Leon lifted his head to observe.
He knew this was Iris's signature move—one she used from the early game all the way into the later stages of Part Four.
It was also a personal spell she had created by combining it with her class core skill, [Light Spirit Imbuement].
Only she could use it. It was a secret technique that even other light-element elves couldn't learn.
Light-element magic: Spear of Judgment.
Feed it beginner-level mana, and it becomes the strongest possible beginner-tier spell.
Feed it intermediate-level mana, and it becomes the strongest possible intermediate-tier spell.
It could even be used all the way through the legendary, epic, and demigod stages.
Magic required imagination—imagery was the core.
The clearer the image, the more precise the spell.
And the core image of Spear of Judgment was the Elven Holy Land's mythical god of light and judgment: Saint Hermes.
By using Light Spirit Imbuement to imprint that judge-god imagery onto the spell, Iris completed the "judgment" concept—
granting the magic a faint trace of divine authority: [Certain Judgment].
Once it locked onto an enemy's soul aura, no matter what obstacles arose, it would hit.
And if the target carried sin, the impact would become even stronger.
A stream of information about this move flowed through Leon's mind.
"Looks like I really can't dodge this one."
Leon looked up, meeting Iris's eyes, and spoke frankly.
"Then are you ready to concede?" Iris asked, holding the spear of light in one hand, her eyes shimmering with a different radiance under the spell's glow.
"No. I can't dodge, but that's fine. Go ahead and throw it. I'll take responsibility for the outcome."
"You really want me to throw it? You're not even raising your barrier?"
"No need. Just throw it."
Seeing Leon refuse to yield even an inch, Iris stopped hesitating. She drew her arm back and hurled the spear.
Whoosh—!!
The spear arrived in an instant.
And then—five shadow-forged shields abruptly appeared in front of Leon.
Shadow magic from the Phantom Walker class: Shadow Shield!
Shadow opposed light—an elemental counter that could cancel the light element's amplification.
Mana: -5.
But even after the shadow shields formed, the spear of light wasn't stopped.
In the blink of an eye it pierced the first shield, then the second…
By the time it reached the last shield, it still hadn't slowed, continuing to streak straight at Leon.
Leon cast again—Shadow Blade!
Mana: -1.
Shadows gathered in his palm, forming the shape of a long sword, and he swung it down hard at the incoming spear.
BOOM!!!
Light and shadow exploded outward.
The Spear of Judgment—was blocked!
Watching Leon defuse her signature spell with a chained sequence of moves, surprise surfaced in Iris's eyes.
That attack of hers was already top-tier among beginner offensive spells.
With elemental amplification and her pure-blood elf advantage, its power could rival intermediate attack magic.
But Iris didn't have long to be surprised—because another Cold Front came surging in.
It was Leon's attack spell launched immediately after defending.
The speed of his offense-defense transition was far beyond what Iris expected.
From the beginning until now, Leon had consumed at least sixteen mana!
That was already far beyond a normal first-tier limit, wasn't it?
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh—!!
A gale drove thirty-five ice bolts forward at blistering speed.
Iris had no choice but to cast her defensive light barrier again to withstand this pseudo-intermediate spell.
Bang bang bang—!
With the gale's acceleration, the ice bolts hit with terrifying force—this time, twenty-one slammed into the barrier.
Maintaining the barrier with both hands, Iris felt the mana backlash and was shocked: this Cold Front was clearly stronger than the last one.
She was just about to beat her wings and retreat, to bleed off the remaining impact—
when suddenly—
Fifteen fire bolts crashed in.
It was the spell Leon cast immediately after: Fire Bolt ×3!
In the violently mixed hot-and-cold environment, the wind intensified, forming a small tornado.
This was Leon's pseudo-intermediate wind spell created by chaining three beginner spells:
Tornado!
This move was a tier above Cold Front.
The wind was stronger, the trajectory more complex, and far harder to predict.
The later-arriving fire bolts rode the tornado's spiral rush—eight struck the defensive barrier, while seven curved around with the vortex and hit Iris directly.
BOOM!!!
Iris took the hit with her body. The light wings behind her shattered, and she fell from the air.
The instant she was struck, her mind went blank.
She still had plenty of mana left—yet she'd lost!
The mana Leon had spent in those chained combos had to be beyond a second-tier limit by now!
But his aura and state were clearly that of a first-tier mage!
And those combos—without any gaps at all—how was that even possible?
Drowning in shock and confusion, she even forgot she was falling from more than twenty meters up.
Even for a third-tier pure-blood elf, falling from that height with no cushioning would break arms and legs at the very least.
Only at the last moment did Iris realize what was happening and try to move to soften the impact.
But it was too late.
All she could do was shield her head with her arms before the final collision.
Whoosh.
A light sound.
Iris suddenly felt her body being caught by an incredibly gentle force. She looked up—and saw Leon's peerlessly handsome face gazing down at her with a victorious smile.
And she… was being held in a princess carry.
"Miss Iris," Leon said, "it seems you've lost another wager to me."
That moment burned itself deep into Iris's heart.
Her face flushed hot.
She'd taken a direct hit with her body earlier, her HP had dropped badly. She tried to struggle out of Leon's arms, but her body betrayed her—and she passed out.
[Iris Affection +20%. Current Affection: 50%]
…
The next day, inside a lavish estate.
Bright sunlight poured through a spotless windowsill onto a pure white wooden bed.
On the bed slept a blue-haired elf in pale-colored sleepwear.
Her eyelashes were long and thick; her features were beautiful and perfectly proportioned, like a painting.
A breeze stirred. Iris's lashes trembled, and she slowly opened her eyes, revealing gemstone-yellow irises.
She looked dazed for a moment—then remembered what happened last night and jolted upright.
Then she saw the sleepwear she was wearing, and her face changed dramatically.
This isn't my room!
Who changed my clothes!?
Was it Leon?
How could he do that!?
"Whoa—you're awake, Iris?"
At the doorway stood a long-eared elf with dark blue hair and a cute face, holding a tray, staring over in surprise.
Hearing that familiar voice and seeing that familiar face, Iris finally let out a breath of relief—so Leon hadn't changed her clothes.
Yet along with the relief… came a strange, inexplicable sense of disappointment.
The elf in front of her was her colleague, nearly twice her age, named Grani E. Forlorn—a fourth-tier mage, and also one of the elven diplomats sent from the Holy Land to the Kingdom of Holsha.
Of course, because elves were long-lived and matured slowly, the two of them looked more like sixteen-year-old human girls in appearance.
Pure-blood elves generally didn't begin to grow into the look of a human woman in her twenties until after they passed a hundred years old.
"How am I at your place?" Iris asked.
"You forgot?" Grani said. "Your friend Leon brought you here. Wow, you actually found a human that handsome—your move was fast. I didn't think someone as proud as you would find a human partner so quickly. Tsk tsk tsk."
Grani waggled her eyebrows at Iris.
"W-what are you talking about!? We're not like that!"
Iris hurriedly denied it.
"Oh?" Grani teased. "Not like that? Then how about I make a move on him? His type is amazing—he hit my strike zone hard."
"You must be out of your mind, Grani. Weren't you the one who always opposed the Holy Land's intermarriage directive?"
"I was wrong," Grani said dreamily. "I used to be biased against humans."
Grani looked completely lovestruck.
Iris was speechless. Even though her first impression of Leon Bellron had improved, she still distrusted him. She suspected he might be plotting something behind the scenes.
Either he was a womanizer hunting for prey… or he was actually working with Brellita—that nasty, prank-loving woman—to mess with her on purpose.
When Iris was young, her mother had taught her: never fall for handsome men too easily!
With that thought, she steered the conversation toward what she cared about most right now.
"After he brought me here… what happened? How did he find you? And what did he tell you?"