Utopian System

Zahyla's words echoed in his mind: "All I need is you."

Elio reviewed the numbers while evading the claws of two artromus. His magical damage of 21,000 was superior to Zahyla's attack power of 2,000; that's why the spheres had withstood eleven impacts before yielding.

His magic was more powerful, a fact that should have given him an advantage.

But that meant nothing against an enemy with two million resistance. He couldn't defeat her by any conventional means. Explore hidden tales at empire

The encirclement tightened.

The artromus moved in increasingly tight patterns, pushing him inexorably toward the center where Zahyla waited. His transformation was running out, and his options with it. Each passing second brought him closer to the inevitable.

'Think,' he urged himself while dodging another coordinated attack. His enemy's resistance was simply too great.

Not even his best attacks could...

An idea.

The iron spheres that had protected the soldiers had resisted eleven of Zahyla's strikes.

His magical damage of 21,000 had made them resistant enough.

The realization struck Elio while evading another coordinated attack, he might not be able to damage Zahyla, but perhaps he could protect himself enough to escape her.

Elio looked toward the first ring's barrier, hope flickering in his chest.

The winged salamander grew alongside Elio, its form shimmering with barely contained power.

But it wasn't his only companion; a second invocation resting on his shoulder grew as well.

The medusa scorpion, its translucent body emitting phosphorescent flashes, joined the battle dance.

Elio coordinated his movements with his invocations, each gesture precise and calculated.

"Two combined invocations?" Zahyla observed with genuine interest, her eyes gleaming. "Fascinating. Most don't even achieve one until after 500 years..."

His hands moved in a practiced pattern while creating concentric layers of boron around himself. Each layer could resist a 21,000-point impact. But if he distributed the damage among several layers...

The nearest artromus crashed against the structure, their claws barely marking the surface, leaving only shallow scratches in the defensive shell.

"Interesting," Zahyla's voice carried a tone of amusement. "Do you plan to hide inside a shell?"

Elio's boron barriers found a new purpose as cannonballs, the salamander propelling it with its helium currents, while the scorpion transformed them into prisms that absorbed the attacks from Zahyla and the artromus. Each layer acted as both shield and sponge, redirecting and dispersing the incoming energy.

Her fingers moved with lethal grace, sending a barrage of attacks that made the protection tremble.

"Impressive elemental control," she commented while managing to destroy one barrier with a succession of rebounds.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

But even with the combined power of both invocations, the difference remained overwhelming.

Elio channeled all his salamander's power into a horizontal impulse that launched the boron sphere toward the barrier. Each molecule of air bent to his will, creating a concentrated thrust.

Zahyla simply extended her hands.

The construction stopped dead, trembling from the collision of opposing forces. No matter how much power Elio channeled through his invocation, the structure wouldn't move a centimeter against Zahyla's raw strength.

♢♢♢♢

In the first ring, the elite team had descended and watched with growing helplessness.

"We can't just stay here waiting!" Zara took a step toward the edge, but Lucien blocked her path, his face etched with grim determination.

"The plan..." Selene began.

"To hell with the plan!" Lila interrupted, her usual shyness forgotten in the face of desperation. "They're going to kill him!"

"Trust him," Lucien's voice was firm, though strain showed at its edges. "If we all intervene now, everything will have been in vain."

Taron observed the battle, his fists clenched tight enough to draw blood. The potion's effects still coursed through his veins, his level 19 power screaming at him to act.

"It's always him," he muttered, taking a step forward. "It's always Elio who has to risk everything."

"Taron," Selene warned, "you can't..."

"It'll just be me; they won't be able to enter even if I die. I have the potion... He's just a boy,"

Taron continued, his voice mixing frustration and concern. "Our leader, yes, but still a young man carrying too much weight on his shoulders..."

Before anyone could stop him, Taron pushed Zara and the others back with a wind impulse, the force gentle but inexorable.

"For once," he declared, determination burning in his eyes, "I'm not going to follow my leader's orders."

And he launched himself into battle.

♢♢♢♢

Moments before...

Elio had felt his sphere being stopped, but he didn't intend to let that deter him.

The structure exploded, fragments scattering in all directions like a deadly crystalline rain. The nearest artromus had to cover themselves, creating a moment of confusion in their perfectly coordinated formation.

Elio jumped diagonally upward, his body a blur of motion.

Zahyla, however, was already moving. Her speed of 400 carried her through the boron rain, her resistance making it feel like a gentle breeze against her skin. "Predictable."

Zahyla finally used the wind, and with an impulse increased her speed like Elio to position herself in front of him.

A new barrier formed before Elio. He pushed against it upward with all his strength, momentarily reaching those 550 points of speed, his body straining against its own limits.

But Zahyla had already anticipated the direction. Her fingers traced an arc in the air, and a wave of power swept the space before him, stopping Elio before he could escape.

Elio changed direction mid-air, creating new barriers as he moved. Each construction served a dual purpose: protection and support point for his impulses.

The artromus tried to follow him, but Elio's constant constructions made pursuit difficult. Each time a group got too close, a new barrier forced them to change course.

"Enough exercise," she declared, her constant speed cutting the distance Elio had gained. "It's time to end this."

Elio tried to create one final defense, but his constructions no longer formed as quickly. The mana was running out, and the transformation was seconds from exhaustion.

"I admit you were creative," Zahyla followed his progress with no apparent effort, dodging each obstacle in her path. "But you're only delaying the inevitable."

A new wave of Zahyla's power destroyed his last defenses. The distance between them had decreased to meters, and this time there was no more direction to escape to.

Elio tried to launch a magical attack to blind Zahyla and attempt to cover himself once more, but she moved first.

Zahyla's fingers closed around Elio's arm with a force that made his armor shatter. His broken arm would be useless for controlling magic now.

The world seemed to slow down as the smile of victory began to form on her face.

Taron's magic attack came like lightning from behind.

The impact, enhanced by the metamorphosis potion, managed to make Zahyla divert her attention for a fraction of a second. Without hesitation, Taron spun his sword in a precise arc, severing Elio's trapped arm.