Lightning swords face off against golden swords, and as they clash, the golden swords are pierced straight toward Elowyn. Creating a sword at her feet, she controls it to move and dodge the attacks.
"Destructive lightning"
A bolt of lightning tears through the air, clashing with her sword which shatters. In desperation, Elowyn summons several bows with arrows and fires them toward Kalleb.
"Lightning speed"
He vanishes, striking her back with a lightning sword in his hand. Feeling her back being cut, she endures the pain and creates several swords beneath her. Connecting them with golden lines, she makes them explode, surprising Kalleb.
"Good attack, too bad it did nothing."
She takes another slash, this time across her stomach, and Kalleb appears before her with an arrogant smile. Attempting to pierce her with his sword, he thrusts, almost stabbing through if not for a golden sword appearing. Even so, she is pushed back by the force.
'Again.'
She was losing again to a circle two. After being defeated by Enrico three days earlier, she had trained hard, even managing to create a new spell, trying with all her might to reach circle two.
'How can I be losing this badly?'
She rises in anger, summoning several swords around Kalleb, who simply watches with a smile, dodging. He seemed to be enjoying toying with her, letting her almost land a hit before dodging at the last second.
"This is fun, but I think fighting that masked boy would be better. Too bad though—he'll be killed by my brother, so I won't get to enjoy it."
"Enjoying yourself?"
She creates a large golden sword that descends upon Kalleb, who defends with his lightning sword. Despite the immense magical power in her blade, he remains calm, and with lightning sparking from his body, he throws the golden sword back at her, knocking her down.
"Guess I hurt the little princess too much…"
He presses his foot down on her face. Looking up, she sees how his dark essence seemed to consume him, that essence appearing to revel in the moment—and it filled her with rage. How dare he do this to her? He had to die.
"I will kill you."
"Go ahead and try."
A kick to the face sends her flying upward, only for her to see Kalleb's sword raised, ready for the final blow. He bore only that smile she despised.
'I have to kill him.'
As the attack closed in, he was struck by a water spear, sending him flying into a nearby platform. Lying down, Elowyn sees a shadow approach with glowing red eyes—she already knew who it was.
"This is the princess of Sanos? I have to say, you're a disappointment unworthy of the title of prodigy like me."
Kael looked down on her as if she were beneath him, not even a rival worth consideration. Her heart began to pound, her body felt as if it were boiling.
"How are you here? Where's my brother?"
Ten lightning swords were thrown at Kael, who grabbed her and leapt to another platform. Truly, she had been a disappointment.
"I thought you'd evolve in this fight, but you were nothing but a letdown. Now I'll have to fight someone who has the advantage against me… though it could still be fun."
Kael formed a water spear to clash with Kalleb's lightning sword. Feeling the current run through his hand, Kael smiled with defiance in his eyes.
"About your brother—let's just say he wasn't as strong as I thought."
"You!"
Kalleb's body burst with lightning. In rage, he launched a lightning slash from his sword, and seeing Kael take the strike to the chest, he smiled darkly—this boy would die slowly.
"Looks like you really are weaker than your brother… how boring."
But when Kael smiled, placing his hands over his chest where the wound was and healing it, Kalleb exploded again with rage, leaping at him with furious strikes. Kael dodged with a smile, though inside he was desperately forming a strategy.
[This is bad. You used too much mana in the last battle, and now you're fighting with a disadvantage in element.]
'Guess I'll have to adapt somehow.'
Elowyn, still lying down, watched as the two fought fiercely, neither giving the other an opening. Each strike was dodged, each counter narrowly avoided. But like with Kalleb, she only saw Kael's confident smile, and she realized he was holding back.
'Am I going to fall like this? I'm supposed to be the one who will one day rule the strongest territory—then why?'
Biting her lip, she did something she had never done before—tears fell from her face. Unacceptable. She was supposed to rise above others. She was meant to feel nothing, to revel in cruelty, to be despicable. So why was she feeling this now?
Clutching her heart, she forced herself up. Her father once told her she needed more than indifference or joy in others' suffering. And now, she was feeling something—something she had felt before, facing Enrico.
'I will not be surpassed.'
She bit down hard on her lip, blood dripping from her mouth. What she felt was frustration—a frustration far deeper than ever before. Before, it had been fragments, but now, seeing how inferior she was, it exploded within her—all because of the person before her.
Kael covered his hand with water and caught a lightning slash, even as it shocked him, redirecting it back at Kalleb. He already had a plan to end this, and he would execute it now, as Kalleb was forced to dodge his own attack.
'I'll end this quickly.'
Forming a spear in his hand, he prepared to strike at one of the traps Claudio had left behind. Though Claudio was dead, they remained active for now. But before Kael could act, a surge of mana erupted behind him—where Elowyn had been. Both he and Kalleb turned to see.
"Wait, that princess…"
"Finally. I thought she'd really disappoint me."
That surge marked her ascension to circle two. Kael leapt back, watching her approach and sit on another platform. Kalleb, seeing this, quickly decided to pursue Kael, for even if she had evolved, his true target was still him.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Both of Kalleb's hands were pierced by thin golden swords, each brimming with condensed magic. Tearing them out, he turned to Elowyn, who was walking forward, her face twisted in furious frustration.
"Even if you've reached circle two, you just ascended. You're still not on my level."
Forming a second lightning sword, he launched two slashes, intending to end it quickly. But his attacks were stopped by two radiant golden shields—her new power gave her greater mastery over her golden magic.
"Tsk."
He increased his speed, lightning surging through him, trying to land a killing blow from behind.
"Golden chains."
His feet were bound by chains that seemed to drain his mana. Before he could react, a massive golden sword descended. He tried to defend as before but was driven into the ground by the blow.
'She just awakened, so how?'
Several thin swords pierced his body, and the chains held him down. His last sight was Elowyn, holding a golden sword in hand, approaching with a cruel smile.
"This is what you deserve for making me go through that, you trash."
She beheaded him, satisfaction washing over her. Then she turned toward where Kael had been—only to see he was gone. She wanted to hear what he would say now that she had reached the same circle as him.
"…seems I won't get to see your reaction, Enrico."
She smiled faintly. She had known Kael was Enrico from the very beginning—for he alone carried that emptiness in his eyes that did not wound hers.
"I won't fall behind again… I'll be waiting for our rematch…"