Because spacetime had been stripped away, a square pit had abruptly appeared in the surrounding forest. Its bottom was incomparably smooth, as though the upper layer of soil had been sliced away in a single stroke.
Even beneath the dim daylight, the crystal still shone brilliantly. The Clockmaker stood beside the pit, continuing to admire her prize with fascination.
But her left eye suddenly rolled unnaturally. She leaned closer to the crystal, then discovered that the three figures and the Unicorn within it were somewhat abnormal. They resembled three upright trees and one fallen tree.
"So."
She turned to look behind her. In the surrounding dense forest, four large trees had transformed into Shade, Luvia, Emilia, and Little Liana.
The traces of the elf's spell had yet to fade. Her emerald eyes emitted a ghostly green glow in the dim surroundings. The eight-ring Destiny Ring behind her was still spinning rapidly, and the Spirit Runes shining upon it proved that she had been the one to break the Thirteenth Ring Warlock's Words of Sublimation just now.
Of course, calling it "breaking" was not entirely accurate. More precisely, they had never entered the range of the Words of Sublimation at all. The elf had used her talent to create four decoys. This was a forest, her home ground as one who possessed royal authority. If the Clockmaker had not been too nervous when facing Shade, she should have had a chance to notice the flaw.
After all, no matter what, an eight-ring elf could not possibly confront a Thirteenth Ring Warlock's Words of Sublimation head-on. She had merely used a clever trick.
"I figured you'd be worried that I might restrict your power over spacetime, so the moment you showed yourself, you'd use your ultimate move. But wasn't opening with Words