Enrico stood staring at Sairao, not giving his opponent his full attention until Victoria began walking around him, completely unconcerned about the battle. Enrico didn't mind—his eyes never left Sairao—but the evil god was far from pleased by the attitude of the girl who was about to die.
"What is this, Enrico? You're different."
Her face showed curiosity as she analyzed his dull eyes, one hand resting on her chin. Honestly, she was curious because she had never seen Enrico in this state, and apparently he didn't even care to say a single word to her after saving her.
"It's as if you're in a state on the verge of death… no, it feels like you're trying to break some barrier, and your real mind isn't here."
She was close—very close—to the truth. All she needed was to figure out what barrier her rival was trying to break. Narrowing her eyes, she observed every muscle trembling faintly. She could only see it because of her sharp instincts and the effort she made to find something unusual. When she was about to place both hands on his shoulder to examine him further, Enrico vanished and a thunderous crash erupted behind them, lifting Victoria slightly into the air.
'That's not the speed of a sixth-circle mage.'
Her eyes widened slightly as she realized even his raw strength resembled that of a peak seventh-circle fighter. He wasn't using magic to enhance a specific attribute like she had said—so perhaps that state was something related to that.
'Did he somehow break through the sixth circle?'
She didn't know what had happened, but she was certain she wouldn't fall behind. Seeing the two already exchanging blows, each blocking the other's punches, she immediately ran to join the fight against Sairao.
With her spatial sword, Victoria slashed toward Sairao, forcing him to retreat. Taking advantage of the moment, Enrico grabbed the collar of the evil god's clothes, pulling him closer, and with his other arm punched him in the face, sending him flying to the other side of the city. The two would work together to destroy Sairao—one driven by the instinct to hunt new opponents, the other unwilling to fall behind.
'If he somehow broke through the seventh circle, I won't stay behind.'
Circle 6 Spatial Magic — 55% → 59%
Her eyes shone with magic as she thrust forward, piercing through space itself and stabbing Sairao's arm. The evil god responded with crimson magic, creating spikes in the ground that pierced Victoria's left arm. Immediately afterward he used his sacrifice magic, drawing on the bodies of several elves scattered across the battlefield. A barrier appeared behind him, stopping Enrico's devastating punch that made part of the city tremble.
Using curse magic, he summoned two magic circles—one red and one purple. From the red circle emerged crimson claws, but this time they resembled an entire arm rather than just a fragment. From the purple circle came a smoke that would damage Enrico's muscles internally if it touched him.
'This boy—no, these two—'
Enrico slapped the air, scattering the smoke along with debris toward Sairao. The evil god had to move aside, but Victoria was already there with her sword raised. That blade could deal serious damage even to a seventh-circle mage—especially since spatial magic allowed her to inflict devastating wounds on anyone below the eighth circle.
"Spatial Slash."
The sword cut across his back, leaving a thin mark and tearing open the clothing on his shoulder. On that shoulder Victoria noticed a scar that she hadn't made—nor had she seen anyone else inflict it.
'Who did that—'
"For other beings to see that mark is a humiliation for me."
With irritated eyes he summoned a red leg from the magic circle, kicking Victoria so hard her body sank into the ground. Turning, he halted Enrico's advance with chains emerging from other curse circles. Pointing toward Enrico's stomach, he conjured crimson magic and formed a red sphere that slammed into Enrico's abdomen.
Planting his feet into the ground with brute force, Enrico stopped himself from being pushed back. Suddenly he crouched and grabbed a feather sword lying beside Sairao. Spinning, he slashed across the evil god's chest, forcing a painful expression onto his face. Of all the weapons Faelion had summoned earlier, that was the only blade that had not vanished.
"Spatial Crush."
Before Sairao could retaliate against Enrico, Victoria appeared above him, tearing the surrounding space apart with that small movement. The distortion destabilized Sairao as if he had nearly been crushed in midair. His nose began to bleed as he staggered back and barely avoided the slash.
"Gah—!"
Enrico's fist smashed into his ribs, making him spit blood. Immediately afterward Victoria's sword pierced slightly into his chest, though it did not go deeper because she was still only a sixth-circle mage.
Circle 6 Spatial Magic — 59% → 61%
Victoria pulled the sword free, blood bursting from Sairao's chest while Enrico rushed forward. Sairao retaliated by unleashing crimson blasts that tore through the ground, but Enrico charged through the explosion and slammed a knee into his stomach.
Victoria teleported above them and descended with a spatial slash that split the air itself. Sairao spun, curse chains writhing out to bind both opponents, but Enrico tore them apart with sheer strength and hurled a punch that shattered the ground. Sairao countered with crimson claws that wounded Enrico's shoulder, yet Victoria appeared behind him and stabbed again, forcing the evil god to retreat as he stared at the two like genuine threats.
'I've never seen humans with such potential in my…'
He hated to admit it, but these two were undoubtedly aberrations among humanity. Enrico possessed the physical body of a seventh-circle warrior at only eighteen years old, and Victoria's offensive capacity was growing with every passing moment.
'They're far too dangerous. I must kill them now, or they'll become a disaster in the future.'
Facing the two, all three suddenly felt tremors coming from the direction of the castle. Yet none of them looked away—losing focus for even a moment could mean death.
From the distance where they fought, it was still possible to see the castle… which was now transforming into a massive mountain of ice. While these three battled, the most important fight in the entire dimension of the elves was reaching a new level.