The Celestial Banquet, Part Two

"Again," Diana barked out. 

Grace was drenched in sweat, her muscles screaming. They'd been at this for hours in one of the smaller training arenas, a circular platform floating away from the arena. 

"Block! Dodge! Redirect!" Diana shouted as she launched a series of slow but powerful strikes at Grace.

Grace managed to block two, dodge one, but the fourth caught her in the shoulder, sending her stumbling.

"You'd be dead if I was a Primal," Diana said flatly.

"Thanks for the encouragement," Grace muttered, rubbing her shoulder.

Diana circled her, eyes narrowed. After a moment of awkward silence, she asked:

"So. You actually killed a demon. Permanently."

The question caught Grace off guard. Diana had been drilling her relentlessly for an hour without a hint of conversation.

"Um, yeah. Two now, actually."

"What was it like?" Diana's voice sounded casual, but her eyes were intense. "When you stabbed it."