Altashia was soon going to get consumed by Eren's sudden wind-element attack. She had already checked those incoming wind blades with her mana sense.
Furthermore, she felt that she needed to be wary of Eren's weapon set that he threw earlier. She had seen him fight. He'd always shock his opponents with his complex moves, by making them take the decisions he wanted them to take. So she didn't try to escape from his incoming attacks in a hurry. And in doing so, she fell for the same trap she wanted to avoid.
Eren's wind-element blades weren't individually that strong. They won't be able to break her defensive spell if they attack individually. But with their quantity, they could attack the same area multiple times faster than her mana defense layer could keep up.
Plus, due to her class requirement, most of her attention had gone to controlling her mana circuits and mana points. So she couldn't strengthen her mana defense manually.
Altashia was forced to show her hand.
The warrior-ranker stabilized her flight in the air using her wings and gripped her weapon hard. Wind and fire element chains started sprouting from the surface of her arms, latching onto her scythe.
Swish!
Time seemed to have slowed down for the spectators as they watched Altashia perform the same move she had used on Rodrick Renar and his demon beast Aqua. The mana pulse of that attack was so intense that it didn't feel like an attack initiated by an Ace ranker. No, even among the Adept rankers, that attack would still have garnered attention from its spectators.
A circular flying slash that expanded in all directions disrupted the surrounding mana and hindered the incoming blades. The wind blades crashed onto the large solidified wind and fire element flying slash and dispersed immediately after touching it.
Altashia's flying slash was also crumbled down before breaking into multiple mini slashes that fell on the ground beneath her like rainfall. The ground immediately caught fire without burning anything solely due to Altashia's remaining mana sustaining the flames.
All of Altashia's other attacks had also caused the fire to break out in the nearby vicinity. This was when the ground did not have anything to burn. One could imagine the havoc she might raise if she fights near an area infested with flammable objects.
Eren saw Altashia's attack approaching him in his near-stagnant world and had stress lines over his forehead. This was his test. He had forced Altashia to show her hand. But if he couldn't pull off what he had planned to do, the very act was almost certain to backfire on him.
Wind Blade Tornado!
Total Control!
Eren released the second stack of the same spell that he had kept dormant at the same time. He also accelerated its effects with Total Control so that it would keep up with his enhanced perception.
Just like Wind Blades Tornado, Eren had also kept the Total Control Spell hidden from his mates. This was so that he could use them against Altashia at the right time. With this, almost all of Eren's trump cards that he could count on had been used.
Altashia saw Eren get surrounded by his wind-element spell within a fraction of a moment before disappearing from his space. He had changed his position by going even higher than his previous altitude with the power of Wind Blades Tornado lifting him.
Eren's mana sense was compromised at that time and he couldn't keep up with the blades' speed that had been accelerated by his Total Control spell. As a result, even though he was uninjured, his clothes were ripped apart by getting caught in the tornado.
Eren barely managed to keep his pants on. But his torso was now out in the open as his casual army shirt and jacket were torn apart by the wind-element spell. But he didn't care. He had achieved what he had set out to do.
'Now's the time.'
Eren thought to himself and canceled all his active spells save for his time-element spells. He then executed his next set of spells as he started losing altitude rapidly. He adjusted his body and approached Altashia just like a meteor approaching earth.
Eren already possessed the maneuverability needed to perform moves like these due to him acting as Tuan. The experience behind Fire Wings' attack was now helping him.
Fireball!
Wind Blade Tornado!
Red Blitz Bolt!
Eren first exposed Altashia to a bunch of Fireballs that he had accelerated the production of using Total Control. Then he surrounded her with Wind Blades Tornado once again to create mental pressure. Finally, he charged his punching daggers with red lightning as he waited to check on her condition.
Altashia had beads of sweat on her forehead after she had cast that logic-defying spell. She was used to getting some breathing room after such a spell made its presence. She thought this time would be no different. But Eren's approach right after her spell was over had caught her off guard.
The mini fireballs were squatted by the wind-element hands she had created in haste. She also sent flying slashes at the incoming wind blades to deflect and clear the airspace around her. After getting rid of the fireballs, semi-transparent hands also surrounded her body. And yet, some of the fireballs and wind blades managed to penetrate the defense she had set up in haste.
"Aaaaah!"
Altashia couldn't help but cry in pain as she was hit by some of the butcher's attacks. Her petite skin on her arms was first burned off before getting slashed because of Eren's attacks. She had used her hands as the last line of defense to protect her vital organs from being targeted.
For the first time in a while, Altashia was angry. Not on Eren. But on herself. Her grandpa Altair had warned her she was prone to serious attacks after she used the class-enhanced attacks she used to perform by tweaking her mana circuits her way. That is if the ranker could figure out the basics behind her attacks.
'It feels like Gramps Altair would be laughing right now if he was here. Laughing at me for my incompetence. I… I hate him.'
Altashia flared her nose in anger when she remembered Altair's warning that finally became true. She stopped the flow of her blood by strengthening her mana defense and looked up at the red mass of lightning that was approaching her rapidly.
'This… this is why I love him.'
Altashia smiled as she held onto her weapon and looked at Eren in the eyes. The latter was also looking at her keenly with stoic expressions. It was apparent that he was serious about defeating her. By putting his life in danger, he had created an opportunity to strike her and defeat her. She could relate to the resolve Eren had displayed for her.
They both were almost burnt out by this point. Altashia was even more so than Eren because of her being on the offensive for quite a longer time than him.
They had left their spectators gasping in shock and inferiority complex. In demonstrating their high level of might and exceptional ability, they had demonstrated that the genius rankers were not necessarily following common sense.
And yet, the fight was not over until it was over. Altashia still had the last embers of mana left in her to cast one more spell.
She let go of her Demon Beast Transformation spell and allowed her black wings to disperse in the air. She too started losing altitude while looking at the incoming Eren.
Altashia hesitated for a bit before strengthening her resolve. She was sure Eren wouldn't want to win the fight at the cost of her holding back. She would feel guilty too if she ever did something like this. Most of all, she didn't want to compromise on her warrior mentality.
'Eren, my love, I hope you overcome this spell!'
Altashia closed her eyes and mumbled to herself before using her final trump card.
"Demon Spell: Burning Abode!"
AN: Altashia uses Burning Abode in chapter 426. This is the same spell that she used as a deterrent against the Orc Lord Baran.
