Sitting at a table in the Great Hall of his Castle, Lancelot observed the battle of Grimhild versus Chroliosa. Merlin was also present, watching their fight within a crystal ball.
Lancelot seemed anxious while all of his guardsmen witnessed the jaw-dropping fight of witch versus spirit.
"This is supposed to be my fight, Merlin." Proclaimed Lancelot.
"Oh, it will be, but this is a way for you to grasp an understanding of Grimhild's power."
He frowned. "Are you telling me I don't have what it takes to defeat her without preparation?"
"Now now, don't put words in my mouth, Sir Lancelot."
"What if this Spirit of yours kills this witch, then what? My desire to fight such a powerful opponent will be thrown away!" He balled his fists, visibly irritated with this mage.
"Grimhild Yorgana cannot simply 'die', as you may think." Said Merlin with a whimsical smile.
Mutating his expression into one of confusion, Lancelot conjoined his palms, resting his chin atop the dorsal side of his hands.
"Explain to me further; what do you mean she cannot simply 'die', Merlin?"
She cackled. "Kukuku, observe the battle and see for yourself."
+
"Sondrado!" Extending her palms, Chroliosa manifested a magic circle, blasting Grimhild with a bolt of lightning.
"Gilfronta." An anti-magical barrier protected the witch, giving her the opportunity to cast magic of her own. "Flez Dona!" Blasting the spirit with a multitude of miniature suns, Chroliosa accelerated her time, evading each one.
"Hmm. You can accelerate your own time within frozen time? How peculiar."
Chroliosa flew towards Grimhild, stretching her hand to the side and manifesting a blade of energy.
"You may resist the concept of time, but it won't be enough to stop me!!" She swung the blade with all her might but was bombarded with a series of exploding suns at her backside. "Gaaahh!" Chroliosa turned around, seeing multiple Grimhilds casting the same spells. "Cloning magic??"
"You let your guard down." The original Grimhild raised her palm, weaving forth another spell. "Nuvolma!" A much larger, and broader fireball was launched from the magical blueprint, aiming for the spirit of time.
"Time Shift!"
At the last second, Chroliosa split apart, evading the dangerous magic.
There were over a dozen versions of her, each one with the same capabilities as the original.
"You're not the only one with a cloning ability, Grimhild Yorgana!"
The witch grinned, saying, "So you can bring other versions of yourself from different timelines. What of it? That changes nothing."
"I'll wipe that cocky grin off your face! Do not underestimate me!!"
The clones of Chroliosa accelerated towards the duplicates of Grimhild with blades of energy, launching a frontal assault.
Grimhild witnessed her duplicates being struck down, one by one. Their time was being absorbed by the blades, which only fueled Chroliosa's power.
"Dulgariaz!" Grimhild constructed more clones of herself before initiating another spell. "Engrea Tyalzo!" Utilizing transfer-type magic, she transmuted her duplicates into large axes that were spinning at high speeds before launching them toward Chroliosa's clones.
"Pwa Ha Ha! What rubbish!"
Chroliosa dashed towards the axes in linear motion before erecting a magic circle in front of her.
"Selvroha!"
Multiple beams of energy shot forward, detonating the axes upon impact. They were reduced to nothingness, however, Grimhild was shown missing—
"What?" She widened her eyes, halting herself in place. "What a dirty little trick." Chroliosa snapped her fingers, commanding her clones to surround her body, just in case.
"You have no openings, Witch of Destruction!"
"You're right. But she does."
Grimhild's voice was directly above the Spirit's, causing her to glance upwards.
But that's what the witch wanted.
"Chaaaaaaaaaa!!!"
Elizabeth leaped into the air, arching her fist back with all her might. "Battle Arts: Heavy Smash!!" Punching forward, a massive gust of wind blew over Chroliosa and her clones, nullifying their formation by sending them spiraling upwards.
"Uwaaaagh!"
Grimhild now had the opening.
"You didn't think you were only fighting me, did you?"
Weaving together a magical blueprint, Grimhild formed her next spell.
"Damnit-!" Chroliosa was still hurtling towards the sky from the tremendous gusts of wind, unable to recover.
"Riva Ultora."
Producing hundreds of razor-sharp crescents of wind, they aimed for Chroliosa and her clones, slicing them and their atomic bondings apart.
"Aaagghh!" She screamed in agony, feeling her body being ripped to shreds, but quickly reversed time and healed her wounds. "Y-You... impudent witch!"
"Grimhild!" Elizabeth called out to her companion, causing the Witch of Justice to snap her fingers, duplicating another clone, and transmuting it into a massive flying Eagle via Engrea Tyalzo. "Woah, how did you do that?!" Elizabeth landed atop the eagle, flying towards her companion.
"Thank you for your help Elizabeth."
She giggled. "Ehehe, no problem, I'm glad you contacted me with Rezeck for telepathic speaking. It helps a lot!"
Grimhild nodded before turning back to face the spirit.
"Chroliosa is a powerful spirit. Time is on her side, which is a dangerous ability for someone like a spirit to have, given their complex physiology."
"Yeah, I can see that... but what should we do about Kyto and Jean? Should we unfreeze them?"
"No. That won't do us any good. Jean's Champion is still recovering, and Kyto won't be any help."
"W-Wait, Jean has a Champion? Are you serious? I always thought they were myths..."
"You're far from wrong, child. You need to explore the world a bit more."
Elizabeth pouted.
"Well, my bad for living in a place where you can get whatever you want for free!"
Chroliosa frowned, staring at the two adversaries below. Her duplicates from other timelines were ripped to shreds, leaving only her.
"That girl... she can move within stopped time from being a Kaizamei, that's the only logical conclusion I have. How foolish of me, I severely underestimated her strength."
Chroliosa was in a pickle. Not only did she have to deal with powerful Magic, but also a Battle Arts User.
Converting Mana or Antimana into Fighting Power was the fundamentals of Battle Arts.
Fighting power, also known as Chi, was used among many, especially the Kaizamei.
With this, people were able to perform powerful physical attacks and supernatural effects that resembled magic but with the use of Fighting Power/Chi. By drawing it out, an individual is able to manipulate it and use it outside the body.
Fighting Power was used for many different techniques which is called Battle Arts.
With Chi being personified as the emotion of courage that comes from one's willpower after mana/antimana conversion, Elizabeth's was the strongest. She was known to have a bountiful of courage, putting her a cut above the rest.
It couldn't get any worse for this Spirit of Time.
"You there. What is your name?" Questioned the Spirit.
"Huh... who, me?" Asked Elizabeth, pointing to herself.
"Yes, child, relay me your name."
"Oh, I'm Elizabeth Rozenheart."
Chroliosa lifted her brows. "Rozenheart? Ah, I see, you're from the Rozenheart family."
"Yeah, you got a problem with my family or something?" Questioned Elizabeth with a frown.
"Not at all; you're strong and brave, so you have my respect. I only wish to remember you once I take your life."
"Hah, big talk for someone so far away. Come down here and face us!" Shouted the Kaizamei.
"Pwa Ha Ha! You may be right, indeed! Very well then, let me show you something spectacular."
Chroliosa lifted her hands into the sky, closing her eyes.
Quantum particles swirled in unison before merging together and forming a large magic circle above her head. Its exterior resembled that of a clock, with many Roman Numerals.
She began chanting a spell.
"H-Hey... this seems bad. Like, very bad!" Shouted Elizabeth.
"So she's resorting to that..." Muttered Grimhild.
+
"Ahahaha! Yes! Bring forth Grimhild's true power by using your Catastrophe Magic, Chroliosa!"
"Catastrophe Magic?" Muttered Lancelot with surprise.
"Yes! Chroliosa can use Catastrophe Magic, she's truly one of a kind! Grimhild will inevitably meet her demise, and then you'll see something grand."
"Are you saying Grimhild will be killed?!" Shouted Lancelot.
"Shh." Merlin lifted her finger. "Let the battle continue."
+
"Grimhild, shouldn't you be stopping this? Can't you do something about it?" Shouted Elizabeth.
"This is Catastrophe Magic." Said the witch. "The only way to stop a Catastrophe Spell is with another, but I'm afraid I'm low on mana from casting one not too long ago."
Elizabeth widened her eyes in fear.
"Then... what should we do?! A-Are we gonna die?"
"No." Grimhild waved her staff, enveloping Jean and Kyto in an ethereal glow of mana before lifting them toward the eagle Elizabeth sat on. "You all will live. Go, take Jean and Kyto to safety, I will handle Chroliosa."
"W-Where should I go? We can't leave without you, Grimhild!"
The witch shook her head in denial.
"You must, Elizabeth! Continue without me, I cannot let you three die; You're my responsibility."
"..." The Kaizamei whimpered from Grimhild's tone of voice but nodded nonetheless. "Please return to us safely..."
With Jean and Kyto resting atop the eagle, Elizabeth flew ahead, leaving the Witch of Destruction behind.
"How noble of you. Sacrificing yourself for the sake of your friends?"
"I cannot let them die." Proclaimed Grimhild. "If I allowed Elizabeth to stay, her Antimana wouldn't have done any good to your Catastrophe Magic."
"Ahahaha, so you noticed! Yes, indeed!
Antimana stands no chance to this spell of mine! You and your Nucleus will be turned into cogwheels of time, Witch of Calamity!"
Grimhild lifted her staff, pointing it at the Spirit of Time.
"Let's see about that. I'll use everything I got into this last spell."