Cate was still naked and exhausted from her tryst with Mary, but this did not stop her from acting immediately. She pushed Mary to the side and cast a simple spell to protect her from what was about to happen. Currently on the losing side of this fight, she quickly set out to change that.
"The world is mine to move through, as my ancestors are the creators of all. I am the world, and I shall be protected by the world through all changes brought about by forces counter to those of my ancestors. By the power flowing through my blood, I stand invisible before my enemies," she quickly chanted, simultaneously using her will to manipulate the magic of the world.
The protection spell took effect very quickly, and at the same time, a large fireball appeared in her right hand. She threw it into the air and made it explode, releasing a powerful force that pushed away many of the henchmen Jordan had brought with her.
Still, this was not enough to affect Jordan at all. In their first bout, Jordan believed she had simply underestimated Cate, which was the reason for her loss. This time, she had come well-prepared and ready to kill her half-sister.
Jordan had been wielding a spear since the day she was born. This was the way of the Staranse Mage Clan. They were very skilled with spears, and so they made sure their spears were the best magical weapons available.
Jordan thrust her spear out, and its tip parted the powerful force that was moving her way. She smiled at this as she increased the power flowing through her spear. The spear glowed like something straight out of a furnace.
Bang. It struck Cate in the chest. This would have been a fatal blow had Cate not cast the protection spell. Still, this was a magical spear she was up against. It pierced a few inches into her chest.
Jordan growled at this. She had hoped to prove her supremacy by defeating her half-sister with a single blow. Jordan made the spear tremble, and the powerful vibration sent Cate flying through the air.
Cate did not let the pain of having a hole in her chest drag her down. She could even see her beating heart, but it didn't matter; it was time to kill.
She had been sent flying toward one of the lackeys Jordan had brought along. She didn't hesitate to cast a spell that created a gust of wind, pushing her toward the young woman. The woman had just gotten back to her feet after being blown away by the exploding fireball. She saw the naked Cate moving toward her like a speeding bullet. The only thing she could do was open her eyes wide as her mind was flooded with fear.
Like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding car, the young woman could only stand there and wait for her inevitable death. Cate saw the look of fear on the young woman's face, but there was no room for mercy in this situation. Like a tall, slender pole, Cate passed through the young woman, eviscerating her stomach and chest. The young woman's upper body was blown away, most of it turning to blood mist, while her lower body stayed standing in place.
Cate continued forward for a few hundred meters before she stopped herself and rolled over the ground. By that time, the sky was filled with over ten spells headed for her destruction. These spells created lightning, rivers of fire, pressurized water, and even large boulders meant to crush her.
Cate saw all this, but she did not panic, for that was the road to death. She quickly cast a simple spell.
"Through the power of the Old Ones, the ones who sit above all things yet judge not the living, I call upon the power in my blood to fill up my soul and rejuvenate my being."
It was the Augment Spell that allowed magicians to tap into the world's magics, enabling them to increase their capabilities. There was a time limit to how long a magician could use this spell before they were devoured by the magic, and for Cate, that was just twenty minutes. This was actually very impressive and among the longest times for this spell in the world.
The spell affected each magician in a different yet general way. The magician's abilities were amplified, but for each person, what was amplified was different. For Cate, this spell had always amplified her physical abilities and her thinking speed.
Cate was moving so fast that she saw everything as though moving in slow motion. Jordan had jumped into the air and was descending with fury and a spear in hand.
Cate assessed the situation as fast as she could and decided that Mary was the one in the most danger right now. As a seer, her fighting abilities were not the best, and even with the spell Cate had given her, it would take Mary some time and a lot of practice to be able to use the power of the Beast Tree with any level of proficiency.
Right now, there was a middle-aged man, one of the people Jordan had brought with her, who was menacingly moving toward Mary.
Cate moved so fast that she left fragmented images of herself in her wake. These images were struck by the spells and completely decimated. Cate reached Mary faster than that middle-aged man could take his next step. She didn't hesitate before she grabbed the man's head and allowed the momentum she had built up to continue moving her forward. She did so in a rotational manner that allowed her to move the man's head through five hundred degrees before she came to a stop.
The man was dead and done for, his eyes overflowing with blood.
The moment Cate came to a stop, she understood that she had miscalculated due to her new feelings for Mary. She had overreacted when she saw Mary in danger, and this had prevented her from judging the situation with more clarity. She should have used the opportunity to take out the most dangerous of her enemies.
Jordan, who was a few feet away, had released a powerful beam of red light from her spear. This light moved so fast that Cate could do nothing but take it on. The beam passed through Cate's chest, leaving a hole. Mary could see through this hole to see Jordan, who stood there with a grin on her face. She had finally won the battle.