But was there really no way left? The answer was obviously no.
Although Frieren had pressed her back against the wall, that didn't mean she could command a view of everything. At the very least... directly above and directly below her, blind spots still existed.
Once Fíliya grasped this point, she immediately launched a gale-storm-like sequence of attacks against Frieren.
Yet, in the face of this assault, Frieren merely deployed a fully covering [Defensive Magic] in silence, showing absolutely no intention of fighting back, simply allowing the attacks to rain down upon her shield.
"So annoying... has it turned into a boring shell-breaking session again...?"
Fíliya sighed, but she had to admit that this construct's combat intuition was truly terrifying, likely not losing out to Frieren herself in the slightest.
It understood deeply that as long as it didn't take the initiative to strike, Fíliya would have no way to break its lock-on. As for those harmless attacks, they were merely bait to lure it into acting.
Moreover, it hadn't completely given up on attacking; it was simply waiting for the perfect opportunity.
Between a lifeless object and a human challenger with limited mana, who would be the more anxious party? The answer was self-evident.
Just as Fíliya attempted to compress her mana to a level capable of piercing the fish-scale magic shield, an indescribable force tore her directly into mid-air and then smashed her violently into the ceiling.
"..."
Fíliya was naturally horrified. She couldn't even comprehend what this construct had just done.
What exactly was that move?
Judging by the fact that she was pressed into the ceiling... was it [Reverse Gravity]? But why was it so fast? And there wasn't even a hint of a warning... not a shred of mana fluctuation, not a sliver of reaction time was left for her.
In that instant, Fíliya conjured countless possibilities. She even suspected Frieren might have [Stopped Time] and then swatted her into the ceiling during the frozen moment... but that didn't make sense either.
If Frieren could [Stop Time], why go through all this trouble? She could have just paused time and killed her the moment she entered the gate... And if Frieren really could stop time, it was impossible that she wouldn't have mentioned it beforehand, nor would she have let Fíliya face the enemy alone.
So what exactly was the situation with that magic? Fíliya racked her brains but still couldn't fathom the true face of that spell. In the end, she could only sigh; it was indeed worthy of being a Great Mage's trump card.
Incredible... truly incredible, Frieren... You bastard, just how many surprises do you still have for me...
Even though she had reached the worst possible juncture, excitement still flickered on Miss Fíliya's face.
Because she had discovered something.
That was, although this unknown magic belonged to the category of instant, hard control, wasn't its power a bit too low?
Her current state was indeed wretched enough; she didn't know how many bones were broken throughout her body... Fíliya felt pain in her lungs even just breathing, and her airway was blocked by surging blood.
Damn it. Just when she needed to block out the pain the most, her [Pain Control] was difficult to release under the suppression of that unknown magic.
Suffocation, blurred vision, scattering consciousness, and the agonizing pain of crushed bones... it could be said to be the absolute worst.
But... she wasn't dead!
One had to realize that most of the methods Frieren had displayed before were of the level where just a touch would cost half a life, and taking a full hit meant instant death.
But she had solidly taken this magic, yet she hadn't died.
So... the price for having no telegraph was indeed sacrificing power.
But even this was exaggerated enough. With this magic as a foundation, Frieren would only need a powerful partner to coordinate with her to instantly kill the vast majority of powerhouses in this world.
While Fíliya's thoughts were running wild, Frieren naturally had no intention of stopping. She raised her staff high with her only remaining hand.
It seemed... this was the final move to send her on her way.
Fíliya clenched her teeth. She knew very well that the more critical the moment, the more she needed to be calm.
Watching that white light representing destruction come toward her, in that split second, Fíliya felt as if she were reliving her life.
A revolving lantern? No, she didn't have that kind of leisure. But she cherished this sensation. She didn't care if her thinking had sped up or if the world had slowed down; she only focused on her own business.
She rapidly recalled everything she had learned and felt in her life up to this point, attempting to find a way to break the deadlock.
In this process, what left the deepest impression on her was, sure enough, that magic she learned first during her apprenticeship.
"Sense, where does the dust go after being cleaned by this [Magic to Remove Dirt]?"
"I don't know. It's probably transported somewhere."
"That's not right. I've been studying this thing for the past few days. That dust definitely isn't transported away; it's decomposed by this magic, turning into nothingness."
"Even if you discovered that, what use is it? This is just a very common folk magic... If you want to shed your apprentice status quickly, I can teach you something advanced."
"But I think this [Magic to Remove Dirt] is something very advanced... Isn't its essence decomposing matter? Since dust can be decomposed, doesn't that mean all matter can be decomposed? Maybe even mana is something that can be decomposed."
"...I really can't deal with you, always saying things others don't get... However, if you really think that way... go ahead and try it boldly. After all, the world of magic is a [World of Visualization]."
...The playback of memories, and Sense's smile, all cut off at this moment. Clearly in a dying state, Fíliya felt a very liberating sensation, feeling that her mind had never been this active.
Magic is a world of visualization.
All matter... can be decomposed.
Matter can be decomposed, so energy must be too...
Mana, in essence, is a form of energy...
A series of thoughts seemed to link together in Fíliya's mind, while that white light was still far away. The [Ordinary Attack Magic] that usually arrived instantly seemed to have been slowed down countless times.
Fíliya's gaze gradually became clear. She watched that white light get closer and closer in her field of vision, growing larger and larger, until it seemed to sear her eyelashes.
Immediately after, she didn't know what she did, but that life-claiming white light abruptly collapsed. From a straight beam of light, it instantly split into countless, no longer threatening specks of white light, which then slowly dissipated into the air.
...Inside the Palace within the Continental Magic Association, hundreds of kilometers away from the Ruins of the Royal Tomb, the elf known as the [God of Magic], Serie, slowly sat back onto her stone throne, the expression on her face exceptionally vivid.
Evidently, she had been silently observing this test from afar the entire time.
She had originally prepared to teleport into the Ruins of the Royal Tomb, appear before Fíliya, and rescue her.
Even though she was hundreds of kilometers away, and even though the [Ordinary Attack Magic] had already reached Fíliya's eyelashes, she had the confidence to save Fíliya within that ten-thousandth of a second. After all, Fíliya was someone she had her eye on; she didn't want Fíliya to die there. Even if she failed to kill Frieren's shadow, Fíliya's performance was excellent enough to be worth her intervention.
But what she absolutely hadn't expected was that Fíliya would actually comprehend this forbidden power on the edge of life and death.
That was something even she had never laid a hand on.
...
In the deepest part of the Ruins of the Royal Tomb, Fíliya felt that the force suppressing her seemed to have loosened, as she began to feel a sense of weightlessness—proof that she was falling toward the ground.
She felt her eyelids were incredibly heavy, wishing she could close them and sleep immediately, but there was a single obsession compelling her to look at that target.
Then, she slowly raised a finger. From that slender fingertip burst forth a streak of pitch-black light.
A black light only as thick as a fingertip shot out. At first glance, it looked like another compressed version of [Ordinary Attack Magic], but the heartless construct immediately raised its alertness to 120 percent.
The omnidirectional, dead-angle-free [Defensive Magic] went without saying. The moment the black light burst forth, it surrounded itself with three inner layers and three outer layers. This nesting-doll structure was also something it had learned from Fíliya during this battle.
Immediately following that, [Fish Scale] patterns began to appear on the shield blooming with silver-white brilliance. This was the symbol of [Defensive Magic] being compressed dozens of times over. But this fish-scale pattern only floated there for an instant.
Soon, the pattern on the shield changed into straight grid lines.
But such [Grids] were also quickly replaced by a new style.
A pattern resembling shattered glass began to emerge, representing that the [Defensive Magic] had been compressed to a truly terrifying degree.
But it wasn't over. The heartless construct seemed to feel it still wasn't safe enough, directly pouring all the mana it could mobilize into the construction of the shield.
Thus, it created a shield that no longer had any patterns but was translucent throughout, emitting a soft white light. It looked not much different from the most basic [Defensive Magic], yet its strength was worlds apart.
This was the limit of what it could do, and what Frieren herself could do.
Such an ultimate shield collided with the black light Fíliya fired.
There was no terrifying explosion, nor any world-shocking spectacle.
The invincible shield, formed by pouring in all its mana, was easily pierced by that inconspicuous black light, just like piercing a piece of paper.
That was all there was to it.
The Counterfeit Frieren watched the black beam land on its body, and even its mud-doll exterior couldn't help but reveal a stunned expression.
Immediately after, her body began to disintegrate rapidly. In the span of just a single breath, she turned into flying ash, leaving not even a scrap of residue behind.
The taste of falling from the ceiling wasn't pleasant. Fortunately, after Fíliya was freed from the shackles of that nameless magic, she immediately blocked all her pain perception.
But that drowsy feeling still refused to go away.
Just hold on a little longer, she told herself.
There was still one most important thing left.
Because the strongest guardian had fallen, the door to the deepest part of the labyrinth slowly opened as well.
Fíliya barely managed to see it clearly: the true body of the [Water-Mirror Demon]—a diamond-shaped gem emitting a ghostly glow.
Without needing to hesitate, Fíliya fired a simple, most basic [Ordinary Attack Magic], ending it all.
Only after hearing that crisp shattering sound did Fíliya finally close her eyelids with peace of mind.
...
"This is..."
Frieren watched as Himmel's figure gradually faded, and the surrounding environment also showed trends of collapsing. She instantly understood everything.
"It seems your friend succeeded."
Seeing his own body disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye, Himmel's mood appeared exceptionally calm.
"Yeah... seems like it."
"Well then, it's time to part ways. I didn't expect to be able to talk to you after death... Pity I won't get the chance to thank that child face-to-face."
Himmel spoke with feigned lightness, but his act broke instantly as a wronged expression appeared on his face.
"So... even without me, Frieren, you must live on well!!"
"Pfft..."
Faced with Himmel's overly dramatic expression, Frieren couldn't hold back a laugh.
"You're someone who's already died once. Isn't it embarrassing to still pull this life-and-death parting drama?"
Frieren chuckled lightly as she looked at Himmel, feeling that this guy's unserious appearance was truly cut from the same cloth as Fíliya.
"Uh... ahem. Since it's like this, then I won't say anything like [Goodbye]. Just to avoid it being awkward when we meet again next time."
Himmel coughed dryly, then waved his hand at Frieren. Following that, he turned into particles of light and vanished.
And this barrier, composed primarily of a sea of flowers, also thoroughly ended its mission.
...
In the other rooms of the Ruins of the Royal Tomb, watching those mud-doll-style enemies all turn into flying ash, the group of mages finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Looks like it was a success," Ehre spoke first.
"Hmm... is it finally over? I had an ominous premonition the whole time; gave me goosebumps all over. I kept feeling like I was being watched by something terrible, but I kept my guard up and that thing never appeared. I almost had a nervous breakdown."
Übel adjusted her clothes, the expression on her face somewhat unsavory.
"Then let's hurry back to the depths. Fíliya definitely went through a bitter struggle; we need to check on her condition quickly."
Kanne immediately proposed.
"Yeah, we should do that."
The group quickly reached a consensus, preparing to return to the deepest part of the labyrinth. But just at this moment...
A figure swiftly swept past them, and that figure seemed to be cradling a young girl in her arms.
"Eh?!! Wait, isn't that Examiner Sense?"
"Yeah, she ran off holding Fíliya..."
"How did she get hurt like that?! Fíliya's bones are exposed!"
"Rest assured, Ehre. The City of Magic has the top priests. As long as Fíliya still has a breath left, they should be able to bring her back."
"...Then what do we do now? The examiner is gone; what does this count as for the test?"
"..."
"Anyway, let's divide the treasure in the deepest part first, then go back to the Association Headquarters together to wait for news."
"You guys handle the treasure as you see fit. I'm going to check on Fíliya's condition."
At this moment, Frieren's figure appeared in front of everyone.
"Me too."
"I'll go too!"
"Count me in!"
After Frieren spoke, many voices immediately responded.
"Yeah, after all, the situation of the child who put in the most effort isn't looking good. I'm not in the mood to divide spoils either."
"Tsk... every single one of you, getting all sentimental at a time like this. Then let's put the treasure matter aside. Anyway, it's impossible for unrelated people to sneak in here. Let's return to the Association first."
Thus, after a burst of chaotic discussion, the crowd reached an agreement: return to the Association to check on Fíliya's condition first.
____
New Story: ZZZ: Mr. Ethereal Does Not Want to See a Tragedy
🔥We're handing out that '30% bonus' that makes your wallet smile. 😄
✅ Get immediate access to 40 early chapters for all stories.
✅ Enjoy exclusive material and special announcements!
Help us unlock these community rewards:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters across ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan