In the stands, Roselle, Risebelle, and Runebelle observed the unfolding scene.

  Runebelle leaned forward with slight awe on her face. "Kael's controlling an army. He has the numbers."

  Risebelle crossed her arms. "Sure, but controlling that many minions must be draining his magic a lot. He's got power, but that can't last forever."

  Neither sister noticed Roselle's silence until the crowd focused their attention back on the arena and became hushed. Her eyes were glued to Rawna.

  "Roselle?" Risebelle called out tfo her, but Roselle remained silent. Risebelle exchanged a glance with Runebelle, who simply shrugged.

  Rawna faced the formidable Undead Army summoned by Kael. She attempted to make her way through the frontline of warriors; however, the archers in the back began to rain arrows upon her, forcing her to focus on deflecting and dodging the projectiles.

  The mages within the Undead Army seized the opportunity to disrupt her attacks, casting spells to create obstacles in her path. Dark magic crackled around her, hindering her progress. The relentless assault of arrows, spells, and advancing skeletal left Rawna struggling to find an opening.

  Kael, with his eerie demeanor, watched the chaos unfold with a sinister grin.

  Kael, seized the opportunity created by the chaos of the Undead Army and casted, "Skull Swarm." A torrent of skulls emerged from his outstretched hands, filling the air with a deadly rain of dark energy. These sinister skulls homed in on Rawna.

  In the face of the overwhelming Undead Army and the Skull Swarm, Rawna gathered her magical energy into her hands. She channeled her power with ferocity and released the Crimson Doppelganger Bolt, a pair of devastating crimson energy energy blasts.

  The bolts streaked through the air and cut through the dark energy of the Skull Swarm and the undead warriors in their path. The ripple effect caused by the attack further amplified its destructive power, creating a devastating impact that left a trail of destruction in its wake.

  Rawna's attack cleared a path for her, allowing her to push through the Undead Army's frontlines and make her way toward Kael. Her spear of destruction glowed with ominous dark purple energy. She reached Kael with a swift and powerful strike; however, the female undead warrior stepped forward, raising her sword to block the attack. The clash was intense, with an unexpected force behind the skeletal warrior.

  Rawna's eyes widened in disbelief. It was as if the undead warrior possessed a strength that defied reason to clash with a goddess item like this. This unexpected turn of events left Rawna momentarily stunned.

  Kael, a sly grin on his pale face, spoke confidently. "I can see the disbelief in your eyes right now. You're probably thinking, 'That's impossible.' But my mastery of necromancy allows me to rival any force, even one as formidable as your spear of destruction…"

  He continued whie conjuring dark energy. "Necromancy grants me the power to command the forces of death, to manipulate and channel their energy. With this ability, I can oppose even the mightiest of forces, such as your fearsome spear. My undead army, bound to my will, serves as the extent of my power."

  Kael’s lifeless eyes glowed with an unsettling aura of darkness. “Now, allow me to show you even more of what I can do."

  With a swift incantation and a raising of his hand, Kael cast his dark magic once again.

  “Undead Giant.”

  The female skeletal warrior who had been clashing with Rawna was enveloped in a sinister energy, and her body began to swell and distort.

  The medium-sized Skeleton transformed into a colossal Undead Giant. The sheer force of the transformation sent Rawna flying backward. Her eyes locked on the towering monstrosity that now stood in her path.

  The Undead Giant, a hulking behemoth of dark and twisted energies, roared with an otherworldly fury, its gaze fixed on Rawna.

  Rawna locked onto the monstrous Undead Giant. She could feel the dark energy pulsating from her spear of destruction. It was the power that could obliterate anything in its path.

  But before she could make a move, the Undead Giant swung its massive sword downward with incredible force. The ground quaked, and the resulting shockwave sent Rawna hurtling through the air. She collided with the barrier surrounding the arena and fell to the ground.

  Rawna pushed herself up from the ground, ignoring a minor cut on her cheek that had caused her black blood to trickle.

  In the stands, Roselle's eyes were fixed on the scene unfolding below. She spoke barely above a whisper, "That's impossible. Only Prince Vuldo was able to damage Rawna, and he had to use most of his magical energy to do it."

  Risebelle, noticing Roselle's intense focus, leaned in to her. "What did you say, Roselle?"

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  Runebelle, equally curious, tried to catch Roselle's attention. "Is something wrong?"

  But Roselle didn't respond. Her concentration was unbroken towards the battle between Rawna and Kael.

  Rawna's spear of destruction emanated more of it’s dark purple energy outwards, nearly coating her hand in it.

  “Spear…. Of destruction!”

  With a mighty throw, the weapon soared through the air, shrouded in dark energy. It struck the Undead Giant with devastating force, causing the towering creature to shatter and dissipate into nothingness.

  But Rawna wasn't finished. With remarkable agility, she leaped into the air, snatching the spear before it could fall to the ground. She hurled the weapon downward, channeling its dark energy into a massive swirling vortex around it which resulted in a massive explosion that engulfed the remaining undead army.

  When the smoke cleared, only Kael remained. A dark grin crept across his pale face. With a chilling tone, he remarked, "Impressive, Rawna. You've shattered my undead forces beyond repair. But I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."

  Before Rawna could react, Kael chanted an incantation, “Undead Hands!”

  From above, a swarm of spectral hands materialized. They descended rapidly toward her.

  Rawna looked coldy towards the attack and responded, "You won't catch me that easily."

  She leaped out of the way, narrowly avoiding the spectral hands that crashed into the ground with a deafening impact.

  Rawna's golden eyes blazed with magical energy. She aimed one hand at Kael. A tense air filled the arena. With a powerful surge of energy, Rawna unleashed her indigo beam of non-elemental magic which was a devastating directed straight at Kael. The darkness surrounding him appeared to hold strong initially, forming a barrier to protect him.

  But Rawna delved deeper into her reserves of power. The indigo beam intensified, and the barrier that protected Kael began to waver. Then, with a final push, Rawna’s magical assault overwhelmed the dark barrier, shattering it into obscurity. The indigo beam struck Kael directly, and a powerful surge of energy enveloped him, forcing him back and causing the swarm of spectral hands he had summoned to vanish into the ether.

  When the smoke cleared, Kael was barely standing. His appearance was disheveled and he wore a face of disbelief.

  Rawna stared at Kael with a cold gaze. Her golden eyes bore into him.

  Kael stammered, "How is this possible? My necromancy... my undead army... how did you handle all of that and only end up with a scratch?"

  Rawna's lips curled into a faint smirk. "You should consider yourself honored, Kael. To even leave a mark on me is more than most can claim."

  She raised her spear once more with the dark energy coursing through it, ready to finish the battle.

  Before Rawna could throw the spear, the seemed to tremble, and to her astonishment, the defeated undead warriors from before reappeared. Kael was now supplied with 10 thousand skeletal soldiers once again.

  In the midst of the undead horde, the female warrior who had defended Kael earlier stood firm, resuming her position as the guardian of the necromancer.

  Kael laughed maniacally. "Did you really think you'd seen the last of my army? We're back for round two, Rawna!"

  Rawna glared at him. "It should be impossible for you to cast the spell to re-summon them. I destroyed them entirely, so you couldn't regenerate them."

  Kael raised one of his hands, revealing that it was now skeletal. "Ah, but Rawna, you should never say 'impossible.' You see, I used an extreme form of magic to bring them back. In exchange for learning this spell, I had to make a sacrifice."

  The crowd gasped. Rawna, however, remained unfazed.She tightened her grip on the spear of destruction.

  Kael's eyes held a dark satisfaction within them. "This hand is but a small price for the power to defy even you, Rawna."

  Rawna shook her head. "Your sacrifice will be in vain, Kael.”

  Risebelle had been watching the battle closely like Roselle, and the sudden reappearance of the undead army and the power display from Kael had raised her suspicions. Her brows furrowed as she muttered to herself,

  'Extreme magic? Yeah right. Kael is out of magical energy. Even if he could have pulled that off, he didn't have enough magical energy to do so. Summoning that undead army once cut his magical energy in half, then utilizing the undead Giant ability also takes a great deal of magic from him. Kael's not as strong as he appears to be, nor does he have that level of magic capacity. Something else is going on here.'

  Roselle turned her attention to Risebelle, her curiosity piqued. "What do you mean?" she inquired, her golden eyes focused on the ongoing battle.

  Risebelle wore a knowing smirk. "Roselle, you're finally with us," she said.

  Roselle looked momentarily confused. "What are you talking about?"

  Risebelle's smirk widened. "You've been ignoring us for a while now. It's good to see you're actually paying attention."

  Roselle shook her head slightly. “I’ve just been focusing on the match. I haven’t been ignoring you…”

  Risebelle folded her arms and her face turned serious. "Kael isn’t as powerful as he wants others to think he is. The magical energy he uses to control so many undead warriors at once severely cuts into his strength. Right now, Kael should have been defeated here, but then he managed to create the undead army again. If he had truly used an extreme magic, he would still need a significant amount of magical energy to sustain it. Kael has some trick up his sleeve. He’s not using pure magic; he’s relying on something else."

  Roselle’s eyes widened slightly. "So, you’re saying there’s more to his power than just magic?"

  Risebelle nodded. "Exactly."

  Roselle raised one hand to her mouth. "You don't think--"

  Risebelle cut her off. "We’ll have to wait and see. Whatever Kael’s using, it’s not just magic. He’s hiding something.”

  Rawna summoned the power of her spear of destruction once more. With a resolute grip on the legendary weapon, she hurled it at the undead army, unleashing its destructive energy.

  The spear of destruction tore through the spectral ranks, shattering the undead warriors and dispersing them like smoke in a tempest.

  Rawna’s eyes locked onto Kael. She gripped the spear of destruction tightly, summoning its potent energy once more. With a swift motion, she hurled the spear directly at Kael, aiming to end the battle.

  However, just when Rawna thought victory was within her grasp, the ground trembled once more. From the earth, the undead emerged again in the same vast numbers as before. Among them, the female skeletal warrior reappeared. She intercepted the spear of destruction with a fluid motion, her blade deflecting the weapon with surprising ease.

  Rawna's eyes narrowed in frustration. She glared at Kael, who was now visibly enjoying the spectacle.

  "Something's wrong here," Rawna growled.

  In the stands, Risebelle’s eyes narrowed. “That confirms it. If he can keep summoning his soldiers like that, Rawna’s going to get worn out eventually. That’s his plan. He’s relying on sheer numbers to overwhelm her. He must be using ‘one of those’.”

  Roselle looked at Risebelle, puzzled. “One of ‘those’?”