Normally, in situations like this, when several opponents appeared, the team leaders would take the lead and face the enemies in individual battles or retreat to come up with a plan. That was exactly what Elowyn and Elaris were doing. However, it seemed one of the leaders didn't quite understand how this kind of situation worked, as she remained right in front of Enrico, acting like some sort of guard dog.
"Don't worry, beautiful. I'll take care of you."
Lamia was facing her own opponent in front of him, turning the battle into a two-on-two confrontation. Every now and then, some of her companions would interfere as well, especially when they noticed she might end up getting hurt.
'What an annoying situation.'
[What's wrong? Don't you like being treated like a princess?]
'Not at all. Besides, I prefer fighting as a team, as long as nobody gets in the way.'
The problem was that Enrico and Lamia were facing Lethara and one of the smoke creatures at the same time. The two worked very well together, switching positions and taking advantage of every opportunity to land powerful attacks on Lamia.
'I'd better interfere.'
"Fire Bow: Flaming Shot!"
Enrico fired an arrow at the smoky creature. Immediately afterward, he snapped his fingers, causing it to explode as soon as it came into contact with the enemy's gaseous form.
"These creatures are flammable. Therefore, fire is one of their weaknesses."
"You're not only beautiful, but intelligent too. Exactly my type!"
Lamia literally had stars in her eyes as she spoke. Without paying much attention to the compliment, Enrico made his next move.
Using Charged Impulse, Enrico advanced and kicked Lethara away. Then he chased after her at high speed, accompanied by Lamia.
"Heat Magic: Golden Sigh!"
A beam of extremely hot, compressed air shot from Lamia's finger, which was pointed directly at Lethara. As soon as it hit its target, it caused an explosion, opening a large hole in her body.
"Tsk! She turned into smoke again."
"That won't last much longer. To use this ability at her current level, she probably needs to spend a considerable amount of mana."
"You're right, beautiful."
'Why beautiful? Actually, now that I think about it, why do girls who like me always end up coming up with some kind of nickname?'
[What's wrong? Don't you think it's romantic?]
Positioning himself in front of Lamia, Enrico slowly began lowering his fist. The red stone in his Crimson Gauntlet emitted an increasingly intense glow the longer he kept it charged. He still wanted to wait a little longer, until Lethara's regenerative ability weakened, before using the attack.
'Meanwhile, the other teams are dealing with the mini-Bosses that appeared.'
Whenever one of the smoke creatures was destroyed, another appeared in its place. Realizing this, Elowyn and Elaris had the same idea: take the opportunity to accumulate points by defeating those mini-Bosses, leaving Lethara in Enrico's hands.
'Among them, Elaris's team is the best suited for this situation, since they have Valença.'
Since Enrico had already demonstrated those creatures' weakness, Valença took the lead of her team. Without a doubt, they weren't far from reaching the score equivalent to defeating a Boss.
'The only way to stop them from taking the lead is to eliminate the Boss quickly. So, I'll go all out!'
Enrico disappeared at an astonishing speed, using his Fire Steps and physical speed to advance. His movement surprised even Lamia, who had to defend herself against one of the creatures that tried to attack her at that moment.
'She's perfect.'
Enrico's fist began to glow, enveloped in intense flames that concentrated at its center. It was the evolution of Zero Impact, combined with his other fire-based impact magic.
'Charged Flame Impact!'
[What a long name.]
With a devastating explosion, Enrico made Lethara's entire body disappear. However, immediately afterward, he was engulfed by an enormous amount of smoke. The two began moving at high speed within that fog, with Lethara trying to grab him while Enrico dodged her attacks.
'If you think the name is too long, then I'll call it... CC Impact.'
[What a creative name.]
'Then come up with something better.'
Surrounded by smoke, Enrico was caught by surprise when Lethara's two arms appeared behind him and grabbed him tightly. She squeezed his body, using enough force to make escaping the situation difficult. At least for an ordinary person.
Lethara brought her face close to his ear, leaning in to whisper something.
"Come on, why don't you give up and stay with me? I promise we'll have a lot of fun."
Enrico's expression became neutral.
"Sorry, but I don't like cheating. So, you'd have to talk to my future wives first."
Enrico tensed his muscles and, with a surprising display of physical strength, broke both of Lethara's arms, freeing himself from her grip. Before she could react, he took advantage of her momentary lapse, spun his body in the air, and delivered a powerful kick directly to her face.
The impact sent the Nartheis flying, making her crash through several trees before countless smoke claws appeared around her, abruptly halting her advance.
Even after being injured by Enrico's attack, Lethara let out an almost charming smile, as though that had only increased her admiration for him.
"Your beauty is incredible, even in the way you move... I can't let you escape. So, I'll use everything I have, since I'm sure you'll survive with that incredible body."
Gathering magic in one hand, Lethara concentrated a large amount of smoke into a single point. Then she lowered her arm and launched a fast, powerful attack in Enrico's direction. At the same time, the mist surrounding him closed in, trapping him in place and preventing him from escaping.
'This is going to hurt.'
Enrico took the attack head-on, gritting his teeth as his body was violently thrown backward. An explosion followed, engulfing the surrounding area. After witnessing the destruction, Lethara approached, eager to see the result.
Lamia, who had managed to eliminate her opponent quickly, also arrived at the scene, charging forward with a furious expression.
"How dare you...!"
"That attack was strong, but..."
Enrico's voice interrupted her. He emerged from the smoke with the upper part of his clothing torn, especially around his stomach, where he had taken the greatest impact. Several wounds were visible on his body, but despite that, he remained standing.
For a brief moment, Lamia admired Enrico's appearance in his female form, letting her eyes travel over his body before noticing the wounds on his skin. Her expression changed immediately upon seeing the beautiful masterpiece in front of her injured.
Her previously enchanted gaze turned serious, and she turned toward Lethara, determined to take the fight seriously. However, before she could make a move, a shadow quickly passed beside her. Lamia didn't even manage to notice when Enrico disappeared from his position.
By the time Lethara finally realized what was happening, it was already too late. Enrico appeared above her and delivered a downward kick directly to her head, driving her into the ground with the force of the impact.
After landing calmly, he raised one hand to his golden hair and ran his fingers through the strands, sweeping them back and revealing more of his beautiful face. With that movement, he assumed a carefree yet naturally elegant posture, accompanied by a slight, confident smile.
"Don't underestimate me. I can take much more than that."
For a few moments, Lamia and Lethara were completely captivated. The former already considered Enrico a true masterpiece, but seeing him in that posture, casually sweeping his hair back while displaying that confident expression, took her admiration to another level.
'She's not just the goddess of beauty... Without a doubt, she's also the goddess of war!'
Lethara, in turn, couldn't hide her fascination either. Even after receiving such a violent blow, her cheeks flushed as she gazed at Enrico's beauty.
"That only makes me want you even more, my jewel!"
As she stood up, Lethara once again faced Enrico, her eyes filled with tiny hearts. In her imagination, she was already thinking about how it would feel to touch that body in an even more intimate way. In fact, the simple embrace she had managed to give him earlier had already been enough to leave her overwhelmed with emotion. Now, after witnessing all of that, her excitement was even greater.
She extended one hand, trying to touch his face, but Enrico tilted his head slightly, keeping a safe distance. Instead of making her give up, that reaction seemed only to increase her interest. A thin layer of smoke began spreading around her body as she approached with an increasingly lovestruck smile.
"Let's be together!"
"I already told you to talk to my future wives first."
Once again surrounded by smoke, Enrico released a large amount of magic throughout his body, causing an explosion that instantly set the flammable substance ablaze. The destructive wave spread across the area, driving away the mist and raising a dense cloud of smoke and dust that completely obscured everyone's vision.
Lethara stood up with some difficulty, still feeling the effects of the previous attacks. Despite her injuries, her gaze remained fixed on Enrico, and a smile lingered on her lips.
"I still have more to show you, so I won't give up!"
"That won't work. After all, you'll be eliminated by him anyway. But don't worry, I have some good uses for you."
Upon hearing that feminine voice, Lethara immediately realized something had changed. Enrico's voice was now more serious and deeper, carrying a coldness he hadn't displayed before. When she looked back at him, she noticed another, even more peculiar change: the whites of his eyes had become completely black, while the golden color of his irises stood out even more.
However, instead of feeling afraid in the face of that transformation, Lethara seemed to recognize something familiar. Upon realizing that the energy emanating from Enrico was similar to her own, her six eyes widened for a moment, and her heart seemed to leap with joy.
"You're a Nartheis? That's even better...!"
"Void Magic: Devour!"
Enrico grabbed Lethara by the neck, and then a peculiar energy began flowing between them. His hand enveloped the Nartheis's body with an invisible force, while her essence was slowly extracted, as though it were being sucked into him. Part of that energy was absorbed and incorporated into Enrico's own body.
'He'll come back, but I only need one more second.'
A sinister smile appeared on his face. Surprisingly, Lethara showed no concern whatsoever, even as her essence continued to be drained. She simply kept staring into his eyes without moving.
'I can feel it... I'm going to join her.'