Ahem, ahem...
The barrier dissolved.
Alice emerged from the smoke, squinting her eyes as she waved a hand to clear the air in front of her.
Once the smell of gunpowder had dissipated, she took a deep breath of fresh air, feeling a wave of relief wash over her. Most of the vast amount of magic she'd expended had already recovered.
'Honestly, I really need more combat experience. Fights like this just won't do. Future enemies are only going to get stronger. Using a self-destruct-style magic attack might not hurt me, thanks to the magical barrier,'
'but the cost is still way too high.'
Alice's mana recovery speed was remarkably fast.
That near-self-destruct attack had just drained sixty percent of her reserves.
Of course, the bulk of that wasn't spent on the offensive St. Elmo's Explosion, but rather on the magical barrier used for defense and to contain Hyakinthos.
A full eighty percent of that sixty was dedicated to shielding herself and ensuring the explosion was confined within the barrier.
Alice had deployed two layers: a large barrier enveloping both herself and Hyakinthos, and a smaller, personal one just around her.
The St. Elmo's Explosion was contained entirely within the larger barrier, leaving Alice completely unscathed.
In other words, Alice had effectively endured her own attack twice.
The mana expenditure was utterly wasted on defense.
She was now deeply reflecting on such a wasteful use of magic, even though, thanks to her rapid recovery rate, nearly sixty percent of the expended energy had already been restored.
Originally, Alice had believed that with her own magic, plus Shanghai and Hourai's help, she could defeat Hyakinthos without resorting to such measures.
But facing real combat made her realize her thinking was flawed.
Hyakinthos was a Level 3 adventurer, and a skilled combatant to boot.
He was completely different from a mage like Lefiya.
During the fight, Alice discovered another problem: her body couldn't keep up with her reaction speed, and even her reactions felt somewhat slow.
Hyakinthos was fast. Alice could track his position using mana sensing.
But when she tried to strike, she found her attacks simply couldn't land reliably.
Attempting to predict his movements and preemptively attack was also beyond her.
The moment she prepared an attack, Hyakinthos had already moved from his original position. With no immediate solution, Alice had resorted to that 'self-destruct'-like attack.
It successfully defeated Hyakinthos.
Alice possessed deep mana reserves, formidable defensive power thanks to her barriers, and the offensive strength of her Septian Magic was tremendous.
But if she couldn't hit her enemy and her movement speed was lacking, she'd just be a sitting duck against a swift warrior.
Hyakinthos was only Level 3, yet he'd forced her into using a 'self-destruct' attack. What would happen against a stronger adventurer?
Alice frowned, pondering this seriously.
A sense of crisis...
Even after clashing with Bete and fleeing the Loki Familia's doorstep, she hadn't felt this sense of peril.
Deep down, she felt Loki was decent and wouldn't hold a grudge. That Bete, while annoying for attacking her, was just a nuisance who wouldn't truly harm her.
So back then, Alice hadn't felt much sense of danger.
But now, she genuinely felt the 'killing intent' of an 'enemy'—not the kind from dungeon monsters, but human 'malice' and divine 'malice.'
Getting stronger had always been a goal for Alice, but her focus had been more on acquiring knowledge.
Now, however, she truly desired to become stronger.
"Wait!! You witch!!" The smoke from the magical explosion gradually cleared, revealing Hyakinthos sprawled on the ground.
He swayed unsteadily as he stood—proof that his injuries weren't severe, though his tattered clothing made him look utterly disheveled.
Seeing him get back up, Alice frowned.
The magic unleashed by Hourai packed the force of a Level 3 adventurer's full-power strike, and Alice's own magic was undoubtedly stronger than Hourai's.
By all reasoning, even if it didn't kill him, it should have left him severely wounded.
'Seems I overestimated my own power and underestimated an adventurer's physical toughness,' she mused. Plainly put, it was a misjudgment. Had she invested a bit more mana, she probably could have finished Hyakinthos off.
But then, the mana cost for her defense would have been even higher, and she might have been injured herself—hardly worth it.
'But, a witch, huh..' Hearing that familiar yet strange term, a faint daze flickered in Alice's eyes.
Then, the corners of her mouth curled into a breathtaking smile. She tossed her hair, her entire demeanor radiating allure.
'That's actually a rather nice title.'
'If you can't hold on, just lie down, adventurer.'
Alice let out a soft laugh, turned, and began to walk away.
She could finish him off here, but she had a feeling that letting him go might bring her more benefit in the long run.
It would mean trouble would find her a little later.
"Wait!" Seeing Alice about to leave, Hyakinthos panicked internally. He took a step forward, intending to stop her.
But just as he raised his hand toward Alice, four arrows of light pierced through his limbs.
A powerful force shoved him backward toward the wall, pinning him firmly against it.
The surrounding adventurers watched, but Alice didn't even look back. She simply said softly,
"Shanghai, thank you."
The puppet floating beside the golden-haired doll maker manifested a small, golden longbow and instantly fired four arrows.
Once Hyakinthos was pinned to the wall, he lost consciousness.
As Alice walked toward her home, the adventurers who had witnessed her power instinctively cleared a path for her.
No one dared to block her way.
Moreover, those who had been stunned by her beauty and entertained unsavory thoughts now hung their heads low, afraid that Alice might turn her arrows on them.
Compared to Hyakinthos, they were just Level 1 small fries.
They couldn't afford to provoke her.
--+--
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