At this moment, Feliel’s gaze was sharper than ever, knowing full well she could not give Sefina the chance to cast spells at her leisure.
The wand in her hand danced rapidly, condensing Spell Formation Runes in the air as a massive amount of mana surged out.
In an instant, dozens of crimson, precise Arrays lit up the night sky, dotting the area above and around Sefina like stars.
Immediately after, sharp chirping pierced the silence. Several large Firebirds, their bodies entirely wreathed in flames, charged boldly out from the centers of the Arrays, trailing scorching tail-fires behind them.
Summoning magic: Firebird.
After these Firebirds appeared, they did not mindlessly rush their target like the Shadow Wolves had done before.
Under Feliel’s exquisite control, they acted like intelligent hunters, quickly scattering in the air to form a loose encirclement.
They circled Sefina at high speeds, their crimson eyes locked onto her as they searched for an opportunity to strike.
Burning waves of heat continued to spread as they flew, causing the air in the forest to warp and distort.
Sefina, naturally, would not sit still and wait for death. Almost at the same moment the Firebirds took shape, the Ice Wand in her hand struck the ground!
A violent roar echoed from the earth as a massive rock lance—as thick as a grown man’s waist and topped with an incredibly sharp point—erupted.
Shrouded in a khaki-colored magical glow, it shot out like a giant bolt from a ballista, stabbing directly at Feliel, who was still controlling the Firebirds!
**[Fifth-rank Magic — Rock Lance Pierce]**
Feliel’s pupils contracted suddenly; that rock lance was coming too fast and too fiercely!
She didn’t have time to chant a defensive spell. At the critical moment, she flicked her wand, and the Flame-wing Bird closest to her let out a shrill cry.
It dove down abruptly, its sharp talons accurately grabbing the clothing on her shoulders.
*Whoosh — !*
The Firebird flapped its wings with all its might, pulling Feliel upward in a narrow escape!
The massive rock lance whistled past, nearly brushing against her fluttering braids.
The fierce wind completely unraveled the braids she used for her disguise, and her long black hair fell like a waterfall, dancing wildly in the heatwaves and night wind.
Still shaken, Feliel simply reached out and snatched off the large glasses that always obscured her eyes, tossing them casually into the woods below.
The lenses reflected one last glint of moonlight before disappearing into the darkness.
At this moment, she had completely shed her usual quiet and childish demeanor.
Her loose black hair framed a cold, grim face carrying a murderous aura. Her gaze was as sharp as a blade, no longer hidden in the slightest.
“Tsk!” she spat, clearly dissatisfied with her panicked state just a moment ago.
Then, Feliel’s eyes turned cold as she pointed her wand at Sefina below.
One of the circling Firebirds immediately received the command and let out a high-pitched cry, trailing a long tail of flame as it slammed toward Sefina at an incredible speed.
Sefina reacted extremely quickly. A flash of fire ignited at the tip of her wand, and a crimson Fireball, compressed to its absolute limit, suddenly took shape. It accurately met the diving Firebird head-on!
**[Third-Tier Magic — Explosion Spell]**
*Boom — !*
The Fireball and the Firebird collided violently in midair, resulting in a massive Lab Explosion!
Flames soared into the sky, and a powerful shockwave expanded in a ring, blowing the surrounding trees sideways.
The Firebird was completely dissipated in the blast, but the resulting gust of air forced Sefina to take half a step back to steady herself, her blue hair blowing across her cheeks.
Sefina’s heart sank. These Flame-wing Birds were not only agile, but they could actually self-destruct upon being attacked or reaching a target.
The power was nearly equivalent to a strong fourth-rank attack magic.
The key was… there were still no less than ten of these Firebirds circling in the sky…
If they were allowed to get close for consecutive self-destructions or if they interfered with her chanting for a high-rank magic, the consequences would be disastrous.
‘I must clear out these annoying things first!’ Sefina decided in the blink of an eye.
However, Feliel had clearly anticipated this.
She deliberately commanded the remaining Firebirds to scatter even further, keeping a significant distance between them so Sefina couldn’t wipe them all out with a single large-scale area-of-effect spell.
‘What a cunning layout,’ Sefina thought to herself. However, she had her own way of dealing with it.
Sefina’s petite figure began to move rapidly across the forest clearing, her footsteps nimble and precise.
*Ssss — !*
A stream of azure water sprayed from the tip of her wand like a high-pressure hose, accurately hitting a Firebird that was attempting a sneak attack from the rear.
**[Third-Tier Magic — Water Screen]**
Though it was only a low-tier magic, by taking advantage of elemental counters and adding Sefina’s pure mana, it was more than enough to deal with a Firebird.
As water and fire met, a large amount of white steam erupted with a *sizzle*.
The flames on that Firebird instantly dimmed and died out, and its entire form vanished into the air.
Sefina’s movements did not pause for a second. Her eyes were as sharp as an hawk’s, quickly locking onto the Firebirds as they constantly shifted positions in the sky. Turn, raise wand, cast!
*Ssss!*
*Ssss!*
The **[Water Screen]** spells shot toward the sky like precise bullets, one after another.
Every time Sefina cast a spell, it was clean and efficient, without a single wasted movement. The surge of mana and the speed of the magic’s formation were incredibly fast.
Those Flame-wing Birds trying to get close or self-destruct often didn’t even have a chance to act before they were extinguished by a sudden jet of water, turning into rising steam.
For a moment, it was as if a dynamic shooting game was being played in the forest clearing.
With every wave of Sefina’s wand, a Firebird was destined to fall with a mournful cry.
The crimson figures in the sky were decreasing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
However, just as Sefina was focused on cleaning up these “mosquitoes,” a greater threat was brewing.
At some point, Feliel had already braced herself firmly on the back of the largest Firebird.
Her loose black hair flew in the gale, and her gaze was bone-chillingly cold. She held her wand tightly with both hands, holding it upright before her chest.
An ice-blue magic Array, far more complex than any of the previous ones, was being rapidly sketched and condensed in front of her.
The temperature in the air plummeted, and even the circling Firebirds seemed to be affected, their flight speed slowing slightly.
A massive amount of ice-element mana gathered frantically. In the center of that Array, a giant, crystal-clear ice spear was slowly taking shape, its tip pointed directly at Sefina below!
**[Sixth-rank Magic — Frostspear]**
Feliel’s own mana had only just touched the threshold of a sixth-rank mage. Casting such a powerful spell was an extremely heavy burden for her, and the chanting time was much longer than Sefina’s.
But now, under the suicidal cover of the Firebird flock, she had finally bought herself this precious time!
The Frostspear was mostly condensed. The chilling killing intent and the terrifying Magic Power Wave caused Sefina to feel a sudden shiver in her heart.
‘This is trouble!’ Sefina’s internal alarms blared. She had naturally noticed Feliel’s movements and sensed the imminent completion of the deadly magic.
But the remaining few Firebirds seemed to have received a death order.
They threw themselves at her even more crazily, using self-destruction to delay her actions, making it impossible for her to concentrate on casting a defensive magic of the same level.
It was too late!
Seeing that the **[Frostspear]**, which felt like it could freeze one’s soul, was about to fully solidify and likely roar down in the next second—
Sefina’s gaze sharpened. She knew that conventional means could no longer handle the crisis before her.
‘I guess I have no choice.’
In the next moment, during the gap after using Water Screen to annihilate another Firebird, Sefina’s free left hand quickly reached into her waist pouch and pulled something out.