could sense that the woman before her was indeed extremely powerful.
Every movement she made seemed born purely for combat.
She was a true combat machine.
Her strength was probably around Tier Four, at least, that was Cocotte's estimate.
Because she could tell the other party wasn't using her full strength.
Of course, neither was she.
However, Safiroth did not answer.
Even while injured, she seemed completely unfazed by pain.
Her snake-like pupils shifted toward Aurelian at the side.
She had heard it earlier.
It was that human girl who had identified her abilities.
["Switching target. Danger level, None"]
["Requires preemptive elimination"]
The moment Safiroth shifted her gaze, Cocotte instantly understood her intent.
She raised her hand, and green magic surged upward.
A flourishing giant tree erupted from the ground, its thick trunk trapping Safiroth inside.
But in the next second, Safiroth somehow pulled out a long blade.
With a slight movement of her body and a massive spinning slash, she cut the giant tree cleanly in half.
'Where did that blade come from?'
Cocotte hadn't even had time to react.
And by the time she tried to stop it, it was already too late.
As if accelerating out of thin air, Safiroth had already reached Aurelian's side.
[Iaijutsu: Slash]
The stretched, elongated cold light slashed fiercely toward Aurelian.
Everyone's hearts leapt into their throats, but in the next instant, another cold flash struck out, blocking Safiroth's attack.
She looked up and saw a female knight clad in armor.
Her expression was cold as she pressed her blade against Safiroth's long sword.
A detached voice rang out from Gwen's mouth, "This time, I won't let you ambush her."
A blazing burst of fire suddenly surged from Gwen's sword, the scorching heat and ignited air placing unprecedented pressure on Safiroth.
[Wrath]
The two blades collided, and the fierce flames exploded violently at that moment.
Red runes slowly lit up along Gwen's sword, releasing powerful magic.
Even Safiroth's long blade began to warp slightly under the bizarre high temperature.
Yet she refused to yield, locking blades with Gwen and crashing against her relentlessly.
At the same time, unnoticed by anyone, the black feather at Aurelian's waist swayed slightly.
On top of a massive, lush tree, a pitch-black figure stood silently among the branches.
Its form was hidden behind the leaves, revealing only a single eye looking down below.
"Interesting."
"It seems Viktor was right, running into this guy here really is possible."
The crow muttered to itself, cunning light flowing within its gaze.
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