"This feeling..."
"It's been a very long time since I last experienced it."
Zald felt the waves of energy surging through his body and found it utterly unbelievable.
Could the medicine Elise had given him actually suppress even Behemoth's poison?
For more years than he could remember, Zald had been corroded by that poison. Even seeking out healers had been useless, for this was the deadly venom of the King of the Land.
Unless one found a physician whose skill stood at the very pinnacle of the world, there was no possibility of treatment. Anyone else who came into contact with the poison might even risk becoming infected themselves.
Turning his head, he glanced at Alfia beside him. Her face was equally filled with astonishment. She probably had not expected the medicine Elise gave them to be this effective either.
Not only had the two of them returned to their peak condition, but their strength had advanced even further, faintly showing signs of breaking through Level 8.
"Let's continue the battle!"
In the distance, Elise had already raised the Sacred Demon Sword. Multicolored motes of light radiated from her entire body. That was... the prelude to an attack!
"I never thought I'd get to take part in a battle like this again... The blood of the warrior within me is trembling with excitement! Hahaha!"
Zald, who was normally calm and steady, actually burst into laughter. By contrast, the usually irritable Alfia appeared incomparably composed.
"That's exactly why we must repay her through battle!"
Mirroring Elise, an obvious change also appeared around Alfia. In other words, she intended to get serious as well!
As soon as she finished speaking, something seemed to vanish from Alfia's body...
Zald immediately understood what she had done. She had dispelled the magic cast upon herself—Silent Garden.
This magic possessed neither offensive power nor any supportive ability.
Its effect was extremely simple. It nullified magic.
It could nullify all magic!
Not only the enemy's magic, but even Alfia's own magic was affected by this ability, greatly reducing its power.
Now that Alfia had completely released herself from those shackles, her strength had even surpassed what it had been when she fought Leviathan, the King of the Sea.
Then Alfia softly began chanting her spell.
"Gospel—Vallion, Demon King!"
The next moment, every sound across the entire plain erupted into violent turmoil.
Of course, this was not because Alfia had created an unbearable noise. Rather, the sound magic she unleashed had already exceeded the limits of human hearing!
Their eyes could still see, but their ears could perceive nothing at all. Then, amid this deathly silent world, the earth began to split apart!
Although Zald stood beside Alfia, he remained completely unaffected by the magic. Instead, he kept his attention fixed warily on Elise.
He had only one task—to prevent Elise from interfering with Alfia's magic.
Alfia's attacks were far stronger than his own, so Zald only needed to fulfill his role as a warrior and stop Elise's attacks.
However, something unexpected happened. Faced with Alfia's powerful attack, Elise neither interrupted her nor dodged. Instead, she walked straight toward it...
Did she intend to withstand it head-on?
Alfia's attack was no joke!
Boom!
While Zald remained on guard, Alfia's sound magic collided with Elise's Barrier of the Stars.
In an instant, a violent hurricane burst outward from the center of the collision.
"How is it?"
The winds continued spreading, but Zald kept his eyes locked on Elise's position.
Then he noticed something unusual.
Blue motes of light had appeared all over Elise's body, as beautiful as stars scattered across the night sky.
Of course, that was not the important part.
The important part was that this blue energy was evenly matched with Alfia's magic!
Cracks appeared across the barrier from time to time, but new motes of light quickly filled them in, repairing the previous damage.
"Hey, hey, isn't that a little unfair?"
At the center of the clashing energies, where Elise stood...
"That really is impressive... This is the first time the Barrier of the Stars has ever suffered such intense depletion."
Alfia had already surpassed her limits to begin with. After receiving Elise's help, she had broken through those restrictions even further. On top of that, her Stigmata was specialized in enhancing magical power. Only because of all that could her magic threaten Elise.
Even Elise could not help being startled when she sensed the changes in her Barrier of the Stars.
This was only a single spell, and it had not even ended yet, but the rate at which her Prana was being consumed had multiplied several times over!
Cracks were appearing across the barrier at an astonishing speed. Had Elise not replenished it with Prana just as quickly, her defenses might truly have been broken.
Good thing I've already reached Level 5!
Elise inwardly felt a trace of relief. The gap between the second tier and the first tier was enormous. Had Elise still been only Level 4, she might not have been able to block Alfia's magic as she did now.
Just like that, amid the collision between sound and starlight, the sound gradually weakened before finally disappearing altogether.
That was only natural. After launching the attack, Alfia had not continued supplying it with Mind, while Elise herself was still standing right there!
Whenever she wanted to use more power, she could do so at any moment.
"As expected of you!"
Alfia sighed. "Even after becoming many times stronger, there is still a decisive gap between us.
"I was originally a little worried you wouldn't be able to withstand that attack, but it seems I was thinking far too much."
"In that case, I can truly unleash my magic without restraint from now on!"
With that, Alfia began chanting once more, preparing to launch another attack at Elise.
"You've already attacked so many times. Isn't it my turn now?"
In an instant, Elise appeared before Alfia, the Sacred Demon Sword gleaming with rainbow light already aimed at her neck. However...
Clang!
The attack failed to connect. The impact of colliding blades rang out once again.
It was Zald!
No matter how fast Elise was, she still had to break through his defenses first! Besides, the Stigmata Elise had given him was specifically focused on enhancing his attack and endurance.
Thanks to the rapport Zald and Alfia had built over so many years of fighting together, unless Zald was rendered completely unable to move, he would unquestionably block any attack aimed at her.
"Unfortunately... your strength is inferior to mine, Zald."
The force Elise applied through the Sacred Demon Sword gradually increased, and both of Zald's supporting hands began to tremble.
"I know, but buying a little time is still within my ability!"
At that very moment, Alfia completed her chant once more. Terrifying sound waves obeyed their queen's command and launched a violent assault on Elise.
"Isn't this exactly the same as before?"
Just like last time, it was an attack Elise could block simply by consuming Prana. She had no need to dodge at all.
She had already spent a considerable amount of time in this world, yet she had never encountered anyone whose strength exceeded her expectations.
Alfia and Zald had certainly impressed her, but even they could not possibly...
Whoosh!
Within Elise's perception, something extraordinarily dangerous suddenly shot toward her from Alfia's direction, forcing her to tilt her head aside.
Even so, the attack still severed a portion of the hair beside her ear...
"What... was that?"