Lan ran along the side of the battlefield and, upon finding the hole through which Enrico and the other two had passed, jumped inside without hesitation. Aoi immediately raised her hand, and a blue flame appeared in her palm. She was about to throw it at Lan, but Jorge stepped in front of her at the last moment, using his sword to block the attack. The flame struck his defense with such force that the impact threw him against the wall, pinning him there.
Aoi quickly looked at Lan, who was already descending through the hole.
"I can catch him, but Enrico said that I could let Lan pass... So should I help those girls?"
She changed direction and turned her attention back to the fight taking place a few meters away. The three girls Enrico had introduced were fighting Misa Landris. Several eyes floated around Misa, following every movement of the battle. From what Aoi could tell, that magic allowed Misa to see practically every possible angle at the same time, making it much easier to dodge the combined attacks of Sisaka and Kaela.
Aoi watched for a few seconds, impressed by the amount of information Misa was able to keep track of.
"She must have trained a lot."
The eyes floating around Misa began to glow, and several rays of mana were fired at Sisaka. She managed to dodge the first attack, but before she could continue moving, one of the eyes appeared directly in front of her. The ray struck that eye, was absorbed, and immediately redirected toward Sisaka, hitting her arm.
Sisaka retreated, but Misa had already taken advantage of the opening to approach from behind. She raised the palm of her hand, and a blue eye appeared in its center while accumulating mana. The next instant, another ray was fired, this time with even greater power, striking Sisaka directly in the back and making her take a few steps forward so she would not fall.
Erina took advantage of the distraction to attack. She created a marble spear and launched it at high speed toward Misa. The attack would have hit her directly if it were not for the floating eyes, which noticed the spear before it even got close. Misa tilted her body at the last instant, causing the weapon to merely graze her shoulder.
Kaela did not let that opportunity pass. A whip of fire appeared in her hand, wrapped itself around Misa's leg, and pulled her backward.
"Fireball!"
Kaela launched a sphere of fire in her direction, but Misa reacted immediately.
"Vision Magic: Release Magic."
One of the floating eyes fired a ray that pierced through the fireball before hitting Kaela. The ray's power had decreased after passing through the flames, but it would still be enough to knock her down. Erina stepped in front and created a wall of earth, managing to block the rest of the attack.
The two were visibly tired and almost out of mana. Misa noticed this and decided to take advantage of the moment to end the fight.
Sisaka, however, had no intention of allowing it.
"Spiritual Construct Magic: Katana."
A katana made of black magic appeared in her hands. Taking advantage of Misa being focused on Kaela and Erina, Sisaka quickly advanced and performed a slash at her back.
"Ah!"
Misa staggered forward, but Kaela also attacked at the same moment. As if she did not want to be left behind, she summoned a snake made of fire, which advanced and bit Misa's shoulder.
A strong burning sensation spread through the girl's body.
Misa gritted her teeth and immediately fired a ray at the snake, cutting it apart before it could cause any more damage. Then, she raised both hands.
The eyes scattered around her began to glow again.
A ray emerged from each of them and, instead of following independent trajectories, they began connecting in the air, creating new lines of energy between them. Within a few seconds, an enormous amount of mana rays filled the area.
The three girls tried to protect themselves, but the attacks came from several directions at the same time. Sisaka, Kaela, and Erina were hit repeatedly.
When the technique finally ended, two of them had fallen to the ground and could barely get back up, coming close to being eliminated if they lost consciousness.
Misa took a deep breath and observed the condition of the three.
"I used half of my mana for that..."
She expected to have ended the fight, but realized that one of the girls was still standing.
It was Erina.
Her body was injured, and she was breathing with difficulty as she tried to maintain her balance. Even so, she remained conscious, while Sisaka and Kaela struggled to get back up.
Misa was genuinely surprised.
Perhaps Erina had not dealt as much damage as the other two, but there was no doubt that she was the most resilient.
"Let's finish this."
Misa began gathering the same magic she had used to knock the three down again. The eyes around her slowly aligned themselves, preparing to fire another attack.
That was when a voice emerged behind her.
"I think that's enough of this test..."
Misa interrupted the technique and turned around.
Aoi was calmly walking toward her.
She showed no concern, even though she was facing an opponent who had just used an enormous amount of mana rays.
Aoi raised one finger, making a small gesture as if asking Misa to attack.
Misa narrowed her eyes.
If that girl was so confident, then she would concentrate all her attacks on her.
The eyes around Misa began changing positions, completely abandoning the three injured girls to focus on a single target.
They all fired at the same time.
"Blue Flame Fox."
A fox formed from blue fire appeared around Aoi. Its spiritual body spun around her and transformed into a barrier, receiving all the mana rays.
The impact made the ground tremble.
Aoi took only one step backward, while sweat began running down her face. Even so, the barrier had withstood Misa's most powerful attack.
Then the fox grew larger.
Misa's eyes widened when she realized that the creature was advancing directly toward her. She did not have time to prepare another defense.
The fox opened its mouth and bit her.
Misa's entire body was swallowed by the blue flames. The next instant, an explosion of fire emerged from inside the creature's mouth, causing the fox itself to explode as well.
Misa was thrown far away and fell to the ground, completely injured.
Aoi watched the girl for a few seconds before looking at the three behind her.
"Seeing that she was injured, I don't think I'll go up in rank. Although I did let her launch an attack at me, so it might make a difference."
Sisaka, Kaela, and Erina finally managed to stand. The three approached Aoi and remained in front of her, almost like soldiers waiting to receive an order.
Aoi found that reaction amusing. The nervousness of the three was quite evident.
She then remembered something Enrico had said before sending those girls with him.
"I would like you to take care of the three, especially Kaela. She will be of great help in the future."
Aoi had been surprised by that and even asked why he was so interested in that girl. Enrico had only briefly mentioned that he was also surprised to have found something new, even for him. If that really was something new, Aoi could take the opportunity to become closer to him.
She looked at the three again.
"You three, from now on, will be under my care. Understood?"
"YES!"
Aoi looked at the hole through which Enrico had passed. She was about to enter when she noticed the others returning without any major injuries. Apparently, they had done well in their fights, which was great, because Enrico would certainly be happy to hear about it.
After a quick exchange of words, everyone entered the hole to follow where the main battle was taking place.
At the bottom of the hole, Enrico continued fighting.
Grark advanced against him and threw a powerful punch. Enrico raised the palm of his hand and blocked the blow directly, but the force of the impact caused the ground beneath his feet to break.
Even so, Enrico remained calm.
He took advantage of the moment when he was holding Grark's arm to grab him by the shoulders and use the opponent's own weight against him. With a quick movement, he threw Grark against the ground, causing a large amount of debris.
"Golden Magic: Rain of Spears!"
Several golden spears began falling from above. Enrico noticed the attack and concentrated magic in his body.
"Zero Impact."
A powerful wave of impact spread around him, destroying the spears that were nearby before they could hit him.
However, while he was dealing with the attack, Grark took advantage of the opportunity to use his Earth Magic. The ground around Enrico's feet closed in, trapping his legs.
Grark immediately advanced.
"Impact Magic: Charged Strike!"
The axe was directed at Enrico's ribs. Grark was not holding back. He was certain that Enrico would survive the blow, so he intended to cause as much damage as possible.
At the last moment, Enrico raised his hand and grabbed the axe's blade.
Grark's eyes widened.
"You..."
Enrico tightened his fingers while concentrating magic in his hand.
The pressure increased until the axe began to crack.
Then, under Grark's surprised gaze, the weapon completely broke apart into several pieces.
"Double Thunder Spear!"
Two spears of electricity advanced toward Enrico. He raised his hand and received the attack directly, enduring the discharge with only a few scratches.
Before he could react, several golden arrows appeared behind him.
Enrico sensed their approach and spun his body. At the same time, he concentrated strength in his legs to break through the earth that still held them.
As soon as he managed to free himself, he completely spun his body and threw a kick.
The impact destroyed most of the arrows before they could reach his body.
Enrico landed on the ground and looked at the three opponents in front of him.
"Now you have no way of winning here."
The three gathered around him. Grark, however, remained a little farther away. As always, he seemed uncomfortable seeing so many opponents surrounding only one person.
Enrico, on the other hand, simply smiled.
It was exactly what he wanted.
If he really wanted to make the others evolve even further, he needed to show them the difference between their levels.
"Today I will get my revenge on you, Enrico."
"Stop talking and come already."
Lan seemed even more irritated upon realizing that Enrico did not take his words seriously. The young man simply raised his hand and made a gesture calling the three of them to attack at once.
Lan gritted his teeth.
Elowyn, on the other hand, remained watching while trying to find a way to win that situation.
The first to advance was Grark.
Even with his axe destroyed, he did not seem concerned. Earth Magic began to surround the remaining pieces of the weapon, rebuilding it before Enrico's eyes. The new version became even larger than the previous one.
"Very well, human. Since you insist..."
Enrico smiled.
"That's right, Grark. You don't need to hold back against me. I am the strongest among us."
While the battle continued, Danyana, the tiger girl who had been practically forgotten by the others, remained merely watching.
She followed every movement with growing anticipation, eagerly waiting for the moment when she could finally enter the fight.
And, to be honest, she was beginning to lose patience.