The air on the eastern wing of the Great Plains felt incredibly thin. A tactical decision had been made by Bell Cranel and Ais Wallenstein. Waiting passively was the same as inviting death. To mask the magical fluctuations of Uchide no Kozuchi being chanted by Sanjouno Haruhime in the rearguard of the Hestia Familia formation, Bell and Ais had to become the absolute center of aggression. They had to draw one hundred percent of Dina and Vena's aggro and vigilance.
"Forward, Ais-san!" yelled Bell.
Without the slightest hesitation, Ais Wallenstein cast her signature magic.
"Awaken, Ariel!"
An explosion of green wind instantly enveloped the Sword Princess's body. Ariel, her strongest wind magic, not only coated the sword Desperate, but also functioned as an armor of air that extremely boosted her agility and destructive power stats. Ais's stance lowered, and in a fraction of a second, the ground beneath her feet shattered as she shot forward like a cannonball cleaving through the battlefield.
Bell Cranel followed in that exact same second. Utilizing his absurd Level 7 Agility status, Bell moved with footwork techniques that were nearly silent. He gripped the Hestia Knife in his right hand, locking his attack trajectory straight at Vena.
Seeing the dual frontal aggression, Dina and Vena did not flinch. A faint smile filled with tactical calculation was etched on the elf sisters' faces.
Ais arrived first. With the momentum from Ariel, she swung Desperate in a full-power horizontal slash aimed at Dina's neck. Her speed surpassed normal reaction limits.
However, the silver slash only cleaved empty air. The figure of Dina in front of Ais flickered and faded like a mirage shadow distorted by heat.
That was Phantasma Ventus. Without needing to chant a spell, Dina manipulated air currents and light refraction using the Anemo Calyx to create optical illusions of herself. Not just one, but three shadows of Dina appeared surrounding Ais from different angles.
Right as Ais tried to track down the real one, a highly agonizing sound frequency slipped into her ears, followed by a visual distortion that made her perspective spin. Dina had activated Curse of Attraction. This visual and audio-based curse directly attacked Ais's nervous system. Her usually razor-sharp sword instincts suddenly dulled, and an artificial fatigue spread to her arm muscles, intending to shatter her concentration.
From a blind spot above her head, the real Dina swooped down, thrusting her wind sword straight at Ais's heart.
But Ais was no amateur adventurer. Her Rank G Development Ability, Abnormal Resistance, reacted violently to reject the curse. Aided by Spirit Healing which passively recovered her Mind fluctuations, Ais's consciousness cleared in milliseconds. She forcibly twisted her body. Her Swordsman ability took over her motor reflexes. Desperate swung upward, parrying Dina's wind sword thrust with absolute precision. The clash of wind from Ariel and the Anemo Calyx created a storm vortex that swept away the dust around them.
In the aerial zone not far from there, Bell Cranel faced true terror from the sky.
Vena refused close-quarters combat on the ground. Using the Anemo Calyx, Vena condensed the wind element beneath her soles, turning it into transparent footholds in thin air. she executed a double jump in the open air, shooting up fifteen meters high from the ground without using wings.
As soon as her feet no longer touched the ground, Vena's Caelum Dominus ability fully activated. Her Agility and Dexterity stats skyrocketed, turning her aerial movements into flashes that were impossible to predict.
From above, Vena twirled her wind sword towards Bell below.
"Shatter," Vena murmured coldly.
She swung her weapon repeatedly at full speed. It was Ignis Gladius, mid-range attack magic that compressed magical energy into deadly projectile blades. A dozen wind slashes rained down like a meteor shower targeting every blind spot in Bell's movements.
Bell's red eyes flared. His Initiative ability worked at maximum capacity, reading the angles of Vena's shoulders and the air trajectories a split second before the projectiles were fired. Relying on his Evasion ability, Bell twisted, rolled, and leaped through the rain of air blades. Explosion after explosion destroyed the ground Bell had just stepped on.
Amidst those extreme evasive maneuvers, Bell stretched his left hand upward.
"Firebolt!"
Three red firebolts shot swiftly into the air. Without chant time, Bell's rapid-fire magic soared pursuing Vena's maneuvering position.
Vena merely snorted in disdain. Aided by her Mage ability that amplified her magic output, Vena activated her second magic, Ventus Ruina. She focused the Anemo Calyx storm in her hand into a microscopic wind vortex spinning at an insane speed like a drill bit. Vena slashed her sword, firing Ventus Ruina at Bell's Firebolt.
Bell's firebolts were instantly destroyed upon colliding with the microscopic wind vortex. Not stopping there, the remnants of Ventus Ruina continued to dive sharply towards Bell.
That sharp vortex struck Bell's left shoulder, tearing his thin armor plating and leaving a deep slash wound. The magic was indeed specifically designed to shatter enemy armor and destroy defensive lines from a distance.
One successful strike triggered Vena's passive ability. Her Chain Attack ability activated. Because her first attack successfully hit Bell without interruption, subsequent Ignis Gladius and Ventus Ruina slashes launched with continuously multiplying speed and destructive power.
Bell was forced to keep retreating, focusing all his energy just to survive. Amidst that pressure, Bell tried to find an opening. White light particles began to gather on his palms and feet. Bell attempted to activate Heroic Wish: Argonaut to charge his attack. The very faint sound of a bell chiming was heard from within his soul.
However, Vena, possessing absolute aerial Dexterity, immediately noticed the energy fluctuation. She fired three Ventus Ruina simultaneously towards Bell's chest, forcing the youth to cancel his Argonaut charge and jump sideways to dodge.
At the same time, Bell noticed a horrifying phenomenon from his enemies' attack patterns. Even though Dina was facing Ais's Ariel storm slashes on the ground, and Vena was raining attacks on Bell from the air, the sisters' movements covered each other perfectly.
This was the effect of Dis Resonance.
Because Dina and Vena fought within the same line of sight, their sisterly souls resonated. Dina's physical reflexes increased to match Ais's speed, while Vena's magic casting power and speed multiplied to suppress Bell. Occasionally, Dina created Phantasma Ventus illusions to deceive Bell's eyes from below, and conversely, Vena fired Ignis Gladius at Ais to break the sword princess's focus away from Dina.
That flawless teamwork continuously chipped away at Bell and Ais's defenses. The two of them were battered, their stamina drained just to match the enemy's aggression.
However, their sacrifice paid off. Their relentless aggression successfully forced Dina and Vena to concentrate one hundred percent of their brain's calculations on the point of battle. They were completely unaware that behind the ruined pillars in Orario's rearguard, a miracle was being prepared.
Right as Vena prepared to launch her third magical barrage, a wave of golden energy swept across the entire battlefield.
From the rearguard of the Hestia Familia formation, located very far away, Sanjouno Haruhime's Uchide no Kozuchi incantation had reached its peak. Without needing to fire a conspicuous projectile, the golden Mind fluctuation resonated directly above her targets' heads.
Uchide no Kozuchi!
Two pillars of golden light radiating warmly and majestically struck down from the sky, encapsulating the bodies of Bell Cranel and Ais Wallenstein simultaneously.
The air around them exploded.
The Excelia pressure inside Bell and Ais's bodies skyrocketed artificially yet absolutely. The sensation of overflowing power burned their blood vessels, expanding their Mind capacity and tearing through the physical limitations of their soul vessels. Haruhime's level-boosting magic worked perfectly without interruption.
Within seconds, the green aura from Ais's Ariel mixed with the golden light glow. Ais's base status, which had been capped at Level 6, was now forcibly raised, breaking through the invisible wall and touching the realm of Level 7. Her muscles tensed, feeling a surge of power she had never felt before.
Beside her, a much more terrifying phenomenon occurred. Bell Cranel, whose true status had already reached Level 7 thanks to Alfia's desperate forging and the pile of Excelia from his victory over the Corrupted Spirit, now received that level boost. His physical parameters broke through the bounds of impossibility, leaping and setting foot upon the pinnacle of Orario City: Level 8.
A pure white aura exploded from Bell's body. The magical pressure he emitted made the muddy ground beneath his feet crack and sink. The speed, destructive power, and perceptual sharpness of the two heroes were now in a completely different dimension.
Sensing an aura explosion stronger than Ottar's, Dina and Vena immediately halted their exchange of attacks. Vena canceled her air footholds, floated down quickly, and landed right beside Dina. The two stood side by side, observing the change in Excelia pressure with narrowed eyes.
"So there really is a temporary level-boosting ability, huh," Vena said with an analytical tone. There wasn't the slightest bit of panic on her face or in her voice. Instead, Vena's eyes radiated the interest of a mage observing a system anomaly. "How fascinating. Support magic from the rearguard. No wonder you two were forcing a disadvantageous frontal battle all this time. You sacrificed your bodies as bait so the magic chant wouldn't be detected."
Dina twirled her wind sword slowly, clearing the dust from its blade. "A very good and bold plan." Dina lifted her face, staring straight at Bell and Ais who were now radiating auras equivalent to Level 8 and Level 7. "But don't celebrate just yet, you two."
Without wasting a single second to let Bell and Ais take the initiative, Dina and Vena changed their standing postures in unison. The two looked at each other for a fraction of a millisecond. That gaze confirmed their distance, line of sight, and soul connection.
A much denser and more massive emerald-green wind light exploded from the elf sisters' bodies.
Dis Resonance was activated once again.
But this time, the Skill was drawn out and forced to operate beyond its natural limits. The sisters' soul resonance created external Mind circuits that supported each other. Because the threat before them (Bell and Ais) had drastically increased their levels, the instinct of Dis Resonance forced Dina and Vena's physical and magical parameters to also be pushed up exponentially to counterbalance that pressure. Coupled with the absolute compression of the Anemo Calyx, the air on the eastern wing suddenly turned into a temporary vacuum, before a hurricane swirled wildly around their bodies.
This time, it was Bell and Ais's turn to be astounded.
Bell's red eyes widened. His grip on the Hestia Knife tightened. He felt clearly that the pressure emitted by Dina and Vena was no longer in the realm of Level 5, 6, or even 7. The absolute coordination and multiplication from Dis Resonance combined with the elemental manipulation of the Anemo Calyx made the existence of the elf sisters in front of him radiate the exact same terror as Zald.
Bell's tactical brain immediately recalculated the probability of victory. With his current Level 8 status, he indeed possessed superior physical strength, but if he forced an attack into the sisters' soul resonance storm without careful calculation, he and Ais could be trapped in a web of wind.
"We have no other choice! Ais-san, attack!" yelled Bell, refusing to give his enemies breathing room to cast AoE magic.
With his Level 8 speed, Bell dashed like a flash of white lightning. Light particles began to gather around his body and knife blade. The clear chime of a bell echoed across the battlefield.
Chime! Chime!
Bell activated Heroic Wish: Argonaut while running, charging his attack (Charge) to create a single slash that could shatter their formation. At the same time, Ais used her Level 7 speed, pushing her Ariel magic to the absolute limit, then leaped to slash Desperate from the opposite direction, targeting Dina.
However, the battle did not go as they had hoped at all.
Dina did not evade. She stood firm in her place, staring sharply at the two deadly attacks, then cast Magic silently from her lips.
Ventus Canticum (Song of the Wind).
An absolutely dense wind dome exploded out from Dina's body. The Anemo element spun at speeds that broke the laws of physics, creating a spherical barrier covering both her and Vena simultaneously. Her Shield development ability activated instantly, increasing the durability and impact resistance of the wind dome to the level of a steel fortress shield.
Ais's Ariel-coated Desperate slash, and Bell's Hestia Knife—which had been charged with Argonaut for two seconds—slammed into the surface of the wind dome simultaneously from two sides.
BAMMMMM!!
The sound of metal clashing with solid air was deafening. A giant shockwave swept the ground for a radius of tens of meters. However, a terrifying thing occurred. The Ventus Canticum wind dome only vibrated for a moment, not shattering in the slightest.
Not only did it hold absolutely, but the wind currents inside the dome flowed with a gentle rhythm, passively absorbing some of the external Mind and recovering Dina and Vena's stamina thanks to the secondary effect of Ventus Canticum supported by Dina's Spirit Healing ability. The harder Bell and Ais attacked, the faster Dina recovered her condition.
From within that impenetrable protective dome, Vena launched a counterattack. Thanks to her Magic Resistance stabilizing the residual magic vibrations from Ais and Bell's attacks, Vena could focus on casting magic without fear of interruption. She aimed her sword through the wall of the wind dome and fired dozens of Ignis Gladius and sharp Ventus Ruina vortexes from point-blank range straight at Bell and Ais's faces.
Shocked by the barrage of attacks from inside the fortress, Bell and Ais were forced to cancel the remaining momentum of their attacks and jump backward in panic. They rolled on the muddy ground to avoid the deadly projectiles tearing up the earth where they had stood a second ago.
The two of them stood up panting heavily. Their Level 8 and Level 7 status advantage seemed meaningless. Of course, Bell and Ais were not at an advantage at all.
Bell's brain spun at maximum speed. His Initiative ability continuously recorded every movement of the sisters. He compiled data, analyzed it, and searched for a gap in the absolute wall before him.
If I force a frontal attack now, both of us will definitely lose, Bell thought, gritting his teeth.
His analysis was crystal clear. Dina held control over absolute defense (Ventus Canticum), stamina recovery (Spirit Healing), and illusion disruption (Phantasma Ventus). Vena possessed the dominance of high-penetration attacks (Ventus Ruina), rapid-fire projectiles (Ignis Gladius), and passive magic amplification (Mage). The two were bound by Dis Resonance, making them move with a single mind without the need for verbal communication. The defensive and offensive formation of these elf sisters possessed no logical blind spots. The brute strength from Haruhime's temporary level up would never be enough to break through tactics executed with such perfection.
Bell and Ais once again tried to dash forward. They had to apply pressure. A close-quarters exchange of attacks ensued once more, but this time it was far more brutal.
Bell swung the Hestia Knife, combining it with continuous point-blank Firebolt shots. But Vena, aided by Magic Resistance and the reflexes of Dis Resonance, easily deflected the fire flashes and countered with wind slashes guided by her Swordsman ability. At the same time, Dina constantly used Curse of Attraction to disrupt the focal point of Ais's eyes, causing the sword princess's deadly slashes to always miss vital organs by mere centimeters, all while constantly hiding behind Phantasma Ventus illusions.
Every time Bell's Level 8 speed nearly breached their defense, Dina and Vena swapped positions seamlessly, covering each other's weaknesses.
After the umpteenth highly physically draining exchange of attacks, Bell and Ais were pushed back by the wind explosion of Ventus Canticum suddenly deployed by Dina.
Bell breathed heavily. His chest rose and fell rapidly. Sweat mixed with dirt clung to his face. His red eyes glared sharply, piercing through the battlefield dust, straight at the standing positions of Dina and Vena, who still looked calm.
Bell replayed the entire recording of the fight in his head. He noticed the position of Vena's shoulders when casting magic. He observed Dina's foot stance when creating the wind dome. And most importantly, he noted the direction of the two elves' eyeballs every time they performed a position-swapping maneuver. Their eyes were always searching for each other. There was always visual contact for a fraction of a second before Dis Resonance adjusted their speed.
And right after that chain of deductive reasoning concluded, an idea exploded inside Bell Cranel's head.
A brilliant tactical epiphany. The pure fruit of the physical and mental torture he endured while fighting Alfia in the past. He had found the single fatal flaw in the flawless mechanical coordination of the elf sisters.
Dis Resonance... The absolute condition for its activation is they must fight within the same line of sight, Bell thought. The corner of the youth's lips curled up slightly, realizing the tactical truth. They must look at each other for that soul resonance to remain connected. If I can sever the line of sight between the two of them at a highly crucial moment... that resonance circuit will shatter and their stats will plummet.
Bell turned to look at Ais beside him, who was still in a ready stance. He gripped the hilt of the Hestia Knife tightly. His aura stabilized once again. Bell was now completely certain; he knew how to turn the tide and absolutely defeat Dina and Vena. The combat stage of the eastern wing was just about to reach its climax.
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P - Gem_Blanks
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