"To think I'll have early revenge on both of you." Said Awthra with a smile.
Had her words not carried the possibility of him dying, Naell could more or less see the fiery mage in front of him as a beauty.
Having vibrant red hair, sharp yet seductive eyes, and a figure similar to that of a model on Earth, she was not lacking much like the leading ladies surrounding the story.
"For making an amputee out of Sult, I'll make sure to cut your arms and legs off one at a time!"
"..."
And yet all of those features were washed away by her ruthless and aggravating personality. She even boldly claimed while they were fighting that she would use Naell and Owly's bodies as food for her pet.
"She's quite aggressive huh." Said Sead who like most of them only met Awthra that day.
Naell nodded in agreement and said, "Well, atleast she's caring towards her companions..?"
As he tried to lighten the mood, Awthra with a weird tone in her voice added, "I've waited days for this, young master."
"..."
No matter how sweet sounding her words out of context was, it sent shivers down the spines of Naell and the elven knights who had heard her.
Especially upon receiving her [ Wyvern's Breath ] a spell that was supposedly created to mimic the flames of a dragon.
Luckily, Naell was able to produce a spell of highly pressurized snow that buried the flames. He also countered with his usual water magic, sending monsters away from them.
"I think she has a crush on you." Jokingly said one of the elven knights which made Naell almost gag in nausea as he replied, "You mean wants to crush us..."
As if she heard their bickering; a multitude of balls of flames was summoned from heaven, raining down onto all of them at once. She then said menacingly, "Don't go dying on me now."
While Owly had managed to seal all the spells before they could land and cause massive injuries, that had put him and Naell some distance away from Sead and the other elven knights who preemptively anticipated dodging the attack.
It was a massive disadvantage as the monsters were also locking the duo's every pathway. Not to mention, Sead and the others were in a bind due to a breach in their defenses that was currently being exploited by the enemies,
Immediately, Naell gripped his staff and casted [ ice javelin ] towards Awthra, her two companions, and finally the monsters closing in on his allies.
As the glistening pointed attacks hurled towards their enemies, Naell then followed up his attack by casting another much grander spell.
Clasping his staff by both of his hands, its tip began to emit blinding bright light. He then telepathically said as his hair began to flutter,
- Retreat now. We will be right behind you.
Sead and the others could only comply, yet no one questioned Naell or turned back as they heard the tides of the sea begin to thrash. Cold foggy gusts of wind began rushing past them as they ran.
And by the time they had left the vicinity of the battle, they finally saw the expanding white mana that began to illuminate the entire invading force.
[ Hailstorm ] as Naell called it; a spell that would not only conjure winds that would blow away anything in its surroundings, but also produce a howling noise that would overpower and mask any sound.
Yet the most fearsome effect of that spell was its ability to turn the temperature sub-zero instantly. It was far more effective on that day as they stood by the coast with an abundance of natural mana and onshore winds.
They then understood why Naell with haste wanted them to go back, as that spell would not differentiate foes from allies.
Even Owly flew high so as not to be caught in that piercing coldness. Amazingly enough, his spell proved to be effective, as one of Awthra's companions failed to launch a complex variety of dark magic against his Hailstorm.
From what Naell felt before their spell failed, it was stronger than his and would have not just blown but erased everything in its path.
"I take back what I said, they don't care about their allies at all..." With a sigh said Naell.
.
.
.
Back-and-forth attacks were launched by the two sides, and although Naell and Owly's teamwork was incomparable with the three they were facing, the tide of the battle was to the enemies' advantage.
In the first place, it was because of their numeric disadvantage. Naell and Owly would even sometimes have to fend off monsters whilst defending against the three.
Second, it was due to Awthra's companions; one of them was a mage that was also using dark magic, countering most of Owly's seal. The other was a martial artist acting as the enemies' tank, while deflecting various projectiles.
He was more durable than Sult, the duo thought as they recalled their battle with the burly man. The fact that now their new foe could brush off Naell's ice magic made him more problematic.
And lastly, Naell was already maintaining Fortress' magic while battling enemies head-on. That managed to lessen his ability to summon more snow crystals, not because of his mana, but purely because he had reached the limit of his multitasking.
While their exchanges were getting to the point that their mana and aura's output vibrated from the forces, hardly any of them were getting weaker from lacking power.
However, he was still not at the point where he could completely use 90 percent of his mana without getting overwhelmed. That was why Owly was getting frustrated as the battle had already broken Naell's seal.
And as the exchanges ensued, it was apparent that the young owl could not act beyond Naell's support. At the moment, he was slightly weaker than Awthra who in comparison was also the weakest out of the three they were facing.
Not to mention, he was slightly distracted as he knew the three might know the location of his mother. Yet he couldn't dare ask, as that might surely be used against them as leverage.
"I'm so useless, HOOT!"
Hearing and sensing Owly's frustration, Naell then said, "Don't worry, backup will soon arrive."
While he earnestly thought that was the case, the trio began to be seemingly engulfed in darkness. It was then that Naell and Owly saw the familiar dark magic threaten them from where they stood.
And only the sound of Awthra's laughter and the monsters' supposedly screeching sound was heard before the light of the moon even escaped their eyes.