Gathered at the border, Immortals began to marvel at how fast their wounds were healing. Even without feeling the discrete mana flow, they could sense that this magical effect was coming from a lone maiden praying somewhere near the line.

The youthful little lady, whose serious face only made these soldiers feel motivated, excluded an out-of-this-world aura.

However, without anybody holding out the monsters, the healthy land would soon be invaded. They had obediently listened to the Empresses, but now, they were beyond worried.

So, rightfully, one of them approached Wen Zhuwei.

''Esteemed Empress, may I know your intentions?''

The eccentric Heavenly Shura, who only posed a smile as she gazed at the sky, gently opened her mouth.

''Nothing.''

''Huh?''

''We just need to wait here.''

Puzzled yet somehow convinced, the soldier followed Wen Zhuwei's eyes to the sky. Then, one by one, everybody had their eyes fixed in one place.

Meanwhile, knowing Kierra's choice, Cosmos, now in the shape of a not-so-human-looking woman, slightly narrowed her eyes. The contaminated area spanned hundreds of kilometers, and Kierra... was going to graze it into nothingness.

'Eleven... no, ten-star is enough.'

A ten-star spell must ensue. If so, a barrier of the same caliber must surround the area, lest the healthy land be destroyed because of the archwizard's might.

Seemingly understood this problem, Mie Xieren, Yu Chen, and Tian Yun were scrambling to find the solution. However, Cosmos quickly reassured them.

''Let me.''

The unassuming woman silently stepped forward, placing her right foot on the line.

'''' !!! ''''

The next moment, an indescribably eerie sensation crept up everybody's spines, alerting their primal survival instinct. When they looked in the direction of the supposed 'threat,' Cosmos's unfaltering appearance entered their eyes.

''I CALL UPON... THE UNIVERSE'S █████.''

In essence, Cosmos was a beast born from the universe's aging process, earning her consciousness as she consumed more and more matter over billions of years. Her root was the universe itself, and even in this foreign realm, she wasn't powerless.

With neck-breaking speed, a hollow, black line ran in both directions from Cosmos's foot, quickly surrounding the whole contaminated region. Then, a translucent barrier was erected, bearing faint patterns of sturdy scales like those of Cosmos herself.

''...!''

Witch of Stars, who was well-versed in the matters of the universe, instantly recognized the source behind this surprisingly sturdy barrier. For the moment, she decided to approach Cosmos after this battle concluded.

At the same time, in the sky.

Overlooking the effort Cosmos had created, Kierra nodded in satisfaction and thanked her friend internally.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

''Whew...''

The cold wind blew. Within that wind, a strand of overflowed mana flowed. Then, two, ten, a hundred, a thousand—the space around the archwizard was quickly filled with dense mana.

Kierra calmly gazed at the abominations on the ground, many of which had barely recognized her existence. Her black hair fluttered in the air, through which one could see faint glimpses of her thumping heart.

All ten of her mana circles were activated, bringing Kierra's mana veins into a state of hyper-circulation.

''It's been a while, my magic.''

Posing a knowing smile, Kierra began to chant.

''SO, THE TIME HAS COME.''

''AN UNSHAKABLE MIGHT, STANDING BEFORE DEATH,''

''WHAT I'LL ENGRAVE IN THIS PLACE, IT'S MY SOUL,''

''AN IDENTITY UNTOUCHABLE FOR ALL—WITH A HARMONIZING BEAT,''

''FATE WILL BE DECIDED IN THIS SINGLE MOMENT.''

Burning an intense red hue, Kierra's hand was enveloped in a layer of unextinguishable flame, one that was conjured by sucking an immense amount of mana from the archwizard's veins.

Bulging blood vessels, burning pain.

Such flame must surely invoke catastrophic destruction. As if realizing that, the army of monsters below collectively and disgustingly merged into one giant entity—a vaguely humanoid with distorted body proportions. The thing that caused unease and absolute fear to whoever was unlucky enough to see it was extending its claws toward the archwizard.

Nevertheless, Kierra continued to chant.

''THAT'S WHY NOW I'LL PIERCE THROUGH IT—THE HEAVY DOOR THAT SEALS TOMORROW,''

''WITH ALL MY MIGHT, I'LL USE MYSELF UP DURING THE LAST MOMENT'S CLIMAX,''

''I'LL PIERCE THROUGH IT—WITH A SINGLE BLOW TO THE DOOR THAT DENIES TOMORROW,''

GRAHHH—!

At this point, the claw, a single finger of which could easily dwarf a castle, seemingly reached her. Facing the unstoppable, inescapable jaw of death, Kierra calmly opened her mouth to recite the finish line.

''IT'S TIME TO TAKE THE TOP!''

''Kierra!'' Yu Chen roared, striking the barrier to no avail.

An unfortunate ending seemed unbelievably close. However, at that moment, someone else stepped forward.

''No, you don't.''

As soon as her heel hit the ground crisply, August unsheathed her sword, drawing an elegant horizontal line in the air. The next moment... there was no 'next moment.'

Before everybody could react to it, the Sword Empress had already sheathed her sword with a click, extinguishing the brilliant glow in her eyes. Instead, an intense quake woke them up.

Somehow, the terrifying beast was wailing loudly as its wrist was... missing.

The impact was, in reality, from the detached hand hitting the ground. Adjusting her bang as if nothing had happened, August let out an arrogant scoff.

Kierra, on the other hand, smiled. Aiming her hand downward, she released the spell.

⌈A FOOL'S DESPERADO—10★⌋

Born from a legendary wizard's desperation to defeat his foe, this spell was first cast using his blood as collateral for the enormous amount of mana it needed. In the end, the man perished, yet his spirit and determination remained an inspiration for many generations to come.

Kierra was one such child motivated by this story.

So, she had modified the spell to be less lethal and engraved it in the universal spell book, all to honor the man forever.

Despite taking a deep nerf, ⌈A Fool's Desperado⌋ retained its property—force cleanse. Most substances existing in the corporeal realm would be fully extinguished the moment they touch the spell's flame.

Like now, the small drop of fire no larger than Kierra's palm was falling onto the ground, seemingly powerless against the vast land. Yet, the moment the collision happened, a blast of colossal magnitude set everything within the barrier ablaze.

Even the giant creature and the ones littered on the battlefield could do nothing except wail to their ultimate demise.

Heatless, odorless, yet unbelievably deadly.

Reflected in Kierra's red eyes were a dull, lifeless grey. As she watched everything burn down to nothingness, she let out a sigh.

'Good thing Cosmos is here.'

Cosmos's scales were something that could actually stop this flame. Kierra found it out the violent way. But without Cosmos, she wouldn't have had the chance to demonstrate this masterpiece of a spell.

Even if the spell were so destructive, with a finite amount of mana, it would soon extinguish.