The final zone of the Garden of Deep Return stretched like an irregular clearing, large enough to hold an entire village. Some trees were also present, but they were a bit farther away along with small rivers; even so, it was truly a strange place considering the bones, fertile soil, and other elements.
'This place is large, so I can try to use some good strategy.'
While Elowyn analyzed the terrain a bit more, Morgrin moved, crouching slightly. The golden sword in his hand elongated in a single instant, turning into a wide and heavy blade that the princess barely dodged. Soon after, Morgrin advanced in a straight line, without detours, using the terrain itself as a test. Each step crushed the ground, which reformed right behind him.
'Let's see if you can back up your words, successor.'
"Long golden sword."
Elowyn responded by creating three long swords that floated in front of her, positioned at different angles. The blades did not advance, as they served as a control zone for her, and with her hand she began to converge them. Without slowing down, Morgrin changed his weapon again, turning it into a short spear that he would use to pierce the space between the swords before they could converge.
"King's piercing spear."
The impact forced Elowyn to retreat two steps. She spun her arm and the swords separated, one descending in a diagonal slash while another turned into a narrow shield to block the tip of the spear. The third blade dissolved and reappeared behind Morgrin, trying to strike him from behind.
'They are good moves, but still lacking.'
Morgrin rotated his body, releasing the spear in the process. The weapon broke apart before being struck, and a new one appeared in his right hand, now a double-bladed axe. He intercepted the rear attack with a short spin, using only the necessary strength.
Elowyn took advantage of the moment to advance. Her weapons quickly reorganized into two short swords in both hands and a long blade floating above, ready to descend.
She attacked in sequence, alternating height with the long blade at the head and rhythm with the two short swords, forcing Morgrin to change the form of his weapon repeatedly—small for speed, large for defense.
'My ancestor is someone difficult to break the rhythm of, even with my constant attempts.'
"Golden sword… shield."
The axe turned into a sword, then a shield, then a hybrid weapon, always at the last instant. Each transformation was precise, without wasting mana; he truly was a genius. The garden was the one taking the most damage from the intense exchange of blows—trunks were cut as they passed and soon regenerated, rivers diverted for seconds from the shock before returning to their original course.
"King's golden stakes."
Morgrin took a lateral step and drove the weapon into the ground. The blade spread into dozens of golden stakes that emerged from the soil around Elowyn. She jumped, creating mana platforms under her feet, using them to gain height while continuing to shape her plan, which would give her satisfaction.
'This move will show my consort that I will surpass him if we are at the same level.'
In the air, Elowyn gathered enough mana to form a golden bow. A single arrow was fired—compact, extremely dense—along with an arrogant smile directed at her consort. Seeing that, Enrico snorted; his bow was better and more powerful, without a doubt.
'So what if she has many weapons and battle styles? I'm still better with my training.'
[Why this sudden jealousy?]
'I don't know, I just want to stay superior to her.'
She seemed a little satisfied by his expression, but even like that, she was of course paying full attention to her ancestor—no way she would take her focus off him. Morgrin raised a circular shield that absorbed the impact, but he was pushed several meters back, opening a trail in the regenerative soil.
'Now the next part of the plan.'
Morgrin wasted no time. The shield turned into a thin blade, almost invisible, and he advanced at sudden speed, using the terrain to hide the angle of attack. Elowyn descended at the same time, creating a long spear to intercept him.
"Precision blade."
"Golden spear."
The weapons collided at the center of the clearing, the tip of Morgrin's sword striking the tip of the spear. The resulting pressure made the nearest trees tilt violently, and both were thrown to opposite sides.
'It's almost done, just a little more.'
Elowyn landed sliding, using blades under her feet to reduce the impact. Morgrin drove the sword into the ground to stop his own movement. Neither of them seemed injured, but the mana consumption was visible in the irregular density of the weapons created next.
Changing his approach, Morgrin instead of advancing began creating multiple small weapons around his body, using them as controlled projectiles.
'She's worse than me in close combat, so I'll drag her into that.'
He went into close combat, since that was the fighting style in which he had the advantage over her. His small weapons moved in alternating patterns while he attacked with two swords in hand—some fast, others slow—forcing Elowyn to divide her attention between defense and repositioning.
'As Enrico said, he is very good at magic creation.'
Backing away from the weapons that managed to make some light cuts on her skin, Elowyn responded by creating a single large weapon—a wide blade, almost as tall as she was. Instead of attacking, she used it as a core, fragmenting the edge into dozens of smaller blades that spun around, intercepting the projectiles one by one.
'Copying me? Well, we have the same magic, so in a way it makes sense.'
Even though she managed to defend against those attacks, she was still at a disadvantage when it came to fighting with swords or any other weapon he could create. Wherever she went, he pursued her immediately, giving her no space to launch long-range attacks.
"Golden slash."
"Reflective golden shield."
With a strike from his sword that was defended by Elowyn's shield, the ground split open, roots were severed, and ancient bones resurfaced before being swallowed again. As her shield had the ability to reflect, Morgrin was thrown backward with damage focused mainly on his hand, with two fingers of his left hand flying away—exactly what she wanted.
'Now I'll be able to push him away a bit, and if he comes closer, that disadvantage is his.'
Finally, Elowyn put her plan into action. That entire zone took on a golden color, even parts of the air itself. With a smile on her face, she had completed her magic.
'Now this space is controlled by me.'