Ryune blurred with speed, getting behind Elsie and driving a kick into her. Elsie’s body smashed into the wall, which gave way like paper, and both figures vanished into the night. A roar of collapsing stone was followed by a rising cloud of dust.
"Ryune! Wait, don't go!"
I shouted, rushing to the jagged hole in the wall to peer outside. Beneath the cold moonlight, I could clearly see the two of them. A sinister black mist swirled around Ryune. Her eyes glowed a malevolent red, and pitch-black mana surged from her horns like rising smoke.
"What do you plan to do with Master's mana? I will never forgive you!"
Ryune's scream tore through the night sky. The sheer intensity of her rage made it look as if her mana was hemorrhaging from her skin.
"Oh? You still have enough mana left to fight?"
Elsie stepped back, looking genuinely startled. For a fleeting second, her mask of composure slipped.
"This isn't a dream anymore. That means I can actually kill you now."
"Good grief, what a pain... and I wanted to get back to His Highness as quickly as possible."
Manifesting her irritation, Elsie reached into her clothes and hurled several objects into the air. Lustrous, jewel-like objects shot forth with a high-pitched whistle, raining down a bombardment of light upon Ryune.
"Are those Labyrinth Relics too?"
I ground my teeth while watching from below. Only Labyrinth Relics could produce such violent and varied effects. While they were usually rare, Elsie was the Second Prince's head servant; she had likely raided the royal treasury to arm herself.
"Fourth Tier: Shadow Spear: Shadow Spear!!"
Ryune unleashed a volley of pitch-black spears, showing no interest in further conversation. Elsie held up a pendant-like object, its light deflecting the barrage. It clearly wasn't a mundane piece of jewelry.
"Fifth Tier: Dark Flame: Shadow Flame!"
Black fire surged forward, cornering Elsie. The flames writhed like a hungry beast, incinerating any structure they touched and leaving only ash in their wake.
"Ugh!"
The sound escaped me involuntarily.
The light radiating from Elsie’s pendant collided head-on with Ryune’s magic. I was nearly thrown off my feet by the shockwave and instinctively grabbed a nearby pillar. The resulting waves of mana shook the village like a localized storm.
The battle was so intense that I couldn't find a single opening to intervene.
"Just where is all that mana welling up from? I really don't want to waste my vitality on someone like you," Elsie muttered, her voice dripping with annoyance. She looked like she wanted to end this fight as quickly as possible.
"Then leave Master's mana behind already!"
Suddenly, Ryune's body began a rapid, grotesque transformation. Her pitch-black horns elongated, her skin darkened, and her nails sharpened into lethal claws. She was losing her human silhouette.
"Ryune... stop it...!"
I heard Nyau's voice. When I looked back, she was leaning against the wall, stumbling as she tried to force herself outside.
However, her voice no longer reached Ryune's ears. The girl was completely consumed by the bloodlust of the fight.
"Ninth Tier! Shadow Wing: Shadow Wing!"
Unfurling massive black wings, Ryune ascended into the sky before dived back down. The earth split along her trajectory, sending rubble flying into the air. Elsie's composure had finally vanished, and she focused entirely on intercepting the attack with everything she had.
Every time their magic collided, the night sky seemed to distort. A sound like the world itself creaking under the strain echoed through the air. The battle only grew more savage, and it looked like no one would be able to stop it.
"Just give back Master's mana—!"
Along with Ryune's scream, her pitch-black claws tore through the air. The claws—now looking more like jagged thorns than anything human—grazed the space in front of Elsie, sending a shockwave racing across the ground. A thunderous explosion boomed, and pebbles and debris danced in the air. What had been an ordinary village street moments ago was instantly reduced to a ruin.
"Nyau, are you okay!?"
I supported Nyau's arm, desperately holding my ground as the world shook. Nyau was breathing faintly, her eyes fixed on Ryune. Her cheeks weren't flushed with exertion; she looked like she was barely enduring agonizing pain.
"Ryu... Ryune... stop it...! If you... force yourself to use any more mana... your body will..."
Nyau's plea was so weak she couldn't even manage a proper shout. Having lost her mana, she was so frail she would have collapsed on the spot if I hadn't been holding her up.
But Ryune showed no sign of hearing her. Her eyes, burning with a red light, were the eyes of a predator that had found its prey. Her long horns pulsed with an increasingly monstrous glow.
"Eighth Tier—Black Array: Dark Stinger!!"
Ryune leaped high into the air, carving several pitch-black magic circles into the sky. From them, countless shadow stakes thrust out, raining down on Elsie.
"Kuh, you really are troublesome!!"
Faced with the onslaught, Elsie grimaced and brandished a treasure orb. The rainbow-colored light emitted from it collided with Ryune's spears, causing a massive explosion that scattered light across the night sky.
"Guh!?"
Ryune was buffeted by the blast and lost her balance for a second, but she immediately spread her dark, feather-like wings to steady herself.
Nyau and I were nearly blown away by the shockwave. I hugged Nyau close to protect her and clung to the ground.
"Ryune...! It’s okay. I don't care about the mana anymore. So, please...!"
Because Nyau said that in such a weak, trembling voice, my chest tightened. Up close, her tearful eyes were clouded with an agonizing mix of fear and desperation.
"Dammit, is there really nothing I can do!?"
Frustrated by my own helplessness, I did the only thing I could and shielded Nyau with my body. High above, the night sky was being shredded by their clashing mana. Ryune's black mana was so ominous it sent a chill down my spine. Her inhuman form was enough to overpower anyone's resolve.
"Enough of this...!"
Elsie held up a golden talisman. A silver-white radiance surged forth, clashing violently with Ryune's darkness in mid-air. The impact shattered streetlights and sent debris flying, making Nyau groan in pain.
"Dark Magic—Tenth Tier Abyss Pierce: Abyss Hole!"
Ryune's voice had dropped to a low, guttural register, sounding more like a beast’s roar. The ground beneath Elsie turned pitch black as a bottomless pit opened up. A sickening, howling sound filled the air as shadow tentacles coiled around Elsie's feet, dragging her toward the abyss.
"...This is bad, very bad! I can't afford to be killed here!"
Elsie reached for another item, and a strange white powder filled the air. It reacted with Ryune's black tentacles and mana, triggering a blinding flash like a detonating bomb. A massive shockwave radiated in all directions, nearly knocking us unconscious.
"Ngh... ugh!"
Dust billowed so thick I couldn't see a thing. I squeezed Nyau tight as the ground buckled, threatening to toss us into the air.
"Dark Magic, Thirteenth Tier—Void Law: Nihilism!"
In that instant, the air grew heavy and distorted. Purple mana, looking like the manifestation of primordial darkness, swirled around Ryune.
"Ryune, stop! Not that magic—!"
By the time Nyau's desperate scream left her throat, it was already too late.
"This is...! This really is dangerous!"
Elsie's expression shifted. She showed a flicker of hesitation, which was instantly replaced by a look of grim resolve.
In the next heartbeat, Elsie vanished. And then—
Zak.
A dull, wet sound echoed through the ruins. A Blade of Light extending from Elsie's hand had pierced through Ryune's chest.
"Ga... ah..."
The strength left Ryune's body, and she began to fall toward the ground in slow motion. As she fell, the black mist around her dissolved into the wind like fine dust. Her mana spent, she reached out a hand one last time, but she collapsed before she could touch anything.
"Ryuneeeee...!!"
Still supporting Nyau, I rushed toward Ryune’s fallen form.