The mysterious woman drew closer, and the wall to the ruins hugged our backs. We were backed into a corner, like prey to a predator.

  Should we fight? No, would we even survive if we tried? She’s at least level thirty.

  She drove the massive fist towards me, and I managed to block it right before it could land. Using Greater Earth Manipulation, I erected a wall between us and stopped the attack. She froze in place, a smile cracked on her face as the wall crumbled between us.

  “Stone magic? No, another skill. Good! Amazing! Show me more!” She moved the debris aside as if it weighed nothing and charged at me. “Can you dodge this? Hey, hey, how strong are you?”

  Her fist came down on me, and it took nearly everything in my strength not to be consumed under its weight. My floating arms rushed over to lift it, but I struggled to match her strength. I couldn’t believe it. I was being overpowered.

  (T-this is bad! You two, get out of here right now. Run!)

  “No way!” Veyra drew her bow and took aim at the mysterious woman's head.

  “Hey, hey, who said you could interfere? That’s no fun.” She let out a monotone comment and met the arrow head-on.

  She had no fear of it hitting her in the face. As Veyra released the string of her bow, the mysterious woman simply stared it down, almost bored.

  A green tendril stretched out over her and whipped the arrow out of the air before it could hit her. Following its length, I noticed the tendril connected to the mysterious woman. It waved through the air like a tail as she laughed.

  “Ha-ha-ha-ha! Hey, hey, you really thought that was going to hit me, didn’t you? You're really weak, Elf girl!” Even though she held me in her grasp, it felt as though she’d almost forgotten about me. I couldn’t believe how relaxed she was, even during a fight.

  (Veyra, don’t try taking her own! She’s crazy strong, just get out of here!)

  As I released the message, I noticed a distorted haze of light split open, and Hollow appeared at the woman's side. His sword was enveloped in a dark purple glow that arched through the air at her neck, but stopped right before it could make contact.

  A wave of wriggling vines stretched from the woman's fingertips and pierced through the air. It happened faster than either of us could react, but Hollow was bound in place by the thick restraints of green vines. The woman lorded over him with an opposing aura that made even him lower his head. Red thorns sank into Hollow's body, dropping his HP by the second.

  She’s using the same attacks the Rose monsters have been throwing at us. No way, is she some kind of plant monster?

  “Ha-ha-ha-ha! Hey, hey, you’re confused, right? Are you still trying to figure it out? I bet you are. You won’t get it, though! Ha-ha-ha-ha!” She vines swung Hollow through the air, a good few spins before slamming him into the ground.

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  His HP dropped to nearly zero, and my body moved on its own. I bit down on her hand and clawed at every opening I could to break free.

  Hollow was already weaker than most of the enemies here, but he’d managed to survive until now thanks to his Unyielding Stance skill. With its once-a-day cooldown, he was a couple of hours away from being able to use it again. So if he died there and then, he’d be gone forever.

  “You’re a tough one. I thought that hit would break you.” She egged Hollow on, but got nothing from him. He barely moved after a blow like that. “This one’s broken… Hey, hey, you don’t mind if I play with the girl next, right?”

  Is she playing with us? This woman is seriously messed up! Where’d a powerhouse like this even come from? Why did she have to show up now?!

  (Stay away from them!!)

  Magic circles sprang to fruition all around me and honed in on the mysterious woman. The crimson glow of fire sparked to life, and in an instant, spheres of red, hot energy grew at their centre.

  If I threw everything I had at her, then there’d be nothing left to fear. Yeah, my mana would be completely drained, but we’d figure that out after. For now, at least, I needed to save us from the raging monster ahead.

  With the last second before releasing the blast, I opened my connection to Hollow and Veyra,

  (Guys, I’ll blast this woman with an attack that should kill her. No matter what, don’t get too far from me!)

  With that, the magic circles spun in place and flames collected all around me until I was nearly consumed by endless fire. Quick sparks erupted around me as the flames gathered together for one massive volley.

  Hell Rain!

  As the words left my mind, the circles around me shattered, and my grip of mana was completely cut. Every ember was extinguished, faster than when it was created.

  I felt powerless.

  What’s happening…? My magic, did I run out of MP or something? I glanced at the MP bar in the corner of my vision, and it was still half full, as if my attack had never fired off. When I looked forward again, I noticed the chilling grin on the mysterious woman’s face.

  (You crazy woman, what did you do to me?!)

  “He-he-he~ You can’t use magic, right? Your fire skills aren’t working, right?”

  Floating in front of her palm was a glowing pink ring that resembled a rose, constructed from pure magic. Even without my mana, I could sense the high amounts gathered at her fingertips.

  “This is my magic. Hey, hey, it’s pretty, isn’t it?” The wicked smile on her face stretched way beyond her cheeks.

  She’s completely psycho… She’s not even paying attention to what I’m saying. This is bad. If I can’t even use my ace, then we’re really screwed. There’s nothing left to try, so maybe I need to try anything I can.

  (Excuse me, miss, but why are you–)

  “Hey, hey, why not use my name? It’s no fun if you keep calling me ‘miss’ or ‘lady’ when you beg for your life. It needs to mean something. There needs to be some real emotion behind it, don’t you think so?” She looked up to the sky, completely engrossed in her own words. “Try it again, this time with my name.”

  (How would I know your name? You never bothered to tell me?!) I answered back.

  I tried activating my magic circles, but couldn’t force even a glow. Whatever she did to me, it completely cut off my ability to use magic. She said it was her magic, but it felt way too similar to the skill those Parasitic Roses used on us.

  “That’s right! Sorry about that! Master told me not to do that anymore, so I must have forgotten.” She rubbed the side of her head with her knuckle. “That shouldn’t be a problem now, though. I mean, when you die, you won’t tell anyone. My name’s Delta, say it! Delta! Say it, now! Delta!” Red thorns grew out of the sides of her arms as she closed the gap between us.