BOOM!
Two bodies slammed to the ground, one on top of the other.
Remelia had her hands around Valerie's neck. She gripped it tight as her hands burst into flames.
Valerie's teeth were gritted hard enough to draw blood.
It wasn't like Remelia was the one who had the advantage here.
She was fighting back with the same amount of strength. Her roots grabbed the woman's neck from behind, reining her backward, trying to take her into the forest.
The two had been in battle for over an hour now.
In most cases, Remelia would be completely done with an enemy by now. Valerie was different from the rest.
The problem was that she was growing with every passing second.
She entered this battle as someone who couldn't even withstand the residual heat of her haze. By now, they were practically on the same level.
Valerie had been a 4th class for a decent amount of time now. Yet, it was only now that she learned how to properly use all of the power she had access to.
Remelia was a perfect opponent for her. She abused this opportunity just as she'd planned to when they first saw each other, and she'd grown more than she ever expected.
The realization she had about life and death was monumental, more than she realized at the time.
As she was given the situation to put it into practical use right away, it grew exponentially in a short period of time.
Valerie obviously didn't want to be here.
She could see on the ever-present map that those other two dots were already in the center of the labyrinth.
Didn't that mean their chances of winning were already nonexistent?
The two of them were as far as they could be compared to anyone else, and no matter how much time passed, Remelia refused to give up.
There was definitely something wrong in her brain.
Knowing it didn't help Valerie, though. If she wanted to place anything special in this competition, then she just needed to find a way out.
As she had been trying for the last hour.
In the end, the two of them ended up on the floor like this, in a showdown to see which one would survive.
Remelia had more immediate power.
She was draining Valerie's mana faster as Valerie was forced to focus more on healing than attacking.
However, since Valerie had to be more conservative, she definitely had more longevity in each attack she used.
The vines and moss that continued to grow out of the walls could become her ammunition, so unlike her opponent, she didn't have to constantly put out mana to maintain her mediums.
Nevertheless, despite their individual weaknesses, the two were relatively even at this point.
It was really just a battle of who could last longer.
At least, that was what Remelia wanted to turn it into.
She couldn't be as versatile as Valerie, sure, but she was confident that she had more mana.
In that case, Valerie had no choice but to give up and lose.
That wasn't something Valerie could allow.
She was actively trying to pull Remelia off of her, but the woman had her in a death grip.
She wouldn't move no matter what, and it was like she didn't need to breathe at all. No matter how long or hard she gripped her neck, Valerie couldn't knock her unconscious.
'This bitch…'
Valerie cursed again.
'She's gone completely insane.'
There was hardly a semblance of the cold and indifferent Remelia remaining in the eyes of the one trying to murder Valerie.
The only thing in her mind was victory, and that tunnel vision was exactly what would ruin her.
Valerie's eyes went just beside Remelia's head, looking behind her.
Pieces of the massive roots that suffocated her broke off, turning into projectiles that spun and spun until they were sharper than any blade.
Valerie's eyes refocused on Remelia.
"Crazy…bitch…!"
She squeezed it out.
This attack had to end things.
It had to.
In that second, Valerie removed mana from everywhere else. She stopped her healing and withstood the burns. Her forest disappeared, giving power back to Remelia's domain. The restraints on Remelia's neck loosened, though she barely noticed.
All possible mana that could be used was used to empower those shards, and when they were glowing with so much light that they looked like stars, they shot forward, covering the few inches that separated them from Remelia in barely any time at all.
SHIIIIK!
They made a disgusting sound as they ripped through her body.
There was nothing she could do to stop them, not after they'd been concentrated with such a huge amount of mana.
Her energy field was pierced in no time. The heat around her body couldn't do anything to wood at that level, acting as nothing more than paper armor.
Though the shards were thin, the wounds they left were gushing with blood. They were as large as tennis balls, holes present in her shoulders, stomach, chest, and leg.
"Heuk…!"
A hint of emotion appeared in Remelia's eyes.
It was pure surprise at the sudden pain.
She looked down, blood leaking from her mouth, and saw the wounds that had been inflicted for the first time.
Her grip weakened.
Valerie immediately broke free of her entrapment and dashed backward, away from the bleeding genius.
"You…"
Remelia tried to talk, but her throat was filling up with blood.
"Next…time…"
They were frightening last words, especially from an enemy that wasn't going to die.
Still, they were last words.
Carelessness still ended up as the end of an arrogant genius.
Her current wounds wouldn't heal easily. Those shards were filled with death energy and rot. Since she couldn't block it this time, it properly infested her body.
The energy she used to continue the battle for so long was instantly sucked away. The vitality she had was dispersed into the atmosphere, weakening her immensely.
And, in such a weak state, there was no way she could deal with wounds so severe.
As Remelia lay there, staring Valerie down with eyes filled with flames, a visible blue light covered her body in something like a bubble.
She was lifted out of the labyrinth, disappearing as the entire bubble transported itself to the medical center.
Remelia would be back for blood.
But that was a problem for a future Valerie.
Without another thought in her head, while nursing the burns covering her entire body, Valerie started to run.
A relative understanding of the labyrinth's shape and an extremely undefined map were all she had, but she was going to try as hard as she could.
If not first, if not second, then at least third.
Now that Remelia was gone,there was only one person standingbetween her and that position.
And he was about to become very familiar with a certain Azure Dragon.
Mikael arrived at the boss room right as August finished the third terminal.
He assessed the situation rapidly.
He had three choices.
A boss that was far stronger than him.
A Holy Clan genius that was a lot stronger than it.
Or a random kid who looked completely out of place in the current scenario.
If he had to choose which one he had to attack…
Well, his decision was obvious.
BOOM!
Two bodies slammed to the ground, one on top of the other.
Remelia had her hands around Valerie's neck. She gripped it tight as her hands burst into flames.
Valerie's teeth were gritted hard enough to draw blood.
It wasn't like Remelia was the one who had the advantage here.
She was fighting back with the same amount of strength. Her roots grabbed the woman's neck from behind, reining her backward, trying to take her into the forest.
The two had been in battle for over an hour now.
In most cases, Remelia would be completely done with an enemy by now. Valerie was different from the rest.
The problem was that she was growing with every passing second.
She entered this battle as someone who couldn't even withstand the residual heat of her haze. By now, they were practically on the same level.
Valerie had been a 4th class for a decent amount of time now. Yet, it was only now that she learned how to properly use all of the power she had access to.
Remelia was a perfect opponent for her. She abused this opportunity just as she'd planned to when they first saw each other, and she'd grown more than she ever expected.
The realization she had about life and death was monumental, more than she realized at the time.
As she was given the situation to put it into practical use right away, it grew exponentially in a short period of time.
Valerie obviously didn't want to be here.
She could see on the ever-present map that those other two dots were already in the center of the labyrinth.
Didn't that mean their chances of winning were already nonexistent?
The two of them were as far as they could be compared to anyone else, and no matter how much time passed, Remelia refused to give up.
There was definitely something wrong in her brain.
Knowing it didn't help Valerie, though. If she wanted to place anything special in this competition, then she just needed to find a way out.
As she had been trying for the last hour.
In the end, the two of them ended up on the floor like this, in a showdown to see which one would survive.
Remelia had more immediate power.
She was draining Valerie's mana faster as Valerie was forced to focus more on healing than attacking.
However, since Valerie had to be more conservative, she definitely had more longevity in each attack she used.
The vines and moss that continued to grow out of the walls could become her ammunition, so unlike her opponent, she didn't have to constantly put out mana to maintain her mediums.
Nevertheless, despite their individual weaknesses, the two were relatively even at this point.
It was really just a battle of who could last longer.
At least, that was what Remelia wanted to turn it into.
She couldn't be as versatile as Valerie, sure, but she was confident that she had more mana.
In that case, Valerie had no choice but to give up and lose.
That wasn't something Valerie could allow.
She was actively trying to pull Remelia off of her, but the woman had her in a death grip.
She wouldn't move no matter what, and it was like she didn't need to breathe at all. No matter how long or hard she gripped her neck, Valerie couldn't knock her unconscious.
'This bitch…'
Valerie cursed again.
'She's gone completely insane.'
There was hardly a semblance of the cold and indifferent Remelia remaining in the eyes of the one trying to murder Valerie.
The only thing in her mind was victory, and that tunnel vision was exactly what would ruin her.
Valerie's eyes went just beside Remelia's head, looking behind her.
Pieces of the massive roots that suffocated her broke off, turning into projectiles that spun and spun until they were sharper than any blade.
Valerie's eyes refocused on Remelia.
"Crazy…bitch…!"
She squeezed it out.
This attack had to end things.
It had to.
In that second, Valerie removed mana from everywhere else. She stopped her healing and withstood the burns. Her forest disappeared, giving power back to Remelia's domain. The restraints on Remelia's neck loosened, though she barely noticed.
All possible mana that could be used was used to empower those shards, and when they were glowing with so much light that they looked like stars, they shot forward, covering the few inches that separated them from Remelia in barely any time at all.
SHIIIIK!
They made a disgusting sound as they ripped through her body.
There was nothing she could do to stop them, not after they'd been concentrated with such a huge amount of mana.
Her energy field was pierced in no time. The heat around her body couldn't do anything to wood at that level, acting as nothing more than paper armor.
Though the shards were thin, the wounds they left were gushing with blood. They were as large as tennis balls, holes present in her shoulders, stomach, chest, and leg.
"Heuk…!"
A hint of emotion appeared in Remelia's eyes.
It was pure surprise at the sudden pain.
She looked down, blood leaking from her mouth, and saw the wounds that had been inflicted for the first time.
Her grip weakened.
Valerie immediately broke free of her entrapment and dashed backward, away from the bleeding genius.
"You…"
Remelia tried to talk, but her throat was filling up with blood.
"Next…time…"
They were frightening last words, especially from an enemy that wasn't going to die.
Still, they were last words.
Carelessness still ended up as the end of an arrogant genius.
Her current wounds wouldn't heal easily. Those shards were filled with death energy and rot. Since she couldn't block it this time, it properly infested her body.
The energy she used to continue the battle for so long was instantly sucked away. The vitality she had was dispersed into the atmosphere, weakening her immensely.
And, in such a weak state, there was no way she could deal with wounds so severe.
As Remelia lay there, staring Valerie down with eyes filled with flames, a visible blue light covered her body in something like a bubble.
She was lifted out of the labyrinth, disappearing as the entire bubble transported itself to the medical center.
Remelia would be back for blood.
But that was a problem for a future Valerie.
Without another thought in her head, while nursing the burns covering her entire body, Valerie started to run.
A relative understanding of the labyrinth's shape and an extremely undefined map were all she had, but she was going to try as hard as she could.
If not first, if not second, then at least third.
Now that Remelia was gone,there was only one person standingbetween her and that position.
And he was about to become very familiar with a certain Azure Dragon.
Mikael arrived at the boss room right as August finished the third terminal.
He assessed the situation rapidly.
He had three choices.
A boss that was far stronger than him.
A Holy Clan genius that was a lot stronger than it.
Or a random kid who looked completely out of place in the current scenario.
If he had to choose which one he had to attack…
Well, his decision was obvious.
