Anna's face was pale as she stood victorious after her final clash with Hayes Ballard.
A Mana Liquefaction Magus defeating a Mana Vortex Magus was not an unprecedented feat. The last person to do so had been none other than her younger brother, the Dark King.
However, the crimson-haired princess knew very well that the reason she had been able to defeat Ballard had not been entirely due to her skills alone.
First, Hayes Ballard had expended a tremendous amount of mana in his battle against the Mana Vortex-level black serpent.
Then, he was caught off guard by the sudden barrage of explosions in the narrow pass, leaving him injured and disoriented.
This made him believe that Rowan and his family, mere mortals, had managed to harm him. This very thought wounded his pride as a scion of the Ballard Family, filling him with rage.
And in that brief moment when emotions clouded his judgment, Anna struck and beheaded him.
And although she had succeeded, it came at a great cost.
