"Holy Light's Baptism!"
With a shout, Loke unleashed a blinding burst from his ring, the holy light flashing through the gaps in the magic barrier. Flash! Flash! FLASH!
"Agh! My eyes!"
The intense light left Yuka reeling, practically blinded and a bit dizzy. Meanwhile, Loke, who'd been ready for it, had already shut his eyes tight.
Yuka, tears streaming down his face, rubbed his eyes gently. Forget fighting—saving his vision came first.
But would his opponent let this chance slip? Nope!
Loke charged in, landing a heavy punch. "Judgment of Light!"
The blow sent Yuka flying, crashing hard onto the ground. Loke adjusted his collar with a smug smirk. "Lamia Scale's big shot? That's all you've got?"
---
On the other side, Kana wrapped up her fight just as quickly. Cards poured from her hands, unleashing three attacks at once.
"Thunderstrike!"
"Frostbite!"
"Wind Weasel!"
Lightning zapped Sherry into a charred mess, ice froze Toby into a popsicle, and razor-sharp wind blades sliced Angelica to bits.
"What?!"
"Ughhh…"
"Squeak…"
Kana looked down at the fallen Sherry with a cocky grin. "You… better start repenting on the ground!"
---
Kira strolled toward the magic circle.
Random goon: "Y-You… stay back! Lord Zero won't let you get away with this…"
"Relax! He's just one guy!" another shouted.
Kira shook his head, unimpressed. These goons had zero self-awareness as cannon fodder. Battles weren't won by numbers—they were won by who had the bigger cheat code!
The Moon Drip spell worked in three steps: gathering moonlight, converting it into Moon Drip, and channeling it into the target spell. These steps didn't have to happen one at a time—these guys were pulling off all three simultaneously.
Aside from the Moon Drip being poured into Deliora, the rest of the moonlight was being collected. That was Kira's target.
"Word Spirit Creation: Bullet Barrage!"
With a wave of his hand, a radiant red-and-white magic circle flared behind him. Hundreds of guns materialized in an instant.
The goons froze. "?!"
A deafening volley erupted, wiping out the nameless lackeys in one shot. The ritual ground to a halt.
As the dust settled, the goons lay unconscious, clearly unable to keep the ritual going.
But Kira paused. "So, you're my real opponent?"
A masked figure appeared before him—short, draped in a grassy cloak, exuding mystery.
"I'm Jerut!"
Jerut? Sounds like you're trying to be Groot.
Ultear.
Kira's eyes glinted. He knew this "Jerut" was Ultear in disguise, using transformation magic.
Ultear was Ur's daughter, born with immense magical power. As a baby, her body couldn't handle it, so Ur sent her to a research institute for treatment. But the institute's director was a creep who used Ultear as a lab rat for magic experiments, lying to Ur that her daughter had died.
When Ultear escaped and saw Ur living happily with her disciples, Lyon and Gray, she felt abandoned, her resentment festering.
Later, she destroyed the institute and joined Devil's Heart, the most powerful dark guild in recent decades, even leading the dark guild alliance known as the Baram Alliance until recently. There, she mastered the Arc of Time, a magic that manipulated time.
Ultear had done plenty of dirty deeds, even manipulating Jellal into creating the Tower of Heaven disaster. Now, she was lurking near the Magic Council with Jellal, scheming in the shadows.
"You're here to stop me? Are you one of Lyon's buddies?" Ultear asked.
Kira played dumb, and Ultear took the bait.
"I just joined them recently!" she said. "They've been at this plan for three years, but the second I show up, someone figures it out. Guess those brats couldn't revive Deliora after all. Looks like it's up to me!"
"You?" Kira smirked. "Your goons are down for the count. What're you gonna do now?"
Ultear let out a sly chuckle. "Who says I need goons to keep the ritual going?"
Huh? Kira glanced behind her. Sure enough, the Moon Drip ritual hadn't stopped. Purple light still poured from the sky, moonlight steadily transforming into magic and flooding the cave.
"Impressive! How're you pulling that off?"
Kira genuinely didn't know, though he suspected it had something to do with her magic.
Ultear, clearly eager to show off, grinned. "Heh heh… ever heard of the Arc of Time?"
The lost magic Arc of Time could manipulate an object's timeline, shifting it to the past, present, or future. Time, in a sense, was just a measure of change. By controlling time, you controlled an object's state—static or moving, existing or not.
Oh, I've heard of it alright.
"Nope!" Kira lied through his teeth, feigning ignorance. "Sounds like some time-related magic?"
"Exactly!" Ultear held up a crystal ball. "It lets me control an object's time, pushing it to the past or future. By sending moonlight to the future, I can keep the Moon Drip flowing endlessly."
That's possible?!
"I won't let you stop this ritual," Ultear declared confidently. "You'll have to get through me first—if you can even reach me!"
Kira watched her grandstand in silence, waiting until she was done. "So, if I beat you, the ritual stops, right?"
"Exactly! Come on, show me what the 'Sage' Kira's really got!"
"Nah, I'm good."
"WHAT?!"
Kira grinned wide. "I, Kira, am here to surprise you!"
What's going on? Aren't you here to lift the villagers' curse? To stop the ritual and keep Deliora from being revived for Gray's sake?
Ultear's brain short-circuited. As Kira casually sat down to admire the scenery, she was utterly baffled.
What's this guy's deal? Where did I mess up?
Just then, an ice dragon lunged at Kira from behind, moving at a speed impossible to dodge.
But Kira was ready.
"Earth Flow Wall!"
His Word Spirit Magic had plenty of tricks, but for instant casting, a familiar skill name was key. Too lazy to come up with his own, Kira often borrowed names from his memories. The effect? Everyone got the idea.