“Since the challenger has decided to fight the challenged by herself, the unrelated parties shall be excused from the ring,” Lord Narvim calmly declared.
Shortly after the unrelated parties were removed from the battle ring, Lord Narvim glanced at Fallen Witch Levana and said, “You do not need to witness this fight, black witch.”
“If no one pleads for you, you will be sent to the land of fire to take the Trial by Fire.”
Nevertheless, not a single dragon spoke for Levana.
The True Dragons didn’t have any reason to help out someone associated with the person who murdered one of their young.
Roar!
(Get rid of her!)
(Let the black witch die!)
(Justice for my child!)
Several True Dragons voiced their strong opinion on the matter with cold gazes. They didn’t have a hint of compassion for the black witch.
“Very well.” Lord Narvim calmly nodded without any surprise and issued his instruction, “Someone, come and take her to the land of fire to undergo the Trial by Fire.”
“Yes, my Lord!”
Shortly after a Peak-level Rank 4 True Dragon volunteered, Levana was quickly taken away to the Ninth Peak’s center.
There, they made their way down to the land of fire.
Levana didn’t resist nor attempt to escape during her escort. There was no use in trying without Claudette’s spatial ability.
‘My only chance of survival lies in this so-called Trial of Fire. Fortunately, I am a fire-attribute High Witch, so I should have a better chance than others,’ Levana silently thought.
…
Meanwhile, shortly after sending Fallen Witch Levana off, Lord Narvim shifted his attention to Vaan’s side.
“Human, how about joining this Lord’s side for a chat as we watch the battle unfold together?” Lord Narvim invited Vaan.
“Since the Lord of the Ninth Peak took the initiative to invite me, how can I decline? I would be honored to join you for a chat, Your Excellency,” Vaan accepted cordially.
“Be careful,” Astoria reminded with a whisper.
“Your concern is always appreciated, but you don’t need to worry, Headmaster Astoria,” Vaan calmly assured her before saying, “I am a man who has lived in the Kingdom of Black Rose all my life. I know where to draw the line between respect and rudeness.”
“If you keep this up, others might mistake you for a naggy wife sending her husband off,” Vaan added a joke with a smile.
Astoria was caught off guard by his teasing.
“W-who is your wife?” she responded in a chiding tone with a slight blush.
Nevertheless, the tension she felt from being surrounded by so many powerful True Dragons was slightly abated.
“Hahaha…” Vaan simply laughed it off and left.
“This guy…” Astoria softly muttered with an annoyed look.
But shortly after Vaan disappeared to the dragon lord’s side for a chat, her lips curved into a smile. At the same time, she had a blank look in her eyes as if she was trying to imagine her life as Vaan’s wife.
Nevertheless, the image was quickly scrapped after it appeared in her mind as she recalled Hester was still beside her.
…
“My sincerest apologies, Your Excellency. I hope I didn’t make you wait long,” Vaan apologized.
“Not at all, Human.” Lord Narvim casually shook his head and asked, “Why don’t you start by telling me your name? It would be rude of this Lord to keep calling the Spirit Contractor of a High-rank Earth Spirit as Human.”
“It’s Vaan Raphna or Vahn Cadieux. Whichever you prefer, Your Excellency. I go by both names,” Vaan replied.
“Well then, Vaan. It seems you are as interested in this chat as I am,” Lord Narvim calmly mentioned before giving him the courtesy of the first question, “This Lord will let you ask first.”
“Then, I shall be frank and bold, Your Excellency. I noticed that you treated the Fallen Witches quite fairly. If we had been in their shoes, you would have treated us the same way,” Vaan mentioned before asking, “You don’t have any discrimination against the Fallen Witches, do you? Your Excellency?”
“Hah, an interesting first question, Vaan. You were quite sharp to have noticed—”
Roar!
The dragon lord didn’t finish speaking before the crowd of True Dragons suddenly roared after witnessing the start of the battle between Aeliana and Elvira.
Boom!
A lance of black water had been fired without prior warning, forcing Aeliana to conjure several swords of light with her first Specialized Magic to block the attack.
However, the lance of black water quickly shattered Aeliana’s light swords one by one before striking her in the shoulder and knocking her off her feet.
She was sent flying over thirty yards before she came to a complete stop. Even so, she was still some distance from the wall.
“A sneak attack, huh? How unsurprising, coming from a deplorable and ugly mug of a person like you,” Aeliana spat condescendingly.
“In a battle of life and death, the methods do not matter, only the results. And in a battle of magic, the one to strike first gains the upper hand,” Elvira coldly responded without guilt or shame. “I will not ask for forgiveness. Just know that you suffered at my hands in the past. And today, you will also die by my hands.”
Aeliana’s gaze sharpened before she noticed her shoulder wound was healing.
The black water lance had penetrated her shoulder, and the dark-attribute mana infused in the water spell corroded her flesh, preventing her wound from healing.
“Insignificant trick,” Aeliana spat.
In the next moment, she decisively and ruthlessly dug into her open wound and tore out the corrupted flesh with her own hand without so much as a wince of pain.
Shortly after she tossed aside the corrupted piece of flesh in a dismissive manner, her shoulder wound rapidly healed.
Although her light-attribute mana could have negated the dark-attribute mana’s effect, she didn’t want to turn it into a battle of attrition in which Elvira clearly held the upper hand due to her larger mana pool.
“Don’t think your death will be an easy one, Elvira,” Aeliana spat as she underwent Dryad Transformation, turning her body into fibrous substances.
At the same time, she fully released her suppressed killing intent.