"Then that's too bad, Minister Kallen. Did you know? We've already reserved your head. Hehe."
"Oh, really?" Kallen smiled faintly. "I'm honored."
Sometimes, people deliberately did completely meaningless things to demonstrate their uniqueness and superiority.
For instance, wasting time exchanging nonsense before a fight that would very likely end in death.
During that time, however, Dimoteli had spread a veil of night across the sky. Beneath it, believers of the Goddess of Night could receive tremendous blessings.
Kallen, meanwhile, had laid three layers of single-use formations beneath the sand. The formation core lay beneath the dune where he had been sitting, and the greatsword thrust into the sand had served a role similar to a paperweight during the formation setup.
On the surface, their conversation verged on flirtatious banter, but neither had stopped secretly preparing to kill the other.
"Eternal Night-Shadow Guardian!"
As Dimoteli chanted, a shadow distinctly different in color from the surroundings enveloped her, then slowly parted to either side. Soon, two identical copies of her appeared beside her.
"Eternal Night-Dawn Slaughter!"
As she chanted the second spell art, the two identical Dimotelis beside her chanted along.
Buzz!
A black disc appeared before Dimoteli's chest. It split apart, turning into a splash of black ink that spattered directly onto her. The black spread rapidly, forming a suit of pitch-black armor around her.
After casting two spell arts in succession, Dimoteli turned her gaze to Kallen. She was somewhat surprised. She had originally thought Kallen would launch a surprise attack while she prepared her spell arts, but he had not.
The handsome young man before her, younger even than herself, simply stood there quietly, entirely unmoved by her preparations.
Dimoteli cast another spell art:
"Eternal Night-Dawn's Roar!"
"Aaaah!!!"
A piercing shriek rang out. A woman with disheveled hair emerged