Elemental Cats

Blazing heat filled the Fountain of Death's chamber as soon as Toz let go of his Fireball and sent it toward their target. The explosive heat was enough to make them flinch. But there were two who under no circumstances could blink or look away. Wyrie and Seich.

For the attack to reach its maximum potential, both of them had to time their magic down to a single moment. Seich had to send out the magic in his swords as soon as Toz's Fireball began exploding. And right after that, Wyrie had to add her magic to the combined attack.

Mifter's spinning cone of needles enveloped Toz's ball of flames and turned into a blazing drill that burned the air it passed through. The scattered heat was enough to make the water pouring from the Fountain of Death bubble and the mist of demonic energy dissipate.

Although the heat was a sign of the Fireball's effects escaping the spell, Toz wasn't worried. If anything, the leaking heat was proof of how much mana he had crammed into the spell rather than a sign that he failed to control his magic properly.

Toz had increased the power of the Fireball as much as he could while still maintaining the spell. Unfortunately, he wasn't yet at the point where he could freely modify and awaken the true power of fire without sticking to the spell's constraints. He had long since mastered the Fireball as it was recorded in his grimoire, but not the entirety of the fire element or the properties of fire necessary to create a fireball.

But even if Toz wasn't as adept at fire magic as he wanted, he had still managed to increase the power of his spell far beyond what another fire mage would ordinarily be capable of at the sixth level.

Now it only remained to be seen if it would be enough to break the Fountain of Death.

Since Wyrie didn't have enough mana for a second round of amplification, it would be best if it only took one attack. The reinforcements hadn't even breached Braxton's wall yet. So, if their attack broke the pedestal, they might even be able to complete their mission and escape without even having to partake in any fighting. The short tussle with the armors didn't count.

Thankfully, Toz and the others didn't have to wait long until they could discover the result of their attack.

Since Toz had prioritized explosive force, his Fireball wasn't fast. But Mifter's magic pulled it forward, and their magic wooshed through the air, finally arriving at the Fountain.

Seich's eyes had been wide open ever since they launched the magic, waiting for the moment that came. And while holding back the trembling in his arms, he released the magic he had built up in his swords.

Two beams of light appeared, connecting Seich's swords with the Fountain right when Mifter's cone struck the pedestal, and Toz's Fireball exploded. The beams of light lingered in the air, resonating with each other and basking in the budding glow of Toz's explosion.

That was only the beginning.

Before the light beams faded and Toz's explosion fully bloomed, it was Wyrie's turn.

Wyrie's eyes were wide open in concentration, and she held her hands in front of her as she used her magic and amplified the magic attack as it hit the pedestal's base.

Seich's light beams regained their initial light and grew even brighter.

Mifter's cone of air needles spun out of control and turned into a small tornado, drilling away at the pedestal.

However, the light beams and the tornado were both overshadowed by the infernal explosion that followed Wyrie's amplification of Toz's Fireball.

Mifter's magic was swallowed by the flames and turned into a tornado of fire that enveloped the Fountain. And Seich's beams took on a reddish hue as they pierced into the pedestal.

That was all they had time to see before Toz grabbed everyone and dragged them behind the shield Braxton built.

Since it was the first time Toz had the opportunity to witness such an attack, he naturally wanted to look at it with his mana vision active. Since it felt like his eyes were about to melt, he would have regretted it if it wasn't the reason that he knew Braxton's shield wasn't enough.

The colorful explosion of mana lingered in Toz's eyes even after he closed them. So, he acted mostly on feeling as he grabbed the others who cooperated in the attack and hid them behind the shelter Braxton set up.

The shelter itself wouldn't be enough, but it would serve as a good foundation. And it would be easier for Toz to reinforce it instead of trying to build a defense sturdy enough to withstand the blast in the few meager moments they had left before the explosion reached them.

Toz instinctively used lightning magic and activated the state where his cognition and sight reached new heights of speed. It wouldn't allow him to move faster, but since magic relied on his mind, he would hopefully be able to make it in time.

Toz didn't waste any time worrying and instantly got to work.

And since he didn't have any time to deliberate over what would be most effective, Toz followed his instincts and put up the defenses he thought would be most useful against the magical explosion.

He dug into his mana pool and roused it to its limit as he pulled out void and metal mana in incredible amounts.

Toz felt the cold sweat on his back begin to dry up to the waves of heat crashing toward them. He wanted to use more mana to fortify their defense even further, but he would have to settle for the amount he had already drawn out.

He wanted to take a deep breath and concentrate on his magic, but even just that wishful thought wasted the precious few snowflakes of time he had left.

Toz didn't even have time to doubt his efforts, and he used his mana to envelop him and the others in a sphere of void metal.