Chapter 261: Battle
"We\'ll see - !"
Before she could finish her words, five figures appeared on the other side of the entrance. They were obviously Aria and the others. Adrian didn\'t notice Ardel and guessed he was either hiding or keeping an eye outside.
\'They are only students, they can\'t kill or fight to the death, they are still greenhorns.\' Selene thought, thinking they had the advantage.
However, her beliefs shattered the moment two people made a move. Aria used Earth Bind and Ice Sculpt to restrain the other three who were guarding the entrance. Adrian has already disappeared, appearing behind those three masked individuals.
Selene noticed it and quickly moved herself, but she was a bit late.
Selene\'s confidence began to waver as she watched Aria and Adrian take down her subordinates with precision and skill. The ease with which they handled the situation was alarming.
But that added fuel to the fire in her.
She unleashed her aura.
Her aura was menacing as she moved with lethal intent, targeting the back line where Lila, Aurelia, and Aria stood. She intended to take them out first, knowing their support would be crucial in the ensuing battle. As an assassin mage who specialized in poisons, she had an array of deadly tricks up her sleeve.
However, Kairen was already in motion, his shield raised to protect the girls. He sensed Selene\'s presence and moved swiftly to intercept her. "Stay behind me!" he shouted, positioning himself between Selene and the others.
Selene smirked, her movements fluid and almost serpentine as she lunged at Kairen with a poisoned dagger. Kairen\'s shield met her attack with a resounding clang, but the force of her strike pushed him back a step. "Persistent, aren\'t you?" she hissed.
Before she could press her advantage, Aurelius and Adrian moved in tandem. Aurelius swung his sword with precision, aiming for Selene\'s flank, while Adrian circled around to cut off her escape. Selene parried Aurelius\'s strike with her dagger, her eyes flickering with amusement. "Impressive," she murmured, "but not enough."
Just then, Aria summoned an Earth Wall, encircling her friends to provide additional protection. The ground trembled as the wall rose, forming a barrier between Selene and the girls.
Selene\'s eyes narrowed as she assessed the situation. She knew she couldn\'t afford to be reckless. She drew a vial from her belt and threw it to the ground, releasing a thick, noxious cloud of poison gas. "Let\'s see how you handle this," she said with a cold grin.
Then she disappeared again.
"Above!" Adrian shouted to alert his allies while moving to the two masked individuals who were sneaking up on Irithel. "Ignis, fire!"
He shouted while launching an attack on one of them.
Ignis responded instantly to Adrian\'s call, unleashing a stream of fire toward the masked individuals sneaking up on Irithel. The intense flames forced them to retreat, buying precious time for Adrian to reach them.
Adrian\'s swift movements and precise strikes disabled one of the masked men, while Ignis\'s fire engulfed the other, causing him to scream in pain as he tried to extinguish the flames.
Meanwhile, Selene\'s poison cloud began to spread, but Aria acted quickly, using her wind magic to disperse the noxious gas away from the group. "Stay close!" she urged the others, her voice carrying a note of urgency.
Selene, observing the coordinated efforts of Adrian and his allies, realized that she was facing a well-prepared and formidable team. Her initial confidence wavered, but she wasn\'t ready to give up just yet.
From her vantage point above, Selene prepared another vial, this time filled with a more potent poison. Her target was Aurelius, who was now shielding Lila and Aurelia with his own body.
Before she could throw the vial, an arrow whizzed past her, narrowly missing her hand. She looked up to see Irithel, her bow drawn and another arrow already nocked, aiming directly at her.
"Tch," Selene clicked her tongue knowing she was lucky, even then she threw the vial at her targets while already moving after throwing a smoke posion.
The vial arced through the air, hurtling towards Aurelius, Lila, and Aurelia. They braced themselves, but just before the vial could reach them, Ignis conjured a wall of flames, incinerating the vial mid-air. The poison inside evaporated harmlessly in the intense heat.
Selene\'s smoke potion exploded, blanketing the area in thick, impenetrable smoke. For a moment, chaos reigned as visibility dropped to zero and everyone struggled to locate their allies and enemies.
"Stay together and cover each other!" Adrian\'s voice cut through the confusion, his calm and authoritative tone bringing some order to the chaos.
Kairen kept his shield up, staying close to Aria and the others, ready to intercept any attack. "Aria, can you clear this smoke?"
Aria nodded, focusing her magic to summon a gust of wind to disperse the smoke. The swirling currents began to clear the air, but it would take a few moments to fully dissipate the thick cloud.
Selene used the cover of smoke to reposition herself, moving silently and swiftly. Her eyes flicked between her targets, searching for an opening. She knew she needed to take down one of them quickly to regain the upper hand.
Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her. She spun around, her dagger at the ready, only to find Adrian standing there, his expression calm but intense. "You\'re not getting away this time," he said, his voice low and steady.
Selene lunged at him with her dagger, but Adrian sidestepped her attack. He countered with a swift punch to her midsection, knocking the wind out of her. Selene staggered back, her eyes widening in surprise and pain.
"You\'re certainly skilled and powerful," Adrian said, his tone almost admiring. "But you\'re not invincible."
"H-How are you able to keep up with me?" Selene asked in confusion, there was a big difference between them. She was Lunar Apprentice 2 stars, while Adrian was just a Peak Nebula Acolyte.
"Why should I tell you?" Adrian replied while already following up with another attack. She was indeed right, he couldn\'t catch up with her speed with his speed alone, so he has been using an artifact to improve his speed and strength. Well, it\'s not like she wasn\'t using one either.
"Smart, are we," Selene grinned throwing three vials of poison at incoming Adrian.