510 Spar With Odeta

I winced when I saw Groelle get hit in the side by a Mahun butler wielding a warhammer.

She flipped herself in the air to land on her feet while my [Heal] started its work on her, the Wrunch glaring at her opponent.

After evading the two groups that had been pursuing us from the start, we ran into another group not a few more steps away.

As expected, they immediately became hostile to us and attacked without so much as a greeting.

I did notice that they limited their targets to our vanguards and none even tried to target me.

I guess everyone either got the memo about Katsuki protecting me or they had the same idea as she did.

Either way, I was still playing the role as a support and mage anyway so it didn't really affect my positioning much.

The current team we were facing off against had a team composed of five vanguards.

The moment the battle started, I had to blind one with my Umbramancy and stun another one with my Electromancy.

That was all I could do before both vanguards clashed, the three of them meeting in the middle in a flurry of sparks.

Seraphine moved to flank them but their leader was able to keep her in check with her Pyromancy magic while fighting Gwen at the same time.

I had to start focusing on healing my team while constantly making sure the other two were stunned and blinded.

Groelle recovered from the earlier attack and jumped back in before her opponent could attempt to flank Selene.

I buffed her arm just as she raised her weapon, forcing the butler to shift his focus back on her.

Sparks flew when her greatsword cashed against the shaft of her opponent's warhammer, sending the other butler skidding back a few feet.

Taking advantage of his state, she ran forward and swung her greatsword again, this time managing to score a hit directly on his arm.

The Mahun let out a cry of pain but he quickly swung his weapon with his remaining good arm at Groelle, attempting to at least get a hit in return.

Unfortunately, that plan never came to fruition since I stunned him with a [Static Bolt] while he was mid-swing.

Our Wrunch maid then finished him off with a quick swing to his head, causing the butler to be enveloped in a layer of light before disappearing.

That granted us the opening we needed to finish the fight as Grolle went after the other two members I had kept stunned and blinded, easily defeating them as well.

With more than half of their members out of the fight, their team was thus officially defeated and the two remaining members also disappeared in a flash of light.

I had just breathed out a sigh of relief when Selne shouted at us, "No time to relax! We need to keep moving!"

None of us voiced any complaints and we simply straightened ourselves before continuing to sneak through the forest to our destination.

All of us constantly kept a lookout for any signs of trouble and despite trying for so long, I have yet to spot Katsuki at all.

I know that she was still following me because I caught glimpses of her group leaping amongst the shadows. Yet despite that, I could not feel any presence in their direction at all.

I hope there's some kind of lesson or something that would allow me to learn how to do what they do…

Speaking of which… It seems like we actually managed to reach the clearing that Thora was standing in without further complications. I was expecting to at least meet several more groups though…

The first team I saw waiting there was a little problematic though…

"Sister Aster!! Let's spar!!" Odeta waved enthusiastically in greeting.

There were other teams around as well and they tried to move behind Odeta's group in an attempt to support her.

Unexpectedly, Odeta scowled at them and stamped her foot, blasting out a shockwave that shook the ground.

"No! I'm fighting Sister Aster one on one! No interferences!!"

The other groups quickly backed off, even her own teammates took a few steps back from her.

Odeta then turned back to me and grinned, "Come on, Sister Aster! Let's have a serious spar here! Don't hold back against me! I want to see how far I've grown!!"

I looked at my teammates but they stood their ground while looking at me, showing that they would follow my instructions.

I nodded at them and they also took a few steps back, allowing me to face Odeta alone.

The Amrap punched her fists together, "Let's do this, Sister Aster!"

I raised my hand, "Just to check… You want me to fight you with all my power?"

"Yes!" She agreed enthusiastically.

Knowing Odeta, she really meant for me to fight her with all I've got. If I do anything less, it would be an insult to her.

I took a step forward and called up all of my full strength summons alongside my half strength ones.

The total number ended up filling half of the clearing with my Shadow Summons with me at the helm.

Odeta grinned at the sight, "Wahahaha! I knew it! You're amazing Sister Aster! Let's go!!"

She charged towards me and my Summons also started their attacks with a mental command from me.

I was not hanging behind my summons this time but leading them from the front, my eyes focused on the Amrap charging towards me.

Odeta pulled back her fist and I could see the sparks of electricity coursing up her arm, the Amrap obviously using magic to buff her fist.

I did the same as well, layering [Body Current] and [Lightning Clad] to enhance my strength while also casting [Shadow Forge] to create a gauntlet around my arm for defence.

Our fists clashed and the ground and air shook from the impact, tearing up a big portion of the ground.

A few of my summons that were close to me were blasted away while the others managed to stand their ground.

As for Odeta and I… Well…

Despite all the buffs, I could not surmount the difference in physical strength between us and I found myself blown back from Odeta's punch.

I landed on my feet and slid to a stop a few feet away, a little disoriented but still relatively unharmed.

"Wahahaha! I knew it!! Sister Aster is strong!!"

I looked up, wondering why she would say that despite being able to push me back.

Then I realised that even though she managed to stand her ground, my magic had still affected her.

Odeta was holding on to her arm while small amounts of blood dripped from her fist.

The Amrap leapt towards me with her uninjured fist raised, punching down towards me.

Of course, I wasn't going to face her in a direct contest of strength after that earlier clash so I leapt away from the impact zone.

Her fist met the ground and a force of the punch created a giant crater with her in the epicentre.

I commanded my summons to jump at her from all directions.

Odeta started punching them away but a few of my summons attached themselves on her back, trying to pin her down or at least impede her movements.

She roared and reached behind her back, pulling them off her and using them as improvised weapons to smash my other summons away.

I went ahead to cast [Darkness Paranoia] on her, intending to use her blindness to deliver several attacks from her blind spots.

Unexpectedly, she responded by throwing the summons in her hands away before punching the ground again, delivering another shockwave that forced all of us to back off.

When she tried to get back up, she was hit by a [Static Bolt] I fired from the side.

Sparks coursed through her body as the paralysis took effect on her, rendering her temporarily unable to move.

She roared, trying to overcome the status effect through sheer force of will but my summons dog piled on her before she could.

I joined in as well, piling near the top while continuously renewing the paralysis effect by using [Static Shock] on the Amrap.

Despite that, she still managed to get on a knee, slowly but surely pushing herself back up on her feet.

I was obviously not going to let her regain her momentum so I pulled out my Light Sword and poured my mana into the blade.

With the blade wrapped up in a layer of light, I reversed my grip on the sword and stabbed it downwards, not caring that I had to sacrifice one of my summons since I had to stab through it.

There was a sudden flash of light and the force pushing back against me suddenly disappeared, causing the rest of my summons and myself to fall onto the ground in a heap.

Ah… I guess that means Odeta was defeated then.

The fact that she was able to be able to resist the paralysis effect must be from the enchanted ring that I had given her in the past.

Seems like even with it, it does not fully nullify the status effect.

But now I wonder how different one would feel with and without the resistance?

I guess I'll have to ask her later…