He shoots two arrows in Val'Drakar's direction to distract him and summons his fire clone, giving it a mental order.
"Valença, I want you to trust me, no matter what happens..."
Valença looks at him and nods, trusting her rival. The two remain on guard, waiting for the opponent's first move when he deflects their arrows with his sword.
Val'Drakar strikes the tip of his sword against the ground and begins transforming the soil around them into lava.
"Lava Terrain."
It was a field magic that increased the effectiveness of lava magic users. Enrico and Valença immediately jump backward, creating distance, but Val'Drakar is already advancing, raising his sword to attack.
Enrico reacts quickly and activates the Fire Kick he had improved.
'Charged Impulse.'
In an instant, Enrico disappears from Valença's sight. Both of his feet strike Val'Drakar's sword, causing the weapon to recoil a few centimeters.
"Tsk... I couldn't make him move."
Enrico surrounds his own body with mana, but still receives a sword strike that sends him flying away. His body crashes against one of the fire chains, which does not even move.
A large fireball appears from Val'Drakar's side, launched by Valença. The Guardian dodges using his sword and immediately assumes the same posture as the attack that had been interrupted.
"Fire Slash."
A huge fire slash advances toward Valença. She summons a fire tornado using a large amount of her mana, and the two techniques collide a second later.
The tornado is split in half by the slash.
Valença would have been hit directly, but Enrico manages to push her to the side. The slash ends up hitting his shoulder.
If he had not immediately ducked after pushing her away, he would have lost his arm.
Upon seeing that, Valença feels a strong pulsation in her heart, but manages to focus on the fight.
Enrico disappears again. Two arrows hit Val'Drakar's back and explode, but even so, the Guardian does not move.
He simply turns his body and launches a slash at Enrico, who was behind him.
Using Charged Impulse, Enrico jumps over the slash while still in the air. Then, he creates only one arrow, concentrating in it the same magic he would normally use to create two, and aims directly at the Guardian's knee.
Valença, grateful that Enrico had pushed her away from the previous attack, creates a fire tornado around Val'Drakar to try to obstruct his vision.
"This won't work."
With a single movement of his sword, the entire fire tornado is pushed away.
Val'Drakar then catches Enrico's arrow with one hand and breaks it in two.
The Guardian realizes that Enrico was no longer in the same place.
Then, a Charged Impulse strikes his head. The impact slightly cracks his protection.
With a quick movement, Val'Drakar strikes Enrico with his sword, sending him flying away again. However, immediately afterward, he falls to his knees after receiving a fireball from Valença directly below his knees.
Val'Drakar raises one of his hands and launches a fireball that was two levels above Valença's technique. She barely manages to dodge it.
The Guardian then tightens his grip on the red sword, causing the weapon to glow as flames begin to appear around it.
"Flame Emperor's Sword: Cut Everything."
The sword explodes into flames. Val'Drakar turns his body and performs a ring-shaped slash.
Enrico barely manages to dodge. However, the ring curves through the air and returns, attempting to strike his back.
"Damn!"
A slash appears across Enrico's back, briefly revealing the mark of the Fire Cancer.
Val'Drakar looks at the mark and seems saddened upon realizing the fate of that boy who, despite everything, continued to show respect for him.
Upon noticing the Guardian's reaction, Enrico simply enjoys himself.
He quickly tries to hide the mark from Valença, who was already preparing another attack with her staff.
"Don't worry. I don't plan on dying because of this."
Enrico licks his lips, excited. He had already seen some of his opponent's attacks and was beginning to think of a way to adapt to them.
'Crimson Eyes.'
His eyes turn red as he activates the ring. Now, he would use everything in the next move.
Upon noticing that Val'Drakar's sword begins to be swallowed by the lava, Enrico understands that the next attack would be even more powerful.
"Lava Chain."
With Val'Drakar's success, the lava on the ground behind Enrico takes the shape of a chain and attaches itself to his heels, burning his skin.
"Aaaah!"
The pain is enormous. After all, he was receiving attacks from a Nartheis Faizes. Before he could free himself, a lava slash hits him and causes his body to be thrown backward. Enrico begins to fall, becoming unconscious for a few moments.
Valença wanted to continue charging mana to perform an even more powerful attack, but upon seeing Enrico in that situation, she points her staff at Val'Drakar.
The Guardian looks at her and begins to run, advancing with his sword while the weapon accumulates more and more lava.
'Valença, I want you to trust me, no matter what happens...'
Valença smiles as she remembers the words Enrico had said at the beginning of the battle. Then, she simply waits. She remains in place while continuing to charge mana.
Val'Drakar quickly approaches. The lava around his sword increases, preparing a much more powerful attack.
It was then that Enrico, who was still falling and had burns from the lava spread across his skin, smiled.
He was not unconscious.
From the moment he realized that Val'Drakar could keep up with his movements, Enrico had begun preparing for that moment. The clone he had created earlier received a simple order: remain behind the Guardian and wait until Enrico gave the signal.
The heat produced by the lava made it even more difficult to distinguish the fire clone from the real Enrico.
His body changes position in the air and his feet point toward the ground. Flames appear around them.
Enrico disappears from his sight and appears directly behind the Guardian. Val'Drakar notices the movement a little too late, even so, he turns his sword in time, launching the lava slash at Enrico.
The attack passes through his body. But, in the next instant, Enrico disappears amid the flames, switching places with the clone.
"Zero Impact."
The real Enrico appears behind him, in the air and upside down. With a quick movement, Enrico's fist disappears amid the flames.
Then, he strikes Val'Drakar's back. The blow opens a hole in his body and reveals the hidden core.
"VALENÇA!"
"Incandescent Ray!"
As soon as Valença finishes speaking her spell, her smile widens.
The ground beneath her feet cracks when a powerful beam of fire comes out of her staff. The attack passes through Enrico and hits the core directly.
The core splits apart.
The beam continues advancing, completely piercing through Val'Drakar's body.
Enrico falls to the ground while Valença kneels. The two breathe with difficulty.
"Huff... Did we really have to kill him? He seemed to be helping us."
"Are you feeling sorry for a Nartheis? Huff... if that's the case, you can rest assured."
Valença looks at Val'Drakar, who was completely destroyed on the ground, without his core.
Then, something unexpected happens.
The Guardian's body begins to rebuild itself.
Even without life in his eyes, his wounds slowly disappear. A new core emerges from the tree behind him. More precisely, one of the fruits transforms into a core and flies toward Val'Drakar's body, entering his chest. The Guardian stands up again.
"I am quite satisfied with the level demonstrated by the two of you, my lords."
Valença begins to stammer, completely confused.
Enrico, on the other hand, expected something similar. He did not know it would happen exactly that way, but the Druid had explained about the hidden boss. As long as the tree remained alive, the Guardian would continue living as well.
Val'Drakar picks two fruits from the tree and approaches the two of them.
"You can only take one of them once in your lifetime. Even if you eat another one, it will not increase your powers."
The two receive a fruit, and Enrico takes the opportunity to explain to Valença what he knew about it. Depending on each person's compatibility, that fruit could increase the percentage of their fire circle.
"So that's it... How incredible."
Valença's eyes shine upon hearing that. She looks at the fruit for a few seconds before taking a bite, while Enrico does the same. Neither of them feels any change, so they continue eating until they finish it completely. When they were about to ask Val'Drakar what they should do next, the Guardian speaks first.
"You only need time to absorb it. Depending on each person's compatibility, the process will be faster."
Both nod, understanding the explanation. Val'Drakar then sits down near the tree, patiently waiting for the two of them. He wanted to see with his own eyes how much these young people would be able to evolve after receiving the fruit.
Valença, meanwhile, approaches Enrico and sits a little closer to him. After a few seconds of silence, she finally gathers the courage to speak.
"Thank you for saving me back there..."
The embarrassment in her voice was noticeable, but Enrico did not seem to give it much importance. He simply lies down on the ground, closes his eyes, and replies calmly:
"You don't need to thank me. I'm sure you would have done the same."
Valença remains silent for a few moments before lowering her head, hiding her face between her arms and knees.
"Yes... I would have done the same."
Her ears turn red. While remaining in that position, she cannot help but think about what she felt when she saw Enrico take that blow because of her. Her heart had tightened at that moment, and that sensation still remained.
'It can't be. He is only my rival.'
Valença tightens her arms a little more around her head, trying to hide her face. However, even without anyone being able to see her properly, it was impossible to hide how flushed she was.