The silence after Lys’s flustered "Shut up" was short-lived.
Another necromancer lunged from the mist, chanting a curse under his breath. Cordelia’s fingers flared with Wind, slicing through his robes and sending him crashing into a wall. She didn’t even look back.
"Emotionally Discover more novels on NovelHub - your gateway to endless stories. "Seems like they take things personally."
"They do," Lys mumbled, clearly still embarrassed. "They’re... loyal."
From behind, the flame spirit pulsed again with a burst of heat, almost like a warning. Lys groaned.
"Okay, okay, I get it!" she snapped at the hovering orbs. "We’ll go find Noah right after this, alright?"
Cordelia glanced at her sideways. "You really think he’s in trouble?"
Lys’s voice dropped a tone. "No. I think she’s trouble."
Cordelia rolled her eyes, conjuring a swirling barrier of wind to block an incoming volley of bone darts. "Focus. Ten of them left. We take them down, together. Then we go save your precious Noah."
Lys bit her lip but nodded. "Right. Together."
From the shadows, the necromancers regrouped—robes swaying, hands raised with foul energy. A glowing sigil formed in the air above them, threads of black mana converging.
Cordelia extended a hand, gathering electric sparks between her fingers.
Lys raised hers too. "Gaia—bind them. Aqua—cut their casting lines."
Roots erupted from the ground again, wrapping around the legs of three cultists. Aqua’s fog curled into their midst, disrupting their gestures.
Cordelia’s Lightning ripped forward in a blinding arc.
Lys’s voice broke through the chaos again, sharp but oddly casual.
"Just to confirm..." she shouted over the roar of fire, "It’s not true you two are dating, right?"
Cordelia gave her a sideways glance but said nothing. Instead, she flipped backward to dodge a flurry of dark bolts, landed with a flourish, and answered with a gust of air that knocked another necromancer unconscious.
Lys narrowed her eyes. "So that’s a no?"
Another fireball surged from the spirit at her back, lighting up the room with a thunderous boom. The scent of scorched cloth filled the air.
Cordelia raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? We’re fighting for our lives, and you want relationship status updates?"
"Hey," Lys replied, deflecting a spell with Aqua’s barrier, "it’s important."
One of the necromancers screamed as vines shot from the ground and pulled him under. Another stumbled into the flames and dropped. The number of enemies was dwindling fast — but the tension between the two girls was only heating up.
Lys gave a satisfied nod as Fire torched the last corpse trying to crawl its way toward them.
"Next wave’s coming," she muttered. "Let’s wrap this up."
Cordelia flicked a strand of hair from her face, her eyes still focused on the shadows ahead.
"Just try not to set me on fire," she said coolly.
"No promises," Lys grinned.
The second wave of necromancers surged forward — more organized this time. Six of them fanned out while four stayed in the rear, chanting under their breath. Purple glyphs formed beneath their feet, signaling a coordinated summoning.
Lys clicked her tongue. "They’re trying to boost each other. Aqua, break the chant!"
A focused jet of high-pressure water blasted toward the rear group, scattering the glyphs and sending one of the necromancers flying into a pillar.
Cordelia, without a word, leapt onto the stone rail lining the room and spun mid-air. With a twist of her wrist, she hurled a cutting gust that knocked two attackers unconscious before they could raise their wands.
"Nice," Lys muttered, watching her with the corner of her eye.
She raised a hand. "Fire, circle. Gaia, bind."
The flaming spirit darted through the air in a spiraling arc, leaving a trail of embers that forced the enemy formation apart. At the same time, thorned vines burst from the ground beneath their feet, wrapping around limbs and halting their movements.
As one necromancer raised his staff in desperation, Cordelia was already behind him. A flash of lightning danced from her palm — not lethal, just enough to knock him out cold. He collapsed with a groan.
"Okay, but real talk," she said mid-battle, ducking under a bolt of dark magic, "did you two leave me behind on purpose?"
Cordelia deflected a skeletal claw with a burst of wind and rolled her eyes. "You were fighting a lich. We thought you had it handled."
Cordelia didn’t answer.
Lys narrowed her eyes and launched another command. "Gaia, entangle the left flank. Fire, short burst, keep the pressure on."
Three necromancers fell almost instantly — one tangled in vines, another scorched by flame, and the last knocked out by a sudden strike of Cordelia’s wind.
"Last question," Lys said, stepping over a fallen enemy. "Did you ask Noah to sneak off with you? Like... for alone time?"
Cordelia turned her head, expression unreadable.
"Noah doesn’t do alone time."
Lys said. "That didn’t sound like a no either."
Cordelia muttered something under her breath and summoned a whirlwind that sent two more necromancers flying into the back wall.
Only a couple enemies remained now, visibly shaken.
Lys stepped forward, the three elemental spirits circling her like wolves ready to pounce.
"Let’s finish this," she said.
Cordelia gave her a sideways glance. "Then maybe you’ll stop asking stupid questions."
Lys hovered beside Cordelia as flames from Fire danced behind her, licking at the edges of the last unconscious necromancer. Aqua spiraled above like a watery halo, while Gaia stood firmly near the center of the room, roots crawling to restrain any potential movement.
Cordelia took a deep breath, wiping soot from her cheek. "Only five left," she muttered.
But Lys didn’t respond immediately.
She was staring at Cordelia. "So... just to be clear," she began slowly, her voice dangerously casual, "do you like Noah?"
Cordelia blinked. "Seriously? We’re in the middle of a battle."
"Answer the question," Lys insisted, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.
Cordelia groaned. "No. I don’t like him, alright? Relax."
Lys tilted her head. "But back at the academy—"
"It was an act," Cordelia cut in, annoyed. "Two guys were trying to hit on me, and I needed an excuse. I said Noah was my boyfriend just to get them off my back. That’s all. Happy now?"
Lys broke into a wide smile. "Very."
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "You’re insufferable."
With the last necromancers were bound by Gaia’s vines and the smoke finally settling, silence fell over the corridor. Cordelia took a shaky breath, glancing around the ruined room. The scent of scorched stone and ozone lingered in the air.
Lys clapped her hands together with excitement. "Alright! We did it!" she said, bouncing lightly on her heels. "Let’s go find Noah quickly!"
Cordelia raised a brow. "You seem eager."
Lys grinned, eyes shimmering with determination. "Of course! We need to make sure he’s okay—"
But then, her smile faltered.
Her gaze drifted past Cordelia as if remembering something unpleasant.
"He’s still... alone with that woman, isn’t he?"
Cordelia hesitated. "Yeah."
Lys’s expression darkened, her cheerful aura flickering for just a moment. Aqua, Fire, and Gaia seemed to pause mid-hover, reacting to the subtle shift in her mood.
A cold breeze swept through the hallway, despite no open windows.
She didn’t know why exactly—but something in Lys’s eyes made her uneasy.
"...Let’s hurry," Cordelia muttered, already starting down the hallway.
Behind her, Lys followed silently, her footsteps soft... and her presence strangely heavy.