The first creature standing in the middle of the lake, walking toward them, was a blue-skinned woman. Her black hair swayed unnaturally, her eyes were the same blue as her body, and her ears were pointed. She wore leather armor that covered her entire body. Her name was Myrris.
"You came here to obtain the blessing, didn't you, humans?"
"Yes, but we came because of the elven princess Elaris—"
"I don't care. The only thing that matters is that you came for the blessing."
Her eyes became an even deeper blue than before, causing the lake to tremble.
"…Destroy… invaders."
The second creature, who had remained silent, moved in a slow yet threatening manner. Unlike the blue woman, his appearance was far more monstrous. He walked on all fours like a true beast. His body was massive, covered in heavy armor made of earth. Two horns rose from his head, and his face was entirely black and monstrous. His eyes radiated fury upon confirming they were here for the blessing. His name was Kharos.
Enrico simply sighed, but he had known this would happen—and honestly, he wanted it to happen.
[Why did you even ask?]
'Just so that guy can see we're here without lies.'
Of course, he was referring to the main creature of that place. Without a doubt, it must have awakened and sensed the dark elves sealed within him. He had wanted to fight Kilihit to escape its gaze, but Kai had been so excited to fight first that he simply let him go ahead. Myrris and Kharos prepared to end the battle quickly, wanting to please their lord, who was surely watching.
"Let's finish them, brother."
"Yes… sister."
"As if you could."
Spinning her staff in the air, Valença pointed it toward the creature on the right. The tip of the staff released a surge of fire like a pure beam of energy. Of course, he knew exactly what that spell was—he had seen it thousands of times.
"Incandescent Ray."
The beam struck the creature, and immediately afterward, the entire lake evaporated. Not a single drop of water remained in that zone. The lake spanned at least four kilometers and reached depths of up to one hundred meters.
Valença spun the staff to the left, preparing another attack. From behind her, amidst the destruction, the creature emerged slightly injured, claws aimed at her head—but Enrico appeared, striking a fiery kick into its ribs and sending it flying. Valença had not even looked back despite sensing Myrris, because she trusted Enrico.
The second creature opened a massive mouth as fire gathered at the tip of the staff. Both gathered immense amounts of mana in their respective spells.
"Incandescent Ray!"
"Territory Destroyer!"
The two powerful spells collided at the edge of the lake. A massive explosion erupted, as always when Valença launched an attack—but this time it seemed she faced an opponent capable of matching her. Well, that was just another reason to prove she was much stronger now.
'He's strong… but I'll show that I'm stronger.'
On Enrico's side, he landed a fiery punch against Myrris's face. Spitting blood onto the ground, she returned the blow with a blue aura surrounding her. Her magic was water-based, so he was at a slight disadvantage since he couldn't use his own water magic in front of others—but honestly, that was good. It meant he could evolve even more.
'Like other times, I'll use this to grow stronger.'
"Maximum Charged Impact."
His fist vanished from sight and struck the center of her face. The impact was so immense that she was launched upward, breaking the sound barrier. The surrounding trees shattered from the shockwave. Pulling his hand back, several lines of fire were revealed coiling around her body.
'I'm not done yet.'
He had left the fire lines invisible for just a moment. Of course, she could sense them wrapping around her body—but he had coiled them around her midair without letting them touch her.
'They're stronger than I thought.'
Looking down, she saw her brother being pushed back in a clash of pure power. Without a doubt, she had underestimated them—but now she knew they were strong, and from now on, the battle would be different.
"Water Thorns."
As she was pulled back toward him before another punch could land, several droplets of water moved from her body and transformed into spikes that shot toward Enrico's fist.
"That's bad—"
The water spikes pierced through Enrico's fist, making the creature smile with satisfaction at his words—but before they could penetrate deeper, the fire around his hand exploded in intensity, evaporating part of the liquid blades and forcing Myrris to retreat midair. He pulled his arm back with brute force, ripping out the remaining fragments as he advanced again.
"Just kidding."
"You damn liar."
Enrico's fist was caught in Myrris's palm. With a twist, she tried to throw him backward—but his feet were planted firmly into the ground before she could complete the motion.
"Sorry, seeing your disappointed face is fun."
"I hate men like you."
"If that's some kind of compliment from creatures of this dimension, I'll gladly accept it."
'So irritating.'
As the two clashed in a contest of strength that Myrris was losing, on the other side of the battlefield the power struggle had paused a moment earlier, with the creature managing to endure despite losing ground.
"Lose… in… strength? Never."
Kharos dug his four legs into the ground and launched another heavy wave of energy at Valença. He had no intention of losing in what was considered the greatest trait among the four creatures their lord had created. The ground split into deep lines, but Valença's fire collided head-on, forming an incandescent wall that pushed the earthen mass back.
"Sorry to tell you, but I don't plan on losing this contest either."
A battle of pure power was unfolding between these two aberrations, their magic quantities absurd—but of course, once this small clash ended, the true battle would begin.