Droplets of sweat ran down Arga’s face and hit the floor. Blackened dirt was stained wet by the single droplets that came off of her face.

Arga stood up in a panic and peeked past Edward. “Wait what about…oh.” She let out.

Zephier stood there unscathed. The heat didn’t have any effect on him, he had no burns but it did leave him impressed.

Zephier hadn’t taken his eyes off of those two. The blurs and flashes before him clashed in bursts of red and pink.

Ilinore shot forward like an arrow that had been fired close range against Akai. Her arms were fully encased in the powerful mana that seeped out of her. She threw her arm at him and sent a blast of air behind it, enough to carve a dent in the wall behind him.

Akai dodged out of its path with a nimble step and held his hand flat, like a blade. He drove it at her and grazed her cheek. A light cut graced her cheek but no blood followed.

As if it were a crack in light itself, the cut lit up. A blazing light beneath her skin seeped through the cut and gave a glimpse at what was beneath all that power.

Akai’s eyes jolted open in surprise. “I see then…you’re not even here right now.” He probed.

The two sides continued their fight while speaking. They exchanged blow after blow and didn’t allow their power to dull, not even in the slightest.

“So you figured it out then—little dragon!” She raised her leg into the air.

As her leg rose, the thin dangling material of her dress covered the slender line of skin that nearly became visible to him. Supple pink skin flashed before him for a mere second and caught his eye.

Her leg reached full height and stretched up at a perfect vertical angle. Akai’s blushing cheeks quickly returned to colour as the looming sense of death dropped down from above him.

He had a perfect shot, the opportune angle to drive his fist into her stomach but didn’t take it.

As if an angel had been looking out for him, he felt something pull him away and decided to follow its tug. He stepped back and out of the radius of her axe kick.

The moment her heel hit the ground, a bubble of pressure released from around her ankle and pulsed out into the room. Akai felt the full effects of the blast of wind that followed and was nearly knocked off his feet.

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“If I got hit by that…where did she get that kind of strength?” He muttered in disbelief.

As the pressure dropped and Akai could see past the wind, he noticed the growing crack on her foot. Just like the cut on her cheek, her ankle was covered in a similar glowing light. A powerful level of mana flowed out through it, one that caught his attention and refused to release it.

“The more she uses her powers, the more she’ll crack up…there’s only one way out of this then. Can I handle it though?”

Akai stood unsure of himself, he considered asking Edward for help and turned back. His eyes brushed past Zephier first, he was gawking at him with suspenseful eyes.

Akai hesitated and ultimately closed his mouth, he bit his tongue and forced his attention back to Ilinore.

He let out a deep breath and tried to clear his head.

“You can’t look weak now…not now.” He breathed out once more and opened his eyes. “Alright, I’ll end this now!”

Ilinore responded to his claim with a running start. She didn’t seem aware of the growing cracks in her body and wanted to end things just as much as Akai. They both ran for each other and clashed at the centre of the room.

Akai waved his hand through the air and summoned a wave of fire. The flames pushed her back but Ilinore held strong against it with pure strength. A flash of light surrounded her arms and suddenly her frail, slender hands were surrounded by large balls of pink mana.

With a punch, she cleared a hole in the flames big enough to walk through. Akai dodged out of the way from her unrelenting flurry of punches and kicks.

He held on by the ends of his hair and was caught with a few grazes and bruises through it.

Her speed had increased and she only got faster by the second. The closer she appeared to beat him, the more power she put behind her attacks.

Her eyes locked on Akai’s swift movements and wouldn’t move from them. She followed every twist of turn he made and was drawn into the fight with everything she had.

Her eyes jolted open widely but by the time she realised it… her entire body had been littered with cracks.

“W-what is this—when did you…”

“You’re truly nothing but talk, isn't that right demon? Here I thought you’d be more of a challenge, isn't that what you said?” Akai retorted.

“You insolent…I won’t let you get away with this.” She stated bitterly.

The cracks in her body opened further and each splinter in her arm and leg deepened with a single step. She froze on the spot as the cracks grew out of her control and opened up further.

She looked distraught and hung her head low with a defeated expression.

…

Ilinore looked up and met Akai’s stare with a boastful grin.

“…!” Akai flinched

“…of course, this was part of my calculations as well,” Ilinore stated with a smug tone. “These cheap projections of myself only hold a fraction of my power, if I were to exceed their limit then they…burst. I knew that it wouldn’t last.” She said while gesturing an explosion with both hands.

Akai stepped back, frightened at her sudden composure.

“I wasn’t sure if it would happen exactly like this but I knew it was a possibility. If that were the case…”

Ilinore’s body became completely littered in cracks and barely an inch of her original white and pink features remained.

Her smile lit up by the light that escaped her body in one last wicked glare.

“…I’d have to take you all down with me!” She finished.