The Villain Professor's Second Chance

Elandris shifted beside me, her normally playful demeanor hardened into sharp focus. She stood taller, the ancient magic at her command surging as she eyed Armandra with cold intensity. Her earlier laughter had faded, replaced by the calm resolve of someone who knew they were in a fight for survival.

Armandra was absorbing more mana, her form flickering between solid and translucent, her face a mask of determined madness. Her connection to the dungeon was unstable, but she had enough control to keep pulling more power from its depths. That alone made her dangerous beyond belief.

We need to do something.

"We need to cut off her connection to the dungeon," I said, my voice low but clear. I knew Elandris was listening, even as her hands worked through another complex weave of magic.

Elandris nodded, though her gaze never left Armandra. "It's like trying to stop a flood with a dam made of sand," she replied, her tone still laced with a wry edge, even in the heat of battle. "But I'm up for the challenge."

I allowed a faint smile. "I was hoping you'd say that."

Armandra's body crackled with energy, the dark magic coiling around her in thick tendrils. The air shimmered with her demonic power, and I could feel the immense pull of mana as the dungeon's energy was funneled directly into her. Her smile was wild, her eyes glowing with a mixture of rage and exhilaration.

"I told you," she hissed, her voice ringing out like a curse. "This tower is already lost. You can't stop me, Draven. Not now. Not when I'm so close to ultimate power!"

With a flick of her wrist, she unleashed a barrage of energy. Dark beams shot from her hands, crackling with demonic magic, aimed straight at Elandris and me. I barely had time to react.

I sent the psychokinesis pen flying forward to intercept, its sleek form slicing through the air with precision. The first beam collided with the pen, deflecting off to the side, but there were too many. Elandris summoned a wall of stone and earth, her magic shaping the ground beneath us into a thick barrier that absorbed the brunt of the attack.

The impact sent shards of stone flying, but Elandris held firm, her expression tight with concentration. "[Earthen Fortress]," she murmured, reinforcing the wall with another wave of magic. "But that's only a temporary solution. She's going to break through eventually."

"Not if we break her connection first," I replied, sending the fire pen forward. Flames burst from its tip, spiraling toward Armandra in a fiery vortex. At the same time, I directed the elven-runed water pen to flank her, sending a wave of shimmering water to crash down on her other side.

Armandra's eyes gleamed, and she raised her hand, calling forth another spell. "[Demonic Light]," she whispered, and a sphere of blinding light erupted from her palm. The light wasn't pure; it was tainted with dark magic, and the clash between her demonic power and my elemental attack sent waves of energy rippling through the chamber.

The water evaporated on contact, and the flames flickered out, unable to penetrate the shield she had erected around herself. But I wasn't done. The psychokinesis pen darted forward, slicing through the remnants of the light and striking at the heart of Armandra's defense. The pen's tip grazed her arm, and for the first time, I saw her wince.

"You're pushing her back," Elandris called out, her tone filled with approval. "But I have a better idea."

Before I could respond, Elandris moved with the grace of someone in perfect control. She raised her arms high, and the chamber began to tremble as the ground beneath us shifted. The vines and roots she had summoned earlier began to coil around Armandra's feet, tightening their grip with each passing second.

Armandra's eyes flicked down, her expression shifting from confidence to irritation. She snapped her fingers, and the vines burst into flames, burning away in an instant. But Elandris didn't seem concerned. Instead, she smiled—a smile that made even me wary.

"I've been waiting to use this," she said with a soft laugh. "You know what happens when nature meets chaos? Nature adapts."

With a sharp movement, she slammed her hand down on the ground. "[Wrath of the Forest]," she intoned, and the room erupted in a burst of verdant magic.

The vines grew back in an instant, but they were different now. No longer soft and pliable, they had transformed into jagged, thorned tendrils, their surfaces hardened like steel. They lashed out at Armandra, wrapping around her legs and arms, binding her in place.

Armandra's eyes widened, her body flickering as she struggled to break free. "[Demonic Ascension]!" she cried, summoning a wave of dark energy to shatter the vines. But as soon as one tendril was severed, two more took its place, coiling tighter around her.

Elandris laughed, a gleeful sound that filled the room. "Oh, this is just too much fun, Draven! She's caught like a fly in a web!"

I couldn't help but shake my head. Even in the midst of a battle like this, Elandris seemed to be enjoying herself. But there was no denying her effectiveness.

Still, Armandra wasn't finished. With a roar of frustration, she slammed her hands together, summoning a pulse of pure mana that rippled outward, tearing through the vines and sending shockwaves through the chamber. The force of the blast sent me skidding back, and I had to brace myself with a quick burst of psychokinetic energy to avoid being thrown off my feet.

Elandris was knocked back as well, her vines reduced to ash in the wake of Armandra's power. But she was quick to recover, her hands already moving through another series of motions, calling forth more magic.

"She's absorbing more mana from the dungeon!" I shouted, my mind racing as I watched Armandra's form flicker and shift. "We have to stop her, or she'll overwhelm us!"

"I know!" Elandris replied, her tone more serious now. "But she's pulling too much. If we don't cut her off soon, this entire tower could collapse!"

Armandra's form pulsed with dark light as she drew in more power, her eyes glowing with a mixture of triumph and madness. The dungeon's energy surged around her, crackling with raw, untamed force. I could feel it in the air, thick and oppressive, like the weight of a thousand storms.

"There's no stopping it now," Armandra said, her voice filled with manic glee. "The dungeon's power is mine to command!"

But I wasn't ready to give up. I summoned the devil pen to my hand, its dark energy coiling around me like a living thing. The pen pulsed with power, responding to my call, and I knew what I had to do.

"Elandris," I said quietly, my voice steady. "I need you to distract her for a moment. I'm going to try something… risky."

Elandris glanced at me, her brow furrowing slightly, but she didn't hesitate. "Risky? Oh, now you've got my attention," she said with a grin. "Consider her distracted."

Without another word, Elandris charged forward, her hands glowing with ancient magic as she unleashed a torrent of nature's wrath at Armandra. Trees erupted from the ground, their branches twisting and spiraling as they reached for the half-elf, their roots tearing through the stone like it was nothing.

The air filled with the sound of wood cracking and leaves rustling, the sheer force of her magic overwhelming.

Armandra's eyes widened as she summoned more of her demonic energy to counter Elandris's onslaught. "[Light of Oblivion]," she cried, and beams of pure light shot from her hands, slicing through the trees and roots with deadly precision. The beams clashed with the vines, creating a spectacle of glowing magic that filled the room.

While Elandris kept her occupied, I focused my energy into the devil pen, pushing my mana into it until the pen glowed with a dark, foreboding light. I could feel the power building inside it, dangerous and volatile, but it was exactly what I needed.

"[Abyssal Chain]," I whispered, the words slipping from my lips like a curse.

The pen pulsed, and a dark chain of shadow erupted from its tip, coiling through the air like a serpent. The chain shot forward, wrapping around Armandra's form in an instant. Her eyes widened in shock as the chain tightened, pulling her mana away from the dungeon and toward me.

"What—?!" she gasped, her voice filled with confusion and fury. "What are you doing?!"

I clenched my fist, the chain tightening further. "Cutting off your power," I said coldly, my voice filled with determination. "You've taken enough from the dungeon."