The Sword and The Shadow

If she didn't have that gift, Annelotte would only feel seventy percent confident she would be able to defeat Saron. But now, she was certain she could toss Saron around like she did Leguna back during the tournament!

She had no doubts about her victory. The only variable was how much of a landslide victory it would be. She was the one Myr hailed as a genius after all. Ever since she gained the ability to use level-nine spells after rising to the 17th stratum, she was certain she could take on those of the 19th stratum. If she could use her gifts and impressive equipment, she could even give the chairman of the court magi association, Myr, a run for his money!

That was why she asked Leguna to call her for help to begin with. She wasn't just worried for him; she was also certain she could solve anything he had to throw at him. However, Leguna didn't do so because Annelotte didn't show off her abilities often enough.

Don't believe in my abilities, huh? You think I can't help you? I'll show you exactly what I can do today!

Perhaps due to the clash and incompatibility of ice and fire, Saron felt a deep fear rising after Annelotte's transformation. He surged his impetus to make the flames around his body burn brighter, as if that helped show that he was stronger than his foe.

Yet, Annelotte seem completely unmoved. She shot him a gaze of contempt and said, "I should be able to defeat you in ten minutes."

"What did you say?!" Saron's vein popped from his rage. If Annelotte didn't have such a commanding presence, he would've charged in and burned her to ash.

Completely ignoring him, she continued, "But I already said that I will return the humiliation and torture you dealt him several fold. I will make this battle last half an hour. Remember this."

Since when did she become so domineering? Leguna thought. Even though he was completely suppressed during his fight with her back at the tournament, he didn't think he was that much weaker than her. But the way it seemed now…

"Die!" Saron could no longer endure her provocation. He blasted for Annelotte like a cannonball as he started dictation. He could actually dictate while running!

Naturally, the stationary Annelotte dictated much faster than Saron. The moment he made his move, Annelotte began her dictation and a second later, a gigantic palm flew in Saron's way.

Bigsby's Palm of Defense, huh? Saron thought with disdain.

The spell he chose was a level-seven one, Greenflame Punch. As its name suggested, it enveloped his fist in green flame and greatly increased his close combat capabilities. It was a great spell for a dual trainer like him.

Annelotte's Bigsby's Palm of Defense on the other hand was a level-five spell. It couldn't match Saron's fist in raw power alone!

Shatter!

Saron chose to go head-to-head with the spell. It wasn't surprising to see his fist shoot through the ethereal giant palm, but at that instant, the smile on his face froze.

He finally understood why Annelotte chose to strike first with a level-five spell. She didn't care about its destructive power. Instead, she planned to exploit its sheer size to help obscure her net spell from Saron.

The moment the palm was shattered, another giant hand formed from mana appeared in front of Saron. It looked about the same size as Bigsby's Palm of Defense, but it was dark gold and looked more solid.

As a magus, Saron knew that it didn't just look sturdier, it was far stronger in fact! That spell was the upgraded version of Bigsby's Palm of Defense, the level eight spell Bigsby's Vajra Palm.

It's actually so fast?! thought Saron with a despair. The time between the two spells couldn't have been more than two seconds. Did she instant cast it?

Saron didn't have time to consider those matters. He wasn't able to avoid the second palm at that distance, so he instant cast Oxen Might on himself and deployed an Air Barrier behind him to use as leverage. With his 15th stratum impetus, he roared as he tried to force his way against the level-eight spell.

Wham!

Pfft!

Saron did manage to break the palm with his brute strength, but he spat out a mouthful of blood from the blowback of the force. The Air Barrier deployed behind him shattered and he was sent flying just like Leguna was when he was beating him up.

Annelotte didn't let that opportunity slip. Before Saron managed to break the palm, she had already started dictating a teleportation spell. When Saron was sent flying, she completed the dictation.

She had predicted the obvious outcome of Saron's clash with the second palm and teleported to the location where Saron would pass through. The moment she completed her spell, she began dictation on her fourth spell.

As Saron was flying towards her at high speed, her choice of spells were set. She could choose to dictate low-level spells with short dictation times or choose to instant cast spells, and she chose the former. Even more shockingly, she used a level-one spell -- Field Wave.

That spell was similar to Magic Missile in that it launched a wave-based attack one time. Field Wave was more damaging the larger the area it was trying to strike, but it lacked the homing ability of Magic Missile.

But as Saron was also a high-order warrior, a simple level-one spell like that wouldn't do him much harm. So, she sadistically added multiple spell mutations to strengthen, optimize and level the spell up, raising it to have the power of a level-four spell.

That wasn't the end, as a single spell wouldn't be enough to do the job. Annelotte instant cast a second Field Wave and also added the same spell mutations to it.

From the point of view of the onlookers, Saron was struck flying, Annelotte teleported behind him and reached out with her blue hand and sent Saron flying rapidly in the other direction with the slightest touch. The blood he spat out left a beautiful arc trail in the air.

He didn't relent either, managing to launch a counterattack despite suffering two heavy strikes.

A gust blew by and Saron deactivated Host of Flame without hesitation and used Host of Gust. His body traveled with the air and sped back to where Annelotte was with blinding speed.

But when she saw that, a teasing smile manifested on her face. She only got hurt the first two times to identify what Saron could do with his gifts, so how could she fall for the same trick another time?

She was waiting for him to change form!

Azure light beamed out from her eyes and the approaching Saron in a gaseous state let out a pained groan. He quickly turned back to normal and fell to the ground.

In an instant, Annelotte had lowered the temperature of the location Saron was at negative 200 degrees.

According to her observations, Saron couldn't use any impetus in his gaseous state. Without it, Annelotte could use Glacial Domain without any interference from Saron.

While Host of Gust could allow him to be immune to physical attacks, the air that made up his body could condense into water at such low temperatures! There was no chance he would be able to survive that for long.

"Huff, puff…" Saron breathed heavily and used Host of Flame out of a desperate need to stave off the unbearable cold.

This woman… Saron looked at the casual expression on her face and flashed a look of doubt.

I can't defeat her? No! It's impossible! I'm the strongest and only twin gifted in this world! The absolute genius! How could I lose to an ice woman who knows only magic? It can't be!

"Aaaaaaaagh!" All the impetus in him exploded outwards, but this time he didn't charge towards Annelotte like before, choosing instead to dictate properly.

Want to rely on magic, huh? Annelotte thought.

As Host of Flame was terrifying in close combat, Saron mainly relied on impetus in his fighting style and magic as a supporting element. But when he realized that fighting Annelotte in close combat didn't afford him many advantages, he decided to fight with only magic. He was an 18th stratum magus, after all, with so many gifts. There was no way he could lose.

Don't let your magic get to your head! I, the crimsonflame fiend, will show you what real magic is!