Chapter 260: To Let Those Dreams Go
[Calyra’s POV]
’How many times has it been...’
Calyra had already lost count of how many times she had used [Blink] or cast [Magic Barrier] to evade and withstand Rosalin’s relentless assaults. It could have been more than ten, perhaps already twenty.
Yet despite all that, the beast masquerading as a woman standing before her showed not the slightest hint of exhaustion.
’How is she not tired yet?’
In front of her, Rosalin still held her sword, flames continuing to spiral around the blade as she strode forward without slowing down, her eyes burning with the same relentless intensity of a starving predator.
At first, Calyra thought exhausting Rosalin would be enough to make her give up.
Because... even after the conversation she had with Ruvian, she truly no longer believed in things like drive or conviction.
Those were merely fragile ideals people clung to, destined to crumble the moment reality became too unbearable to endure.
But... was she wrong? Was Ruvian right all along? Because from what she was witnessing, Rosalin had not given up.
More than that... was this truly the Rosalin she once knew?
Even though 13 years had already passed, could someone born with Darberg Syndrome, crippled since birth, really possess such monstrous strength and astonishing speed?
Calyra had never witnessed Rosalin fight before, and even during the academy’s sparring sessions, Rosalin had never revealed the full extent of her abilities.
But if this was truly her real strength...
Just what kind of transformation had she undergone all those years ago?
’Did she completely recover from her disease?’
"Hey...."
Calyra narrowed her eyes as Rosalin called out to her.
"...Is that all? Is running away the only thing you’re going to do? Come on, Calyra. I know you can do better than this. So stop holding yourself back... and face me."
Swinging her sword in a wide arc, Rosalin cleaved through the air, the force of the swing sending a violent gust rippling towards the sky.
Then, without lowering her stance, she slowly extended the sword toward Calyra, the crimson tip pointing straight at her as though issuing a challenge.
Calyra frowned, then silently ascended even higher into the sky with [Fly], her eyes gazing down upon Rosalin with detached indifference.
"Fine. If you insist that much... don’t come to regret it after this."
The instant those words left her lips, her azure eyes blazed with an otherworldly radiance; immense torrents of mana answered her summons, converging around her like a boundless ocean.
Then the number began to climb.
One became five, five became ten, ten became twenty, until fifty multilayered magic circles hung behind her, suspended across the dim heavens.
The next moment, hundreds upon hundreds of razor-sharp ice spears emerged from the countless magic circles, hovered silently in the sky.
[Frost Spear Barrage]
Keeping her gaze fixed upon Rosalin, Calyra slowly raised a finger, her expression remaining as cold and distant as ever.
"Here, this is what you asked for."
With a light flick of her finger, the countless ice spears suspended across the sky lunged forward all at once.
The sky wailed beneath their passage.
Blanketing the whole region, hundreds upon hundreds of razor-sharp spears descended at terrifying speed as they sought to impale everything standing below.
Taking a single step forward, Rosalin tightened her grip around her sword, the flames spiraling around its blade surging even higher.
Then she vanished.
Rosalin launched herself into the storm.
Swinging her sword with such inhuman speed, her blazing blade dismantling every spear that entered its reach.
’She... she is not planning on dodging it?’
Honestly, what kind of maniac would charge straight into a barrage of hundreds of spears?
Yet, Rosalin was no reckless fool. She kept her breathing steady, allowing neither panic nor hesitation to cloud her focus.
Every movement flowed naturally into the next.
TINK! TINK! TINK! TINK! TINK! TINK! TINK!
One after another, the frozen projectiles exploded around her.
The ground below became a storm of fire and ice, mist rising from every collision.
Watching from high above, Calyra frowned.
"...You’re still keeping up?"
Letting out a sigh, she gathered even more mana.
The fifty magic circles behind her blazed once again, flooding the sky with another wave of ice spears.
Their numbers swelled even further.
Without granting Rosalin even a moment to recover, Calyra sent another barrage.
Yet, Rosalin pressed forward without slowing down.
Most of the spears shattered before her blade.
But some did not.
Slipping through a narrow gap, one spear sliced across her shoulder. Another carved through her torso, while another grazed her cheek.
More followed in quick succession; tearing across her arms, thighs, and legs as blood sprayed into the air with every wound they opened.
Yet Rosalin never slowed.
Then, even as the relentless barrage of spears continued, she finally launched herself straight toward Calyra with explosive force.
Even knowing full well that it would only place her in even greater danger... she did not care in the slightest.
Seeing that, Calyra grimaced.
She had no choice but to dispel the barrage, worried that if she allowed it to continue, Rosalin’s injuries would become too severe. She could not allow Rosalin’s bracelet to activate its protection just yet.
Before Rosalin could reach her, Calyra’s figure suddenly blurred.
[Blink]
Space rippled, and Calyra disappeared from directly ahead, only to reappear dozens of meters away before Rosalin could even adjust her course.
"Tch. That trick again."
Rosalin twisted her body in midair, flames bursting beneath her feet as she immediately changed direction. She locked onto Calyra’s new position without the slightest hesitation, then shot forward once again. Even now, she refused to let the distance between them grow.
But then, Calyra vanished again.
[Blink]
Rosalin’s golden eyes widened.
This time, Calyra appeared right in front of her.
"You chose this yourself."
A pale blue magic circle was already waiting at the tip of her staff, its light shining only a few steps away from Rosalin’s face.
’Shit.’
Rosalin’s body reacted before her mind could.
She raised her sword.
BOOM!
The [Magic Missile] exploded at point-blank range. It slammed against the flat of her blazing blade.
Even though she managed to block it, the sheer force behind the spell drove both her sword and body backward, hurling her across the sky before she crashed into the small river below.
BOOOOM!
Water shot high into the air.
The surface of the river caved inward from the impact, sending towering waves rushing toward both banks. Countless droplets rained back down as mist covered the entire area.
However, Calyra did not stop there.
Without waiting to see whether Rosalin would emerge, she calmly raised her staff once more, several magic circles blooming one after another before her.
[Magic Missile]
Another few spheres of condensed mana slammed into the river.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The explosions came one after another, tearing through the water as towering columns erupted toward the sky. The once calm river shook violently, waves crashed wildly against the shore, swallowing everything beneath the churning water.
Slowly, a figure rose from the churning river.
Rosalin broke through the surface with a heavy breath, water streaming from her crimson hair as she swam toward the shore. She never let go of the sword still clenched in her hand.
Reaching the riverbank, she planted one knee against the muddy ground.
Her hand gripped the edge of the shore as water dripped from her soaked clothes, forming small ripples beneath her. She remained there for a long moment, her breathing rough as blood mixed quietly with the river flowing around her.
High above, Calyra watched in silence.
Her eyes lingered on Rosalin’s trembling shoulders, then on the cuts covering her body. The fingers holding her staff tightened for a brief moment before slowly loosening again.
"...Let’s stop here, Rosalin."
Her soft, calming voice drifted above the sky.
"We’ve both said everything we wanted to say, and neither of us has been able to change the other’s mind, continuing this fight won’t accomplish anything anymore... it’s done..."
Silence followed.
Calyra slowly closed her eyes, her lips pressed as she was reluctant to speak the words that came next:
"It’s time for the two of us...."
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[Chapter 260: To Let Those Dreams Go]