"(Ice Cyclone)!"
Beliza Sano swung her sword in a circular motion, and a whirlwind rose with her at its center. It advanced calmly toward a fifth-level Dark Crow. The crow fluffed its feathers, its darkness deepening, and collided violently with the cyclone. But Beliza did not end it there—she stomped the ground.
"(Frozen Mist)!"
The cyclone exploded, spreading mist over a wide area. The crow slowed, unable to move freely. Within the mist, the sword shone with an azure light, like a fragment of a blue moon, until even the blade itself froze. Beliza looked at the crow and said calmly,
"(Ice Storm)."
The mist around her transformed into countless ice blades, following the will of the sword. The morning air grew even colder, freezing the Dark Crow's feathers. It tried to release its aura, but it was already too late. Thousands of blades moved in unison with the sword, cleaving its body in half. No blood flowed—its veins had frozen solid.
Beliza looked around and saw heroes fighting everywhere. She calculated silently,
"That makes the fourth crow… What is Rona doing now?"
She searched and found a young fire mage, much like her teacher Amy, tormenting the crow before her with green flames.
"(Soul-Burning Flame)."
The crow realized that the source of this irritating pain was the girl standing before it and lunged at her, trying to devour her. Rona Flair merely pressed her lips together coldly and said,
"I've treated you kindly until now, but you're ungrateful, so…"
She extended her hand toward the raging crow.
"(Fusion), (Devouring Flame of Darkness)."
The darkness around the crow ignited with black light, multiplying its agony. Rona did not stop there. She raised both hands.
"(Scorching Sun)."
A massive fire sphere formed above her. Her magical tools glowed in response to her unique ability—(Fusion)—and powerful symbols appeared upon the sun: (Gravity), (Radiation), (Immense Mass), and more. She hurled it at the crow, which burned until not even ash remained.
Rona exhaled softly. "That makes four crows… Huh? Bliza?! What are you doing over there?"
"I've finished on my side. Only about fifty fifth-level crows remain, so I waited for you so we could use our special skill together."
"Yes, I think it's fine to cooperate now."
In the past, neither of them would have considered helping the other due to their competitive natures. But this battle was too severe to ignore such things. They moved toward a group of about five crows.
Beliza gathered her power—(Ice Cyclone)—the result of her wind and ice elements. Rona activated her non-elemental skill (Fusion) and added her fire magic (Tongues of Flame). A whirlwind was born, carrying a dual catastrophe of fire and ice.
"(Song of Fire and Ice)."
That attack alone explained why this duo was called the Queens of Fire and Ice.
As the cyclone moved to slaughter the crows, a new crow appeared before them—far larger than the fifth-level Dark Crows, nearly twice their size, making the others look like its offspring. It blocked the attack with its body alone.
Beliza and Rona stared at it in shock.
"Sixth level!!"
They looked around and saw a sixth-level commander lying motionless on the ground. If not for the rise and fall of his chest, they would have thought him dead. Instantly, they took defensive stances. Beliza pointed her sword forward and rapidly circulated the aura through her body.
"(Ice Vortex)!"
A rotating circular ice barrier formed. Though ice was solid, the wind granted it mobility in a vortex form, allowing it to disperse most attacks. Rona acted as well.
"(Fusion), (Fire Acceleration)!"
Wings of fire appeared on the vortex, drastically increasing its speed. They braced themselves as the crow launched its assault. Its body moved with tremendous force, dark aura condensing into its physical power and increasing its acceleration. It slammed into the barrier, forcing the girls back—but they remained unharmed.
They looked up, expecting another attack and hoping for reinforcements—and froze in place before smiling in relief.
The crow noticed their sudden calm. With its cunning and treacherous nature, it instantly realized someone was behind it. Judging by their relaxed expressions, it deduced that the newcomer was at least as strong as itself—if not stronger. It turned to face the threat, seeing only a darkened sky due to the domain and no one in sight.
It realized it had been deceived.
Suddenly, an overwhelming force surged toward its head. The two had converted their accelerated defense into an even fiercer cyclone.
They shouted together,
"(Song of Fire and Ice)!"
This time, the attack was aimed not at its body, but its head. The crow failed to form an aura around its beak in time. Its head exploded violently. Its glowing blood rushed toward the girls, but Beliza clenched her teeth and swung her sword, using only the wind element to redirect the blood toward the five crows from before who had tried to flee. The exploding blood struck them, killing them instantly—after all, this was the blood of a sixth-level beast.
After the brutal battle, Beliza Sano and Rona Flair panted heavily.
"Hah… hah… what are all these numbers?!" "Yeah… let's go rest for a bit."
After confirming positions and switching with two others, they headed to the rear lines where the healers were. Rona spoke as they flew.
"This is strange… did you feel how enraged the crows were?" "Yes. Their bodies were extremely stimulated—they wanted to attack with full force." "It seems the control over these beasts has weakened."
As they flew over the battlefield, they saw red ground covered with corpses—but all of them belonged to Dark Crows. They noticed a change in the crows' formation: some were berserk, others cautiously approaching a group of people. There were ten individuals there, mostly third and fourth level—but one stood out.
Not because he was visible beneath the blood completely covering him—but because they recognized him.
"Shion Lan?! What is he doing here?!"
They knew he was supposed to be somewhere with the soldiers, not in the heart of this chaos. But something else caught their attention—the crows were afraid of him. Even fourth-level ones trembled before him. When they looked into his eyes, they suddenly felt emptiness. Though stars shone within them, they were darker and hollower than ever before.
Shion Lan advanced toward his targets as the crows retreated slightly. Suddenly, he moved with blinding speed.
"(Raindrops), (Cutting Flames)!"
His voice sounded ancient, carrying both pride and cold detachment. His techniques burst forth. (Cutting Flames) bloomed into three cutting strikes that severed the crows' necks. Suddenly, Shion released four powerful fire threads toward crows trying to seize the chance to attack him. Without taking another step, he detonated their heads.
He turned toward the fleeing crows and began a massacre, unleashing techniques that now appeared far dimmer than before.
Seeing this—and noticing no soldiers stopping him—Rona moved toward him and stood before him. Shion halted and looked at her with black eyes in which stars struggled to shine.
"What is it, Lady Flair?"
Rona looked at him anxiously. "You need to rest."
"Sorry, but the commanders agreed that I must remain here to disrupt the Dark Crows' ranks. Please allow me to continue my work."
His voice was deep. Before he could move, Rona grabbed him.
"The crows are already weakened. Others can handle it from here. All you need to do is rest so you can complete your mission."
Before Shion could respond, pain pierced his head. He didn't scream—he clutched his head as veins bulged at his temples. He heard Shi Yun Lan's voice.
"You fool! If you keep exhausting your soul like this, the consequences won't be good!"
Shion didn't understand why Shi Yun Lan was trying to save him, but at that moment—realizing his mind had become muddled—
"We should have brought him with us! He's unconscious now!" Violet Night said harshly.
Shilte added, "Commander, it's true that orders required Shion to sow chaos among the enemy, but he's now unstable and must receive treatment from the healers."
The commander they addressed was the Rain Battalion leader, a fourth-level warrior capable of matching the fifth—Aero Riot. He spoke,
"Well, as I see it, the crows are in chaos now, so he can withdraw and rest. The next wave will bring him back and—"
"What are you doing?!"
Before he could finish, he trembled slightly. He knew whose voice that was. He bowed his head.
"Lady Sano!"
Beliza ignored him and imposed her aura upon him. Icy cold wrapped around Aero's body, biting into his bones, making them feel brittle. Unable to endure it, he asked,
"Why are you doing this, my lady?"
Aero Riot might have been powerful before others, but before his senior Lady Wendy—and Beliza, who had demanded his presence—he had no choice but to lower his head, even if they bullied him. Bliza's gaze was now merciless.
"You can't exceed your limits for even a few seconds, yet you send a boy to fight legions on the front lines without rest?"
She pointed at Shion standing behind Rona, his eyes clearly abnormal.
"Can you explain this?"
Aero glanced at Shion and shuddered internally. Shion had already stopped the Stellar Summet Art, but the effects of the Annihilation Art were still evident in his black eyes that devoured all light. Aero realized the fault was his—and that this was not the time to argue. The crows were weakened, and the situation was under control.
He lowered his head.
"My apologies! I—"
"Is this the time for apologies? Heal him first! Then take responsibility for command until the battle ends. After that—"
She stared at him with cold blue eyes, her gaze sharp as ice blades.
"You will be punished."
Aero could no longer meet her eyes. He nodded silently. Without further words, he took Shion by the hand and moved him to the healers. Beliza and Rona also went to receive treatment.
Yet a disturbance shook their surroundings—more precisely, the domain itself. Many fourth- and fifth-level crows vanished into the distance and reappeared behind the army lines, specifically in the healing area. All the crows were enraged, pouring their full fury onto a single person alone.