“[Forlorn Execution].”

Helena Warshade’s eyes widened. She saw the crimson aura wisping off the Primeval Demon. He’d flickered into existence behind her for a mere moment before vanished. In his place, an executioner stood. A red skeleton wreathed in a black robe. It held up a giant axe, grinning with its skull-like face as a cackle left its mouth.

The Archmage drew back, but it followed. The spell was fixed to her.. essence? No— it was something else. She gritted her teeth as the executioner reached her. It swung down with the axe— the attack cutting straight through her barrier.

“Curse magic.”

She gritted her teeth, seeing it shear through all her barrier spells. The only thing that slowed its approach was the protective necklace she wore. A Necklace of an Advanced Aura of Greater Protection. It would protect her from any attack— blood magic and curse magic included.

For a moment, the aura held up. But then there was a flash. The edge of the axe tip broke through and struck the Archmage on her shoulder. She bit back a scream of pain and glared at the Primeval Demon as the spell dissipated.

“Illusion magic and curse magic. You will be annoying to deal with.”

The Archmage uncorked a healing potion and poured it over the wound on her shoulder. The red liquid splashed over the bleeding cut— but it refused to heal. Helena Warshade clicked her tongue.

“Very annoying to deal with.”

“Oh, but you are mistaken, Archmage. You will be the one who dies today.”

The insect-like Demon laughed as his mandibles clicked together. The Archmage pointed at him, and a dozen bolts of lightning converged on where he floated. There was a blast of electricity. Helena waited, but even as the smoke cleared and nothing remained of the Primeval Demon, she knew it wasn’t over.

“[Abomination Fulmination].”

She looked up towards the black clouds, and a thousand horrors emerged from the rubble. Ethereal creatures that took all shapes and forms. Monsters with hundreds of eyes. Creatures that protruded with spikes like broken teeth poking out of the sand. Their bodies formed odd angles— angles that Helena Warshade could barely comprehend. Their figures blurred in a misshapen manner. Like she’d been staring at them for so long her vision began to distort.

The Great Tempest Archmage of Mavos Academy unleashed her own storm of lightning back down at the deluge of terrors. The explosions ripped apart them by the hundreds as she rapidly began raining down a volley of spells into the valley.

“Arcana Expulsion. Hail of Ice. Grand Fireball—”

I watched on as the injured Archmage retaliated against the invisible Primeval Demon. I had no idea where Belzu was even hiding. Occasionally, I spotted the giant insect flying through the air, but Helena Warshade would blast him away to reveal it was nothing more than an illusion.

I backed away quickly to distance me from the fighting. I landed in the air thanks to the Boots of Alexander, where I stood and looked on as the clash of magic reverberated ahead of me. It was a battle that was out of my league. Two combatants who were beyond my level. Both of them could easily have taken on the [Ancient Centinel] that nearly killed me back in the Bloodied Gulf. They probably could’ve taken on half a dozen— or a dozen each!

Although.. I guess that was expected of swarm monsters. They tended to be weaker for their level. And considering how many [Ancient Centinels] I’d saw when the Matriach Centinel of the Bloodied Gulf confronted my dad.

In any case, this was a grand battle between some of the strongest beings in the Human lands. Helena Warshade against Belzu. And the thing was.. the thing I noticed was that the Archmge was..

She was losing.

It was clear that she was losing. And that was odd to me, because with my Grand Skill I was able to stand up to Belzu when I was nearly 10 levels lower. Perhaps it was because Helena Warshade herself had yet to use her Grand Skill. Maybe it could turn the tide of battle. But for some odd reason, she was abstaining from using it right now.

Instead, she cleared the horrors unleashed by Belzu from the battlefield with a volley of magic. She floated there, panting as all was still for a moment. Then she heard an inaudible voice. I watched on as a black aura converged around the Archmage.

I recognized the Skill, even if I didn’t hear Belzu’s voice. He had used it against me before. It was called [Desecration of the Mind], and it ripped straight through my Aura of Greater Protection, nearly killing me in one hit. But fortunately, whatever magical artifact Helena Warshade had defending her was stronger than even an Aura of Greater Protection. Probably an Epic Grade artifact of sorts.

It held up against the [Desecration of the Mind]. And, yet, it had discombobulated Helena warshade for a single crucial moment. Long enough for Belzu to reappear behind her with a smug grin on his face.

“Perish.”

He spoke, and his words held power. It was a curse. It pierced through all protections. It knocked Helena Warshade back. Her nimbus cloud dissipated for a single second. The nearby trees shed their leaves. Even I, from a distance, could feel the pulse of curse magic that radiated from his voice.

I clutched my ears as blood bled from my nose. My body shivered violently, but after a moment, I managed to catch myself. I looked up as the Great Tempest Archmage of Mavos Academy fell through her nimbus cloud and tumbled hundreds of feet to the ground. It took a moment, but the nimbus cloud dipped down to catch her. However, before it got close, the clouds parted up above as Belzu vanished again.

I looked up with wide as a [Hellabomination] descended from the sky. The giant white creature I recognized from my last battle with Belzu. It looked exactly the same, with the same giant bone-like wings and the hollow, deathless eyes that struck fear into anything it cast its gaze towards.

It was an illusion. I knew it had to have been an illusion. There was no way Belzu had managed to summon the [Hellabomination] again— let alone control it. But it felt real. And Helena Warshade herself saw the same thing I did.

The Great Tempest Archmage of Mavos Academy unleash a thousand lightning bolts at the false [Hellabomination]. All at once, the magic struck out and seared the giant Demon. It recoiled in pain, the screeching so real to my ears. I was certain that anyone who was within a ten mile radius could hear the terrible shriek— unless the illusion didn’t reach that far.

Nevertheless, the fake [Hellabomination] landed. Its two feet touched the ground, tearing through the earth. Helena Warshade landed on her nimbus cloud as it flew away from the giant Demon. She got to her feet, grinding her teeth in clear frustration.

She raised her staff as she yelled.

“This is enough!”

I backed away, seeing the swirling clouds again.

“Uh-oh.”

And she began her chant once more.

“[The Calm has Come and Gone. The Storm has Simmered for so Long. Now it is Time for you to Weather the Pinnacle of Magic]!”

The clouds quickly covered her. The mass of black water vapor dwarfing even the size of the [Hellabomination]. The giant Demon took a step forward to Helena Warshade, before the clouds rapidly expanded and consumed her surroundings. I watched as the darkness reached out for me, but I knew it was bad news. I rapidly flew away from it, using [Warped Time] to move faster and faster.

It almost reached me. The clouds continued to expand, and I feared it would’ve touched me with its dark tendrils. But it halted when I escaped from the forest. When I reached the rolling fields. A giant haze formed ahead of me. I looked on in awe at the dark fog that consumed miles and miles of land.

For a moment, nothing happened, and I thought my fear was for naught. Then I heard Helena Warshade’s booming voice.

“[Mana Tempest]!”

She thundered out. And all at once, the entire storm cloud flashed. A giant bolt of lightning exploded to the sky, branching out like a web of electricity. I covered my eyes because of how bright it was. But just like any ordinary lightning bolt, it dissipated quickly after.

When I lowered my hand, everything had been laid to waste. The entire forest was gone. The valley— the hills. It had all been reduced to ashes. I blinked.

“Huh.”

It was Helena Warshade’s last resort. It was her Grand Skill— a grand magic of cataclysmic proportions. She prided herself in its ability to bring an entire city to ashes. Unfortunately, she wasn’t immune to it.

She hadn’t wanted to be caught in the center of the grand magic. If she could, she would’ve concentrated its effects on her enemies. But she didn’t know where her enemies were, did she?

Belzu, that Primeval Demon, had been hiding somewhere, using his curses and illusions to assail her from all directions. But wherever he was, he had to be close by. So the Archmage did the only thing she could do at the moment. She destroyed everything in close vicinity around her.

Everything within a five mile radius had been ravaged into nothing. Even she was affected by the magic. She’d burned herself in her own attack. She could only limit how much it affected her. Sure, she was blasted by a weakened version of her Grand Skill, but it was still incredibly powerful. It would have killed her if not for her protective artifacts and protective spells saving her.

She lay there in the desolation, hearing the notifications ring out in her head. There were plenty. Many animals and monsters were caught in the blast. Although— less than she thought there’d be for an ecosystem of this size.

Only a single notification mattered to the Archmage. One which made her sigh in relief as she watched the giant insect-like body of a Demon evaporate into dust.

Defeated [Hellprince of the Desolation - Lvl 167]—

“Nice try.”

Belzu’s deep voice interrupted Helena Warshade’s musings. She looked up in shock as the Primeval Demon descended from the clouds above her.

“How..?”

She asked, aghast. The Archmage tried to get back to her feet, but collapsed. Her body was severely burned and injured.

“You are not the only one with a Grand Skill, Human.”

Belzu chuckled as she gritted her teeth. She weakly tried to raise her staff, and the Primeval Demon loomed over her, his bulbous eyes flashing with magic.

“Now, goodbye—”

He started, but a flash of rainbow energy struck out.

“Temporary Skill: [Divine Wave]!”

It cut a line directly between both Helena Warshade and Belzu. The Primeval Demon flitted back with narrowed eyes. He looked up towards a silver-haired girl as she landed with a clink.

“Salvos..?”

“Salvos.”

Both the Primeval Demon and the Archmage spoke the name at the same time. Salvos herself didn’t respond. Instead, she pointed at the both of them and yelled.

“No more fighting!”

She turned to Belzu.

“Don’t you dare kill her.”

“And why should I not?”

He cocked his head back at her. This was Helena Warshade’s chance. She could escape. Run away. But as she tried to edge back and covertly cast a spell, Salvos snapped her gaze to the Archmage.

“Don’t you dare run away either, Helena.”

The silver-haired girl crossed her arms.

“This is your best chance of leaving here alive. Please, just listen to me.”

The Archmage hesitated. Then she weighed her options. She was at the end of her ropes, up against a Primeval Demon and a nigh-Elite Ranked adventurer with the Treasures of Alexander. Helena either had to take her chances fighting against both of them despite her injuries, or.. listen to what Salvos had to say.

The silver-haired girl proffered a hand forward.

“Let’s talk about this. We can all work together. The three of us.”

She gestured towards Belzu, herself, and the Archmage. Helena Warshade paused. And she really took her time to consider her options. Finally, she sighed and made her decision.

“Alright. What do you have to say?”

The Archmage really hoped it would be something good.