With her life force nearly critical and the relentless Thalindra closing in, Roselle knew she had to act fast. She concentrated on the magic indicator which displayed 200%. ‘Where is this magic coming from? How can I use it when they said I had none,’ she wondered

  Roselle focused on her cannon and willed it to charge using the magical energy. The percentage for "Cannon Charge" began to increase steadily.

  Thalindra, the Forest Guardian was still wreaking havoc on the forest. Trees continued to wither and crumble around them and the pressure of her presence grew more oppressive by the second.

  Roselle's "Cannon Charge" reached 100%. With resolve, she aimed her cannon at Thalindra and released a powerful beam from it with immense power.

  Thalindra attempted to shield herself with a magical barrier but the force of Roselle's attack shattered through it. The beam struck Thalindra and sent her flying backward with a cry of pain.

  But the Forest Guardian quickly recovered. Thalindra retaliated with a surge of magic, creating a storm of swirling leaves and branches that threatened to engulf Roselle.

  Roselle managed to summon a protective yellow barrier of her own by using her newfound connection to this magic to shield herself from the onslaught. The leaves and branches crashed against her barrier but was unable to breach its defense.

  Thalindra continued her assault. She summoned magical vines that snaked toward Roselle, attempting to ensnare her within their grip.

  Roselle observed the relentless and serpentine-like vines. She gritted her teeth and whispered to herself, "I can feel it... the magic... it's there. I just need to—"

  The static in the air sparked against her skin and with a sudden roar, she arced her cannon skyward.

  "Take this!" Roselle bellowed with fury.

  A beam of energy erupted from her cannon, not in a straight line but as an arcing wave of raw power. It blazed through the air like a furious crescent, crashing into Thalindra dead center. The explosion that followed shook the forest, uprooting trees in its wake.

  Thalindra was flung backward with her body slamming into a massive tree trunk with enough force to splinter the wood. She let out a guttural cry of pain and dropped to the ground.

  But the Forest Guardian pushed herself up. Her dark robes were torn and her once-majestic presence now seething with rage. Her narrowed eyes fixed on Roselle.

  "What... is this?" Thalindra growled with frustration. "You have no magic—none! How are you wielding this... this fake magic?"

  Roselle tried to make sense of the power coursing through her herself. "Fake magic?" she repeated, though now she began to smirk. "If it’s fake, then why does it hurt you so much?"

  Thalindra spat, "Why you…! You’re an abomination on the natural order! Whatever Kintovar has done to you, it’s a violation of magic itself!"

  Thalindra raised her staff, summoning the forest's fury once more. "Prepare to be erased from existence, child! This is your end!"

  Roselle fired a barrage of magical energy shots to disrupt Thalindra but she countered with her own s green blasts of energy, matching Roselle’s destructive power.

  After the clash of shots, Thalindra summoned a powerful burst of wind that sent Roselle tumbling backward. As Roselle tried to regain her footing, Thalindra could be hear through the forest.

  "I will not be beaten by your fake magic," Thalindra snarled with disdain. "I am the Forest Guardian! This forest belongs to me, and through it, I am invincible!"

  Thalindra drove her staff into the ground and the earth itself seemed to tremble in response. Roots surged toward her, weaving around her body like serpents. A vibrant green aura enveloped her, pulsating with raw magical energy.

  Roselle watched in alarm. She could feel the forest’s hostility pressing against her, yet something inside her stirred.

  "This magic... it can’t be fake," Roselle murmured. She glanced at her glowing hands, still faintly tinged with static red energy. "No... It’s not fake. It’s like...the current of a storm," she thought aloud. “It’s not magic the way she knows it. It’s something else. Something... natural to me."

  With a surge of power, Roselle called upon the magic within her, allowing it to flow freely. She visualized herself as a vessel. Her "Magic" indicator began to climb steadily, surpassing its 200% number. Roselle could feel the surge of power coursing through her. It was a sensation she had never experienced before.

  Thalindra saw the change in Roselle's aura. Her eyes widened slightly. “I can see it, but I can’t feel it...”

  Just then, Roselle’s system displayed a message:

  "Ability Unlocked."

  Roselle decided to take a bold move and dash forward toward Thalindra, closing the distance between them. Thalindra took a step back when she saw Roselle close in. She tried to conjure a protective barrier but before she could complete the incantation, Roselle released a powerful yellow beam from her cannon, timed perfectly to catch Thalindra off guard.

  The forest echoed with the deafening blast of Roselle's powerful yellow beam as it struck Thalindra, the Forest Guardian. She desperately attempted to reinforce her body with earth magic at the last second to no avail. The beam pierced through her defenses, leaving a gaping hole in her body.

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  Thalindra cried out in agony and fell to the ground. The swirling leaves and branches around her began to lose their chaotic energy and the forest gradually returned to its natural state.

  Exhausted and gasping for breath, Roselle stood there but kept her cannon aimed at the fallen guardian. Her system displayed a message soon afterwards:

  Threat Assessment: Critical (Forest Guardian Thalindra)

  Confusion came to Roselle. She lowered her cannon slightly. “Wait…what? How is she…?”

  Suddenly, Thalindra's body began to shift and change. The forest around her seemed to respond and Roselle watched in astonishment as Thalindra's wounds began to mend. The very essence of the forest seemed to be knitting her back together.

  Thalindra stood tall once again. She was now fully healed as a vibrant green aura returned to envelop her body. The smile that appeared on her face carried an air of sinister satisfaction.

  "You didn’t really think killing me would be as easy as those humans did you?" Thalindra said, with mockery. She raised her staff and the trees and plants around them pulsed faintly with an unnatural vitality.

  Roselle's hands trembled. "How...?" she whispered.

  Thalindra chuckled. "Do you still not understand, child? My life is entwined with this forest. As its guardian, I draw upon its energy. Every tree, every root, every leaf is a part of me. As long as this forest stands, I cannot die."

  Roselle's cannon lowered slightly. "So... you're invincible," she muttered with disbelief.

  "Precisely," Thalindra replied with a smirk. "Even your fake magic cannot match the power of nature itself. You can’t defeat me. Not here. Not anywhere."

  Roselle's heart sank. She bit her lip. Thalindra took steps forward. Her presence was as imposing as ever. "You are nothing but a childish spark trying to outshine the sun," she declared. "And I will extinguish you, just as I would any threat to the balance of this sacred place."

  Roselle clenched her fists. “If she’s telling the truth... how am I supposed to win?” Her breathing quickened and panic started to come to her mind.

  Thalindra's smirk deepened when she saw the fear in Roselle's eyes. "It’s over. Defying the will of the forest was a worthless endeavor."

  Roselle dropped to her knees. The cannon hung limply at her side. ‘I’m sorry,’ she thought,’ Dr.Kintovar, you didn’t prepare me for this... You didn’t tell me how to fight something like her. I’m going to be destroyed…I…’

  She winced, clutching at her chest. Roselle came to realize that she had no plan, no strategy, no hope.

  "I... I can’t," she whispered. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes and her lips trembled. She fought hard to hold them back. She didn’t want to give Thalindra the satisfaction of seeing her break.

  Thalindra’s face shifted to one of twisted amusement while watching the girl collapse under the weight of despair. "Ah, there it is…The look of someone who finally understands their place. You were never meant to stand against me, child. You’re just a failed experiment clinging to fake power. “

  Thalindra took a step closer. ”I don’t know what Kintovar was trying to achieve with this... abomination of magic, but it doesn’t matter. Fake magic can never stand up to the real thing."

  Thalindra began to channel her power. She pulled energy from the forest and created a massive orb of pulsating energy. "Now, vanish into nothingness," she declared.

  Roselle looked up with her face streaked with tears just long enough to see her impending doom. She closed her eyes and prepared to accept her fate but then, as one of her tears fell to the ground, a strange sensation rippled through the air.

  A single raindrop fell. Then another. And another.

  Roselle’s eyes snapped open. "What...?" she whispered

  Thalindra suddenly screamed loudly."What? What’s this? Rain? But it's... it's hurting me! How?!"

  Roselle couldn't believe what she was seeing. The rain itself was harming Thalindra. Roselle’s mouth opens in awe "Is this... something I did? Did I make this happen?"

  Thalindra clenched her fist. She raised up her staff and tried to prepare her attack once again "I won't be defeated by... mere raindrops!"

  But then, when her gaze turned upward, her confidence shattered. Dark clouds had gathered over the entire forest, blocking out the sun entirely.

  "No... no, no, no!" Thalindra cried with panic. "This rain—it’s disrupting my magic! I can’t... I can’t connect to the forest like this!"

  Unlike Thalindra, Roselle began to feel a strange warmth coursing through her. Her body tingled as a faint bluish aura enveloped her.

  "I don’t know what this is," Roselle murmured. "But... it’s helping me." She glanced at the trembling Thalindra, remembering her earlier words. She said, "If the forest’s link is what gives her power, then with that link disrupted, she’s vulnerable now."

  The bluish aura around Roselle pulsed. "This is my chance," she said quietly, then looked at her cannon and then back at Thalindra. She muttered, “If I focus my magic into my cannon and visualize how I want to fire it, I think I can control it."

  With Thalindra weakened and struggling against the relentless rain, Roselle channeled her magic into her cannon. She concentrated on the image of a powerful, concentrated beam ready to strike down her adversary.

  "Here goes nothing… 200% Magic Attack!" Roselle said loudly. She pulled the trigger, and a crackling surge of red energy spiraled from her cannon that streaked through the air like a comet bent on destruction.

  Thalindra stumbled, her grip on her staff trembling as the rain continued to sap her strength. "No... this can’t be," she muttered under her breath. “The forest... it’s mine. My power comes from it. How can this rain sever our connection?"

  Thalindra's mind raced. ‘If I focus on recovering, she’ll destroy me before I can act, but if I counter with what I have left... it won’t be enough…I need to…’

  Her gripped her staff tight. "No," she growled. "I am the Forest Guardian! I won’t let this wretched child defeat me with her fake magic!"

  Despite her waning power, she raised her staff high and pooled her energy into a faint green orb at the tip of her weapon. Her arms quaked under the effort and she grimaced. With a roar, she unleashed a green beam of energy with the remnants of her strength.

  The beams collided mid-air. The red and green energies clashed in a chaotic storm of light and sound.

  Thalindra gritted her teeth, pushing against the overwhelming force of Roselle’s beam. "I... I am the Forest Guardian!" she bellowed. "I will not fall to the likes of you!"

  But as Roselle’s power surged forward, Thalindra’s heart sank. Her beam faltered. The disruption from the rain weakened her resolve and her magic. For the first time in centuries, the unshakable guardian felt the sting of fear. "No... not like this..." she whispered.

  The red beam overpowered her own. Thalindra’s eyes widened as a rush of despair filled her mind. ‘I failed... centuries of guarding this sacred place... for what? To be undone by a child wielding lies?’

  As the last vestiges of her strength faded, a final bitter thought whispered through her consciousness: “Forest… Headmaster... forgive me.”

  Roselle watched as Thalindra vanished. Her eyes widened in disbelief. "I did it. I actually did it….."

  The rain stopped, leaving the forest drenched and in an unnatural stillness. Roselle stood there and saw Thalindra’s essence being absorbed into the earth. Her eyes lowered slightly in sadness.

  Her system chimed afterwards:

  "Threat Assessment: Neutralized. Forest Guardian Thalindra – Status: Deceased."

  Roselle felt a rush of relief, but it was accompanied by a hollow ache. “Neutralized,” she repeated softly. It felt so cold.

  With a deep breath, Roselle muttered to herself, ‘But what was that rain? How did I... control it?’

  With Thalindra gone, the magical barrier that had trapped Roselle within the forest began to dissipate, leaving her free to leave the confines of the enchanted woods.

  As Roselle took her first steps towards freedom, her system displayed a critical notification:

  LifeForce: 20% (Critical)

  Magic: 0%

  The realization that her life-force was critically low and her magic completely depleted filled Roselle with a sense of urgency. ‘I need to get back to Dr. Kintovar.’