The rose pattern swirled in on itself, and the potent trace of mana collected at its core. I wasn’t sure what skill it was, but even I could tell something dangerous was coming from it.

  The rose budded, exuding a harsh pink glow that flushed out all other sights and forced my eyes shut. The ringing cries of Veyra and Hollow’s telepathy continued on as light filled the space between us.

  Perception went into high alert, as I felt the overwhelming presence of mana headed my way. The chilling shriek of Veyra’s voice followed, but I already knew what was coming. The blast was too close and much too large to avoid.

  Mana Shield!!

  I barely had any mana left, but it was all I could think to do. Surprisingly, the shield went up, and a flash of light domed in front of me to protect me from the blast.

  A powerful beam of pink energy exploded out from the rose and sent cracks across my shield. It was seconds from shattering, and my mana quickly depleted by the second. The dull glow of blue indicated that my MP bar was nearing its end.

  What– my skills are working again? I can’t waste this opportunity, just do what you can to survive! My hands grabbed the beam as the command raced through my thoughts, Parasite!

  Black mist circled from my palms and coated my grip as the potency of the beam quickly dissolved until nearly nothing remained. I couldn’t believe my eyes, it actually worked. My MP bar quickly shot up, as if it had never dropped in the first place.

  I can’t believe how much mana she had behind that attack! Seriously, if I were missing either Mana Shield or Parasite, I would have taken damage there. Even a scrape could kill me right now… I need to create some distance.”

  “No fair. Hey, hey, you can’t be so greedy!” Delta yelled in protest. “I tried finishing you off quickly, but now you’re being rude. Is it that you want to die painfully? Do you want me to kill your friends? Do you? Do you?!”

  (Would you stop talking already!) More emotion than I cared to share slipped its way through.

  Delta licked her lips and gripped her tiny waist.

  “Yes… more… show me more of those sides you’re keeping hidden. I want to see everything about you. Your deepest self, so when I squeeze the light out of your eyes…” Her lips trailed off as a twisted expression took over. “I can see how you truly feel about me!!”

  Delta burst forward and in the blink of an eye, had closed the distance between us. I tried erecting a wall, but my magic had been cut off again. I panicked and held up my arms to block it, but against her strength, I was slammed through the air and into a nearby wall.

  Cracks spriderwebbed out behind me as I lodged into the stone surface.

  So…strong…

  The twisted smile on her face wrapped over both cheeks, “Ha-ha-ha! Hey, hey, what else can you do? Hmm?” Delta stopped to flick away another arrow.

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  “Don’t take another step towards him!” Veyra drew her bow, wrapped under the brilliant emerald light of her power.

  Visceral strings of light flowed over her arrow as it shot from the bow, but with a wave of Delta’s hand, its effects ceased and snapped behind Delta’s backhand.

  Even as she batted away the powerful beams of light Veyra aimed her way, Delta exhaled powerful yawns every few seconds. Her moods were way too erratic, but one thing that was clear from the beginning was that she wasn’t trying very hard. If she wanted to, I was sure she could wipe us all out in a matter of minutes.

  Why is she doing this? Is it really just because we’re after her master? No, that doesn’t track either. Her master sounds stronger than her, so why would she get this obsessed over us? I think there’s more to this.

  I scanned over the area and couldn’t spot Hollow. Suddenly, Delta froze in her fight against Veyra and glanced over her shoulder. Her brow raised with a terrifying scowl, and pink magic collected at her fingertips.

  “Stay away from there!” She aimed the attack towards the path behind us, and Hollow dropped his Stealth Step skill.

  Using his sword to block, he prepared for the worst. Under the harsh bolt of energy headed his way, his tiny frame was even smaller by comparison. I was sure it’d kill him.

  No!!

  Stone walls broke up from the ground and blocked the attack. The blast sent Hollow flying back, but nothing that would kill him.

  What the… it worked? Why did my skill work just then? My eyes wandered between Hollow and Delta with curious glances.

  Until now, whenever I tried protecting myself against Delta’s attacks, my connection with mana was sealed off. She was somehow blocking my ability to use them, something she proudly announced at the beginning of our fight. However, that was the second time that I managed to use my skill without any disruptions.

  The only difference between the two instances was that Delta had been using magic attacks each time. It was possible that she couldn’t activate her magic-disrupting skill at the same time as her regular attacks. There wasn’t exactly a lot of time to ponder over it, so that had to be my best bet.

  She didn’t want Hollow heading that way, so maybe she’s trying to keep us here. For what? Hiding something important back there?

  I extended my thoughts out to Veyra and Hollow through our telepathy chat,

  (Hollow, think you can make it towards the exit again? I think she’s trying to keep us here.)

  “That’s too dangerous, Atlas. What if Hollow gets hurt? He’ll die.” Concern riddled her voice.

  (I’m sure she’ll try to kill him, that’s the point. I know it sounds crazy, but I don’t have time to explain… just trust me!)

  “I will follow…any order.” Hollow nodded in agreement and concealed himself under the mirage of his Stealth Step.

  Delta’s eyes immediately strayed from us, looking for the small knight's position, but even she was baffled. Not only was his physical form completely erased, but so were his traces of mana.

  She turned towards the path headed away from the dead end we stood in front, her eyes let out a harsh crimson gleam.

  Pink magic collected at her hand as the spectral rose formed in front of her, “Don’t mess with me– spirit!” Just as she prepared to throw it, a barrage of flames crashed into her side.

  Buried under the intense explosion of flames, Delta was lost under the smoke and debris. The concentrated mana surrounding her was depleted, but I had yet to see any experience points gained. In other words, she wasn’t dead.

  (It worked! Both of you head towards the exit and see what’s up ahead! Whatever’s there, she doesn’t want us getting anywhere close to it. No matter what, make sure not to turn back!)

  Hollow and Veyra took off in a sprint with me behind them. Occasionally glancing over our shoulders to make sure we were really in the clear, but my nerves never settled. Without the system's notification that I had gotten my experience points, I could never know for certain she wasn’t coming after us.