Elaine almost dismissed her idea by instinct. It was crazy. Nobody in their right mind would even consider doing something like that.

But playing with it in her head for a few seconds, she realized it might actually work. Scanning her hand with Mana Sense, she noticed the raging flow of Circulation inside her channels made it shine in a bright Blue colour. There was no way her enemies would see anything obscured by her flesh. Closing her palm, she gathered some mana inside it, before examining it with her domain too.

‘I can’t see it! It’s fully hidden!’

Her heart skipped a beat as she confirmed the viability of her plan. But she caught herself soon after.

‘Am I seriously going to do this?’

It would be a risky move. It would exhaust most of her mana and potentially leave her handicapped afterwards. Even if it worked, fighting against the remaining three Blues wouldn’t be easy in that state. If it failed, on the other hand, she would be done for. She very much doubted her opponents would give her a second chance.

Shaking her head, she shoved the idea to the back of her mind for now, trying to come up with an alternative.

But there was nothing. The enemy Blues kept pressuring her, nearly hitting her on multiple occasions over the next few minutes. Her mana dropped rapidly too. If she kept going like this, her boosting art would deactivate even before her mana ran dry, at which point she would be screwed.

Clenching her teeth, she realized her ridiculous plan was her only option.

Closing her fist again, she began accumulating mana once more. The condensed orb of water pressed against her skin, trying to pry her fingers open. But she didn’t let it. She only gripped it more tightly, desperate to prevent the soft light of her nascent spell from spilling through the gaps.

At the same time, she continued to deal with her opponents’ attacks in whatever way she could. She dodged some, blocking the rest with her tentacles or her bubbles. Meanwhile, she tried her hardest to keep her expression level and her movements natural, to not betray her intentions.

A few seconds later, she felt the spell was nearly ready.

Knowing this was it, she retracted and condensed her domain around her body, before expelling two powerful jets of water from her feet, shooting directly at Femel. She manifested four medium-sized tentacles too, wrapping them tightly around her body – both for her protection and theirs.

A flash of surprise coloured the Holy Child’s face for the briefest of instants, but he remained calm, already reacting. He propelled himself backwards with his mana, clearly trying to buy time for his companions to help him.

Having covered about two thirds of the gap in an instant, Elaine unleashed her domain again, slamming it against the Green-born’s. Hers had brute strength, while his fought back with finesse. Still, she overwhelmed him at first, at least until the other three domains attacked her from behind again, trying to rip hers apart.

Not letting that stop her, she continued to chase after Femel, unleashing her tentacles at him once more. The powerful constructs smashed the earth with tremendous force, causing the whole area to quake as the stone shattered beneath them, deep fissures snaking through the ground.

But the Holy Child evaded them, eating through his reserves rapidly to keep himself out of harm’s way, doing everything he could to stay alive for a few seconds longer.

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Elaine was faster than him. Far stronger too. And they both knew it. Had they fought alone, he would have died a long time ago. Even now, it wouldn’t be long until she landed a spell on him, putting the slippery bastard out of her misery.

Yet, this was time she didn’t have.

The azure lines on her skin were already flickering in and out of existence, her strength on the verge of leaving her muscles. Meanwhile, a barrage of spells rained behind her, forcing her to keep dodging as the Green-born’s teammates desperately fought to protect their leader.

The mages rushed through the Valley in three groups. First, there was a Holy Child running for his life, a burst of steam accompanying his every move. Elaine chased behind him, trying to commit the most heinous crime on Remior to protect her friends. Finally, three guards ran at the very back, doing everything in their power to stop her.

At the same time, the five domains continued to clash.

Sometimes, Elaine’s tentacles fell within her own territory, empowered by her willpower as they descended upon the ground with savage force. Others, they landed inside Femel’s domain instead, the tremendous heat evaporating them rapidly, trying to rob her of her weapons.

“Almost,” she spat at some point.

Her face twisted into a grimace as she barely missed the Holy Child by a few inches. But she wasn’t done. A second whip landed in front of him, cutting his escape route. That said, the impact was far weaker now, the constructs having been reduced to a fraction of their original size. And Elaine didn’t have the spare mana to restore them either.

Noticing an arc of lightning about to hit her from behind, she used her third whip to parry the spell. The construct boiled on contact, the violent explosion nearly knocking her off her feet. But she held on, already trying to slap Femel down with the last of her tentacles.

Gritting his teeth, the Holy Child hastily formed a thick layer of steam in front of himself, barely managing to block the attack. The weakened spell evaporated almost instantly against the pale barrier, though not without peeling much of it off in the process.

Not deterred, Elaine retracted her domain once more, shrouding her body as she stepped forward. Punching through the steam with all her strength, she felt her skin flake off as blisters formed, the scorching heat eating through her willpower.

But her fist made it to the other side, connecting with Femel’s jaw. She could tell, as there was no mistaking the touch of his bones cracking under her knuckle. The feeling was sickening, but she ignored it, knowing this wasn’t the time to hesitate.

Her physical strength eclipsed his own severalfold, so the punch was bound to do some serious damage. That said, she didn’t think it would be enough to kill him. Maybe, it wouldn’t even knock him out.

That’s why she didn’t stop there, finally unleashing the spell she had been holding onto all this time. Elaine didn’t even dare to open her fist, afraid the heat would sap away her spell’s strength. Instead, she chose to sacrifice her hand to make sure the attack found its mark.

A wave of unimaginable force exploded outward, blowing whatever remained of the white barrier away in an instant, knocking Elaine off her feet. Not having the luxury to worry about the Green-born’s fate, she clumsily rolled away as a cyclone rushed through her previous spot, nearly tearing her to shreds.

Pushing herself up again, she ignored the ringing in her ears and the two warm streams rolling down the sides of her neck. Lifting her eyes, she glanced at the devastation she had just unleashed.

There, on the ground, she saw a headless corpse, a crimson pool expanding outward from its severed neck, spilling into a massive crater behind it.

[Congratulations! You have mastered a new spell: Abyssal Crush – Refined!]

As much as she would have loved a moment to appreciate the notification or to sigh in relief upon confirming the kill, she didn’t get any of that. Her brain finally seemed to register the absence of her limb, a wave of pure agony rushing over her. This was easily the second worst pain she had ever felt, losing only to the soul injuries Percy had inflicted upon her to grant her her new core.

Sadly, she knew she didn’t have time to come to terms with that either.

Shifting her attention to the others, she noticed their shaken expressions. The poor bastards were probably lamenting the severe punishment they would no-doubt receive for letting a Holy Child die under their watch.

‘You should be more worried about yourselves though.’

Sneaking in a couple of quick breaths, she replenished what mana she could as she rushed after them. Missing a hand and much of her reserves sucked, but her opponents had suffered an even greater loss. Not that Elaine had any intention of dropping her guard for even an instant, but she knew that dealing with the rest was more than doable.

‘Percy… Nesha… I hope you guys are okay too…’