Necromancy Mage Tower.

The only person who understood what happened was Link.　

He drank the third Mana Recovery potion without hesitation, overloading his body with more toxins. Even with his abdomen frozen, he could still feel the burning sensation searing through his intestines.

The acc.u.mulation of toxins in his body had also begun to affect his nervous systems. He was having double vision and a pulsing sensation in his brain. He was somehow maintaining consciousness through all these discomforts.

Link bit his tongue to jolt himself sober. He could not afford to lose focus now.　　　

Link had 500 Mana Points after drinking the potion as his Mana was completely depleted from the Dimensional Jump spell. He then pinched Herrera on the arm to signal her it was time to attack.　　　

"Charge!"

Link hollered and held the Domingo Crystal in his arms, extracting the fire elementals stored inside the crystal to the tip of his wand, already set up with the magic formation of a Flame Blast spell.

After 1.1 seconds, a burning incandescent fireball appeared at the tip of the wand. Link's eyes darted across the hall, actively searching for Bale while he was channeling the spell.　

The plan was simple. Link would keep Bale occupied while Herrera dealt with the Necromancer. However, Bale was nowhere in sight. When the Flame Blast spell was fully formed, Link did not release it immediately in case of any emergencies.

Herrera raised her crystal staff towards Shade and started casting her spell. After 1.2 seconds, she whispered, "The Light of Zenith!"

Light of Zenith

Level-4 Light Element spell

Casting Time: 2.5 seconds.

Mana Cost: 600 points.

Effect: Creates a high-temperature light sword with strong purifying powers. All Level-5 and below spells will be purified directly.

(Note: Herrera's triumph card)

This spell was extremely difficult to master and the original time needed to cast this spell was 2.5 seconds. Herrera not only finished the entire spellcasting process in a second, she even managed to enhance the spell with Supreme Magical Skills. A pure white light sword one-foot-long in diameter appeared in her hand. She swung the sword towards Shade, giving him no time to react.　

Flame Blast and The Light of Zenith! How can they cast it so fast! Shade was completely bewildered, the two green flames around him dancing more vigorously than before. Although he knew it was a dead end, his instincts were to immediately set up a defensive spell.　

Purple magic runes started surrounding his body, and it only took a second before a defensive barrier was set up. This was even faster than Herrera's Light of Zenith casting time!

"Dark Runic Barrier!"

The reason for the fast casting time was the magic formation Shade had prepared way beforehand. He merely had to activate the magic formation to release the spell. This was his backup plan in case he ever got ambushed.

Dark Runic Barrier

Level-5 Defensive spell

Effect: Generate a barrier with dark element particles before enhancing it with runes. Effective against both physical and magical attacks.

This was the only magic formation Shade had that could be released in his Mage Tower. His other magic formations were all built to release external attacks. He had few visitors and was a Necromancer, he hence fully focused his offensive power to the outside of the tower where most, if not all, of his threats came from.

As a Necromancer, he also could not openly purchase raw materials on the market as well. He had to be calculative with the way he used his limited resources.　

This Dark Runic Barrier was to be used in case of an emergency.　

To think the day would come so soon!　　

Boom! 　　

The collision of the light and dark spells caused a deafening explosion.

Although the Light of Zenith was a Level-4 spell, it was enhanced with both Supreme Magical Skills and Herrera's inner gift for light elemental magic. Furthermore, Herrera's staff was also an item of the Legends—this spell had offensive power way higher than ordinary Level-4 spells.　

Beams of light refracted off the dark elemental barrier and hit the walls of the Mage Tower. The refracted light reduced all it touched to rubble and quickly weakened the strength of the Dark Runic Barrier.

In the end, only one damaged dark rune was left circling Shade.　　

"A strong light spell indeed, but it was not enough," Shade spoke, sounding defeated. He had already seen the Flame Blast spell that Link had channeled.

Defending against the Light of Zenith did not mean anything. His Dark Runic Barrier could never defend against two consecutive Level-4 spells. He knew he would have lost from the very beginning.　　

Link had finally given up on his search for Bale. However, he was still wary and kept his Flame Blast spell unreleased, waiting for Herrera to cast a new spell.　

Keeping the Flame Blast spell in his a.r.s.enal would not only ensure their safety against Bale, but also deter Shade from going on the offensive. Link was not planning to give up that vantage point.

In this time, Herrera did two things. First, she activated her defensive magic equipment, releasing a Level-4 Defensive spell, Light Guarding Barrier. 　　　

The spell only took 0.5 seconds to appear, providing protection to both Herrera and Link.

Secondly, she started channeling a new Light of Zenith spell. It would take longer for her to cast it this time, but with the deterrence from Link's Flame Blast spell and the protection from the Light Guarding Barrier, she had more than enough time.　　

Even if Bale appeared, they would be able to react in time.　

Shade was furious to see Link handling the situation with such arrogance. To think that Link would continue to put him down instead of ending the battle with his spell.　　

"I will make you pay for looking down on me!" Shade started his retaliation. Mana surged into his stage and a black skeleton swiftly took form. This was a Level-5 secret dark elemental spell, Shadowed Skeleton.

If his spell was successful, at least one of them would be seriously injured.　

However, Link was still calm and collected.　

Link might seem to be bursting with arrogance. However, no one here knew that he was once revered as an Archmage by many! 　　

As an Archmage, he was extremely observant of every move his opponent made. He knew that this Shadowed Skeleton was simply an ordinary Level-5 spell without any Supreme Magical Skill enhancements.

Since it was an ordinary spell, its spellcasting time could be easily deduced.　　

To be able to tell the spellcasting time from the fluctuation of magic waves was part of the fundamentals of being a Magician.

Link happened to be extremely skilled at this.　

Herrera's Light of Zenith spell would take form earlier than Shade's Shadowed Skull spell—it should be a 0.3 second time difference.

In this time, Link did not sense any additional magic wave fluctuations in the hall. Convinced that Bale would not be able to change the tide of the battle even if he attacked now, Link fired his Flame Blast spell without any hesitation.　　　

The fireball flew across the hall and struck the remaining dark rune with full force.　　

Boom! A loud explosion rang through the hall followed by a blast of heat.　　

Fire elemental spells were known for its offensive power and Flame Blast was one of the most destructive ones. Link's spell penetrated through the weakened Dark Runic Barrier in an instant.　　　

The fireball exploded and engulfed Shade in flames. In the midst of the dancing crimson flames were some black flames, caused by the forced interruption of Shade's spellcasting.　　

Shade screamed in agony. While he had an immortal body, fire elemental spells were the bane of all Necromancers. Under the burning effect of magical flames, the endless pain directly a.s.saulted his soul.

Furthermore, the interruption of his Level-5 spell resulted in the fearsome rebound of his magic.　

Shade could only writhe in pain. 　　

The effect of Flame Blast dissipated after three seconds. Shade collapsed helplessly onto the ground, his robe thoroughly burned; all that remained was a charred skeleton.

His staff was also broken and the green flames in his eyes flickered weakly. He was defeated and had lost all power to resist.

Shade's Mage Towers were next to useless in this direct confrontation.　

Link and Herrera made use of their advantage which allowed them to maximize their strength, overwhelming Shade with a calculated outburst of power and perfect cooperation.

Shade could not help but curse, "How can it be! How could I have failed?"　

He had a Mage Tower which extended his range by miles. He also had a huge army of undead at his command. His only consideration in battles was how many minions would he be losing.

Complete failure on his side never seemed possible to him. Even if it was Dean Anthony, Shade was fairly certain of his victory as long as Anthony was traveling alone.

However, he was indeed defeated, at the hands of two young Magicians.　

"Where is Bale?" Herrera asked coldly.　

She still had not released her Light of Zenith, planning to keep it as a threat.　　

"I don't know," Shade gritted his teeth.

Bale's transformation was almost complete. It was his only chance at turning the tables around. But just as he spoke, Link spoke, "Look, there seem to be something in the pool."　

Observation skills were one of the essential qualities a Magician must possess. Link had been looking for Bale this entire time, there was no way the pool could escape his eyes.

Shade was forlorn of hope.