Chapter 552: Breakthrough
Following the appearance of the sixth-circle spell, a gleaming dome materialized around the grove of flowers, shimmering like a translucent mirror. It caught the blinding light of the flowers, refracting it outward in a dazzling display of rainbow colors.
Less than a heartbeat later, the seed pods ruptured, releasing all their gathered mana at once. The ensuing explosion of glittering pollen filled the entire sphere, obscuring the sky and snow behind a dense, shimmering curtain. The explosions slammed into the Mirror Lock one after another, ricocheting back and forth, steadily growing in power with each bounce.
R’lissea unconsciously slowed to a stop, her mouth agape. Elise, too, seemed stunned, her grip on my waist tightening.
"It’s not stopping?" she asked, her voice filled with apprehension.
I frowned slightly, activating the Oracle of Eternity to analyze the full weave of my spell and its interaction with the steadily increasing power of Elise’s array. After a tense moment, I shook my head, letting my tail relax. "Even if it’s an array, your spell is technically only fifth-level," I explained. "Even if it grows exponentially, which it shouldn’t, it won’t gather enough power to break through the Mirror Lock."
"Then what’s going to happen?" Elise asked, her voice laced with concern.
I shrugged. "Eventually, the Mirror Lock will fade, and whatever’s left of your spell will be released."
"Are you sure it won’t keep growing? It seems to be getting brighter," R’lissea mumbled, squinting against the rising glare within the dome.
"It will for a bit," I confirmed, "but the spell can only be amplified to a certain point. Once it reaches its peak, the magic will slowly lose strength."
"I see," Elise said, touching her chest and releasing a relieved sigh. Her eyes quickly found mine, however, her brow furrowed with curiosity. "But why did you do that?"
"You mean the Mirror Lock?" I asked, tilting my head, unsure why she was asking. "Your spell was too powerful, of course. If I let it go like that, the explosion might have reached us. That concentration of Sun magic would vaporize every demon between here and there."