340: The Angel in White vs. Cynthia (IV)

As the mist began to thin, Teacher Coco’s voice drifted through the air toward us.

“Well now, that was a remarkably extravagant way to burn through your mana. Have you managed to scrape a strategy together?”

Her voice was steady and brimming with confidence, though it carried a distinct edge of sarcasm. Despite the situation, she still wore that calm, knowing smile.

We each brandished our weapons, bracing ourselves.

“Yes,” I replied. “We’re going to do this the dirty, gritty way.”

I threw that out there and closed the distance before Teacher Coco could unleash her magic.

Honestly, her real weakness isn’t that she has a literal weak heart. No, it’s that her curiosity is off the charts. She doesn’t suck up to the powerful, nor does she look down on the weak. Even when it comes to her own students, she treats us with the same level of interest.

That’s why she’s letting this play out—she wants to see every single trick we have up our sleeves until the bitter end.

A person’s magic reflects their personality. The fact that she excelled so much in defense was undoubtedly a manifestation of her inner nature.

“Hehe, I wonder what you’ll show me then?”

“Lilith! Lady Luna!”

We split into three directions, launching an assault even more frantic than the last. We poured every scrap of mana we had into our strikes, hammering away at her with everything we had.

We did it again and again—so relentlessly that even Teacher Coco looked momentarily taken aback.

“—Brute force with no regard for mana consumption? Is this your strategy?”

She sounded disappointed. She had probably been hoping for a high-level battle of wits or a glimpse at some flashy new magic. Because of that, she didn't bother to retaliate. She was just standing there, waiting for something “interesting” to happen.

We didn’t care. We just kept attacking until, finally, our mana hit rock bottom.

The Blessing of Healing and Impulse of Destruction had been draining our mana at a terrifying rate.