Is That My Alter Ego - Chapter 106
Chapter 106 – Confrontation of Three
Blinded by rage, Seris ran madly, following the arrow of the blue spear.
The arrow pointed west, toward a land where no one dwelled, a deathly expanse that even monsters dared not tread, remnants of a bygone era.
To traverse the distance from the southern empire to the west, where the blue spear pointed, would take days even with the fastest means of transport, the automatic carriage.
Yet with each powerful stride, the ground trembled beneath her, and the air stirred with such force that even a small child could be swept away, as Seris moved at a speed beyond the grasp of ordinary eyes, even those of formidable warriors.
Her body, transcending human limits, covered that vast distance in mere hours.
She ran across the desolate, ashen land, and ran still. Not a single living creature was visible, yet Seris pressed on, driven by a singular purpose.
And at last.
A vast plain unfolded before her, one that could not be described without the hand of a creator.
A dead expanse, perfectly flat, devoid of dead trees or stones, where only the earth itself existed.
Ding-!
[You have arrived at your destination!]
As her foot touched that ground, the status window emitted an unknown sound, flickering before vanishing from Seris’s sight.
The blue spear, which she believed to be wielded by the fiend who dared to desecrate the Commander’s remains, had disappeared, yet Seris felt no confusion.
Instead, her eyes narrowed, and she spread her killing intent wide across the barren landscape.
“………..”
The reason is simple: it was because a gaze met with someone floating high above in the sky.
With magic, they levitated, their white hair billowing in the wind, and their hollow, violet eyes.
“Eriel… Frost—!!”
The northern grand duchess, a person who, for reasons unknown, had always irked me to no end.
No, now I was staring at a being I must kill, one who had defiled and sullied my beloved Venice. With a voice brimming with mana, Ceris shouted.
Across this vast, ashen plain, so that the whole world might hear.
“…Ha, Ceris.”
Eriel met that gaze, not hiding her murderous intent.
She flew along the blue spear, compressing all her hatred and fury within.
And when she arrived here, the culprit who had appeared after the blue spear vanished was none other than Ceris, who had long been a thorn in her side.
…How dare you sully my Venice?
It was the thought that sprang to both Eriel and Ceris simultaneously. The reason this meaningless rage blazed endlessly was but one.
In Ceris’s sight, she could faintly sense the aura of her beloved Venice emanating from that wretched woman.
In Eriel’s sight, she felt the mana of Venice from a woman who deserved to be devoured.
For them, there was no doubt that the woman before them was the culprit.
That aura, that peculiar mana, could belong to only one person.
As their thoughts concluded, even the slightest consideration for one another vanished into nothingness.
They began to gather mana, pouring endless fury and hatred into their gazes directed at each other.
Kugugugugung…!
The mana resonated with such intensity that even ordinary folk would faint upon contact, causing the ground to tremble.
Small stones and dust began to rise, and the very space itself felt the weight of the magical pressure being exerted.
Even seasoned veterans would roll their eyes and faint under the wave of power, yet the two women stared fiercely at one another, unyielding.
And as they regarded each other’s mana, they thought: this battle would be anything but easy.
However, it was a fight they could not afford to lose. No matter what it took, they would kill that wretched woman.
“Eriel… Frost….!”
“…Ceris.”
“I will…”
“I will.”
“Kill you.”
In that moment, as they confirmed the fighting spirit reflected in each other’s hollow eyes, the two legends destined to leave their names in history clashed.
“Severance.”
The preemptive strike came from Ariel, who unleashed a severing spell with all her might.
The severing magic she had wielded until now seemed like child’s play, as a single, decisive blow sliced through the massive castle as if it were nothing, a powerful and swift arc of magical energy soaring forth.
“Posture, Slash.”
Ceris did not merely stand by and watch the attack. After a brief incantation, she transformed her grip on the sword, tightening it with resolve, and unleashed a counterstrike infused with her full power.
In response, a blade of magical energy surged forth, racing toward Ariel’s arc of power. This blade, too, held the strength to cleave mountains and skies asunder.
Chaeng-! Ddududududu…! Kwang-!
The two strikes collided, and a struggle of might began. At first, it seemed Ceris’s strike held the upper hand, pushing forward, but soon Ariel’s magical arc regained dominance, only to return to a stalemate.
Neither could claim superiority as the two arcs clashed, their energies unable to withstand the force, erupting in an explosion that sent a tempest swirling, whipping the hair of both women wildly.
“……….”
To the common folk, these two women, who casually unleashed an attack that would bring joy if successful even once in a lifetime, exchanged silent glances.
And simultaneously, they realized. Indeed, this was not an easy opponent.
*
“Great Sword.”
Ceris’s blade shimmered, transforming into a colossal great sword, so massive that even the most skilled warriors would struggle to wield it with both hands.
Huuung-!
Drawing the great sword back, she swung it with a flourish. Like a bat in a game, the sword traced a wide arc, creating a severing strike in its wake.
An overwhelming wave of energy surged forth, capable of obliterating a small village in an instant.
“…..Teleport!”
This was an attack that could not be blocked. The moment Ariel beheld the oncoming force, she chose not to counter but to evade.
Teleportation. A grand spell that only the most elite mages could hope to master, she executed it with astonishing ease, slipping away from the deadly arc.
Yet, a cold sweat began to trickle down Ariel’s neck.
‘…If I hadn’t dodged that attack, I would have died.’
The previous strike had been child’s play, but this one was incomparably powerful and precise.
The essence of the strike, along with its aftermath, posed a lethal threat to Ariel, who usually deflected most attacks with her magical barrier.
“….Ha.”
Yes. It must be to this extent that one leads a mercenary band revered throughout the empire.
Huuu…
As Ariel took a deep breath, the magic that resided in the air, the ground, and all living things began to flow into her.
The surge of magical energy was so immense that even if all the mages in existence, each boasting their own formidable reserves, were to combine their power, they would still fall short of this magnitude.
The Sea. As if the entire ocean were in turmoil, magic quivers. At the same time, Ariel’s violet eyes gleam.
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“Meteor, Stone Shower, Hellfire, Water Blade, Thunderbolt….”
If she could cast even a single spell, for hours on end, she could proudly claim to be a top-tier sorceress, invoking them all at once.
Ping… Piiing-!
With Ariel’s murmurs, magic circles began to emerge, covering the sky, swelling in size.
Some may have harbored doubts as they watched Ariel wield her cutting magic daily, using it without incantations or magic circles.
Could it be that she had no talent beyond her cutting magic?
Yet, their suspicions were unequivocally wrong. The reason Ariel refrained from incantations and magic circles, and from spells other than cutting magic, was simple.
‘Because it was bothersome and inconvenient.’ After all, cutting magic alone could resolve most, if not all, situations without the need for extra effort.
However, now she faced an opponent she must kill at all costs, one she was certain she could never defeat with cutting magic alone.
“….Die.”
Kugwaaang-!
As Ariel gestured, a literal ‘calamity’ began to rain down upon Seris.
Massive boulders erupted from the magic circles, flames surged hot enough for Seris to feel, water blades sharper than any sword sliced through the air, and lightning struck down.
“Kuugh… Kugh…!”
She deflected and dodged all those spells with her sword, sending them flying away, or evading them when she could not.
Fortunately, she had not allowed any attacks to land, but since the day she had cleaved a dragon, Seris had felt a chill run down her spine.
“”………..””
Their attacks, fueled by their full power, had failed to connect. Never before had this happened.
It was now clear. The woman before her, who seemed ready to devour her whole, might indeed be a monster stronger than herself.
Crack-
Clenching her teeth, Seris kicked off the ground, launching herself toward Ariel at high speed. Ariel, too, flew toward Seris, magic circles firmly in hand.
And just before they unleashed their attacks upon each other, just before their hands could grasp each other’s throats.
“Dieeeee!!! You fucking b*tches!!!!”
Swaaash-!
“….Ugh, what…!”
“Khuhk…!”
A sudden attack from an intruding beast forced her to take a step back. It was a strike so powerful that allowing it to land could jeopardize her very life.
“Return my master, you filthy b*tches!!!”
Kali howled. The unmistakable scent of her master wafted from the two women before her, an odor she could not erase.
“….What did you say?”
“What in the world is this…?”
Yet, Ariel and Seris could only scowl, forced to revisit the current predicament.
Setting aside the absurd power of that beast-woman who had suddenly barged in and begun to wail, there was also the unmistakable warmth and energy of Venice radiating from her.
…Whatever the situation was, one thing was clear. That woman had also been added to the list of those who must die.
“….It doesn’t matter who you are. I will… kill you somehow.”
“…Ha, reinforcements? Fine. I’ll tear you all apart and kill you.”
“You… filthy b*tches…! I will devour my master…! I will tear you to shreds!!!”
In that moment, as they charged at each other, hatred and fury laid bare,
Ding-!
[Hah… Hah hah…! Finally, all participants have gathered! Truly… I have waited so long!]
As the voice, brimming with an unbearable glee, echoed alongside the clear notification chime, a blue window appeared once more before the three of them. They had no choice but to halt their steps.
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