The following moment, the golden flames morphed into a light blue color before erupting into a high burst of energy!

...BOOM!

The sound of an explosion rang out as the light blue flames vanished and the mysterious figure retreated a couple of meters. All the while, their feet never touched the ground as they seemed to float slightly above it whenever they moved.

Killsight was shocked at the scene that unfolded before his eyes. He sent people to survey the area and make sure no one else was around. After all, he did not want to run the risk of someone swooping in at the last second to steal their prize. That's why he was baffled by the presence of this third party.

"Wait, that appearance, those flames... It's them...!" Killsight said to himself as he took the opportunity to fall back to a safe distance. 

Killsight understood that he was no match for Valentine; however, this person was different.

While he had never met this particular person before, Killsight heard many rumors surrounding them.

The mysterious figure who attacked Valentine was a woman; however, her physical appearance made it somewhat different to gauge her actual age. The first thing that caught one's eyes was the sickness in the woman's face. Her skin was a light shade of pink with purple markings that resembled blood vessels spread throughout her face and her eyes were turquoise in color.

She wore a pink dress that cut off halfway down her thighs in the front but continued down to her ankles at the back.

A dark golden mask covered the bottom half of her face; however, they did not hide the two protruding horns on her forehead.

Her hair that traveled down her back halfway was amber with a few strands of gold running through it.

On her right shoulder was a golden pauldron with three talons, accompanied by a small orb with light blue flames around it located at the center of her chest, hovering in between a dark golden arc that traveled around her neck.

This woman went by the name Fan Guang; however, among those in Siren, she was only known by her codename, Weaver. And, she was one of the few individuals who achieved the rank of Grandmaster in Siren!

Just now, Fan Guang felt her attack connect to its target, but there was something that obstructed her blow. But, that was not all that happened in that short time window.

"Your reaction time isn't bad—for a mage." Fan Guang's distorted voice sounded. The voice distortion was one of the effects of the mask that concealed the lower half of her face.

"My, that was a close call. Now, just where did you come from?" Valentine said as the dust around him settled.

Wrapped around Valentine were several vines with thorns embedded into them. These vines contained a trace of Valentine's mana within them and were also what forced Fan Guang to retreat.

"If not for the warning of my Soul Sense, I would have taken the full brunt of that attack head-on. Fortunately, I was able to activate the Rebound of Thorns in time." Valentine internalized.

Skill Name: Enhanced Mana Shield Revised: Rebound of Thorns

Skill Creator: Valentine

Skill Level: MAXED

Skill Rank: S

Requirements: 825 Magic, Magic Fundamental Mastery(Passive)

Mana Cost: 750

Cast Time: Instant

Active: Creates a shield of mana around the caster equal to 350% of the user magic that absorbs incoming damage for up to 2 minutes. While this mana shield is active, if it is struck by a physical attack, the attacker receives 100% of the damage dealt to the mana shield + 100% of the user's magic power as magic damage that ignores all defenses. This skill shares a cooldown with «Mana Shield».

Cooldown: 4 minutes

On Fan Guang's right wrist was a matching pair of bracelets, one of which cracked after her retreat. It was thanks to the effects of this bracelet that she was able to negate the damage reflection from Valentine's skill.

"To think that I would meet someone here who is capable of deceiving my Eyes of Magic... This has become quite entertaining." Valentine thought to himself as a slight smile formed on his face.

Valentine's Eyes of Magic had evolved over time to the point where he could read even the slightest shift of mana or magic energy in the atmosphere.

The fact that his assailant was able to avoid his detection could only mean one of two things. She either had flawless control over her mana or—she possessed no mana whatsoever!

Of course, Valentine leaned more towards the latter. After all, having that level of absolute control over one's own mana required a magic caster close to the same level as the Wiseman of Everpeak, Kryxelsia. And, if the person before him truly reached that level, Valentine knew that his chances of surviving that attack would have been zero. Besides, the woman in front of him was clearly a player.

"Are you also here to reap my life?" Valentine asked calmly.

At the same time, the small orb at the center of Fan Guang's chest expelled light blue flames that Fan Guang took into the palm of her hands. However, this was not actual fire, but something called spiritual force.

Woosh!

Fan Guang waved her hand towards the ground as the spiritual force slid off her palm and into the earth.

The area where the spiritual force entered trembled before cracking open as five humanoid figures emerged from the ground.

These humanoid figures were average in size and crafted from Fan Guang's spiritual force. They had no facial features. Their hands and feet had been replaced by a sharp blade-like object.

Not too long after the appearance of the humanoids, a sixth creature emerged. This time it was a tiger with wings that were at least two times larger than a normal fully grown tiger.

ROOOOOOAR!

The winged tiger made from Fan Guang's spiritual force released an ear-piercing roar that unleashed an incredible amount of pressure. It was almost as if a true winged tiger had descended upon the battlefield!

Fan Guang rose into the air as spiritual force covered both her hands.

"Actions speak louder than words." Fan Guang replied.

...

Meanwhile, back at the Mystical Realm Palace...

Izroth's body sat inside a pocket of isolated space within the room located on the sixth floor.

Initially, Izroth fell into a state of slumber. But, after his awakening process progressed a bit further, Izroth found himself in the middle of a vast plain.

'Where am I?'

"Charge!"

"Do not fear! Today, victory belongs to us alone!"

"Yeeeeeeah!"

The sound of a battle in the distance entered Izroth's ears as he set his gaze to the ongoing clash.

Izroth inwardly furrowed his brows as he witnessed the small skirmish take place.

Each side only had thirty to fifty people and only a handful of them was on horseback.

Izroth tried to open his system interface; however, he was met with a single alert.

〈System Alert: Awakening is still in progress...〉

'I see. My real body must still be back at the Mystical Realm Palace. Still, I have no idea what this place is. And...'

Izroth noticed that his attire had changed. All of his equipment was nowhere to be found. Instead, he wore a basic set of plain clothing that looked as if he were a stray villager along with a poor excuse for leather armor that possessed numerous points of exposure.

Attached to the slightly oversized belt around his waist was an iron short sword.

Izroth did not know where he was or why he had been sent to this place; however, it seemed he was some sort of soldier.

'It reminds me of Commander Aurie's Dream Domain... Or, maybe it's closer to the Soul Avatar I used during my trip to the Chaotic Dogma Realm.'

Clap! Ooooooom! Neeeeigh!

Suddenly, a loud thunderclap sounded several meters behind Izroth in the distance, followed by the battle cry of a warhorse.

Izroth turned to see what the commotion was all about and saw a large white tear in space that spammed tens of meters. And, from that spatial tear, a new group of individuals that numbered only a dozen arrived on the battlefield—all of which road on horseback.

"Retreat! It's the Guardians of the Equinox!"

"Fall back! Fall back!"

The leaders from both sides ordered a retreat as their troops scattered and fled the battlefield!

Neeeigh!

The twelve individuals pulled the reigns on their warhorses, stopping before Izroth.

Each of them gave off a mystical and profound feeling. However, they all paled in comparison to the person at the head of the group.

"At last, we finally have a chance to speak." The person at the head of the group spoke in a soothing voice. It belonged to a woman.

The woman removed her helmet and revealed a beauty that transcended that of a human and could only be called a goddess.

But, more surprising, Izroth had seen this woman before—or to be more precise, a statue of her at the Lake of Tears!

This appearance belonged to the all-seeing goddess, Helilatiaa!