"I've found you," Kisho murmured, his voice barely audible due to the sound of the wind blowing through the empty buildings.

"Poison bow," he muttered, conjuring a large poison bow into his hand and aiming it at the sky. Instantly, a massive poison arrow materialized on the bow, glowing with a sinister dark green aura.

Releasing his grip, Kisho sent the arrow soaring high into the sky. As it reached its zenith, the arrow dispersed into a myriad of smaller arrows that filled the sky, beginning their descent.

"I sense danger!" Aurianna gasped, and she immediately observed the sky and noticed that it was littered with Kisho's arrows.

"Damn that sneaky bastard. He's deliberately left me with no means of escape!" she cursed, beads of sweat forming on her face.

"Round Table! I summon you, Nia, Ruigo, Ekos, Pectus!" Aurianna yelled, as she severed her limbs first, replacing them with crystal versions, then flung her discarded limbs into the air.

Instantly, four portals materialized, each bearing one of her knights. A mouth could be seen at the surface of the portal, wide open and it looked creepy. They then devoured Aurianna's severed limbs and once they were satisfied they grinned. Their hands emerged from the portals and they forcefully pulled themselves out. Once the portals disappeared they all have low bow to their Aurianna.

"Aren't they a bit taller than what I remember?" Aurianna wondered, eyeing her knights skeptically.

Before she could ponder further, searing pain surged through her body, wrenching a scream from her lips. She collapsed, writhing in agony, and she struggled to even remain conscious.

"Arghhhhhh!!!" the knights echoed her screams, causing the land around them to tremble.

"What is that strange noise?" Kisho wondered, his hands clamped over his ears against the overwhelming screaming sound. He focused his attention on the direction where Aurianna is and witnessed the colossal, golem-like beings screaming before they finally subsided.

"Giants?" Kisho pondered as he observed the knights.

As the poison arrows rained down, Pectus reacted swiftly. He delicately lifted Aurianna with his finger, cradling her in his palm. With his shield raised, he summoned a protective dome of white light, effortlessly deflecting the deadly arrows. With a mighty swipe, he created a gust of wind that dispersed the remaining arrows.

"So, these are the summons you mentioned to Carol and Leila," Kisho remarked, appearing atop the dome created by Pectus.

"Yes,.. and…. they are a hundred… times more… powerful," Aurianna managed to say through her bloodied lips.

"I don't know if they'll be powerful enough to defeat you, but I'll never find out unless I try," she nervously grinned, struggling to keep her eyes open.

"A reckless move, but I'll commend your bravery and confidence. However, I can see that this power comes with a weakness. Meaning you become completely vulnerable to close distance attacks," Kisho stated coldly, his aura once again filling the land, causing Aurianna to tremble.

"I'm not weak!" Aurianna protested vehemently.

"But you are," Kisho insisted, his tone unwavering.

"No, I'm not!" Aurianna retorted, glaring at him and clenching her fists.

"Yes, you are. You appear frail, you're constantly bleeding, your face looks blue. In this condition, you're vulnerable," Kisho pointed out, his words stinging with truth, causing Aurianna to grimace.

‘It wasn't this bad during the previous war. Why now? Is it because my level increased so did their power so they needed more magic?’ Aurianna pondered, biting her lip in frustration.

"Don't underestimate me. Even in this state, I can still fight!" Aurianna declared, mustering her strength to rise despite the pain coursing through her body.

"I know you can, but your capabilities are limited, aren't they?" Kisho remarked, a faint smile playing on his lips.

‘He's right,’ Aurianna thought, gritting her teeth in acknowledgment.

"Remember, we're not just fighting for fighting sake. You are supposed to use this as training. Keep that in mind," Kisho advised, his words catching Aurianna off guard.

"If you were to face an opponent like me, how would you react? How would you survive? Would you fight or would you run? Sometimes running away is the best option." Kisho's question struck a chord with Aurianna.

‘He makes a valid point. Not every enemy I would fight would have the same level or skills as me or be weaker. To destroy the Church of Beauty, I'll eventually confront a Primordial Human. How would I fight them? How would I resist their attacks? I hadn't considered that," Aurianna realized, furrowing her brow in contemplation.

"I'm getting serious now," Kisho declared icily, his hands glowing as he launched his assault.

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"Pectus!" Aurianna called out.

"Yes, Master!" Pectus responded promptly, understanding her command. He swiftly positioned his shield to intercept Kisho's barrage of blows.

Observing the shield's resilience, Kisho frowned. His muscles underwent a dramatic transformation, swelling with power causing them to grow bigger and glowing with a dark aura. With increased ferocity, he continued his barrage of blows, causing cracks to mar the shield's surface.

Sensing the imminent danger, Ruigo directed her staff towards the shield's apex, conjuring a fire ball aimed at Kisho.

In response, Kisho conjured a dense ball of poison, hurtling it towards Ruigo. Upon impact, the collision triggered a massive explosion, engulfing the vicinity in flames or poisonous gas.

"Your knights are quite interesting," Kisho remarked, a wicked grin spreading across his face as he cracked his neck.

"Hope they keep you entertained. I won't just be running away from you just because you're ten times my level," Aurianna retorted defiantly, matching his grin with her own.

___________

"Congratulations! You both did exceptionally well, and I'm immensely proud of the effort you put in," Gumura praised, patting Kisho and Dokgil on their backs. They appeared refreshed, but Aurianna and Leila seemed less enthused, sporting swollen faces and teary eyes.

"It seems, however, that you boys might have gotten a bit carried away," Gumura nervously remarked, glancing at Aurianna and Leila.

"Are you girls even fighters? You spent most of the time hiding," Kisho scoffed.

"Can you blame us? A light punch from either of you could break our bones," Leila dryly retorted.

"I agree. The number of times I felt like a punching bag is uncountable," Aurianna sighed heavily.

"But it was fun, wasn't it, Leila?" Dokgil beamed, but Leila's response was a shiver and a glare.

"I don't understand them. It was just training," Dokgil shrugged.

"Me neither," Kisho nodded in agreement.

"Peh, no wonder they're unsuccessful with the ladies. How can you be so old and still single?" Aurianna raised an eyebrow, facing Kisho.

"Yeah, with attitudes like that, it's no surprise they're alone," Leila added with a grin.

"What do you mean by that?!" Kisho retorted, his face flushed with anger.

"Bleh!" Aurianna stuck out her tongue childishly.

"Now you're just being childish!" Kisho berated.

"Well, technically, compared to us, they are children," Dokgil stated, earning a glare from Kisho.

"Tch. Aurianna, you should be grateful that I'm willing to help train you!" Kisho scoffed.

"Who said I wasn't grateful? I'm mad because you injured my face! And my healing is extremely slow now. My body aches like hell, and part of it is rotting and healing at the same time! How do you expect me not to be frustrated?" Aurianna snapped.

"Ah, my beauty! My face, my face!" She dramatically cried, rubbing her swollen face.

"I don't understand your obsession with your looks!" Kisho rolled his eyes and frowned.

"Of course, you wouldn't understand. Humph!" Aurianna huffed.

"Master!!" Kisho cried out. "I didn't come here to get bullied by a child!"

"Now, onto our reward," Aurianna stated, ignoring Kisho as she ran to Gumura and opened her palms expectantly.

"Oh, yes, yes," Gumura acknowledged.

"As promised, Kisho and Dokgil, here's the Poison Heart," Gumura stated, conjuring two dark heart-shaped orbs with hundreds of faces swirling within them. He tossed one to Kisho and the other to Dokgil, both of whom looked ecstatic to receive it.

"Leila, I have a special skill for you: Poison Fists and Poison Breath. This book, authored by me ofcourse, will teach you how to infuse poison into your fist attacks and dragon breath. When your dragon breath carries poison, it can weaken opponents who survive it and even amplify the explosion it causes," Gumura explained excitedly as he handed Leila the book.

"I guess it's a pretty neat skill," Leila nodded, smiling at Gumura. "Thank you for the skill."

"What's mine? What's mine? What skill would I get?" Aurianna eagerly asked as she moved closer to Gumura.

"You said you wanted a colorless mist skill, right?" Gumura confirmed.

"Yes!"

"Well, in this book, you'll learn one of the most poisonous mist skills I've developed. But I believe opening up some pores would make the use of the skill faster," Gumura suggested.

"And I become ugly? No, thank you," Aurianna shook her head.

"But how would you spread the mist faster then?" Gumura asked, curious.

"Can it come out of my mouth?" Aurianna proposed.

"I guess it can," Gumura answered.

"Then I shall do that!" Aurianna exclaimed with a thumbs up.

"But isn't that too obvious?" Gumura questioned.

"It could be," Aurianna mumbled, a slightly worried expression crossing her face. Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind, causing her to beam. "Then can I create pores with my hair? Like my hair would create tiny holes to spread the poison mist!"

"That's not a bad idea. You do have such heavy, luscious hair. It makes me wonder how you both fight with such long hair," Gumura remarked.

"We've grown used to it," Aurianna and Leila both chimed in simultaneously before giggling together.

"I'm surprised they aren't bald with how messy they always are when they fight," Dokgil blurted out.

"Well, we take care of our hair very well," Leila said proudly.

"Hmm, if you say so then. It seems like your hair is strong, so maybe it could be a good channel for your poison mist," Gumura concluded, and Aurianna nodded.

"Well, you two better start getting used to those skills; after that, more training shall begin!" Gumura announced, and Aurianna and Leila dashed off.

"Kisho, Dokgil, thanks for taking it easy on them," Gumura said with a smile.

"Well, you did tell us to go easy on them," Dokgil replied, scratching the back of his head.

"Of course, I did. The level difference between you both and them is vast; you could have easily crushed them if you wanted to, but you didn't," Gumura explained.

"Master Gumura, I have a question," Kisho said.

"Go ahead and ask."

"Those two aren't normal. What are they? No one progresses that fast in increasing their levels or their skills," Kisho blurted out, his expression uneasy.

"That's because they aren't normal, and they're even sealed at the moment. I can feel it, but that's what's interesting, you know? I want to see what would happen if those capabilities are unlocked, a Gemaris," Gumura mused with an evil grin.

"What race is that?" Dokgil asked.

"I have no idea, but that's what Carol and Eva call them," Gumura shrugged.

"Stingy Eva; she won't reveal more to me," Dokgil sighed.

"Keep an eye on those girls for me, okay? And lend them a hand as well. I'll give you guys a new poison skill as a reward," Gumura stated, glancing at both of them.

"I see no reason to refuse," Dokgil chuckled. "I want to fight her again."

"Let me take five years off; I need some rest," Kisho lazily said.

"Kisho, stop being so lazy. We haven't had this much fun in years!" Dokgil said, smacking Kisho on his back and earning a glare from him.

"Why are you always so rough?" Kisho asked, irritation lacing his tone.

"Kakakka!" Dokgil laughed.

"Hey, Kisho, I don't understand this; teach me!" Aurianna demanded as she walked up to Kisho and tugged on his hair.

"Master, see how she is? She doesn't even say please. I'm tired of dealing with her!" Kisho complained.

"What do you mean by that?!" Aurianna huffed. "You should be grateful that I'm even asking you for help!”