Belthor was freed. Sylvia clenched her fist, small sparks crackling from it.
The man wasted no time. He summoned his halberd and, with a contemptuous glance toward the woman who thought she could defeat him, swung it.
The headmistress did not react to the provocation. Propelling herself forward with fire and leaving a crater in the ground, she rushed toward him like a blazing whirlwind.
Belthor raised an eyebrow, his eyes calculating, and they seemed to drift toward the man who had stepped away and was now watching everything with indifference beside Elara and Cassandra.
He swung his weapon, and despite the speed at which Sylvia was approaching, he managed to strike her in the stomach without much difficulty. The impact created a shockwave that sent her flying several meters backward.
The woman held her injured abdomen with one hand while using the other to wipe away the blood that had spilled from her mouth, spitting some of it onto the ground. The rest smeared across her cheek during her attempt to clean herself, yet rather than making her appear disheveled, it gave her a charm that matched her crimson hair and blood-red eyes.
Belthor observed this and looked toward Cassian once more.
Sylvia gritted her teeth, noticing the distraction. Her gaze shifted toward the man standing there watching everything, and as though no further explanation was needed, he spoke.
"If you defeat her, I'll let you live, even if she dies."
The confidence in his voice and the eyes that revealed nothing of his thoughts only fueled Belthor's will to resist. A crooked smile spread across his face as he turned his attention back to Sylvia. That promise was all he needed.
Multiple stone stakes, materialized through the mana of a mage who had reached the peak of the mortal levels, positioned themselves toward the woman. Sylvia focused her eyes on them and, as if responding, countless fireballs formed and collided with the stakes, overpowering them and engulfing Belthor in flames.
Yet he emerged unharmed, and from that exchange he realized that while he held the advantage in raw energy output, he was actually losing in efficiency when materializing it. Knowing this, he decided to conserve energy and focus solely on pure mana, using it almost like aura.
But Sylvia knew this as well. If they engaged in a direct clash of power, she would lose. She had been reckless in confronting him head-on and was now wounded because of it, but with a calmer mind she began processing the situation more clearly, her gaze sharpening. She summoned the fireballs once more, but only as an initial distraction. At the same time, she began gathering mana and altering it with her understanding of fire.
But Belthor seemed to have other plans.
"Your sister was a bitch, and she died like one," he said, trying to provoke her.
Sylvia's eyes flared for a brief moment before returning to normal, secretly focusing on the attack she was preparing.
Belthor's eyes darkened. No longer concerned with the fireballs hanging in the air, he propelled himself forward. The spheres seemed to react to his movement, rushing toward him one after another. The man dodged some in midair, deflected others with his weapon, and arrived before the woman completely unharmed. A confident, crooked smile rested on his face.
"What's wrong? Did you give up already? Or did you finally realize the difference between us?"
He raised his halberd, preparing to deliver a precise strike this time.
And Sylvia... still wasn't ready.
Meanwhile, two people had arrived at the scene and were watching with very different expressions. On one side was Julius, who had not stopped pressing the issue his "grandmother" kept avoiding and had followed her all the way here. On the other was Fengyue, who seemed less concerned and more entertained by the spectacle, while Seraphine kept biting her lips and criticizing Fengyue for not intervening or allowing her to take her place.
"Impossible!" a voice suddenly exclaimed inside Julius's mind. The old man who now shared his daily life sounded utterly shocked.
Julius frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
"Your grandmother! Or this relative of yours who's fighting that man whose power is close to the peak of the mortal levels... she has comprehended part of the Law of Fire!"
"The Law of Fire..." Julius murmured, confused.
"Every little thing in life is governed by laws. Some encompass many aspects of existence, while others are too mundane to possess enough power to be considered true Laws. But the Law of Fire is one of the principal Laws, and your grandmother seems to possess some understanding of it judging by how fire manifests through the energy she uses."
"But... what's so strange about that? Couldn't she have simply understood it?"
"No! It's impossible. One cannot touch such things unless they have surpassed the mortal levels! And in this world, that doesn't even seem possible. I told you before, mana isn't a reliable energy for achieving that."
"But Sylvia seems to be doing just fine..." Julius's eyes filled with confusion.
At that moment, however, the battle between the two combatants erupted once again. Belthor's strike landed, but Sylvia's attack succeeded as well. Flames engulfed Belthor, while Sylvia now bore a wound that started at her shoulder, crossed her chest, and ended near her lower abdomen. The sight of it was terrifying.
Julius tightened his grip on his sword, looking ready to intervene.
"Fool! Do you want to die?" the old man warned him.
But Sylvia's flames around Belthor were beginning to fade, and while the man had not escaped unscathed this time, he did not appear close to death either. A pool of blood began forming around Sylvia. She bit her lips, enduring the pain, her eyes still burning with determination.
Belthor staggered toward her, dragging himself forward with every step. His breathing sounded labored, as though each breath required effort.
"Bitch..." he whispered.
He materialized his weapon once more and raised it.
Sylvia took a step backward and stumbled, still holding her wound as best she could. But just as the blade was about to strike her, a fire trap activated beneath Belthor's feet.
Sylvia smiled in victory, spat blood onto the ground, and her consciousness began to fade as she collapsed.
Cassian appeared in time to catch her, and the flames died down shortly afterward.
Yet the scene everyone expected never came to pass. The "god" still seemed alive. Cassian narrowed his eyes, and the fire reignited as though Sylvia's attack still held power.
Carrying her in his arms, he walked toward Elara and Cassandra.
Julius was startled when he saw him, but worried about Sylvia, he quickly approached. Fengyue finally gave up and allowed Seraphine to take her place.
"Cassian!"
Her worried expression was followed by a moment of embarrassment when she realized his eyes had actually turned toward her. She slowed her steps for a moment before finally reaching his side.
"Is she...?"
"She's fine, Seraphine. She should be."
His gaze then shifted toward Julius, and his eyes seemed to deliver a warning to the being inside him. The old man shuddered. The voice that had been about to speak fell silent and hid itself as deeply as possible.
Yet the eyes of both men in the real world continued meeting in silence, and as though they had reached an understanding, Julius stepped forward and took Sylvia from Cassian's arms.
Elara looked at him in surprise when she noticed he was finally paying attention to her.
"Master?"
Cassian's eyes darkened. He was not pleased with how she had acted. One thing was Beaumont, where she could afford to be spoiled, but if the life of her teacher—his gaze subtly drifting toward Cassandra—and even her own was in danger, and she still could not summon the will to fight...
Even so, he said nothing. Ignoring her was the best punishment.
His attention turned to Cassandra, who was lightly injured, though her condition was far better than Sylvia's.
"In three days, crown Elara as Empress. The four ducal houses, along with several other nobles, will be there to swear their loyalty to her."
The woman frowned, her eyes carefully studying the man, wanting to ask thousands of questions but restraining herself for the moment.
Her expression hardened, and grabbing Elara by the back of her clothes, she dragged her away to begin the preparations.