Years had passed and she had even forgotten what the faces of her elf companions from the past looked like. She only truly remembered those who stayed beside her in that prison. Even if they were asleep while she remained awake, the only faces she remembered clearly were her mother's, the one who betrayed them, and the damned God who deceived them. So she would not forgive—especially because that bastard didn't even have a face of regret.
"I have to kill him."
"Lyrielle, take him far away and fight somewhere else."
Hearing Enrico, she nodded. It was better that way. Outside that place both she and Valdir could use their full power, and he seemed to agree because he looked at Valdir and, when he received the nod, his magic activated with an explosion of black fire at his feet. Using her wind magic, she pursued her opponent, both of them moving quickly to a safe distance from their allies.
'Thank you for giving me this opportunity to fight him, Enrico. I promise that when I succeed, I'll repay you by helping you as much as possible.'
She also wanted to kill Sairao. Without a doubt, that desire was almost as strong as the one she felt when she saw Valdir's face. But Enrico had promised that he would end that god today, so she had to focus on the one she hated the most.
'Both he and I were her children… I cannot forgive.'
Looking at her back, she increased her speed with lightning magic and passed him, moving ahead until they reached the edge of the elves' dimension. Valdir gritted his teeth when he saw that the current Lyrielle could be compared with the one from before.
"How did that damned woman reach Circle Eight with three affinities?"
He hated feeling inferior—both to that cursed elf who was the second strongest among them and to the woman who called herself his mother. That was exactly why he joined his god. When Sairao chose him, his own feelings told him he was far superior to those two, which made him not regret anything he had done.
'And now this damned woman appears at the same level as me? I won't allow it. The strongest dark elf should be only me.'
Using the second affinity he had received from Sairao, Valdir used curse magic to transfer pure mana from the atmosphere into his body, strengthening his fire magic enough to keep up with Lyrielle's speed.
'She isn't the only one with more than one affinity at Circle Eight.'
Lyrielle arrived first, stopping and turning toward her opponent. Now both knew they were far enough away from the continent ruled by Queen Elithia. Everywhere beyond that continent was filled with islands covered with trees of different colors—blue, yellow, green, and pink—and in some places even the rivers seemed to flow backward. Within those islands lived Kael'Thir creatures of Syl'Morath level. They seemed even stronger than those on the continent, which was one of the reasons the elves preferred to live on that ancestral land.
"How did you become stronger?"
"Don't you dare direct your words at me. The only thing I want to hear from you is the sound of your blood hitting the ground."
"Haha, should I be afraid of those words of yours?"
The two stared at each other for a second. With a sudden burst of speed they collided in the middle—Lyrielle with her sword and Valdir with his arm covered in flames. The clash between the sword and the burning arm created a brutal flash, as if the air itself had been crushed between two unstoppable forces. A shockwave spread in all directions, tearing apart the clouds and making the ground tremble for kilometers.
Holding her sword firmly, Lyrielle forced Valdir's flaming arm aside to the right and immediately aimed for his neck. Seeing the movement, he covered his neck with a cloak of fire and managed to block the attack. With his other hand he formed curse magic into a magic circle. His palm struck Lyrielle's ribs and, besides the damage she felt, another effect occurred.
"Weakening."
This effect made her mana begin to drain rapidly. As she was pushed aside, she didn't hesitate—even with the damage—and slashed Valdir's shoulder with her sword covered in fire, creating the secondary effect of burning the skin where the blade struck. Valdir used his black fire to consume the effect, but noticed it might take some time because it was strong magic.
'She must be in a worse situation now that she's losing mana—'
"Wind Magic: Curse Elimination."
Valdir's eyes widened when he saw wind swirl around Lyrielle's body, erasing the effect of his curse. Not even a trace of the magic remained, and she was already recovering the mana she had lost. She followed it by using another wind spell that absorbed the surrounding air to restore her mana.
"Four affinities?"
"Yes, and I trained wind mainly to counter the curse magic of your cult."
Lyrielle's eyes flashed with lightning. Pointing her blade at him, the sky darkened as clouds gathered above, and once again she used that spell—only this time on a much greater scale.
"Divine Storm."
This time it wasn't just one bolt of lightning descending. Thousands fell, each far more powerful than the previous one, which now seemed simple in comparison. Valdir raised both arms as a dark magic circle covered in flames appeared above him.
"Fire and Curse Magic: Defense of the Cursed Flames."
He fused both magics into one, forming a circle that resisted the attack. Lyrielle took advantage of that moment and appeared right in front of him with her sword ready to strike.
"I also have something, you damned woman."
A barrage of comets burst from Valdir's body and struck Lyrielle. He had a third affinity. The feeling of inferiority among the dark elves had driven him to pursue as much magic as possible, just like her four affinities. He had trained relentlessly and would not let a brat ruin the years of effort he had spent gaining that third affinity.
"What do you think of my comet magic—"
The smile that had begun forming on his face vanished when he saw a shell of earth cracking around the dark elf before him. Lyrielle emerged from the impact with little damage, and with her sword raised she delivered a descending slash wrapped in lightning magic. A deep cut opened across Valdir's chest while he was still shocked.
'A fifth affinity?'