Velia's return immediately changed the pressure of the field. The shadows that had previously stirred in a scattered manner began to organize themselves, drawing back their presence.
"Our Velia has returned."
"We will help—"
"Step back, now."
An absurd amount of mana poured out of her body, and both Enrico and Siena noticed that her power had increased. Enrico perceived something different, as Velia's level was strangely higher than that of the previous two.
'System, why are the previous ones' levels similar to the story, but hers is higher?'
[Well, we can say that the constellations wanted a bit more difficulty, so they made her evolve while she was away.]
'…you're a bunch of bastards.'
The environment of the dark zone reacted to the concept of umbra like a living, dense substance that, incredibly, accumulated in the fissures of space. Even still at the fifth circle, Velia already demonstrated sufficient conceptual mastery to make the darkness itself respond to her will.
"Why is your level higher?"
"Princess, could it be that Lord Enrico—?"
As Elowyn and Narisse stood confused, thinking that Enrico had made a mistake with the levels he gave the guardians, Siena explained what she had felt when the guardian was launched upward.
"It seems she evolved during—"
"Wait, she evolved? But shouldn't she just be an illusion?"
With doubts, she looked at Enrico, who had his eyes tightly closed and an irritated expression. It seemed he knew what had happened and was quite furious. He looked at her and raised two fingers as a sign that it was better to move away.
"It's better for you and Narisse to leave, because this zone only withstands a fixed level, so it will be destroyed."
"I don't care, you and Siena are in front of me."
[She's right.]
'If you don't shut up, I'll kill you.'
Velka felt it in her body even before realizing it with her eyes. The air grew heavier as the shadows spread through it. Her body, however, did not retreat, as her muscular, skeletal, and nervous structure brought her close to a near sixth-circle level in pure physical performance.
"It's strange, but I don't feel fear even with your level increasing."
Each beat of her heart now seemed synchronized with her body, as if it had begun to adapt to its own rhythm to survive in that new and more hostile environment.
Velia advanced, partially dissolving into shadow before reappearing right above Velka's head. The attack came in the form of compressed umbra blades, descending at nearly impossible angles from her arms.
Velka reacted by instinct, twisting her torso and shifting her weight quickly, letting the blades pass just centimeters from her skin. Their impact against the ground opened deep cracks, as if the floor itself had been corroded.
'I'll use all my strength in this attack and see where it goes.'
Velka responded not with technique, but with pure brute force. Her feet crushed the ground as she closed the distance in a straight line, fist clenched, muscles strained to their limit.
"Second technique: charged punch."
Velia raised a barrier of shadows in response, but the impact pierced part of the defense, sending shockwaves that tore the umbra into unstable fragments. The collision forced both of them to retreat several meters apart.
'I can't believe I'm using everything against someone without mana… calm down, I can still win, and maybe she really isn't the weakest among them.'
If that was true, then this fight was more worthy than she had thought. Who cares if the opponent has no mana? As long as they are strong and earn merit by fighting her, that would be perfect. Preparing her next spell, she covered her entire body with mana.
"You are strong, I admit it."
"Thank you for the compliment, but I must sincerely thank my savior, so I'll try to end this quickly."
"That was very arrogant for someone who was afraid at the beginning."
Velia snorted as her opponent below took a stance to continue her attack. She had an ability to instill fear in her opponent, but it wasn't working on Velka, so Velia began shaping the darkness around her in her favor, creating shadowy arms in the air, threads extending like branches through space, and something in her hand still transforming.
"Umbra space: fatal strike."
Disappearing from her opponent's sight, Velia managed to strike Velka in the right ribs with a spear of condensed umbra in her hand.
"Gahh!"
The pain was immediate and deep, tearing through muscles and ripping skin. The impact hurled Velka against a partially formed column of solid shadows. Even so, incredibly, she did not fall.
'No.'
The body reacted before the mind, planting her feet into the ground and absorbing part of the damage with a twist of her torso. Blood flowed, but the next movement already came loaded with a counterattack.
With speed, her shoulder slammed into Velia, breaking the flow of shadow manipulation in the air for an instant. The physical impact was enough to cause fissures in the umbral structure enveloping Velia's body, revealing that despite the powerful concept, she was still limited by the fifth circle.
"Aaahh… you annoying girl, give up already."
"I say the same."
With arms raised, Velia released a ball of mana toward her face while Velka kicked her in the stomach. Both were thrown to opposite sides with force, causing cracks in the umbra zone. Breathing heavily, both stood up. The injured part of Velka was bleeding heavily.
'Damn, I'm bleeding too much… what do I do? If this continues—'
She directed her gaze toward Enrico and saw him raise both hands slightly and use the left to make a deep cut in the muscle of the right. Pressing the muscles of the wounded hand, he seemed to stop the bleeding. With her eyes shining, she began to do the same, and her bleeding stopped for a moment.
'My new savior is incredible.'
Looking at her opponent, she prepared to launch herself into the attack again, but the shadows began to stir more violently. Velia had decided to push her magic beyond the ideal.
"Ideal Night."
The umbra began to condense over a wide area, creating a pseudo-night within the combat zone. Light seemed to be swallowed, and even the vibrations of space were muffled.
"From now on, within this domain, I will have every advantage, Velka."
Hearing her opponent say her name, she felt that now she was truly being respected. With a smile that made Enrico, outside the zone, feel a little proud, she took a stance to defend against the next attack.
"Even so, I will win, Velia."