Chapter 363: Lola vs Seraphina [2] As Lola battled against Queen Seraphina’s relentless assault, a troubling thought suddenly pierced through her combat focus. Did Adrian betray us? Was this entire situation a setup from the beginning? The timing of Seraphina’s arrival seemed too convenient, too perfectly calculated to catch them at their most vulnerable moment. Adrian had provided the coordinates to the World Tree, information that should have been kept secret between their alliance. Yet here was the light elf queen, appearing mere minutes after they had claimed the prize. But Lola immediately pushed that thought aside with ruthless discipline. This isn’t the time for paranoid speculation. Focus on dealing with the issue at hand first, investigate betrayal later. She kicked out with aura-enhanced strength, her foot connecting solidly with Seraphina’s midsection and sending the queen flying backward several meters. Without allowing any recovery time, Lola conjured a massive fireball and hurled it toward the stumbling monarch. Seraphina raised a barrier of concentrated light that absorbed the fireball’s impact, the opposing elements creating a brilliant explosion that lit up the clearing. The queen immediately recovered from her defensive posture and darted forward again, her speed amplified by whatever enhancements she had consumed. Her attacks came in rapid succession—light spears, radiant beams, and solid constructs of hardened photons that struck from multiple angles. Lola’s fire wings worked overtime to deflect and counter each technique, creating a spectacular display of elemental warfare that transformed the battlefield into something resembling a natural disaster. The queen’s movements suddenly became slightly more sluggish, barely perceptible but noticeable to Lola’s enhanced perception. Seraphina’s temporary attribute boosts were beginning to fade; the premium items she had consumed to reach this location at maximum speed were running out of duration. Recognising the critical moment, Seraphina created distance with a powerful light burst that forced Lola backwards. Before Lola could pursue and press her advantage, the queen reached into her storage and withdrew multiple containers—protein bars and beef jerky, the Tier 1 enhancement items from Noah’s shop. She consumed them rapidly, and Lola could sense that the items’ effects were taking hold. The protein bars provided strength enhancement while the beef jerky restored vitality, allowing Seraphina to continue fighting at peak capacity despite the extended exertion. Lola didn’t attempt to stop the queen’s consumption, recognizing that closing distance while Seraphina was actively defending would waste more energy than it was worth. Instead, she used the brief respite to address her own situation. She withdrew her remaining premium items—another instant coffee, mystical herbal tea, and luxury fruit smoothie—and consumed all three in rapid succession. The effects stacked with her still-active fire wings transformation, shooting her power to absolutely absurd levels that exceeded what even peak grandmaster practitioners normally achieved. Her fire wings blazed brighter, the flames intensifying from white to colours that existed beyond the normal visual spectrum. Her attributes surged even higher, creating an aura so dense it became visible as distortions in space itself. The triple enhancement combined with her awakened skill created a state of power that approached a tier higher, at least temporarily. Seraphina’s eyes widened as she sensed the dramatic increase in Lola’s capabilities. The demon had just elevated herself to heights that made their previous exchanges look like warmup exercises. Lola’s newly amplified power made the difference immediately apparent. She moved with speed that left afterimages, appearing directly in front of Seraphina before the queen could properly react to the threat. Her fist, wreathed in flames that burned with colors beyond normal perception, slammed into Seraphina’s hastily raised light barrier with overwhelming force. The defensive construct shattered like glass under the impact, and Lola’s follow-up strike caught the queen across the jaw with enough power to send her spinning through the air. Blood sprayed from Seraphina’s split lip as she crashed into a crystal formation that exploded into fragments from the collision. "You wanted to fight?" Lola’s voice carried cold fury as she pursued without mercy. "Then experience what happens when you challenge someone that is stronger than you." Seraphina tried to create distance, her light magic forming wings similar to Lola’s fire constructs in an attempt to match mobility. But Lola was simply faster, her attributes and awakened skill creating capabilities that the queen couldn’t match, even with her own considerable power. Lola’s fire wings swept forward, creating streams of white-hot flames that tracked Seraphina’s evasive manoeuvres with precision. The queen’s light barriers deflected some attacks but couldn’t stop them all. Burns began appearing across Seraphina’s arms and torso where the flames penetrated her defences. A devastating kick caught the queen in the ribs, and even through her enhanced durability, Seraphina felt bones crack from the impact. She coughed blood as she was sent tumbling across the scorched earth, her supernatural beauty marred by injuries and the ash covering her previously pristine appearance. Lola pressed her advantage relentlessly, not allowing Seraphina any opportunity to recover or establish proper defensive positions. Each attack flowed seamlessly into the next, creating combinations that Seraphina found extremely hard to defend against. Fire constructs surrounded Seraphina, creating a cage of burning walls that limited her movement options while Lola prepared a finishing technique. The queen tried desperately to break through the barriers, but Lola’s flames were simply too hot and too well-maintained to penetrate without suffering catastrophic burns. "This is what you get for threatening my soulmate, especially after everything he had done for you," Lola stated coldly, compressing flames into a sphere similar to what she had used against the grandmaster beasts. "Consider it a lesson about choosing your battles more carefully." But before Lola could release the devastating attack, new presences arrived at the clearing’s edge. Two additional light elf grandmasters appeared, the reinforcements arriving just in time to prevent Seraphina’s complete defeat or better put, death. The newcomers were clearly elite practitioners—an older male whose aura suggested mastery over the wind element, and a younger female. Both assessed the situation instantly and moved to intercept Lola’s attack in order to save their queen.