Poison blades were forming on Narisse's arms, and in the next instant two curved, translucent extensions about thirty centimeters long each pulsed in dark purple tones. The color of her arms had turned purple. According to what Enrico mentioned, his weakness would be the resonance core with the cathedral, located near the heart.
'I think these blades are capable of resisting… saying thank you to him would be difficult.'
The poison did not drip or evaporate; it vibrated, reacting to the cathedral's frequencies, trying to adapt to the hostile rhythm of the environment. There was also a skill within that magic, because it was not magic by itself.
"Ego Weapon: Hydra's Fangs"
Without hesitation, Narisse charged forward, her body leaning ahead, using a burst of poison magic behind her back as propulsion. Sliding between the invisible sound waves spreading through the air and ground, she launched the first strike from bottom to top, followed by a second in a horizontal arc.
'Activate skill—'
The blades cut through the air, but did not find Aurélius's flesh. Instead, they crashed against a condensed sonic wall, as solid as stone. The impact generated a sharp vibration that ran through Narisse's arms, making her muscles tremble.
"Aaahh"
"Die."
Aurélius moved his hand, and a single deep note echoed like pressure—crushing pressure. The air in front of him folded, creating columns of resonance that rose from the white floor of the cathedral.
"Sonic Pressure"
"Damn it."
Narisse was forced to retreat, twisting her body to avoid having her bones crushed by the sonic compression, but even so, part of the poison from her blades was torn away, dispersed into particles that dissolved upon contact with the dominant frequencies of the place. Her opponent had a total advantage because of the terrain.
'He's a complete monster, so I need to change my strategy a bit.'
Altering her movements slightly, Narisse began to spread poison across the ground. A second later, a vaporous form began to emerge and thicken, until a mass of toxic smoke detached itself from the floor.
"Advanced Poison Monster: Vanos"
The monster emerged silently, a dense mist entity with eight long, irregular arms, each ending in misshapen claws. This was a magic of her family that Velka had tried to copy in the past. The creature advanced rapidly, obeying Narisse's will and spreading poison in all directions while attacking Aurélius from multiple angles with its extending arms.
"Cathedral Reaction"
With quick movements of his arms, Aurélius snapped his fingers, causing a violent reaction in the cathedral. The vibrations changed rhythm, accelerating. When Vanos was struck by all those overlapping sound waves, each of its arms was torn apart by constant frequencies. Turning his head indifferently, he began to search for Narisse with his gaze.
'So where is she now—'
Before he could act, to his surprise, Vanos continued advancing and partially regenerating at every moment, even using its own poison as structural glue. Two arms managed to touch Aurélius's sonic defense, leaving purple stains that began to slowly corrode the acoustic order.
'Wait, it managed to corrode my magic?'
For the first time, Aurélius took a step back. The space behind him reorganized, forming an arc of resonance that amplified his notes. A new, broader hand gesture made the entire cathedral respond once more.
"Fragment"
The ground fragmented into suspended plates, vibrating with forced harmony, causing Vanos to shatter into dozens of toxic fragments. Narisse, who had been hiding behind the smoke monster, took advantage of that instant.
'This is my chance, and I won't waste it.'
She ran alongside the falling remains of Vanos, using its dispersion as cover. The poison blades were reinforced, now thicker, and a third blade was formed with the special ability of the ego weapon activated. A precise strike pierced the incomplete defense, hitting Aurélius's shoulder, and the poison made direct contact with the guardian's body.
'My ego weapon has the ability to multiply the effect of the poison according to how many blades I have, so this is going to hurt.'
The reaction was immediate. The notes around him became unstable—some failing, others entering dissonance. The space trembled. Aurélius dropped to one knee for a brief moment, surprise in his eyes, and sonic fissures spread through the cathedral like cracks in glass.
Narisse felt the poison take effect, corroding not only flesh but the very concept of sound that sustained that place. The ego weapon's ability was truly incredible in its capacity to multiply effects, and best of all, thanks to that weapon, the poison could affect magic.
'This victory is mine.'
Narisse released the strongest magic of her ego weapon, which she had been preparing for the entire last month. All the remaining poison in her body and on the ground was condensed into a single point, forming a long blade—almost a spear—made of solid smoke and pure toxin. Her body began to fail in the process, muscles tearing, lungs burning from the inside, because her ability was still not complete even after that entire month, but she advanced anyway.
'Hydra's Fangs, complete form.'
The strike pierced Aurélius's chest, reaching the resonance core and at the same time trying to pierce the heart that sustained his form. The entire cathedral seemed to scream in silence. Pillars collapsed, space lost its rhythm, and for an instant it seemed that everything would collapse.
Narisse's ego weapon had emerged earlier at the fifth circle because she herself had requested personal training with a knight, and it was exactly because of that that it was still incomplete and could only be used for a few moments. With a sigh, she pulled the poison blade out but did not move.
"…I admit that I would have lost if I hadn't moved my heart with my magic to a place where the resonance core was not."
Aurélius began to rise with difficulty while gripping Narisse's arms tightly, gathering the remaining notes in the air for a counterattack. He was about to unleash a blow capable of erasing Narisse completely from that place. With a cruel expression, he lifted his head, displaying his total arrogance, already certain of victory.
"Destructive Resonance"
Before the magic could be completed, two presences crossed the cathedral, abruptly silencing the sound and making the pressure disappear. With his arrogance growing, he looked at the two figures holding both of his arms.
"If you interrupted, then I won."
The final blow was interrupted by Elowyn and Enrico. The poison in the air slowly dissipated as the order of space stabilized. Narisse, with an expression of absolute disappointment, let her arms fall to the ground.
"Did I lose? I… I—"