Chapter 92: Blazing Star Descent

As time passed, Imeline’s mastery over evading the purple barrages began to grow. The incident at the Crimson Family mansion, where she’d relied purely on reactive spatial teleportation without pre-setting coordinates, had undeniably imbued her with both inspiration and confidence.

At first, a few bullets would still slip past Imeline’s evasions, necessitating the use of her Ring of Arrow Evasion to block them all. Yet, by now, scarcely a single projectile could penetrate within a meter of her.

“Clang!”

“Thor! You’re back! Are you alright?”

A crisp clang of a block resounded as the purple-black projectile, having bypassed their initial defense, was similarly deflected by the Holy Shield. The bullet’s impact proved utterly incapable of piercing the sacred barrier, its divine energy instantly neutralizing the corrosive effects. Indeed, the black-haired girl’s barrage stood no chance against their combined defense.

“Yes, don’t worry about me, Imeline. I’ll handle the defense. You can spare some effort to use your magic to restrain that Vampire; those two might not be a match for her.”

Attestor, shield firmly grasped in both hands, stood resolute before Imeline. A faint white luminescence emanated from her form, and astonishingly, the purple barrages arcing through the air subtly shifted course. No longer assailing Imeline, they instead redirected their fury towards Attestor.

Such was Attestor’s unique ability: to draw the attacks of others within a specific radius.

As all the black-haired girl’s barrages were drawn away by Attestor, Imeline instantly felt the pressure plummet. At last, she was free to unleash an offense. A fleeting gleam sparked in the depths of her eyes, a purple magic circle shimmering within their reflection.

From the outset, Imeline had kept her True Sight active. This innate ability allowed her to discern elemental traces in the air, locate concealed targets, and even track objects moving at high velocity. Her earlier success in fending off the black-haired girl’s relentless barrage was, in part, a testament to the investigative power of her True Sight.

However, her mental energy had been entirely consumed by tracking the incoming projectiles, leaving her no opportunity to pinpoint the black-haired girl’s exact location. Now that Attestor had assumed responsibility for their defense, Imeline could finally divert her focus to seeking out their elusive assailant.

Meanwhile, Lovelenica darted through the abandoned houses. The black-haired girl, naturally aware of Lovelenica’s pursuit, fired a volley of shots in her direction. Yet, each was expertly deflected by Lovelenica’s sharp sword and her Ring of Arrow Evasion. When her ranged attacks proved futile, the black-haired girl opted not to engage Lovelenica in close combat, choosing instead to continue her retreat.

The black-haired girl believed that while she held an advantage in close quarters, maintaining a ranged assault offered a far greater margin for error. Even if Lovelenica possessed a Ring of Arrow Evasion, it was merely a consumable item, bound to break eventually. With her ample supply of ammunition, she was confident she could shatter every Ring of Arrow Evasion Lovelenica and her companions possessed.

However, as the black-haired girl continued her retreat, she suddenly perceived an unnatural luminescence emanating from above.

Unseen until now, a colossal fireball had materialized in the sky. It plummeted earthward like a falling star, aiming directly for the black-haired girl’s seemingly minuscule form.

The black-haired girl’s eyes trembled, and she instinctively glanced towards Imeline, who had already put a considerable distance between them. Imeline stood behind Attestor, wreathed in intense fire elements. Her hands gripped her wand tightly, and her lips seemed to be uttering an incantation. This massive fireball was, without a doubt, Imeline’s formidable counterattack.

“Boom!”

The fireball slammed down from the sky. A searing heatwave and engulfing flames instantly swallowed the entire street, transforming it into a raging inferno.

Having unleashed her potent attack, Imeline staggered, leaning heavily on her wand. She used it as a makeshift crutch, barely managing to steady herself and prevent a complete collapse to the ground.

“Hmph… What good is Arcane Technology? Can it even compare to a single Mage like us?”

Gazing at the distant ruins, now a blazing sea of fire, Imeline couldn’t resist a silent jibe at the black-haired girl.

The spell she had just unleashed was not the true Meteorite Spell, but rather a Rank 5 magic known as Blazing Star Descent. It merely mimicked the Meteorite Spell, conjuring a colossal fireball in the sky.

As both a prodigy Mage and a member of the royal family, Imeline received significantly more resources and tutelage from the Mage Association than her peers. Though she had yet to reach Rank 4, she was already capable of wielding Rank 5 magic.

Naturally, the exorbitant cost was the complete depletion of her magic power and mental energy. In her current state, she likely couldn’t conjure even a minuscule spark of magic. Remaining conscious was, in itself, the absolute limit of her endurance.

The distance between the black-haired girl and Imeline far exceeded the effective range of typical Rank 3 spells, placing her beyond Imeline’s conventional reach. This was precisely why Imeline had unleashed Blazing Star Descent, a spell renowned for its extended range and expansive area of effect. With such a wide-reaching attack, even the black-haired girl’s swift movements wouldn’t allow her to escape the devastating blast radius.

In Imeline’s estimation, Arcane Technology was utterly contemptible, hardly worthy of recognition.

Moreover, those who wielded such technology were heretics, a danger to humanity. Being repeatedly threatened by a gun-wielding Vampire was deeply irritating to Imeline.

Hence, her taunt had followed her attack.

Yet, from within the inferno, the shadowy figure remarkably sprang forth once more.

The black-haired girl had endured the descending fireball. Just as it fell, she had plunged into one of the abandoned houses, seeking refuge in a secluded corner.

While the fireball’s immense impact had utterly demolished the surrounding structures, the black-haired girl had not suffered a direct hit. Despite being buried beneath the rubble, her Vampire physiology allowed her to claw her way free from the debris.

Her uniform was caked in dust, torn in several places to reveal pristine skin marred by fresh bloodstains. Even her long, dark hair had become somewhat disheveled and frizzy.

Her wounds, however, showed no signs of regeneration. It seemed she, much like Rachel, had not inherited the unique restorative abilities characteristic of other Bloodkin.

Feeling the raw pain coursing through her body, the black-haired girl’s resolve wavered; she was now contemplating retreat.

An injured target, she would likely stand no chance against the combined assault of Lovelenica and Lucia. There was a real possibility they would leave her here, permanently.

Just as the black-haired girl’s thoughts turned to retreat, a silver figure descended from above, landing directly over her.

“Clang!”

Several iron swords plunged into the ground around the black-haired girl, encircling her completely. It was Lovelenica.

Moments before, Lovelenica had maintained a certain distance from the black-haired girl, remaining outside the fireball’s destructive radius. After the black-haired girl was consumed by the inferno, Lovelenica hadn’t lingered. Instead, she had charged headlong into the blazing conflagration, braving the explosive heatwave, which allowed her to apprehend the black-haired girl the instant she emerged.