*Clang!*
My sword stopped just before reaching her neck.
I felt as though it clashed with another sword, however, there was nothing there.
I was surprised, but, I reacted quickly. Instantly, I tried to attack again.
But Sila had managed to react by then. She snapped her finger hurriedly, and I felt my body slamming backward.
I clicked my tongue and did not resist. Instead, I used mana to soften the blow before landing gently a few meters away.
'A shame. It was a good opportunity.'
Sila looked at me with a frown.
"Just now, how did you shrug off my spell?" She asked with half surprise half curiosity.
I did not reply and instead thought about what stopped my attack just now.
"… I see. Did you cast a barrier around you beforehand? Is it a barrier that nullifies the impact it receives?"
Sila looked at me in surprise and nodded.
"Smart. It's a barrier that creates an impact identical to the one it receives, thereby negating it. It's a spell my master helped me to design when I formed my core."
I smiled wryly.
"I thought you were underestimating me."
Sila smiled awkwardly and coughed.
"My master taught me to always be prepared for anything when in battle, so I cast this spell when the battle started just in case."
So you did underestimate me, huh?
But if you are going to underestimate me, underestimate me completely.
I did not know whether to laugh or to cry.
Well, at the very least, I found out about the barrier. Next time, I'll be able to neutralize it.
Sila composed herself as her silver eyes were focused on me.
"Was that direct interference? You must have overwritten a part of my spell to make it fail, right?"
This time, it was my turn to be surprised.
"You saw through it quickly. Impressive."
"I could say the same about you. I almost lost due to my carelessness." She nodded and her expression returned to her calm indifference. "However, I'm not going to be careless again."
Immediately, she extended her hand towards me again.
This time, the mana she gathered in her hand was several times greater than before. She used it to cast the same spell, but this time, it was several times stronger.
Likewise, the difficulty of interfering with it increased greatly.
However, I had experienced her spell twice already. I managed to diminish the effects of the spell at the cost of a considerable portion of my mana.
Then, I charged towards her again.
Sila furrowed her brows after seeing that. She thought for a moment before gathering mana in her hand again.
This time, though, she did not release one spell, but several.
It was the same spell, but she cast it five times at the same time.
'Multiple casting!? And at such a high level!?'
My expression changed. It was impossible for me to interfere with so many spells in such a short time.
And if even one of her spells immobilizes me, it will be enough for her to use that opportunity to put an end to this battle.
'My only option is to avoid them.'
I put mana on my legs and increased my speed to avoid her spells while closing the distance between us.
But although her spells were avoided, Sila smiled.
"So you can't interfere with many spells at the same time."
In an instant, she cast the same spell several times over. At the same time, she used another spell to push me away and increase the distance between us.
I gritted my teeth and avoided most of her spells. At the same time, I used direct interference on the spell pushing me away, and managed to maintain the distance between us again.
But just when I was about to strike her down, Sila snapped her fingers. An immense amount of mana circulated around her as she got ready to cast a powerful spell.
I instinctively knew that I would not be able to defend against that spell.
But I did not need to.
At that instant, I used the abilities I had been saving until now.
[Darkness], [Confusion], [Mana Rebound]!
I cast three spells in succession. That was the maximum number of spells I could cast simultaneously right now.
In an instant, my vision darkened, my sense of balance got messed up, and my mana went berserk.
But that was something I was already used to. The three negative status were unable to affect my combat capacity in any way.
Sila, on the other hand, was facing it for the first time.
Almost instantly, the mana she was gathering escaped her control. She let out a yelp of fear as her body stumbled due to the loss of balance, and the loss of her sight left her in a state of chaos.
It won't last long, though. Someone like her will escape the effects of my direct interface in less than one second.
But that is enough.
I swung my sword, aiming at her neck again.
The same barrier from before appeared, trying to nullify my attack, but I interfered with it using my last bit of mana, rendering it useless.
But just when I thought it was my victory, another barrier appeared in front of my sword.
This time, I was unable to interfere with it.
'Did she cast another barrier around her just in case?'
I let out a chuckle of disbelief. Just how cautious was this girl?
For an instant, I considered my options.
If I wanted, I could use the power of one of my cursed objects to break this barrier and win. I was almost one hundred percent sure nobody would notice.
But almost immediately, I let out a resigned sigh.
There is no way I'm going to do something so foolish.
Even if the chance of being discovered is very small, it's not something I can risk.
Just then, Sila broke free of the effects of my spell.
She looked at me with a mix of surprise and fear, and immediately, she cast a spell.
I felt a powerful impact on my belly and my body was sent flying.
At the same time, the barrier around my body turned red.
It was my defeat.