You can only cast a spell of your own level. Claire Arest Of Alequessa, the genius amongst geniuses, can only use 2-Star level spell.
Who decided that?
From the name alone, anyone could tell that [Water Annihilation Canon] was much more powerful than the 2-Star spell [Water Bullets]. The name sounded like a bad omen, as ominous as Seraphina's 3-Star spell [Light Execution], and that for a good reason. [Water Annihilation Canon] was also a 3-Star spell, one on par with [Light Execution]!
Seraphina, mid-leap, felt an immense quantity of Claire's Water-elemental gathering before her at an alarming rate, forming a gigantic blue cylinder. Time seemed to slow down for the silver-haired girl, as she realised that it was already too late to get out of here.
She had already embarked on the supposed 'path to victory'. Seraphina had charged towards Claire using her full speed, by now, it was already too late to change her course.
'But, how!?' Seraphina thought as her pupils dilated from shock.
Casting a spell of a higher level should have been theoretically impossible, Seraphina had never even tried to do so, as she had never lacked firepower thanks to her pewter staff. But, even if she had never tried, others must have done so, coming to the conclusion that it was impossible.
Then, why had she never heard of anyone successfully casting a spell above their level...? Such a person was right in front of her!
That was not even the most impressive and shocking part! If Claire's [Water Annihilation Canon] had been a regular 3-Star spell, Seraphina would still have had enough time to retreat from it.
However, this spell was clearly not normal!
'Instant and chantless casting!? No this isn't it!' thought Seraphina, bewildered.
Instant and chantless casting were things only 6-Star and above could do, as far as she knew, Claire was only a 2-Star, it should not have been possible for her.
Even Seraphina's [Light Execution] had needed a full 20 seconds of uninterrupted chanting! Yet, Claire only needed a single word to cast her [Water Annihilation Canon]!
How unfair was that?!!
Realising she had fallen into Claire's trap, Seraphina could only look on helplessly, as a massive water column, [Water Annihilation Canon], rapidly closed in on her at blinding speed.
*BROOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!*
Claire's [Water Annihilation Canon] hit the little silver-haired girl in her torso, head-on and at point-blank range. The initial impact against her body made faint *crack* sound, like bones shattering, though it was masked by the water's louder and more brutal sound.
*CRACK!*
The poor thirteen year old girl was sent flying, crashing straight into her room's inner wall, leaving it cracked and on the brink of collapse.
"AAAHHK!" Seraphina shrieked, letting out a cry of pain. Even though she had already crashed into the wall, Claire's [Water Annihilation Canon] did not stop, instead it blasted its water in the silver-haired girl's head.
"*Cough, cough*" Seraphina choked on the water that had been sent to her, her weak and small coughs letting out the water stuck inside her body.
Claire did not approach the silver-haired girl rashly, she waited to see if Seraphina could get up before doing anything else. As a High Priestess for four years now, Seraphina's body was very durable. Who could tell if she was actually taken out or if she was just acting?
Meanwhile, the silver-haired girl in question felt intense pain all over her body. Her delicate face contorted in pain, each breath she took felt heavy, and were an excruciatingly painful experience.
Even if Seraphina was a 4-Star, without her mana, she was not more durable than a regular 3-Star. This was especially true considering Seraphina was just a 34 kilograms (75 pounds) and 140 centimeters (4'7) little girl.
The silver-haired girl had ended with a shattered rib cage, internal bleeding all over her body and much more! This was to say that, Seraphina could no longer fight nor move from her current position.
Seraphina no longer able to continue meant only one thing.
She had lost, lost against Claire.
However, the silver-haired girl was unwilling to admit her defeat yet. She raised her head and met Claire's dark-blue eyes, the young noble's gaze carried a hint of caution when she spotted Seraphina's movement. Meanwhile, Seraphina's golden eyes were filled with a mix of both awe and unwillingness.
'She's really a genius...' thought Seraphina as she cast an admiring look at Claire.
To Seraphina, unlike herself who was only fast in her cultivation, Claire fitted the title of genius better. She could do things even Seraphina had never thought of before, she was also skilled in so many fields, to the point it became more interesting to know what she was not skilled than what she was skilled at.
Though Seraphina's mind had not accepted her loss yet, and wished to continue, it did not truly matter as her body could not fulfill her unreasonable demands anymore.
Seeing that Seraphina could not continue further, Claire bore a triumphant smile and walked up to her.
"What did you say again?" Claire's asked as her head bobbed, moving up and down as if she was trying to remember something. "Hmm...I faintly recall you saying you were going to teach me a lesson."
She was obviously not remembering anything! She clearly had it in mind, but specifically chose this phrasing to taunt her!
"You're celebrating *Cough* too early..." Seraphina said, rejecting her taunts between two coughs. "I still haven't lost, I'll let you know."
Seraphina kept her untouchable facade, acting like the match was not over yet.
"Sigh...just give up already, everyone can see that you've lost." seeing the silver-haired girl's stubbornness, Claire put a hand to her head and let out a deep sigh, though she still put a certain distance between them
"If you think I've lost, you should come and make me give up yourself." Seraphina rebuted. Her earlier sense of crisis when facing the [Water Annihilation Canon] had completely disappeared, replace by an absolute confidence.
But where had this confidence come from? Seraphina was crippled and could barely speak without having to stop and cough, from an outsider's perspective it just seemed like the little girl was a sore loser.
The reason of her confidence was simple. No matter what trick Claire had used to cast a spell above her level, a 3-Star spell was still a 3-Star spell! The amount of mana needed to cast [Water Annihilation Canon] was farraminous, definitely not something Claire's mana reserves could handle!
Even Claire's chevelure could attest to that! Her dark-blue hair she had when using her magic had returned to its original dark-purple color. The young noble lady was just putting a facade- something Nobles knew how to do best, acting like she was in a dominant position, when she was in fact not!
And Claire's taunt? This vicious girl was probably trying to cloud her judgement again!
Since Claire was out of mana, Seraphina had nothing to be scared of. If she really wanted to make her give up, Claire would need to beat her using her physical strength.
An exhausted 2-Star Claire, without any mana to reinforce her body, hitting her using only her physical strength would be akin to a kitten using 'Tackle' on a regular person. It would deal absolutely no damage. (Plot hole here with the bunny from the earlier chapters that drew Seraphina's blood. Don't mind it please, the bunny was just for comedic purposes and had Toon Force. Also I hadn't taken the magic system seriously when I started writing. Sorry!)
All Seraphina needed to win was simply waiting. Claire would be forced to approach her if she really wanted to win. When she does come, Seraphina could simply endure Claire's onslaught until she recovered enough to strike back. Even a single hit could give her the win, so this situation was entirely to her advantage.
'You're not fooling anyone Claire!' Seraphina thought, ashamed of how many tricks this honorless noble had used.
In the moment following Seraphina's rebuttal, Claire stepped forward with a determined and mischievous light in her dark-purple eyes.
'As expected' thought Seraphina, her eyes following Claire's movements. 'This is my victory!'
When Claire finally entered Seraphina's perimeter, the dark-purple haired girl crouched low, meeting Seraphina's gaze at the same level of height.
"Are you sure you don't want to give up? Right now, you still have the chance." Claire asked her, a hint of pity flashing inside her eyes.
"Right now, you still have thechance....." Seraphina quoted, her voice was weak due to her injuries. "Are you trying to scare me with this...? Just so you know *cough* your acted pity doesn't fool anyone!" she said, puffing out her cheeks in indignation.
Seeing she could not change the silver-haired girl's mind, Claire got up with her grin returning to her face.
Then, she removed Seraphina's drenched white priestess robe and threw it to the ground with a loud wet *thud* sound.
"What are you doing...?" Seraphina asked weakly, with her head tilting towards Claire. She was now in her usual white shirt. "This doesn't do anything." the silver-haired girl added. Seraphina did not resist when Claire tried to remove her heavy and wet robe. Well, it was not like she could resist in the first place.
The silver-haired girl thought that Claire's actions were useless and even beneficial for her. Without this heavy and stuffy robe on her, Seraphina could recover a bit quicker. Essentially, Claire was digging her own grave by removing her robe.
However, this thought quickly disappeared from the silver-haired girl's mind as in the next moment, Claire slipped her hands under the little girl's arms before lifting her up by the armpits like one would do to a misbehaving kitten.
The silver-haired girl blinked, once again being in eye-contact level with Claire, Seraphina started to feel uneasy. She could see that the noble girl's expression was full of a type of confidence that could hardly be faked. Also, she bore this mischievous grin that gave Seraphina the impression Claire was looking at a toy rather than her.
'D-Don't fold! She's just bluffing!' Seraphina thought, racking her brain to convince herself. Even as cold sweat trickled down her back, the girl still stayed stubborn.
"This is your last chance." Claire said, tilting her head innocently.
"You think this changes anyth— Kyaaaa!!" the little girl cried out in a fit of uncontrollable laughter, as Claire's slender fingers attacked her sides mercilessly.
"S—Stopp! Kya-hahaha!" Seraphina shrieked like a prey caught in a predator's paws. She could not even a form a single word correctly as an uncontrollable laughter erupted from deep within her stomach.
Seraphina's instinct proved to be top-notch and she should really listen to it more, as Claire started madly tickling her!
How dishonorable!