Sera wiped the blood from her hands, tossing the severed arm aside with a grunt of effort. Her heart thundered in her chest, but her mind was calm, calculating. The leader still stood before her, unyielding, despite his injury. The faceplate shimmered faintly, and Sera's eyes narrowed in frustration.
Damn mask... How is it still functioning?
Her instincts told her this was no ordinary mercenary. The faceplate's resilience was a testament to its advanced technology—something she wasn't prepared to deal with head-on. But Sera wasn't one to back down, especially not now. She had other tools at her disposal.
Taking a step back, she centered herself. Her breath slowed, and she began preparing her next move. If she couldn't break through the faceplate with physical attacks, she'd use something far more destructive. Her affinity for flame magic made her sequences particularly dangerous. And in moments like these, when the stakes were high, her mind instinctively turned to the thermodynamic principles she'd spent years mastering on the field as well.
With a sharp inhale, Sera's thoughts raced. Sequences formed in her mind, almost like a mathematical formula being solved. Her hands flickered with mana, her control precise despite the mounting pressure. The ambient temperature around her began to rise, heat shimmering in the air as she worked.
Sera visualized the sequence perfectly in her head—combining principles of thermodynamics and flame manipulation into a devastating attack. Her focus sharpened, ignoring the chaotic battlefield around her. This wasn't some simple fireball she was conjuring; she was shaping the environment to her will, drawing on her deep understanding of heat transfer and energy.
The leader, though wounded, wasn't idle. He lunged at Sera with renewed aggression, his remaining arm swinging with deadly force. But Sera was ready. With a quick burst of speed, she dodged his strike, her body moving fluidly as her mind continued calculating the next phase of her attack.
I need more time…
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed someone approaching from the edge of the clearing—a young woman with short, messy hair and a look of frantic determination on her face. She wasn't a combatant, that much was clear, but she was carrying a small mechanical device, one that looked hastily modified.
Who the hell is this? Sera wondered, not breaking her concentration on the sequences she was forming. The flames dancing around her hands began to intensify as she funneled more mana into the sequence, but the distraction was far from welcome.
The woman—an engineer from the convoy, by the look of her—rushed forward, stopping just a few feet from Sera. "Hey! You need help?!" she shouted, her voice a mix of fear and determination.
Sera almost laughed at the absurdity. Help? She didn't have time for this. "Back off!" she snapped, her voice sharp as she ducked under another swing from the masked leader. "You'll just get in the way!"
The engineer didn't seem deterred by Sera's warning. She fumbled with the device in her hands, clearly trying to be useful, but she had no understanding of the deadly dance Sera was currently engaged in. The leader's movements were methodical, and Sera could tell he was analyzing every step, every motion.
"You don't understand how dangerous this is," Sera growled, sidestepping another blow as her flames roared to life. The heat radiating from her was becoming intense, causing the very air around them to shimmer.
The woman—Ava, though Sera didn't know her name yet—was clearly determined to contribute. She activated her device, a clunky, half-assembled piece of tech that buzzed awkwardly before sparking. "I can help with that mask! I—"
"You're helping by staying out of the way!" Sera barked, her patience wearing thin. Ava's contraption fizzled out, its power source shorting as it overloaded. The sparks from the device caught on the dry leaves at their feet, making the situation even worse.
Dammit. Sera had to keep her focus. If she lost concentration now, the sequence would fall apart, and she didn't have time to start over.
"Stay back!" Sera shouted again, her flames growing hotter as she activated the final phase of the sequence. She could feel the surge of mana building within her, ready to release.
Ava hesitated, realizing that her attempt to assist had only made things worse. She took a step back, her face pale as the heat from Sera's magic became unbearable. The engineer had no choice but to retreat to the edge of the clearing, watching in awe and fear as Sera continued her battle.
Sera's hands moved swiftly as she activated her sequence. A trail of molten flame erupted from her fingers, arcing toward the leader. The air around the sequence vibrated with energy, the sheer heat warping the space between them. This wasn't just a simple flame attack—this was thermal disintegration, a sequence designed to increase the surrounding temperature to critical levels, effectively destabilizing anything within range.
The leader reacted quickly, his faceplate flashing as it detected the incoming attack. He dodged, narrowly avoiding the brunt of the flames, but Sera anticipated his movements. The flames curled toward him, like a living force, hungry for contact.
Finally, they hit.
The leader staggered, his armor glowing red-hot from the intense heat. But the mask—the damned faceplate—remained intact, its advanced technology somehow withstanding the thermal onslaught.
Sera cursed under her breath. Nothing's working!
The leader, though clearly affected by the heat, still had the upper hand in durability. He charged again, his remaining fist aiming directly for Sera's head. Sera was fast, but even she knew she was running out of options. Her sequences were powerful, but without a Specialization Unit (SU) to amplify her mana output and streamline her spellcasting, she was limited in how many she could use at full strength.
She twisted, dodging the leader's strike with barely an inch to spare, and lashed out with Ling, aiming for the soft flesh of his side. The blade sliced through, burning with the residual flames of her magic, but the leader didn't slow down.
He grabbed at her, his fingers brushing against her arm as she darted away, using her speed to maintain distance. But the pressure was relentless, and Sera knew she had to finish this soon. Every sequence took a toll, and she could feel her mana reserves dwindling.
"Come on, just drop already," she muttered under her breath. The leader's resilience was infuriating, and she was growing desperate for a breakthrough.
A sudden flash from behind distracted her—Ava had reappeared, holding a different device. "I've got a jammer! It should disrupt the mask's interface—"
"A jammer?! What are you—" Before Sera could finish, the leader lunged again, forcing her to disengage from Ava entirely. The flames around Sera's hands flickered as she refocused on the immediate threat.
The leader's movements were slower now, his wounds catching up to him, but his strikes still carried enough force to break bones. He swung wildly, his arm glowing faintly with the lingering effects of Sera's flames.
Sera ducked, her body twisting as she avoided another heavy strike. In a flash, she countered, slicing at his leg with Ling. The blade connected, searing through flesh and armor alike, but the leader barely flinched.
"I told you to stay back!" Sera shouted over her shoulder at Ava, who was still tinkering with her device. Ava's eyes darted between the combatants, clearly out of her depth.
Sera felt the strain building as she tried to formulate her next move. Her sequences were powerful, but without a Specialization Unit (SU) to amplify and store pre-built sequences, she could only cast so many at full power. Her mana reserves were running low, and she couldn't keep throwing high-energy spells without consequence.
The leader, now limping slightly from the leg wound, didn't let up. He came at her again, his faceplate glowing faintly as it processed Sera's movements.
With one final burst of energy, Sera charged him, using every last bit of speed she had left. Ling flashed in her hand, and she aimed directly for his side, near where the shoulder met the torso.
Her blade connected. Hard.
The leader stumbled, his body jerking as the blade bit deep into the muscle. For a moment, there was silence—just the sound of Sera's heavy breathing and the faint crackle of flames still burning on the ground.
Sera didn't hesitate. She reached up, grabbing onto the leader's arm with both hands. Her fingers dug into the wound she'd just created, blood slicking her grip as she twisted, using all her strength to yank the arm free.
With a sickening tear, the arm ripped from the socket, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.
The leader staggered but didn't fall.
Sera tossed the arm aside, her body shaking from the exertion. She didn't have much left in her. The faceplate still gleamed, unbroken, taunting her.
What does it take to beat this guy?!
But the fight wasn't over.