Mereoleona's patience was visibly wearing thin, her fiery aura radiating malice as she glared at the older woman before her.
The warning in her eyes was unmistakable, but the woman only chuckled in response, unfazed by Mereoleona's intimidating presence.
"Let me introduce myself,"
the woman began, her voice calm yet commanding.
"I am Seraphina Rapual, the twin sister of your sensei, Theresa Rapual... and a former Magic Knight from the Silver Eagles."
Her revelation hung in the air like a thunderclap.
Mereoleona, Charlotte, and Nebra froze, staring at the older woman in stunned silence.
"You!"
Nebra finally burst out, her voice trembling with fury as she pointed an accusing finger at Seraphina.
"You were part of the Silver Eagles? How dare you betray our kingdom!"
Her clenched fists and blazing eyes betrayed her inner turmoil.
The thought of a traitor emerging from her Magic Knight squad, especially someone tied to her noble Silva lineage, was a bitter pill to swallow.
Such a scandal would tarnish the Silver Eagles' prestige and bring shame to her family's name.
Seraphina let out a soft, almost mocking laugh, delicately covering her mouth with her hand.
"Oh, young lady Silva, you needn't worry so much,"
she said, her tone tinged with amusement.
"I retired from the Magic Knights many years ago. Not even your brother knows of me. My ties to the Silver Eagles are long forgotten, buried by time."
A tense silence followed her words, broken only by Seraphina's soft sigh.
She lifted her gaze to the sky, her expression softening as a flicker of pain danced across her face.
"You must have countless questions,"
she said quietly, her voice carrying a weight that seemed to silence even the battlefield around them.
"But believe me when I say this: in a selfish world like ours, there is no place for people like us. This world, built on injustice and oppression, must be destroyed... and in its place, we will create one where we belong. Even if it takes force."
Her words resonated with raw emotion—anger, sorrow, and unyielding resolve.
Mereoleona and Charlotte exchanged tense glances, both clearly unnerved by the mixture of pain and hatred woven into Seraphina's every word.
The air around them grew heavier, charged with conflicting emotions.
For a moment, no one spoke, the battlefield eerily silent as the gravity of Seraphina's declaration lingered.
As Seraphina spoke of creating a world for them through force, her face twisted into a crazed grin, her eyes alight with madness.
The transformation sent a chill down Nebra's spine, the unsettling sight of Seraphina's deranged expression making her breath hitch.
"Enough, Seraphina. Stop wasting time,"
a stern voice interrupted.
An old man stepped forward, his presence commanding as he joined Seraphina's side.
"Let's eliminate them and complete the mission."
Another elder, a woman leaning heavily on a staff, opened her eyes slightly, her tone lazy and indifferent.
"Hurry it up. I need rest. These old bones can't handle losing sleep."
Mereoleona cracked her knuckles, a wide, fiery grin spreading across her face.
"Since your old bones need rest, I'll make sure they're permanently rested!"
Seraphina chuckled softly at Mereoleona's words, opening her grimoire with a graceful yet sinister motion.
"Water Magic: Sticky Glue!"
With a pulse of her hand pressing to the ground, water burst forth in a massive wave, spreading across a 30-meter radius.
The liquid thickened, coating the ground in a treacherous, glue-like substance that clung to everything it touched.
Reacting swiftly, Mereoleona, Charlotte, and Nebra leapt onto the nearest trees, avoiding the spell's grasp.
"Mist Magic: Bewildering Forest of Mist!"
Nebra's grimoire glowed as she cast her spell.
A thick mist engulfed the area, its tendrils shaping into an ethereal forest.
The dense fog obscured the battlefield, shrouding all within a 25-meter radius in an impenetrable haze.
"Briar Magic: Spikey Paralyze!"
Charlotte, her voice sharp with determination, followed Nebra's lead.
Her grimoire shimmered as thorny vines erupted from the ground, surging toward the enemy with incredible speed.
The spikes glistened menacingly, ready to immobilize their targets without delivering a killing blow.
"Fire Magic: Calidus Brachium!"
Mereoleona wasted no time.
With a battle cry, she charged into the mist Nebra had created.
Her fists ignited in roaring flames, encased in fiery auras so intense they illuminated her figure even within the thick fog.
Her fire tore through the mist as she zeroed in on her targets, her fiery fists ready to obliterate anything in her path.
As the fierce battle raged between the two sides, Dosill's instincts screamed at him to retreat.
Staying any longer would surely drag him into a confrontation far beyond his control.
His eyes darted around, searching for an escape route.
With a quick command, he ordered the remaining wolf under his control to guide him through a safe path away from the chaos.
"Grrr..."
But before Dosill could take a step, a low, menacing growl stopped him in his tracks.
Emerging from the shadows, Ben, in his terrifying Panuncian transformation, blocked his way.
Surrounding him were numerous clones of the beast, their glowing eyes fixed on him with predatory intent.
Dosill froze, his breath hitching.
"Tch..."
He clicked his tongue in frustration.
"Why don't you go help them fight the enemy and leave me alone? I swear, I won't bother you again!"
His voice was tinged with both annoyance and desperation as he tried to reason with the monstrous creature.
Sweat dripped down his face as he nervously shifted his weight, trying to find an opening.
But the Panuncian clones showed no intention of letting him go.
Their growls deepened, and their stance tightened, cutting off every possible escape route.
As Mereoleona landed on the ground, she locked onto Seraphina's mana and prepared to charge.
Chulk~ Chulk~
However, as she began to move, she noticed her speed was slowing.
The water spell Seraphina had cast earlier wasn't ordinary—it was slimy and sticky, clinging to her movements and dragging her pace.
"Fire Magic: Fire Bullet."
An old man's voice rang out, and a barrage of fiery projectiles shot toward Mereoleona from her left.
Grin~
With a sharp grin, Mereoleona effortlessly weaved through the fiery projectiles as if they were nothing.
"Using fire against me? Old man, you're really asking for a beating."
Her mocking tone was dripping with confidence as she turned and charged toward the direction of the attack.
But before she could close the gap, another volley of fire bullets came at her from the right.
Mereoleona halted her charge, narrowing her eyes as she dodged the new wave of attacks.
Despite avoiding the bullets, she quickly realized the enemy had a method of tracking her through the mist Nebra had cast to obscure the battlefield.
"Water… That old hag is sensing you with it,"
Charlotte called out from the trees, her sharp gaze analyzing the enemy's spells.
"Leave it to me."
"Mist Magic: Solid Mist Clones."
Nebra acted swiftly, casting her Solid Mist Clones spell.
Within moments, numerous solidified clones emerged from the mist, positioning themselves strategically to confuse and counter the enemy's sensing spell.
"Soil Magic: Sink Well."
A lazy yet chilling voice echoed next, and the ground beneath Mereoleona and Nebra's clones turned soft, causing their feet to slowly sink.
Boom!
Mereoleona, unfazed, clenched her fists and punched the ground repeatedly with fiery force.
The impact sent chunks of softened soil flying and created a solid foothold, allowing her to leap to a more stable spot.
Meanwhile, Nebra's clones remained unmoving, fulfilling their purpose of disrupting the enemy's detection magic.
"Fire Magic: Inferno Blast."
Trusting her instincts, Mereoleona pivoted to her left, her fists glowing with an intense red hue as mana surged into them.
The temperature around her spiked dramatically.
Without hesitation, she punched forward, unleashing a massive fiery fist that blazed through the mist, heading straight for her target.
"—!"
"Fire Magic: Mana Shield."
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, the old man hurriedly cast a defensive spell.
A shield of concentrated mana materialized to block the incoming fiery fist.
Boom!
The mana shield shattered upon impact, unable to withstand the sheer force and heat of Mereoleona's attack.
In a desperate move, the old man leapt aside, narrowly avoiding the blazing fist as it exploded, leaving a scorched crater in its wake.
"Good reflexes for your age, old man,"
Mereoleona taunted, her voice carrying an edge of menace.
"But your silly game ends here."
Before the old man could fully recover from the explosion, Mereoleona's fiery figure materialized behind him.
His eyes widened in shock as he realized her proximity.
Before the old man could react, Mereoleona's fist, ablaze with fiery mana, connected squarely with his face.
Bang!
A deafening sonic boom echoed across the battlefield as the old man was launched backward at high speed.
His body skidded across the ground, carving a deep trench until it finally came to a halt at Seraphina's feet.
She, busy slicing through Charlotte's spiky briars with her water magic, glanced down at the unconscious man with narrowed eyes.
"Water Magic: Jet Slash."
Seraphina's expression darkened as she summoned a short sword from her grimoire.
Swinging it with precision, she sent a concentrated slash of water hurtling toward Charlotte, who was still perched on a tree.
The attack whistled through the air, sharp and deadly.
Thwip!
But before it could reach its target, layers of thorny vines erupted from the ground, forming a protective barrier in front of Charlotte.
The first layer of briar was sliced clean through, but the second layer absorbed the force entirely, stopping the attack in its tracks.
"Briar Magic: Penetration."
Without hesitation, Charlotte counterattacked.
A storm of sharp, needle-like thorns shot from her grimoire, homing in on Seraphina's position.
Thud~ Thud~
Seraphina dodged most of the incoming needles with swift movements, but one pierced her right knee, forcing her to falter slightly.
"Soil Magic: Stone Edge."
The elderly woman who had accompanied Seraphina sprang into action.
Sensing the tide of the battle turning, she raised her staff and summoned jagged stone walls from the ground, forming a defensive barrier between her ally and the advancing knights.
Whisper~
"Since we've succeeded in our mission, let's retreat quietly,"
the old woman murmured, her voice calm but urgent as she placed a hand on Seraphina's shoulder.
Reluctantly, Seraphina nodded, her earlier aggression giving way to calculation.
She grabbed the unconscious old man's arm, and the ground beneath the trio began to soften and shift.
Whisper~
Their forms began to sink into the earth, vanishing from sight as the soil closed over them like water over a stone.
Mereoleona rushed forward, her fiery fists at the ready, but the trio had already disappeared.
Their mission was clear: distract the Wizard King and the Magic Knight Captains while their comrades completed the prison break.
They had fulfilled their role and departed before reinforcements could arrive.
Unbeknownst to them, however, Ben had already alerted the Wizard King of their plans.
His journey to the Chillbound Woods was well underway.
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(Author's POV)
(A/N): Sorry for being late guys. I were not being able to write a new chapter because I had a block in the story. I will try to upload regularly.
Thanks for reading the chapter!
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