The wind being summoned by Nila not just swayed leaves out of the trees, but also left claw-like marks on the bark upon contact. Manuela dodged most of the attacks with her footwork, she was dancing within the battlefield like a butterfly, only occasionally using defensive spells. Her skills, however, were not enough to completely negate the damage, Nila was able to graze her shoulder with the "human" spell Sham, and left a few deep wounds in her chest area and on abdomen, using "natural" magic that summoned the wind. This slowed down her movements, but the time spent in the fight drained Nila of her stamina, slowing down each strike until she was unable to keep Manuela at distance. It was clear that she happened to be within striking range of the harvester's rapier as there were several cuts on her hands, as Manuela tried to disarm her. But this time, the battle fully rearranged into the close quarters one with Manuela swinging her rapier at an elf, while Nila could only cast defence and step back.
From the distance behind the trees Solitaire was observing their duel, the smirk never left his face as he was able to dissect every technique and movement both girls made.
"The combination of human and natural magic versus human magic and close quarter skill, how amusing! There is truly no space to intervene for someone with no combat experience like Dusk." said Solitaire and raised his head to witness swaying tree tops. Even though their branches were short with purple foliage giving a perfect pathway for the light to brighten the ground, there were occasional deviants that stretched towards other trees, constructing a pathway above the ground. Solitaire narrowed his brows, yet his smile only widened, "Harvester girl is a skilful warrior, skilful enough to fall for this trick. Now, dear friend, I will put full trust into your body along with that elven girl's instincts."
Manuela swung her rapier left and right, mostly being intercepted by glasslike shields or Nila's own staff, however, her attacks got past defence on occasion and left even more red marks on Nila's body. The elven girl tried to counterattack using her own spell, but Manuela's defences were as good as hers, making it impossible to penetrate or get past them in such a state of pain and fatigue. At one point, Manuela was able to redirect Nila's staff to the side, once another breeze escaped Nila's freehand, Manuela effortlessly dodged it as this attack was nothing new for her. Then, her rapier pierced Nila's shoulder of her dominant hand, she squealed in pain and lost her balance.
But before Nila fell to the ground, putting an end to the fight, Manuela noticed a shadow up above the tree right out of her blind spot. It was a silhouette of a human who was holding a bow, ready to shoot her from behind. Manuela immediately turned upon noticing this presence and cast a defensive spell, however, her eyes immediately widened as she witnessed Dusk standing up on the branch with two sticks in his hands and a mocking smile. At once, she fired Betelgeuse shattering her own defensive spell, aiming at her initial target, but while she was occupied with Dusk trickery, or rather Solitaire's, Nila dissipated her staff from her dominant hand that still had rapier's tip deep inside her shoulder, only to summon it into her offhand and fire another "human" spell right at Manuela's back.
"Lucifer." Whispered Nila and a bright red star lit up the area around, only to blast away, engulfing the whole forest in the crimson spark. It was a spectacle that lasted less than a second and once the flashbang effect was gone, Manuela was no longer before the elven girl. Instead, she was pushed away from the intensity of this spell and landed at the tree near Dusk. She clutched onto it with the offhand, with her wand swiftly descending to the ground. Her dominant hand was dangling from her side, with the rapier still being stuck in Nila's shoulder. She was completely disarmed.
The spell, she fired at Dusk previously, did not actually hit the target, as Nila's own attack changed its trajectory. As a result, Betelgeuse blasted away the tree section above Dusk, but the man remained standing like nothing happened.
Their eyes met in this position, Manuela grimaced either from hatred or pain, since her back was fully red and bleeding with blisters slowly forming due to Nila's attack, causing unbearable pain. Solitaire nodded in satisfaction upon seeing her state and stepped back with his eyes closed. My body began falling down.
The darkness before my eyes faded away, and I found myself glaring at the sky with the silhouette of a woman jumping away through the trees. Her state was horrible with several wounds enveloping her body along with a terrible state her back was at. I wonder if I would be able to survive such an injury? Immediately as I noticed that treetops were getting further away from me, I realised that I was falling once again, something that already happened to me. I tensed up, awaiting a painful fall, but this time there was someone here to catch me.
Nila cast a levitation spell right before my back met the ground, and I soared down like a feather without breaking a bone. Nila was holding a staff in her offhand, blood gushed out from her right shoulder. Following a trail of blood, I reached rapier, the likely culprit behind her pitiful state. There were a few other less serious wounds around her body, but I did not pay them any mind as my bigger concern became her determined look she was glaring at the distance with.
Nila took a step towards the direction where Manuela fled to, and I instantly caught her by the hand, "Where do you think you are going?"
She grimaced slightly, which made me release her hand, and I swiftly jumped back on my feet.
"She is gone now, there is no need to follow her as she won't be able to attack us again. Heck, I am not sure if she would be even able to survive with such injuries!"
Nila hung her head and glared at the ground for a few seconds, then she raised her eyes back at me. Her staff dissipated into thin air as she extended her hand towards my head. Then, she flicked my forehead and it was quite painful.
"Ouch! What was that for!?" I cried out, to which she sighed and frowned, "I told you to run, it was too reckless of you to not listen to me."
I frowned upon hearing her words, but before I was able to say something, she continued, "But I should also thank you, since your deceit gave me an opening against her. She is truly a terrifying woman, you just had to make yourself an enemy of a high ranking harvester…"
I did not know what to say to that, thus I kept silent. I did not remember anything about what happened from the moment Solitaire overtook my body and to the moment he actually returned control of it. I was glad that it was not a one way ticket to the world of nothingness, but I really could not help but wonder what tactic was utilised by him. Why did I end up on a tree?
But as Nila sat beside a tree nearby, she began healing herself using magic. Her calm actions swept away my thoughts about Solitaire, and I looked around while saying, "Is not it dangerous to heal here? We are still in the monster realm, after all."
Nila slowly shook her head and answered, "Upon seeing this spectacle of magic, it will take a while for monsters to return here. Better open my suitcase and take bandages from there. Not the ones that I made for you, but those I took from the village."
I nodded at her request and scanned the area until my eyes stopped at the suitcase which was dropped further away from us. I dashed towards it, but before I had a chance to look into its insides, my attention was caught by a bloodied rapier which was laying nearby. It was Manuela's weapon, the one she swung at me several times in an attempt to claim my life. But after those struggles against my own weakness, it was all over. We truly won this fight.