When the sun was finally gone and the heatwave was no more, Luna woke up fresh and decided to utilize the cold night by practicing her swordsmanship with Len.

The idea had come to her after she found herself waking up with so much energy to spare. Also, Luna wasn’t in the mood to stress her mind with thoughts so she went for the second thing that came to her mind.

…Training. And lucky for her, Len had the same thing in mind.

Currently, the pair were standing on opposite sides, facing each other with daring glares under the moonlight.

Len was holding a longsword made from her zenshi. The blade was as silver as her own hair, reflecting the crimson moon’s light just like her eyes did. Under the moonlight, she truly looked like a seasoned warrior while the gentle wind made her hair slowly flatter.

She was still, in a combat-ready position, ready to strike like a deadly predator. This alone showed how seriously she took combat. Especially in the presence of someone potentially stronger.

Luna shivered in response to the wind. Her black katana was still lifeless, perfectly still as she held the beautiful weapon with her firm grip. Her raven black hair was now longer, thicker, and even more beautiful after weeks of neglecting it.

Her eyes were empty and deep as they stared back at Len. And suddenly, her lips curled into a wicked grin.“Why are you so serious?” she asked, jokingly. “It’s just a friendly spar.”

“There is no need to be so on guard when fighting your sister.” She added with a playful tone.

“In every fight, you should know that you’re one mistake away from death. No matter how skilled you are, you can make a mistake and give the enemy the advantage…”

Len’s tone was indifferent and calm as always.

Luna rolled her eyes mentally and then sighed and complained in her head. ‘But I am not an enemy.’

“Sigh. I guess you’re right.”

Shortly after saying that, Luna calmed herself and made the first move by springing into action once she saw the opportunity to attack. She closed the distance between herself and Len within an instant. And swung her katana in a beautiful lower arc, aiming for the abdomen. Unfortunately, the tip of her sword only managed to graze the surface of Len’s tunic as she quickly leaped back and skidded on the sandy floor.

She looked at the cut in her tunic and kissed her teeth. If she hadn’t leaped back, there would be a shallow cut on her flesh. ‘That was quick…I’m impressed.’

“So that’s you want to play…” A lewd smile appeared on her face and her Aura manifested into reality. In the blink of an eye, the desert was colder than it was a minute ago.

Len’s entire presence almost turned visible right before she pounced forward like a hungry wolf and her blade collided with Luna’s katana.

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BOOM!!

The force alone sent a shockwave through her body as she blocked and tried to push back the sword and its wielder. ‘Of course she likes to go all out.’

Luna thought while staring into her sister’s eyes. Now that her Aura had manifested, silver flames were dancing in her eyes, reflecting the soul and power waiting to be unleashed.

She jumped back after dodging another strike from Len’s blade.

Fighting against Luna was completely different from fighting against someone like Darkness whose Aura made her constantly strong. Ice was a powerful natural force, which grew when manifested and protected its wielder as if it had a mind of its own. Going past its defense was difficult for someone with an aura and impossible for a mundane. But Luna had known Len her whole life. She had a clue on how she could go around this.

When Lena closed the distance once again, bringing her sword in a downward slash, Luna moved out of the way at the last moment.

Keeping her momentum, she swung her katana and struck her opponent’s side below the ribs. She made sure to maintain the sharpness of her blade as she landed a strike that shattered the ice layer that had manifested a second ago. It might not have looked much, but since the enchantment was active…Len hadn’t stopped the damage.

She found herself wincing from the pain, but her determination only made it last for a second as the wound closed immediately.

In that second, Luna was already swinging at her sister’s legs while wearing a confident smirk.

To her surprise, Len reacted faster and her blade was blocked by a longsword which slid on the surface up in an attempt to cut her face. She only survived by a hair’s breadth when she withdrew both herself and the katana by leaping backward at the last moment.

When she landed, a single question rang in her mind:

'When was Len this good with the sword?' She paled a little when she witnessed some strands of her hair slowly fall on the red sand. ‘Has the desert made her stronger?’

Yes. That was the only explanation behind Len's incredible growth.

“You’re really having fun aren’t you,” Luna hissed as she stared at the small strands with a solemn expression.

“Trust me, fighting with you always brings me joy. This fight could’ve ended a long time ago if you wanted to go all out.”

‘It's not necessary, but you asked for it…’

Luna shook her head and sighed regretfully before tuning her limiter down to 90%. She felt a strange shift in her body and the world must’ve sensed it too because the atmosphere seemed to shift while Luna turned serious and called upon one of the styles she mastered a long time ago.

Len’s eyes widened when her sister suddenly vanished from her sight once she made the first step. And because Luna didn’t have zenshi, sensing her was a bit of a hassle when she pulled out tricks like this.

‘Behind me…’

She quickly reacted to the weak presence and shifted her position before putting her sword forward as a shield. And just as she had predicted, it collided with a powerful strike that cracked her sword and sent her flying and landing in the sand.

‘The Whispering Titan blade technique. How sneaky of you to choose an attack that requires so much speed.’

Hissing, Lena lifted her face which turned ashen as she observed a dark figure materialize through the path of dust she had created.

Her pale skin glowed under the crimson light, her dark hair beautifully waved in the wind. Granting her sister, Dark Blade with a sinister and haunting presence. The shadows bent to her will, paving a path for her.

‘Maybe I’m seeing things.’ Len quickly cleared away the thoughts of being in danger.

Luna produced no bloodlust, but her dark eyes were terrifying each time she got serious. Lena didn’t even witness the blade move, but she heard it slice and the dust was vanquished.

“Now I see no reason to hold back,” Len said to herself as she watched Luna slowly approach her. She stood up and straightened herself once again. This time, her skin turned whiter as ice spread to the cracked longsword and made it sturdier. The temperature dropped even more as her breath could be seen each time she exhaled.

She focused on bringing out the potential of her Aura and slowly, her body started to dissolve into a thick white fog.

Dark Blade’s expression didn’t change. She watched as her sister’s incorporeal form approached, growing larger and larger, turning the rest of the desert into a haze.

Ghost of Winter was always a pain to fight against due to her annoying form.

‘Biscuits.’ She cursed as the fog grew bigger and bigger. It grew to the point where she was surrounded by nothing but white fog.

And just like that, Luna had been robbed of her vision. The fact that the fog was alive even made it worse because when she tried using her Qi senses, she sensed life coming from everywhere. She couldn’t pinpoint where an attack was going to come from.

But she was familiar with her sister’s style. She knew that this form was very demanding regarding Zenshi consumption, especially during maneuvers.

‘But am I willing to wait that long?’

While she was still in her head, calculating a way of winning against this, Luna suddenly sensed something in the fog that alerted every other cell in her body. She quickly dived down and swiftly avoided a deadly white swing that could’ve caused so much damage if she hadn’t evaded. She could summon a shield since her suit was still online, but it would be a waste of time and energy.

Auras like Len’s were just too powerful and unpredictable. And as for someone without one, Luna did the one thing she could do in this situation.

“I give up!” she announced to the fog and dropped her weapon.

Much as she hated to admit it, the difference between her and the average ascender was still too large to overlook.

She couldn’t win against someone with abilities like this one.

At least for now...