Chapter 156

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....

Lita looked at her opponent with aggression and intense fighting intent, she has been cooped inside the Magus Tower for some time, and finally she got the chance to fight against a worthy foe. Lita's blood was boiling as an excitement deep inside her body was erupting, She wasn't going to suppress this feeling rather embrace it, thankfully she had A. I. Chip which would warn her if something goes out of control.

"Seal of Dark Corrosion! Release!" Toram performed some gestures and, in that instant, the silver necklace exploded.

In a flash, the energy waves on her body strengthened significantly. Drops of blood even started seeping out of her pores.

The detailed black runes instantly crawled all over her body. Coupled with the scar on her face, she looked even more terrifying.

The A. I. Chip could scan and detect that she'd already reached the peak of the Hydro Phase. In fact, some of her spiritual force had already formed traces of crystals from repeated attempts at compression.

Once completely solidified, Toram would reach the Crystal Phase.

Of course, her rash actions put her in grave danger. However, right before her body completely fell apart, she'd stepped one foot into the Crystal Phase realm!

This was definitely her trump card, some sort of mysterious spell that would put everything at stake.

Cole and Roderick expression turned serious as they looked at Lita, and surely Lita did not made any attempt in trying to stop Toram's actions, instead allowing the aura on her body to rise slowly as she looked on with excitement, "Interesting! Interesting Indeed! With my strength level a normal Hydro Phase isn't my match but reaching crystal phase now, you can turn out to be a worthy opponent."

From the very beginning, the entire time Lita hasn't had much in the action but now she was finally riled up. This excited her very much, this is the emotions of her blood, Leylin has warned her about this but also guided her about the ways to tide your emotions in your favour. Lita may look like a blood crazed Warlock but deep inside she was calm and composed, she would only allow her bloodline to be her strength not her weakness.

She also wanted to test her ability, with herself being at the peak of Hydro phase and on the verge of breakthrough Lita wanted to test her strength as well as the capabilities of her new spell— Lethal Maul.

Even though its ability to break through the defensive spell formation spoke volumes of its formidability, she ultimately lacked the physical data to affirm its full capability. Especially with regards to its ability to clash with Crystal Phase Magi.

Lita was the best of the best among Hydro Phase Magi, and even a peak Hydro Phase Magus like Toram could do nothing to her. Only a Crystal Phase opponent would cause her trouble. Even of that is true this opponent didn't bring any dread in her but only the desire to test herself.

While she previously probed Toram during the previous battle, the A.I. Chip had detected that not only had her strength become feeble, she had even seemed to be injured, something that resulted in her not performing to her fullest potential.

And so Lita was excited as the opponent took drastic measures to compel herself completely.

And from the looks of it, Lita is going to get a good fight out of Toram.

Originally a peak Hydro Phase Magus, Toram indeed possessed the formidable ability to partially crystallise her spiritual force using this mysterious spell, even if she'd pay for it with her life.

It was rare to experience a fight against a Crystal Phase Magus. After all, the Crystal Phase Magi Lita previously come across were mostly Leylin who is just plain perverted and some other seniors, and she could not fight them.

Cole and Roderick crossed their hands and didn't interfere but they were attentive to intercept at any given moment.

Soon enough Lita aura erupted and she felt feverish as a layer of fine black scales formed on her body. Multiple runes appeared on the surface that formed a black membrane, an additional layer of defense and a vertical amber replaced her eyes, and Toram who was in the view was engulfed by strong radiation.

The mysteries of Crystal Phase spiritual force were also slowly being uncovered by the A.I. Chip and presented to Lita.

"The madmen of the Ouroboros Clan should not even exist in this world!" Having advanced to the Crystal Phase, Toram's strength now was a far cry from what it was before. She looked at Roderick from the corner of her eyes, but Lita coldly snorted calling her attention.

Toram turned her attention to Lita and the suppression of the aura in the atmosphere caused Lita to feel discomfort.

Lita stared at the Crimson Throne behind Toram, a solemn expression on her stunning face. The time to play is over, this fight has her 100% undivided attention.

Originally, her own force field had enveloped hers and suppressed it to the point of near destruction. Now, though, it had expanded greatly, especially the huge crimson throne. It seemed almost corporeal, and the power it was emitting had somewhat exceeded that of her terrifying force field.

"You are the real deal! This is what I wanted" Although the fight hasn't started physically it was ongoing with their force field. This was the first time Lita had felt such pressure on the battlefield yet she was smiling, evidently pleased.

"Let's see what a Crystals Phase is all about!"

In the face of a Crystal Phase Magus, she did not dare hold back any longer.

"If that's what you wish!" Toram said. Two streaks of red liquid flowed down from the corners of her eyes, like tears of blood. It gave her a sinister aura.

*Swish!* The two human silhouettes morphed into black shadows that collided with each other. A loud ear-piercing boom was heard and a frightfully huge amount of energy rippled out in all directions.

"Lord… Lord Lita is actually this strong?" Tamansi saw the entire horrifying scenario play out from outside the camp and his jaw dropped. He was beyond stunned by the capabilities of this group, the two men were ridiculously strong as they solved the other two Rank 3 so easily and from the fight Lita herself was also a force to be reckoned with.

Toram was the second strongest in the Arm of Vengeance, a rumoured peak Hydro Phase Magus!

Not only had she been a strong opponent for years, there had even been rumours that this person who was wanted by the Ouroboros Clan had advanced to the Crystal Phase.

What's more surprising was that Lita actually had the upper hand in this fight, and could fight her to a standstill! What kind of strength was that?

Only one thought was left in Tamansi's mind. He would grasp at Lita's coattails without hesitation.

[Crystal Phase force field record completed! Beginning analysing opponent's perimeter of attack!]

At this juncture, Lita who had been battling with Toram did not look like she had it easy. She wasn't as experienced as Toram and this was apparent, only with the help of A. I. Chip did she maintain the standstill. Lita wasn't gaining much of a upper hand but she wasn't losing as well. With every passing minute and concluded blow Lita gained more of an edge.

Although Toram used a secret technique to enter the Crystal Phase, Toram's strength far surpassed Lita's expectations.

Not only had she formed an armour of spiritual force, that had fully advanced to the Crystal Phase, on her body, the rest of her spells had been greatly amplified as well. From the looks of it, the rumours regarding the massive transformations after advancing the Crystal Phase were true.

Besides, Toram had steeled her will and was fighting like a madman to end up in mutual destruction with Lita. She cared not one whit about herself, which gave her a lot of trouble.

Whatever the case may be, there were still limits imposed on someone who entered the Crystal Phase using a secret technique.

The blood dripping from Toram's body dyed the ground a bright crimson. Nearly half the blood present in the human body had already flowed out, and a normal person would have already died from such a serious injury. Even if she were a Magus, she was not in a good state either.

How could there be no price to pay when one forcibly compressed their spiritual force to enter the Crystal Phase, akin to cheating?

It would not be surprised even if she suddenly burst into pieces.

"Rainstorm Ember Hazard!" Dark purple reddish flames blazed and Lita used the opportunity to get an attack against her opponent.

Toram was defending herself from the devastating spell when suddenly Lita landed an impactful punch of her face throwing her away.

*Boom*

Lita smiled as she scrutinized the data recorded by the A.I. Chip. She turned to look at Toram, whilst still dripping blood. Her face pale and broken from the blow, Lita muttered while huffing "You were a worthy opponent but this is the end of the line for you."

Feeling Toram's life force ebbing away and that she was about to drop down from the Crystal Phase, Lita thought that it was such a shame.

"Let's see if you can survive the claws of death."

The horrifying spell that had breached the defensive spell formation, that the Arm of Vengeance had been unable to react to in time, had once again begun forming at Lita's hand.

Horrifying amounts of energy particles condensed and formed a black red claw.

Lita looked seriously and pointed at Toram. "Rank 3 spell— Lethal Maul!"

A distant screech of a terrifying creature was sounded as the claw streaked towards Toram, overshadowing the ground below.

"Secret technique— Crystal Shield!" Even though Toram knew of the dire situation, her survival instincts and hatred towards the Ouroboros Clan urged her to accept the battle.

Many sparkling spiritual force shields appeared before her, glowing with runes.

*Bang!* The black red paw of death arrived before Toram in a near instant, and collided with the first Crystal Phase spiritual force shield.

*Crack!* A few scratch tearing apart the shield immediately formed on the surface. Many cracks extended from the several caved depression and the shield fall apart.

The shields rippled as they were torn apart by the paws of death, as if they were sheets of paper, on its way to Toram.

"Is this the taste of death?" A momentary distraction emerged in Toram's eyes, but it was replaced almost instantly by the ever more terrifying flames of hatred.

"Even if I die, I will not die in such a humiliating way without even causing damage to my opponent!" She roared as blood-red flames started burning her body.

"Soul sacrifice! Your hatred is really immense." Lita's face sank but she wasn't shocked. Magi knew that death was not an end. The souls of many departed high-ranking Magi would return to the astral plane, awaiting reincarnation.

A soul sacrifice was a secret technique that traded away their soul. To obtain temporary strength, the very soul was burnt away! What a great idea!

She had basically destroyed her last hope. From the looks of it, the Magus who was called Toram had an immense hatred towards the Ouroboros Clan.

A strange aura spread across the whole venue in the amount of time it took for the blood-red flames to combust.

A crimson gem appeared on Toram's forehead and exploded, bringing with it a shower of blood. It was at this moment that Lethal Maul appeared in front of her.

The two collided.

Space suddenly shook, after which it seemed like nothing had happened.

Lita was startled for a while before her face changed. She realised that things were not right and the target was actually not her.

Like the sound of glass being smashed, in the area where the blood-red gem and Lethal Maul came into contact, a huge hole had seemingly appeared, which had sucked in all of the objects in the area.

In an instant, even the air looked distorted. After a sudden contraction, a terrifying eruption occurred!

*Boom!* A large mushroom cloud rose to the sky with the point of impact as the core. Large waves swept across the floor and swept away everything.

Tamansi who was watching outside was engulfed by the giant waves before he even had time to scream.

After the explosion, the sky itself started to crack apart. Anything that came into contact with these rifts suddenly disappeared from its original position.

At that moment, the sky was roaring, the ground trembling. It was only after 10 minutes or so that the remaining radiation from the explosion dissipated.

*Boom!* A light shone in the void as Lita appeared again looking concerned.

"Cole! Roderick!"

Currently, Lita did not look too good. Even she was affected by the aftermath of that terrifying collision, not even being the target herself.

At the last moment, Toram focused her attack on Roderick trying to revenge her disciple. Cole and Roderick were pretty near so both of them were implicated.

As for the opponent Toram? Being in the middle of the eruption, she had been torn to pieces.

Let alone the soul sacrifice, just because of the secret technique Toram had used to step into the Crystal Phase, combined with the damage at the end, even if she hadn't used a soul sacrifice she would not have much longer to live.

"We are okay!" Both of them came out of the carnage as severe wounds were all around their body, Cole and Roderick were very attentive from the start that is why they could retreat in a moment notice but the attack was very powerful and it caused some serious injuries to the duo.

"This woman was a full psycho!" Cole sighed, but yet his face did not register depression. Both he and Roderick have a very tenacious vitality they would be able to recover pretty fast so, it wasn't much of a trouble. With several healing potion in their possession they would recover after some time.

Lita was relieved after seeing that they were fine, she was feeling a bit guilty but immediately threw that emotions away because she knew neither of them would appreciate it.

Roderick landed on the ground with his partner, his feet stepping on a rock that had been burnt black. "Tamansi, come out!"

"Master, do you have any commands?" The soil became looser and Tamansi crawled out from underground.

During the explosion, coupled with luck and his abilities as a Magus, he had managed to keep his life. However, he had still suffered severe injuries.

Tamansi looked terrifying, with his clothes tattered and his skin scorched.

"Prepare and send a report to the headquarters, we have other matters to attend to so, we would not be returning currently." Roderick ordered. Lita was analysing the situation and trying to reaccess the fight, this is one of her habits always trying to find flaws and correct them.

Lita initially was a very attentive person, taking tactic care of her presentation as well as her attitude towards others, she was a member of noble family as well as a ruling person back in Beast World so, her people skill isn't actually bad. But after revitalizing herself, her pursuit for truth has far surpassed any interest for the mundane world, with Leylin as her ceiling and support she doesn't need to worry about being nice to others. As long as she doesn't bring home any trouble her attitude isn't a problem. And it's not like she is incapable of interacting she just chooses not to.

Lita figured that time spent experimenting, analysing and training is much better than being a social person. Lita has a huge disadvantage compared to her peers putting her experience on the table, it was only the amazing ability of A. I. Chip which has saved years of her time. So, to her catching up in the ways of magus is most important.

Roderick nodded towards Cole and decided to set off with Lita now.

Since they had accomplished the task, they would need another set of people to validate it.

"As you wish, Master!" Those were originally matters Tamansi had to do as an intelligence officer, and he swiftly replied.

Even though Tamansi wanted to seek refuge from Lita, he actually started trembling when he came face to face with her, and was unable to speak his mind. Lita hasn't given him a proper glance since the beginning because she was more absorbed in her own world.

"This mission was completed by Lita Raiz on the behalf of Marquis Leylin Farlier of the Farlier family. I'll leave it to you to tie up the loose ends!"

Cole faintly explained about it, before he disappeared into thin air along with the other two, only leaving behind Tamansi who looked glum and regretful…

....

Mujhe Mountain, an underground lab.

Leylin, wearing a loose black robe, activated the last spell formation. A mechanical door dropped down, along with the activation of multiple layers of seals. He has been rechecking everything and reinstating the defensive barriers and isolation.

Vibrant runes wandered close to one another across the surface of the iron door. Leylin had used every bit of knowledge he had about defensive spell formations in this, and together with the A.I. Chip's deductive capabilities, even a Morning Star Magus would take a while to force his way in.

The walls of the secret chamber were littered with aura isolation runes. This room could be said to be one of the best-hidden places on the continent right now.

There was no choice about it. This matter concerned his advancement to the Morning Star realm, and Leylin wouldn't dare to be sloppy.

This ungrounded area was prepared with great caution and vigilance by his subordinates. The entire process of creating it and establishing the formation was controlled by Leylin alone, and to an observer, it would seem completely unrelated to Leylin.

The area has a geographical advantage as well since it natural isolation is very high. This is the reason why he choose this place to build the lab.

At such a critical junctures, Leylin was extremely vigilant. He even vacated the area with no one around, no one knew about this place except for those evolve in the creation, being his most trusted subordinates.

"The time has finally come, the real story starts from here on out!" Leylin sighed softly. As if he released all of his emotions, his eyes became clear and he calmed down.