As Lockhart waved his wand, a barrage of Killing Curses, glowing with deadly green light, rained down on Elektra, who was speeding toward him.
Danger!
Elektra's pupils narrowed as she sensed the lethal green beams headed her way, radiating an aura of death.
Boom!
She suddenly stomped hard on the ground, sending dust flying as the floor shattered beneath her. She dropped down just in time to avoid the deadly curses, which sailed through the cloud of dust toward Alexandra and Lawrence.
Seeing the approaching Death Curses, both Alexandra and Lawrence immediately recognized the fatal threat. They leapt into the air, rushing to higher floors to evade the attack.
Kaecilius, not one to be left behind, swung his battle staff and followed them, crashing through the ceiling to join the fight above.
Lockhart, now surrounded by a cloud of dust, waved his wand, and a breeze quickly swept through, clearing the air.
What came into view was a massive hole in the floor and two more in the ceiling.
It was clear—he would have to face Elektra alone.
His mind raced as he listened to the faint thumping sounds coming from the lower floors. Lockhart grew wary, but remained focused. He raised his wand again.
"Transfigure!"
A transparent ripple spread from the tip of his wand, cascading over the ground.
In an instant, the floor began to change. What was once stone transformed into steel, or perhaps an even stronger alloy.
Elektra, sensing that staying downstairs would put her at a disadvantage, clenched her right fist, which now emitted an evil, dark aura.
Boom!
Elektra took a few steps forward, leapt into the air, and smashed her fist into the ceiling above her. With another crash, a hole appeared, and Elektra jumped through smoothly.
As she landed, she pulled out her sai, their blades gleaming with black light. Without hesitation, she swung them toward the figure in front of her.
Boom!
With a loud crash, the figure split in two.
But Elektra frowned. Something didn't feel right.
A gentle breeze blew, and the dust cleared, revealing that she had struck a statue.
Not far away, Lockhart floated in mid-air, watching Elektra with a dark smile on his face.
He raised his wand and tapped it lightly. A drop of blue light, like water, fell to the ground.
Buzz!
Instantly, blue lines spread across the entire floor, and six blue light curtains formed around Elektra, imprisoning her in a glowing cube.
Magic Circle—Dark Blue Cage.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Elektra attacked the blue walls of the cage with her sai, but the light curtain held strong. Only her weapons sustained damage, with cracks appearing on the sai.
Realizing that physical attacks wouldn't break the cage, Elektra withdrew to the center of the cube. A large amount of black and red mist poured out from behind her, gradually condensing into a black panther with crimson, blood-like stripes.
Roar!
The black panther charged toward the blue cage, roaring fiercely.
Its bloody mouth opened, and a black ball of energy began to form, radiating powerful energy waves.
Meanwhile, Elektra stood behind the panther, gripping her two sai, black light swirling around them.
Lockhart watched the scene with caution. He landed on the ground and poured more magic power into the magic circle.
The blue lines around the cage grew brighter, and the light curtain seemed to strengthen.
Sensing the change, the black panther unleashed the black energy ball toward the cage, and Elektra followed with a flurry of dark energy strikes from her sai.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The black energy and sai strikes crashed into the dark blue cage, causing the walls to shake. Dark energy began to corrode the blue light, gradually turning the cage black.
Lockhart frowned as he sensed his magic power draining at an accelerated rate. Even as he injected more magic, it wasn't enough to stop the decay.
Realizing that reinforcing the cage wouldn't be enough, he waved his wand again.
Dark blue magical lines appeared in the air, forming an intricate rune pattern that glowed with a mysterious aura.
At the same time—
Boom!
The relentless attacks from the black panther and Elektra continued. The cage grew darker and darker, its original blue hue fading into black.
And then—
Boom!
The cage shattered, leaving Elektra standing amid the debris, her gaze locked onto Lockhart and the dark blue flames floating in the air.
Lockhart's lips curled into a smile as he gazed at the fierce blue fire hovering in front of him.
With a flick of his wand, the fire spread in a circle around him, igniting a perimeter of dark blue flames within a meter of where he stood.
Anyone who wanted to attack him would have to pass through the deadly flames.
Elektra stared at the blue fire with fear in her eyes. She sensed that the flames were extremely dangerous to her.
Her mind raced as she gripped her sai, black light swirling on the blades, and struck toward Lockhart.
But with a thought, the flames surged forward, consuming the oncoming attack.
Lockhart then charged toward Elektra.
Feeling the overwhelming threat from the fire, Elektra's pupils shrank.
In the next instant, she looked up toward the ceiling, sensing the battle above her.
With a leap, she broke through the ceiling and entered the upper floor.
Meanwhile, Kaecilius was locked in fierce combat with Lawrence and Alexandra, his battle staff clashing violently with their attacks.
Suddenly—
Boom!
A figure broke through the floor, landing nearby.
Kaecilius sensed the ground behind him begin to crack.
Within seconds, another hole appeared, and Lockhart floated up from below, surrounded by blue flames.
Seeing the changes, Kaecilius and Alexandra, who had been fighting fiercely, both retreated in perfect unison, regrouping with their allies.
"Lockhart, how are you?" Kaecilius asked quickly.
"Their strength is impressive, but I'm fine," Lockhart replied calmly.
At the same time, Alexandra turned her gaze toward Elektra.
Sensing the loss of a significant amount of Black Sky's power, Alexandra felt a flash of pain.
This was why she had been reluctant to engage in a full-scale battle earlier. Elektra, as the Black Sky, couldn't regenerate energy on her own.
Replenishing Elektra's power required a great number of sacrifices, and they seldom allowed her to fight for long periods.
After this battle, Alexandra had no idea how many sacrifices would be needed to restore the Black Sky's power.
Moreover, it was now clear that defeating the enemy quickly was impossible.
If reinforcements from Kamar-Taj arrived, they would be overwhelmed.
Her thoughts raced, and Alexandra glanced at Elektra, then at Lockhart and Kaecilius.
Without hesitation, she ordered: "Black Sky, take us out of here."
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