Return Of The Strongest Player

"Are you planning on fighting alone, princess?" Umbral inquired, cocking his head like he always did. The faint smile that danced across his lips contained a sense of confidence as if he was already aware of the outcome.

His eyes–despite his body's immaturity–contained profound wisdom, as if he were a sage with a lifespan of an eternity. His gaze seemed to pierce through even the most subtle changes as if it were all-seeing.

"What if I am?" Eleanor shot back, her eyes swirling with an aura of confidence.

If Arthur were present, he would've mocked the red-haired woman for her naivety. Since he wasn't present, Umbral took the liberty to do so. "Princess, no offense, but you can barely fight a few of my shadows. Barely a few. Try not to allow overconfidence to ruin your life… which might end soon."

"Shut up," replied Eleanor, raising her greatsword in the air. The tip faced the skies up above. Eleanor circulated mana across her body, wrapping her sword in flames while tensing her muscles to maintain balance.

Umbral raised an eyebrow, observing the influx in the surrounding density of mana. However, instead of reacting, he simply remained still, refusing to act. His eyes darted from place to place but still contained the tranquility of someone uncaring of anything and everything in the entire world.

His worldview was twisted as if he was separated from societal norms. As if Umbral was detached from reality. He never understood why such a phenomenon had occurred to him, but he believed himself to be special. He was still uncertain–to this day–about the complexities of his mere existence.

What did his existence symbolize? How was it important?

He had yet to discover the answer to such open-ended questions but found himself wondering them over and over again, seemingly in a hurry. Well, he wasn't in a hurry, but something inside his mind seemed to project such an urge. The urge felt detached from his soul as if it were being manipulated.

"Ignition," Eleanor muttered, as thousands of embers formed beside her body. As she swung her greatsword vertically from top to bottom, the force generated was enough to propel the sparks forward.

At that point, Umbral had to move.

Yet, he didn't.

As the embers sucked all the oxygen from their surroundings, Umral flicked his wrist. Yet, no change occurred within his body. The sparks reached within arm's length of the child, causing a smile to blossom over his mysterious face.

"Steel."

With one, powerful word, a barrier of steel formed in front of his body, shielding him from the effects of Ignition.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The embers pounded on the steel barrier again and again, causing it to shake violently. However, it remained in place, surviving with only a few dents and cracks here and there. Umbral was unscathed.

The child glanced at the muscular man beside him, nodding. The latter returned to his position, de-summoning the steel barrier.

"Now, do you understand, princess?" Umbral inquired, taking a few steps forward. The nearby wind caused his clothing to flutter. Still maintaining a calm persona, he got dangerously close to Eleanor. "We are not equally matched."

At that moment, a smirk appeared on Eleanor's face as she materialized condensed flames that were colored in a deeper hue than usual. The flames crackled while enveloping Eleanor's body in ample warmth.

Suddenly, they voraciously charged at Umbral, threatening to swallow him.

"We aren't," replied Eleanor as the flames enveloped Umbral's body, drowning him in what seemed like eternal pain. The former awaited the emergence of screams from the latter's lips, but the battlefield remained silent.

Eleanor narrowed her eyes, sensing something amiss.

Suddenly, shadows burst from Umbral's body, swallowing Eleanor's flames in an instant as they swirled around the former. The former stepped forward yet again. "No, we certainly are not equally matched."

Umbral didn't waste any time.

"Steel, Gravity, Wind, Aqua."

As the four words escaped his lips, four zombies rushed forward. A muscular man stood before Umbral, conjuring a sleek, grey plate-like barrier forged solely using steel. Planting it into the soil beneath, the muscular man stood calmly.

A tiny crack formed in the barrier, allowing Umbral to spectate.

A purple-robed man raised his palm, increasing the strength of gravity in a certain, circular area in which Eleanor stood.

A white-robed, somewhat old woman twisted her palm, conjuring a gust of wind that caused cuts to form on Eleanor's body.

Finally, a cyan-robed scholar stepped forward, sucking the moisture from the surrounding air before turning it into drinkable water. The water was then hurled towards Eleanor, drowning her in a mere second.

Eleanor simply swung her sword, attempting to destroy all the metaphorical shackles that bound her. Yet, despite her attempts, she was only able to make a tiny dent in Umbral's defenses, incapable of doing more.

Gritting her teeth, the red-haired woman pointed her greatsword downwards. "Heaven Burning Nova!"

With those words, her greatsword dug into the soil beneath.

Silence.

After a few moments of utter silence, the greatsword suddenly exploded into a sea of raging flames. The flames produced blinding light along with a devastating effect on their surroundings. The three mages struggled to protect themselves within the sea of flames, gritting their teeth while implementing their spells in defense rather than offense.

Eleanor's face turned pale, as if devoid of any blood.

Her body remained still while utter destruction occurred around her. With her sword still implanted into the ground, she continued to pump mana into her attack, maintaining its effect for as long as physically possible.

The sounds were deafening, while the light was blinding.

All trees in a massive radius were swallowed by the raging beast called "Heaven Burning Nova."

The flames assaulted Umbral's barrier, while the muscular man hurriedly sealed the crack, pouring his mana into maintaining the toughness of the steel.

At that moment, blood escaped the muscular man's lips as another destructive force collided with the barrier.

Eleanor's sword smashed into the steel, almost destroying it completely.

She wanted to prove her worth.

Eleanor was not just a random.

She was the Princess of the Celestial Peaks.

The Young Miss Of The Dragons.

The Future Queen Of All Dragons.