"Ugh… About that, I have no idea. Who knows what on earth Fíliya is thinking. In any case, it's not our place to interfere, so let's just watch for now."
Aura spread her hands with a look of resignation.
Fíliya was very pleased with the current situation, especially Solitär's expression of frustration, which she found particularly enjoyable.
You can't blame me for this, my dear sister. You were the one who agreed to a contest of speed.
Hmm, but this can't go on forever... I can't afford to squander my mana as lavishly as Solitär.
Fíliya closed her eyes and began to think once more.
She thought of her "True Name-Sealing Magic." This spell could powerfully seal one of the opponent's spells, but Solitär was no fool like Aura. Solitär was proficient in far too many types of magic. Which one should she seal to gain a clear advantage? This was something Fíliya couldn't determine right away; she needed to probe a little more.
And so, she increased her casting speed again, which immediately brought a shocked expression to Solitär's face. She hadn't expected that even at this white-hot stage of the battle, Fíliya could still increase her casting speed further.
As a result, Solitär had to exert herself even more to deal with the overwhelming barrage of magic.
"How's this, my dear sister? I haven't disappointed you, have I?"
Fíliya fired a continuous stream of Ordinary Attack Magic. At this moment, she truly wanted to thank whoever improved Ordinary Attack Magic. This spell, with its low mana cost and high rate of fire, was simply too useful. Had it been any other magic, she wouldn't have been able to achieve such a clear suppressive effect.
Solitär didn't reply, as the beams of mana before her had become so dense that they formed an impenetrable wall. Even a great demon like her had to get serious.
This can't go on… Solitär thought. She admitted that Fíliya had indeed surpassed her expectations. If this exchange continued, she might actually be completely overwhelmed by the endless white beams of light... No, if it weren't for the fact that Fíliya had trained both her and Aura against this specific Ordinary Attack Magic, she would have likely been overwhelmed long ago.
So, Solitär changed her tactics. Although the decision felt embarrassing—to be the first to change moves in a simple duel involving only one type of magic was almost no different from admitting defeat.
But now was not the time to care about useless pride. Everything she was doing was for the sake of defeating Fíliya, and then... binding her to her side.
Solitär took a deep breath, and her entire demeanor instantly became deadly serious.
She stopped casting Ordinary Attack Magic to counter Fíliya's assault and allowed the pure white blasts of light to strike her body.
When the dust settled, Solitär was, of course, completely unharmed, as she had once again activated the magic that covered her entire body in defensive mana.
"Oh? What's this? I seem to recall someone saying they wouldn't let me use this magic a second time? Say, Solitär, isn't that move of yours a bit cheap? Not only can it block physical attacks, but it can also completely stop energy-based magic. It's practically an upgraded version of Defensive Magic… Doesn't it have any weaknesses?"
Fíliya said with a light chuckle. In her eyes, Solitär taking the initiative to change tactics was as good as a victory for her, so she immediately wore a teasing expression.
"Are you trying to fish for my information?"
Solitär replied softly.
"Mm, of course. So, dear sister, can you tell me how to counter this move?"
"If you promise not to leave me, I suppose I could teach you."
Solitär said slowly, a hint of hope unconsciously creeping into her voice.
"Mmm... I guess not, then. Although I really do want that spell, let's save it for another time."
"Is that so…"
Solitär said no more and simply raised her hand.
A blast of magic, very similar in appearance to Ordinary Attack Magic, was fired the instant her hand was raised.
The reason I say it was "very similar in appearance" is because this thing was clearly Ordinary Attack Magic compressed dozens, if not hundreds, of times. The compressed mana was so immense that this blast, filled with a destructive aura, had long lost the pure white color of Ordinary Attack Magic. Instead, it had turned pitch black, with countless arcs of electricity coiling around the beam of dark light.
"Tsk…"
"Isn't that my move? But having a lot of mana really is nice. I could never compress it to this degree myself."
Fíliya looked tense. She recalled a topic she had once discussed with Solitär—"How to efficiently destroy Defensive Magic." In the end, they had arrived at two answers.
The first was, naturally, high-intensity physical attacks, which was the very nemesis of Defensive Magic.
The second was the current situation: Highly compressing the energy density of an energy-based spell.
Although in theory, Defensive Magic could also be compressed to greatly increase its defensive performance, the magical world had long since abandoned this practice.
This was because Defensive Magic itself was a high-cost spell. To compress it further would make the mana consumption unbearable and would also slow down the deployment speed of the spell, a potentially fatal flaw.
The performance of Defensive Magic should not be excessive... This was the consensus reached by modern mages.
The energy density of the black beam before her had reached a terrifying level. Fíliya was certain that if she dared to block this blast with her own defensive magic, the pure white shield would be torn apart like paper, and a hole large enough to see through to the other side would appear on her body.
However, she didn't act rashly, because she knew very well that this method of continuously compressing energy before firing had a fatal flaw: its speed. A normal Ordinary Attack Magic would have already reached her by now, leaving no time for her to think.
In that case, what she needed to do was quite simple, wasn't it? An attack with overwhelming power that cannot be blocked should simply be dodged.
With that in mind, Fíliya immediately prepared to activate her High-Speed Movement Magic (Jilgravala). She even suspected that Solitär had lost her mind from anger. To use such a slow attack when she knew full well Fíliya possessed high-speed movement magic... Wait a minute.
Fíliya's brows furrowed tightly, because she discovered that her surroundings were suddenly filled with countless flying swords. The swords circling around her formed a cage like an Iron Maiden, trapping her securely within a very small area.
Fíliya knew well that her High-Speed Movement Magic wasn't some sort of space-warping teleportation, but literally just high-speed movement. In an environment filled with sharp points, there was, of course, no way for her to escape.
"When?!"
Fíliya bit her lip. She hadn't sensed Solitär using any kind of "King's Treasure" magic at all... When on earth did these things appear?
As if seeing Fíliya's panic, Solitär finally answered with a light laugh.
"Fíliya, have you forgotten...? I'm a cowardly member of the Demon Race who is terrified of death. What I'm best at is making inconspicuous little moves behind the scenes... If your specialty is casting speed, then my specialty is concealing the signs of casting. I had this prepared long ago, back when you were so triumphantly suppressing me... So, what's your choice now?"
The moment Solitär's words fell, the black light, filled with a destructive aura, finally reached Fíliya. At the same time, the flying swords that had her completely surrounded all shot towards her in a single volley.
___
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