Risebelle rushed toward Roselle, who was set on fire by the infernal cage Alan placed aroung them with his magic. Runebelle was right behind with panic flickering in her sad eyes.

  “We have to cool her off—quickly!” Risebelle snapped while thrusting her hands forward. Water magic surged from her palms and flowed toward Roselle’s burning body.

  At the same time, Runebelle extended her arms and summoned her ice magic.

  But the moment her ice formed, it sizzled into steam, vanishing before it could even touch Roselle. Risebelle’s water managed to dampen some of the flames, but it wasn’t nearly enough to put out all of the flames.

  Risebelle’s breath hitched.

  "N-No," she choked out.

  “You must have thought the Magic Academy was a joke,” Alan said. His smirk was replaced with a hard glare towards the girls.

  “Sure, you might’ve somehow overcome the Sword God Aliana. You even found a way to take down Abner, the Elite Mage of Light.” He let out a low chuckle. “Don’t get me wrong—those are incredible victories.”

  He raised a single finger with flames swirling at its tip.

  “But me? I’m in a league of my own.”

  The fire behind him roared even higher with an inferno framing his figure.

  “This is what I wanted to show you. Even at full strength, you still can’t reach my level of—” he paused, and his smirk returned.

  “Hotness.”

  Alan gathered flames into his palm. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a barrage of flaming pillars.

  Risebelle and Runebelle darted to the sides, narrowly avoiding the cascading torrents of fire. But in their frantic evasion, Risebelle quickly realized with her eyes going wide:

  The flames weren't meant for them.

  The moment she turned her head, she saw Roselle’s small, burning body taking the full brunt of the attack.

  It caused explosion of fire which caused a gut-wrenching scream from Risebelle’s sister. Roselle tried to roll on the ground in desperation, but the flames only spread faster, searing her body further.

  "Don't try to roll, you idiot!" Risebelle shouted in a panic.

  Roselle curled up, clutching her arms. When she spoke, it came out in a broken whimper."It hurts… it hurts…!"

  Her usually bright blue eyes was now blurred with tears.

  In a blinding burst of flames and an ear-splitting roar, Alan shouted,

  "Flame Burst!"

  The fiery aura surrounding his body exploded outward in a devastating wave of heat and destruction. The force of the blast engulfed Roselle, Risebelle and Runebelle consuming everything in its path.

  Their vision went black. When their eyes finally opened, they found themselves lying on the searing ground of flames beneath them.

  The sisters were battered and scorched. The forest around them had been reduced to smoldering ashes and the sky was thick with the scent of burning trees.

  [System Notification]

  Roselle's Lifeforce: 17%

  Risebelle's Lifeforce: 24%

  Runebelle's Lifeforce: 61%

  Risebelle quickly checked the system information that displayed itself to them. Her gaze shifted from the system notification to her sisters' eyes.

  Roselle was sobbing. Runebelle’s sadness looked deeper than they had ever been.

  Runebelle struggled to her feet and helped up Runebelle.

  Risebelle urgently said, "Runebelle, use your healing shots on her, quickly! We can't lose her like this!"

  Runebelle nodded. She summoned her small cannon, focusing her energy on the healing shots. With careful aim, she fired toward Roselle.

  The healing shots enveloped Roselle in a gentle glow and the magical energy began to mend her burns and injuries. Slowly but surely, Roselle's lifeforce percentage started to rise.

  [System Notification]

  Roselle's Lifeforce: 41%

  "Alright..." Risebelle muttered. "I don't want to do this, but..." She trailed off as a blue aura began to glow around her, first faint, then stronger with each passing moment. The color deepened, turning almost to a sapphire shade, and her hair took on the same color.

  She took a deep breath, and then shouted,

  "Aqua Whirlwind!"

  A massive torrent of water manifested, churning and twisting into a cyclone that rushed toward Roselle. The force of it hit Roselle like a tidal wave. The heat around them evaporated instantly, and Roselle was freed from the burning inferno that had tormented her.

  But in that same moment, Risebelle fell down on one knee. The deep blue aura around her dissipated as quickly as it had appeared. Her hair flickered back to its usual blue hue, and she gasped for air.

  It had worked. Roselle's body was no longer burning. The fire was gone.

  Roselle, though weakened, blinked up at her sister.

  Runebelle fired more healing shots to stabilize Roselle further.

  The system notification flashed again, showing Roselle's lifeforce now at 60%.

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  Roselle slowly pushed herself to her feet. "I'm starting to not like flames," she muttered. "They’re... they’re not very nice."

  Risebelle, still kneeling, shot her a glance. "They're not known for being friendly or considerate," she said dryly.

  Runebelle gave Roselle a soft, concerned look, but there was a spark of hope in her eyes.

  Risebelle looked at both of her sisters and said, “Listen carefully, both of you. We aren’t going to survive long if we move around without planning out our actions, which this floor of flames won’t allow us to do. I have a plan and it's risky, but it's our best shot."

  Alan stood still. He attempted to process the recent turn of events. Risebelle’s water magic was amplified to such an intense degree that it momentarily overpowered his flames. Just for a brief second, he had been taken off guard.

  Then there was Runebelle. He’d seen her fire her shots at Roselle, but his confusion deepened when he noticed Roselle’s condition improving. The burns, the damage from the fire weren’t as severe anymore.

  He concluded that Runebelle had been firing those healing shots, yes. But why was she healing Roselle so urgently? Were these ‘robots’ truly acting as if they were sisters?

  His brow furrowed, then he shook his head. ‘Doesn’t matter. They bought themselves time, but for how long?’

  Roselle, Risebelle and Runebelle unleashed a volley of cannon fire at the ground beneath them, creating a powerful propulsion that sent them up into the air. They soared above the blazing wall of fire, narrowly avoiding the searing flames that threatened to consume them.

  They turned their cannons towards Alan. The combined firepower of their cannons converged into a single, devastating energy beam aimed directly at him.

  Alan desperately launched a blast of flames to intercept the oncoming energy beam.

  Risebelle’s eyes sharpened. She shouted, "Roselle! Push to 200%! Now!"

  "But if I do that—!"

  “Do it now!” Risebelle snapped. “Only for an instant! Trust me!”

  Roselle nodded. "Okay!"

  In that instant, a red aura flared around Roselle. The beam from her cannon electrified with a red intensity. With a guttural scream, Roselle’s released beam became massive-sized.

  Alan’s eyes widened in shock. “What—!?”

  The fire blast was overwhelmed by the might of the empowered beam. The explosion that followed was deafening and rocked the ground beneath them.

  The shockwave sent the sisters tumbling toward the ground. They landed hard, but the earth beneath them that was plagued with searing heat was replaced by strange coolness that spread throughout the battlefield. The air still had a faint, lingering burn but it was nothing compared to the fire they faced earlier.

  Roselle, gasping for breath staggered to her feet. "Is... is it over?"

  Alan stood tall, though his once towering flames had been blasted back, revealing the faint singe marks on his body. He gritted his teeth.

  “It’s not over,” he snarled. “You’re still not turned to ash yet.”

  Risebelle scanned the area. She caught the subtle change in the environment. The wall of flames that had once surrounded them was now wider, the heat less intense but still threatening.

  She turned to her sisters and said, “I know how this magic works now.”

  Alan's glare intensified. Risebelle continued while now facing Alan. “At first, the heat is so intense that it makes it look nearly impossible to beat you. But…” She paused with a confidence in her tone that grew on each word. “That all changes once you take a hit, doesen’t it? Your flames die down and weaken.”

  Runebelle, standing nearby glanced around as well, taking in the changed atmosphere.

  Risebelle looked back at her sisters. “That means I can use my water magic freely now.”

  Roselle nodded with a small smile coming to her face.

  Alan’s face twisted into a scowl. “Impressive deduction, Detective, but I can easily set this ground back to the way it was.”

  Risebelle’s gaze sharpened. “But can you do it faster than I can make my move?”

  Alan's eyes flickered with uncertainty, but his fiery power surged around him once again.

  "Acid Rain!" Risebelle shouted.

  The acid rain descended with a vengeance, first corroding the barrier of fire and then eating away at the fiery wall.

  Alan's eyes widened. "No..." he muttered. He had planned to keep the sisters contained, but the acid rain was ruining everything.

  Without hesitation, he turned his attention to Risebelle. His flames erupted around him. He moved to go and strike at her directly.

  Risebelle smirked. “Just as planned!” she shouted.

  Roselle tossed her cannon at Alan with precision. Alan noticed the incoming weapon toward him

  "Not this time!" he growled and swayed to the side but while the cannon sailed through the air, Roselle leapt into the air.

  Roselle raised her hands high. The air around her began to hum and the ground beneath her vibrated with the build-up of energy.

  “THUNDERCLAP, SUUUURRGGEEE!!!!” she screamed.

  A ferocious burst of lightning erupted from Roselle’s body, forming a massive spinning fan of crackling electricity.

  The fan of lightning shot out toward Alan with terrifying speed. The moment the fan reached Alan, the air exploded in a violent burst, sending a blinding flash of light that engulfed everything.

  “NOOO!!” Alan screamed before being consumed by the attack.

  The heat of his fiery barrier was gone, and the flames that had encircled the area vanished.

  Roselle gracefully on the ground. She staggered for a moment, but her eyes locked onto Alan, who fell incapacitated at her feet.

  “Well, you actually did it,” Risebelle said with both surprise and admiration.

  She chuckled to herself. "Guess it takes an idiot to beat an idiot."

  Roselle frowned while wiping a sweat from her brow. “Will you ever stop calling me that?”

  Risebelle gave her a shrug.

  Runebelle, who had been standing quietly behind them let out a small sigh of relief. “We... we did it,” she whispered softly.

  The trio made their way toward Alan, who remained sprawled out on the ground, still twitching slightly from the remnants of Roselle's lightning.

  Just then, his eyes snapped open, and a cry from Alan triggered a sudden resurgence of flames. His entire body was enveloped in an aura of fire and the scorched ground ignited once more, erasing the Acid Rain which was still dropping down over the battlefield due to the intense heat.

  "Behold, my Second extreme magic: Inferno Incarnate!"

  Risebelle dropped to one knee. Her lifeforce dropped rapidly. Runebelle swiftly aimed her healing shot at Risebelle. The healing magic worked its restorative magicallowing her to stand once more.

  Risebelle grit her teeth and shouted with frustration.” Damn it! Just when you think you have this bastard he goes and pulls out a trump card like this? This guy…What a pain in the ass..."

  Alan’s eyes burned with renewed intensity as the inferno enveloped him. “You forced my hand,” he growled. “Using two extreme magic spells in one day... That’d be enough to kill a normal mage. But lucky for me, I’m not one of those normal types.”

  The flames around him surged violently, rising higher into the sky.

  Risebelle’s hand gripped her side. She pushed herself to her feet, but her legs shook from the strain. “So, this is your last act of desperation, huh?”

  “Just don’t go thinking that you’ve won yet,” Alan spat with more intensity. “I’m not done with you three... Not by a long shot.”

  "Runebelle," Risebelle began with a whisper, "do you think you can do ‘that’ with your other element affinities? Transfer them to us, just like you were able to before with fire?"

  Runebelle nodded slowly.

  Roselle on the other hand looked confused. “How is that going to help?”

  Risebelle spoke with urgency, "Remember when Runebelle transferred her fire magic affinity to your Cannon against Aliana, the Sword God?”

  Roselle's recalled the battle with Aliana. The memory flickered in her mind, and she nodded. “Right... when Runebelle transferred her fire affinity to my cannon, my lightning got amplified... It was like a supercharged me.”

  Risebelle’s eyes sharpened. “Exactly. Now, imagine that with your lightning and my water magic. Water and electricity together make for one hell of a combination—amplifying our power even more. But we need Runebelle to transfer her ice affinity to both of us for my plan to work.”

  Roselle blinked. “So, if she gives us her ice affinity, we can mix it with our magic? How’s that going to help against his flames?”

  Risebelle’s face became serious. “The ice will melt instantly when it touches Alan’s flames—his heat is just too intense for it to stay solid. But that’s not the point. The point is that when the ice melts, we’ll have water. And water is key here.”

  She turned to Roselle with her gaze firm. “The conductivity of water will channel your lightning into a much more potent force. And for me, I’ll have more water to work with, giving me the advantage I need to control the battlefield.”

  Runebelle’s eyes were focused. “I understand,” she said softly. She was barely audible over the roar of Alan’s flames. “I’ll do it...”

  Risebelle looked ahead at Alan and said, “This will be an all or nothing gamble…”