The battle began with a burst of intense energy. Risebelle surged forward with incredible speed and left a trail of water in her wake.

  Mystimona met her head-on. He summoned a gust of wind to form a barrier of air around himself as Risebelle came in with her blade. His eyes locked onto her with curiosity.

  Risebelle extended her arm, and from her palm came a torrent of acidic water that shot forth at the barrier.

  Risebelle’s gun fired rapidly and the shots slammed against Mystimona’s wind barrier, leaving behind faint trails of poisonous vapor.

  Crack.

  Another shot.

  Crack.

  Another.

  Shatter

  The moment the barrier gave way, Mystimona moved. His fists were coated in swirling wind energy and came crashing forward.

  Her blade snapped into position to intercept his first strike. The force of the impact sent out a powerful shockwave that kicked up seawater around them.

  Mystimona twisted his body into a second strike aimed at her ribs. Risebelle barely managed to parry with her toxic sword ‘Damn, he’s fast,’ she thought, “One wrong move, and I’ll be eating knuckles.”

  A smirk crept onto her lips. Risebelle twisted her grip on her sword and channeled a sudden burst of acidic energy into the blade. Then, she let the blade melt. It liquefied mid-parry into a whip-like stream of toxic water that aimed straight for Mystimona’s chest—

  Right where that poisoned wound still lingered.

  Mystimona suddenly shouted,

  “Earth Spire!”

  Massive pillars of earth erupt from what was left of the sandy beach onto the sea. They rose like colossal sentinels that intercepted Risebelle’s strike just in time.

  With her gun in hand, Risebelle shouted,

  “Aqua Surge Barrage!”

  She focused her power into the weapon, causing it to hum with energy. Then, she unleashed a relentless onslaught of high-velocity water and acid shots from it.

  In response, Mystimona called,

  "Torrential Inferno!"

  A raging torrent of fire and water erupted from his palms that spiraled together in a violent dance. The water didn’t extinguish the flames, no. instead, it fed them and intensified the heat to an oppressive level that surged upward to not only cancel out Risebelle’s attack but also attempt to engulf her.

  Risebelle conjured a sphere of acidic water around herself as a protective barrier.

  Mystimona took the skies and floated above with the power of the wind.

  Risebelle eyed him. She was still engulfed within his attack despite shielding herself. She rose up a hand and shouted,

  “Aqua Whirlwind, Cyclone!”

  The cyclone spun rapidly around Risebelle and extended its reach outward. The sharp blades within the cyclone sliced through the scorching flames and created a path of destruction in their wake

  Mystimona’s eyes flickered with intrigue once the last remnants of his fire-and-water fusion dissipated into steam.

  “You’ve got skill,” he admitted. “The way you wield water...” His gaze drifted to the faintly glowing acidic droplets clinging to the air. “Combining acid with it—it’s fascinating. A corrosive element to an otherwise life-giving force. Clever.”

  Risebelle’s breath was steady. When the flames vanished completely, she let her protective barrier melt back into liquid that returned to the sea.

  Then, she smirked.

  “I’ve been watching you,” she said while lifting her sword. “Analyzing every move, every shift in your stance, every breath you take before you strike.” She tilted her head slightly.

  Mystimona raised a brow.

  “Oh?”

  His lips curled into a grin.

  “Seems we have a tactical fighter here.”

  Risebelle spun her blade once and rested it over her shoulder. “Only the best.”

  The skies above grew dark. The atmosphere crackled with thunder as dark clouds swirled ominously. Risebelle raised her arms, and from those swirling clouds, aqua-blue droplets began to descend.

  "Aqua-Acidic Tempest!" Risebelle shouted.

  The droplets came down with explosive force on the ocean that sent corrosive torrents splashing in all directions. Mystimona navigated this treacherous storm created by Risebelle's power.

  Kintovar quickly took action to protect herself and the others from Risebelle's Aqua-Acidic Tempest with a giant umbrella which made a protective energy field.

  The Headmaster stood beneath the massive protective umbrella. The storm above raged, fueled by Risebelle’s growing power.

  And yet, here she was. Spared. She remembered this attack. The last time she had faced it, the acid had seared into her flesh and tore through layers of her formidable defenses like they were nothing. It had taken most of her psychic power to keep herself from succumbing to its effects.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  And now?

  Now she was being saved by Kintovar’s DAMN technology.

  A voice interrupted her thoughts.

  “Shouldn’t we just kick her into it?”

  The Headmaster’s head turned sharply toward Haras who had asked the question as if tossing her into the acid storm was just another Tuesday.

  Kintovar didn’t even glance at her.

  “Don’t worry about her.” Kintovar placed her hands on her hips. “We focus on the important people right now.”

  The important people.

  The words hit harder than the storm outside.

  For the first time in her life, the Headmaster felt… less.

  Less than Kintovar.

  Less than Mystimona.

  Less than Roselle, Risebelle, or anyone else still fighting.

  A woman who once commanded an entire magical empire now stood on the sidelines—unwanted, insignificant, discarded.

  Her throat felt tight. Her pride screamed at her to say something, and remind them who she was.

  But no words came.

  Mystimona's keen eyes analyzed the hazardous battlefield created by Risebelle's Aqua-Acidic Tempest. He quickly realized the danger of the corrosive rain and muttered to himself, "The only place to escape it is..."

  Mystimona leaped down into the water. Risebelle eyed the water where Mystimona had taken refuge. She made the decision to follow him beneath the surface; however, when she got down there, her eyes widened.

  Before Risebelle could react, he unleashed a powerful torrent of water imbued with his own magic. The force of the attack sent Risebelle tumbling backward.

  Risebelle barely had time to recover before Mystimona came rushing in.

  His fists came at her in a relentless barrage. The sheer pressure of his attacks forced her to form her acidic blade in her hand just in time to block the first few strikes.

  Then—

  Her hand twitched. Mystimona’s sharp gaze caught the tiny movement in Risebelle’s fingers. He moved using a burst of wind magic which propelled him to her side in an instant. His leg swirled with violent currents with a brutal spinning kick, he struck Risebelle in the ribs.

  The impact sent her flying backward. Mystimona vanished from where he stood and appeared behind her body. He grabbed her head and drove her downward.

  The crushing force behind his attack sent Risebelle plummeting through the depths. Her body cut through the dark waters like a falling meteor.

  The deeper she sank, the more the pressure built. The ocean floor was rapidly approaching—

  And then—

  CRASH!

  The entire seafloor trembled as Risebelle’s body collided with it.

  For a brief moment, Risebelle tried to fight off the pain and get up, but Mystimona grabbed her by the collar. He spun her around and launched her upward with monstrous strength.

  The waters above parted as a cyclone of wind formed around Risebelle’s body that accelerated her momentum.

  She ripped through the ocean’s surface. Before she could regain control—

  Mystimona extended his arm.

  “Galling Spiral!”

  A roaring whirlwind of cutting winds slammed into Risebelle that twisted her body into a chaotic spin before sending her hurtling skyward.

  Through sheer force of will, Risebelle cracked one eye open. Her vision blurred, but she could make out something—

  A figure.

  Mystimona.

  He had already moved.

  Above her.

  Mystimona’s hands, glowing with concentrated energy thrust downward.

  BOOM!

  The force of his strike sent her rocketing downward like a falling comet.

  Risebelle’s body slammed into the shoreline, carving a deep crater into the sand. The ocean waves lapped gently at the edges of the crater.

  Above, Mystimona descended slowly.

  Mystimona lifted his gaze toward the sky.

  The storm had ceased.

  The ominous dark clouds that once crackled with power had begun to thin out. The acidic rain no longer poured.

  Mystimona exhaled through his nose. “So, I was right. I had theories on how to stop that attack… but this confirms it.”

  He slowly descended. His eyes never left Risebelle’s unmoving body.

  “It’s linked to the user,” he stated. “If the caster takes enough damage, the attack ceases.”

  A smirk crept onto his face. “A simple but effective weakness.”

  Risebelle blinked rapidly to clear the static fuzz creeping into her vision. She then got up and checked her systems.

  [System Message]

  Lifeforce: 65%

  Magic Reserves: 275%

  Transformation Timer: 7:42 remaining

  Risebelle let out a slow breath. “Haven’t burned through as much magic as I thought… but my body’s taking a beating.”

  She clenched her fists. Her eyes flicked up toward Mystimona.

  He stood there—calm. Even after all the damage he’d taken, even with that poison mark still on his chest, he didn’t show an ounce of fatigue.

  “How the hell do I plan against someone like this?” Risebelle muttered to herself.

  She knew he probably adapted to her fighting style. He was observant. He learned. He countered.

  Mystimona raised a hand.

  "You have been a unique opponent, Risebelle." His glowing purple eyes flickered with admiration. "Despite me landing most of the hits, you’ve made me think very quickly on my feet. Few manage that. However..."

  A faint pulse of energy rippled around him. "It is time to bring this fight to a close."

  Risebelle’s sharp gaze locked onto him.

  Those words exactly.

  Her mind worked at full speed. He said ‘bring it to a close.’ That meant—he was about to use ‘That’ move. The one that nearly took Roselle out in their fight.

  "Waitaminute..."

  A smirk spread across her lips.

  She got it.

  Mystimona continued with power gathering around him like a brewing storm.

  "Will you be the one to defeat me, Risebelle? Or will you be swallowed away in this attack?"

  While he spoke, Risebell knelt down and placed her hands against the ground.

  A pulse of magic shot through her fingers, seeping into the earth, the shore, the waves.

  The ocean responded.

  Undetected, water surged from the shore like unseen veins into the sea.

  She whispered to herself eagerly. “Never tried this before, but..."

  Her smirk deepened. “Time for an all or nothing gamble.”

  Haras clenched her fists on the sidelines with her bubblegum-colored hair bouncing. “I don’t like this. I don’t like this one bit!" she huffed. Her usually high-pitched voice had an edge of distress. "Risebelle’s always been so strong when taking out those mages! And now she even has this form—and it looks so cute!"

  Kintovar adjusted her sunglasses. "Risebelle is tactical, but compared to Roselle, who has a power that could rival Mystimona’s, she’s working with only one element and her acid.

  Haras turned to her, eyes wide. "So what are you saying?"

  Kintovar exhaled slowly.

  "At this rate… things aren’t looking good for us."

  Haras groaned. “But couldn’t you have just added another element to Risebelle?! I dunno, something to balance things out? Give her fire or lightning or… something!?”

  Kintovar pushed her sunglasses up her nose. “Haras, you should know by now—the magic we created doesn’t work that way.”

  Haras crossed her arms and pouted. “Yeah, yeah, ‘it doesn’t work that way,’ but why? I mean, Roselle—”

  “Roselle was the test,” Kintovar interrupted. “She was the first to see if fusion between elements could be stable enough to work efficiently. If we had given two conflicting elements to Project ZAB without confirming the risks, we could have destroyed Risebelle before she ever activated.”

  Haras blinked.

  Kintovar continued. “Water and acid are a safer combination. Acid is an extension of water—easier to control. But if we had introduced something volatile, like fire or lightning, we could have caused an internal rupture. Imagine Risebelle burning up from the inside out and her entire system collapsing just from transforming. Is that what you wanted?”

  Haras shuddered. “…No.”

  Kintovar nodded. “Then stop complaining. Risebelle’s doing what she does best out there.”

  Kintovar's gaze went back to the battlefield. She said with finality, “Our fate is in her hands now. If she loses, we all die.”

  Haras let out a high-pitched yelp. “WH—Why’d you have to say it like that?! You could’ve softened the blow a little!”

  Kintovar didn’t even glance at her. “Oho, Haras, you know I don’t do sugarcoating.” She placed her hands on her hips and eyed both fighters on the battlefield. Then, she murmured, “Risebelle… don’t you dare lose.”