At the energy flow site, two figures were still locked in a fierce battle. Belle gripped her rifle tightly, firing precise shots toward Nia, who kept blinking out of sight and reappearing in flashes of light, dodging each bullet by a hair's breadth. Sparks burst through the air every time Belle's shots grazed the edges of Nia's barrier.
Nia retaliated in kind, swinging her blade infused with pulsing energy, but Belle deflected the strike with the body of her rifle, sparks flying as metal clashed against crystallized mana. Both of them slid backward across the fractured floor, their boots scraping against stone.
Then, without warning, the ground trembled violently. Cracks spread beneath them, and a wave of crushing energy swept through the area, so powerful it made the air itself distort.
Nia froze for a moment, eyes widening as she looked up, sensing the source of that aura. A smile curled at the corner of her lips. "It seems my master has succeeded."
