Tower of Paradise

The creature let out a furious roar that shook the walls and advanced through the flames. With a brutal movement, she slammed her head against Alice’s, making her stagger and take a step back. Without pause, the monster raised her right leg and delivered a front kick.

I saw that Alice, who had anticipated the attack, raised her hands to cast a defensive spell in front of her. Only then did I realize she had made a fatal mistake. My eyes widened as I watched the creature spin on her heels and change the trajectory of her front kick mid-motion, twisting her leg unnaturally and bringing it down from above her head to strike at the side of the hexagonal fragments suspended in the air. It was a question-mark kick! A technique I would never have expected from a being of such nature.

The sound of the impact echoed through the room. Boom! The kick hit its mark, causing Alice to fall to her knees from the sheer force it carried.

She tried to stand, but the female monster wasn’t done with her assault. As Alice was about to retreat, her enemy swiftly intervened and struck her face with her right knee with full force, disorienting her as she stumbled back a few steps. My heart sank seeing my companion in such a state, and impotence consumed me.

Damn it all. I cursed my luck; the spell I was preparing wouldn’t be ready in time. I bit my lip, frustrated for letting myself get caught in such a dire situation.

Seizing the opportunity, the third-evolution monster concentrated dark energy in her hands. The air grew heavy, as if gravity itself intensified.

—Arghh! —Alice groaned as she tried to break free, but before she could make any effort, I saw the air around her grow denser with each passing second.

I watched in horror as the creature stood with her left arm extended and her palm aimed at Alice. Particles of pure darkness merged into a glossy black sphere in front of her. The power emanating from that concentration of energy was so overwhelming that I felt nauseous.

Our lives hung by a thread. I frantically evaluated all possibilities, searching for an escape that seemed impossible to find. The power disparity was simply too vast.

Time seemed to slow as the black sphere grew before the creature’s palm. The sphere of darkness shot toward its target and struck Alice in no time, creating a majestic explosion of obsidian flames.

BOOM!

The sound pierced my eardrums. Alice was enveloped in whips of black fire and crackling tendrils of electricity that erupted in the air with unrestrained fury. The collision left behind a trail of dense smoke and dancing flames that completely obstructed my vision, erasing everything within a few meters of her from my sight.

Flash!

It wasn’t the visual spectacle that left me stunned, but the blinding rays of light that suddenly burst from beneath the fire. An unimaginable amount of latent power awoke from its slumber, and the entire vaulted interior began to resonate like a bell struck by an invisible hammer. My heart skipped a beat when I realized: something extraordinary was happening.

A translucent sphere formed by dozens of perfectly interlocking hexagons enveloped Alice’s entire body. The barrier glowed with a faint bluish shimmer that reminded me of the sky on a summer morning. At first glance, it seemed incredible that she had managed to withstand such an attack. Just as I sensed her powers fading, I began to feel a dramatic surge in her energy. The force emanating from her was so intense that even the female monster visibly shuddered before us.

—What… how is this possible? —the creature asked with a demonic voice trembling with unease—. You should be dead.

A brilliant light had completely enveloped Alice in its protective embrace. My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as I witnessed the transformation unfolding before me. Something I had never seen before.

—Alice? —my voice came out as a whisper, barely audible.

The radiant, shifting light quickly transformed into an armor of pure light that enveloped the upper and lower parts of her torso like a divine mantle. A wing-shaped tiara settled on her forehead, crowning her like a princess from a forgotten tale. Finally, a dazzling light shone from the top of her head, dyeing her hair in beautiful silver tones that reflected the light like tiny mirrors.

—Are you trying to kill yourself along with the enemy?! —I shouted with all my strength, feeling panic rise in my throat.

Alice didn’t even deign to respond. She merely stared coldly at the creature with her deep silver eyes, which reminded me of a field covered in winter snow.

I knew very well that any ability or spell capable of boosting the user’s power so drastically came with a steep cost, unless it was an innate ability, which were known to be more lenient and powerful.

I bit my lower lip so hard it nearly bled. I wasn’t foolish and knew better than anyone why Alice had chosen to activate it now. Time was running against us; we had to finish the enemy as quickly as possible.

With an elegant clap of Alice’s hands, a vast amount of water suddenly appeared in the dark room, materializing out of nowhere. In the next instant, an enormous water dragon, at least ten meters long, took shape before her, its sinuous body reflecting the room’s scant light in hypnotic patterns. The dragon rose majestically from the ground and began to soar through the air toward the female monster.

I stared at the imposing dragon, which far exceeded my expectations, with a look of awe I couldn’t hide. I had never seen Alice unleash such power, and part of me wondered what the cost of such a display would be.

On the other side, facing the water dragon charging toward her, all the creature could do was cross her arms and clench her jaw, bracing for the inevitable impact.

—Mom… Mom!

The boy, Zephyr, who until now had been watching the fight with fascination, as if the life-or-death battle were just an entertaining show, shouted with a voice laden with desperation and rushed toward the creature with hurried movements. His anguish was palpable and heart-wrenching. It wasn’t the cry of someone controlled or manipulated, but the genuine wail of a child watching the one he considered his mother suffer. For a brief moment, I felt a pang of empathy for him, despite knowing he was on the wrong side of this battle.