Flames in the Arena

The soldiers who witnessed the spectacle immediately grimaced. Many of them had already been affected by Kaela's terrifying aura, and just seeing her sent shivers down their scaly spines.

Omen!

Under the astonished gazes of everyone present, Seraphina used her own aura to counter Kaela's.

A sinister, dark purple aura flowed from Seraphina's body, clashing against Kaela's, which was a deep crimson.

This continued for several seconds before the Shadoni began to gain the upper hand.

Her aura was slowly pushing back her wife's, and the crowd couldn't be more surprised.

Then, as if by prior agreement, both auras retracted at the same time, and they simply stared at each other.

Wide, maniacal smiles spread across their faces before they vanished from their positions.

Boom!

In the center of the dusty arena, a massive bronze war axe met a thin black sword in a great clash that sent sparks flying.

It was evident to everyone that Seraphina was clearly weaker than her wife, as she was being pushed back!

No one could believe this was the same young woman who had been out of breath just from climbing a flight of stairs a week ago.

Realizing she would lose in a contest of brute strength, the Shadoni began to channel mana into her arms and her sword in an attempt to close the gap.

Her muscles began to swell, and her sword started heating up at an incredible rate, causing Seraphina's thin black sword to slowly crack from the mana, but she still didn't win in raw strength.

"Tch." Seeing that her weapon was about to be ruined, she clicked her teeth in frustration before leaping back into the air.

Two spectral wings of intense, glowing darkness emerged from her back, helping her stabilize her body in the sky.

"Since when can you do that?!" Kaela shouted in surprise.

She wasn't the only one. It was well known that Seraphina couldn't transform and wasn't expected to ever be able to.

Once again, everyone in the audience was left astounded by this new development.

Including Seraphina herself.

She had no idea how she had managed to summon her wings like that. She had just... done it.

It was as if they were simply another part of her body that she had always been able to use.

Seraphina didn't even answer and instead threw her thin black sword at Kaela like a boomerang.

BOOM!

However, Kaela showed no signs of panic and immediately swung her massive axe, shattering the already damaged sword into pieces.

Before the metal fragments even touched the ground, Seraphina was already shooting toward her wife like a bullet, a new weapon in her hands.

Wielding a spear with a jagged black blade at its tip, Seraphina thrust her new weapon forward, aiming for her wife's leg.

Curiously, Kaela was only excited by blood—her own—so her body was already covered in old wounds.

"Black Fox Steps!"

Before Seraphina could land a decisive blow against her wife, Kaela activated her signature movement technique.

A black aura began to cover her clawed feet, and her movement speed doubled.

Kaela easily dodged the black spear that aimed for her femoral artery with an elegant mid-air spin.

When the Hellfox landed, she managed to put a great distance between herself and her opponent, while Seraphina buried her spear a few inches deep into the ground.

"Maybe weapons aren't the best option; she has too much experience for that," Seraphina thought.

—No… this is it. —She smiled as a plan finally came to her.

Once again, she switched weapons, sending her spear into her storage ring and pulling out two katanas with bright red blades.

—Oh? Switching weapons again? That won't do you any good if you can't hit me, you know? —Kaela teased.

"My dear wife…" Seraphina began.

Suddenly, her eyes glowed an even deeper red, and her swords slowly became engulfed in bright purple flames.

—Block this with all your strength, alright? —she said with a grin full of sharp teeth.

She slashed the air with both swords, sending two colossal crescent-shaped waves of fire directly at her opponent.

Kaela felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and once again activated Black Fox Steps to perform a backflip into the air.

BOOM!

When the fire waves struck the ground where Kaela had been, a massive explosion erupted, tearing up the ground and sending dust everywhere.

The watching crowd was spared from the explosion's shockwave when Magnus erected a barrier at the last second to protect everyone.

"Is this really the young mistress?"

"She's so strong now."

"Ha! Who said our young lady was weak? I'd love to see them now!"

While the crowd was truly amazed, one among them watched the entire scene with a deep frown on her beautiful face.

—Daughter, what has happened to you…? —Selene worried.