Reversal was a divine magic of that world. Divine magics were abilities granted to only one person every fifty years. These individuals were chosen by God Himself to access this kind of power. The ability of Reversal was simple and, at the same time, terrifying.
The user of this magic could reverse their own element into its opposite and, depending on the level they had reached, could use both elements simultaneously. A second effect of this magic allowed the user to reverse magics other than their own. The only drawbacks were that it could only be used on magic, that when applied to an ally its effect lasted no more than five minutes, and that in order to reverse an opponent's magic, the user had to reach Rank Eleven.
'An annoying rule to weaken this power until reaching the proper level.'
Elara propelled herself forward with an explosion of white and black mana. In an instant, she appeared behind Devena and swung the black sword. The knight barely managed to block the attack, but her body was still thrown backward.
The black sword possessed a different characteristic from the white one. It increased the user's physical strength and magical power, while the white sword amplified her total mana reserves in every aspect, in addition to making the blade much sharper and deadlier.
"Reaping Light."
While Devena was still recovering, Elara pointed the blade at her. An intense light illuminated the room for a brief instant. Devena's eyes turned completely white, and she lost her vision. A trace of panic appeared on her face as she quickly retreated to avoid being struck by another attack.
'Damn... No, calm down. I have to stay calm.'
A slash struck her back, opening a deep wound. Still unable to see, she managed to regain her composure and began relying on sound. Thanks to that, she barely avoided Elara's next attack.
"First Technique: Crimson Explosive Sword."
Gripping her sword tightly, an enormous amount of magic erupted from her body, causing massive destruction all around. Every wall in the room and the adjoining rooms was destroyed. The energy continued pouring out endlessly because it was both an offensive and defensive technique at the same time.
'With this—'
Suddenly, Devena felt a slash cut through her head. Splitting her forehead from the rest of her body, when her vision returned to normal, she realized Elara was enveloped in a thick aura of darkness, which had allowed her to withstand the technique. Several wounds covered her body from enduring the explosion head-on, but without a doubt, she was still in good condition.
"With that, your extra lives are gone."
The sword that had delivered the strike was the white one. Then, using the black sword, Elara launched a magical slash directly into Devena's abdomen. Thrown backward, she felt the symbol on her forehead go dark the moment she came back to life. The situation had become extremely dangerous, so from then on she would have to be much more careful. Still being hurled backward, she spun her sword and stabbed it into the ground, managing to stop only after being dragged several more meters.
Elara appeared above her with her body wrapped in an intense light while delivering another slash of darkness. Devena raised her sword and concentrated all of her magic into the blade to block the attack. The two swords collided, and the pressure they generated destroyed both the floor and the ceiling of the room.
Still in the air, Elara quickly spun her body and, with her other sword, launched a second slash made of light. Devena barely managed to avoid it almost completely. The only injury was her ear, which ended up being cut off.
Lowering her sword into a low stance, Devena prepared one of her three swordsman techniques, the second one she had used in this battle.
"Second Technique: Dance of the Cutting Flowers."
Devena's sword split into countless crimson petals. A total of one thousand petals appeared, each capable of slicing through diamonds. All of them began moving around Elara.
"Dark Protection."
A black aura enveloped the noblewoman's entire body, and when the first petal struck her, it was immediately repelled. Devena noticed it instantly and increased the petals' cutting power by pouring even more magic into them. The following petals managed to partially penetrate Elara's defense, opening numerous cuts across her body.
Activating her light magic in her feet, Elara rushed through the rain of petals and charged directly at her opponent. Her body was already bleeding heavily, and exhaustion increased with every passing moment. She needed to end the fight as quickly as possible. Devena retreated even farther while controlling the petals to continue pursuing Elara.
"Third Technique: Dual Connection."
A new sword appeared in Devena's hand. The magic present in the atmosphere itself seemed to connect with the sword, merging with the Crimson Lumina flowing through Devena's body. Before Elara could reach her, the petals overtook her position and spread around her body. In the next instant, all of them surged forward simultaneously to inflict even greater damage.
With no other choice, Elara had to keep dodging every single one of them. Her speed continued increasing while mana overflowed from her body.
'Without a doubt, this is the greatest amount of mana I've ever seen.'
Devena lowered her body to gain momentum while her sword finished gathering power. The next strike would be the strongest one she had prepared so far. Her third technique allowed her to gather the greatest possible amount of magic in a short period, absorbing mana from the environment and combining it with the Crimson Lumina within her sword. While Elara continued dodging the petals, Devena calmly observed every one of her movements.
'She's incredibly fast, but there's no way she can escape if I predict where she's going to move.'
The instant Elara stepped onto the ground and dashed to the left, Devena swung her sword exactly toward the direction the noblewoman was heading. The attack was aimed directly at her opponent. The slash was so powerful that it split every room within a one-kilometer radius in half. Her hand even trembled slightly after unleashing the attack. The surrounding walls now bore a gigantic cut through them.
"Huff... Huff..."
Devena breathed with difficulty, completely exhausted. She had never imagined that a noblewoman would give her so much trouble, and that was precisely why, even after launching that attack, her eyes remained fixed on the area. She continued paying complete attention to her opponent's position.
"Huff..."
Just as she was about to stand up, a white sword pierced through her neck before she even noticed it. Her eyes widened as blood began flowing from her mouth. Elara was standing behind her, covered in severe wounds all over her body. The noblewoman herself was also exhausted and could barely remain standing.
Closing her eyes, Devena simply accepted her fate because she no longer had the strength to fight. That noblewoman was truly absurd, and to be honest, perhaps her mastery of the sword was even greater than her own. With a single motion, Elara separated Devena's head from her body and, immediately afterward, sat down on the floor, letting out a long sigh.
"...Fighting really is difficult... I just want to live a peaceful life with my dear Leon."
She lay down for a moment. At that final instant, she had used the magic she had preserved throughout the entire battle. At the exact moment she was struck, she switched places with a light clone she had hidden for nearly the whole fight. Thanks to that, she was able to appear behind Devena without the knight noticing.
'After this, I'm going to want a huge reward... I wonder if I can ask Leon to cancel his engagement to Rebecca? No... That's already impossible now.'
Remembering Rebecca, Elara quickly sat up and looked around. To her surprise, Rebecca was nowhere to be seen.
"Where did she go?"