It was a little girl in a purple dress. She looked no more than ten years old, about the same age as Shane.
She had neat twin-tails and wore a playful smile completely out of sync with her age. Her fair, small hand held a purple-black crystal ball, from which an uncomfortable, chilling aura was endlessly emanating.
"Oh my," the girl tilted her head, her voice sweet yet icy. "I was actually discovered. Your eyes... are quite special, aren't they?"
Shane ignored her comment. The True Name Release could only last for another four minutes at most. He had no time to waste.
So, he calmly held up three fingers. "Three minutes!"
This was the safe limit he had calculated. Beyond this time, the load on his body would be unbearable.
"Hmm?" The girl blinked in confusion, her long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings. "Are you talking about the remaining time of your life?"
"Although I don't know what you want with Jellal..." Shane's tone was flat, but his feet quietly shifted half a step forward. "I'm in a hurry. I'll finish you in three minutes."
"Pfft—" Hearing this, the girl covered her mouth and laughed, as if she had heard an amusing joke. "Three minutes? Anyone can talk big~"
Before her laughter faded, her figure dissolved into the shadows like ink in water, disappearing rapidly.
In the next second, several whistling sounds attacked from different directions. They were crystal balls the size of pigeon eggs, tracing strange arcs and shooting toward Shane like a rainstorm.
The girl's voice drifted erratically around the room, making it impossible to pinpoint her location.
"So anxious... Let me guess, is there a time limit on your magic? Am I right?"
Shane shifted his feet lightly—sidestep, retreat—his movements concise and efficient. The crystal balls grazed his clothes, exploding violently the moment they touched the ground.
"Correct." He admitted frankly. "You can try to last until then. Once the magic is dispelled, I will indeed be at your mercy."
He paused, then added, "If you can do it."
Shane wasn't one to make empty threats. From what he could see, although the girl's methods were strange and powerful, they hadn't exceeded what he could handle.
The girl hiding in the dark didn't reply; instead, she responded with an even denser offensive.
Another round of crystal balls poured down like a storm, blocking all his angles of evasion.
"Useless."
Shane moved his feet casually, as if dancing on the tip of a blade. His eyes were unusually bright under the magical glow, reflecting countless fleeing phantoms of light.
"Arash's eyes can see through distance and capture the trajectory of the future. Everything about you is clear to me."
[Clairvoyance A]
As he spoke, his hands didn't stop moving. Arrows of light condensed from Magic Power shot out in succession. He wasn't firing blindly; he was aiming precisely at several seemingly empty spots in the room.
Bang!
A light arrow hit the wall, blasting a large hole instantly, forcing the purple figure to roll out of the corner in a sorry state, dust staining the hem of her dress.
"Damn it!" The smile on the girl's face faltered. She suddenly raised her hand and clenched it at empty air toward the ground. "Grow!"
A twisted giant tree instantly shot out from the cracks in the stone, its branches clawing toward Shane. But Shane just leaped lightly, perfectly escaping the range covered by the tree crown.
"Are you dizzy?" Shane said indifferently. "How could something this slow possibly touch me?"
This effortless attitude completely enraged the girl.
She bit her lower lip, a trace of ruthlessness flashing in her eyes. With a wave of her hand, overwhelming crystal balls whistled out. The offensive this time was even denser, covering almost every corner of the room.
"How will you dodge now?" The girl's voice carried a triumphant sneer as she glanced at the unconscious Jellal in the corner.
"The person you want to save is here too. What will you do? Dodge? Or... watch him be blown to pieces?"
"..."
Shane looked at the attack in silence and shook his head helplessly. By now, he had seen through all of her capabilities.
"At your wit's end. Is that all you have?"
He spat out this sentence, and just as the girl expected, he quickly rushed toward Jellal to shield him.
BOOM—!
The crystal balls smashed into Shane, kicking up a cloud of dust and shattered magical flashes.
The smile on the girl's lips had already risen, as if she had seen Shane blown to ashes. But in the next second, her smile froze completely.
The dust cleared, and Shane stood tall. Not only was he unharmed, but even the spiritual garments on his body didn't have a single scratch. His expression hadn't changed from start to finish, as if he hadn't been the one hit at all.
"How is that possible?!" The girl screamed, as if seeing the most incredible thing in the world.
"Is it strange?" Shane looked down, patting off nonexistent dust from his body, his tone as plain as if stating a common fact.
"Arash's body is robust as a mountain, never troubled by illness. Therefore, he will not be injured by attacks of this level."
[Robust Health EX]
[Magic Resistance C]
The moment his voice fell, his aura changed drastically. Before the girl could recover from her shock, the bow in Shane's hand was already drawn to a full moon!
Twang—!
A magic arrow streaked across the space like it had teleported, shooting toward the girl at a speed the naked eye couldn't track.
The girl's pupils shrank violently. The chill of death made her hair stand on end.
Just as the arrow was about to pierce her body...
"ICE MAKE: ROSE!"
She screamed, crossing her hands in front of her, the Magic Power inside her exploding desperately.
A giant rose of ice bloomed suddenly between her and the arrow, crystal clear and chillingly cold.
Bang!
The magic arrow slammed into the heart of the flower, making a piercing cracking sound. The ice rose shattered on impact, ice crystals splashing everywhere, but the arrow was slightly deflected by the collision.
"Ugh!" The girl was still ruthlessly blown away by the residual impact, a tearing pain coming from the muscles in her left shoulder. Like a kite with a broken string, she smashed into the stone wall behind her, shaking dust loose.
She slid down the wall, kneeling on one knee, her left hand hanging limply at her side. Blood seeped from the wound on her shoulder, quickly staining her purple dress red.
If the rose hadn't deflected that arrow just now, she would have been nailed to the wall, dead.
However, Shane didn't stop.
He closed in like a ghost. Under the girl's terrified gaze, he put away the longbow, clenched his right fist, and mercilessly delivered several heavy punches to her soft abdomen!
"Bear with it. I have questions for you," Shane said expressionlessly.
"Pfft—!" The girl arched her body violently, a metallic sweetness surging in her throat. Her vision went black, and her condensed Magic Power dispersed instantly.
Several more punches landed until she went completely limp, losing all power to resist. Only then did Shane take a step back.
The spiritual garments flowing with Magic Power around him quietly dissipated, and the sharp starlight in his eyes faded, returning to his normal state.
"Three minutes. Just right."
He exhaled, calming his slightly rapid breathing from the intense battle. Then he looked up, staring coldly at the girl at his feet, whose face was twisted in pain, no longer possessing her initial beauty.
"Alright." Shane's voice returned to its usual tone. "Now, we can have a good talk about what your purpose was with Jellal."