"!"
For the first time since his arrival, the face of the Archdemon frowned upon seeing this.
"This power... where did you get it from?"
It was clear what Conquest was referring to as he stared at Melian.
He appeared confused, and it genuinely was.
'No matter, I sensed her power is growing, and it's not stopping. At this rate, she might potentially pose a threat to the demon army.'
"[Triple Magic: Absolute Beast Summoning]"
As his words were sprang forth, energy began to gather around the space in front of him. It formed three Magic Circle and powerful pressure surrounded them, causing sparks of black and white light flashed all over the glowing symbols.
From the summoning Circles emerged three ten-meter-tall Polar Bears, each with a horn on its forehead and dozens of ice spikes on its back.
Those are the infamous powerful Magical Beast founded in the Northern snowy regions, and they are the kings of those lands.
However, the difference between them were their blood-red eyes, the red markings on their body, and the essence of miasma emanating from them.
Meaning these Magic Beasts were exposed to demonic energy for so long that they got corrupted into demonic beasts.
Leaving his Odachi Sword in midair while raising his axe in the elf's direction, he commanded.
"Attack her."
Following his orders, the massive Demonic Polar Bears immediately jumped up high in the sky and were about to land on the elf in order to kill the Elf Queen, but Melian wasn't about to just watch it happen.
Bam!
Slamming her feet on the ground, she broke it apart and the impact bounced a few pebbles in the air. Not wasting time, she kicked the pebbles, they flew off at bullet speed towards the airborne giant beast and slammed into them, knocking them back down on the ground.
Normally, at the speed and force those rocks were flying, they should have been able to pierce through any normal person's flesh with ease, but it seems these beasts weren't going down that easily.
Landing back on the ground next to their master, they all turned their attention to Melian and glared at her with hostility.
"It appears I must deal with you myse-"
Not giving him a chance to speak, Melian slammed her feet on the ground and unleashed a giant wind vortex that smacked into the Archdemon, sending him flying backwards as he crashed into the already destroyed buildings behind him, furthering the damage.
The Demonic beast was a bit surprised but quickly recovered as all three simultaneously rushed at the elf.
"ROAARR!"
"ROOOAAR!"
ROOAAR!"
As all three of them roared, each of them summoned a powerful blizzard, and with their combined power, it expanded the blizzard drastically as it had covered a kilometer wide area and were shot out towards Melian.
If you take a look closer at a microscopic level, the blizzard snowflakes appeared extremely durable and sharp, like tiny blades. Anyone caught within the blizzard would be shredded to pieces.
Knowing this, Melian's eyes narrowed further and didn't waste her time to raise her hand, aiming at the incoming storm.
"[Grand Magic Application]"
In the next second, the air shook and the ground cracked and trembled as a giant tornado of Melian's mana suddenly appeared where she stood. The force of the fierce energy shattered the oncoming blizzard and just kept expanding further and further, pushing and engulfing nearby rubbles, until even the Demonic Polar Bears ended up getting caught in its grasp.
Melian's power seemed to increase more along the wind as the force of the magical tornado seemed to get even more intense, to the point where the colliding rubbles in it ignited fire and in the next few moments, the wind tornado looked more like a vortex of fire.
[IMAGES]
The Demonic Polar Bears couldn't do anything as the wind from it was only fanning the fire more, and its force kept them from retaliating.
Being creatures of ice, fire was a major weakness to them, and shortly after, not even ashes remained of them as their complete existence was burned away.
The tornado started shrinking in size more and more until it eventually disappeared, leaving Melian standing alone in the middle of where it had occurred.
"Quite impressive, you defeated three higher level Transcendent Tier 2 demonic beasts with minimal effort," the Demon in white armor remarked as he calmly walked out from where he was tossed, and Melian turned her attention to him.
"It appears I will have to take you somewhat seriously."
Despite the area around Melian still having some fire due to the previous attack, it appears that effect did not reach where Conquest stood, as his area seemed rather both cold and gravity being distorted. Melian could even notice a tiny pebble next to Conquest's feet suddenly freezing in ice and, at the same time, began to levitate in the air.
In any case, both individuals stood and eyed each other, waiting for the other to make a move.
"Not going to attack?"
WHOOOSH!
As a response, Melian flowed through the air, easily traversing the distance that existed between her and the enemy she had to defeat.
It didn't matter that the power she wielded now was subpar compared to its full potential.
It didn't matter that it wasn't going to last forever, and currently knew nothing about her enemy.
It didn't even matter that she was already feeling the strain on him.
What mattered was one thing.
'Right here, right now... I MUST KILL HIM!'
BOOOOOMMM!!
The area reverberated, trembling as Melian finally swung her blade for the first time after reaching the very front of the demon.
The Divine Sword bypassed all defenses, so it could not be blocked against.
If the Archdemon attempted to raise a defense, it would all be over.
Melian made sure to move her muscles as hard as she could, aiming for the head as she swung her shiny blade.
She desperately prayed to make contact.
Unfortunately...
"You are full of openings."
WHUSH!
... Her prayers were denied.
'A-ahh!'
Melian couldn't see Conquest in front of her any longer. Instead, an overwhelming wave of bloodlust rushed to her from behind.
It was at this moment that Melian knew...
'H-he teleported behind me!'
... About how impossible her opponent would be.
BOOOOOOM!!!
A blast of destruction radiated all around the area where Melian and Conquest stood, causing everything around them, the unstable ground especially, to shatter apart.
Both opponents found themselves sliding across the debris, creating distance between themselves once again.
"Haaa..." A heavy breath proceeded from Melian's lips. She recognized how close she had come to dying a few seconds before.
'If I didn't use Light Magic to send my body into overdrive and recoil right behind him... his attack would have connected.'
A massive cloud of smoke existed between them, but Melian clenched her blade tightly and focused on sensing even the slightest change in her environment.
Her enemy was one who could teleport.
'I can't be too careless!'
"Haha..." A voice suddenly echoed in the area behind the pile of smoke.
In a powerful gust of wind, the smoke cleared, revealing the humanoid silhouette of Conquest emerged, and his twisted smile returned to his pale and handsome face beneath his white mask.
"...Not bad, elf."
Amusement danced in his eyes as he gazed at Melian's intense one with a cool, unbothered expression.
"Your skills are the real deal. But, it seems your level is the issue," As the demon said this, a bigger smile crept up on his face.
Melian could feel more tension wrapping around her.
"It seems I was worried for nothing, elf. I don't know how you acquired so much power, or how you're able to use it so well, but..."
He stretched out both hands, as if welcoming an embrace.
"... You're still very weak."
Melian bit his lip the moment these words were uttered.
Her opponent wasn't wrong.
'As expected, even though my power and strength are heightened, they still don't compare to an Archdemon.'
Even though she had new powerful skills and her old ones weren't operating at optimal potential, it makes no difference.
And what of her [Absolute Defense]?
Well, the skill of the demon felt like a hard counter to Melian's defenses.
'To conserve Mana, I concentrated my defenses in predictable areas, but with this teleportation of his, I'd have to rethink my strategy.'
Just to be on the safer side, Melian knew she'd have to bolster her defenses and ensure they circulated her entire body.
She couldn't afford to be hit at this point.
Especially not receiving any support anytime soon from her human allies, she heaved a sigh and took her stance once again.
'I have to do this on my own!'
"Haha! That's the spirit, elf! Come!"
WHOOOOSH!
The ground shattered as the very air around Melian trembled as she launched herself forward.
Cackles of golden energy danced around her as she used both hands to draw her blade and send an energy wave flying towards the Archdemon
WHUSH!
Conquest vanished, but Melian already predicted that.
'[Light Field]!'
Spreading her Mana around her using Light Magic, Melian detected a distortion in space very quickly and realized where her enemy was going to appear from.
She proceeded to use Light Magic on her body to boost her speed and mobility, making her much faster than normal.
With the power granted to her by the Divine Sword coursing through her veins, and her current usage of Light Magic, Melian reached a new realm of speed and strength.
Yes, this wasn't sustainable.
It was taking a toll on her body at a heavy rate.
However...
'If I don't go all out, I can't win!'
VWOOSH!
Once Conquest appeared where he was supposed to, Melian was already there and her blade swung heavily in his direction.
It was inescapably close distance, one where Melian was guaranteed to hit her target.
"DIE—!"
Before Melian's blade reached Conquest, she felt a burning sensation in her stomach, and her eyes bulged in response to the feeling.
"Puack!" Melian spat out blood as a sharp kick implanted itself on her.
Her momentum was put to a grinding halt, and an expression of both shock and confusion, mixed, of course, with pain radiated from her face.
'H-how did he... get past my defenses?!'.
Melian had chosen these particular skill-sets to go with her build because she was confident in both the offensive and defensive capabilities of her skills.
She was convinced that, even with low strength, having skills such as this would give her combined advantages in battle.
However...
"You should know that my Space Magic allows me to bypass defenses and reach for my target wherever they are."
As Conquest said this, Melian could see how his feet had come through a portal right before it hit her.
The [Absolute Defense] Skill created a safe haven around Melian that was largely impenetrable.
Melian could make the dome larger to accommodate more people, but she couldn't make it smaller.
That was the problem.
"As long as there's space existing between you and your barrier, then I'm always going to be able to attack you."
Melian groaned yet again as another blow was sent to her stomach, this time creating enough pressure to push her away.
"Keuk!"
As she fell and recoiled from the pain that assailed her, she stared hatefully at the Archdemon in white armor, who was grinning at the pathetic elf before him.
"Do you understand, elf? My Skill is a hard counter to yours. You can't properly defend against me, and I can always evade your sure-hit attacks."
In response to the taunts, Melian only rose to her feet and wiped off the blood that stained her lip.
Remnants of her crimson liquid had dropped to the ground, already mixed with her sweat, but Melian ignored all of that.
She simply brandished her blade one more time, as her eyes displayed unwavering determination, and while pain circulated around her entire body, causing her to tremble, she did not have any expression of fear.
No.
She had never appeared more resolute.
Her moist lips uttered words in a whisper as she prepared herself with a battle stance.
"Haaa..."
Sighing, Melian already knew what she had to do.
She was done hesitating or even resisting. Right now, this was the only chance she had.
She didn't know how many mana she would lose, but she understood that if she could end things quickly, then it wouldn't be too much.
It felt like a fair bargain at this point.
'As long as I can defeat the enemy that lies in front of me... that's all that matters!'
With that resolve, she took her stance and brandished her blade.
And activate one of the strongest skills she was given by the Goddess.
"[Limit Transcension]!"
BOOOOOOOOM!
An instant surge of energy caused the very air to vibrate.
Everything around Melian was crumbling, as if being broken down into multiple smaller particles.
The Demonic Energy that filled the whole air corrupted by the demons began to convert back into pure Mana and surround the Elf Queen.
900,000
.
.
.
950,000
.
.
.
960,000
.
.
.
970,000
.
.
.
980,000
.
.
.
990,000
This ability, [Limit Transcension], allowed the user to get temporarily stronger by absorbing the Mana around them, which would phenomenally improve the user in every aspect of their strength, power, and increasing the effectiveness of their Skills phenomenally.
At that point, their power and strength is equivalent to a Demigod.
"Let's try this again," Melian whispered, opening her glowing golden eyes.
Her hair was currently dancing in the air as an aura of pure golden light covered her body.
Vein-like energy markings appeared on her skin as more power rushed into her.
'Let's go!'