Lan runs to the side, jumping into a hole to chase after where Enrico and the other two went. Aoi raises her hand, releasing a blue flame, and if it weren't for Jorge stepping in front with his sword, it would have hit. The only problem was that he was pinned to the wall by the force, and since Aoi didn't want to waste more time, she launched another flame that engulfed Jorge, making him disappear.
"I could catch up to him, but Enrico said I could let Lan pass… so should I help those girls?"
Seeing the three girls fighting Misa Landris, floating eyes above them seemed to allow her to see every possible angle of the fight, giving her the chance to dodge any magic or attack Sisaka and Kaela made with their rather good combination. This made Aoi wonder how the girl didn't get disoriented with so much information.
"She must have trained a lot."
The eyes glowed and mana rays shot out. Only Sisaka managed to dodge the ray—at least until an eye appeared in front of the attack, absorbing and redirecting it toward her, injuring her arm. Misa approached from behind and raised her palm, a blue eye in its center seeming to gather magic around it, and another ray—stronger than before—shot from her hand, hitting Sisaka's back.
Serina created a marble spear and threw it at high speed, and if not for the eyes that saw everything, it would have definitely hit, but it only grazed Misa's shoulder. A fire whip wrapped around Misa's foot, pulled by Kaela.
"Fireball."
"Vision Magic: Release Magic."
A ray pierced through the fireball, going straight at Kaela, but Serina saved her by creating an earth wall that managed to block it thanks to the fireball having reduced its power. Both were tired and almost out of mana, so Misa intended to use that moment to finish them off.
"Spiritual Construction Magic: Katana."
A slash appeared on Misa's back, made by Sisaka with a black magic katana. Kaela, unwilling to lose, summoned a fire snake that bit Misa's shoulder, a burning sensation spreading through her body. Cutting the snake with a ray, Misa moved both hands and all the eyes fired rays that connected, generating more. There were so many mana rays that when the three were hit, two of them fell, almost being eliminated if they had lost consciousness.
"I used half my mana for that…"
Seeing the only girl still standing, injured while the others tried to get up, Misa was genuinely surprised that it was Serina. She might not have caused the most damage, but she was certainly the most resilient. Thinking it was time to end it, she began summoning the same magic that had knocked them down.
"I think that's enough for this test…"
Hearing Aoi's voice from behind, Misa turned to see her calmly walking toward her. Misa saw her raise a finger as if telling her to attack, so, since this girl was so confident, she decided to focus all her rays on her. All the eyes around focused on a single person and launched a devastating attack.
"Blue Flame Fox."
A blue fire fox appeared and spun around Aoi, forming a barrier that resisted Misa's strongest attack. Taking a step back and sweating, Misa saw the fox grow and quickly approach, biting her. Her whole body went into the fox's mouth, and an expression of blue flames exploded from within, causing the fox that had swallowed her to also explode.
"Seeing that she's injured, I don't think I'll rank up—though I did let her launch an attack at me, so it could make a difference."
The three saw Aoi approaching and stood at attention like soldiers ready to receive orders. Seeing this, Aoi was amused by their nervousness. Enrico had taken an interest in them for some reason, especially the girl named Kaela, and she remembered what he said before making the three follow him.
"I'd like you to take care of the three of them, especially Kaela. She'll be of great help in the future."
She had even asked in surprise why, and Enrico had simply mentioned quickly that he was also surprised to have found something new even to him, and if it was something new, she could take advantage of it to get closer to him.
"From now on, the three of you will be under my care. Understood?"
"Yes!"
Looking at the hole Enrico had entered, she was about to go in when she saw the others returning without major injuries, meaning they had done well in their battles—which was great because Enrico would definitely be happy. After a few words exchanged, they all went into the hole to chase where the main fight would happen.
At the bottom of the hole, with Enrico, he blocked a punch from Grark with his palm, the ground beneath them cracking, but Enrico seemed calm and grabbed Grark by the shoulders, slamming him into the ground and causing even more destruction.
"Golden Magic: Rain of Spears."
Several spears descended from above, so Enrico used Impact Zero to create an impact that destroyed all the spears in the middle. His feet were trapped in the ground by Grark's earth magic.
"Impact Magic: Charged Strike."
With Grark's axe aimed at Enrico's ribs, trying to cause as much damage as possible since he was sure Enrico could survive, Grark didn't hold back. Enrico grabbed the axe with his hand, surprising Grark, then applied magic pressure with his grip, shattering the axe into pieces.
"Twin Thunder Spears."
Seeing an attack coming, Enrico raised his hand, managing to block it with only minimal scratches. Several golden arrows came at his back, but spinning and using his strength to break free from the earth holding his feet, he delivered a kick that destroyed most of the arrows aimed at him.
"Now you have no way of leaving here victorious."
The three surrounded him, with Grark staying farther back, looking uncomfortable as always when seeing so many opponents surrounding just one person. Enrico just smiled confidently—this was exactly what he wanted. If he wanted to make the others evolve even further, he would demonstrate the difference between them.
"Today I'll get my revenge on you, Enrico."
"Stop talking and come already."
Seeing that Lan didn't seem to want to stop talking, Enrico simply pointed his hand at the three, signaling them to come quickly. This gesture made Lan furious. Elowyn, on the other hand, seemed to be trying to find a way to win. The first to attack was Grark, his broken axe reforming with earth magic into a larger one.
"Very well, human, since you insist."
"That's right, Grark. You don't need to go easy on me. I'm the strongest among us."
As the fight continued, the tiger girl, who seemed to have been forgotten, only watched in anticipation for her turn—and to be honest, she was losing her patience.