Vol 3. Chapter 131: Resolve

“Fennia, I want to get up.” Vanessa fell silent for a moment, feeling that there was no way Luna could deal with Foreno alone. And she had never been the kind of person who let others protect her while she lay safely behind them.

But the instant she forced herself, her body went numb all at once, and a soft whimper almost slipped out as she nearly fell out of Fennia’s arms.

“Lady Saintess! Please don’t force yourself—before this, you were stabbed by that plant magic!” Fennia hurriedly said.

“......”

That nature magic’s grade wasn’t low. It was poison and magic working together.

If—if when she’d been ambushed just now she’d been using the male-form [Armor Fortress], there wouldn’t have been any gap to get hit through??

But that didn’t seem workable either. Nature magic was still magic at its core. Male-form [Armor Fortress] fully covered against poison but not magic; female-form [Armor Fortress] blocked poison and magic, but had almost no physical protection—and it wasn’t full coverage either.

Thighs, arms, neck, face, and large stretches of skin were all expo~sed. It was easy for some weird hidden weapon or spell to slip through the cracks.

Vanessa remembered another problem: it seemed like everyone present right now was using the same [Spirit Soul]—[Saint’s Envoy].

And because Vanessa wasn’t holding it to supply power, the [Radiant-Cross Holy Shield] also turned into a streak of golden light and flew into Vanessa’s Sea of Mind.

“Speaking of which, Lady Saintess, you really are capable. You even picked back up the holy shield that Lady Saintess Sophia lost during her decisive battle with the Ten-Thousand-Demons Fox King. Even though before that, the Church had dispatched knights to conduct routine searches of your family.” Seeing this, Foreno said with a warm chuckle.

“If your fate weren’t already decided, someone might actually think this was the goddess’s will.”

“Too bad—since you and I are both clergy of the Church of the Dawn, we both know that’s impossible. It’s all just little tricks to fool those ignorant lambs.”

“Lord Foreno, as a member of the clergy, you really are ‘devout,’ aren’t you?” Luna let both hands fall, holding her staff, the corner of her mouth carrying an elegant, tranquil smile.

“Lady Luna, I’m just a pragmatist.” Light flickered atop Foreno’s staff as it filled with mana. “Whatever’s practical, I use. Whoever can bring me real growth and visible benefits—I listen to them.”

Foreno raised his glowing staff, then flicked the sheen on the staff with his other hand. Three light cones shot out in an instant, striking toward Luna.

[Light-Cone Strike]

Unhurried, Luna planted her staff into the ground. Her luxurious platinum staff—its floating light-energy gemstone hovering—released a light-energy barrier.

[Light Protection]

The light cones slammed into the oval light screen. Light elements collided and erupted into a massive flash, making everyone cover their eyes and look away.

This is bad.

Before the blinding light hit her, Vanessa realized: Foreno’s [Light-Cone Strike] was in a straight line. He’d released it that way so it would be convenient to focus a single point.

With Luna’s realm, could [Light Protection] really withstand Master-realm magic?

“Boom boom boom!”

The violent energy and glare made Fennia unable to open her eyes. She instinctively lowered her head.

Intense light fluctuations washed over everyone present.

So this is the power of Master-realm magic?!

Even though they were already far enough from Luna, they still got swept up by that terrifying power.

When everyone finally opened their eyes, they saw that Luna’s [Light Protection] barrier had already shattered into pieces on the third light-cone bombardment. By all logic, the magic should have injured Luna—yet Luna was completely unharmed. Behind the [Light Protection] that had cracked open, there was still another layer of [Light Protection].

Foreno frowned. The moment he saw the platinum-gem staff in Luna’s hand, he understood.

“So that’s how it is. Lady Luna—your staff’s effect is copying the previous spell you cast, then casting it again?” The same spell couldn’t be cast consecutively; there was a cooldown. But this staff removed that restriction—allowing one spell to be repeated within the same window of time.

And with Luna’s high light-element affinity, plus her staff boosting light-element magic’s power, she was able to block a Master-realm bombardment.

Foreno glanced at his own staff: a standard high-grade Church of the Dawn staff, issued for free by the Church when he advanced to the Master realm.

Free things—those who know, know. Plenty to go around, but the manufacturing cost would definitely be squeezed down. There was no way it could compare to Luna’s financial backing as the eldest daughter of the Haukekai Family.

It was like Luna’s weapon was a paid item, while Foreno’s staff was a login reward—of course the performance was completely different.

Even so, the gap between a Magus and a Master wasn’t something a few [Magic Tool] weapons could make up for.

Foreno judged that Luna’s gemstone staff couldn’t keep copying magic forever. It had to have a cooldown.

In that case, all she could do was barely hang on.

At the same time, a magic book wrapped in chains floated out from Luna’s body. The thick book had a white-mist base color. On its cover was a golden cross, its lower end connected to the gilded trim along the edge.

The heavy lock wrapped around the book unlocked by itself. Page after page flipped. After it turned through countless pages filled with entries, it stopped on a brand-new blank page.

After a brief pause, the first line gained a line of tiny golden text.

“Oh?” Foreno stared at the spellbook in the air. The creases between his half-lidded brows deepened slightly.

“[Book of Sacred Bestowal Seals]?” If Foreno remembered correctly, this was a type of magic developed by the Haukekai Family—usable only by Haukekai blood—and it was a rare growth-type magic.

They said its effect was extremely twisted. After the seal was lifted, it would record onto its pages all magic cast by everyone around it except the user.

As for what it did beyond that, there were all kinds of wild claims. Foreno had never studied it in detail—there was no need.

Foreno was already middle-aged. His talent was considered among the very best on the continent, but among true geniuses he didn’t even rank. He only stepped into the Master realm in middle age. By rights, someone like him should never have become entangled with a great family like the Haukekai Family—nor should he have become their enemy.

You could only say life was unpredictable.

“What a strange magic... Amisha, do you know what that magic book does?” Fennia stared at the book hovering in the air with curiosity.

Amisha shook her head, looking down at her palm. The dim golden glow there made her show a troubled expression.

Not knowing the [Book of Sacred Bestowal Seals]’s exact effect, Foreno could only keep probing. He used his staff to trace a golden line in midair, drawing a circle. Then he tapped the circle with the staff tip, and a golden beam shot toward Luna.

[Blazing Light]

The instant Foreno released [Blazing Light], another line of tiny golden text appeared on the [Book of Sacred Bestowal Seals]’s page—yet the previous line of tiny golden text vanished at the same time.

Facing Foreno’s magic, Luna released [Light-Cone Strike] twice in succession, each time firing three light cones—then she followed with one cast of [Blazing Light].

And all three spells were instant-cast.

Weird—how is that possible??

A flicker of surprise passed through Foreno’s eyes.

Could it be that her staff had no cooldown at all? And [Blazing Light] was a [Saint’s Envoy] spell you could only learn after reaching the Master realm. Luna shouldn’t have been able to learn it at all.

The three spells collided with Foreno’s [Blazing Light]. The tremendous force drove both of them back—yet the difference was that Foreno only took a single step back, his sleeve slightly disheveled, while Luna stumbled back several steps. The gale kicked up her skirt. By the time her heels steadied, the base of her white stockings had been completely torn to shreds.

Foreno glanced at the contents on the [Book of Sacred Bestowal Seals] and found that the two lines written earlier were both gone.

So that means...? This book’s effect is to record other people’s magic. As long as a spell is recorded, Luna herself can cast it once—whether she knows it or not. And because a spell cast this way doesn’t count as Luna casting it herself, as long as she also truly knows the spell, she can achieve consecutive casts.

This won’t do.

Just seeing this, Vanessa already knew it was too forced for Luna to fight a Master realm opponent alone. If it were any other Magus—even a high-tier Magus—right now they’d be instantly killed by a Master.

And that was with equipment and magic both completely crushing.

Besides, the [Book of Sacred Bestowal Seals]’s effect was too easy to guess. Other than Fennia, basically everyone here had already more or less figured out what it did.

Objectively, the effect was extremely strong. It could even let Luna cross an entire major realm and trade blows with a Master for a few moves. But once the effect was understood, the other side would have no more restraint.

After roughly grasping the [Book of Sacred Bestowal Seals]’s effect, Foreno also knew how to deal with Luna.

Luna could imitate his spells through that method. The power still depended on her own light-element affinity and realm—it could be treated as if she herself cast the same spell. You could tell from the fact that Luna needed three spells just to block his one.

So—just release magic strong enough to widen the gap. Luna won’t be able to handle it.

Mm. It’s just that doing it this way wasn’t ideal. It made Foreno feel like he was afraid to act too hard—after all, she was the Haukekai Family’s eldest daughter.

But then he thought again: behind him stood the Pope. The Pope would not tolerate such rebellious behavior from the Haukekai Family—whether it was the family as a whole or the individual.

If something happened—if Luna got hurt—it couldn’t be helped.

With that thought, Foreno raised his staff.

“Lady Luna, I’ve already seen through the [Book of Sacred Bestowal Seals] trick. Don’t blame me for not warning you—right now, if you return to the proper path, it’s still not too late.”

“The difference in realm—if I want to kill you, it’s only a matter of moments.” Foreno narrowed his eyes. “I can tell. Your realm looks like high-tier Magus. At your age, you’re already a high-tier Magus—why ruin your own bright future and your family’s future doing something this foolish? If it were me, I wouldn’t do this.”

“Now, move aside.”

In response, Luna simply smiled without speaking. That unhurried composure looked as if she always had a way.

“Sigh. Why be so stubborn?” Seeing this, Foreno looked regretful. Countless motes of light gathered at his staff tip, condensing into a flickering giant light sphere—irregular in shape, several times larger than his body.

The process was completed almost instantly.

What he used was a [Saint’s Envoy] spell that could only be learned at the Master realm: [Demon-Felling Meteor Lightburst].

Even if Luna copied this spell and released it, with her current realm she would need to release at least five or more to possibly fight his [Demon-Felling Meteor Lightburst] evenly—and that was only “possibly.”

Since the other side refused to listen, Foreno had no choice. He could only choose to strike ruthlessly.

Foreno swung his staff. The lightburst swept toward Luna like a glowing meteor.

The three behind her couldn’t help but have their hearts rise into their throats.

With the terrifying mana they were sensing right now—if they got blown up by that spell, they were afraid not even scraps would be left.

In response, the gemstone on Luna’s staff flared with brilliance. She pushed to the limit, releasing several light spells in counterattack to weaken the [Demon-Felling Meteor Lightburst]. But the moment those spells approached, it was as if they were sucked inside—vanishing without a trace.

Then Luna repeated the same method, again using her staff to release two layers of [Light Protection].

“Boom boom boom!!” Even though they had kept a great distance, Fennia and Amisha were thrown to the ground by the shockwave. Before it hit, Fennia had still run over to Amisha and turned her back, using her body as much as possible to shield Vanessa and Amisha from the aftermath.

Fennia sprawled down. Amisha was also struck by Vanessa flying over, and the two of them rolled together to the very edge of the formation.

A large area of Fennia’s back was burned by light magic. Her face twisted in pain. She tried to get up, but her body no longer obeyed her.

Because most of the shockwave had been blocked by Fennia, Amisha’s condition was a bit better—but not by much.

Vanessa was almost fine. She already had overall magic resistance, and with the magic resistance provided by [Armor Fortress], aside from her poisoned weakness, her state was far better than those two.

“Little Fennia, are you okay??” Amisha looked at the severe injury on Fennia’s back—one {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} bloody mess, to the point you could even see what looked like bone. She was frantic, yet helpless.

“I—I’m fine... Lady Saintess is fine too, right?... Where is Lady Luna?” Fennia said with difficulty.

“......” Amisha pressed her lips together, staring at the crater that had been blasted out, her expression complicated.

Right now... she couldn’t really see hope anymore.

Foreno looked at the crater before him—like it had been struck by a small meteor—and shook his head. Just as he was about to walk around it, his hair suddenly stood on end. He immediately released [Light Protection], blocking the light cones that shot out from inside the crater.

“Ah?” Foreno stared in surprise as Luna, bracing herself on her staff and gasping, still lifted a hand and cast magic at him.

She actually... didn’t die??

But very quickly, Foreno understood why.

The gemstone on Luna’s staff dimmed completely—like it had used something earlier and all its charge was spent.

So that’s it. That staff had a life-saving function too?

But that still wasn’t enough.

Foreno could see it—Luna had also used the spell [Resolve].