CHAPTER 16(BATTLE OF THE FRAGMENTS III)

I looked at Sophia, who was battling Rose, and smiled. I bent my horn-like antennae in Rose's direction, and pure mana began to gather from the surroundings into a large flaming ball that formed in the midst of them.

THRUUUUMMMM! A droning sound rang out through the surroundings. Suddenly...

BOOOOOOMM!

A gigantic explosion rocked the scene.

BOOM! BOOOOM!! BOOOOOOMM!

The multiple explosions continued to go off in succession for a while. Finally, Damian's antennae began to vibrate, and he dispersed the mana around him.

"Oh, that was quite the surprise, little boy. Can you tell me how you did it?" Rose's annoying voice sounded next to my ear

{ DISPERSE}

Another mini explosion resounded as I escaped from Rose. Her spell had blown up in her face.

[NOTE: I'll denote Damian's communication with mana with the {} bracket.]

I landed in the midst of my avatars, two of which had begun to cast their spells.

{GATHER!}

Mana began to flow into their spells.

[LIGHTNING BREATH]!

[SPECTRAL CAGE]!

The annoying voice rang out again. This time, I couldn't tell where it was coming from.

"Nine lives, nine different chances to fight back - don't you think it's... peculiar?" I could hear her voice beside me, but when I sent an attack in her direction, there was nothing there.

"Why would someone get nine different chances to fight the same person? Won't it just be a waste of time?" I sent out another attack, but got the same result.

Seeing as no one was listening to her, she snorted "If you don't get what I'm saying by now, let me spell it out for you. After losing a life, my power in..."

"Ha, got you," Sophia smirked as she trapped Rose in a ghostly cage.

[IMPLODE]

"As I was saying before being interrupted by the little..."

BOOM!

"Shut the f*ck up! We're not kindergarten students. We get it." Jenna shouted, smoke billowing from her mouth. She had just fired a lightning breath.

" Oh, weren't you thought to respect your seniors, little boy it appears you haven't been training your puppets" Her eyes dashed to Emma who was busy using her ki net all around the area. "Ha, you thought, I wouldn't notice, people at my level are very sensitive to energy "

"Really?" I asked, a sly smile spreading across my face. "Then why didn't you notice that?"

Her eyes widened and she turned back to see Sophia's fist flying straight towards her face.

BAM! BAM! BOOM!

The punches rained down like a hailstorm, one after the other, showing no sign of letting up. Meanwhile, down below, me and Jenna prepared a spell combo we hadn't used in a long while.

[ABSOLUTE LIGHTNING FIELD]!

[PERPETUAL LIGHTNING JUDGEMENT]!

Sophia also casted a buff.

[ SOUL WARRIOR] which gave all our attacks an addition of 30 percent soul damage

The two enormous magic circles, one above us and one below, pulsed with energy, like giant hearts beating out the rhythm of a war drum. A deafening crackling filled the air, so loud it drowned out the sounds of battle around us. I could feel my hair standing on end, my whole body tingling with the raw power of the magic.

The lightning bolts struck the ground, engulfing my opponent in a blinding blue light. I couldn't see anything beyond the light, but I could feel the magic coursing through my body. The light began to fade, and my vision returned. I couldn't see Rose anywhere around.

"..."

I really hope it's not what I'm thinking.

[BATTLE ENDED]

Darn, she escaped. Why would a fragment have the ability to escape a battle?

The team trudged back into the mansion, feeling defeated and frustrated. None of them noticed the shadow that lurked just out of sight, watching their every move.