*Please Read the Author's Note before reading the chapter*
I froze at her words, running through my memory until I recalled the spell. Dispel Magic was branded as a neutral spell, meaning it didn't have any particular attribute. It attacked the magic of a spell, disrupting the flow of mana and countering or destroying it. The unseen battle pitted the casters' souls against each other, meaning weaker mages were powerless before anyone of strength who learned it.
Although fourth-circle spells had a long cast time, I couldn't do anything against it. My Aegis spell was growing weak against the combined assault of Kirla and Niece, and I had to place all my concentration on maintaining it. It was incredible already; it had lasted so long against such strong opponents.
The Dispel Magic fell upon me suddenly, seizing control of my spells. In the blink of an eye, it found vulnerabilities in my magic, and tore them apart. The spell went through three of my spells, only running out of power when it clashed against the third-circle Fortunate Parry, which negated several melee attacks. As I tried to recast the Aegis, I encountered the secondary effect of Dispel Magic: a disruptive field. The chaotic maelstrom of rent spells was still dispersing, preventing me from using magic for a short while. It was only a few seconds, but that was enough for them.
"Fire Sword!"
I fell back as Kirla's sword erupted into fire. She advanced, slashing several times. Her cuts lingered in the air until the spell finished, then exploded into fire. While the Fortunate Parry blocked her physical attacks, the intense heat brought a cry to my lips as my skin reddened with blisters.
At the same time, a dozen magic arrows strafed the ground around me. They were created with wind magic, and faded away the instant they collided with something, but the damage was just as real. Flinging myself out of the way, I avoided most of them. A few scraped the edges of my body, leaving long bloody gouges in my flesh, and one pierced my bicep.
I stumbled back, trailing blood and fought to keep the tears from clouding my vision. The pain was great, but still manageable. Both attacks were exceptionally powerful, but also gave me an opportunity. As they recovered from launching the attacks, I felt the mana clear up around me and surrounded myself with an Aegis.
I was dimly aware that the pain was fading away. Surprised, I looked down to see the burns disappearing at a pace visible to the eye. The blood streaming down my body also slowed, although the serious wounds healed much slower. Was this the effect of Soltair's ability?
With the edge taken off the pain, I renewed all the spells once more, shielding myself from all their attacks.
"This again?" Rochelle laughed. "I guess you never learn. Dispel magic!"
I looked up as she cast, meeting her eyes. "I learn faster than you can imagine. At the rate you cast, it's amazing no one else has done this to you before."
"What?" her eyes widened as I waved my hand, crafting a complete imitation of her unfinished Dispel Magic. "Impossible!"
As the four magic circles finished, I pushed them toward her, wrapping her up and targeting her magic. Spell after spell cracked and broke before me, filling the air around her with brilliant fireworks. It seemed she hadn't been idle either, and had cast more than enough support spells since the battle began.
Her eyes widened in shock and she screamed as a sharp crack echoed through the arena. Her staff shivered, then exploded, covering her in thousands of wooden shards. Beads of blood gathered on her skin as the shrapnel layered thousands of small cuts on her exposed flesh, drawing another rich scream from her lips.
I was taken aback at the reaction. Was Dispel Magic supposed to affect magic items? A sudden horror closed in on me as I looked at her bloodied body. I looked nervously at the slave crest, afraid it might trigger, but all was quiet. I couldn't hold back a long sigh of relief. Looks like she wasn't part of the church.
"How dare you!" Kirla screamed, renewing her assault with vicious fervor. "I'll kill you!"
"..." Niece's cold eyes burned with fury as she joined the assault. Both unleashed magical and mundane attacks in short sequence, sending me staggering back.
After casting a fourth-circle spell, my energy was nearly depleted, and I doubted for how long I could hold my defenses. Still, I wasn't entirely out of options.
"Mana Cycle." This second-circle spell recycled the mana released into the air whenever magic was thrown around. With how many spells were cast during the duel, the air was rich with expended mana. It flowed in streams visible only to the Eyes of Fate toward me, slowly filling my soul with warmth. The spell wasn't too powerful, only restoring me about half way, but it was enough to sustain my active magic.
At the same time I was feeling renewed, the elven slaves seemed to begin to tire. The fight had extended for several minutes longer than they must have anticipated, and they hardly paced themselves at all, especially after the incident with Rochelle.
"Why won't you die?" Kirla screamed, pounding against the Aegis. "You're so weak. So why won't it break?"
I looked past her at the fight between heroes. While things were coming to a standstill here, their fight had only gotten more intense. Soltair fought enshrouded by a brilliant light. Although I hated to admit it, the blinding rays made me uncomfortable, bringing a twinge of fear to me. Ronin was filled with a bloody red light, wielding a sword and spear in either hand. Every clash of their weapons shook the colosseum. Each of their spells filled their body with more mana than I could muster at once, allowing them to throw four and fifth-circle spells around with ease. What could I possibly do amid such monsters?
The familiar powerlessness settled over me. Although I had withstood the onslaught of his harem, the heroes themselves were on another level entirely. Was I really meant to be one of them? If I could muster some attacking spells, I wouldn't fall far behind. My magic was clearly more powerful than almost anyone else's, but I was bound and restrained by divine law. I had once tried to cast a fireball, but before I was halfway through, a tremendous suppression, countless times stronger than the Pope's, seized me. The experience scared me so much I hadn't touched magic for a few days after.
"Take this!"
I jumped as Kirla appeared behind me, taking advantage of my distracted thoughts to ready a powerful attack. Her sword sparked with the power of a fourth-circle spell, and I immediately regretted allowing her to get close to me.
"Explosive Strike!" she cried, stabbing at my chest. Her sword caught on the Aegis spell, and all the sparks running along its length collected at the tip.
I barely had time to close my eyes before the magic was unleashed, and a tremendous roar shook the area. The Aegis shattered and I was thrown back, rolling across the ground several times before I came to a stop. I coughed weakly, hacking up a few thick clots of blood and felt at my chest. Fortunately, her sword had been pushed aside by the explosion, but the real damage had been done. My dress was scorched to shreds and my skin was cracked and blistered. Blackened flesh surrounded the slave crest, which was at the center of the explosion, radiating out till it filled half my body. If it weren't for Soltair's ability, I likely would have died on the spot.
"Careless," I muttered between pained gasps. My vision wavered, and I nearly blacked out. It would be so easy to give up now. He didn't need me. I couldn't help him even if he did.
"Xiviyah!"
I flickered back as Soltair's desperate cry reached my ears. I struggled to my knees and saw him running toward me, disregarding his fight with the War Hero. Ronin smiled and raised his hand, and a tremendous amount of mana gathered within him. i gasped in shock as the magic circles began to appear. A sixth-circle spell! I tried to warn Soltair, to tell him to stay away, but my body wouldn't react. The sky darkened as the spell competed, and a massive magic circle appeared in the sky.
"Meteor!"