As he observed Enrico's power, someone hiding nearby seemed quite excited. From time to time, their eyes turned toward Victoria, who was displaying fear in the face of her opponent, and an amused smile appeared on their face.
That girl was Lira. Just like Victoria, she had arrived in time to witness Enrico's power, but she had preferred to keep a greater distance, observing everything through her Ki Magic.
'The Third Eye is a very good ability. I can see Enrico even better than before.'
A magical third eye was open on her forehead, allowing her to follow everything even with her normal eyes closed. At the same time, she continued fighting against some weaker Nartheis that occasionally approached her.
'Overflowing Ki.'
Grabbing a Nartheis by the head, Lira began filling the creature's body with her poisonous Ki. Within moments, the monster's body expanded until it exploded like a balloon.
It was a technique that only worked against weaker opponents, those two Circles below her own. Those at the same level could prevent her mana from invading their bodies by using their own energy, in addition to possessing naturally more resistant bodies.
'Hehehehe... I'm loving seeing him with those empty eyes.'
Lira blushed slightly and brought a finger to her lips, looking thoughtful. Now that she had witnessed her rival's level of power, she needed to find a way to reach something similar.
'I have to keep up with him. After all, we're rivals.'
Moving across the battlefield, she cast one last glance in Victoria's direction. The girl finally seemed to be starting to become a true prodigy, overcoming the barrier of fear that had prevented her from using her potential until then.
'I hope she isn't thinking about considering Enrico her rival, like those two idiots. I'm his true rival!'
Searching for another opponent, Lira spotted her team fighting against three powerful Nartheis, while a fourth remained farther away, apparently watching over the battle.
'I hope he does this to other unworthy rivals in the future... Anyone but me.'
Going to help her team, Lira surprised the Nartheis that had remained at a distance with a double kick to the face, sending it straight toward the other three.
"A Nartheis? There was a fourth one with them?"
Sisaka watched the creature struggle to get back up, showing some uncertainty. It was truly surprising, since none of the four had noticed its presence.
"Friend Sisaka, we need to pay attention. It seems we'll have more opponents to deal with now."
Grakka and Sisaka were fighting against a Nartheis capable of splitting itself several times. Each time it created a clone, its individual power decreased, but when the copies returned to the original body, it became even stronger.
"Don't worry. That Nartheis I just knocked down is mine."
Grakka immediately raised her head, showing excitement as she recognized the voice coming from someone floating in the air.
"Friend Xuefeng!"
Lira watched the two of them show some relief at her arrival. That was only natural, after all, they were already having difficulty dealing with that Nartheis, which kept splitting and increasing the number of opponents.
"Just focus on your own opponents. I'll take care of mine."
Moving toward the Nartheis she had knocked down, Lira noticed that Aoi and Danyana were also busy fighting their own opponents. Perhaps they had reached the same conclusion as her: each of them should take care of their own opponent.
"All right, you Nartheis. Give me a fight that will allow me to evolve!"
"Who... are... you?"
"That doesn't matter to someone I'm going to kill in a short while."
After moving a few meters away, Lira finally got a better look at her opponent. Several spears were embedded in its body, and the creature's expression made it clear how irritated it was to have been caught by surprise and knocked down by her.
"You must be a Nartheis with Spear Magic and little intelligence."
Name: Lizondri Rank: Faizes — Level Two High Magic: Spear Unique Ability — Automatic Strike: The user's own mana automatically controls their magic, both for attacking and defending.
"Concentrated Ki Strike!"
Lira quickly advanced and pressed her palm against Lizondri's stomach, concentrating an extreme amount of Ki at the point of contact. The force of the blow pierced the creature's body, opening an enormous hole in its abdomen.
In response, Lizondri created several spears of different shapes around Lira. Blue lightning began forming at the tips of the weapons before they were fired simultaneously at her.
Lira moved at high speed, trying to escape the series of attacks. However, some spears managed to hit her in the back and shoulder. Even while injured, she didn't stop moving. Lizondri closed one hand, activating its Unique Ability and making the remaining spears change direction, automatically pursuing Lira.
"Ki Movement!"
Copying one of the spells she had seen Enrico use, Lira suddenly accelerated. Her speed was so great that several afterimages of her body remained scattered across the battlefield, while the spears struck only her trails. By the time Lizondri realized what had happened, the real Lira was already behind it.
"Gale Spear!"
A spear appeared in her hand, covered in several symbols written in the ancient ancestral language of Tianlong. Its blade had two distinct points, forming an unusual structure. Gripping the weapon firmly, Lira unleashed a magical thrust that pierced the Nartheis's abdomen.
"Gale Spear: Total Damage!"
Gripping the weapon's shaft, Lira spun her body and made a sudden movement. A powerful current of wind exploded from the point where the spear had pierced the creature, completely tearing Lizondri's body apart.
"No... This one is still weak. I need to fight someone at the level of the one Victoria faced."
Landing on the ruins of an old structure, Lira looked toward her team to check how they were doing.
Aoi had managed to completely burn her opponent without suffering any major injuries, with only a little dust on her clothes.
Danyana, on the other hand, seemed to be having quite a lot of fun as she split a Nartheis into five pieces with her claws, using Wind and Thunder Magic to enhance her attacks.
"Wait, is it already dead? I wanted to have more fun! Damn it, when will I get to fight Enrico again?"
"Whoever fights him first should be his main rival, Danyana."
"Lira? I hadn't even noticed you... Wait a second! I was defeated first, so I should be the one to fight him, you selfish girl!"
Danyana had a few injuries across her body, but nothing that truly compromised her physical condition. Her expression, however, showed enormous disappointment at having faced a weak opponent and, above all, at someone trying to stop her from getting her rematch against Enrico.
"Damn it! When I turn eighteen, I hope Enrico will be my soul mate. That way, we can fight forever!"
"Keep dreaming."
Danyana pointed at Lira with an irritated expression.
"Shut up, Lira! I just need to find out whether he's my soul mate or not. Besides, I can talk to Aoi and ask her to let me be part of the relationship too, right, Aoi?"
Aoi gave Danyana an analytical look before crossing her arms.
"That depends on my darling's conditions."
In the past, beastmen were able to discover who their soul mate was as soon as they met them for the first time. Danyana, however, had been cursed at birth and would only be able to discover her soul mate's identity when she turned eighteen.
The worst part was that the curse had been placed by her own mother, who was extremely protective when it came to relationships. She was afraid her daughter would become pregnant and end up compromising her development.
'We're beasts! Why should we care about these things instead of simply taking what belongs to us? Stupid mother!'
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Grakka and Sisaka finally managed to defeat the real Nartheis by combining Spirit Construct Magic with their physical strength.
The orc raised her arms in celebration, showing all her excitement.
"We did it, friend Sisaka!"
"Yes! My teacher will be proud."
Sisaka was also excited about their victory, although she tried to contain her enthusiasm and maintain a more reserved demeanor. Grakka, on the other hand, made no effort whatsoever to hide her joy and continued celebrating without a care in the world.
Lira began searching for a new opponent, but for a moment, her third eye, formed from Ki, turned toward Enrico. The boy seemed to be resting his hands on the ground, as if he were experiencing some kind of difficulty.
'What happened to my rival? I need to go see...'
Before she could approach, however, she noticed that Enrico had just finished his fight against Deymon. His opponent's head was on the ground, completely lifeless, as if it had been torn off with brutal force.
A dark aura began enveloping Enrico. An amused smile appeared on his face, and his eyes began turning completely black. Lira was still trying to understand what was happening when an explosion of mana erupted from that exact area. The pressure released was so absurd that it could be felt even at that distance, making the very air seem heavier.
Grakka turned her face in that direction, showing concern.
"Is that a Nartheis?"
Sisaka, who was beside her, displayed the same astonished expression.
"Wait... Its presence feels like that of a newborn Nartheis. Then why is it so strong?"
When a Nartheis was born, other beings were able to sense its magical presence and even realize that it was a newborn. However, the amount of mana emanating from that area was completely abnormal.
For the first time, Danyana seemed quite serious as she felt all that energy. Beside her, Aoi's hand trembled slightly as she remembered that Enrico's team was probably in that area. At least, that was what one of her small fox summons had indicated before leaving to search for civilians.
Lira watched that dark aura with her own eyes. She knew exactly where it was coming from, but she didn't feel even the slightest bit of fear. In fact, her smile, which already seemed somewhat insane, became even more intense.
'So that's it, Enrico... We're the same. You're truly the best.'
In another part of the battlefield, Jago watched the same explosion of mana. He had decided to change his plans and act personally as soon as he realized that Deymon would be no match for Enrico. Around him were some students who were quite familiar to the boy and close to him: Rina, Yumeha, Seraphina, and Elaris. All of them were lying on the ground, seriously injured and unable to continue fighting.
"It seems I didn't need to go that far to awaken even more Wrath within him."
Jago shifted his gaze toward the girls lying around him. A subtle smile appeared on his face before he continued.
"Although, now that I think about it, it would be better to kill all of you. That way, he'll have an even greater reason to unleash all his power."