Everything happened so quickly back then that Cecilia didn’t even see exactly what took place.
She only saw Rita suddenly swing her sword down, and almost at the same moment, the ground beside her inexplicably caved in. The flying shards of stone fell to the ground like a fleeting rain, clattering down, making Cecilia wonder if she’d just imagined the whole thing.
It was only now that Cecilia slowly realized what had just happened.
Someone in the darkness behind her had launched an attack in her direction, only to be swiftly blocked by Rita.
“As I thought.”
Rita used the arm she’d protected Cecilia with to push Cecilia behind her, then stepped half a pace forward herself, eyes staring into the endless darkness ahead.
“Since this is already the final Boss Room, it makes sense there’d be someone guarding it.”
From the darkness, a female voice Cecilia was not unfamiliar with sounded out: “Don’t use such mocking words to tarnish my hard work. This is exactly why I hate ignorant fools.”
A spark of fire flickered in the darkness, casting a patch of light in the otherwise pitch-black underground.
Cecilia could only see the rough Rock Wall, as if it had been pried whole from the ground, smooth and seamless.
Then another flame flared up, and then another, and another. The flickering flames soon lit up the entire space Cecilia was now in.
It was an absolutely massive circular room—calling it a hollow would be apt, since aside from rocks, there was practically nothing else here.
The burning braziers around, holding flames, were among the very few objects that didn’t share the color of the stone. Yet, the dominant color here was not the lifeless gray of the stone, but red.
Dark red patterns covered the floor, drawing symbols Cecilia couldn’t even begin to understand. They spread out from the very center of the room like a spider web, traversing the stone walls, gathering again at the domed ceiling.
A magic circle.
Rita couldn’t think of any other explanation for these patterns.
But to see such a finely wrought magic circle, one that filled an entire room—Rita could hardly imagine it.
And at the very intersection in the center of the room, several large Crystals, like fragments of glass, floated in the air. The scenes reflected on them were exactly those playing out on the ground and around the stone doors.
Surrounded by these Crystals was a Platform about a meter across, and standing atop it was Dorothy in her black robe.
Rita clasped her hands behind her back and gently patted Cecilia.
Cecilia had always been quick to understand Rita’s intentions, but this time, she had no idea what Rita wanted to do.
But Rita’s actions already told Cecilia the answer.
Rita withdrew her hand, gripped her sword one-handed, and stepped forward.
In the next instant, her figure almost vanished.
It wasn’t that she disappeared—it was just that she was too fast, even faster than when she’d kicked that provocateur and broken all his bones, faster than when she’d decapitated Dorothy’s puppet with a single slash.
In almost the blink of an eye, Rita was already by Dorothy’s side, her pitch-black one-handed sword at Dorothy’s throat.
This was not Rita holding back, nor did it carry any intent to threaten.
This strike was aimed directly at killing Dorothy.
When Cecilia had previously told Rita to go back and kill Dorothy, Rita had hesitated—even refused. But in just these few hours, something had changed her mind.
Maybe it was the rising stone doors, maybe the people who had died, or perhaps some reason Cecilia still didn’t know.
But in the end, Rita didn’t succeed.
An extremely distorted magical light screen blocked Rita’s killing blow. Ripples spread layer upon layer, and Cecilia felt as if she could even hear the Magic Shield’s mournful wail.
“Hah!”
Rita gripped her black sword with both hands, locking in a test of strength with Dorothy’s shield. Then, with a crisp cracking sound, a chunk of Dorothy’s Magic Shield actually shattered and flew away.
Dorothy’s eyes narrowed, lifting her hand from beneath her black robe. The glow of magical energy quickly repaired the fractured shield.
Rita withdrew her sword from the contest, spun, and slashed again—but as expected, the blow was blocked by the Magic Shield. Yet Rita’s attack didn’t stop there; another slash immediately followed, and in the instant it was deflected, she used the rebound to strike again.
Cecilia couldn’t keep up with Rita’s sword at all. In her vision, all that remained was the raging black torrent formed by Rita’s high-speed slashes, relentlessly battering the Magic Shield in front of Dorothy.
The surface of the Magic Shield was like a disturbed pond, wild ripples shaking, spreading, overlapping—looking as though it could boil over at any moment.
But no matter how Rita attacked, the shield stubbornly endured, leaving circles of radiance in the air from the violent energy fluctuations, and an agonizing wail that made one’s head throb.
Seeing that her attacks couldn’t break through Dorothy’s defenses, Rita was starting to grow anxious.
In the instant Rita was just a bit distracted, a powerful force slammed into her, flinging her—sword and all—across the room.
Rita crashed hard into the solid wall. The shock made her head ring, and she slid helplessly down the wall.
“Rita!”
“I’m fine.”
Leaning against the wall, Rita knocked her own head a few times, then shook herself hard, like a wet dog, as if to rattle her buzzing brain back into place.
“That woman really is Dorothy herself, isn’t she?”
“Heh.” Dorothy let out a cold laugh, her lips not even twitching, as if only mechanically responding to Rita’s words.
“As expected, cutting off her head isn’t that easy.” Rita twisted her neck, her joints cracking.
Dorothy just looked at Rita blandly, her eyes devoid of any readable emotion.
“Enough.” Dorothy sighed. “Die.”
Flames burst from Dorothy’s palm, surging forth like a massive, twisting serpent, straight for Rita.
At this angle, it won’t hit Cecilia!
Rita made the judgment instantly, dashed off with her sword, and left the rolling flames behind her.
But for some reason, the heat of the fire didn’t lessen at all—instead, it grew even fiercer, causing beads of sweat to spring up at the tip of Rita’s nose.
Rita glanced back out of the corner of her eye, only to see that the stream of fire had, at some point, suddenly turned and was chasing after her again.
She sprinted wildly around the entire room, but the Flame Serpent clung to her like a shadow, refusing to let go no matter how she dodged or feinted to confuse Dorothy—it always managed to find her instantly.
In contrast, Dorothy merely stood there simply, turning her body as Rita ran, keeping the flame pouring from her palm.
That she hadn’t been hit yet was down to both luck and skill.
Damn it, running on foot really isn’t enough. If only I could use my wings.
No! Cecilia is still here—if I use them in front of her, I’ll be completely exposed!
Even in such an urgent moment, Rita still couldn’t prioritize properly, not even considering that if she were hit, being exposed would hardly matter anymore.
Instead, she was thinking about something else entirely.
Dragging this out isn’t a solution—she had to be direct and end the fight quickly.
Rita suddenly changed direction, charging straight for Dorothy.
But Dorothy seemed to have foreseen Rita’s move, lifting her palm as flames instantly flared from her other hand, blasting toward Rita and engulfing her completely.
“Rita!” Cecilia cried out anxiously.
A black shadow flashed past—Dorothy’s expression grew a shade colder—then Rita shot out through a gap in the flames.
One look at the scorched patch on her clothes made it clear she hadn’t dodged that attack completely.
But Rita didn’t retreat—she pressed forward, continuing her assault on Dorothy.
After just a few steps, though, she was forced back by two converging streams of flame.
Damn it! This woman’s deviousness knows no bounds.
If this were a comic, the villain would be shouting in surprise, “What? You dodged that too?!” and she’d take advantage of their shock to stab them right through!
So unfair! Can’t you just underestimate me a little?!
Dorothy didn’t get careless—instead, she sent two Flame Serpents after Rita at once.
The flaming serpents skimmed along the walls, along the floor, launching surprise attacks from places Rita could never have anticipated, chasing her relentlessly and forcing her to scramble in response.
Barely coping, Rita thought, I guess even a Magister isn’t completely invincible.
Just as Rita was trying to think of a way to break the deadlock, Dorothy took a step forward. The heel of her high-heeled shoe struck the ground with a clear, crisp sound.
At the same time, a thunderous crash rang out—a thick Rock Pillar suddenly rose from the ground, brushing right past Rita’s body.
That was only because Rita dodged quickly.
But the Flame Serpents weren’t the only things attacking, nor were there only one or two Rock Pillars.
A Rock Pillar struck Rita square in the lower back, sending her flying.
“…………” Rita let out a muffled groan.
More Rock Pillars immediately shot up in succession, pinning Rita in midair.
The Flame Serpents pounced, this time completely engulfing Rita.
Flames roared, forming a massive fireball where Rita had just been. The fireball burst apart, and a figure fell from midair along with a shower of stone debris, landing on the ground with a much softer thud than before.
“Hmm.” Dorothy nodded in satisfaction, then slowly turned to Cecilia. “Next, it’s your turn, Princess.”