Chapter 140: Spatial Sealing

As the chains of law, representing the established pact, sank into their bodies, the new wager was settled and irrevocable.

However, before either could react, a conch shell pendant hanging at Alice’s waist suddenly erupted with thick black smoke, which then condensed in the void into the withered, aged visage of the Hag Endor.

"Alice, what kind of nonsense are you up to now? Didn't I tell you just to have him cancel the previous oath? Why has a new wager suddenly appeared in the contract?" As the smoky lips moved, a raspy, low voice, like the hiss of a venomous snake, echoed across the field.

"Great-grandmother, please don't interfere. I will definitely defeat him this time! Have you forgotten? I am a quasi-witch now! And... I have even mastered that technique..." Dropping her previous fierce and cold demeanor, Alice immediately switched to a sugary, pleading tone to address the Hag.

Hag Endor clearly had full confidence in Alice’s strength, and seeing her granddaughter’s firm attitude, her own resolve began to waver. But when the smoky face turned toward Greem, its eyes widened in disbelief, and it shrieked, "What is this? Damn it, why is he a quasi-witch too? No, I absolutely will not—"

Unfortunately, she did not finish her sentence, as Alice tapped the conch shell lightly, isolating it with spatial energy. Without the support of the magical artifact, the smoky avatar of the Hag dissipated into thin air.

"Alright, no one will bother us now. Let’s go, let’s find a place to fight!" Alice had clearly made up her mind, willing to face the Hag’s punishment later.

With that, Alice turned around, her body flickering slightly before disappearing from the spot. When she reappeared, she was already in mid-air, 300 meters away.

Greem frowned slightly.

Alice’s talent for spatial sorcery was truly astonishing. She played with spatial teleportation so fluidly, without the slightest hint of exertion and with no prior warning. Fighting an opponent who held such total control over the battlefield's space would likely be a grueling battle today.

Greem did not delay. He flicked his wrist, tossing out several elemental crystals, and in an instant, he summoned his former strongest warrior: the Lightning Giant. The mere appearance of the Lightning Giant shocked the numerous tower apprentices to their core, their eyes filled with undisguised horror. The Madwoman and Hawk-eye felt it even more directly, their gazes complex and troubled.

They perceived it clearly: never mind Greem himself, even this temporarily summoned elemental construct possessed terrifying strength capable of brutalizing them.

Greem pulled out a bottle of high-grade healing potion he had brought back from the Gloomy Crypt, tossed it beside Tony—who was still lying on the ground, afraid to move—and nodded slightly at him. Immediately, the Lightning Giant lowered its body and scooped Greem into its hand. With a roar of wind, it transformed into a swirling gale, chasing closely behind Alice.

Mary let out a cold snort. Instead of transforming into a vampire bat as she had before, she flicked her body and leaped high into the air. Her slender, tall form stabilized in the sky, and a pair of massive bat wings suddenly unfurled from her back. With violent flaps, she surged forward in pursuit.

Having advanced to a quasi-witch, she could now perform partial transformations. She no longer had to endure being flightless in human form or unable to use blood-sorcery while transformed. Now, she had truly mastered the vampire’s bat-transformation.

The three quasi-witches, each using their own methods, flew out of the Magic Swamp one after another like shooting stars, heading toward a stretch of wilderness nearby.

In the Magic Swamp, their every move was under the surveillance of the resident wizard, Anderson, making it difficult to fight at full capacity. Thus, they all reached a silent consensus to choose the uninhabited wilderness as their battlefield.

Once the three powerful apprentices had completely vanished from sight, the expressions of the remaining apprentices were varied—some were crestfallen, others were ecstatic, some fell into deep thought, and others were filled with a mixture of envy and hatred. The Madwoman slammed her heavy sword into the ground; the blunt blade sank ten fingers deep into the blue flagstones without a sound.

As veteran powerhouse apprentices of the Swamp Tower, they had now been reduced to mere passersby, ignored by their rivals. The psychological gap was so immense that it left both of them with a sense of disillusionment and frustration. They exchanged a glance, swallowed their bitterness, and, lacking the mood to address the crowd, returned to the tower in silence.

Meanwhile, twenty miles outside the Magic Swamp, Alice flickered and appeared in the middle of a vast, desolate plain. The area was covered in waist-high, withered yellow grass, swaying and bowing in the cold, biting wind—a scene of bleak decay.

It was unknown what abilities Alice had gained upon advancing to a quasi-witch that gave her such immense confidence. But compared to her, Greem was also brimming with self-assurance, looking eager for the fight.

Seeing Alice waiting for him, Greem rode the Lightning Giant and teleported high into the sky, quickly scanning the surroundings with his unique elemental vision. Only after confirming there were no ambushes did he teleport down to the ground.

At this moment, Mary—in her red attire, snow-white skin, and black wings—arrived with the speed of lightning and landed nearby.

"Hmph, since you've both arrived, come at me together!" Alice stood under a crooked locust tree, her face full of disdain and arrogance.

The usually hot-tempered Mary’s blue eyes instantly turned blood-red. She spread her wings and bared her fangs, preparing to pounce. But the next moment, a thunderbolt struck from the sky, and a violent, sprawling web of electricity instantly blocked her path.

"Don't fall for her trap! If you actually join in, I would be violating our wager. Even if we beat her, she could use that as an excuse to tear up the contract." Greem stepped down from the Lightning Giant’s open palm and shook his head at Mary.

"Hmph, shameless villains only have shameless thoughts! With the pathetic skills and rotten talent you two have, you're hardly worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as Lady Alice. A mere little vampire, one more or one less makes no difference—if you don't want to watch this bastard die a miserable death, then come at me together!" Alice stood with her hands on her hips, shouting in scorn, looking down on Mary completely.

In the past, the impulsive Mary would have charged in regardless. But during this time, she had clearly gained better control over her bloodline talents. Thus, despite the naked provocation, she kept baring her fangs to intimidate Alice, but her body, carried by her bat wings, retreated slowly, leaving the battlefield to the two of them.

At some point, Mary’s trust in Greem had reached an almost superstitious level. In her eyes, Greem never fought a battle he wasn't prepared for. Since he dared to duel the arrogant and cocky Alice, he must have a way to deal with her.

Therefore, she was not worried about Greem’s fight at all!

Seeing the female vampire leave cleanly without being provoked, the doll-like Alice tore at the wild grass in frustration, muttering vicious curses under her breath.

"Alright, there are no outsiders here, so you don't need to keep up the cute act. An apprentice who can advance to a quasi-witch at such a young age is bound to be a black-hearted, ruthless schemer. Since you want to defeat me to prove your strength, then make your move!" Greem mocked her with a sneer, showing no intention of pitying the 'weaker' party.

"If you want a fight, you'll get one! You’ll regret your decision today!" Alice was now gnashing her teeth in fury.

There was no point in further talk!

Although both were quasi-witches, true respect is earned through battle.

At almost the exact same moment, sharp glints flashed in their eyes, and they struck without a word.

What is called being as swift as the wind, what is called moving like lightning—these were all trivial compared to Alice’s spatial displacement. Relying on this ability to come and go as she pleased, every opponent appeared to her like a slow-moving, static image.

Almost the moment the fight began, Alice appeared less than 5 meters from Greem. Before her, at the spot where she had suddenly stopped, a terrifying hemispherical lightning web descended from the sky, trapping Greem inside. Had she moved even half a step closer, the high-voltage current writhing across the net would have scorched her body.

Inside the web, it was already a world of raging flames.

The fire barrier erupting from within that damned bastard’s body had swallowed almost all the space inside. Not only the grass and soil on the ground but even the seemingly empty air began to burn. The cocky bastard gave Alice a slight smile, and his entire figure merged into the flames.

Seeing that his master had completed his fire defense, the Lightning Giant hovering in mid-air withdrew the lightning barrier. Its massive body, composed of countless grey-blue wind vortices, instantly transformed into an arrow, lunging fiercely at Alice.

At the same time, inside the barrier that had exploded into a massive sea of fire, three scorching fireballs arched through the air, hurtling toward Alice’s thin, frail frame.

Facing the pincer attack from above and below, Alice showed no fear. With a flicker, she vanished from the spot, reappearing on the other side of the fire barrier. She then pulled her hands apart, and a terrifying spatial rift appeared between them.

It was unclear how she manipulated it, but a massive suction force emerged from the spatial rift. The elemental flames swirling within the nearby fire barrier rushed toward it like moths to a flame, vanishing in an instant. In less than three heartbeats, the nearest sea of fire had been sucked dry, revealing the scorched earth and the ashes of grass and wood rolling in the heat.

Taking advantage of this brief window, the Lightning Giant roared as it pounced again. Before it even arrived, a blinding chain of lightning had already struck out.

After teleporting several times—each time lasting only a few seconds before the annoying Lightning Giant tracked her down—Alice finally grew enraged.

With a spatial displacement, she appeared in the sky 200 meters away. Alice stopped trying to attack Greem and instead loosened her hair, chanting a mysterious sorcery incantation aloud. When the Lightning Giant pursued her nearby, Alice pointed her small hand at it in anger.

"Amikaton... Derosa, Spatial Sealing Art!"

A silver beam shot from the tip of Alice’s finger, striking the void in front of the Lightning Giant. Immediately, countless silver runic chains extended from the void, instantly binding the Lightning Giant in place.

At the same time, where the silver light vanished, a void-hole abruptly opened. The silver runic chains dragged the Lightning Giant into it.

In the next second, Greem lost his sensory connection to the Lightning Giant!