Before Sairao's defeat happened, Virelle was fighting Zorg in a battle that could be described as monstrous. The entire sky was split in two by the tree Virelle created. All the vines surrounded Zorg's body, but did not touch him because the very skin of the curse beast rotted the vines that tried to restrain him.
"Scarlet Curse"
Opening his arms, several magic circles appeared, filling the air with a red aura. This aura made his opponent's body tire faster and strengthened his curse magic. Pointing at the giant tree, he clenched his fist, summoning a magic circle at its center. His magic tried to rot the tree's bark, but nothing had any effect.
The reason it had no effect was that Virelle used what she saw in the World Tree to create her own smaller version. The magic concentrated within the bark and the tree was one of the purest forms of natural magic. This tree absorbed all mana in the air or from the opponent while accumulating even more mana, making it indestructible for mages of the same level.
"Forest Magic Mana Cannon"
Virelle pointed forward, and from the giant tree, a hole appeared in the center and filled with green mana in less than a second. Soon after, a massive beam of pure mana shot toward Zorg. The beast itself was considered gigantic, but that beam was on another level. Crossing his arms, he summoned multiple large curse magic circles in front of him. As they were touched by the beam, they shattered instantly, but at the same time weakened the attack's mana. In that brief moment, Zorg created a thousand before being hit and pushed back, sending him far into the clouds.
'Even after weakening the attack, it still did this to me'
Zorg, still being carried back, saw his arm—the one in front—completely destroyed by the attack. Enduring a bit longer, he released a wave of mana from within his body and redirected it to his arms, weakening the attack further until it finally stopped and disappeared.
"It's always like this, those closest to reaching the ninth circle are true monsters"
Zorg himself had already surpassed that level decades ago, the only problem was that Sairao had summoned him in a weakened form. Regenerating his arm, he looked at Virelle approaching at high speed, followed by the giant tree that moved with her everywhere. The reason was that Virelle still didn't fully control it, so for now, she needed to move together with it.
"I'll take this fight more seriously"
While Zorg prepared to attack, Virelle had a tired expression, as if she were undergoing intense training like when her grandparents trained her when she was younger. In reality, it was worse—her mind felt heavy, and her vision blurred at times. Moments that could cost her life if she lowered her guard. And to make things worse, that feeling intensified every second.
'Why does my body feel like it's suffering from my own magic?'
Worst of all, it felt like her vine and forest magic were trying to crush her mind under immense pressure. Both her mind and body felt as if invisible vines were wrapping tightly around her skin while she carried an entire forest on her back.
'I just need to endure until I find a way to break through or until Enrico defeats that guy, since this beast was summoned by him'
Both Virelle and Zorg focused entirely on the fight, so the only thing they could do was continue battling until Virelle evolved or was defeated. And honestly, Zorg wanted the second outcome quickly, so he covered his giant body with curse magic and advanced above the World Tree. Covering himself with even more curse magic that tried to drain all mana from the tree, he struck it with a punch that made the trunk tremble and crack.
"Piercing Vines"
Virelle appeared behind him with her right hand raised and the other holding a vine sword. From within the tree, vines pierced Zorg's body while Virelle filled the sword with her vine magic, strengthening it, and finally used tree magic to give it a new form.
"Heart of the Forest Sword..."
The vine blade completely transformed at the final moment, no longer resembling a simple improvised weapon and instead taking the form of something legendary and absolute, as if it were a fragment of the forest itself condensed into a sword; its structure became thicker, rigid, and heavy, like ancient wood mixed with solidified mana, while small leaves glowed along the blade, pulsing in sync with Virelle's heart. Pulsing in sync with the ninth circle that was almost forming within her mana heart.
"Mother Forest Slash"
When she brought the strike down, the air was torn by an intense green arc that split the sky, directly hitting Zorg's body still bound by vines, and at the moment of impact a massive explosion of natural energy expanded outward, pushing the clouds away and distorting space for a brief second. To her surprise, Zorg seemed shocked, unable to dodge in time. Virelle herself wore a tired expression, but also a hint of surprise.
"I feel—"
"Aaaaoooohhhsggsg"
Zorg did not scream like someone normally injured. The sound that came from his throat was distorted and heavy, almost like multiple voices overlapping, as his body began to rot rapidly due to the pure energy invading his curses. At the same time, those same curses reacted violently, like living creatures struggling not to be purified, creating a grotesque conflict within his own body. Even so, the strike had been effective, brutally opening his torso and clearly showing the difference in power at that moment.
"TOTAL Curse"
Zorg, grabbing the wounded area, was about to unleash his most powerful magic. Before it could happen—and just as Virelle was about to be hit by a red and black sphere coming toward her—Zorg and the sphere disappeared instantly. A sign that Sairao had been defeated. That meant the war was over, as there were no enemies left to fight, but Virelle didn't have time to think because she had to grab her head, which throbbed with pain.
"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh"
The magic circle that had been forming was now complete, but she felt like she might die at any moment. The entire city created by Angela was devastated in an instant as blood streamed from Virelle's face while she struggled to survive her own power. She would have died at that moment if she hadn't remembered her students—and especially one of them. If she died, who would train Enrico? Would she let Hao or anyone else take her place as his teacher? Not a chance.
'I… will be the only one to teach him and… some students who sincerely ask me'
With her mind calmer, she made the World Tree transform into a cocoon around her. It was time for her to become a true ninth circle in full power. Her students would be amazed—and she especially wanted to see Enrico's face when he saw the level she had reached.
'This will be fun…'
But before that, she would rest inside that cocoon created so she wouldn't destroy the dimension Angela had made.