HAPPY
This wasn't a woman, this was a human-shaped monster.
Every time they thought that she was on her last legs, she would pull out something more, some deeper.
Her breaths were already heavy enough to disperse the clouds, the amount of blood she had lost was enough to fill an ocean, her wounds were ghastly, each one more severe than the last.
And yet, somehow, she was still standing.
The tenacity was an indelible mark on their hearts. The rest of Existence couldn't watch what was happening in the city, and for some reason, these two felt that it was almost a shame to miss the rise of such a legend.
And yet, the moment they had this thought, their hearts were stricken with fear.
They had made an enemy of this woman.
Suddenly, a ticker appeared before Lumina. Her heart fell like a weight to the bottom of the ocean when she saw that one appeared before Aina as well.
'Please no, please no...'
Her elegance as an Owlan descendent had been completely stripped away.
The two vanished at the same time.
When Lumina's eyes cleared, her heart dropped even further than before.
"I GIVE UP!"
She shrieked out these words instantly, the oppressive might calling her to fall backward before Aina could even move.
She fell to her ass, piss coming out in humiliating streams barely hidden by her long, thick and armored dress.
Even so, there was little she could do about the pools of it that fell to the ground, nor could she change the look of absolute horror on her face, something that was clear for all to see.
BANG!
The arena shattered to motes of ash, fluttering in the skies as though to tell Lumina that this was what would have happened to her had she been just a second slower.
Lumina shook out heavy breaths as though she had been the one battling for months on end. The humiliation set in along with the relief that she had kept her life, but then the situation changed.
The Gathering Stele began to tremble. The nearly unintelligible words on its side began to bloom with light and a portal was opened up on one of its sides.
BANG!
A beam of light descended and fell right on top of Aina, swallowing her whole.
Lumina wanted to laugh. Deep down inside, she really hoped that the bitch had just died in the most tragic and unfair way-maybe even because she had broken some unknown rule.
The fleeting thought brought her some comfort. It was easier to believe that Aina had cheated enough for the Stele to retaliate in this way than to believe that a mere human was truly so strong.
However, she knew that this was a foolish thought. The Stele would never do such a thing because it hadn't in all its history. The God Beasts of Creation were a benevolent race, there was a reason that of all the rules and punishments the Council had made, none of them used execution as a punishment... Because they couldn't.
When the light vanished, as she had expected, Aina was still there. In fact, she was doing better than ever.
Her leg had healed, revealing a slender, yet powerful form, something that was in large contrast to the rugged nature of the rest of her outfit.
Her eyes had returned to their bright golden color and her hair lost its slight hues of crimson.
Aina looked toward Lumina coldly before she disappeared, not saying a single word.
When she reappeared within the city, her Dharma had already vanished, but her body had recovered completely. She simply didn't need it.
Soon, there was a splash of Force in the air, but this time, it wasn't an attack.
High above, a list of those that had made the Finals appeared. And at the very top of the list, there was a bold name.
Aina Morales.
For the first time in months, she smiled. It was a gorgeous smile, akin to the blooming of flowers and carrying the sweetness of a spring breeze.
It wasn't because she had made the Finals, though. Her eyes turned a hint whimsical and there was a slight longing hidden deep within them.
This was the sight of a woman who wasn't used to seeing her husband's name by her own, but when she did see it, especially when it was acknowledged by another, it carried the same hints of surprise as an unexpected gift. © content.
She wasn't smiling because she had made the Finals, she was already determined to do so, and she was likewise determined to win all 99 battles of it as well.
She was smiling because she was the wife of Leonel Morales.
When she first came here, no one knew her name. They took her to be a woman that just happened to be more beautiful than most other humans, but that was all. Some men might lust after her, but they would never take a woman as an official wife based on beauty alone, and certainly not a human.
The only value she gained from her Race was that she would be easier to corral, or so they thought.
But now, the situation had completely changed.
She wasn't just a beauty. She was Aina Morales, the woman who had fought all of the geniuses of the Gathering of Kingdoms for almost three months without falling.
She had lost a leg, nearly lost her head on several occasions, she had been continuously assaulted by individuals who weren't even worthy to carry her shoes.
In the end, it was she who stood victorious, she who stood as the last among them all.
And yet... her pride wasn't directed toward herself, nor was her happiness.
Never again would they say that she was unworthy of her husband.
And that made her happy.