Fatan Port, Baron's Castle, second-floor corridor—
The instant the word "take" escaped Brando's mouth, its syllable seemed to stretch infinitely. His body tilted and elongated toward one direction. In that fleeting moment, a strange shadow appeared in Meriyetrra's field of vision. She instinctively turned her head, and almost without realizing it, her view had already shifted to the side and rear of her body... She immediately sensed that something was wrong. What kind of speed was this? It had already surpassed the limits of conscious reaction. Meriyetrra instinctively extended her right hand, spread her five fingers, then clenched them tightly. A gleaming spear appeared in her palm.
She swung it backward. The spearhead traced a bright arc and shot toward that direction. It seemed to strike something, exploding in midair. The scattered fragments flew like splashing water, freezing in an instant with a creaking sound and growing into a hemispherical frost shield. This was the Fifth Ring spell Ice Spear, an Elemental Magic capable of both offense and defense. Meriyetrra could cast it without chanting, proving that her attainments were profound not only in witchcraft but also in Elemental Magic.
She was certain that her spell had struck Brando. Although she expected a Silver Peak spell to be insufficient to cause him any real trouble, the frost shield produced by Ice Spear was exceptionally thick. The accompanying chill could also reduce the target's speed and strength. This was no ordinary ice dust, but Winter's Chill summoned through runes from the Mountain of Calmed Storms in the Wind Elemental Plane. The ice-element magic of a high-level sorcerer could even freeze the laws themselves. Meriyetrra's own mastery of Elemental Magic was not yet sufficient to accomplish that, but she was confident she could hold Brando back for a moment.
She decisively released