“Fanya, I need to get up.” After a brief pause, Vanessa realized that Luna alone definitely couldn’t handle Foreno. Moreover, she’d never been the kind of person who let others protect her while she stayed safe and sound behind them.

But the moment she tried to push herself up, her body tingled numbly, and a soft moan nearly slipped out as she almost tumbled from Fanya’s arms.

“Saintess! Please don’t force yourself, you were just struck by that nature magic earlier!” Fanya quickly said.

“…….”

That nature magic wasn’t low-tier, it combined poison and magic in one strike.

If only she’d used the male version of [Armour Fortress] when ambushed earlier, there wouldn’t have been any gaps to hit?

But even that wouldn’t work. Nature magic was still magic at its core. The male [Armour Fortress] offered full coverage against poison but not magic. The female [Armour Fortress] resisted both poison and magic, but offered almost no physical protection, nor full coverage.

Her thighs, arms, neck, face, and large areas of skin were exposed, making it easy for strange traps and magic to slip through.

Vanessa recalled one thing, apparently, everyone present was using the [Soul Armament] known as [Holy Envoy].

Without Vanessa holding it to provide energy, the [Holy Shield of Radiant Glory] had already transformed into a streak of golden light and flown into Vanessa’s consciousness.

“Come to think of it, Saintess, you really are remarkable. You actually retrieve the holy shield that Saintess Sophia lost during her battle with the Myriad Demon Fox King. Before that, the Church even sent knights to conduct routine searches of your residence,” Foreno said with a chuckle.

“If your fate weren’t already decided, one might truly believe this was the will of the goddess.”

“Unfortunately, as a clergyman of the Church of Radiance, you and I both know that’s impossible. These are just little tricks to deceive those ignorant lambs.”

“Master Foreno, as a clergyman, you’re truly quite ‘devout,’ aren’t you?” Luna lowered her hands, gripping her staff, a calm, elegant smile playing on her lips.

“Miss Luna, I’m simply a pragmatist.” Light flickered from the magic essence charging on Foreno’s staff. “Whatever is practical, I use. Whoever brings me tangible improvement and visible benefits, that’s who I listen to.”

Foreno raised his glowing staff and flicked a shining point on it. Three light cones shot out instantly, speeding toward Luna.

[Light Cone Strike]

Luna calmly planted her staff into the ground. The ornate platinum staff, adorned with a floating energy gem, releases a barrier of radiant light.

[Light’s Protection]

The light cones hit the oval barrier. Colliding light elements erupted in a massive flash, forcing everyone to shield their eyes and turn away.

Oh no.

Before the blinding light hit her, Vanessa realized Foreno’s [Light Cone Strike] had been fired in a straight line. This was clearly intended to focus damage on a single point.

Could [Light’s Protection], cast at Luna’s level, really withstand a Master-tier spell?

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

The intense energy and blinding light left Fanya unable to open her eyes. She instinctively lowered her head.

Powerful light waves swept over everyone present.

Is this the power of a Master-tier spell?!

Even though they were already far from Luna, they were still caught in the blast’s impact.

When everyone opened their eyes, they saw that Luna’s [Light’s Protection] barrier had already shattered under the third light cone. Logically, the spell should have injured her, but Luna remained completely unharmed. Behind the cracked [Light’s Protection], another layer of [Light’s Protection] had formed.

Foreno frowned. Upon seeing the glowing platinum gem staff in Luna’s hand, he immediately understood.

“I see. Miss Luna, does your staff have the effect of copying and re-casting the previously used spell?” Normally, the same spell couldn’t be cast consecutively due to cooldown. But this staff removed that restriction, allowing the same spell to be cast repeatedly at once.

Combined with Luna’s high affinity for light elements and the staff’s amplification of light magic, this was how she withstood the Master-tier bombardment.

Foreno glanced at his own staff, the standard-issue high-grade staff of the Church of Radiance, freely given by the Church when he ascended to Master rank.

Free things, you know what they’re like. Mass-produced and sufficient, but manufacturing costs were always kept low. There was no way it could compare to Luna’s wealth, backed by the Horaleth family.

It was like Luna’s weapon was a premium paid item, while Foreno’s staff was a daily login reward. Their effectiveness was naturally worlds apart.

Even so, the gap between a Warlock and a Master wasn’t something a few [Magic Tools] could bridge.

Foreno judged that Luna’s gem staff couldn’t replicate spells indefinitely, it had a cooldown.

In that case, all she could do was barely resist.

Meanwhile, a thick magic book bound in chains floated out from Luna’s body. The book had a mist-white cover, with a golden cross painted on it, connected at the end to golden-threaded edges.

The heavy lock wrapped around the book automatically released. The pages flipped one by one, passing countless inscribed entries, until stopping at a fresh, blank page.

After a brief pause, a line of small golden text appears at the top.

“Oh?” Foreno stared at the floating spellbook, his brows narrowing slightly.

“[Holy Bestowed Seal of Confinement]?” As far as Foreno remembered, this was a rare, evolving magic developed by the Horaleth family, one that only members of the Horaleth family could use.

It was said this spell had bizarre effects: once the seal was broken, it would record every spell cast by others in the vicinity, except for the caster themselves.

There were all kinds of wild rumors about its effects. Foreno hadn’t studied it in detail, after all, there was no need.

Foreno was already middle-aged. His talent was among the best across the entire continent, yet among geniuses, he ranked nowhere. Only reaching Master rank at this age, logically, someone like him should never have gotten involved with a great family like Horaleth, nor become their enemy.

It was simply that fate was unpredictable.

“An interesting spell, Amisa. Do you know what that magic book does?” Fanya asked, staring strangely at the floating tome.

Amisa shook her head, stared at her palm, her expression troubled as she looked at the dim golden glow on it.

Without knowing the exact function of [Holy Bestowed Seal of Confinement], Foreno could only keep testing. He traced a golden line in the air with his staff, drawing a circle, then tapped the staff’s tip against it. A golden beam shot towards Luna.

[Burning Radiance]

As Foreno released [Burning Radiance], another line of small golden text appeared on the book’s page, while the previous line of golden text disappeared.

Facing Foreno’s spell, Luna immediately cast [Light Cone Strike] twice, releasing three light cones each time, then followed with one [Burning Radiance].

All three spells were cast instantly.

Strange, how could this be?

A flicker of shock passed through Foreno’s eyes.

Could it be that her staff had no cooldown? And, [Burning Radiance] was a [Holy Envoy] spell only learnable at Master rank. Luna shouldn’t have been able to use it at all.

The three spells collided with Foreno’s [Burning Radiance]. The massive force sent both of them staggering back. But while Foreno only stepped back once, his sleeve slightly disheveled, Luna was pushed back several steps. The violent wind lifted her skirt. When she finally planted her heels, the tops of her white stockings were completely torn.

Foreno glanced at the [Holy Bestowed Seal of Confinement] and saw that the two previous lines of text had disappeared.

Could it be? This book records spells used by others. As long as a spell is recorded, Luna can cast it once herself, regardless of whether she knows it. And since the spell isn’t technically cast by her, as long as she knows the spell, she can cast it consecutively.

No good.

Vanessa understood immediately, having Luna fight a Master alone was still too much. Even another Warlock, even an Advanced one, would’ve been killed instantly by now.

And this was with overwhelming equipment and magic advantage.

Moreover, the effect of [Holy Bestowed Seal of Confinement] was too easy to guess. Aside from Fanya, pretty much everyone present now has a rough idea of its function.

Objectively speaking, its effect was extremely strong, so strong it allowed Luna to fight a Master across a huge tier gap. But once figured out, her opponent will grow bolder.

After roughly understanding [Holy Bestowed Seal of Confinement]’s effect, Foreno now knows how to deal with Luna.

Luna could mimic his spells this way, their power determined by her own light affinity and cultivation level. It was as if she cast the same spell herself. The fact that she needed three spells to block him showed clearly.

Thus, by casting spells strong enough to create a gap, Luna will be unable to defend.

Yes, but this troubled Foreno slightly. After all, she was still the young lady of the Horaleth family.

But then again, he had the Pope behind him. The Pope would not tolerate the Horaleth family’s rebellious actions, whether on a family or personal level.

If something unfortunate happened, if Luna got hurt, it couldn’t be helped.

With that thought, Foreno raised his staff.

“Miss Luna, I’ve already seen through your [Holy Bestowed Seal of Confinement] trick. Don’t blame me for not warning you. Now, step aside.”

“Given the difference in cultivation, killing you will take only an instant.” Foreno narrowed his eyes. “I can tell, your level is roughly advanced Warlock. At your age, already reaching advanced Warlock, why throw away your bright future and your family’s prospects for such a foolish act? If I were you, I wouldn’t do this.”

“Now, move aside.”

In response, Luna remained silent with a faint smile, her usual composed expression, as if she always had a way out.

“Sigh, why be so stubborn?” Seeing this, Foreno wore a regretful expression. Countless light particles gathered at his staff’s tip, rapidly forming an irregular, enormous glowing sphere, several times larger than himself.

The process was nearly instantaneous.

He was using the [Holy Envoy] spell only learnable at Master rank, [Falling Demon Light Explosion].

Even if Luna copied this spell, given her current cultivation, she’d need to release at least five to possibly match his [Falling Demon Light Explosion], and even then, it was only a possibility.

Since the other party refused to listen, Foreno had no choice, only to crush the flower mercilessly.

Foreno swung his staff. The light explosion shot forward like a glowing meteor toward Luna.

The three behind her couldn’t help but hold their breath at the sight.

The terrifying magical force they felt, being hit by this spell, not even ashes might remain.

In response, the gem on Luna’s staff blazed brightly. She released several light spells at maximum capacity to counterattack, weakening the [Falling Demon Light Explosion]. But the moment they neared, they seemed to be sucked in, completely vanishing.

Then, Luna repeated the tactic, using her staff to cast two layers of [Light’s Protection].

“Boom! Boom! Boom!!” Fanya and Amisa, standing far away, were thrown to the ground by the shockwave. Before it hit, Fanya had rushed in front of Amisa, turning her back to shield Vanessa and Amisa as much as possible.

Fanya collapsed. Amisa was knocked down by Vanessa flying into her, and the two rolled together to the edge of the magic circle.

Fanya’s back was severely burned by the light magic, her face twisted in pain. She tried to rise, but her body wouldn’t obey.

Since Fanya blocked most of the shockwave, Amisa was in slightly better condition, but not by much.

Vanessa, on the other hand, was mostly unharmed. She naturally had overall magical resistance, and with the additional magic resistance from [Armour Fortress], aside from the lingering weakness from poison, she was in much better shape than the other two.

“Fanya, are you okay??” Amisa stared at the severe injury on Fanya’s back, flesh torn and bloody, even bones seemed visible. She was frantic but helpless.

“I, I’m fine. Is the Saintess okay too?… And Lady Luna?” Fanya managed to say, her voice strained.

“…” Amisa stared complexly at the massive crater, biting her lip.

Right now, she felt some loss of hope.

Foreno looked at the crater, as if struck by a small meteor, and shook his head. Just as he was about to walk around it, his hair suddenly stood on end. He immediately cast [Light’s Protection], blocking the light cone flying out from the crater.

“Oh my?” Foreno stared in surprise at the crater, where Luna leaned on her staff, breathing heavily, yet still raising her hand to cast magic at him.

She… wasn’t killed?

But soon, Foreno understood.

The gem on Luna’s staff had gone completely dark, seemingly having used up all its charge from some prior abilities.

So that was it. Did that staff have a life-saving function?

But even so, it wasn’t enough.

Foreno could tell, Luna had also used the spell [Determination].

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep