Herrera knew that the Level-6 spell she just mastered was their only hope.
However, this spell was extremely powerful and she was still not used to casting it. She would have to divert all her attention onto the spell in order for it to be successful, leaving her vulnerable to any attacks. The slightest distraction could result in her death from the rebound of her mana and in the worst case scenario, killing Link in the process.
Herrera was fully prepared to give up her life in this battle, as the investigation into Bale's dark magic research was her choice. However, she would not allow Link to be in any danger—he was the Chosen One!
Herrera sighed and looked at Link apologetically, "I am too impatient. Link, I am so sorry to have dragged you into this."
Link stared at the stirring Inosa 300 feet away and urged, "Don't think too much about it. Let's began preparing the spell."
It was not a time to attribute responsibilities. If they did not take care of the opponent right in front of them, they would be dead before they could determine who was at fault.
"Alright," Herrera nodded.
Since Herrera had to fully focus on casting the Level-6 spell, she would not be able to maintain her Levitation spell and Holy Aura spell. Herrera pointed her staff at the lake and whispered, "Freezing!"
Freezing
Level-3 spell
Effect: Concentrates a large number of water elementals and lowers their temperature down to a freezing state.
A beam of white light pierced the lake and started freezing its surface at a speed visible to the naked eye. Before long, a circular platform more than 60 feet in diameter and 15 feet in thickness was floating on the liquid surface.
Although the platform was bobbing up and down on the water surface, it was very stable and had no chance of overturning.
Herrera then canceled her Levitation spell and landed gently onto the ice platform. She then began to use Shapeshifting magic to create a depression in the platform before sitting in it.
This was to ensure her stability so that she would not be distracted from the movement of the platform.
"I am ready."
Herrera forcefully inserted the crystal wand into the ice, transferring large amounts of Mana into the staff. A pristine white glow emerged at the tip of the crystal staff before enveloping her entire body, forming a dome of light. White flares emanated out of the light dome, illuminating the ice platform.
This was a phenomenon caused by accumulating an insane amount of light elementals.
A powerful magic disturbance could be felt in the atmosphere. A destructive magic was about to make an appearance.
It was still a light element spell, The Edge of Zenith!
Edge of Zenith
Level-6 Light Elemental Spell
Mana Cost: 680 points.
Effect: Gathers the power of light elementals to create a giant blade of light to deal apocalyptic damage on dark magic creatures.
(Note: This spell is for Angels of Light only. It is near impossible for any other race to master this spell.)
The mutated Hydra Inosa immediately sensed the incoming threat. It's six heads roared simultaneously, creating violent waves that crashed in many different directions. One could see air ripples being formed simply from the force of its roar.
Following which, the Hydra advanced towards Herrera. It was extremely fast despite its humongous size, causing tremors in the surrounding areas.
The undead Warriors under the lake seemed to be affected by this war cry as well, moving towards Link and Herrera at a much faster pace.
The movements of these undead were supported with a soul flame controlled by the Necromancer, Shade. Even then, they still retained some of their human instincts.
Some undead regained their muscle memories and started swimming towards Herrera. As time passed, more and more undead floated up to the surface.
Link could clearly perceive the dark aura emanating from the undead. They were as conspicuous as a candle flame in the dark.
Link had to use his magic to stall the undead for a minute.
In the Mage Tower, Shade sneered at the confrontation between Inosa and Link. While Inosa was merely a Level-4 beast, it was considered to be a unique breed.
Not only did it possess an unusually tough exterior, it could also release six Level-4 spells at once, one from each of its heads. Fighting against Inosa would be akin to fighting six Level-4 Magicians at once. Even with Shade's Level-5 strength, he had to spend a lot of effort before he could capture it.
He could not even guarantee his success if he had to do it again.
"My pet will definitely give you an unforgettable time."
Shade stared at his magic mirror with glee. He could already foresee Link struggling to deal with Inosa's violent attacks, and eventually meet his end with despair.
Inosa swiftly reached within a 240 feet radius of Herrera. This was the maximum distance of a Flame Blast spell, and also coincidentally, the range of Inosa's magic attacks.
The six heads began their assault simultaneously, a different colored glow emerging in every one of their jaws. Based on the magic disturbance of these attacks, they were all Level-4 spells!
A huge black ice spear, a dark green corrosive ball, black burning fireballs—all of them were extremely lethal offensive magic.
This meant that if Link did not have the means to deal with six Level-4 spells at once, he would definitely be done in.
Link trusted his predictions and fired the preemptive strike. His Flame Blast spell had just taken form the moment Inosa stepped into its firing range. An incandescent fireball struck across the horizon and crashed into the body that connected the six heads of Inosa. This was the area where his spells would be the most effective in restricting Inosa's movements.
Inosa quickly reacted to Link's attack. It fired an attack similar to a thick black phlegm onto the fireball.
Link immediately changed the trajectory of his attack to evade his opponent's interception. However, the black phlegm similarly changed its course of action and stood stubbornly in the way of the explosive fireball. This meant that this spell was also controlled by Inosa's consciousness.
But Link had something else up his sleeve!
He fired a Whistle spell with his bare hands which penetrated into the thick black phlegm before it made contact with his Flame Blast spell.
Boom! The whistle exploded within the thick phlegm. As it was cast with his bare hands, it did not possess even half of its original power. However, the explosion was sufficient to destroy the magic formation of the black phlegm.
Inosa's attack disintegrated into the air, turning into countless black water droplets.
Using low-level spells to break the magic formation of high-level spells was a necessary skill that every Magician should possess.
Inosa was enraged and charged at Link with all the other five heads.
In the face of such an overwhelming attack, a normal Magician would be petrified and overwhelmed.
However, Link was a Magician that had countless battle experiences. He had fought enemies ten times more powerful and fended off magic attacks that were ten times more concentrated. He knew exactly how to deal with such predicaments.
This was nothing compared to what he had been through.
"Whistle! Glass Orb! Whistle!" He continued to cast low-level spells with his left hand, while controlling the Flame Blast spell using the staff in his right hand.
For spells that were more structurally stable such as the black ice spear, Link destroyed them with more offensive spells like the whistle. As for spells that were more loosely constructed like the black fireball, Link exploded them with his glass orbs. He took less than 0.5 seconds to fire all five low-level spells.
Even the fastest spell, the black ice spear only managed to reach a distance of 150 feet in this time before being intercepted by the whistle spell.
The magic structure of the whistle had an advantage in this match up. It had a metallic exterior and was extremely durable. Furthermore, it was also sharp and rotated at a high speed, boosting its penetrating power. These advantages allowed the whistle to penetrate into the ice spear before exploding.
The ice spear was then blasted into smithereens at a distance, the only thing that managed to hit Link being the shattered black ice fragments.
Link achieved the same results with the other four spells.
Boom! The sounds of exploding magic reverberated through the atmosphere, much like a splendid display of fireworks.
Link stood steadily on the ice platform, his expression as calm as still water and his tiny frail body seemingly immovable.
Shade frowned tightly in his Mage Tower. This did not turn out the way he expected it to be.
"Dividing his attention between multiple targets coupled with fast spellcasting speed and accuracy. How did he do it?" Shade felt threatened by Link's battle skills.
The next moment, Link's Flame Blast spell was about to hit its target!