The Elysian Shell was powerful. If I had to guess— and I blamed Gennady for making me think of this comparison— it was probably a Tier 6 spell. Even my strongest spell couldn’t break through it. Perhaps given enough time, I could whittle it down. But never in a real, active combat situation.
And yet, it was barely a problem for Lilith.
More lines appeared on her body, before gathering itself on her arms and hands. The lines came into contact with the spear and it flashed just for a moment, before being encased by the same red glow that covered her body. She swung her spear down at the Elysian Shell once. The entire pier shook. A visible shockwave sent me stumbling as the ships in the vicinity rocked and swayed along with the waves.
I looked up and saw a crack appear on the darkened wood. It was a light crack— it didn’t look to be much of a problem. Then Lilith swung again. And again. And again—
The sixth swing shattered the Elysian Shell. Bahr looked up, still injured and unable to react as Lilith brought her spear down on him. He opened his mouth, forming some words.
"My people shall no longer be silent—"
Before he was silenced. He fell, dead, leaving only me for the Saintess to chase after.
I could not run. There was no way I could escape. The Saintess turned to face me, a dangerous look in her eyes. I pointed—
And I set the pier on fire. I sent Fireball and Fire Arrows all across the docks. If there was anything flammable, I set it ablaze. The lamps and all the light sources flared up one by one as I forced all the fires I could to burn.
It was not an instantaneous thing. I had to light it all up one by one as I continued blasting fire into the pier. But this was in addition to the flames already created from myself and Lilith. This was all I could do. I couldn’t run, so I had to hide— escape, hidden behind the flames.
I had practiced with fire; I knew the basic spells to manipulate all the elements, but I had learned to control fire more than the rest. So I made the flames blaze— burn wildly at the docks of Luke. It tried to touch me, but I kept it back. I ran through the inferno, trying to escape my pursuer.
And yet, as I continued my sprint away to safety, a spear pierced through the curtain of flames behind me. How—
I whirled around, throwing myself to the side with all my strength. I felt the fire itself push me, giving me enough speed and strength to match the fast Saintess. It was barely enough.
My head moved out of the way of the spearhead as it came at me. I eyed the pointed tip as it came, almost in slow motion, and struck the side of my mask. There was a crack as half of it shattered from the impact, blood spurting out and covering my right eye. She followed up by striking me with the butt of her spear, and I felt a crunch as my arm broke from the hit. I bit back a scream as I crumpled to the ground.
She could sense my magic. That was how she found me so quickly. My only chance to escape had been foiled by my own panic; if I were more calm, I would have quickly hidden after setting the nearby pier on fire. Used the thick smoke and the blanket of flames to my advantage. But I tried to create an even bigger distraction than was necessary, so I was caught.
Lilith was here now. I could not escape. I had once again thrown away my freedom, and was going to be captured. Tried and executed by the Church for such ridiculous rules and laws which harmed so many people. But if I died, at least I would be with my mom, right?
No.
I did not want to die. I wanted to live. I had already made that decision. I could not allow the Church to take me in and kill me for something as simple as magic.
But what could I do? Lilith was already here. She was reaching for me with one hand. Any spell I could conjure up could not hurt her. So I raised an arm, pointing at her, but it was too slow. There was no one here to help me—
And a thin beam struck Lilith in the back of the head. It did not kill her, of course. The aura from her armor protected her. And yet, she was knocked off balance. It caused her to stumble, giving me enough time to cast the spell.
I felt the air above us both as I backed up. A green magic circle appeared, but its color shifted. It was the smoke I manipulated, focusing solely on the gray-black fumes billowing above us. Lilith steadied herself, about to stop me from casting the spell, but was forced to dodge as Kai fired another shot.
I shot a glance at the man as he lowered his gun and nodded in my direction. He was standing next to Braz, and the two finally turned to run as my spell went off. It was the spell I had been practicing with. The Burst Cyclone which created a maelstrom of wind blades. But this time, it was not just air that burst out. The smoke overhead exploded in all directions, covering the entire pier with toxic gas.
I held my breath, ignoring whatever pain I felt, and cut off my connection with the mana in my surroundings as I backed up. Saintess Lilith was engulfed in the smoke. I silently ran away from her as fast as I
