"Laura, can you detect their location?" Holman asked.
Holman, Laura, and Dinodas had managed to escape Vale's magic technique, Reincarnation of the forest: Binding. Now, they were searching for Frida and Vale once again. The two had evidently fled far, but Laura possessed a magic technique to track their trail.
Laura shook her head slowly, responding, "I haven't been able to locate them, but I sense their traces nearby. They seem to have engaged in a battle here a few hours ago."
"Lead us to that spot," Holman ordered.
Laura nodded slowly and guided Holman and Dinodas to the place where Vale and Frida had fought against Alex and four other noble students when they bullied Brenda.
Soon after arriving at the location, Holman raised his eyebrows in surprise upon seeing the corpses of Fidelis and Sabine, two noble students whom he recognized, lying dead. Fidelis and Sabine were part of Alex Horizon's friend circle. Holman deduced that Frida and the man who saved her had fought against Alex and his friends.
"Apparently, Frida and the man who saved her were launching surprise attacks against Alex and his friends to protect a female student. Alex and his friends fled immediately after Fidelis and Sabine's death. Frida, the man who saved her, and the female student left the battlefield a while after the battle was over," Laura explained her observations to Holman and Dinodas.
Holman nodded, then looked at Dinodas and Laura, saying, "Go look for Alex and his friends. Frida is now 100% fit, and the three of us are not enough to defeat her, let alone with two extra students on her side. We need Alex's help to kill the girl."
"But what if Alex refuses to help us?" Laura asked.
"It's impossible. He is from the Horizon family; he would not refuse," Holman replied.
Laura nodded, and she and Dinodas set out to search for Alex. Laura's sensory abilities enabled her to track Alex's footsteps easily.
Meanwhile, Holman breathed heavily. He looked at the sky and muttered, "Frida, enjoy your last moments before I take your life away."
***
Frida swung her sword, and a blue spark emanated from it. The sword easily slashed at the wolf monster that leaped towards her.
The girl then went back to observing her surroundings carefully. She retained her defensive stance. Then, she finished off the monsters who dared to approach her one by one. When there were too many monsters attacking her at the same time, she would jump up and give an area attack.
The girl continued to dance, dodging the attacks of the monsters surrounding her, while elegantly wielding her sword.
"There are more," Frida muttered.
She then jumped high, pointing her sword towards the ceiling. Frida cast her magic technique, "Sword will. Sixth way of sword breath, the fall of the moon."
Frida brought her sword down, twisted her body 360° degrees, and a white glow formed a circle around her. The glow grew larger, cutting through every monster in its path. The magic technique successfully killed half of the monsters, and the girl proceeded to slay the remaining monsters.
She ran forward, swiftly moving her sword. She rushed and continued to kill endlessly until finally, after a few minutes, Frida managed to eliminate all the monsters.
"It's finally done. I need to quickly retrieve the enchanted stone and return to Vale and Brenda. They must be waiting for me," Frida muttered as she made her way towards the black-level enchanted stone.
She swung her sword to shatter the barrier surrounding the stone. Her sword successfully broke the barrier, and Frida reached out and grasped the floating enchanted stone. However, at that moment, a magic circle appeared beneath her feet.
"It's a trap!" Frida tried to escape the magic circle, but it glowed before she could get away. Instantly, the female magus student from the royal family was engulfed by the magic circle.
The bright light blinded Frida, and she felt the regret of being too greedy. A few moments passed before the light began to dissipate. An unfamiliar place greeted her.
"Where am I?"
She found herself in a circular room with a diameter of about six meters. The walls were red with black patterns, and when she looked up, she saw red lava flowing through the room. There appeared to be some kind of glass holding the lava in place.
A magic circle reappeared a few meters in front of her, and a wooden puppet emerged from it. The puppet emitted a strange light, and Frida watched in disbelief as it transformed to mimic her appearance. The face, clothes, and even the sword she carried were perfectly replicated by the puppet.
"What happens? How can a wooden puppet do that?"
A moment later, the puppet opened its eyes and stared at Frida coldly. Frida gripped the hilt of her sword, preparing to fight.
The wooden puppet, or rather the impersonator, mimicked Frida's movements and wielded its sword. Without hesitation, it charged towards Frida. At that moment, She drew her sword.
Trang!
As the two swords clashed, sparks flew, illuminating the dimly lit room. The sound of metal on wood echoed through the cave, a testament to the intensity of the battle. Frida resisted the impersonator's swing. She frowned as she felt the strength of the impersonator's hand, which was nearly as strong as her own.
Frida jumped back and began to cast a magic technique, "—Slashing the sky!"
Her sword was enveloped in a blue aura, but she was even more surprised when she saw the impersonator doing the same. Frida pushed her body forward, raised her sword, and swung it down towards the impersonator's head. However, before she could cut the impersonator's head off. The wooden puppet managed to avoid the attack. Its reflexes were really astonishing.
The two swords emitted a bright light, and a small explosion occurred. Frida and the impersonator were pushed back by the force.
"Not only does it mimic my appearance, but it also knows my magic techniques. This puppet is not a simple magic technique used by apprentice magus," Frida observed. Her expression grew more and more grim as she realized that this fight would not be easy.