Rofilia seemed to have completely lost her patience at this moment, utterly weary of this endless game of cat and mouse.
Her eyes flashed coldly, and the dark red Wand in her hand rose once more. This time, the Gem at its tip withdrew its radiance, yet it drew the surrounding magic power into a frenzy.
A magic array, far larger and more complex than any before, began to slowly rotate and condense above her head.
A seventh-tier spell!
Rofilia was finally about to unleash her true high-tier power, planning to settle this in one move and capture this cunning Miss Fugitive once and for all.
Sefina only needed a glance at the embryonic magic array and the surging magic around her to instantly assess the situation.
That was the limit she herself could grasp and cast at present—the seventh-tier spell!
Moreover, with Rofilia’s level of magic power and skill, even if Sefina risked everything to unleash a seventh-tier spell in a direct clash, there was absolutely no chance of victory.
A head-on fight was certain death.
She couldn’t hesitate any longer; she had to escape now!
While Rofilia was wholly focused on guiding the terrifying power of the seventh-tier spell, a decisive glint flashed in Sefina’s eyes as she resolutely abandoned her intention of mustering magic to resist.
Sefina’s left hand darted once more to another leather pouch at her waist, pulling out a nondescript Small Metal Canister. Gathering all her strength, she hurled it fiercely toward Rofilia!
Hidden weapons too?
Rofilia frowned slightly, but didn’t take it too seriously.
She didn’t even break her concentration on the seventh-tier spell. Instead, her free left hand—when had it appeared with a slightly shorter backup Wand?—casually swept forward—
The simplest magic, [Fire Arrow], instantly burst forth, shooting straight at the flying canister.
Casting two different spells at once required tremendous control over magic—most mages couldn’t do it at all. Yet for Rofilia, it seemed effortless.
This was exactly why she dared to prepare a time-consuming seventh-tier spell in actual combat without cover.
Yet in the next second, a sudden change occurred!
[Fire Arrow] struck the Small Metal Canister precisely, but the expected explosion or destruction did not follow.
Instead—
“Boom—!”
A muffled bang, and the canister burst open. But instead of spraying shrapnel outward, it released a torrent of dense gray-white smoke!
The smoke spread with incredible speed, forming a thick wall in the blink of an eye. Not only did it completely block Rofilia’s sight, it even interfered to some extent with her magical perception.
What… is this thing?!
Rofilia was caught off guard, her vision fully obscured, and even the seventh-tier spell she was channeling faltered momentarily.
Indeed, what Sefina had thrown was a Smoke Bomb—a hidden weapon crafted with a blend of modern techniques and magical alchemy.
The design was Sefina’s idea, and Nona, with her alchemical expertise, had succeeded in making the Smoke Bomb.
The thick, pungent smoke engulfed Rofilia, making even this experienced eighth-tier mage momentarily lose focus and cough violently despite herself.
But Rofilia was, after all, Rofilia. Her wealth of battle experience let her recover almost instantly.
Forcing herself to ignore the discomfort in her throat, her left hand gripped the backup Wand, which quickly glowed with blue-green light. Without a complicated incantation, a simple wind spell took shape—
[Wind Gust]
A powerful blast of wind surged out from her center, sweeping outward like an invisible broom and rapidly clearing away the vexing gray-white smoke.
However, this sudden interference did not come without a price.
Though Rofilia’s astonishing control allowed her to just barely keep the seventh-tier magic array from collapsing on the spot, the casting process was undeniably hampered and delayed.
The magic array’s light flickered unsteadily, and the gathering of magical power slowed down.
When the smoke was completely blown away and her sight restored, Rofilia’s sharp gaze immediately scanned the spot where “Holmes” had been, searching for that white figure.
However—
The area was empty!
Only the scorched, battered ground from the earlier clash of ice and fire magic remained, along with Arcane Turbulence that still lingered in the air.
“Holmes”… was gone?!
Where did she go?!
Rofilia’s heart jolted. She swept her gaze around the entire Summoning Platform, her eyes sharp as lightning, searching every rock and shadow.
Nothing! No sign anywhere!
How could this be?! In just those few seconds when the smoke covered everything, how could she disappear so completely, so silently?
Could it be… Teleportation Magic?
Unlikely.
That ancient, esoteric spell was mastered by only a rare handful, and its activation would certainly cause fierce spatial ripples—it would be impossible for her not to notice.
Did she use some kind of single-use teleportation scroll or magic tool? But even then, there would be lingering magic traces—
While these thoughts raced through Rofilia’s mind, a flicker at the edge of her vision suddenly caught her eye.
She jerked her head up, gaze passing over the platform’s edge, out toward the night-shrouded mountains and forests beyond.
There, under the hazy moonlight and thin clouds, a strange, enormous white triangular object was silently gliding through midair with a graceful and steady posture.
It looked thin yet sturdy, its structure utterly unlike any known flying magic tool or magical creature.
What… is that thing?
Rofilia’s eyes were full of astonishment and confusion. Nowhere in the archives of Oselenka’s library had such a form of flying device been recorded.
And then, focusing her gaze, she noticed the lithe, familiar figure hanging beneath that white triangle—and was utterly stunned.
It was “Holmes”!
She was actually… flying by such a method?!
Heh… This Miss Fugitive from the Western Continent really did have an endless supply of strange and exotic gadgets!
A trace of annoyance and helplessness flickered in Rofilia’s heart.
That figure suspended beneath the white Glider was quickly soaring into the distance, shrinking to a small dot in the blink of an eye, already far beyond the range of her still-unfinished seventh-tier spell.
Helpless, Rofilia could only snort coldly and dismiss the seventh-tier magic array.
The surging magic retreated like a tide, and the suffocating pressure in the air faded away with it.
All she could do was stand in place, her gaze icy as she watched that white dot vanish into the depths of the night.
Far away, Sefina was clumsily adjusting her balance, maneuvering the huge white triangular Glider behind her.
Yes, this was the Glider she had sketched from her memories of her past life and given to Nona to tinker with.
To replicate the signature tool of a certain phantom thief from her memory, Nona had complained for quite some time—finding a material that was light, tough, and had some magical conductivity had been incredibly difficult, and they’d failed many times.
Fortunately, with Sefina’s theoretical guidance and Nona’s experiments, they had finally managed to create this barely usable version.