Sariel and Aegreon charged against Sharaad, with the traveler taking the lead and the Pillar flanking him from behind. The King of Krimisha unleashed purple flames strengthened by his dark wind against both, but they dodged and approached more.
Seeing himself surrounded by the two and with his magic having no effect, he had to dodge to the right and twist his body in a bizarre way, suffering only superficial cuts.
At the same time, Raymond advanced against Keya with Indra's long sword covered in his violet lightning and managed to get close and deeply cut his opponent's left shoulder before he could react. His speed surprised not only the devotee but himself, as his physical capabilities were strengthened by Sariel's magic.
Shiina, on the other hand, became instantly invisible, even knowing she could be detected, and tried to strike Bhavna from behind; however, her sword ricocheted against a purple shield that cracked upon impact.
Without showing surprise, the queen turned, drawing a dagger from her clothes, and tried to strike the assassin, who dodged without difficulty.
Shiina decided to abandon any stealthy approach and covered her sword blade with wind, piercing Bhavna immediately after.
The queen tried to use her shields to block the blow, but the assassin was using all her strength, so the shield did not resist and broke, allowing Shiina's blade to pierce Bhavna near the heart.
While all this was happening, Luna remained still in the same spot, not knowing what to do. Although she was able to follow the opponents' movements, she felt insecure about approaching and feared hindering her companions, besides the fact that this was not a simple training, but a real combat where people would die.
Tightly gripping the sword that previously belonged to Raymond, the princess just remained still and bit her own lip in frustration, feeling completely useless in that situation.
Ashoka also felt equally anxious, punching the barrier continuously to the point where his hands swelled and began to bleed.
"STOP! IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY!"
However, neither side showed any hesitation.
As expected, Sariel and Aegreon maintained constant pressure against Sharaad, who was wounded and hit at all times while remained extremely cautious.
Both sides were hit, but the disadvantage was clear: The traveler was able to heal his companions without problem, while the Queen was trying her best just to survive against Shiina, so she was not able to heal Keya and her son.
"Bhavna! What the hell are you doing?! Heal us!" Keya demanded.
"I'm doing the best I can! If I get distracted, this wretch will kill me!"
"It's not enough! The worship of Shiva will be banned if we die here! If you are to die for Shiva's sake, then so it shall be done!"
Upon hearing this, Bhavna lost her concentration and almost suffered a fatal blow from Shiina.
Keya was right, for Shiva not only saved her son but also granted her the power of healing to help those in need, so it was entirely just that she would give her life in the name of the God who changed her entire kingdom.
"I... I will do what I can! I believe I can survive for one minute, so you need to finish them in that time!"
As soon as she said this, Bhavna's entire body glowed intensely purple and formed several floating rivers of dark water that covered Sharaad's and Keya's bodies. All the wounds on their bodies healed, and their movements became faster.
With their physical capabilities strengthened, the King Emeritus and the priest attacked furiously in an attempt to gain some advantage.
Responding to their aggression, Aegreon, Shiina, Sariel, and Raymond began to launch even more intense attacks.
Dark fire and wind collided with the Pillar's black fire, creating purple explosions so hot they would be able to melt any metal.
Raymond's lightning clashed against Keya's ice, sending shards of ice and wisps of electricity flying aimlessly like fireworks, and the assassin's wind decimated the shields Bhavna created in a vain attempt to defend herself.
Everything there was pulverized, even the portal materials were destroyed, and the room would have collapsed if not for the traveler's golden shield protecting the walls and floor.
Luna had to dodge the aftermath of the clashing of the magics, and she did so with some skill, as she had trained quite a bit lately, despite intensely wanting to help her companions in some way.
"Raymond! Be careful not to kill Keya!" Sariel shouted. "Shiina, finish this quickly!"
"We're trying!" the two replied in unison.
The bodyguard ended up getting distracted by the traveler's comment and didn't notice when the King of Krimisha cast a powerful spell against him. He tried to dodge, but the devotee took advantage of the situation and blocked his escape route by casting a spell.
Seeing that sphere of enormous purple flames approaching, he was forced to try to create a golden shield to at least reduce the damage he would receive.
Sariel then moved quickly and placed himself in front of him, creating a shield that completely blocked the magic.
Without saying anything, the traveler moved away from him and refocused his attention on Sharaad.
Any ignorant of magic battles witnessing that fight would believe it was balanced, but in reality, the Sect's side was suffering increasingly heavy damage, especially the Queen of Krimisha who was a walking pool of blood, staying on her feet only by the strength of her determination.
"Die already, old hag!" Shiina shouted as she conjured a strong gust of wind and powerful compressed wind spheres to fly against Bhavna.
"You can kill me... but Shiva will live in the hearts of my people!"
The assassin advanced and, with one of her wind spheres, broke the shield that the queen insisted on recreating. Then, she used her sword covered in winds and aimed for the neck, narrowly missing and severing Bhavna's right arm.
Upon seeing that scene, Ashoka felt a pang in his heart. Although his wife had distanced herself long ago, she still acted thinking of the good of the people of Krimisha, so seeing her slowly die before his eyes was a torture he wouldn't wish even on his worst enemy.
"STOP! SHE DOESN'T DESERVE THIS! STOP, PLEASE!" At that point, the Emeritus King couldn't even feel his hands anymore, which were a mass of flesh and blood from continuously punching the indestructible barrier.
However, Shiina ignored his pleas and launched another of her wind spheres against Bhavna, creating a hole in her body where her stomach used to be.
The queen, somehow, remained standing, but not for long.
Memories of her life flashed by as she watched the assassin's blade slowly approach her.
Everything turned into hell for her and her people when the Angels invaded Krimisha. Even then, many believed that not participating in the war and not causing more violence would make the Angels stop fighting, but those winged beings devoid of empathy proved otherwise.
Krimisha ended up resisting thanks to the leadership of her husband and the power of Indra, a pre-teenager at the time.
However, Kura would show once again that she abandoned her when she had her son, Sharaad, who was born with a rare and incurable condition even with magic. According to the healers, he would not live more than a month.
However, no matter how bizarre his appearance, she still loved him intensely, which is why she sought every possible way to keep him alive.
And that's how Shiva changed her life, saving her son and allowing him to grow up, and granting her the power to heal other people, a mission that God entrusted to her so that she would help those who could not take care of themselves.
Shiva's wisdom and compassion made Bhavna realize how Kura despised humanity, thus she followed everything Shiva commanded her to do, helping to spread his worship.
Her actions were of extreme importance for her son to assume the throne and carry out once and for all the religious reform where the people would abandon Kura, the treacherous Goddess.
Many changes occurred. Shiva maintained the idea of avoiding violence at all costs, but that it should be allowed if it was to protect someone or defend oneself.
And now, with things almost ready for them to receive Shiva's envoys to their world, those foreign followers of the cursed Goddess appeared to destroy everything she had built.
"I WON'T ALLOW IT!" Bhavna gathered all her magic at once and instantly healed Sharaad and Keya, besides granting them a great increase in their physical capabilities.
She could have simply used her own power to heal herself, but she knew very well that if she did, Krimisha's future would be ruined, as her offensive power was nothing compared to her companions'.
Casting a final look at her son, she saw him staring back at her with regret.
Tears welled in her eyes, yet she didn't have time to shed them, for Shiina's blade pierced her body and destroyed her heart, and the last thing she saw in her life was the Reaper Fox face covered in blood.
And so, the Queen of Krimisha fell. That blow killed her even before she hit the ground, such was the amount of damage she had endured during the fight.
Ashoka watched his wife's body fall in slow motion. His hands were a mess, with the bones clearly visible, but the pain in his chest was much greater, feeling as if he were the one stabbed in the heart.
Kneeling as he watched that scene, the Emeritus King gave up on breaking the barrier and cried.
However, the battle was not over yet.
Only one had fallen.
Noticing the increase in his power, Sharaad joined all his hands and created a sphere of purple flames as dark as the abyss.
Aegreon prepared to finish him off right there. The magic he was creating needed a long time to accumulate power, and he was unprotected.
The king concentrated all his power in his palms, powerful enough to destroy an entire kingdom.
However, before he could act, Aegreon felt Sariel hold him by the shoulder from behind.
"What the hell are you doing?!" He looked at him, expecting some kind of betrayal.
"Now's the perfect time, look." The traveler continued staring at Sharaad, making the Pillar look at him too.
With a smile on his face, all six of the king's arms turned towards Sariel and Aegreon, forming a bizarre image like a human octopus trying to grab its prey.
However, before he could complete his magic, he felt a cold, icy blade pierce his stomach from behind.
Surprised by that, the king hesitated to cast his magic. Who could have even done that? Shiina had abandoned Bhavna's body and was helping Raymond with Keya, and Sariel and Aegreon were facing him.
It was then that he remembered a person who had been standing still all this time without joining the battle. He had been cautious of her at first since her power was equal to that of the traveler and the Pillar, but he soon realized from her nervousness that she had never fought before and dismissed her as a threat.
Turning his face slightly, he saw Luna with wide eyes, piercing him with a simple steel sword covered in ice.
He didn't even feel her approach, as he didn't perceive any murderous intent nearby.
He also didn't perceive her aura, as he trusted his sight too much.
And that carelessness soon proved to be his undoing.
Taking advantage of the opening created by the princess, Aegreon held his scythe firmly and made intense purple flames cover it.
With a quick and powerful movement, the Pillar aimed for Sharaad's heart, striking precisely with the black blade of death and piercing his body.
As if that weren't enough, the fire on the blade exploded, burning the area where Sharaad's heart was located.
With such a precise and deadly blow, the king slowly fell to the ground, motionless.