Keeping the item for now, Morgana focused her sights on Barone. With determination on her eyes, she yelled,

FIRE ORB LEVEL 2

Fire Orbs emerged from the staff and were directed towards Barone who easily dodged it.

“What do you think will happen, kid?”, said Barone.

Morgana simply remained silent.

“My turn.”, said Barone.

Raising his staff, he chanted,

Gaia, give me your resolve, allow me to use earth on your behalf. Show me your support

EARTH PILLAR x2

Two Pillars emerged from the ground. With the aim to squash Morgana, the pillars crossed each other. With a timely jump, Morgana managed to evade Barone’s attack. Smirking, Barone raised his hand towards Morgana. He shouted,

EARTH ORB LEVEL 5

Since she is already airborne, Morgana is unable to dodge the attacks thrown at her. The orbs hit her squarely, giving her more injuries. Attacks are relentless and are just as strong as previous attacks. Blasts from the attacks managed to faze her, but Morgana’s resolve remained unyielding. Remembering what she read from Saya’s journal and what Musa wrote at the end, she pointed her staff at Barone, chanting,

Flame of dragon, fire of heart, wings of desire, grant me my wish

FLAME WHIP

A flame whip emerged from Morgana’s hand, attacking Barone. Quickly jumping, Barone managed the first attack. However, when Morgana pulled her whip backwards, she managed to hit Barone, injuring him. Now with Morgana and Barone on the ground, the two of them faced one another.

They locked their eyes against upon each other. Preparing to attack, Morgana raised her whip, and hit everything in sight. To defend against this attack, Barone placed a barrier around himself.

With her whip unable to break the barrier, Morgana dissipated her flame whip. Seeing this, Barone took down his barrier. But to his surprise, an elbow quickly approached his face. Unable to dodge, Barone is squarely hit on his face with Morgana’s charging elbow. Lying down, he is unable to comprehend the speed of Morgana’s attack against him.

“I will not let you win.”, said a determined Morgana.

“Who gave you permission?”, said a frustrated Barone.

“No one.”, said Morgana.

Barone, preparing against Morgana, summoned Earth Blades in both of his arms. Now, he is the one on the offense. Dashing towards Morgana, he proceeded to attack her. With his speed, he managed to corner the sorcerer. Unable to attack, Morgana simply dodged every attack against her.

With quick thinking, Morgana summoned multiple Fire Orbs, and launched them as she was evading the attacks of her opponent. Motioning her hands during the attack, she shouted,

FIRE BULLET

Multiple mini fire orbs attacked Barone, giving him pause. With this opening, Morgana elbowed Barone right in his chest knocking him a few centimeters away from Morgana. Pouring her magical energy into her fists, she surrounded her hands with flames. With enhanced fists, Morgana struck Barone, pushing him a few centimeters into the ruins.

Panting, she stood before Barone. With a smile, she told him,

“Are you as tough as your reputation?”, taunted Morgana.

“You cheeky brat. I’ll make sure that Merlock has one less grandchild.”, said Barone.

“Or maybe the bandits won’t have their leader?”, said Morgana

“If anyone of us will fall, it is going to be you”, said Barone.

After their exchange, Barone stood up, ready to fight. His arrogant smirk, now gone, was replaced with an expression of frustration and anger towards his opponent. Morgana on the other hand, still has the eyes of determination against her opponent. Now, determined to crush his enemy, Barone channeled his energy. He chanted,

Gaia, aid me. Give me your power. Assist me in my times. Provide me with your will

EARTH MAGIC: HEAVY DUST

With heavy dust surrounding the battlefield, Morgana’s vision is limited. Suddenly, a fist met her face. Punched a few centimeters away, Morgana hit a small tree.

That hurts. This guy is relentless, thought Morgana

Raising his staff, Barone yelled,

Gaia, provide me your blades, your strong and steady will and your blessing. Stab my enemies

EARTH MAGIC: SPIKES

Multiple spikes were formed from different materials. With each aimed towards Morgana, she chanted,

Flame of dragon, fire of heart, wings of desire, grant me my wish

FLAME WHIP

With the flame whip, Morgana cut off the spikes targeting her. However, there were still spikes of earth remaining. With danger coming her way, Morgana jumped sideways to evade the remaining spikes. With Morgana simply dodging on time, the spikes hit the ruins and the trees behind her.

Morgana turned her gaze towards Barone. Deciding to use her physical strength against Barone, she dashed towards him. With her eyes glowing, she fired up her fists with magical flames. Attacking Barone, she went on the offense.

Seeing Morgana’s flame enhanced fists, Barone chanted,

Strength of the earth, Blessings of Gaia, Give me your shield

EARTH ARMOR

Now covered in Earth, Barone matched Morgana’s attack blow for blow. Fists meet rock, Fire meets Earth, Sorcerer meets Bandit. Evenly matched, the two traded blow for blow, with neither one gaining advantage over the other. For someone like Barone, this is unacceptable, and wanting to defeat the young sorcerer, he decided to use more of his magical energy.

Using magical energy, Barone’s Earth Armor grew spikes, making it harder for Morgana to attack him, while giving Barone an advantage on his attacks. With his spikes, Barone got more aggressive, increasing the pace and speed of his attacks. Although Morgana managed to dodge some of Barone’s attacks, the spikes in his Earth Armor had managed to pierce her. Sensing that she is losing the battle, Morgana summoned a Fire Orb, and directed it towards Barone.

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BOOM

The resulting attack temporarily gave Barone pause. Sensing a way out, Morgana quickly retreated away from the fight. With Morgana retreating, Barone taunted,

“Did you say you are going to be the strongest sorcerer in the world, so why aren’t you facing me head-to-head, coward”.

Despite the taunts of Barone, Morgana simply stayed silent.

“I expected more from Merlock’s granddaughter. Maybe your mother…”

Upon hearing the word ‘mother’, Morgana went furious, her eyes full of rage. Pouring her energies into her fists, she shouted,

FIRE STRIKE LEVEL 3

The sudden burst of attack knocked Barone off his feet. With fury, Morgana kicked Barone hard, sending him into a wall. The impact of the attack caused the wall to break, causing more injuries to Barone.

“Never invoke my mother in vain!”, yelled an angry Morgana.

Morgana’s eyes glowed with such intense anger that could put some fear in people like Barone. With intense flame in her, Morgana summoned a huge fire orb, and chucked it straight at Barone, who quickly dodged the attack.

FIRE ORB LEVEL 4

BOOM

The resulting explosion damaged the forest behind the ruins, causing great fire. With a large fire behind him, Barone realized that by taunting Morgana, he gave her an advantage. Furious, Barone summoned Earth Orbs and aimed it at the flames to slow it down

EARTH ORB LEVEL 5 x10

Ten Earth Orbs connected with the flames in the forest, putting it out. However, due to the lack of focus on his opponent, Morgana swiftly elbowed Barone. With great force behind the attack, Barone was launched several meters away from Morgana.

Clutching his chest, Barone slowly stood up and gave a look of anger and despair at his opponent. Frustrated at his own folly, Barone decided to attack with more caution. Once again, Barone placed Spiky Earth Armor on himself. Anticipating Morgana’s attack, he assumed a defensive position.

Barone’s instinct was correct, since Morgana decided to go on the offensive, arming her fists with magical flames. Unlike the previous skirmish, this time the two fighters are somewhat evenly matched, despite the spikes from Barone’s armor

Wondering why Morgana is somehow keeping up with him, Barone noticed something on her arms. He saw that the sorcerer’s arms are covered in flames, ensuring that the spikes won’t harm her. With this information, Barone decided to attack her legs. Adding spikes on his knees, he attacked Morgana’s legs. When the spikes collided with Morgana’s legs, it managed to pierce her, causing wounds on her legs. But never the one to let an opportunity slide, Morgana punched Barone’s face.

The resulting collision resulted in Barone and Morgana falling to their knees. Unfortunately for Morgana, she fell on her injured knee, causing her great pain. Unwilling to scream at her opponent, Morgana simply gritted the pain and stood up, ready to fight.

“You will not defeat me. I made a promise to be the greatest, and a simple bandit lord won’t defeat me.”, declared Morgana.

“You little brat. I will end you”, said Barone.

“You’re also in a bad shape, bandit, how will you end me?”, said Morgana.

“Prepare to lose”, said Barone.

“You need to say that to yourself.”

“You rookies are too confident. You haven’t faced the real world yet.”

“I know.”

Barone is frustrated. He, the prideful bandit lord is being matched by a rookie sorcerer. His Earth Magic being matched by her Fire Magic. So far, he thinks that he was simply underestimating his opponent, but now that he is fighting seriously, he isn’t sure if he is going to win.

On the other hand, Morgana herself is closer to her limits. When she attacked Barone, she anticipated a weakened opponent, someone who is wounded in a previous, but the bandit is still standing, strong as ever. Unlike her opponent, Morgana has no doubts. She is driven to win after reading Saya’s journal and after the bandits attacked Kuldro. Remembering what happened to Saya and Musa, Morgana’s eyes glowed.

Upon looking at his opponent, Barone felt fear. Shivering at himself, for the first time after many years. Feeling desperation, he drew out his staff, pointed it towards Morgana, and yelled,

Gaia, provider of life, give us your strength and force. Turn our opponents into dust

EARTH MAGIC: CRUSHING FISTS

Two large fists emerged from the ground, targeting Morgana. The sorcerer, although exhausted, yelled,

WALL OF FIRE

The Wall of Fire blocked the attack of Barone, slowly halting the momentum of the fists. When the Fists were unable to move, Morgana quickly dispelled the Wall of Fire and jumped through the air. With a clear view of her opponent, she chanted,

Great dragon of yore, provide me with your breath, destroy everyone who defies my way

DRAGON BREATH

With a large burst of fire emerging from her mouth, Morgana’s attack has the power to defeat Barone. Sensing the danger if he gets hit, Barone dodged the attack, and with his Earth Armor, launched spikes towards his opponent. Upon seeing the spikes, Morgana stopped her Dragon Breath and simply launched Fire Orbs to counter the spikes.

With the resulting collision, debris has filled up the sky in the battlefield. Landing on the ground with great pain, Morgana prepared herself for a surprised attack. She chanted,

Flames of the furnace, flames of the stars, flames of molten core, provide me with protection

FLAME ARMOR

Just after she activated her Flame Armor, Barone’s fist is on her sight. However, the timely activation of Morgana’s armor stopped the attack and managed to inflict an injury to Barone. Countering this attack, Morgana punched Barone with her flame armor. Hitting Barone straight into his chest, Morgana managed to knock him down.

Looking at her opponent, Morgana saw that her opponent has no armor. Still wary of him, Morgana deactivated her armor but retained portions of it on her arms and legs. The injured and wounded Barone slowly got himself up. With heavy frustration on his part, Barone wondered as to why he cannot defeat a mere rookie sorcerer.

“Why won’t you go down”, yelled a furious Barone.

“Because you attacked innocent people and killed someone’s wife. I will stop you.”, declared Morgana.

“How dare you be condescending towards me!”, said Barone.

With a loud yell, Barone covered himself in rocky armor. Dashing towards Morgana, he went on the offensive. Punch after punch, kick after kick, he failed. Unlike before, his opponent is much more focused and much more prepared against his attacks. In his frustration, Barone is starting to slip, his previous precise attacks became more sloppy and less accurate.

Although Barone’s attacks were weaker and sloppier, his defense is still as strong as ever. Morgana cannot find an opportunity for a finishing blow against her opponent. Her counter attacks still cannot get past Barone’s rocky armor. But noticing a small drip on his waist, Morgana realized that Barone may have a weakness, and may be put down.

Deciding on her next move, Morgana poured magical energy on her elbow, and encased it magical flames. Despite her injured knee, she leapt towards Barone, and yelled,

FIRE STRIKE: ELBOW

THUD

With enough force behind the attack to Barone, Morgana managed to knock him a few centimeters. However, Barone stood still, although weakened, he did not fall. Laughing, he taunted Morgana.

“Hahahahahahahahahaha. So, you’re getting weaker.”

While he is gloating, Morgana summoned a Fire Orb and swung it towards Barone, who easily evaded it. Upon dodging the attack Barone decided to go on the offense to defeat Morgana. Wanting to conserve her magical energy, she did not enhance her fists with fire, instead countering Barone’s attack with a flurry of punches and open palm strikes. After that attack, an exhausted Morgana decided to retreat, after pouring dirt on Barone’s eyes. Upon opening his eyes, Barone saw his opponent’s staff aimed at him. Morgana chanted,

Flames of the dragon, spray my enemies with fire. Destroy them all

FLAME BULLET

Small Fire Orbs emerged to attack Barone. To evade this, Barone placed another barrier to protect him. Although some of the fire orbs hit the bullet, it appears that others missed their mark. Sensing the opportunity, Barone summoned another large Earth Orb, intent on finishing Morgana off.

EARTH ORB LEVEL 5

With the orb targeting her, Morgana pointed her staff towards a wall, and chanted,

Great dragon of yore, provide me with your breath, destroy everyone who defies my way

With the momentum of her Dragon Breath, she managed to reach Barone, and with using her healthy leg, she kicked Barone towards the forest. Upon crashing to a small tree, Barone failed to notice a small paper in him catching sparks of fire from the tree. After a short struggle to stand, Barone was smiling. He saw the exhaustion from Morgana’s face. Now, with the intent of killing her, Barone charged when,

BOOM

Barone suddenly fell. Slowly approaching him, Morgana said,

“I did it.”

“What do you mean?”

“It was simple really. Before I got here, one of your exploding tags fell into my pockets. Luckily for me, that pocket appears to be fire-proof, but when I noticed your small wound in your abdomen, I placed that tag when I was attacking you with my normal punches and strikes.”

“What about the fire?”

“Easy, those small fire bullets were already some of the trees behind you. You noticed that I did not aim at your barrier. I had to throw you off by sending some attacks towards that.”

“And when I hit the tree.”

“Bingo, the flame managed to connect with the exploding tag.”

Why does it hurt so much though? I wonder what happened?

Then it hit Barone. The first scratch by Musa. Although it was not as large as his other scratches, this one is deep. Now only realizing it, Morgana placed the tag inside his deep wound during one of her open palm strikes.

Unable to stand up, Barone can only close his eyes as Morgana aimed her staff at him. Aiming at his now open deep wound, she yelled,

King of fire, Give me your power. Heat of the sun, incinerate my enemies

FIRE BLAST

And with that attack, Barone was knocked out.

BARONE DEFEATED.