WorldCrafter - Building My Underground Kingdom-Chapter 99: Close Combat

There was no second chance. No more regression.

There was still so much she needed to do—so much to achieve.

Her hands clenched into fists. She forced her focus outward, searching—reaching for anything she could use. Normally, mana in the atmosphere was scarce unless gathered from a source like White Gemstone veins. But right now?

The air was saturated with it.

Inferno's flames. Storm's lightning. The countless spells clashing across the battlefield. The aftershocks of each explosion. Residual mana filled the very air around her.

She took it.

Her body burned as she forcefully absorbed the surrounding energy, threading it into her veins like a frenzied weaver. It wasn't pure—it was chaotic, unstable—but she didn't care. She needed it.

A spell formed in her mind.

"Ardent Revival!"

A pulse of golden light spread across her body, closing wounds, knitting torn muscle, purging some of the lingering paralysis from Storm's lightning. It wasn't enough to fully heal her—healing magic wasn't her specialty, but it was enough. Enough to move. Enough to fight. Her eyes snapped open, brimming with mana.

CRACKLE!

A barrier erupted around her just as another bolt of lightning came crashing down—but this time, she didn't just block it. She redirected it.

Storm's own attack bounced off her shield, arcing through the air—straight back at him.

BOOM!

Lightning struck his armored hide. It wasn't enough to wound him, but it made him stagger. That was all she needed.

Her fingers blurred, forming rapid incantations. "Tempest Surge!" Wind howled, swirling around her like a violent storm.

"Ember Torrent!" Fire ignited, weaving into the wind, forming a blazing vortex of destruction.

"Crimson Avalanche!" The ground split apart as jagged, red-hot boulders erupted from below, hurling toward Storm with terrifying force.

She charged, moving trough the chaos, weaving between the explosions, closing the distance.

Storm didn't back down. His form crackled with electricity, his six eyes locking onto her, the air humming with tension.

Lightning coiled around his body, arcing between his spines as he gathered power—and then he struck.

The battlefield shattered as they clashed. Elvira wasn't a close combat fighter. She never had been. She didn't need to be. Magic was her weapon, her strength, her lifeline.

But right now? She had no choice.

The mana in the air was too wild, too raw to shape into spells. With her capability she can still do it but it's not effective nor efficient at all.

But there's another way to use it.

Her muscles burned as she absorbed the raw mana into her body, reinforcing her limbs, flooding her veins with raw strength. It wasn't elegant. It wasn't controlled. It was sheer, overwhelming force.

BOOM!

The moment she closed the distance, she threw a punch. Not a spell. Not an enchantment. A raw, mana-infused strike.

Storm didn't expect it.

His six eyes widened a fraction before— CRACK!

Her fist slammed into his face.

A shockwave burst outward.

The sheer force sent him skidding back, his claws digging into the ground to stop himself. Sparks flickered from his chitinous hide, his body still crackling with unstable electricity. He wasn't hurt but he was surprised.

And Elvira didn't stop. She pushed forward, closing the gap again. Storm snarled, recovering instantly, retaliating with a vicious swipe.

Elvira ducked. She had no technique. No proper footwork. She just moved on pure raw strength, guided by the chaotic energy flooding her body.

She spun, twisting her body, using her momentum to drive her elbow straight into his torso.

BOOM!

The impact sent another shockwave rippling through the battlefield.

Storm growled, his tails whipping around like a striking viper.

Elvira's instincts screamed—she barely managed to throw up her arms, reinforcing them with mana just in time.

WHAM!

The hit sent her flying. She crashed into the ground, rolling several meters before slamming into a ruined wall. Pain exploded through her body.

But she got up. Her breathing was ragged, her body bruised, but her eyes blazed with determination.

Storm was watching her now. The way she fought. The way she moved. His six eyes flickered with something she recognized.

Amusement. He was enjoying this. A predator acknowledging another. "Not bad, For a mage."

Elvira wiped the blood from her lips, chest rising and falling with each ragged breath. Her entire body ached. But her gaze never wavered.

"I don't know what the hell you're saying! And I don't care!" Sparks flickered around her as she forced raw mana into her limbs. "I'm not dying here!"

The energy around her surged. She took hold of it, shaping it not into a spell, but into something else entirely.

A sharp, unstable blade of pure energy formed in her grip, crackling with untamed force. The moment it solidified, she moved.

Storm's six eyes widened.

SWOOSH!

She swung the blade. A streak of burning blue light cut through the battlefield.

SLASH!

A deep crack ripped across Storm's carapace. Lightning exploded from the wound, his entire body shuddered from the sudden damage. He hadn't expected it.

Elvira didn't wait. She spun the blade, reversing her grip, aiming straight for his neck. But Storm recovered fast.

CRACKLE!

Lightning burst from his body, the sheer force knocking her back mid-strike.

BOOM!

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Elvira hit the ground hard, rolling across the dirt. The energy blade in her hand flickered—but she forced it back into shape.

A second too late. Storm was already on her.

ZRRRACKK!

Lightning surged from his claws, a direct strike. Elvira threw up the blade—not to block, but to redirect.

KRRSHHH!!!

The impact sent her skidding backward, the raw energy lashing through her body. Pain shot through every nerve, but she endured.

She had no choice.

Storm was relentless. His form blurred, moving at impossible speed. His claws slashed down—one after another.

Elvira dodged. Barely.

Each attack came within an inch of tearing her apart. The battlefield flashed with light, every strike leaving behind scorch marks and shattered ground.

She tried to counter—but Storm was faster.

A claw ripped across her side.

TCH!

Her body lurched, blood spilling, but she twisted away, using the momentum to bring her blade down.

CLANG!

It met his carapace. A second crack formed. Another wound. Storm snarled.