The Retired Hero is an Extra

With a sound, Ziva's sword turned into separated parts of the blade, serving as a serrated whip as she channeled her mana.

Unlike before, she didn't hold back on using her element, unleashing it at full capacity and aiming directly to defeat others.

Of course, that didn't mean she was soft on them, even though she held no animosity towards them.

It was just that she had yet to gain enough mastery over her element to use it without harming the other party.

That's why she had restrained herself from attacking anyone with her element until now. Her element was that special, after all.

Her element, like most mental elements, was unique and known as 'Nullis,' and it was nearly impossible to find anything related to it.

Having no other choice but to understand it from scratch based on the record of other mental elements, she had a hard time finding its utility.

Only after the long hours of study and practice did she get something out of it even though she awakened it soon after reaching E-Rank.

While it might just be a prerequisite for others, it seemed it was the only thing holding her back from unlocking her element.

Overall, she discovered that Nullis was a versatile mental element that combines strong defensive capabilities with potent offensive potential.

Yet all of that potential eluded her control, the defense being mostly passive and only needing her to enhance it if it wasn't enough.

She had tested it against various forms of attack, and it shielded her from mental, illusory, and auditory assaults.

However, every time she tried to use it for offensive purposes, she failed to control it and ended up failing to use it.

Of course, she didn't give up and discovered that it could repel the attacks, turning those very threats against their source.

It became a valuable asset in her arsenal, capable of functioning in both defensive and offensive scenarios.

But it better remained as a hidden card, to be used only when the situation was urgent or in a life-and-death battle.

'If only I could control it freely,' Ziva lamented while trying her best to keep Nullis under her control.

Since Nullis could dispel illusions and mind-affecting enchantments, she had not participated in the Imperial Banquet.

As it would effectively reveal the true nature of things and allow her to see through deceptions, making it useless for others.

Before that though, it provided a robust resistance against mental attacks, such as telepathic intrusions or psychic assaults, by fortifying the user's mind.

In simple terms, the illusion would fail to work on her, and if it did, she would still have an easier time compared to others.

Lastly, she discovered its connection to sound attacks, that is, as Nullis neutralized sound-based attacks, rendering them ineffective.

It wasn't just limited to sound mages or sound elemental warriors but also traps and advanced weapons like sonic blasts.

'Even Sound Manipulation spells fail against it,' Ziva mused, recalling the green-haired girl as she focused on attacking everyone around her.

Instead of targeting someone and risking injury, she opted for a dampened effect on everyone, believing it to be a better choice.

No matter how brutal she had grown, she still didn't want to injure Caera, and that's why she did that.

The others didn't matter much to Ziva; she generated a mental pulse to disrupt everyone's cognitive functions except her own.

That was the best part about Nullis, the user won't be affected at all, unlike some elements.

Of course, her attack, 'Mental Disruption,' only caused slight confusion, disorientation, or temporary loss of control over one's actions.

Well, as it was being shared by the girls, the effects were minimal and almost everyone could handle it.

'It won't make a difference as everyone got affected,' she had already predicted this, choosing to target Vivia and Lyra.

Both being mages had more to do with mental strength than physical, weakening them massively.

As predicted, both failed in the middle of casting a spell, suffering a backlash from the mana.

Their cores ached in mild pain, easily manageable, but the blood at the corner of their lips was visible.

Unfortunately for Lyra, Vivia had the healing element, healing herself immediately.

Not like it mattered as Ziva attacked them simultaneously, inflicting flesh wounds before swinging her whip-like sword again.

They tried to conjure magic barriers to deflect or block the attack, but due to their mental disruptions, the spells were a second too late.

—Shatter!

They broke like glass and the metallic whipsword passed through eliminating them at once.

Just as Ziva turned around, a slightly surprised expression appeared on her face.

A few moments ago when Ziva used her element, it affected Elara heavily as she hadn't gone through training for mental attacks.

It robbed her focus, disrupting her footing and making her stumble, resulting in her pace decreasing in that second.

Seizing that moment, both Ava and Sylvie sped up and Sylvie blocked her paths using her vines, tapering them to prevent Elara from escaping.

Ultimately, she got eliminated as the katana blade closed in, activating the barrier for her safety.

However, what got Ziva surprised was the figure of pink-haired girl falling from a tree and about to get eliminated by Caera.

'Isn't she the one who ran away?' Ziva recalled the girl, even recognizing her despite the brief encounter.

Nevertheless, she pulled back her sword, making it take the form of a simple sword as she walked towards Caera.

Only the four of them were left and Ziva knew that her mental attack made her the enemy if not for the suddenness of the situation.

'Maybe I should try that?' she thought, exchanging glances with Caera and hoping that she understood.

Alas, Caera was one stubborn soul and started preparing a spell, forcing Ziva to focus on the other two.

Before doing anything, Ziva willed her element to directly attack Ava and Sylvie's mental strength and mental barrier.

Sadly, it didn't work as she was too weak to use the move as of now.

'I just wanted to weaken their mental faculties, rendering them incapable of defense or offense.'

Unlike stubborn idiots, Ziva didn't force it, moving on to using the last attack she discovered of her element.

It was Cognitive Overload, which worked by focusing Nullis energy to overload someone's senses or mental—thought—process.

'It should only give them intense headaches, right?' she guessed before shrugging, 'What's the worst? Just some temporary paralysis.'

Not caring about the two at all, Ziva stopped using Nullis and directly focused on the Cognitive Overload.

Of course, she wasn't defenseless, taking the best form she could to defend against them while her mind was focused on using her element.

She trusted her hard-earned bodily instincts to help her in this battle, or else, she may end up hurting Caera as well.

After all, her element had adverse effects on everyone without exception.

And using Nullis, Ziva could interfere with the enemy's mental processes, making it difficult for opponents to execute complex strategies.

Even maintaining coordinated efforts would be tens of times harder, like it was for Ava and Sylvie at the moment.

Especially since it was a prolonged battle, in which Nullis specialized in eroding the focus and concentration of enemies.

Right now, Ava and Sylvie ended up getting injured instead of damaging her as they were more susceptible to mistakes and less able to execute their plans efficiently.

Her element was quite overpowered in a sense.

After all, it also provided defense against mental attacks.

Anyone attacking her would most likely find their psychic or mental assaults ineffective, in rare cases it might even backfire, causing them to suffer from their own attack's repercussions.