Mistress Of The Evil Forest

C-A 7: The incarnation of hellfire.

'''' ... ''''

On the higher floor of another building, tension is high.

Everyone gazes out the window toward the direction of Neveah Square, observing the otherworldly fight taking place. At some point, the image of a hooded woman petting a majestic orca has imprinted itself in their minds...

Or at least, that's what I would write if this is a novel. I don't exactly know what these guys are thinking, but I mean, they seem pretty impressed.

If Claire is here, I bet she will freak out. Her idol is shining on the main stage, after all.

As I'm thinking that, a massive wave of mana, one so intense it sends goosebumps all over my body, washes over us. Looking up, I see Aurora's army of flying sharks and whales simultaneously casting advanced magic.

Goddamn, that's some crazy stuff... It would have been so cool if Zircon was conquerable in the game. Fighting just a dying snake is quite lame if you ask me.

''Oh my god...'' One of the professors exclaims.

That, followed by some more exclamations, but the majority simply furrow their brows and keep staring out. The redheads seem to be concentrating the most. I guess they're not a family for nothing.

Regardless, an explosion later, and everything dies down a bit.

The enemies, this time, are still unscathed. I wonder how—

BOOM—!!

A thunderbolt comes straight down the sky like a heavenly punishment, successfully jump scaring some weak-hearted people. I don't know who cast that—I couldn't see because of the blizzard.

Assuming that the strike is through, though, it is almost time.

''Phew...'' 

Taking a deep breath, I relax my body and do a bit of stretching. Soon enough, right when the blinding blizzard settles, a golden something can be seen flying toward our direction, cruising through several windows and chipping buildings' walls here and there.

''Brace for impact!''

BOOM—!!

Like in an action movie, the thing bursts through the glass window and flies all the way to the next wall, cracking it. When the initial surprise is over, a golden female armor can be seen kneeling there, staring right back at the hooded figure outside.

This thing is the female fire armor. I know. I'm absolutely butchering this woman, but I honestly couldn't care less about her name.

Anyway, she is, at this point, almost as strong as a master-class fighter. Her weapon of choice in the game is a claymore, and her specialty is super evasion. It's a combination of skills and high AGI stats that allows her to dodge almost all of the player's attacks.

[Acceleration Lv.10], [Evasion Lv.7], [Concentration Lv.6], [Parallel Thinking Lv.5], [Prediction Lv.5].

Combined with her sleek physique—a small hitbox, the fight gets much harder as well.

Truly disgusting.

Fortunately, the one controlling this thing is still an infant—literally a baby—so dealing with it should be easier.

As I think that, the armor promptly gets on its feet, and creaking noises fill the room. Everybody holds their stances in silence, expecting to enter combat as soon as it shows hostility.

'''' ... ''''

CREAK—!

CREAK—!

The hollowed eyes scan around the room. When they turn directly to me, the armor freezes.

''...''

''...''

In an instant, the thing vanishes completely. Before anyone can even register it, a blazing blade appears right in front of my face.

''Lady Luminous!''

It seems the taunt item worked. 

KENG—!

With an almost unnatural reaction speed, I pull out my sword and promptly block the claymore, clashing directly with the armor. As I will the fire in my veins, a scorching hot blaze bursts out of my blade, turning it into a greatsword.

''Kgh...!''

Then, I step to the side, releasing myself from the strength fight before delivering a spin kick to the armor. Needless to say, I am unable to hit it.

''Phew...''

Staring at the thing standing some distance from me, I take a deep breath. Soon, the others join me on the sides, and Claudia, specifically, steps in front of me.

We're fighting this. Good.

''Class 1-A, stay here!'' Claudia shouts. ''The rest, follow me!''

With that, Claudia surges forward, her sword glowing a dim pinkish red. Soon, she thrusts it at the armor, bringing out a majestic phoenix and forcing her opponent to jump out of the broken wall. The professors and associated fighters—holy knights and imperial knights—throw themselves out after Claudia.

We hurry over the broken wall amid the explosions in the distance. Gazing at the active battlefield below, I can't help but frown.

Fuck me. These temporary enhancers I've been using make me feel like crap. My strength is improved for sure, but... Urgh...

Either way, I need to finish my job before their duration ends.

''Hey, what should we do now?''

Right then, Scarlett speaks up.

''Stay here and assist them.'' Sierra replies, calmly casting several fire spells. ''Use your magic.''

''Her Highness is right.'' Aaron follows. ''Better not hindering them.''

''Oh, alright. Hey, Ame—Amelia?''

As I look back, everybody is staring at me.

''...Stay here, kids.'' I say before leaning forward, letting gravity take me down.

''You—''

While falling, I tighten my grip and amplify my fire claymore, making it stronger than ever. Utilizing my superhuman strength, I lightly land on the ground before springing myself toward the battle.

''Amelia Luminous! You idiot!''

Ignoring Claudia's cry, I aim straight for the armor.

[Evasion] allows it to dodge one attack automatically, and [Prediction] can pretty much do the same, so we need two feints. Fortunately, our team just activated its latter skill by coordinating an attack.

Seizing the chance, I jump onto the occupied armor, slashing my sword down.

BOOM—!!

Intense fire spews out like a tsunami as my sword lodges into the ground, yet my target has already retreated to the side. Once again, I spring myself toward it, winding up another attack.

At this point, the armor decides to fight back. It lightly raises its own blazing greatsword and begins to swing it with much vigor. Understanding its attacking patterns, I skillfully bounce around, evading its strikes and getting closer to it.

Once the distance becomes short enough, I spin my whole body, bringing my claymore to an insane speed. As I hear the screech of fire ripping through the air, my opponent steps back lightly, rendering my attack null.

''Hup—!''

Then, just as predicted, Claudia appears right behind the armor with ample momentum, bringing her sword toward its neck. The effect of [Evasion] kicks in; the armor's body miraculously moves away just enough to dodge that strike.

But now, the DPS window is opened.

''Haaap—!!''

I continue spinning my body, ripping my sword through one more rotation. With unmatched acceleration, my blade of fire rams itself into the armor's upper torso, cutting through a good depth of it. Melted flesh and charred scales are shot out the other side as the insane force pushes its body like a ragdoll.

Let me show you what hellfire is!

Seizing the opportunity, I push every single cell of my body past the limit—every ounce of MP I have, every little power I can muster—all into this one moment.

PUFF—!!

Shooting from the base of my blade, a deadly, dense spurt of molten lava promptly devours the female armor, completely overwhelming it. Then, akin to a landmine, fierce flame explodes from the puddle, the column extending high into the sky.

The scorching heat melts all the surrounding snow away. I look at the scene blankly, catching my breath.

''Hah... Hah... Hah...''

Soon, my body loses its strength, and the fire claymore that I have gradually turns back to a normal sword.

''Good job. Stand back.''

Claudia takes a cautious stance, covering me while charging for her next attack. The others also surround the lava mess.

''No... You idiot.''

It's about to go berserk.

I force my body forward, pushing the surprised Claudia away. Right at the next moment, a colossal blade thrusts out of the fire, heading right toward my face. With the speed at which it is traveling, I can't dodge it even if I have my full strength.

''Amelia—huh?!''

Claudia's surprised cry is justified. This should not happen at all.

A transparent barrier surrounds my body, keeping the blade struggling in place as my necklace floats into the air, shining.

BOOM—!!!

'''' !!! ''''

Then, something huge suddenly crashes down, punching the female armor into the ground. It is... Another armor.

Looking above, I see the familiar fluttering robe, the familiar galaxy mask, floating in the sky.

You're finally here, Aurora.

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