Dark Magic.

It was a disgusting power gotten from an otherworldly source known as Dark Energy. In this world, it was a deadly force to be reckoned with, and even the mightiest of champions feared its effects.

That was because the effects of Dark Magic were absolute.

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>WHOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSHHHHHH!!!<

Jane Ursula lunged at Ciel, donning a murderous gleam in her eyes. Her intention was plain as day, and the brutal grin plastered on her face further drove home the point.

"YOU'RE DEAD!"

Cackles of purple and black electricity surged from Jane, and they were thrown at Ciel, who swiftly teleported a distance away in safety.

"Tch! Stay in one place, why don't you?" Jane muttered, glancing in Ciel's new direction. "I'll make it quick."

In another burst of evil energy, Jane dashed over to Ciel's location, this time brimming with dark flames that even corrupted the very air around her.

Fortunately, Ciel managed to evade once more, barely escaping the immense furnace that would have consumed her otherwise.

"Looks like.. I'll have to get a bit more serious!"

Jane clapped both hands together, and suddenly, the dark mist that centered around her began to shroud the entire area. It's immense appearance became thinner, until only dark spots could be seen around, but she was able to successfully expand her influence.

"You won't be able to teleport now."

Dark Magic interfered with Spells, after all. Even if this was a pseudo kind, and she had spread it so thin, Jane was confident in its ability to at least slow down the Spells of her target.

Delay it long enough for her to strike!

>BZZZZZZTTTTTTZZZZZZZZZ!!!<

Black and purple flashes of lightning cracked once more, and they lunged at Ciel with unstoppable fervour.

"Haa.." A light breath escaped from Ciel's lips as she witnessed the terrifying surges of electricity draw nearer. "... Let's end this."

Despite the heavy restrictions, blueish energy surrounded her. The space around her got distorted, and she was able to instantly teleport.

"W-wha—?!" Before Jane could completely utter her shocked response, Ciel appeared behind her, a ball of energy already prepared atop her palm.

"[Purify]." She whispered, pointing her palm at Jane, who was still barely recoiling from the series of unbelievable events that had just played out.

"Y-you.." Jane tried to gather as much Pseudo Dark Energy to defend herself from Ciel's imminent attack.

Unfortunately, she was too late.

>WHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!<

Consumed by a massive beam of light, Jane felt herself drowning in the unbelievably immense power that struck her.

She became lost in the white sea of energy, and she felt the current pull her down. Every single speck of her Pseudo Dark Energy evaporated, and all the defensive artifacts she had eqipped were instantly overwhelmed by the power.

>BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!<

Inevitably, she crashed upon the earth, creating a massive crater upon impact.historical

"U-urghhh.. ahhh..."

As her back was buried deep into the dark soil, and her face forcefully pointed at the sky, Jane felt her injured body grow stiff and heavy. She could hardly move, and lacked even the most basic energy to cast a Spell.

She was stuck in every sense of the word, and her heart tightened upon that realization. Having no other choice, her eyes had to witness Ciel floating above her, coated in beauty and splendor—what could be described as Jane's opposite at the moment.

"It seems you're the one who lost." The young-looking woman in white said with a smile. "That Pseudo Dark Magic of yours.. its scary, but incomplete."

Frankly, if it hadn't been for the influence of the Arcana Spells in her arsenal, she couldn't have been certain of her victory. Once more, she had to thank Jared for bestowing upon her this knowledge, and the ability to harness enough power to use them.

"So, what are you going to do now? Why aren't you destroying the generator?" Jane asked, coughing as she chuckled bitterly.

"You think I'm stupid? Doing that would cause the event-horizon to collapse. It could lead to spacial imbalance, and that could potentially break apart this world."

"Well, if we succeed in our plans, its not like you'd be better off. So why allow us to win?" Jane probed, almost as if she wanted Ciel to take the action itself.

Even with her wounds, she leaked the fiercest grin.

"I'm not in a hurry. While it is scary to imagine the return of Dark Energy, I have decided to have trust in my allies. Especially 'him.' Since 'he' said I should leave this to him.. I will comply."

Jane appeared a little confused by Ciel's statement. It was most likely because she didn't know who Ciel was referring to. Was it Neron? No, she wouldn't have sounded this way if it was him.

'Then.. is it that new member that Jared told me about? Come to think of it, he's not here is he?' Jane didn't like how peaceful the smile of Ciel appeared, and she could feel her chest tightning in annoyance as she watched.

>BEEP<

>BEEP<

>BEEP<

A device suddenly rang from Jane's device, projecting a large screen in front of her. A couple of images, nnumbers, and a few other statistical values were etched on the bright transluscent window.

"N-no.. what is this? What's going on here?" Jane's eyes widened in shock.

"Oh? It seems you've finally realized it. We're attacking all the regions you control. Judging by the expression you're making, the plan must be proceeding nicely."

"H-how?! How do you have so many resources to spare? Attacking all those many places at once, and even this place! How? Just how possible is this? It can't be!"

It defied explanation how the Outgroup—even if they teamed up with the Midas Race—could secure so many soldiers and resources.

How could an army of that scale even have moved to the respective nations without being detected by surveilance.

'Don't tell me.. it's teleportation?!'

But who could have been able to use such advanced teleportation? She and Jared had concluded—even if they still found it unbelievable—that it was Ciel's doing.

However, with the same thing occuring all over the world, in multiple regions, it seemed they would have to throw aside their theories.

There was someone else!

'T-the strange man, then? He's the only reasonable explanation! But is that even possible?' No, it wasn't possible.

Someone like that—that could do all of these things—was far more powerful than her lover. That was something she could not tolerate.

'Is that why they're so confident about their plan? Do they really have a countermeasure against the generator?' The more her thoughts flowed, the faster her heat poounded.

Was she overreacting? No, this was the only natural response she could give upon being exposed to this shocking revelation.

"Your plan was doomed to fail from the very start, Jane." Ciel's voice echoed in her head. "It was only a matter of how."

With Jane Ursula defeated, and most of the battle won, Ciel glanced in the direction of the conflict that was yet to subside.

'Should I help?' She thought to herself. However, upon remembering the words of the Outer's Jared on non-interference, she decided not to.

'I'll trust you, Jared!'

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[A/N]

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