Inside the flame barrier created by Platinum, the two girls exchanged magical attacks without managing to land any decisive blows. Both remained extremely cautious, observing their opponent's movements and testing their abilities to discover possible openings in her defense. However, after several exchanges without significant results, they decided it was time to fight seriously.
Platinum raised her hands, gathering fire mana, while her opponent did the same.
"Multiple Fire Tornadoes!"
Ten blazing tornadoes appeared around Penelope, surrounding her from different angles. At the same time, Platinum concentrated a greater amount of mana into another tornado, which advanced directly toward her opponent's chest.
The impact sent Penelope flying backward, causing her to collide with the flame barrier. Smoke spread throughout the area, temporarily concealing her figure. Shortly afterward, she emerged from the cloud, injured but still able to remain standing.
The girl observed her opponent with interest.
"What's your name? Mine is Penelope."
"I don't need to tell my name to a dead person."
"How confident..."
Penelope pointed her finger at Platinum. A small, concentrated tornado shot from the tip of Penelope's finger and pierced Platinum's shoulder, leaving a hole in her flesh.
The pain made Platinum frown. An unpleasant sensation spread through her arm, and she immediately realized that she would not be able to move it as easily as before.
Penelope smiled when she saw the result of her attack.
"Let's see if you can kill me now!"
Despite her injury, Platinum did not retreat. Moving at high speed around her opponent, she began creating a whirlwind of fire that enveloped Penelope. The flames spun continuously, causing constant damage and making any attempt to escape difficult.
Penelope jumped into the air, leaving the center of the whirlwind. Then, she moved her fingers downward, causing ten fireballs to appear and plummet toward the spot where Platinum stood.
However, the young woman from the Solcren Ferreira family had already prepared her counterattack.
"Fire Flower!"
Small flaming flowers began appearing on Penelope's skin in the areas of her body struck by the whirlwind. Their petals opened, burning her opponent's flesh. A second later, seven of these flowers exploded simultaneously.
"Aaahh!"
The scream of pain echoed inside the barrier.
Penelope emerged from the series of explosions badly injured. Furious, she gathered a large amount of mana and created an enormous fireball, launching it toward Platinum, who was approaching from behind to take advantage of the opening.
Platinum crossed her arms in front of her body and endured the attack, despite feeling the pain of her shoulder injury. The flames engulfed her, pressing against her defense and making her movements difficult. Even so, she stood firm, concentrating mana to prepare a counterattack.
As soon as the fire began to disappear, Platinum seized the opportunity. With the concentration she had maintained until that moment, she created a large fireball and launched it at Penelope. Before reaching its target, the attack split into several smaller projectiles that advanced toward her opponent in successive waves.
"Aaahhh!"
Penelope was struck by a series of explosions. The pain accumulated with each impact, and her expression changed rapidly. Her eyes widened as her face twisted with rage.
Unable to withstand any more attacks, she released a large amount of fire mana around her own body, dispersing the remaining projectiles.
"Wind Magic: Multiple Shots!"
The revelation of her second magic surprised Platinum. Penelope launched a shower of wind projectiles that combined with the fire as they advanced, transforming into flaming attacks. The combination of the two magics produced an unexpected offensive that struck Platinum before she could react properly.
"Gahh!"
The projectiles struck her body repeatedly. Her injuries accumulated, but the right side of her abdomen suffered the most damage, as that area received more impacts than the others.
Platinum gritted her teeth, trying to endure the pain while analyzing her opponent's magic.
'Her wind magic is First Circle. However, when a mage develops a second magic to use in combat, it is common to combine it with their original magic to increase its effectiveness.'
She observed Penelope for a moment, assessing how the two affinities complemented each other.
'Even so, the combination of her magics is quite effective. Perhaps it was easier for her than for other people... Well, she's not the only one.'
Before she could continue thinking, Penelope appeared beside her, precisely on the side of her injured shoulder.
Although she could not move her right arm properly, Platinum could still use her magic. She rotated her left hand, releasing an explosion of fire that pushed her opponent away. Without wasting the opportunity, she stomped hard on the ground.
"Flame Prison!"
Flames erupted from the ground, forming several blazing bars around Penelope. Before she could prepare another spell, chains of fire appeared and wrapped around her body, restricting her movements.
Penelope tried to free herself, but the chains tightened even further, preventing her from gathering the mana needed to escape easily.
Platinum observed her trapped opponent and took a deep breath. Her injured shoulder continued to hurt, but she did not let it show on her face.
"This magic was part of my training plans for near the end of the year. However, after seeing my little brother become so strong in such a short time, I couldn't just stand by and let him continue growing while I remained in the same place."
Penelope's eyes widened when she noticed something taking shape in front of her.
Liquid metal began gathering, taking the form of a large spear. Then, Platinum enveloped the weapon in flames, making its metallic surface glow under the heat.
Desperate, Penelope tried to release a fire explosion to break the chains. However, it was already too late. The spear was launched toward her at a terrifying speed and pierced her chest before she could escape.
Penelope's body became motionless. Her attempt to resist ended at that moment, and she died without managing to free herself from the flame prison.
Platinum watched coldly as the corpse fell to the ground.
"It was a good fight, but I'm from the Solcren Ferreira family. It was obvious I would win."
After confirming her opponent's death, she dispelled the flame barrier. The heat that had previously isolated the two dissipated, revealing the surroundings devastated by the battle.
Platinum sat on the ground to rest for a while. The fight had required more effort than she expected, and her injuries began bothering her even more once the tension of the battle subsided.
"Fighting someone at the same level is always difficult..."
She placed her hand over her shoulder, covering the hole left by Penelope's attack. Although the wound was not very large, the pain persisted. She would need to find a healer as soon as possible, as she did not want to risk aggravating the injury. It was then that she heard approaching footsteps.
"Excuse me... Huff... Huff... Have you seen my family members? You seem injured. I can heal you if you want."
A frail-looking girl approached, keeping some distance. She had brown skin, black hair, and worn-out clothes. Her gloomy appearance contrasted with her hesitant manner, and she stopped about five meters away from Platinum, as if she did not have the courage to come any closer.
Platinum raised an eyebrow. The girl seemed quite nervous, especially when she needed to approach another person.
"Who are your family members?"
"My mother is a frail woman, just like me..."
"Then you're the daughter of the woman my brother saved? You look quite alike."
"Then is she all right?"
Relief spread across the girl's face when she heard the answer.
"Yes. My brother took her to a safe shop."
The young woman finally seemed able to breathe calmly. Then, she raised one hand and began healing Platinum's shoulder, keeping her distance while the restorative magic took effect.
Even while offering help, she did not seem willing to come any closer.
'Well, I don't mind.'
Platinum had no intention of forcing her to do something that clearly made her uncomfortable. Instead, she turned her attention back to the horizon, where extensive destruction could be seen in the center of the city.
High above, Valerio was fighting two opponents in the sky. His fire wings spread behind him, and each movement sent flaming feathers toward his enemies. The flames pierced the bodies of both opponents, forcing them to defend themselves constantly.
Platinum narrowed her eyes as she watched the battle.
"Both of them seemed close to reaching the Fourth Circle... Will my little brother and little sister admire him even more after this? I hope they didn't see it."
Meanwhile, Valerio looked down and identified the object responsible for the barrier surrounding that region. His last opponent had managed to escape, which could pose a problem in the future. However, before pursuing him, he needed to destroy the device and free the trapped people.
He extended one hand, gathering a considerable amount of mana.
"Maximum Fire Magic: Explosive Cannon!"
A powerful attack was fired from his hand, striking the device directly. The explosion shattered the object into pieces, bringing an end to the barrier that had kept that area isolated.
Valerio had carefully controlled the direction and intensity of the explosion to avoid unnecessary damage to nearby buildings. His goal was to destroy the device, not increase the destruction already ravaging the city.
After confirming that the object had been completely destroyed, he turned his attention toward the direction in which the hooded man had fled.
"Very well. Now I'll go after the one who escaped."
Valerio turned and began flying toward the last opponent. However, before he could get very far, he noticed a purple light appear in the distance, to the right of the place where the enemy had fled. The glow appeared for a brief moment and disappeared shortly afterward.
Valerio frowned.
'That's the place where I saw my brother heading while I was fighting in the sky...'
Without hesitation, he changed direction and immediately flew there.
Upon arriving, he found only a child hiding behind a wall. The boy looked as though he had not eaten for several days and was trembling with fear, as if he had just witnessed something terrible.
Valerio landed in front of him and approached cautiously.
"Hey, kid. What happened here?"
"S-some people came to help me... Then another evil guy appeared with a device and made all of them disappear."
The boy continued trembling as he explained what had happened.
'It seems he came this way...'
Valerio showed no concern for the child's fear. His attention was focused on a far more serious possibility.
If that hooded man had taken Enrico, the situation would be extremely dangerous. During the previous confrontation, Valerio had realized that the enemy was on the verge of reaching the Fourth Circle. Someone with that level of power could not be underestimated, especially if he had managed to capture his younger brother.
Valerio clenched his fists and stared at the boy.
"I need to find out where they went."