Chapter 303: The Clash
Countless magic circles unfolded around Flamme. Pale blue mana soared into the sky, causing the surrounding space to ripple violently.
In an instant, with Solitär as the center, the sky within a radius of dozens of meters darkened suddenly. Thick bolts of lightning crashed down brazenly.
This wasn't a single attack, but a wide-area magical bombardment.
The sky turning dark was also due to an interference spell Flamme had used.
Countless bolts of lightning interwove into a net, sealing off all space Solitär could dodge into.
Facing this near-fatal strike, the grave expression on Solitär's face deepened.
She could hold nothing back anymore.
Just as the lightning was about to strike her body, Solitär's figure suddenly blurred. Her speed exploded, leaving an afterimage in her original spot. Her true body shuttled through the gaps between the lightning bolts in a bizarre manner akin to spatial jumping, dodging by the skin of her teeth.
For the attacks she couldn't dodge, she either blocked them with defensive magic or neutralized them with offensive spells.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!!
Lightning smashed down like a torrential rainstorm, bombarding Solitär's afterimage and her original position into a scorched wasteland. The ground cracked, and smoke filled the air.
However, Flamme's eyes widened instantly.
She clearly saw that the opponent hadn't dodged all the attacks completely. A stray bolt of lightning had grazed her arm.
And just that one hit caused the Disguise Magic to fail completely.
Where the lightning grazed her arm, the fabric of the human mage robe tore instantly, revealing pale skin underneath.
If that were all, it wouldn't be noteworthy. But as the power of thunder brushed past that patch of skin, red blood spurted out instantly—and within that blood, a faint black aura was flowing.
Although Solitär's powerful mana forcibly suppressed the blood loss and repaired the surface illusion in a split second, that fleeting glimpse was enough for Flamme to see clearly.
"Demonic aura!!!" Flamme shouted, her eyes filled with anger. The guess she least wanted to come true had become reality. "You are not human! You are a demon!!!"
All suspicions were confirmed in this moment.
Why Ariel knew so much about demons, why she could propose using demonic life force, why no information could be found about her despite her strength—everything made sense now.
"Bastard! You dared to disguise yourself and infiltrate the Association?!" Flamme burned with rage. "What is your purpose?"
With her identity thoroughly exposed, Solitär stopped pretending.
She steadied herself, looking at the rapidly repairing illusion on her arm. The gentle smile on her face vanished completely, replaced by an expression devoid of any emotion.
"Heh." She let out a dry, mirthless laugh. "Truly sharp observation. Fortunately, it was only you who discovered it. As for my purpose... I simply wanted to learn human magic, that is all."
Solitär was telling the truth. As for the matter with Carlo, that was just a whim, not her original goal.
However, obviously, Flamme wouldn't believe such a reason.
"Do you think I would believe that? What are you plotting? And what role did Carlo play in your plan?"
Flamme was most worried that Carlo had been used by her. Especially since the immortality magic he had reproduced, once leaked, would bring endless chaos to the human world.
"No plot at all." Solitär smiled and denied it again.
Simultaneously, the aura around her climbed steadily. The pale blue mana glow began to mix with more and more visible black aura.
This was the unique aura of demons, their specific mana signature.
"As for what role Carlo played?" Solitär smiled contemptuously. "I merely gave him a hope to live. And incidentally... pointed him toward an interesting path of research."
She didn't say anything more specific, nor could she tell Flamme.
Moreover, she planned to head to the northern battlefield later to find her demon colleagues and ask them for a little "help."
After all, once Pandora's box was opened, it could never be closed again.
"You are courting death!" Flamme's eyes nearly split with rage, killing intent boiling over.
She attacked in anger. A massive light spear, condensed from pure blazing white light, formed instantly above her head. In the next second, carrying an aura capable of tearing everything apart, it shot toward Solitär.
This was Holy Magic specifically designed to counter demons.
Facing magic designed to restrain her, Solitär dared not be careless. She also unleashed offensive magic. Although not as powerful as Flamme's, she won in quantity.
Clearly, she intended to use a multitude of offensive spells to forcibly wear down Flamme's attack!
BOOM—!!!
A deafening explosion rang out.
Blinding white light and elemental glows of various attributes intertwined and expanded, illuminating half the sky.
Powerful shockwaves spread in a ring, uprooting all trees within dozens of meters and shaving a layer off the ground.
In the center of the energy storm, Flamme's attack ultimately prevailed. It successfully broke through Solitär's various spells and, with unstoppable momentum, struck her viciously. Solitär grunted, her body flying backward, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.
At this moment, the illusion on her body fluctuated violently, unable to maintain its previous form. It revealed her true appearance.
Exquisite features, rare green hair, and the horns on her head signifying her demonic identity—this was Solitär's true form.
"Cough, cough. As expected of Serie's disciple..." Solitär wiped the blood from her mouth. She had underestimated the enemy—or rather, she hadn't expected Flamme to be this powerful.
"But do you think this is over?"
She suddenly cast a spell. In an instant, a massive magic circle expanded rapidly beneath her feet with her as the center.
Roars echoed from within the circle. Immediately after, hundreds of low-level monsters with twisted forms, radiating chaotic demonic energy, swarmed out of the circle, pouncing fearlessly at Flamme.
These monsters weren't strong individually, but their numbers were vast. Each possessed decent defense, struggling to get back up even after taking a light spear from Flamme head-on, as if they couldn't feel pain.
"She can summon monsters?! What kind of bizarre magic is this?"
Flamme's expression was grave. She hadn't expected the opponent to have this move; she had never seen it before.
She retreated rapidly, putting distance between herself and the monster horde while casting another large-scale offensive spell.
This time, she prepared to use Fire Element magic.
A scorching firestorm swept out with her as the center, instantly incinerating the monsters charging at the front into charcoal.
But more monsters surged forward wave after wave, pouncing at her even through the flames, forcing Flamme to retreat constantly.
Although she was powerful, facing this suicidal sea-of-monsters tactic, she had to divert a significant portion of her attention to defense and clearing them out, becoming entangled for a moment.
Solitär took this opportunity to quickly suppress her injuries.
She knew her identity was exposed, and the battle just now had alerted distant observers. She had to escape as soon as possible.
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