Sorry I was late. I was feeling a bit sick yesterday and today...
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"Descend! [Burning Rain]!" Dina shouted, creating a magic circle in the sky that unleashed a rain of fire over the monsters.
However, Dina's spell was not that effective. Although it killed several monsters, the number of monsters coming out of the portal every second was many more than the monsters she killed.
Fortunately, she was not alone.
Just when her spell finished, more spells were released towards the monsters.
"[Wind Blade Cyclone]!"
"[Spatial Collapse]!"
"[Purifying Light]!"
"[Lightning Hammer]!"
The spells from Katherine, Headmistress Evelyn, Rose, and Daisy fell on the monsters, cutting, burning, and disintegrating dozens of monsters in one second.
Even so, not all the monsters were killed. As soon as the effects of the spells faded, more monsters charged out of the portal towards the girls!
"Dammit! [Force Barrier]!" Louise shouted and created a barrier around the girls that stopped the charge of the monsters. Then, her sister, Claire, froze them as the remaining girls used their spells and weapons to shatter them into pieces.
Thanks to the contract connecting them to Claus, the girls' cooperation was very coordinated. They knew what spell every one of them was going to release next, and where they were going to attack. That way, none of them got in the way of the other.
But despite that, their situation was becoming graver and graver.
With every passing second, the strength of the monsters increased, and the girls became more tired.
Just then, one of the monsters managed to break Louise's barrier and charged towards one of the girls.
"Careful!" Dina shouted to Andrea, who was in the path of the beast.
Panicking, Andrea hurriedly created a barrier in front of her, but this beast was very strong! It tore the barrier into pieces and attacked her!
"Sister!" Lina shouted in a panic. She brandished her sword towards the monster, cladding it in undying flames that could not be extinguished.
One second later, the monster was turned into ashes.
However, it had managed to injure Andrea.
"Are you alright?" Dina asked, and Andrea nodded.
"Don't worry. I can continue."
Although her face was pale, Andrea put on a firm expression and started to cast another spell. In the meanwhile, Elene cast a healing spell towards her and healed her injury.
"Dammit! Any idea about how to destroy that portal?" Dina asked gravely.
None of the girls spoke.
They had tried to destroy the portal more than once, but every time they threw a spell towards it, it was stopped by the previous headmaster of the Institute, making it impossible for the girls to destroy it.
The girls were becoming impatient. They knew that they could not continue like this, otherwise, they would be overwhelmed by the endless monsters before long.
However, they were not the only ones becoming impatient.
Hovering above the portal, Samuel Barstool was becoming impatient as well.
Before leaving, Bringer of End had ordered him to cause as much destruction and chaos as possible. But due to the interference of the girls, most of the destruction had been contained in the Imperial Institute.
"… I can't continue like this." Samuel sighed and took one step forward. "It looks like I will have to take action personally."
Extending a finger forward, Samuel muttered one word.
"Destruction."
Then, a beam as dark as the night was shot towards the girls!
The sudden attack caught the girls by surprise. The beam flew towards them so quickly that they could not avoid it!
Instinctively, their bodies turned cold. They could feel that the energy in the beam was incredibly destructive.
If they were hit by that, they would die!
'No…!' Dina's face turned pale. It was already too late to create a barrier.
But just then, a petite cat girl appeared in the path of the beam.
"[Absolute Cut]!" She muttered as her dagger cut through the beam, dispersing it completely.
She was Raven!
She had used one of the techniques she learned through her contract with Claus to stop Samuel's attack!
But she was not finished yet. As soon as her dagger cut through the beam, her eyes lit up. Then, she took a great amount of soul energy through her contract with Claus and infused it in her dagger.
In the next instant, she disappeared, appearing behind Samuel.
"[Soul Severing]!" Her deadpan voice resounded through the battlefield, and her dagger stabbed towards Samuel's back.
But suddenly, a barrier appeared behind Samuel, stopping the dagger.
Raven's eyes narrowed. She hurriedly jumped away, and in the next second, the space where she had been just a moment ago crumbled.
Samuel smirked and pointed a finger towards her, but right then, Daisy released a rain of lightning towards him, forcing him to create several barriers to stop the lightning!
"Hahahaha! You two are very strong! But it's not enough to defeat me!"
Laughing madly, Samuel extended his hand, creating tens of magic circles in the air in an instant!
Arrows of absolute darkness emerged out of the magic circles, flying towards the girls at great speed!
"Careful!" Headmistress Evelyn's expression became solemn. She quickly extended both hands, creating a spatial barrier in front of the girls and stopping the arrows.
But Samuel just smirked.
"It looks like your control over space has improved, my dear student. But after I received power from my master, I'm far superior to you! Crumble, Space!"
As soon as his words finished, the space around the entire institute shook.
Evelyn's face turned pale. Without any hesitation, she waved her hand, teleporting the entire group away.
In the next second, the entire institute was filled with spatial cracks, destroying everything inside it.
When the girls reappeared, everything in the institute had been turned into dust.
Only Samuel, the portal, and the monsters that were coming out of the portal remained.
The girls turned pale.
"… How are we supposed to defeat him?" Akilah muttered with her voice trembling.
Nobody spoke. For an instant, the girls were filled with fear.
But then, Raven took one step forward.
"… I'll do it."
"Raven?"
"I'll kill him." The black-haired cat girl's eyes were full of determination. "Will you help me?"
The rest of the girls looked at her, and soon, their gazes turned firm.
"Yes, we can do it," Dina said smilingly. "We won't lose here."
The remaining girls nodded.
Despite their words, though, their expressions were grave.
Samuel was stronger than they expected. Moreover, he had the help of the monsters coming from the portal.
"… If only I was stronger." Rose gritted her teeth and muttered to herself.
Right now, she was one of the weakest of the group. Rose could not help but feel that she was useless.
It was not the first time she felt like that. During the battle in Fort Mist, she also felt this same powerlessness.
"… If only I was stronger." She muttered again and clenched her fist.
Just then, a childlike voice sounded in her mind.
[Do you want strength?] It asked her.
Rose froze. For an instant, she did not know what to reply.
But then, her expression turned firm.
"Yes, I want strength." She stated.
The childlike voice chuckled.
[Then, accept me.] It said. [Accept me and you will receive the strength you need.]
Rose did not hesitate. Instinctively, she knew what she needed to do.
She closed her eyes and opened up her soul, allowing the Will of the World to enter her.
Then, she raised her sword.
[This is your strength, Hero! Now, protect this world!] The childlike voice exclaimed excitedly.
Rose, however, did not hear it.
Instead, she took a deep breath as her body was wrapped by a blinding white light.
Opening her eyes, Rose stared at Samuel with an ice-cold gaze.
"Die." Swinging her sword, she spoke.
And the entire world answered to her will.