The core crystal of Shanghai was something Alice had crafted with her own hands.
It carried Alice's magical aura, though now—after Shanghai's self-destruction and the overwhelming dragon's energy suppressing everything—Alice couldn't sense whether any fragments of that core crystal still remained.
But now, after Alice had blasted a hole straight through the Black Dragon's head, she clearly felt it—those shattered pieces left behind by Shanghai's explosion.
The moment she sensed those fragments, her heart leaped with sudden hope.
Without hesitation, Alice tore open a gap in space and slipped inside.
In the next instant, she appeared right in front of the Black Dragon, reaching straight into its wound.
But—
Alice's sudden approach instantly alerted the beast. Enraged by its injuries, the Black Dragon swung its other intact claw straight at her.
From her magical perception, Alice could tell the attack was terrifyingly fast—almost the moment she realized the Dragon was striking, its sharp talons were already upon her.
Still, Alice had come prepared.
A defensive barrier was already active around her. The Dragon's claw slammed hard against it.
The powerful impact drained more than half of Alice's mana reserves in an instant, funneled straight into maintaining the barrier.
And as the Dragon kept pressing down, the mana she used to hold the barrier continued to drop rapidly.
But Alice paid it no mind.
Her fingers closed around several glittering fragments—Shanghai's core shards. Even if only a piece remained, it was enough. Alice could remake Shanghai.
Clutching the fragments tightly, Alice stopped resisting the Dragon's strike.
She maintained just enough barrier strength to survive, then let the force of the blow send her flying backward.
Mid-flight, she opened another gap and slipped through.
A moment later, a spatial rift tore open among the adventurers gathered on the ground below. Alice stepped out of the gap.
"Alice-chan! Are you okay?" Tiona, who'd grown close to Alice, rushed over, her face full of worry.
Everyone had witnessed the battle.
They all saw how strong Alice was—incredibly powerful, yes, but no match for the Black Dragon. Riveria came over as well, sensing the unstable flow of energy around Alice.
Alice's mana reserves were vast, but even they had limits.
And the fact that she'd held off the Dragon for so long was already beyond ordinary. Everyone could feel how terrifying the Black Dragon was.
Those bursts of immense power Alice had unleashed… surely came at a cost.
No one knew exactly what that cost was, but one look at Alice's flushed cheeks told them it wasn't something simple.
"Alice, fall back and rest. Leave the Black Dragon to us," Finn said as he approached, his expression serious. "We're Orario's adventurers—protecting this city is our duty. You haven't joined a Familia, Alice. In truth, you're someone we should be protecting."
"So please, leave the rest to us."
Hearing Finn's words, Alice nodded. "Understood."
Her goal had been to recover Shanghai's core fragments. Now that she'd succeeded, staying out of the fight was definitely for the best.
Besides, if she pushed herself further, the consequences would be severe.
Every move she'd used against the Dragon consumed staggering amounts of mana. Effective, yes—but the cost was beyond what any normal person could bear.
Just those three supersonic spears had drained more mana than three Riverias combined.
Not to mention what she'd spent blocking the Dragon's attacks.
Photosynthesis and energy from the Satellite Sunflowers did replenish her mana—normally an excellent way to recover.
But the problem wasn't replenishment; it was expenditure.
Mana was like an electric current. Both input and output needed to stay within certain limits to remain stable. If one side exceeded those limits, the system would break down.
The Satellite Sunflowers provided plenty of mana, but Alice was burning through far more. The magic circuits inside her body were like a power grid—after such extreme output, they'd already suffered varying degrees of damage.
What's more, Alice's attacks demanded huge amounts of mana, but the supply couldn't keep up with the demand.
To maintain their destructive power, Alice had to draw mana from somewhere else.
Mana is generated from spiritual energy.
So while fighting the Black Dragon, Alice had been forced to squeeze her mind, her body, even her soul—constantly generating more mana.
This kind of self-draining method was normally forbidden.
Overworking the body caused physical harm; straining the spirit and soul damaged them as well.
For a magician, mental and spiritual integrity were everything.
So, even though Alice seemed unhurt on the outside, inside, she was already injured.
If she were one of her own dolls, her magic circuits would be overheating, scorch marks appearing on her body.
Right now, Alice could feel a burning, painful sensation throughout her insides.
Her mind was buzzing with excitement, but that didn't mean she was in good condition—quite the opposite. This exhilaration was a symptom of burning through her own spirit, damaging it in the process.
Right now, what Alice really wanted was to rest.
Only…rest wasn't going to be easy.
Alice glanced at Finn, then at all the adventurers around them, and her heart sank.
"The Black Dragon… just like Goliath, it has powerful regeneration. Shanghai blew out its only eye, but it's already healing. And I can sense it—the Black Dragon is still connected to the Dungeon."
"While it's recovering, dungeon energy flows upward, pouring right into the Dragon's body."
"So unless we find a way to stop its regeneration… we can't win this."
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