Law of Space and Time

Chapter 3: Destruction

"Boundless Firestorm!" both of the Theresas yelled in unison, and a sea of fire immediately swept over the land.

Onean watched the oncoming flames with tightly furrowed brows, and she was quite surprised by her opponent's magic power. It wasn't that Theresa's magic power had taken a significant stride since their last battle. Instead, a single Theresa didn't possess a very impressive level of magic power, but with the powers of the two Theresas combined, they presented a much more formidable threat to Onean.

Glacial frost began to appear over the length of Onean's Everlife Chinaberry Staff, and snow and ice began to fall from the sky. In the blink of an eye, fire and ice intertwined in a violent fashion, producing a string of clashes that were quite pleasant to the ears, almost like the keys of a piano being played in a haphazard fashion.

Erwin was quite stunned by the power of Onean's spell until he recalled that her Everlife Chinaberry Staff had a significant enhancement effect on all ice and snow magic.

However, even with this incredibly powerful staff, Onean was only able to fight on even footing with the two Theresas, and that was very surprising to Erwin.

The two Theresas could see that the sea of fire wasn't going to be able to overcome the storm of snow and ice anytime soon, so both of them raised their hands to the heavens in unison as they yelled together, "Heaven-devouring Fiery Python!"

In the blink of an eye, two giant pythons entirely formed by scorching flames erupted out of the sea of fire.

The orange eyes of the fiery pythons were giving off a vicious gleam, and as they flicked out their forked tongues, two bright red fireballs were sent hurtling directly toward Onean, one from the front and one from the back.

Onean was instantly able to sense the killing intent imbued within the two fireballs, and a ferocious look appeared in her golden eyes. Perhaps even she hadn't realized that she had put on such a fearsome expression.

The shrill cry of a phoenix reverberated through the heavens, and a palm-sized ice phoenix flew out of the Everlife Stone on the Everlife Chinaberry Staff. The ice phoenix flew around the staff as it gradually grew larger and larger, and by the time it began to fly around Onean, it had already grown to the height of an adult human.

With a flap of its wings, one of the oncoming fireballs was instantly dispelled.

Right as the other fireball was about to reach Onean, the ice phoenix rapidly turned around to shield Onean from the fireball with its body.

Another phoenix cry rang out, this one filled with pain and anguish, and it was clear that the fireball had dealt the ice phoenix quite a heavy blow.

However, Theresa wasn't going to extend any sympathy toward the creature.

The two Theresas were controlling the pair of fiery pythons to attack Onean from both the front and the back. At times, one of them attracted Onean's attention while the other attacked from the side, and at other times, the two of them attacked Onean together, unleashing such formidable power that Onean didn't dare to directly face them. Given that the two Theresas were the same person, their teamwork was naturally flawless, and they were constantly switching up their tactics to keep Onean and the ice phoenix on their toes. As a result, the two Theresas had gained the upper hand.

Erwin could see that Onean's white magician robes had already been scorched black in several places, and he couldn't help but feel concerned for her, wondering whether he should enter the fray to assist her. Never did he think that the two Theresas would be so troublesome to deal with.

He was certainly not some righteous figure who would abide by a set of arbitrary rules out of honor. If Theresa really were capable of harming Onean, then he was definitely going to get involved. However, it still wasn't time for that yet. He knew that Onean was an extremely proud person, and there was no way that she would allow him to intervene at a time like this. Hence, even if he was going to save Onean, he had to take care not to bruise her pride, so it was a very delicate operation.

Theoretically speaking, a grand magic mentor like Onean should've had a vast array of spells at her disposal, so it was rather strange that Onean was only using that ice phoenix when it was clearly putting her at a disadvantage, and this was a point that Erwin had identified.

The combined magic power of the two Theresas is superior to hers, so she's having a lot of trouble retaliating, given the pressure being exerted upon her. On top of that, that ice phoenix doesn't seem like a simple summoning spell. It seems to be quite taxing on her magic power, to the extent that she's been unable to cast any other spells, Erwin thought to himself.

In a battle between magicians, magic power was always an integral factor. Unless one had some special tricks up their sleeve, such as Erwin's time and space magic, it was very difficult for someone with inferior magic power to defeat an opponent superior in this regard.

"How does it feel? Isn't my fire toasty and warm?" the two Theresas jeered in unison.

Onean was riding on the ice phoenix's back, and she took a cold glance at Theresa before the ice phoenix began to fly directly upward.

"Are you trying to get away?" A derisive sneer appeared on Theresa's face as she controlled the fiery pythons to set off in pursuit of Onean.

Erwin raised his head to look up at the sky, but there was already a vast expanse of mist that completely obscured the sun and the clouds. Furthermore, there were ice crystals that were giving off a faint gleam within the mist.

As soon as the two fiery pythons rose up into the sky, they were immediately trapped by the ice crystals lurking within the mist. Regardless of how viciously they thrashed their bodies and how furiously they blasted flames out of their mouths, the ice crystals within the mist were firmly plunged into their bodies, preventing them from moving.

Meanwhile, Onean circled around sharply atop the ice phoenix, flying out of the mist before crashing directly toward one of the Theresas at an incredible speed.

All of this had taken place in the blink of an eye, and Theresa had no time to react.

By the time she realized what was happening and relinquished control over the trapped fiery python to conjure up a magic shield, it was already too late.

Onean and the ice phoenix had already reached her. The other Theresa was unleashing a string of instant-release spells toward the ice phoenix from nearby, but she was too late as well.

Dazzling blue light erupted out of the ice phoenix's eyes, forcing Theresa to involuntarily cover her own face so that she wasn't blinded by the scintillating radiance.

In that instant, Erwin was struck by the urge to rush into the battle and stop Onean because he knew that Onean was striking to kill. However, even if he wanted to intervene, it was already impossible as the ice phoenix was far too fast.

In the next instant, the two Theresas let loose an anguished cry that reverberated throughout heaven and earth in unison.

Onean had plunged directly through the body of one of the Theresas while riding atop her ice phoenix.

The Theresa that had been struck had been reduced to an ice statue, which quickly dissipated into blue powder in the midst of the merciless autumnal wind.

As for the remaining Theresa, her face had turned deathly pale, and she was looking very feeble, but she was still glowering intently at Onean with a resentful expression.

Erwin immediately arrived by Theresa's side using a space split technique before catching her delicate body. As it turned out, she was already a spent force and immediately fell unconscious in his arms.

"What kind of magic did she just use?" Erwin murmured as he looked at the unconscious Theresa in his arms with tightly furrowed brows.

"It was just a worthless little trick," Onean said in a disdainful voice as she looked down at Theresa. She then dusted herself off before extending a hand toward the ice phoenix, upon which it obediently flew into the Everlife Stone on the tip of her Everlife Chinaberry Staff, having shrunk back down into a miniature ice phoenix.

"What kind of magic did you use?" Erwin asked with a perplexed expression.

"It seemed like a very smart tactic for her to split her own body up into two, but in doing so, she weakened her magic power. A normal person would be able to gain back that magic power through cultivation, but as a body of elemental matter, she only has a set amount of magic power that cannot be replenished. In doing what she's done, she's permanently lost a great deal of her remaining magic power," Onean explained. "Of course, if she wasn't a body of elemental matter, she wouldn't have been able to split herself into two. Hence, I can only say that she did this to herself."

"Why didn't you use that Eternal Dispersion spell against her? You could've ended the battle far more easily that way, couldn't you?" Erwin asked.

"The spell that she used is quite unique. The clone of herself that she conjured up can't be considered a puppet, so it can't be dispersed."

"Wait, so you're saying that she split herself up into two complete and identical people?" Erwin asked as his eyes widened in shock.

"If she still counts as a person, you can say that," Onean replied after a brief moment of contemplation.

"So essentially, you just killed one of her, right?"

"You can put it like that," Onean replied with a nod. "Do you feel bad for her?"

"No no," Erwin hurriedly replied with a shake of his head. "What about that ice phoenix? It didn't seem like just a simple summoning spell."

Onean extended her Everlife Chinaberry Staff toward Erwin for him to take a look, and he was immediately stunned into silence.

He could see an ice phoenix resting within the Everlife Stone.

"Is this ice phoenix a living creature as well?" Erwin asked in a stunned voice.

Onean nodded in response with a calm expression, feeling a little exasperated by Erwin's constant shock toward everything.

Erwin had never seen anyone use magic to bestow life upon something, so it was no wonder that he was astonished.

"I sensed a trace of the ice phoenix's residual aura within the Everlife Stone, so I tried to bestow new life upon it. Surprisingly enough, I managed to succeed after just a few tries," Onean said in an indifferent voice.

Despite Onean's nonchalant explanation, Erwin was still stunned by what he had seen.

"Is that why you were reading that book, 'Magic and Living Beings'? I thought that was a book about magic beasts."

Onean smiled as she replied, "This is something that I've never attempted. Even my teacher never taught me anything about this. If I hadn't found that book in Onen's collection, I would've had no idea how to revive the little guy."josei

"I'm assuming the method that can be used to turn Theresa into my slave is also from that book, right?" Erwin asked as a thought suddenly occurred to him. Theresa was a body of elemental matter with no human form, so there was no way to restrict her using slave contracts. After all, she was capable of transforming into a puddle of water, so it stood to reason that things like necklaces, anklets, and bracelets would be unable to stay on her.

"Well, you certainly seem to know it all," Onean said as she rolled her eyes at Erwin. "She may be a body of elemental matter, but she's still a living being with a soul, so she can also be treated the same way as a living being created by magic."

She bent over before scooping up a handful of soil, then began to chant an incantation. As she did so, the soil in her hand formed five connected hoops of different sizes.

After completing that complex incantation, she turned to Erwin with a sly smile, then picked up his hand before slicing her fingernail gently over his palm.

Erwin looked on like an idiot as blood began to flow out of his palm, then made its way onto all of the hovering earthen rings. He could clearly see that his blood was acting like a series of extending vines, carving out patterns onto the earthen rings. Those were clearly the runes required for this special slave contract. As long as he didn't voluntarily undo this contract, Theresa was going to be his slave for the rest of her life. After the runes were complete, the yellow earthen rings began to glow with black light, and it seemed that even the material had been altered.

With a wave of Onean's hand, the five glowing black rings locked themselves around Theresa's neck, wrists, and ankles.

Erwin put on a pleased expression as he looked down at Theresa, who was still lying in his arms.

"Don't blame me for being cruel. Her motives are impure, so I have to do this in order to restrict her. Otherwise, you'll be dead before you know it," Onean said.

Despite the gleeful facade that Erwin was putting on, Onean was able to immediately capture the hint of sympathy that had flashed through his eyes as he looked at Theresa.

"I just can't help but feel like she's had a difficult life and shouldn't be treated like this," Erwin said with a wry smile.

"Sooner or later, your tendency to be sympathetic toward women is going to get you killed." Onean had already lost count of how many times she had said something like this to Erwin.

Unfortunately, one's personality wasn't so easy to change, and she already felt like it was a lost cause trying to change Erwin.

"So from now on, she'll have to do whatever I want her to do, right?" Erwin asked as a lecherous grin appeared on his face.

Onean rolled her eyes at him as she replied, "She's not an inanimate object. At the end of the day, she's still a living being with her own thoughts and sentient will. How can she just allow you to do as you please?"

"I thought she'd be forced to do whatever I ask of her," Erwin said with a disappointed expression.

"What are you looking all disappointed for? You're clearly aware that with these things binding her, there's no way she'd able to oppose your orders," Onean grumbled with a displeased look on her face.

"Why are you getting angry? You know I wouldn't force any woman to do anything against their will," Erwin said in a perplexed voice.

"Is that right?" Onean grumbled as she turned away from Erwin.

"Back in that carriage, when you were hanging onto life by a thread, did I do anything to you against your will, Your Highness?" Erwin asked in a disgruntled voice. The fact that he was referring to Onean as "Your Highness" indicated that he really was getting a little angry.

"Are you saying you didn't do anything to me?" Onean asked in a cold voice. "You took advantage of me at every turn!"

"You should be thanking the heavens that you met someone as kind-hearted as myself! In your condition at the time, any other man would've done far worse things to you than I did," Erwin countered with an indignant expression.

All of a sudden, a third voice rang out to join the conversation. "I'm afraid you've reserved your sympathy for the wrong person. A woman like her deserved to be viciously tortured and soiled."

As it turned out, Theresa had woken up from her unconscious state while Erwin and Onean had been bickering with one another.

In her current state, she was completely feeble and powerless, to the extent that even raising her hand felt like a difficult task. A wry smile appeared on her face as she looked at the "bracelets" that had just been fitted onto her wrists.

"Falling into your hands seems like as good an ending as I could've asked for..." she murmured to herself, then closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep with a faint smile on her lips. It was as if she were lying in a safe and cozy cradle, enjoying the sense of warmth and security that it provided to her. It had been many, many years since she had been able to sleep soundly like this.