"What are you speaking abht now Elizabeth Starbright?" Rossie's mana fred more and more, Elizabeth could see the mana fring all over her body as it threateo overflow.

  Had Rossie also discarded the Mana Manipution skill like Elizabeth?

  "Identify," Elizabeth silently cast the skill and got the blue s with the notification about what had ged within Rossie.

  New Skills:Ethereal Embrace: 66

  Kiss of Temptation: 66

  Lust into Mana: 6

  "Think very well your answer right now, Elizabeth Starbright," Rossie said once again, "I have new skills, and I'll use them if needed, damned be this school and all the students within."

  "*Sigh*" Elizabeth couldn't help it; Rossie was too dang cute when she was angry; should she be thinking about how cute the murderous glint in her eyes looked? Probably not.

  Should Elizabeth be worried about how the skills had climbed to level 66 that fast? That meant that either Rossie had already used the skill iime she got it, or that she was using it right now and the skill mastery was increasing quite fast at that.

  But Elizabeth hadn't seen her kiss or embrayone iime since she had started putting into practice the eags they got.

  So what?

  Either way, she would o expin her case didn't she?

  "I need you all to go to the Shadow Haven for two reasons," Elizabeth said raising her finger, "First of all, if it ends up turning into a fight. I want it to be in our terms, if they are hostile against us ces are they will not allow us to go all together."

  Rena that, "Yeah, they seemed protective of Evangeline. From what I remember, it makes sehat they would not allow three dangerous individuals within." At least Rena was on her side... "Also, if Evangeline is indeed part of the Gaxidae, she may be able to pierce our infosec skills, so she would be able to perceive that Eli is an S-Tier and we are both A-Tier...at least."

  "Mgnuuu..." Rossie squirmed at Rena's impeccable logic, "And how does that trao you walking aloo their trap?"

  "Easy; if you are within the Shadow Haven, then I summon you without them being the wiser." Elizabeth said raising her hand and stopping midway, "Any ces that either of you lock the space down? To prevent teleportations."

  "....Lock." Lily merely said that and taped the floor with her shoe.

  Elizabeth felt the mana turn stagnant and it was as if no new mana could enter, her space sense couldend further away than the door. And even trying to sense what was oher side using the keyhole as a means yielded nothing.

  "So we 't teleport in or out now?" Elizabeth asked.

  "Yeah, Lily didn't just block teleportation or space manipution but locked this p a node and ripped it out from Zaanam." Jenna said looking around, here yes shining in Azure light, "It's something like what your Mother did for the base of the [Twelve]."

  She did a what for the what?

  "So?" Rossie said, still fuming, "What's the deal with this?"

  "Rossie, you are a good mage, possibly among the best of our css, right?" Elizabeth asked turning tirlfriend.

  "Yes," Rossie didn't think it for a sed, "If we dist you who is a natural genius and the blue-haired sage idiot, then yes."

  "Do you know space-reted spells or teleportation ones?" Elizabeth asked with a smile on her face. She had tested it with her own sense of space, and this pce was indeed impervious to most of her attempts to meddle with it.

  "Hmph," Rossie merely huffed once, drawing on the air with her finger a magic circle, glyphs, and nodes manually with a line of mana, "Of course, even if my specialty is healing, I studied all the types of spells that I could see being useful at some point. Space Magic being one of those too."

  And sure enough, Rossie was drawing quite the perfect space magic circle, if Elizabeth hadn't checked before she wouldn't be this fident.

  "Well, if you mao teleport out of here and ba again without using the Shadow Haven then I'll fulfill any one request," Elizabeth said smirking, "And I mean any one request, no limits."

  "...Those words..." Rossie said as the magic circle dissipated and Rossie's eyes turned dangerously sharp, "Do you mean them Eli-Eli?"

  Rena's eyes turned bloodshot, and Jenna took half a step back. What?

  "...of course," Elizabeth said, nodding and feeling her smirk waver.

  " I help her?" Rena suddenly said, "I know you offered it to Rossie, but this affects me too."

  "I..guess?" Elizabeth answered, "I don't see a problem with that since you will also wait with Rossie anyway...But...you didn't modify your mana manipution, did you?"

  "I never had oo begin with," Rena answered raising her hand and... "I see why you were fident on your bet."

  What? ht, Rena summoned her swords from a subspace skill right.

  "So, are you taking i anyway?" Elizabeth said rec some of her fidence.

  "Of course, if it was me alohen it may be impossible, but I am not alone." Rena said standing besides Rossie. "And we will win this bet."

  Elizabeth felt a shiver go down her baot because of the decration of war that Rena had uttered, but by the fact that she did so while pointing at her.

  And Rossie's eyes were razor sharp, not on Elizabeth, not on the space that was being locked, but her eyes with pis were focused on Elizabeth's chest.

  And from time to time they went down her body, as if tasting it.

  "Well, go on then..." Elizabeth said with trembling voice, "Do your best."

  Or worse, Elizabeth wasn't sure what to wish for in the current circumstances.

  "Well, how many attempts do we get?" Rossie said turning to Jenna and Lily.

  "....As....many as....you.....want...." Lily answered with a shrug.

  "Around 10 minutes of attempts, we do have limited time within the MPI before we o leave, most of the paperwork is already done and this meeting was more of a teicality." Jenna added from the side, "So while I do think Elizabeth is going too far and we should give you plenty of time, we do have a time limit here."

  Nice safe Jenna!

  "It should be enough," Rossie said, making Elizabeth wonder what she po do. "Let's start easy then."

  And fog once more, Rossie closed her eyes and started drawing on the air again, this time however, she went slower. "Rena, prepare yourself I'll need you to help me soon enough, start sharpening your mana."

  Sharpening?

  "Sure, you tell me when." Rena answered and pced her hand at the side of her waist as if she was holding a sword, "And where."

  ...But she couldn't pull her sword from the subspace she used...

  Not uhey taped into the Shadow Haven, but that would mean losing the bet. So Elizabeth wasn't sure what they were pnning.

  "Recall," Rossie said as the spell finished f.

  Elizabeth hadn't expected Rossie to use that one, she had thought she would go for the safer bet, either [Blink], [Teleport] or [Mass Teleport]. Perhaps [Apany]? Or [Traverse]?

  But Recall?

  That one was barely a teleportation spell, it was closer to a summoning spell than true teleportation.

  Even so, Elizabeth could see why Rossie picked that one, sihis one didn't require that much finessing or the like, it merely pulled the caster to a pre designated spot. And Elizabeth of course knew where that would take Rossie back.

  They had designated her Home as the recall spot, in case they didn't want to risk a travel to the Shadow Haven, they would go to her Home in Avalon and then move from there.

  Setting it up like that would be a double cross, people would try to track them down, find their Home and be rained down by Mother's defehen in the meanwhile Elizabeth and pany would run away into the Shadow Haven aurn at a ter date, or exit from another pce.

  Even so, Elizabeth returned her focus to the present.

  The spell formed as it was obvious it would happen, this was Rossie ere speaking about, the girl was very good at her magic circles. And if anything Elizabeth had plenty fiden her girlfriend to probably discover that the skills weren't of use soohan anyone else.

  If anything, the only reason that Rosie was still using these skills robably because Elizabeth had them oatus s. Rossie would never do anything that would put Elizabeth in a bad light, even if that was to Rossie's detriment.

  She was like that.

  "Rena, will you manage even without a sword?" Rossie suddenly asked as she started struggling to keep the magic circle going evehe magic was uo loto the coordinates from the other side.

  "No problem here, Rossie," Rena answered as she put more strength intrip; soon, it almost looked as if the red-haired girl was indeed holding a sword, even though there was nothing there. Nothing besides Mana...

  "Okay, I need you to cut open the space three timeters behind my magical circle, try to not disrupt the mana." Rossie said as she started pumping more and more mana into the magic circle.

  The thing with using a magic circle instead of a normal spell or a spell o cast, the spell was less izable after being cast, but was sturdier.

  Elizabeth only used magical circles with spells she wao be extremely sure that remaiable, and would never do so with spells that required a soft touch to keep w.

  Or those that she wao ge on the way.

  For example, she would never use the magical circle for Shift sihat one was a very delicate spell that o be updated as it was used. Not all situatiohe same; different circumstances would mean that the spell o be used differently.

  But if it was about using a magic circle for casting something like [Wind Bullet], then she didn't mind. It was faster using a pre-designed magical circle for that. Also, it allowed her to spam it; there were only so many ways one could use [Wind Bullet] before it became redundant, and it was cheaper to use magic to affix the variables as needed after all.

  "Roger," But all of this was meaningless; the main problem here was the fact that Rena and Rossie seemed vihat their pn would work, "I only o cut open space?"

  "Yes, try to not affect my magic circle or the magic within," Rossie answered. Her face was drenched i as she struggled to make the spell tinue being stable even in these circumstances.

  "Okay," Rena said closing her eyes, "Draw: Space Sever."

  And as Rena's sword left her mouth, Elizabeth saw something she hadn't expected, and even so, should have expected to happen.

  A phantom sword made out of mana materialized in Rena's hands, and then, in one swift motion, Rena drew the sword and sshed the space between herself. The edge of the sword seemed to sink oy spad in front of Rossie's magical circle the tip of the sword maed itself.

  As if the sword it had sank into butter or something only to show up there.

  "...sharp..." Lily merely said that while turning to stare at the tip of the mana bde that Rena had mao somehow make.

  "...." Even with that dohe spell ended up bursting into nothing as the motes of mana from the magic circle disappeared. And both Rossie and Rena remained in the same spot.

  "Hmm...." Rossie merely said opening and closing her hand, "Well, how much time is left Jenna Lewis?"

  "Around four minutes give or take, I'll let the one go as long as you if you start now though." Jenna answered with a shrug.

  As long as she could? Those are dangerous words!

  "Do remember that we are isoted from the outside, and if you 't tap into your personal subspace, then your mana geion is probably on the ives." Jenna added raising a finger and pointing at Elizabeth, "She will probably be fine, since she gees more mana than she handle and her body is sturdy enough."

  Then, turning to Rena, "Red-haired girl, oher hand, uses most of her mana to reinforce her body and doesn't have much expenditure mana-wise." Jenna this, and Rena slightly blushed, "Besides, she stockpiles most of her mana in the body as far as I see, so she should be able to survive long enough."

  Then, turning back to Rossie, "You, oher hand, most of your mana is used to keep you stable, be it by the use of self-mind/soul trol or to keep your emotions stable." Jenna gred at Rossie at this point, "So if you are about to fall into mana deprivatio is over, I'll seal your mana myself. Now that you are separated from Zaanam, that is something I do."

  Jenna could do what?

  "...I'll take that into sideration," Rossie didn't seem to care too much about Jenna's threat, "Eli-Eli, I'm taking your V-Card after this, so prepare yourself."

  She was going to take what?

  "Heed my call spirits that reside within my heart, the soul of those who have perished to their al desires and those that couldn't hold themselves back..." Rossie suddenly started ting, Rossie never ts..."...rise o time, rise and procreate, rise and copute, rise and increase the might of the blood mana that flows through my veins..."

  The who did what with who?

  "So ands the Mistress of Lust...pierce the barriers and bring the target of my Lust into my embrace." And like that the mana within Rossie started surging out, first it formed blobs of pink colorful mana almost in a gaseous state. Then it slowly started drifting around Rossie's body.

  Elizabeth could almost see it wanting to g intirlfriend's skin, as if to throw away her clothes. Or perhaps that was Elizabeth's desire?

  Hard to tell, especially with that sweet-smelling odor that the mana was giving out. Either way, that was beside the point.

  The mana g to Rossie and slowly, ever so slowly started drifting away from her, first roughly arouhen around Rena...it drifted around as if seeking something.

  Some of it remained near Rena, but the rest started drifting along the pce.

  "...wasn't the bet for teleportation?" Elizabeth couldn't help but say aloud.

  As soon as the words left her mouth, however, the ge was both fast and swift. The mana shot straight at her and embraced her thighlty. How could a mana in vapour form hold this much strenght?

  Elizabeth didn't know, but what happe the end...

  "*Yoink*"

  Elizabeth ulled straight towards Rossie, not through spaot through multiple-dimensional pnes.

  No, the mana merely pulled her toward Rossie's embrace, leaving her head resting on her girlfriend's chest.

  "...." "..."

  "Well...that was a masterful way to use both Mana and Sin Mana," Jenna said from the side, "If Elizabeth had been in another p may even have worked..."

  "Really?" Rossie said with her eyes shining brightly.

  "No," Jenna however said that , "It MAY have worked, but more likely than not it wouldn't have worked, besides this would attempt to take your target to you by any means."

  Yeah, Elizabeth wasn't even able to react before the mana pulled at her.

  "What do you think would have happened if this was during a fight?" Jenna asked seriously, "If Elizabeth was fighting against five powerful Heroes."

  ...

  Yeah, that wouldn't be pretty. Elizabeth's bat style was one of both finesse and brute force, her spells depended in a fiunning arikes had too much brute force. Built the spell with care and then overcharged it just enough to achieve her means.

  Both finesse in the stru and using her outstanding body, supercharge it.

  "Fihen it's my defeat, I 't risk Eli-Eli...Not if she does really end in bat," Rossie said sighing while hughing Elizabeth strongly so that she wouldn't leave her embrace, "But your expnatioer be good, why would you send us to the Shadow Haven if you think yoing to bat?"

  Okay, it was time to expin her master pn.

  "Okay, but first a demonstration." Elizabeth said raising her hand, "e Ea!"