Chapter 163 - Educational bouts
Scarlett hurried to activate [Sidhe’s Flowing Garbs], narrowly doing so as the arrows of fire slammed into her. For a moment, she almost lost her balance.
Were those really made of just fire? [Sidhe’s Flowing Garbs] had mitigated most of the damage, but other than simple heat, she’d actually felt the force behind that blow.
“What are—!” she began, but Arlene had already launched two more fiery arrows towards her. Reacting quickly, Scarlett tried to seize control of them using her pyrokinesis, but it was like trying to stop someone’s punch with a pair of chopsticks. The arrows struck her in the chest, though this time she was better prepared and stood her ground.
She gritted her teeth. As Arlene conjured another set of fire arrows and stepped down from the porch, Scarlett raised her hand and summoned spheres of water to intercept the projectiles. It produced sizzling sounds as steam billowed from the collisions.
It had been a while since she was in a real spar, but her practice sessions with Kat and Garside hadn’t been for nothing.
Arlene raised an eyebrow. “True pyrokinesis and hydrokinesis? That’s a curious combination.” With a wave of her hand, the water spheres were engulfed by larger flames. Loud cries of excitement and awe erupted from the children gathered at the center of the village square.
Near Arlene, Rosa’s expression bore a hint of concern, but Scarlett reassured her with a gesture.
Just then, flames coalesced around Scarlett, forming a cage of searing heat that pressed in from all sides. It was enough to penetrate even through the defense provided by [Sidhe’s Flowing Garbs].
Scarlett activated the [Charm of Expeditious Change] and equipped the [Fireguard Knife], [Chromacloth], [Tiara of Lost Benediction]—Rosa could laugh at her later if she wanted—and the rest of her gear. The items strengthened her fire resistance and defense, making the heat more bearable while also sharpening her focus and slightly enhancing her pyrokinesis.
Arlene shaped more fire into even larger arrows aimed at Scarlett. She countered by conjuring a mixture of water and fire barriers to intercept their paths. The water barriers weakened some of the intensity from the arrows as they were pierced, while her fires actually managed to absorb some of the incoming flames. Though it consumed more mana than she would have wanted, she managed to stop most of the attacks before they reached her.
Meanwhile, she had summoned eight Aqua Mines that surrounded Arlene. She couldn’t identify the woman’s weak points through the [Charms of Apperception]—the woman was too strong—but the Mines still packed a punch, bursting into clouds of steam that assailed Arlene from all angles.
Not that the woman seemed to care much. A thin, almost see-through shield of fire materialized in a split second, deflecting all the attacks without causing the woman to flinch.