Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Serena POV.
Ah… I really couldn't convince Riveria to break the contract. I could hear Bellatrix's smug laughter in my head before I silenced it.
I almost wanted to say it was all the fault of the compulsions of The Company seal, but the seal had just been placed; not enough time had passed for her feelings to deepen or for her to be strongly influenced, so it was all her decision.
"Alright, let's go somewhere more secluded so we can fight comfortably," I said simply as a portal opened behind me. "It's a bit far from Orario, we won't attract much attention if we fight there," I said, glancing at the Loki Familia.
"Tiona, Tione, go get all our weapons," Finn said, standing up and smiling; even he seemed excited for the fight. I almost sighed. I glanced at the Amazon twins, who didn't even answer; they simply ran out of the office.
"Do you prefer that I attack with magic or melee?" I asked curiously.
"Is there any difference?" Riveria asked, confused. I shrugged.
"I prefer and am stronger using magic, so if I go hand-to-hand, it's an advantage for you... All things considered," I said honestly.
"Don't hold back," Bete growled as his fur stood on end.
"I don't feel like killing you," I said dryly; Bete seemed offended.
"Don't hold back," Loki said seriously. I raised an eyebrow and shrugged.
"Then, here you go," I said as I raised my hand. "Trace On," I muttered to myself before projecting several partial Twice Criticals, enough so that each of them had one. I let each of them float in their direction.
"Looks like you're underestimating us," Finn said, not even seeming offended, as he grabbed and put on the Twice Critical. I just hummed softly without replying.
"Here we are!" Tiona said as they stormed into the office once again, this time carrying all their weapons. The entire Loki family quickly began preparing.
Then we crossed through the portal I had created. Finn was the first to cross, and the others followed without hesitation.
"We really travelled that far," Finn murmured, impressed, as he gazed into the distance where Orario looked dwarfed.
"Are you going to fight her in those conditions?" Rebecca asked, pointing behind me. I turned around and saw Bellatrix still clutching my tail. I just snorted and released her. Bellatrix whimpered in disappointment as she took a deep breath.
"I'll deal with you later." I huffed while glaring at her; she smiled broadly.
"I hope so." Bellatrix purred. I sighed.
"Stay back, Bellatrix, protect them and Loki," I said simply as I began to stroll away from the group. The Loki Familia group also started to follow me.
Finn, Riveria, Ais, Bete, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya. One fight against seven people. I stretched. Lightly and breathe deeply.
"I am the Root of all Mystery." I recited my chant calmly and let my demonic power burst forth. I could see everyone freeze and bristle. "Shall we begin?" I asked with a wild grin.
"Let's go!" Finn said firmly, utterly serious. As soon as he finished speaking, Finn, Ais, and Bete vanished from their spot and appeared in front of me. I projected Kanshou and Bakuya and grabbed them tightly. I unleashed my metals and thrust all my attributes above my opponents.
I moved faster than them, twisting my body. Kanshou stopped Finn's spear, Bakuya intercepted Ais's sword, and I raised my calf to block Bete's kick. My left foot was the only one on the ground, and yet none of the three were able to move me.
I flexed my arms and pushed the three of them back, just in time to jump to the side to dodge Tiona and Tione's attacks. I threw Kanshou in Riveria's direction. She just moved her staff to deflect the sword and make it stick in the ground.
I projected another Kanshou and stopped Bete's attack as he approached. Then I smiled, dropped my swords, and projected Bete's boots. Flosvirt. Mithril boots can absorb magic and increase the wearer's power.
Bete attacked me with a roundhouse kick straight to the head. I let the boots' experience wash over me and copied Bete's exact movements. Bete's eyes widened when he could finally see the boots on my legs and my movements clearly.
Then I started moving, increasing my speed to almost double that of Bete, letting the kicks fall on Bete's body, who was trying to defend himself with some success. I was about to hit him again when Finn appeared beside me.
I smiled and responded, Finn's Fortia spear, my spear began to spin at the same time as Finn's, as I adjusted my speed. Dozens of clashes happened in a few seconds as we moved in unison, almost like a mirror.
It was a little complicated; Finn's fighting style used his short height to his advantage, and I was almost twice as tall as he was, so I had to adapt slightly, but nothing that Emiya's experience couldn't solve.
I gradually began to increase my speed, gaining an advantage over Finn before lifting Fortia Spear to stop a beam coming from Riveria. Jump to the side to dodge Ais.
I moved Fortia Spear to clash with Ais's sword. I increased my strength enough to break Ais's stance for a second. Then I clapped my hands and struck the ground. Spears began to grow from the ground and surrounded me, causing everyone to retreat, or at least change direction, giving me the time to project my bow.
I projected Bakuya, modified it into an arrow, filled it with demonic power, and launched it in Ais's direction.
"Ariel!" Ais shouted as the wind began to envelop her. She faced Bakuya head-on, her sword clashing with the arrow and deflecting it. She smiled as the arrow continued its trajectory. It headed in the direction of Kanshou, right behind Lefiya, who was murmuring a long chant.
Lefiya's eyes opened slightly, but she never stopped reciting the word. Riveria stood in front of her.
"Protego!" To my surprise, Rivera moved her staff and intercepted Bakuya with a powered-up Protego. My sword clashed with her abnormally strong shield, but was repelled. At that moment, I used my bow to stop Tiona's downward strike. Her slender arms belied the enormous power behind them.
Especially if she used a weapon like that thing that looked like two enormous swords joined at the hilt. With a slight bend of magic, I created a Hrunting in its sword form, grabbed it with my tail, and swung it. Its effect took hold immediately, moving swiftly toward Tiona's weakest point.
Hrunting collided with a Protego once more, giving Tiona enough time to escape. Finn and Ais approached from both flanks once again. I twisted my entire body, dodging both blows, before projecting another pair of Kanshou and Bakuya.
I increased my speed to withstand their simultaneous onslaught. My swords clashed against Fortia. Spear and Desperate, the Durandal attribute of both made their weapons really tough, enough to crack Kanshou and Bakuya.
The moment they broke, I instantly projected my next weapons; in each of my hands were Narcissa's Scissor Blades. I could see the confused looks on Finn and Ais's faces, but the moment I started attacking again, they both reacted.
I threw my head back as a Diffindo passed by where my neck had been. I looked right at Riveria, who smiled almost petulantly. I flexed the Bakuya in the air that she had just rejected; it curved, turned around, and headed once again towards Lefiya.
I turned my body, dodging Tione's blow with her Kukris. Now I was defending myself hand-to-hand against three people. I saw Riveria cast a Protego to protect herself from Bakuya again. Before I looked back, I levitated the Kanshou stuck in the ground and, with a Depulso, sent it flying toward me.
I smiled slightly as I launched Kanshou into the air, tightened my grip on one of Scissor Blades' blades, and the sword practically vibrated as it opened and a second blade emerged from within. Decapitation. In that mode, the blade had doubled in size. I brought it down in a wide arc, trying to hit the three closest to me.
Finn ducked to dodge the attack, Ais jumped into the sky, and Tione tried to jump back, but she was too slow, or would have been if Riveria hadn't moved her staff, pushing Tione to the side out of range of my attack.
The Scissor Blade created a chasm in the ground dozens of meters long. Finn was still within range, barely flinching at the destruction, and his spear hurtled toward my neck. Ais grabbed her sword and swung it downward, sweeping away all the air around her. Bete appeared behind me at incredible speed, launching a kick toward my back.
It was truly impressive how well they all seemed to work together; none of them had to speak to fight with such skill without bumping into each other.
I smiled, moved my hand, and hundreds of spiderwebs of demonic power attached themselves to the three, abruptly stopping them in their tracks, causing them to open their eyes in shock. With another movement, the webs merged, binding the three together. I joined the Scissor Blades into a single pair of scissors; both grew in size and positioned themselves on either side of the trapped three.
I smiled broadly as I tightly closed the Scissor Blades. Tiona and Tione suddenly appeared, each positioning themselves beside a blade and intercepting the attack, digging their legs into the ground and trying to stop it.
I just pushed harder, easily pushing both Amazons away. I tried to move when I felt the magic behind me; I could feel the disarming charm pass by me. I saw Riveria in red, close enough to me as she cast a curse.
Relashio hit me on the shoulder; I could feel my fingers splay slightly before I could control my reaction—just enough for both twins to push the Scissor Blades in harder.
The trapped group had enough time to break free from my webs and attack again. I jumped back as I deflected the Scissor Blades.
To my surprise, none of them followed me. I turned my head as I felt the strong magical pulse. Riveria was back next to Lefiya, Riveria's magic circle on the ground enveloping everything around her.
Lefiya had her own circle while pointing her staff at me. Then I saw the moment when both of their Twice Critical abilities activated, and their magical power grew enormously.
"- My Name Is Alf! Wynn Fimbulvetr!" My eyes opened slightly at the enormous and extreme ice magic heading my way between Lefiya's Mage and Faery Cannon, which significantly increased her magic, plus Riveria's Alf Regina, which amplifies the magic of nearby elves, and Twice Critical.
Lefiya had just cast a spell on me with the strength of a level seven, even though she was only a level three.
I smiled broadly.
"Rho Aias!" The enormous seven-petaled shield appeared before me, halting the Wynn Fimbulvetr. I smiled broadly and maniacally. I ignored Rho Aias's cracking layers.
I could feel how my Reality Marble had perfectly analysed and replicated everything. The Wynn Fimbulvetr of Lefiya—no, of Riveria. The Alf Regina of Riveria. And incredibly, the circles of the Mage development skill allowed me to enhance and modify all my spells.
I smiled broadly. I felt Rho Aias lose three of its layers, and the ice began to freeze my hand, but I ignored it.
Not only could I copy the spells cast at me, but I could also copy passive abilities like Skills or development abilities. That was something I hadn't known, but it was a very welcome surprise.
There were a couple of conditions to meet, from what I could gather; I had to see the specific skill in action, which was easy when they all amplified Lefiya and Riveria's resulting magic power during the attack.
Mage and Faery Cannon were incredible; the amount of raw increase to any magic combined with those two was simply colossal, just like Alf Regina, although unfortunately, she couldn't use the actual effect of that Skill.
While Alf Regina increased my magical power, that magic would also strengthen all elves within the magic circle, but it wasn't something I could take advantage of at this time.
Oh, I knew how to modify it immediately; I could fill Alf Regina with demonic power and change it to increase the demonic power of devils in my vicinity, but it was still useless at this time.
Even so, the gains from those three skills were invaluable. My mind finally returned to the fight; I saw Rho Aias with only two layers remaining before Wynn Fimbulvetr vanished. I dropped my shield.
"Canon! Wynn Fimbulvetr!" My eyes widened as Lefiya launched the same attack once more. Luckily, my gaze had been drawn to her. Double Cannon—Lefiya was able to retain the magic circle and store it, reactivating it at any time. Perfect for a double blast, especially when the chants were so long.
Let new skills increase my magical power.
"Rho Aias!!" I shouted again. This time, Rho Aias seemed larger than before, more solid, more resolute. Lefiya's attack shattered the first layer before evaporating. I could see Lefiya's incredulous expression.
I smiled and clapped joyfully, and my arms became covered in tattoos. Before they could get any closer, I snapped my fingers, and the entire landscape was engulfed in flames. I could see Riveria using a Protego to protect everyone from the fire.
"It's time to level up!" I chirped, snapping my fingers repeatedly, bombarding Riveria's shield with increasingly powerful explosions as everything around it became a sea of flames.
Finally, her Protego shattered, forcing everyone to move. Ais stepped forward and used her Ariel, dispelling my flames. I grinned maniacally as I lunged forward.
" Tempest - Ariel!!" I exclaimed as the wind swirled around me. I appeared next to Ais, and my Ariel collided with hers, creating a blast of wind that pushed everyone around. I smiled as I looked at Ais's surprise.
I took out a few coins and tossed them in the air. My arm crackled with electricity, and I struck the coin. The Railgun shot out, breaking the sound barrier. I saw Riveria react impressively and place a Protego on Ais. But the shield shattered like paper.
Even so, Ais reacted quickly and narrowly dodged the railgun. I grabbed more coins and threw them into the air. I struck each coin with my alchemy, and dozens of railguns shot out in all directions toward my opponents.
As if they were one, they all activated Twice Critical, increasing their strength. Their speed increased enough to dodge the Railguns more easily. It was a shame; none of the three Skills were able to increase the power of my alchemy, so I immediately switched to normal magic. Dozens of circles were created around me.
I started laughing like a maniac as I began casting enhanced magic at everyone else. I threw a massive fireball in Ais's direction, a razor-sharp icicle in Finn's direction, massive amounts of lightning in Bete's direction, and more.
I stood still and began to move my hands as I started to manipulate magic with ease. I began to use enchantments, unleashing enormous slashes of Sectumsempra that cut through the ground. I created massive explosions with Bombarda and Confringo.
Everything around me was being destroyed without any care; I used the rubble to transfigure it into monsters and animals, and my tail flapped around them all, creating furious Schiavos.
The fight had utterly changed. Now they were all on the defensive, even with Twice Critical increasing their power. The amount of magic I was launching at a terrifying speed was too much for them; they couldn't even get close.
"-Rea Laevateinn!" I heard Riveria shout and watched as the ground began to redden, while enormous circles spread all around. Then everything exploded, and storms with pillars of fire erupted.
I took off into the sky with my wings, moved my hand and projected Riveria's staff, Magna Alfs, pointing it towards the ground.
" I am the Root of All Mystery! Wynn Fimbulvetr!" I unleashed a counterattack of Lefiya's attack, or rather, Riveria's spell, towards the ground.
I smiled broadly. My Reality Marble contained the entire circle within it, ready to be thrown, without preparation, without chanting, without anything. I didn't have to form the circle while chanting, because it already existed within my inner dimension. I only had to grasp it and use it whenever I wanted.
Faery Cannon, Alf Regina, Mage, and now, I was also able to copy the Fairy Anthem of Riveria, along with her staff, who amplified her magic; the power behind Wynn Fimbulvetr was far greater than the version Lefiya had used.
To my enormous surprise, Wynn Fimbulvetr was incredibly strong, not in the sense that it would be able to destroy an entire city with a single attack, but in the sense that it had just frozen Rea Laevateinn's damned flames somehow.
I saw all the faces in shock, I just smiled more maniacally, raised Riveria's staff once more and pointed it at the ground again.
"Rea Laevateinn!!" My magic circles replaced Riveria's and grew enormously, surpassing Riveria's to extend two, three, and almost five times larger. I began to place more and more magic into them-
"If you don't stop, you're going to kill them," Bellatrix's amused voice snapped me out of my reverie. I moved my hand and broke the magic circle with a snap, and took a deep breath. I approached the Loki Familia, who looked utterly exhausted.
"I guess the fight's over?" I asked with a small, crooked smile. Well… it was fun while it lasted, and I made a lot of money, so it was a huge win as far as I'm concerned.
Author's Notes: First, Merry Christmas! One more time! Now, as I said, I've been a bit busy this week and only managed to write this chapter, so I'm sorry!
Next week looks just as busy, so expect at least one chapter; I can't promise more at the moment!
That said, I hope you have a Happy New Year!!
A/N: If you liked the story, join my patreon, patreon.com/Camellya_Addams, there are up to 10 chapters in advance, thank you. Or you can also visit my Ko-Fi, ko-fi.com/camellya_addams.