With extreme concentration, and both arms extended forward, Valshesia controlled her spear to force it to accelerate more and more. Between each attack on the creature, the weapon was constantly teleported between the different magic circles, falling from various points.
As the minutes passed, she added a new velocity enchantment to the weapon, while combining another enchantment with a spell.
If her magic was to be simplified, aside from the mana expenditure calculations she had to make in her mind, it was to use an object teleportation into her field of vision once, starting from each starting magic circle she had opened. She would bring her spear out of each circle, then apply a repeat spell to the entire thing. The target was then forced to repeat the same behavior over and over again until the spell was broken.
Valshesia's ingenuity and talent had done the rest, allowing her to maintain a continuous attack on a target for as long as she wished; and as long as she didn't completely exhaust her mana.
Anyone discovering her fighting technique was both amazed and terrified: she was, after all, a valuable ally, but a formidable enemy.
Géandre had been extremely lucky to be able to persuade her into forming a duo with him, thus increasing their catches and the number of rewards that the duo accumulated.
In the current situation, her technique and Géandre's invocations were a devilishly effective combination: him, immobilizing the target, and her, attacking it relentlessly. Yet even with this formidable teamwork, their magic practices were all the more different.
The young man's summoning magic relied on a combined stasis and storage spell, which allowed him to enclose a creature of varying size in a plate previously imbued with mana. Since the beast had to remain contained, the user had to regularly inject mana into the plates in order to maintain the sleeping and passive state of the monsters stored in this manner. All that remained was to call the creature by its name, which served as a 'key' to free them from their sleep.
The magic of the monster tamer was thus slow and continuous, while the space magic of Valshesia was occasional but intense.
Yet these two very different uses combined perfectly into a form of combat that was both defensive and offensive; taking advantage of the different uses of mana.
Satisfied that their plan was going smoothly, Géandre gave a new command to his monster.
"Erzebrun! Push!"
Immediately, the six-limbed monster leaned forward, and using its four front legs, it slowly but surely began to push back the Behemoth, which was now covered in its own blood and shaking from the shock of all those wounds. The claws of the hairy creature, although embedded in the ground, slipped away; creating a furrow behind them.
Thervis, the expert in ranged combat, took the opportunity to fire two new arrows behind the creature; linked together by a rope laid on the ground. Waiting patiently for the Behemoth to get close enough, he pulled the end of the rope to stretch it between the two arrows and secured it to the tree trunk where he had taken refuge.
The Behemoth's hind legs made contact with the rope, but it would take more than that for the creature to stumble and fall.
Seeing this, Géandre gave a new order to the slender creature.
"Erzebrun! Crush!"
Letting out a grunt, the flat-headed creature momentarily released the pressure it was exerting on its enemy to gain momentum, and suddenly lurched backwards before coming crashing full weight forward onto the Behemoth it was still gripping by its four forelimbs.
In return, the Behemoth packed itself into a big ball, while letting out a gurgling sound mixing pain and ferocity.
It was being crushed by its opponent, and being trapped on each side by walls of earth and rock that the alchemist was still maintaining and reinforcing, it only had the path to the clearing behind it to make its escape. Without realizing the trap it had fallen into, the creature took a step backwards, and finally stumbled over the rope that Thervis had stretched.
With its hind legs momentarily losing contact with the ground, the beast's hindquarters collapsed first, before Erzebrun finally pushed it over and tipped it backwards.
The creature was suddenly thrown backwards, and collapsed to the ground on its right side with a cry of distress.
"Now!" Géandre exclaimed.
Immediately, the attack of Valshesia's spear intensified, and while the alchemist created mounds of solid earth on the Behemoth's limbs to restrict its movements, the swordsman moved forward to attack the creature in close combat.
Without hesitation, he plunged his blade into the joints of the beast in order to sever the muscles and nerves that controlled its legs.
Once completely immobilized, the Behemoth would pose no more threat and could be finished off without any difficulty; which made Géandre smile. Despite the condition of their defense expert, this hunt was a success.
Delighted, he took out his sword from its sheath, to get ready to join the swordsman near the monster.
However, he had barely taken a step when he realized that something was wrong.
Valshesia's spear had suddenly stopped, and a grunt of pain came to him from behind his position. Had she already used up all her mana?
If so, she urgently needed a mana potion to keep her from passing out.
He turned around, and with wide eyes, saw that the young woman's immobility was not the result of a lack of mana.
Lifted above the ground, the young woman was being held aloft by her throat by a man who had his back to Géandre and the rest of the group.
"Valsh!" He shouted.
The man dressed in black and a cloak with a dark fur collar then turned his face towards him, and Géandre's blood ran cold.
The assailant wore an entirely smooth mask, completely concealing his face.
Yet the young hunter was absolutely sure that the assailant was staring directly and fiercely at him.