While Monolavir and the other dragons flew back to the ground to recover their lost members, Deveralna and the gigantic invader stared at each other, not even daring to blink.

They stared at each other with rage and hostility in their eyes.

"Ssssss-"

Ophion slithered on her forearm before floating next to Deveralna. The aura around the snake changed when it began to absorb an absurd amount of her magic.

The plasma composing his body absorbed the magic, enlarging its body rapidly.

Before long, the small snake turned into a behemoth, three times the size of the Remnant.

Without a single warning, the giant lizard opened its mouth and released a beam of lesser magnitude toward her.

It engulfed Deveralna and Ophion as if they were nothing but ants in its path.

When the attack stopped, the enemy looked to see where Deveralna was. Sure of her demise, its eyes showed satisfaction.

But to its surprise, Ophion had wrapped its body around Deveralna, protecting her from any damage.

Even more surprising was that the snake's scales were unaffected by the energy.

The sound of crackling electricity echoed around Ophion as its head turned toward the giant.

From its body, spheres of plasma began to float in the air, akin to bubbles. The constant, raging electricity inside them was enough to pressure any living creature into submission.

From an opening in the snake's wrapped body, white eyes shone ferociously at the lizard.

Instinctively, the enemy realized that if it didn't go all out, it would lose its life right there without being able to do much.

Darkness covered its body, and giant spikes made of dark magic began to protrude on its back and arms.

A crescent blade of dark magic appeared above the giant, quick to counter the plasma orbs.

Ophion unwrapped its body while pointing its head toward the giant lizard, while Deveralna aimed her left palm toward the same direction.

When Ophion opened its mouth, it revealed a pair of sharp fangs, dangerously arching in. Static electricity that moved like worms rapidly gathered between its fangs.

At the same time, a lethal amount of electricity gathered in front of Deveralna.

With the two gathering magic at an incredible pace, some arcs actually crashed down to the ground, lighting the trampled vegetation on fire each time they made contact.

—

"You don't know how to control the output. This is something that comes with feelings."

Deveralna listened carefully.

"You have to feel the energy inside of you before making a move. It's similar to how you fill a cup with water."

Elliott demonstrated by drawing his sword.

"You normally fill the cup and then close the faucet. It's the same with magic. Of course, the more you experience battles, the more it'll become second nature, but now, we don't have the luxury to wait for that."

Focusing on the blade, Elliott smiled.

Near the tip of Vanitas, a small sphere of neutral magic formed. This magic was called 'energy', as it had no particular influence from the elements.

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The sphere slowly broke into a thin layer of energy that covered the blade.

"That's how you control perfectly your magic. There is a certain level of proficiency that you have to get used to, but it shouldn't be too hard."

—

'I hate that man... but without him...'

Deveralna and Ophion fired a truly devastating blast of plasma alongside the plasma orbs.

On the other side, the lizard's top recoiled and released a beam of dark magic that was of the same power as the very first one, which killed a few dragons.

As the crescent dark blade met the plasma orbs and destroyed each other, the two beams met.

Since the lizard fired a moment after Deveralna and Ophion, the beam was closer to it than them.

Complete and utter destruction happened under the clashing powers, sending massive piles of dirt, rocks, and broken trees everywhere.

Even above, the blast instantly vaporized the clouds.

On the ground, the maids were protecting everyone from the debris, cutting them into thousands of pieces before they could damage the lamias or the dragons.

The wind blasts from the two magics were enough to even stop Monolavir from leaving the ground.

He was ready and prepared to freeze the enemy and its attack if Deveralna showed even a slither of struggle against it.

His body had changed to its most powerful form, the same he took against his corrupted brother.

Olivia, who was staring at the scene while holding her hair, smiled.

'No one has the power to fight back against her. Even if she's doing her best to not affect us too much, she's stronger than you.'

Slowly, gradually picking up speed, Deveralna and Ophion pushed back the dark beam.

Until the entire upper body of the gray lizard was disintegrated.

The beam continued into the rift, and something incredible happened.

*CRACK*

It shattered into pieces, forcing the world to return to its original state.

Before it shattered, they all heard the sound of an explosion inside, but it was so brief that no one paid attention to it.

'At least, we won't have to worry about another one of these.'

Deveralna's relieved expression appeared for an instant before it turned into a frown.

She sighed and shrugged.

"Of course. It wouldn't be a corrupt beast otherwise."

The entire upper half of the lizard began to bubble like boiling water. Its entire body instantly returned to its previous state, causing Deveralna to feel a slight headache creep into her head.

"How do we deal with that?"

She turned to Ophion with a genuine concern. The snake turned its head slowly and looked at her without showing any emotion, its tongue feeling the vibrations in the air.

Or at least, no one besides Deveralna could tell, as she was the only person to perceive its emotions.

Then, she glanced behind her. Her eyes fell on Olivia, who was waiting with her arms crossed.

"..."

Their gazes met, and Deveralna smiled.

'No one can escape turning into Orion. Aren't we just blessed?'

With the giant lizard having recovered entirely, Deveralna focused on it. She leaned forward, and alongside Ophion, she rushed the enemy.

The lizard did the same before letting out a powerful roar.

At that instant, it noticed a dark hue over the sky, but it ignored it.

They met where the ground was destroyed by their previous attacks.

Ophion left Deveralna's side and wrapped around the right arm of the enemy, immobilizing it.

Deveralna gathered as much power as she could before punching the creature straight in the stomach.

*BOOM*

A shockwave rippled through its body, and a powerful blast of energy raptured through its back, opening its body.

Blood, bones, and guts exploded out of the lizard, but it didn't care much for its state.

Its left arm fell down on Deveralna, ready to slap her toward the ground.

"Back off!"

With a swiftness similar to a fish in water, she slapped the giant's claws with her tail and broke its bones.

The shock was so intense that its hand exploded, and a strong electric current ravaged through its body.

"I might be smaller than you, but I'm no weakling!"

*CRACK*

Ophion crushed the lizard's right arm and ripped it off with its jaws.

At this range, the giant lizard was unable to attack with its beams, so it was left with close-range attacks only.

"!"

Both Deveralna and Ophion were forced to move away from the enemy as dangerously fast crescent blades of dark magic rained on them.

"Tsk!"

Just as Deveralna thought about sending an even more powerful punch into the giant's jaw, she had to get back.

It continued to make blades of dark magic, but also leaned closer to the ground at the same time. The enemy opened its mouth and prepared another beam of dark magic now that Deveralna was farther away.

"Oh no, you won't!"

Her body turned into plasma as she rushed forward. She disappeared from her spot and appeared under its head.

*BAM*

A violent punch threw its body upward, but it wasn't strong enough to lift the giant off the ground.

Its consciousness fought against the powerful punch to avoid blacking out, but just as it leaned backward from the impact, another strong attack slammed against the back of its head.

Ophion, which went behind the giant, returned the lizard toward its master. With the lizard now falling back toward Deveralna, it was about to taste an even stronger punch.

This one was about to be even more powerful when combined with gravity.

But at the last moment, it moved its tail unnaturally. Darkness covered its back, traveled to its tail, and, like a whip, moved over its body.

Out of nowhere, it retaliated. Ophion disappeared and reappeared at lightning speed in front of Deveralna, who was unable to stop herself in time.

The tail pierced Ophion's body and Deveralna's chest. As the whip-like tail pulled back, the two fell to the ground.

A devious smile seemed to form on the lizard's face as it straightened.

"You dumbass."

Hearing a voice it wasn't prepared to hear, it looked at the falling bodies, which began to fade out of existence.

"I'm not alone, you see."

Suddenly, the giant looked in the air and finally understood that everything that had happened since the beginning of the close combat was only an illusion.

All the way to Lahro, Olivia smiled smugly.

With her tail wrapped around Ophion, which had straightened its body entirely, Deveralna held a spear of the most ferocious, purest plasma ever created.

Even Reon's plasma was nowhere close to the brilliance in her hand.

Out of surprise, the giant lizard opened its mouth and released the entirety of its magic energy in a terrifying and devastating beam.

Its last resort traveled toward Deveralna and was closing in on her.

"EAT THAT! AND DON'T COME BACK!"

She threw the spear in her hands with her entire power. It exuded so much strength that even though Ophion had stabilized itself as much as possible, it was still unable to stay stable.

As Deveralna and Ophion were sent backward violently from the throw, the spear shot straight into the beam.

*SHHH*

Without resistance, the spear tore through the beam and crashed into the beast.

A towering pillar of plasma devoured the giant lizard as a roar of screaming pain echoed in the region.

Its scales were disintegrated, followed by its skin, organs, and lastly, its bones.

In a few seconds, nothing was left of the giant invader apart from the fuming and scorched crater where it stood.

"PFF!"

Olivia laughed happily as Deveralna fist-bumped the air to show her victory over the enemy.

"Hahaha~ Orion would be proud!"

Unable to contain her relief, Olivia continued to laugh until Deveralna returned.