The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
"No, I don’t have the slightest intention of doing that."
Though she was once a comrade, I feel nothing for Lin.
If anything, I only feel pity and contempt for how far she has fallen.
That’s all there is to it.
To stop her from continuing this madness any further, I will defeat her here.
I will put an end… to her life.
I agree with that.
"Lin's power is overwhelming. If we fight her separately, even a winnable battle will become unwinnable. We need to coordinate with everyone here."
"…You're right. Sorry, I let my emotions get the better of me."
"No, it's understandable. Given what happened to our comrades, it's only natural."
"Hearing you say that helps. Thank you."
"…"
"What's wrong?"
"No, it’s just… I didn’t expect you to thank me so sincerely."
"…Shall we cancel our teamwork, then?"
"S-Sorry! That just slipped out."
"Good grief."
Elfin let out a small sigh.
But she was also smiling lightly.
"Let's work together and take her down."
"Understood!"
Elfin signaled to the remaining two members of the Phoenix Clan with her eyes.
Though they looked confused, they did not disobey her orders and moved behind us, positioning themselves for support.
"Rain, you take command."
"Huh? Me?"
"I won't say it twice. I'm leaving it to you."
"…Got it!"
For all her words, Elfin must trust me in her own way.
I can't betray that trust—I have to see this through.
Kanade and the others moved to the left.
Shigure, Sakura, and Finia moved to the right.
We surrounded Lin in a semicircle formation.
"Ahaha! Even after seeing my power, you're still planning to fight? You poor things. You really don’t understand the gap between us, do you? Well, not that I planned on letting you escape anyway. After I'm done having my fun with you, I'll make sure to torment everyone else in that dungeon, too. Thoroughly… Ahahahaha!"
A glow formed in both of Lin’s hands, her magic gathering.
"Well then, I let you all have time to come up with a plan, so it's my turn now, don’t you think?"
Here it comes!
"Die!"
A brilliant light exploded.
The flash and shockwave engulfed us.
It was Flash Impact, a technique Sora and Luna often used.
Our vision was completely blocked, but at least the damage wasn't severe.
Right now, Lin had just unleashed her spell—she should have an opening.
If we rush her now and bring the fight into close combat…
That would be the obvious choice.
But would she really make such a simple mistake?
She was once part of the Hero’s Party.
Her power and intellect were formidable.
And with a personality as twisted as hers, it was more logical to assume this was a trap.
If that was the case, approaching her carelessly would be dangerous.
"Everyone, stay on guard! A follow-up attack is coming!"
"What!?"
My words caused the Phoenix Clan warriors, who were about to counterattack, to hesitate.
They looked at me with disbelief.
But since Elfin had entrusted me with command, they quickly shifted into a defensive stance.
"Ahahaha! Too bad! You're way too slow!"
"What!?"
Lin suddenly closed the distance herself.
She slipped right into the Phoenix warriors’ guard and lightly placed her hand on one of their abdomens.
And then—unleashed a spell.
"Guh!?"
A dragon's phantom erupted from her hand.
At point-blank range, the Phoenix warrior took the full brunt of the attack.
He was blown away, crashing hard into the rocks behind him.
Dragoon Howling.
Even though she had just used Flash Impact, she transitioned into her next attack immediately.
A thought crossed my mind—could it be…?
"Take care of him! Please!"
"Tch… Understood. Avenge my comrade!"
The other member of the Phoenix Clan, though frustrated, retreated to assist his fallen comrade.
Five minutes into the battle, and already five fighters had been eliminated.
Lin was completely controlling the pace.
I didn’t want to let her take any more of the initiative, but…
It was looking pretty grim.
Lin might have gained even more power than we initially thought.
We had to proceed carefully to avoid any further casualties.
"Kanade! Shigure! Let's go together!"
"Nya!"
"Got it!"
"Rifa, Nina, Chiffon—support us from a distance! Elfin, when the time is right, hit her with your strongest attack!"
"Okay!"
"I… will do my best!"
"Understood!"
"If I must, then so be it."
After giving out quick instructions, I rushed forward alongside Kanade and Shigure.
Lin launched intercepting magic at us, but Rifa and the others provided cover, nullifying her attacks and keeping us moving forward.
She probably didn’t favor close combat.
Earlier, when she closed the distance herself, it was likely just to catch us off guard.
Since her fighting style relied on magic, she would dislike being forced into melee range.
"Multi-Boost!"
"What!?"
Just as we were about to reach her, I used magic to enhance the physical abilities of Kanade, Shigure, and myself.
It was a move meant to disrupt Lin’s calculations and take her by surprise—and it seemed to have worked.
Lin clicked her tongue in annoyance and leapt backward.
At the same time, she cast a spell without chanting.
A spear of fire shot toward us—it was Ignite Lance.
With our enhanced abilities, we could clearly read its trajectory.
I twisted my body to evade it.
And then, I closed in on Lin’s position…
"…Heh."
"Tch!?"
The moment I saw Lin smirk, a bad feeling rushed through me.
I slammed on the brakes and leaped to the side.
Kanade and Shigure must have sensed the danger too, as they quickly changed direction.
A split second later, flames slashed through the spot we had just occupied.
Multiple Ignite Lances.
That meant…
Lin, just like me, had the ability to cast multiple spells at once.
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