With a movement of Saitya's hand, the three changed formation. Cescud advanced from the front with his shield raised while Val'Drakar and Marvud attacked from both sides at the same time, trying to trap Valença's movements. Val'Drakar's black sword descended in a diagonal slash while Marvud's blade came horizontally from the other side. Her explosive barrier detonated twice in succession as the two blows collided with it. The entire field shook with the explosions while waves of fire spread like incandescent tides.
Valença was pushed back several meters for the first time, her feet leaving trails of melted magma on the ground as the heat around her continued to rise. The sky within the barrier of flames still glowed red like a sun trapped inside the battlefield. The three undead advanced again without stopping, bones cracking and regenerating under necromancy as they tried to push her little by little. Pressing her feet firmly, she did something new now that her control had become so refined.
"Lava Slide."
Valença slid several meters backward, leaving molten ground beneath her feet and escaping several strikes. Saitya forced their bodies to keep fighting and chasing her even after suffering damage that would have destroyed any living warrior.
Cescud took the lead again, raising the cracked shield while advancing with heavy steps. Each impact of the shield against the ground sent pieces of hardened magma flying into the air. Marvud ran along the left side with his increased speed while Val'Drakar came from the right with his sword—and a second black blade wrapped in fire.
'I know that attack.'
Seeing the movement, she slid sideways to avoid the first sword, but when she tried to move again, skeletal hands grabbed her feet. Saitya breathed heavily, exhausted from using so much mana to revive Circle Six corpses repeatedly under her command.
"Finish her now."
Cescud's shield struck Valença's body like a battering ram. Her explosive barrier detonated again, scattering fire in every direction while Marvud's sword descended in a vertical strike and Val'Drakar attacked diagonally with his other blade. Three impacts almost simultaneously made the entire field tremble. Explosions of fire erupted one after another as Valença was struck and pushed several meters by the combined weight of the attacks. The ground cracked further beneath her feet and pillars of magma burst up around them.
'Just as I thought—even if I'm stronger, fighting so many is bad.'
Even so, she had to lay Val'Drakar's body to rest. At least that would be a proper way to thank him for sacrificing himself for her and Enrico. His sword came toward her, difficult to evade—but a rotating arrow of fire deflected the blade. With a relieved smile, she steadied her resolve again.
'Of course he would help.'
Without a doubt Enrico was interfering in this battle even while he was busy elsewhere. Right after that smile, she became slightly worried when Incandis appeared behind her, blocking Marvud's sword.
'I'll thank him later… but I hope he didn't make things harder for himself.'
As the mana around her body increased, she repeated in her mind that she now had two reasons not to give up: to let Val'Drakar rest, and to end this fight quickly so Enrico wouldn't risk getting hurt helping her.
"I'm going to raise my level."
Her staff spun in her hand while a circular wave of fire exploded around her body like a shock ring. Marvud was struck directly and launched backward, spinning through the air while pieces of his torso shattered. Cescud was pushed back, dragging his shield across the ground while the metal edges began melting. Val'Drakar resisted better, pushing through the wave of fire with his sword raised while using his own lava affinity to endure the impact.
Approaching her, he raised his sword and brought it down in a descending strike. Valença lifted her staff to block and the metallic clash echoed across the entire field. A wave of heat spread around them as they pushed against each other for a moment. The physical strength of the former guardian was absurd even in that dead state, and Valença's feet sank a few centimeters into the molten ground as she held the blow.
"Even with this superior power… the original was stronger."
Her eyes filled with determination as she prepared her next spell while several more fire arrows struck Val'Drakar's back, making him stagger forward.
A concentrated explosion burst directly from her staff, pushing Val'Drakar several meters back while the heat burned his armor. Marvud was already rising again while Cescud advanced once more with his shield raised. Saitya controlled every movement precisely while watching the battle from afar.
'I'll end this.'
The shield-bearing skeleton arrived first and tried to crush Valença, but she didn't care. Incandis dove from above and smashed Cescud into the ground completely, carbonizing every bone and even the shield itself. Incandis seemed eager to roar in excitement after defeating its opponent but instead remained alert, launching several fireballs toward Val'Drakar and pushing him backward.
Valença concentrated intensely, and Marvud seized the moment by appearing behind her. His sword pierced the side of her body, opening a cut along her back, but she didn't care. The next explosion—an arrow fired from far away—sent the skeleton violently crashing into a broken wall of the castle. The impact shattered half his body against the stone.
"Who is doing this?"
Saitya looked in that direction for an instant. She was already reaching her limit, her mana draining rapidly. If that boy arrived now, things would only get worse.
"Val'Drakar, kill her immediately."
Forcing his way through the fireballs with brute strength, Val'Drakar advanced again, raising both swords with both hands. The strike came down with such pressure that the air itself seemed to tear as the blade cut forward. Valença, her gaze focused, dodged by mere centimeters and the blow struck the ground, creating a crater filled with magma.
In the same motion she turned her body and staff—not toward Val'Drakar, but toward the necromancer standing at the edge of the zone she had created. The dark elf had her hood activated to erase her presence and was hiding, but her eyes widened when she saw the staff pointed directly at her.
"How—?"
Before she could even move, Saitya's abdomen was pierced by a focused Incandescent Ray combined with lava magic. Her internal organs melted instantly and her body fell backward, life completely gone from her eyes.
"Now you can rest, Lord Val'Drakar."
Valença looked up and saw Val'Drakar's sword only centimeters from her face. With Saitya dead, he could not move even a single inch anymore. Even so, for a brief moment Valença thought she saw a smile appear on the statue's face before it collapsed onto the ground.
'I hope you can rest in peace without anyone disturbing you.'
Looking at the lifeless statue, she then turned her gaze in the direction Lyrielle had gone. Now that she remembered, Enrico had mentioned earlier—while they were preparing before coming here—that it was possible Lyrielle had forgotten the faces of the companions who died that day.
'Now she will be able to know what the guardian who protected her looked like… right, Enrico?'