Risebelle and Runebelle stood protectively in front of Roselle. Risebelle’s eyes narrowed.

  “This is no ordinary threat, and we ’t afford to hold back,” she asserted.

  Runebelle’s frown depened. “We o be extremely careful and find a way to ter that spear.”

  Mystimona, stepped forward fidehis spear is quite iing, and the magic she wields is something else. It’s got me excited.”

  Turning to Roselle, Risebelle, and Runebelle, he posed a question, “So, what’s it going to be? Do you wish to tihe fight together, or will you allow me the honor of a one-on-one duel with her?”

  Risebelle made her decision. She recalled the destructive power of the violet-haired woman’s spear, and Roselle’s on, a trusted panion, y in ruins.

  “By all means,” Risebelle decred. “We o get back to Kintovar. Now!”

  Roselle, still in shock from the earlier attack, stammered, “But...”

  Runebelle gently patted Roselle’s head and pulled her into a brief, f embrace. “Hang in there, Roselle,” Runebelle said softly before carefully pg Roselle on her back.

  Roselle, though still shaken and in pain looked back. Her eyes remained locked on the se behind her where Mystimona reparing for the impending frontation.

  Mystimona watched the sisters go off, then directed his attention to the violet-haired woman. His eyes were filled with a sense of curiosity.

  “Someoh your power doesn’t typically act without a reason,” he began while folding his arms. “What is this about? Why do you seek to destroy Shadowcroft?”

  The violet-haired woman lunged forward instead of answering with her spear in hand, aiming to strike at Mystimona. He narrowly avoiding the attad said with a rising fury, “I’m going to find out, one way or another. Whether through battle or if you decide to reveal your motives. I won’t let you tio destroy this pce without stating your reason!”

  Mystimona’s purple aura fred with iy. He unleashed rapid-fire elemental energy shots towards them with incredible speed.

  The Violent-haired woman’s face shifted from a cold look and eased up slightly. With a swift and precise motion, she sliced through the elemental attacks with her spear, dispersing them into harmless motes of energy.

  Mystimona closed the gap between him and the violet-haired woman, infusing his hands with fiery power. He unched a series of punches; however, the violet-haired woman moved with astonishing grad agility, dodging each strike effortlessly.

  The violet-haired woman’s eyes turned an ominous shade of purple. She stepped bad ted, “Spear of Destru!” With that, she hurled her divine on with incredible force. The spear rocketed through the air, leaving a trail of dark energy in its wake.

  Mystimona acted quickly, summoning a powerful barrier of the four elements to shield himself from the devastating attack. The collision of the spear with the elemental barrier sent shockwaves throughout the area. The force of the impact was immense, causing massive destru on the first floor of the facility.

  The sheer power of the Spear of Destru wreaked havo the surroundings, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. Many robots and tech equipment were obliterated by the bst.

  Mystimona gnced around at the aftermath of the attack. The destructive energy had left a residue that lingered in the air, and he could feel its malevolent presehe Spear of Destru y o him, radiating the remaining dark energy.

  He khat this was just oack from the spear, and it had already caused signifit damage.

  The Violent-haired woman focused her magical energy, creating a ball of densed proportions the abyssal crimson energy gathered in her hand, she calmly called a name.

  “Crimson Doppelganger Bolt.”

  With a swift motion, she sent the bolt of energy flying toward Mystimona. As it traveled through the air, it left a fiery trail behind, and to Mystimona’s surprise, the attack split into two identical bolts, each carrying the same destructive power.

  Mystimona braced himself to defend against the twin attacks. As Mystimona tried to defend against the relentless barrage of the Crimson Doppelganger Bolts, he felt the immense darkness in the energy these attacks held. The pain and pressure from the stant assault were unlike anything he had entered before. The suspi that this ossessed power beyond the norm tio grow within him. Though he was enduring the attacks, the strain was evident on his face.

  The violet-haired woman charged foward. Mystimona’s eyes narrowed. “That’s a bad move.”

  Despite the warning, the ressed forward with relentless preystimona swiftly csped his hands together, and water surged up from the ground. The liquid twisted and turned, creating a turbulent barrier meant to slow her down.

  To Mystimona’s dismay, the swirling water seemed to have no effe the woman. She cut through the watery barrier with ease. Mystimona’s face torted in disbelief. “There’s no way…” he muttered under his breath.

  Mystimona gathered his focus. He began to dehe water, eling it into a more trated, powerful form. The water swirled around him, amplifying with each passing sed.

  Mystimona then uhe trated water at the woman, it took the shape of a massive, razor-sharp projectile. He aimed directly at her. The water shot forward with explosive force, its iy rivaling that of the previous attacks.

  But the woman’s eyes remained cold. At the st moment, wheaeared her, she gracefully moved out of the way with minimal effort.

  Mystimona watched in frustration. His own energy was beginning to shrink.

  Mystimona decided to tap into his earth-based abilities. With a focused thought and swift hand movement, he summoned massive earthen spires from the ground. The t pilrs of solid earth emerged like a giants, ready to heed his and.

  The woman began to unch off her Crimson bolts of energy at Mystimona. Mystimona, in that moment quickly realized that these earthen spires could serve both as a formidable offense and a reliable defense against the relentless barrage of the Crimson Doppelganger Bolts. He directed them to intercept the attacks, using the pilrs to block the ining bolts and keep himself protected.

  The relentless crimson bolts cshed with the sturdy earthen spires. Mystimona mao speak. “She is no mere human…Her magical power is quite strong. But there’s something... different about it.”

  He hesitated for a moment, then turned his attention back to the battle, narrowly evading another round of Crimson Bolts.

  “Is she like me?” he wondered aloud. The violet-haired woman raised her fist, and the atmosphere crackled with energy. She trated her magical power into her knuckles. The air around her seemed to tense up, and a wave of anticipation filled the room.

  She pointed her fist directly at Mystimona. Her eyes glowed with a deep, indigo light. Then, in a single explosive release of energy, she fired an indigo beam of noal magic at her oppo. The beam streaked towards Mystimona with incredible speed and power, leaving ahereal trail in its wake.

  The indigo beam of magic surged toward him. Mystimona swiftly shouted “Tornado Tempest!” creating a powerful whirlwind of all four elements around himself. The tornado swirled with fury, infused with the bined forces of fire, water, earth, and wind.

  The indigo beam struck the tornado with tremendous force, causing a csh of energies. Withiornado, the Violent-haired woman’s attack triggered a series of elemental reas. The fmes of fire, the chill of water, the abrasion of earth, and the disorientation of wind bio create a dazzling dispy of power.

  Mystimona shouted, “Inferno Torrent! “A torrent of scorg fire and surging water surged around him. The water intensified the fmes, creating a searing inferno that bzed forth with incredible power.

  With the Inferno Torrent now at his and, Mystimona directed the fiery deluge toward the Violent-haired woman. The torrent of fmes and water roared with iy as it rushed forward, aiming to engulf her. Mystimona decred fidently, “I’ve got her now!”

  But right after speaking those words, the spear beside him surged with dark power, emitting an ominous aura. This ued distraomentarily caught Mystimona’s attention.

  The Violent-haired woman, sensing her moment to strike, released a vast amount of bed magical power. The dark energy erupted in a powerful surge, pushing against Mystimona’s attad pletely dispersing it. The force of her terattack was enough to knock Mystimona back, leaving him in shock.

  Mystimona, now on his feet, whispered to himself with awe, “Incredible. Her power is beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”

  Mystimona, after the intense exge, had a clearer uanding of the Violent-haired woman’s motives. He spoke directly to her, “It’s clear to me now that you’re not just some random assaint. Your as and your overwhelming pgest a specific goal. Your presen Shadowcroft and your io destroy it indicate a personal history or vea against this pce. Your focus on eliminating the facility reveals a deep-rooted cause e. So tell me, what is it you have against these people?”

  The Violent-haired oke with eyes never leaving Mystimona’s. “You were on the right track when you mentioned my history with this pce, but the true reason behind my mission is far simpler than some vea. It boils down to ownership.”

  “This is territory cimed by the powerful Witch of the South, ‘Arahas Osemahed,’ often referred to as Osy. She’s decred her ownership over this area, including its inhabitants. But what’s been irking Osy is that Shadowcroft and its people have been btantly ign her ands and overstepping her boundaries.”

  Mystimona listetentively, abs the information. The Violent-haired woman cluded, “That’s why I’m here. I serve as Osy’s enforcer, and I’ve been tasked with bringing Shadowcroft to heel and ensuring they uand their pder her rule. The group you came with, Mystimona, you’re all mere travelers in this grand scheme, and Osy’s wrath is directed not at outsiders like you, but at those who dare defy her dominion.”

  Mystimona’s curiosity shone in his eyes. He asked, “So, you’re saying that the Witch of the South, Arahas Osemahed, cims ownership of this pce, and Shadowcroft hasn’t been following her orders? Is that what’s driving all this destru?”

  The Violent-haired woman replied with a resolute gaze, “Exactly. Osy expects obedience, and when she didn’t get it, she seo enforce her dominion and deal with anything that opposes her, including Shadowcroft itself.”

  Mystimona nodded, uanding the situatioer now. “Thank you for shedding light oter. However, I ’t let you destroy this pce. It means a lot to someone who saved me from a dire situation back where we all came from.”

  The Violent-haired woman, unmoved by his plea, simply replied, “I don’t care. I will destroy you as well if I have to.”

  Mystimona asked one more thing, “ you at least tell me your name?”

  She responded with a sense of finality, “I am Rawna.”

  Mystimona took a step forward, his eyes log onto Rawna’s. “I am Mystimona, one of the protectors of Kintovar,”he decred.

  Rawna’s gre intensified on Mystimona.

  “You’re not just any warrior,” Mystimona tinued. “Your power, your abilities, they’re extraordinary. What exactly are you?”

  Rawna remained silent. Mystimona sighed. “Fine, keep your secrets. I at least uand your motivations, I have no choice but to stop you here.”

  Rawna’s lips curled into a cold smirk. “The’s end this,” she said.

  Mystimona’s eyes narrowed. “Be careful what you wish for.” When he spoke, the grouh him began to tremble. Earth energy surged around him, f a protective barrier. Fmes da his fiips, water swirled around his body, and the wind howled, whipping through the air with fury.

  The elemental forces bined into a dispy of power, creating a massive-sized aura around Mystimona. He grinned. His eyes locked onto Rawna, who equally prepared by f a bright purple aura around her entire body and taking a stance.

  With a sudden burst of speed, Rawna lunged forward with her spear aimed directly at Mystimona’s heart. Mystimona tered, summoning a wall of earth to block the attack. The spear collided with the barrier, sending shockwaves through the ground. The csh caused the ey of shadowcroft to shake.