Enrico looked at the castle with sweat on his forehead. Lyrielle's strike had erased half of it from existence. He was hanging from the roof where he had hidden on the first day he came to spy on the castle. In other areas everyone had scattered, hiding as soon as they saw the mana released from the dark elf's body. The opponents they had been fighting also hid behind walls or entered rooms by breaking through them to save themselves.
'Good thing those two listened and left.'
With a sigh he stood up to get a better view and locate his opponents. The one who should have taken the greatest amount of damage was Sairao, but it seemed Valdir had summoned a barrier with curse magic around his god before being struck.
'It would be good if he had suffered serious damage.'
His eyes turned toward where Sairao was. He seemed to be looking for someone, possibly some dark elf now that they had been freed. Further to the left he saw Sylwen running toward the possible place where Elaris was fighting Elithia. Not wanting to waste time while Sairao might be searching for new sacrifices, he located his closest companion to the elf.
"DRAKKA!"
The orc who was getting up from under some fallen stones turned toward Enrico. He simply pointed in the direction Sylwen was going, and she nodded before using Axe Fury magic to enlarge her muscles.
'Time to use the new ability my best human friend taught me.'
It was a skill she had struggled a lot to learn that day, but the best thing was to save it since she could only use it once per day. Enrico jumped from where he stood and released small trails of fire in the direction of each enemy. Valença ran toward where the necromancer and the big one were. He thought Victoria would do the same, but she was running toward where Sairao was.
'Of course she would go for the most problematic one… What's the best move I can make now?'
The best option would be to go after Valença, who would be fighting several opponents possibly at her level. Of course she had Incandis, but she would still be at a disadvantage. On the other hand, facing Sairao together with Victoria could give them a great advantage.
'If I help Valença defeat them quickly, then we can go together to defeat Sairao along with Victoria.'
His decision was about to be made, but he had to move to the side, dodging three magical attacks thrown at him. Positioning himself to the right of the destroyed area, he saw three figures coming toward him. Several of them he honestly didn't know—Faelion, a troublesome man he had encountered at the castle entrance, and someone from Sairao's cult, Rhaziel. Two were close to breaking through the sixth circle and the other already had.
"I will repay what you did to my brother."
"Sure, sure. I'm sure the people whose lives your father destroyed think the same."
"Don't you dare speak my father's name in vain, human."
It seemed they had been split up, but he wouldn't even think of letting Sairao get much farther. Having decided what to do, he thought about running toward where the evil god was and defeating all three of them along the way. Fighting Sairao was a debt he had to repay for Val'Drakar.
'I'll also help Valença.'
[And how exactly do you plan to do that, idiot?]
Disappearing from their sight with pure brute force, Enrico moved toward where he had seen that godlike man go. The only one who kept up with him was Faelion, who was Circle Seven. The two moved away from the castle while the other two followed behind, slower in comparison.
'Looks like the fights have started.'
A clash of blows occurred in the opposite direction where Grakka was running. From what she knew, Faelion was Circle Seven, so she couldn't help being surprised by the level Enrico was showing.
'Don't tell me he reached Circle Seven? Or is it something he did to his own body?'
She liked men with strong bodies, but that ability of his to defend against magical blows without using magic was simply insane. Shaking her head, she pushed the thought aside. Later she would ask him for tips to train her body the same way Enrico did. For now she needed to focus on chasing the elf ahead of her.
"Endurance Magic: Vigor Enhancement."
Using her Axe Fury magic, she added even more power to her muscles. Raising her axe as she closed the distance, a descending slash surprised the elf who had been caught off guard by the orc's speed. Even so, she rolled to the left, dodging the attack and continuing to run as she quickly got back up.
"Water Magic: Body Enhancement."
Using her water magic to increase her flexibility, she managed to dodge the attacks driven by the orc's sheer strength. Grabbing onto a staircase, claws of water grew from her fingers and with force she pulled herself upward, avoiding an awkward slash that smashed into the ground from the axe.
"That's disgusting. You can't even make a proper cut?"
"A proper cut? It seems I'm in the presence of a delicate lady."
Grakka smiled with a mocking tone. Seeing the obvious provocation, Sylwen snorted to the side. Water magic began covering her body, forming ten layered barriers around her in the shape of an aura.
"If I had to fight someone, at least it should be a mage with real cutting magic—like that blond boy."
She remembered very well how those simple threads of fire cut everything so perfectly. She herself had experienced it when her arm was severed. If she hadn't had healing magic, she would have lost that arm permanently.
"Sorry, but my best friend wouldn't be interested in a woman like you."
"A woman like me? What do you mean by that?"
She narrowed her eyes while creating blades of water in the air. Grakka smiled even more when she saw her opponent growing more eager to kill her. That was her plan, because Enrico himself had said no one should interrupt the fight between Elaris and Elithia—and she agreed with that. This was the path the elf princess was following, and Grakka hated when people tried to interfere with someone else's path, just like she had almost done to herself.
"He'd never be interested in fighting a woman as petty as you. He said himself he prefers the strong ones."
"If that's the case, then I'm much stronger than you."
A surge of mana exploded from Sylwen's body, and the same happened with Grakka. Their energies collided at the center as they prepared to charge at each other. Wanting to provoke her opponent even more, Grakka spoke the final words before the battle began.
"I doubt that, elf."