Just as Petrov was solemnly preparing to face the woman's attack from above, a grilled fish appeared in his line of sight, handed over by that Masked Man.
"What... are you doing?"
"It's freshly grilled. It'll get cold if you don't eat it now."
...Who would be in the mood to eat at a time like this?
Given the current situation, it's possible that more than just this location has been attacked... Her Highness Lolopechka in the royal palace—no, I must finish this battle quickly and get back!
Petrov pushed away the grilled fish Bai En offered, and the grimoire floating beside him flipped its pages rapidly. "Nature Magic: Surging Blossom Strike."
Vines and flower stems burst forth from the ground.
A massive red flower bloomed; mana from the earth flowed through its thorny petals, and its golden stamen gathered immense energy. As golden magic circles emerged, a domineering pillar of mana surged upward.
Although he still didn't know the Masked Man's true intentions, in any case... killing them was the right move!
Halbet stopped holding back. "Devil Power, 50%."
Dark red devil horns, looking like molten lava, grew from the woman's head.
"Hair Magic: Cocoon."
The moment the golden pillar of mana struck, her wild, flying hair wrapped her in a white cocoon. The pillar refracted off the white cocoon, flowing around it like water hitting a boulder.
Before the pillar of light could even dissipate, the white hair slashed forward like a scythe.
"Not good!"
"At this distance and speed... there's no time to cast defensive magic!"
Petrov instinctively reached out to block, but at that moment, a hand landed on his shoulder. With a "whoosh," the hair scythe missed its mark and sliced through a tree, cutting the massive trunk in half.
The white cocoon dissipated layer by layer as the pillar of light vanished. Halbet's gaze no longer looked down but stared straight ahead.
Bai En brought Petrov up onto the trees as well.
Petrov, standing on the treetops, seemed a bit unfamiliar with it. Lacking balance, his body swayed as if he might fall, but he eventually steadied himself and adapted.
"Lord Petrov, I told you to eat some grilled fish first. No matter how urgent things are, panicking won't help."
"Then what should I do? If they easily bypassed the Queen's Mana Zone from the border of the Heart Kingdom to get here, it means the palace is no longer safe."
"The Queen... Her Highness Lolopechka is in danger!"
"But isn't your Queen fighting alone right now?"
Bai En's words caused the anxious Petrov to gradually calm down. "That's right..."
"The person in front of us isn't easy to deal with. Although her strength is average, under the power of Vanica's curse, she's practically unkillable. In other words, unless Vanica is dealt with, the Dark Disciples causing chaos in the Heart Kingdom are immortal."
"Immortal?"
"How can that be? They're already so powerful." A lingering gloom clouded the brow of Petrov, who wore a round hat.
"Oh? I didn't expect anyone in the Heart Kingdom to know about Lady Vanica's power." Hearing the conversation between Bai En and Petrov, Halbet laughed loudly. "Just as you said, we cannot be killed. So, you are destined to lose this battle."
"But compared to facing others, you are fortunate, because before you die, you can imprint my, Halbet's, beauty deep into your eyes!"
Her long white hair coiled like snakes.
"Now, struggle like that and die at the hands of my beautiful self!"
"Hair Magic: Snake Silk!"
With her Devil Power fully unleashed, Halbet's hair surged like a tide. Snake heads condensed at the ends of the strands, roaring ferociously. As the hair danced, the snake heads lunged to bite.
Trees toppled, and the wind howled.
Just as Petrov was about to step forward to block the incoming magic, he was stopped by the masked Bai En.
"Let me handle it."
Before Petrov could respond, a shimmering white grimoire floated into the air, and a sword flew out from its pages.
Sword Magic?
The thought flashed through Petrov's mind.
He watched as the Masked Man beside him pointed a finger forward. A strange sword then sped ahead. The sword was fast; in just a few blinks, it darted through the snake heads like a swimming fish and then flew back.
Petrov was somewhat confused.
What was that for?
The ferocious, wild snake heads had already opened their mouths wide to bite the two of them.
No, I can't wait any longer!
His grimoire, marked with a heart pattern, flipped open. Petrov prepared to act, but in the next moment, his eyes blurred. The hair coiled into snake shapes shattered completely right before him, white hair falling like snow.
"This..."
A buzzing sound echoed amidst the falling hair, revealing countless slash marks.
Petrov instinctively looked beside him, but the man who had been standing on the treetop with him was already gone. A cold voice sounded next to Halbet.
The woman, whose hair had been dancing in the air like a tide, now had her hair cut to shoulder length.
"Even if you're immortal, it's only through the help of magic. And as long as it's magic, I can convert it. So, this isn't a problem."
Bai En held Magic Conversion and plunged it into Halbet's stomach.
Black, disgusting incantations flowed out like sewage.
With a slight shake of Magic Conversion, the sewage scattered into countless tiny golden particles, drifting with the wind over the forest below.
"How is this possible?!"
Halbet screamed in terror, "This is an incantation set by Lady Vanica! No one but her should be able to break it!"
"I won't forgive you! I'll never forgive you!"
The hair that had been cut off grew back once more, stabbing at Bai En like steel needles.
Bai En didn't give her the chance.
The small sword that had been floating above, wreathed in a black ethereal light, suddenly exerted its power.
With a sharp "thrum."
Immense gravity crushed the woman down. Trees shattered into splinters, and the ground dented inward like a hemispherical crater.
At the center of the crater, the woman had completely passed out.
————
Some time after Gacha and Charmy had left.
Within the Heart Kingdom, Lolopechka, Noelle, and Mimosa watched the battlefield through a floating Water Screen. The Spirit Guardians, who had initially been losing, had all defeated the Dark Disciples brought by Vanica after receiving reinforcements.
"Great! The Dark Disciples everywhere have been defeated. Everyone succeeded!"
"With everyone's strength, this was an inevitable result!"
A hint of joy appeared on Lolopechka's face. "To defeat opponents far stronger than themselves... it's wonderful. The Magic Knights from the Clover Kingdom have also grown through battle..."
Just as they were rejoicing over the victorious turn of events.
The side wall of the palace suddenly shattered, rubble falling to the ground. As they turned their gaze, what appeared behind the wall was a massive tongue dancing like a long whip...
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