This magic of Elowyn was capable of controlling the entire zone marked by her magic. This control granted the ability to move some golden parts and drain mana around to increase the attack capacity of her magic, in addition to being able to recover her mana every minute.
"Golden blade rain."
A concentration of mana was created throughout the area, transforming the very air into blades. With the movement of her hand, the blades gathered as if they were a giant curtain, trying to cover her opponent.
Morgrin advanced through the curtain of blades, using a short weapon to reduce exposure time. He struck the core of the weapon Elowyn held in her hand, forcing her to retreat and dissolve the structure before it was destroyed.
'Golden sword.'
Creating a new sword in her hand, Elowyn advanced, striking her sword against Morgrin's. Each blow was calculated, and no attack was wasted by either of them. Elowyn began to concentrate more mana into fewer creations, such as daggers trying to pierce his back or a hammer attempting to strike his head. Morgrin noticed the change and responded in the same way, reducing variety and increasing density.
'Clever, very clever. I want to see how far she goes.'
The next clash between the swords made the air vibrate. The pressure accumulated in the center of the clearing pushed both to the limit of the fifth circle. The garden reacted more intensely, accelerating the regeneration of everything around. Morgrin felt his evolution very close, but that was not what he wanted.
'I am here to see my successor, not to evolve as a mere illusion that I am.'
He had no intention of evolving, so he placed a seal on himself, temporarily blocking his circle, as he had done before with other successors without them noticing. Elowyn took a step forward, the golden mana around her began to condense differently—more compressed and less dispersed. With a small smile, Morgrin stepped back a few steps, noticing the change.
'She may have a rotten soul, but I feel that there are people she cares about, and it seems the kingdom as well.'
He glanced at Enrico and Narisse before returning his attention to his successor. Elowyn's mana reorganized abruptly, stable, heavy, and finally explosive, releasing an amount of mana that made Enrico snort again, this time with a bit of envy at the quantity of her mana.
'Damn prodigies.'
[If you look at it that way, you're a prodigy too.]
Elowyn had unlocked the sixth circle, and now her confidence had increased. The plan she had devised was fulfilled, because now Morgrin had a smaller amount of mana while she had evolved and restored much of hers.
'This is the moment to end this.'
The golden sword in her hand became simple and absolute, free of ornaments or instability, as if all the mana had found a perfect form. Elowyn advanced only once, without hesitation. Appearing right in front of him, she immediately felt proud upon seeing the proud expression of her ancestor.
"Queen's charge."
Even with his guard raised, the blow broke through Morgrin's defense with clean precision, sending his sword flying away and stopping the blade a few centimeters from his neck. She declared her victory without hesitation.
"I won, King Morgrin."
"Yes, and now you have my permission to be the future queen."
Morgrin ceased his movement, acknowledging the result. The garden, previously in constant forced regeneration, gradually slowed, roots and trunks returning to their natural state, as if the zone itself accepted the outcome.
"The succession is decided… and you have excellent subordinates, even if some don't seem to like it very much."
Elowyn looked at Velka sleeping and then at Enrico, who had a neutral face but raised a thumbs-up to her. Morgrin was right, and she was certain that she could never have Velka again as her subordinate, but Enrico was someone who would make her change her mind about that. She whispered to her ancestor a little quietly.
"Well, that may change, because that golden-haired boy is the one who will rule by my side."
With a surprised look, Morgrin felt a great urge to laugh at her confidence. He gave Enrico a smile that confused the boy for a moment and made him suspicious of what they were talking about.
"Could you tell me the name of the man who will give me future successors, then?"
"That part might be a bit difficult because of someone who doesn't like me very much, but yes, his name is Enrico Alaric."
"Already putting our surname on him? How proud of my successor."
"And one more thing, that other girl beside him is my most loyal servant; her name is Narisse."
With a nod, Morgrin looked to his left hand, which was disappearing. In a final moment, he waved to the four subordinates who had come with her in the succession.
"Take good care of my successor."
"Of course, Lord Morgrin— I mean king— I mean—"
"Relax, sir, she's just nervous. My name is Siena, the girl on my back is Velka, this one here—"
Since he already knew the names of the two most important people to his successor, he nodded while looking at Elowyn. Narisse left her nervousness behind and felt proud to have her name mentioned by the princess herself, while Enrico and Siena were bewildered for a few seconds.
"Take care of my kingdom, future Queen Elowyn."
"Of course, because it is mine as well."
With a final sigh, he disappeared along with the last zone, while a symbol around them sent them back to the room where they had been at the beginning. Looking up, Elowyn saw a document being filled with her name. In that place, only her name was written, but other children of Alaric could also try when they came of age, which would give them the right to also be direct successors if something happened to their father.
"Great. Now, Enrico, could you finally tell me what you used on Velka, but this time with details?"
"No."
"That's an order from your future queen, insolent consort."
She had a completely serious expression, while behind her both Narisse and Siena began to insist. Extending her hand to Siena, she took Velka into her arms. Looking toward the door that had opened, Alaric entered quickly with arms raised to hug his daughter, followed by her proud mother and finally her siblings, with one of them irritated that she had succeeded.
"Elowyn, for now leave that aside, I need to warn you about your brother."
Elowyn looked at him, but she already had an idea of what he was going to say, so she simply nodded while receiving her father's embrace. Narisse then looked at her family, afraid they would be disappointed, but they simply congratulated her and promised to help her become stronger with some family secrets. Enrico, seeing this, kept a neutral expression as something crossed his mind.
'I don't understand—how can people so rotten have more good family members than bad ones?'
[You really don't forgive.]