One needs no deep analysis to realize that these five golden-armored creatures are much, much harder to deal with than D-32 alone.

Each of them, except for the one with a faint star mark on its helmet—Vincent, is a former master of their own element—fire, water, wind, and earth. Just one of them is enough to overpower even a senior professor of the academy, and there are four.

Adding to this 'loaded' lineup, Vincent's husk retains its ability to read others' minds, and even its connection with the other four is still there, leading to the enemies' coordination being near impeccable. Against such forces, the player can't possibly win, especially after the enduring fight with D-32.

Normally, that is.

In this battle, a fairly common mechanic is introduced during the playthrough, where the player can retreat to the city's walls and utilize the defensive cannons mounted there to deal damage to the armored ones.

This is precisely the reason Aurora chooses Neveah Square as the battlefield instead of her domain.

Nevertheless, the strategy for phase two is relatively simple—eliminate Vincent's husk as soon as possible. As the enemies descend from the balcony of the church, preparing their attacks, Aurora calmly strokes Nova's shiny head and looks down.

''Go.''

Heeding Aurora's order, the army of marine creatures in the sky simultaneously begins to cast their magic. After just a few moments, Nova releases a death beam of absolute zero, and dozens of elemental spells are shot from the others, trailing behind the ice ray and creating an intense storm of colorful, deadly strikes hurling toward the ground.

On the ground, the five quickly raise a thick barrier using their collective power. At the forefront is a large armor holding a shield.

BOOM—!!!

A catastrophic explosion ensues, blowing away a good portion of the square. As cement fragments from the ground start to fall, the smoke also clears out, revealing the intact barrier.

Tch, stubborn bunch.

''This much is expected.'' Aurora sighs.

With the earth element tanker here, it will be hard to pierce their defense with ordinary methods. So, instead, Aurora points her index finger to the sky and releases a simple beam of light. In an instant, a loud screeching noise can be heard across the city, and when everybody turns in the direction of the sound, they see a large projectile wrapped in blue energy flying toward the square with incredible speed.

With a crisp glass-breaking sound, the barrier of the golden armors is promptly pierced, forcing them to hastily set up another barrier, this time, a much more fragile one.

At some point, D-32 notices that Aurora has disappeared from the sky. It quickly gazes around with all five bodies, only to be met with a sudden intense blizzard that blocks its vision entirely. Frustratedly, it hides Vincent's body behind the other four and begins to reinforce the defense, and that is when a deafening rumble rings above. 

BOOM—!!

CRACK—!!

'''' !!! ''''

''ARGH!!''

A lightning bolt of immense magnitude strikes the flimsy barrier, shattering it and bringing its momentum to hit Vincent's body squarely. The impact chips away almost half of Vincent's husk, leaving charring marks all over the body beneath. Not stopping at that, a severe gust of highly dense ice rushes in right after, completely decimating the life inside the armor.

Soon, the frozen body crumbles down into a pile of sparking dust.

[You have defeated a Lv.49 ■■-struck human Vincent]

[Proficiency achieved a certain level]

[Being: Aurora Lv.49 has become Lv.50]

[1 skill points acquired]

[Achievement unlocked: Level 50]

[2 skill points acquired]

In the sky, Aurora quietly swipes the system's windows away. Obtaining three more skill points, she quickly upgrades [Swordsmanship] to level 7 before turning below again.

It is good that Vincent's husk is destroyed early like this, but the previous shots she fired were a gamble. She wasn't certain killing Vincent would raise her level. If it didn't, Aurora would have been left with little MP to work with.

'High-level magic costs so much... Let's ask Chloe later if there is something I can use.'

Something that can increase her MP cap or an external MP recovery item would be good to have.

Nevertheless, it is now time to face the remaining enemies. Now that the brain of the team has been eliminated, the other four will not have to defend anything anymore, which will lead to them being much more aggressive. 

This is when the fight becomes hard.

As if proving her statement, a collum of high-pressure water pierces through the blizzard right toward her head.

''!!''

Aurora narrowly dodges it by bouncing away. Sensing another attack winding up below, she also infuses ice into her sword.

Right when the blizzard calms down a bit and vision returns, the two sides clash.

Aurora shoots herself toward the ground, holding out her icy cold weapon, which is growing exponentially in size. With a loud 'CLANG—!!', her sword collides with the large armor's shield. Immediately, the other three pour in to attack her, seizing the chance.

Before they can do that, however, a dazzling figure swoops in, disrupting the attack altogether. Nova gapes her jaw, filled with sharp teeth, and gnaws at one of the female armors, forcing it to block with its sword. Then, the blizzard orca twists her body violently, boosting herself forward and pushing the armor together with it.

'Okay, the level sixty-seven is gone, now...'

With Nova taking the strongest one to another battlefield, Aurora is left with three. In an instant, she spins her body and delivers a powerful kick at the shield of the armor before her, blowing it back a bit and temporarily stunning it.

She notices their movements are not quite fluid, and their reaction times are not the fastest just yet—a sign of unfamiliarity from D-32.

Regardless, she springs to the side and touches one of the remaining two. A burst of mysterious energy escapes her palm, enveloping the armor whole. Without a sound, it disappears.

'One to the Backrooms, another...'

BOOM—!!

For the last one, she curls her palm into a fist before punching it right in the face, keeping it going before stopping at the right angle, sending the thing toward a building in the distance.

'This one is for you, Chloe.'

With that, Aurora is left with only one large armor—the level 64 earth tanker. 

Right away, a colossal punch flies toward Aurora's head, forcing her to jerk her whole body to the side with [Flight]. 

BOOM—!!

Although the fist stops in mid-air, its impact is so strong that it shatters some of the buildings in the distance.

Dangerous. Aurora would be dead instantly if she were to take any of that.

''...''

''...''

Both of them retreat for a moment. As they stare at each other, they activate their own ability.

The earth armor clenches its shield, channeling energy into it, subsequently making golden scales grow on its surface. Together with that, it also enhances its whole body with resilient earth magic, gaining some more size on top of its already huge figure.

Facing the giant, the proud tanker, the juggernaut of defense, Aurora lightly twists her wrist and relaxes her muscles.

''Arrogant.''

[Domination].