Tower of Paradise

—I’ll draw its attention, so attack its rear —I heard Alice say beside me.

The beam gradually thinned until it vanished completely, blending into the shadows.

When the dust began to settle and the smoke cleared, a creature stood before us. Its stature was imposing, nearly two meters tall. Its body seemed carved from granite, with muscles rippling under its skin like waves of liquid steel. Its appearance evoked the image of a giant, muscular mole-man, with dark gray, almost metallic skin.

Its limbs were as muscular as its torso, with hands ending in three thick, strong fingers, perfect for crushing with inhuman brutality. Its feet, curiously, were smaller and more delicate, with only two toes seemingly adapted for climbing with surprising agility.

Golden metallic adornments gleamed on its body: bracelets and necklaces with spherical beads hanging like macabre trophies. One of its shoulders was protected by a rough, black plate. But what truly captured my attention was the ceramic helmet covering its head, leaving only its round, glowing eyes visible.

The air around it grew heavy with an overwhelming sense of danger, and its once-attractive appearance was replaced by a terrifying face. I swallowed hard, distractedly staring at the imposing figure.

The face of the boy hiding behind the female monster was pale as death as he desperately clutched her hand. A veil of darkness enveloped him like a protective barrier.

—Who are you? Who sent you? —the creature asked with a voice laced with venom and eyes narrowed in anger—. How dare you come here and threaten the peace I’ve so fiercely protected?

Without deigning to respond, Alice executed a complex sequence of hand movements. A beautiful melody resonated in the vast flow of stellar energy, and dozens of golden dots materialized in the air, creating the illusion of a starry sky in the middle of the night.

It took Alice only eight seconds to deploy her magical arsenal. Magic Missile, a spell that almost any apprentice could use; after all, it was merely a level 1 spell. But the magic Alice wielded was on another level: she had conjured at least a hundred missiles simultaneously. I stood agape at the sheer number of magical projectiles ready to bombard the monster.

—This is the first time I’ve been provoked to kill children —the creature declared, gazing at the golden lights floating in the air—. Very well, if you so wish to die, so be it!

“Incredible. As expected of you, Alice. Casting so many spells in such a short time… you possess truly extraordinary talent.” That was my honest opinion; no one could question her skill. The magnitude of her attack could rival the power of a level four mage.

I closed my eyes and sensed the flow of mana enveloping me. My thoughts accelerated exponentially as I prepared my own spells, calculating angles, intensities, and trajectories with mathematical precision.

Alice had no time to waste. She raised her arms and pointed forward. At her signal, dozens of magic missiles rained down on the creature, eliciting a terrifying screech that reverberated through the room’s walls.

To my surprise and dismay, the monster barely flinched. It approached with slow, deliberate steps as the golden explosions shook its body without causing apparent harm.

Everything happened so fast I could barely process the sequence of events. I saw the creature vanish in an instant, its body leaving only an afterimage in my retina as its fist aimed directly at the center of Alice’s chest.

My heart stopped for a moment. For most mages, taking a direct hit in combat could mean defeat, but a single blow from that monstrous hand would be enough to shatter Alice’s bones into a thousand pieces.

The blow was devastating, but it wasn’t her who took it. Her water clone dissolved in an instant, turning into a mere puddle that soaked the floor. The creature’s fist struck the ground beneath our feet, cracking it into multiple fragments that spread like a web of destruction. As we had sensed, its strength was on an entirely different level from ours.

Alice darted left and right thanks to her flight spell, dodging the monster’s powerful punches. I watched her deploy defensive barriers and shadow clones that disintegrated at the slightest contact with the creature while launching multiple spells at point-blank range against its tough skin. It was like witnessing a deadly dance, a game of cat and mouse where Alice fought desperately to keep the predator before her from getting too close.

The flight spell was exclusive to mages but consumed enormous amounts of mana, making it terribly inefficient in combat. Yet, in this situation, there was no alternative—Alice was alive solely because of that technique. As I observed the battle, my own spell finally completed.

[Level 2 Spell: Fire Cyclone!]