MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Vahalin and Serenelle maneuvered through the chaos of the battlefield with lethal precision, their weapons striking unerringly at vital points.

After a series of relentless exchanges, their blades clashed one final time before they withdrew, a tense moment of separation marking the pause in their duel.

Serenelle's form remained wreathed in phoenix flames, the intense fire dancing fiercely around her.

With each deliberate breath she took, the temperature rose steadily, the air shimmering with unbearable heat, promising impending devastation.

Vahalin stood motionless, his gaze fixed on Serenelle.

The way she wielded her rapier, graceful yet unrelenting, conveyed a daunting truth: even if he transitioned to his most refined sword techniques, it would be futile.

Such efforts would only deplete his stamina and mana, the latter of which he had strategies to replenish quickly, but stamina was an entirely different matter, precious and finite.

Acknowledging the inevitability, he exhaled softly.

With a single, fluid motion, he sheathed his sword, the act carrying the weight of his decision and resolve.

Vahalin had decided to change his attacking style.

Mana surged from Vahalin's core, flooding his senses as he prepared his next move.

The very air around him thickened, as if recognizing the awakening of something formidable.

With a calm but determined motion, Vahalin raised his hand, his lips parting to utter words imbued with raw power.

The people of the Elfen race revered Vahalin as a genius, his sword mastery unmatched.

He was renowned for his ability to end an opponent before they even realized the fight had begun, his strikes so swift and precise that they never saw him coming.

Though his magical abilities were well known among those close to him, they were rarely displayed in battle.

It wasn't that he intentionally kept them hidden.

It was simply that he had never faced an opponent strong enough to force him to transition from his favored close combat style to a long range approach.

But today, he encountered a foe, no, a force, that was just as formidable as him with the blade.

The opponent's skill and precision were on par with his own, a challenge he hadn't expected.

Vahalin's magic was simply NATURE.

A great many things could be accomplished with nature, its vast spectrum encompassing elements of earth, wind, water, and more.

But Vahalin didn't waste his time trying to master every aspect of nature magic.

To do so would have made him proficient, but not exceptional.

He would have been like an empty vessel, making the loudest noise without substance behind it.

Instead, he chose to focus on a select few elements, perfecting them with a sharp precision.

Those few, he knew, were all he needed to make an impact.

The clouds began to darken with unnatural speed, gathering ominously overhead.

The blazing heat that had scorched the battlefield and the relentless sandstorms vanished as if they had never existed.

Chapter Enjoy:

The clouds shifted, converging above Vahalin, swirling around him in a powerful, unspoken dance.

The atmosphere thickened, crackling with an electric charge, the air now surging with a deadly, almost tangible power.

[Nature Magic: Weather Type: Thunderstorm]

As Vahalin's voice echoed through the air, lightning crackled to life, splitting the heavens as the world was suddenly washed in blinding white.

Then, in an instant, fury descended upon everything.

The attack was not aimed solely at Serenelle, but at all champions on the field.

The very air seemed to pulse with power as the overwhelming force forced every warrior to halt, their movements suspended as they braced for impact.

Each champion was compelled to enter a state of defense, their focus entirely consumed by the ferocious surge of energy bearing down on them.

Serenelle, positioned directly in front of Vahalin, bore the brunt of the attack.

A thick, blinding bolt of white lightning shot down from the heavens with terrifying speed.

She knew there was no chance of evading it, this wasn't a single strike but an omni directional assault, converging from every angle.

Without hesitation, Serenelle sprang into action, her instincts guiding her as she prepared her defenses, her movements swift and precise in the face of overwhelming power.

Mana surged fiercely from Serenelle's body as she tapped into her bloodline heritage, calling upon a power that was as ancient as it was formidable.

A phantom like phoenix materialized above her, its fiery form blazing with overwhelming intensity.

The air around it thickened, heavy with its radiant aura.

The phoenix's wings unfurled slowly, each movement exuding pride and power, as if announcing its dominion over the very elements themselves, unyielding and untamed.

[Phoenix Magic: Flame Type: Screech of a Dying Phoenix]

As the phantom phoenix parted its jaws, time itself seemed to stretch, as if the world had entered a slow, almost languid state.

Vahalin and Serenelle experienced this deceleration for very different reasons, each immersed in their own unfolding fate.

Then it happened.

A searing cry erupted from the phoenix, a sonic blast that fractured the air, sending ripples of soundwaves cascading across the battlefield.

The very fabric of reality trembled under the weight of its force.

When the two powers collided, it was as if the heavens and earth themselves tore asunder in an unparalleled cataclysm.

The cry of the fiery phoenix shattered the air, turning sand into molten glass, while relentless torrents of lightning scourged the vitrified ground, reducing it to jagged shards of obsidian.

Fierce winds howled in a frenzy, scattering burning embers and crackling arcs of electricity.

The violent clash birthed a colossal shockwave, a blinding tempest that swept across the desert, consuming the land beneath a churning sky of storms and flames.

Vahalin and every champion on the battlefield felt their very souls rattle under the immense energy.

Then, a strange sensation coursed down Vahalin's skin, warm, almost tender.

He raised his hand instinctively, feeling the trickle of something foreign.

Blood.

For the first time in his life, Vahalin had seen his own blood drawn by an enemy.

Yet, there was no rage, no surge of indignation that might be expected of someone of his standing.

He did not wipe it away, nor did he flinch.

His gaze remained fixed on the battlefield, focused and unwavering.

Serenelle, however, was no stranger to adversity.

She was not one to be passive in the face of danger; every blow she took was simply another opportunity to return it tenfold.

Without hesitation, she seamlessly transitioned into her next assault, her resolve unwavering as though death itself were an afterthought.

The phantom phoenix vanished, recalled into the ether, but the temperature shifted once again.

The clouds dispersed, and a stunning golden glow flared to life, bending the very air around it.

The sun's warmth returned, but there was a peculiar quality to it, seemingly drawn into the golden radiance, as if the very life force of the sun itself was being siphoned away.

It was the phantom phoenix at work once again.

Vahalin's head snapped upward, his hand already raised in preparation to strike down the ethereal bird before it could complete its devastating ritual.

But it was too late.

The ritual had already reached its crescendo.

Serenelle's voice cut through the oppressive heat, sharp and commanding, reverberating across the battlefield.

[Phoenix Magic: Flame Type: Ashen Dive]

With a single, powerful flap of its wings, the phantom phoenix plummeted toward the earth with a momentum that threatened to tear apart everything in its path.

Its wings folded, and it descended faster, each moment accelerating its descent, until it seemed as though the very skies were collapsing.

Vahalin felt the impending threat, his instincts already activating as his mind sought a counter.

Without a moment's hesitation, he unleashed a spell that seemed perfectly suited to the task at hand.

[Nature Magic: Wind Type: Gale Reversal]

Vahalin summoned a violent vortex of wind, the air twisting and howling in a frenzy.

The gale reversed the phoenix's fiery descent, redirecting the searing flames back into the sky, where they spiraled into an inferno, scattering molten embers harmlessly across the horizon.

The wind's ferocity tore through the desert, carving deep trenches into the once-stable ground.

Mountains trembled and crumbled as the winds sent shattered rock flying, scattering debris into the churning skies above.

Without missing a beat, Vahalin cast again.

[Nature Magic: Water Type: Oceanic Surge]

The water surged forth with the force of a tidal wave, summoned from the very essence of the elements themselves.

In less than a heartbeat, an ocean of raw, elemental power crashed onto the battlefield, sweeping forward like a relentless tide under Vahalin's control.

He sought to drown Serenelle's flames, to extinguish her power once and for all.

But Serenelle, undeterred, had already transitioned into her next attack.

[Phoenix Magic: Flame Type: Ember Burst]

Fiery orbs materialized in the air above her, each one crackling with the essence of the phoenix flames.

Mana surged from Serenelle's very being, pouring into the orbs until they detonated across the battlefield in a glorious explosion of fire and fury.

Each detonation unleashed a cascade of searing embers, igniting the air and scorching the earth beneath.

The surge of flames met the water, hissing and steaming in a chaotic clash, while the shockwaves rattled the very foundation of the desert.

The scalding steam blanketed the skies, distorting the air and searing everything it touched.

Sand and glass turned brittle beneath the pressure, cracking into jagged shards.

Rivers of water carved through the dunes, while the retreating surge eroded the very mountains themselves.

What stood before them was not merely two mages, but beings whose very bloodlines defied the limits of power.

They were not confined to a single class or path like the humans were, but excelled in every aspect, driven by innate talent and unyielding pride.

In the midst of the steam and vapor, something shifted.

Serenelle suddenly felt an excruciating pain tear through her very being, a sharp agony that radiated from her heart, an unfamiliar heat flooding her veins.

Her blood, hot and thick, pooled around her heart.

She could not comprehend how it had happened, nor could she understand the source of the attack.

Before her eyes, Vahalin stood, impossibly behind her, his blade piercing through her chest...perfectly piercing her heart.

Her expression hardened, a twitching smile crossing her lips as she gazed at him, as if asking,

'I thought we agreed to stick to magic in the second half of this battle?'

She hadn't even sensed him move, yet now, the world was growing dim.

Her breath slowed, her vision blurred, and her pulse faltered.

She knew she would not receive an answer if she asked how he had arrived without her notice.

Instead, she smiled, not in malice like Aurelia's smile, but with a deep, knowing acceptance.

Then, as if welcoming the inevitable, she closed her eyes and embraced death as an 'old companion' one who had always been with her, waiting in the shadows.