Seven tornadoes, wreathed in ice and lightning, swept toward the charging Luke under Wilfred's control.
The wind roared, their force magnificent.
The tornadoes' edges collided, their electricity stretching into flickering, interlacing chains of lightning. Ice particles whipped up by their rapid spin were like the razor-sharp blades of a meat grinder.
Wilfred raised his staff and continued chanting.
The air sent his beard and hair flying and made his robe sleeves flap and crack.
An orb of electricity gathered at the staff's tip, erupting in a blinding flash.
The tornadoes spread wider, sealing off every route Luke could take.
Like a speed skater racing across the ice, Luke glided at high speed. The curved blades in her hands had been enchanted into Ice Wheels. She lowered herself and pressed the wheels against the ice, using them for support as she leaned sharply into one turn after another, weaving through gaps between the tornadoes.
A layer of ice armor formed over her body. As new layers of ice appeared, they burst the older layers outward, like a tank's reactive armor. The shards flying away deflected the damage from the tornadoes' electricity and ice blades.
With Clear Sky's powerful mobility and her ice armor, Luke broke through the tornadoes' encirclement. Nothing stood between her and Wilfred now.
Raise Clear Sky's level to 100.
Luke vanished where she stood.
She reappeared behind Wilfred.
The Ice Wheel swept upward, unleashing a massive blade of ice. Its powerful impact cleaved straight through the ceiling.
The energy left behind formed a blade-shaped wall of ice between the floor and ceiling, freezing the chunks of stone that had yet to fall.
But Wilfred avoided the strike from behind with a transformation spell.
He turned into an owl and flew forward. Two tornadoes parted to clear his path, then sped toward Luke.
Luke released the Ice Wheel, letting it hover in midair, then pulled a bow from her Spatial Backpack.
Its name: Heavenly Craft Absolute String.
She drew the bow without an arrow, and an ice arrow formed, its tip aimed at the owl's rear.
The arrow shot forth, transforming into a spear the moment it left the string. It slipped through the gap between the two tornadoes.
At the same time, two slowly spinning Ice Wheels abruptly accelerated and shot forward. They traced arcs through the air, one on each side, then curved inward after slipping around the tornadoes in their path...
Outside the castle, Aolu Academy's staff were evacuating the students who had escaped.
The changes to the castle's interior structure meant that Dean Wilfred had sealed himself inside with the invading Elf.
The fact that Dean Wilfred had gone to such lengths showed how dangerous the Elf must be.
After receiving the news, Councilor Virgil rushed over with a large group of Imperial Secret Agents and law enforcers.
He asked an Aolu Mage, "Is the Elf inside?"
"She is..."
Before the Aolu Mage could finish, Councilor Virgil waved his hand and ordered the agents and law enforcers he had brought, "Go in! Kill the Elf and retrieve the 'Heart of Red Dragon Nilcolon.'"
But the Aolu Mage immediately stepped in front of them.
"Dean Wilfred just ordered you to leave Aolu Academy."
"Why?" Councilor Virgil demanded. "We're here to help you. That Elf is extremely dangerous. She has..."
At that moment, Haidixike shouted from among the students, "The Elf didn't hurt us. It was the Imperial Secret Agents who injured Lydia. She's still unconscious.
"Aolu Academy doesn't welcome you. The dean can handle everything."
Haidixike and Lydia's classmates denounced the Imperial Secret Agents, and students from other departments joined in.
Councilor Virgil had no idea what the agents had done. He said to the Mage blocking their way, "It may have been an accident. On behalf of the Secret Intelligence Bureau, I apologize to Aolu Academy and the injured student. Clear the way and let our people in!"
The Aolu Mage remained firm. "Councilor, the dean ordered you to leave. And now that the dean has intervened, the invading Elf will soon be captured..."
But before the Aolu Mage could finish speaking, a tremendous crash came from inside the castle.
When they looked up, they saw an ice spear pierce through the castle wall, its shaft jutting halfway out from the inside.
The spear, formed from condensed ice, was crystal-clear, like a beautiful work of art.
At the sight of it, everyone's expression darkened.
They all knew how sturdy Aolu Academy's main teaching building was.
The castle's outer walls, in particular, had been built thicker to repel invaders and reinforced with alchemy to make them even harder.
Even cannon fire couldn't leave much of a mark, yet this ice spear had pierced right through!
Everyone familiar with Aolu Academy knew that Dean Wilfred wasn't skilled in ice Magic. Could the spear have come from the Elf?
Was she really that powerful?
But the people gathered beneath the castle had not yet seen the worst of it.
A few seconds after the ice spear pierced the castle wall, two enormous Ice Wheels cut through the wall and shot out from inside.
They spun rapidly through the air, then slipped back through the breach they had made. Only then did the chunks of stone from the shattered wall fall to the ground.
What kind of monster was Dean Wilfred fighting?
The Aolu Mages spread protective shields overhead to keep the students from being hit by falling debris.
The Mage who had been speaking with Virgil asked, "Are you still determined to go in?"
The Imperial Secret Agents and law enforcers all stepped back.
Virgil stared blankly at the ice spear jutting out of the castle wall and the hole gouged by the two Ice Wheels. "We need reinforcements!"
Luke and Wilfred's battle continued inside the castle.
That arrow had missed Wilfred. The 172-year-old was highly experienced in combat. The owl transformed into a tree monkey in midair and dropped to evade the ice spear and Ice Wheels, then was caught securely in the palm of a giant gorilla.
The tornadoes blocked Luke's view and joined together into a wall of wind that pressed toward her.
Luke slid backward, drawing her bow and rapidly firing at the ceiling and floor ahead. The ice arrows transformed into ice spears, their tips embedding themselves in the stone overhead and underfoot to form dense clusters.
The spear clusters weakened the tornadoes as they blocked their path.
Seeing gaps open in the wall of wind, Luke shifted from retreating to charging forward. She slipped through a gap in front of the spear clusters, teleported to avoid the chain lightning, then recalled Heavenly Craft Absolute String and caught the returning Ice Wheel.
With a small hop, she turned and swung the Ice Wheel, creating two massive ice walls that sealed off the space above and below, obstructing the tornadoes on the other side. She spun 360 degrees in midair as she descended.
Ahead, a giant gorilla's palm swung toward her face.
Wilfred had returned to human form and stood some distance away. A chain of lightning burst from the tip of his staff and lashed toward Luke like a whip.
As she landed, Luke used the impact to gather strength and leap high. The Elemental Fusion Reactor's energy erupted, letting her teleport twice in quick succession while airborne.
She dodged the gorilla's massive palm and the lightning whip, leaping to the height of its neck.
Then, with a final, perfectly timed teleport, she appeared behind it. She spun, and the Ice Wheel drew out two massive blades of ice that slashed down at the gorilla's nape.
Both strikes landed, severing the gorilla's cervical spine.
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