The battlefield's atmosphere intensified as Mira announced her resolve, her gaze sharp.
The disciples, sensing the shift in their her aura, steeled themselves, their eyes reflecting a mix of excitement and apprehension. This was the moment they had been waiting for.
Nova, always one to meet a challenge head-on, lunged forward, her spear's black flames roiling with a newfound vigor.
The air itself seemed to sizzle and warp as the spear cut through, aiming straight for Mira's heart. But with a grace that defied belief, Mira sidestepped the attack, her movements fluid like water, leaving Nova to stab nothing but air.
"Not bad, Nova, but you'll need to be faster than that," Mira teased, a playful glint in her eyes.
On the sidelines, Eden, not willing to be outdone, sent another volley of her Emerald Wind Arrows, each projectile shimmering with potent, unseen energy.
However, Mira danced amongst the arrows, her movements a blur, evading each shot seemingly with ease. But Aelina, who was watching in the void, knew that her footwork was anything but easy.
She had to calculate their trajectory, speed, as well as the other attacks coming toward her.
Amid the explosive dance, Seraphina was preparing.
With a focus that turned her gaze into steel, she infused her shield and sword with radiant energy.
With a deep breath, she charged forward, meeting Mira's icy gaze with unwavering determination. The ground beneath their feet trembled, acknowledging the power about to clash and ripple through the air.
As Seraphina neared, her shield up and sword ready to strike, Mira merely smiled. Without warning, she moved, her form blurring with speed, appearing beside Seraphina, who barely had time to register the shift before feeling a cool breeze pass by her side.
Mira's scythe had moved, a whisper in the wind, and Seraphina found her defense and offense dismantled effortlessly, leaving her wide-eyed and slightly out of breath.
The ease with which Mira handled the assault spoke volumes of her strength, but it also highlighted just how far she'd come.
Everly and Rayna, witnessing the swift exchanges, shared a glance before launching their respective attacks.
Thunderfire erupted in the sky, casting the battlefield in a stark, flashing light, while shadowy, almost invisible wires snaked through the air, seeking their elusive target.
Mira, sensing the converging attacks, chuckled. With a flick of her wrist and a shift in her stance, she met the thunderfire with a wall of ice, the electricity crackling and hissing as it met the cold barrier.
Simultaneously, with her other hand, she caught the wires, the shadows dissipating upon her touch, leaving Rayna staring in mild surprise.
The air around them grew tense, charged with the crackling energy of their powers and the silent understanding dawning in each disciple's eyes. They were strong, undoubtedly, but Mira was in a league of her own.
'Well, they also aren't fighting seriously.' Mira commented inwardly. She could hardly count this as a spar, much less a fight.
And seeing the calm yet focused looks in their eyes told her they thought the same. It could be said that they were just testing her as if to make sure she was worthy of the position of Prime Disciple.
There was also the fact that they were about to begin what seemed to be the last trial of this Secret Realm. Neither side wanted to waste too much energy fighting amongst themselves when there were much stronger enemies to compete against.
If they were truly fighting seriously, Mira wasn't 100% confident she could win against them combined.
Individually? Definitely.
But she could sense that each one of them contained extraordinary bloodlines within them. Nova's was close to the same level as hers. Eden had what she considered the 'weakest', but it still probably had more potential than any beast in this Mortal World.
'I'll have to ask them about their experiences because they didn't get those bloodlines from me.' Mira thought while dodging one attack after another.
While the battle went on, with neither side making any progress, Mira figured it was about time to end this.
But suddenly, she got an idea, which caused an amused smile to grace her lips.
"Alright, this isn't getting anywhere," Mira said, to which everyone paused and looked at her curiously.
Mira reached into her robe and grasped her token before taking it out and showing it to the girls. Their eyes locked onto it, and greed couldn't help but leak out for a moment. Although they agreed that Mira was the best candidate, that didn't mean they wouldn't take the position if it were given to them.
"Since we need to get going, let's put a stop to this useless fight. This is what you're after, right?" She asked with a smirk, to which they nodded. "I'll give you each one chance to grab it. Use whatever or whoever you want to take it from me. Anything goes. However, you only get one shot."
"Deal!" They immediately agreed.
The atmosphere crackled with palpable energy as each disciple prepared to unleash the full might of their illustrious bloodlines in pursuit of the token, their eyes gleaming with determination and a hint of anticipation.
Mira's smile grew subtle, sensing the stirring energies around her.
Nova was the first to act, her body enveloped in an aura of black flames. Her eyes glinted dangerously as the Ouroboros Bloodline awakened fully within her.
With a fierce roar, a serpentine dragon made of ominous flames erupted from her form, lunging toward Mira with unparalleled ferocity. The air seemed to distort with its passage, leaving streaks of black fire in its wake.
Yet, Mira stood there and faced it head-on, her sapphire tail shaking before a barrier formed around her. The flames parted before her as if they were repelled.
With a flick of her wrist, she sent a wave of ice Qi to envelope the fiery serpent, which was slowly eaten away by her black runes and dissipated into harmless sparks, leaving Nova staring with a mix of frustration and awe.
Eden stepped forth, her eyes taking on a brilliant shade of green. With a graceful sweep of her hand, an illusory griffin appeared, its feathers shimmering like emeralds under the sky, soaring above with a majestic cry.
With a swooping dive, it aimed its talons toward Mira's hand, each feather sharp as a blade and glowing with potent energy.
Creating one massive arrow within her bow, she launched it into the sky. As it reached its apex, the arrow burst into thousands of smaller ones and rained down on her faster than anyone weaker than her could perceive.
They were meant to ensnare Mira by locking down her limbs, but the fox woman did something nobody expected. She turned her arms into fox legs, the muscles within them becoming harder than most metals.
Surprisingly, the arrows were powerful enough to embed themselves within her skin, but they did little to pin her down. As for the illusory Griffin, Mira's Golden Tail lengthened and thwapped the thing to death.
Seraphina's turn came, her gaze deepening into a shade resembling the ocean's depths. The air around her seemed to ripple, and with a step, she unleashed the Leviathan Bloodline's might. A colossal wave, bearing the shadow of a monstrous sea creature within, rolled towards Mira, seeking to engulf her.
With a lift of her hand, Mira summoned a massive barrier of ice while also altering the terrain, halting the tidal wave in its tracks. The ice shimmered, reflecting the Leviathan's shadow, which roared in defiance before collapsing into droplets of water as Seraphina canceled the attack.
Everly unleashed her Thunderfire Chimera Bloodline, the sky above darkening with gathering storm clouds. A roar of thunder echoed, followed by a blazing thunderstorm descending from the heavens.
With a serene expression, Mira shot out her own mixture of Yin Fire and Yin Lightning. The two forces collided, and with a cataclysmic boom, all the clouds in the sky evaporated, and an artificial sun seemed to light up the land for about a minute before it fizzled out.
Mira couldn't help but feel a bit of pity for Everly. She was like a direct counter to the woman, the Yin to her Yang. Maybe if she didn't have any Yin Elements, her attack would've done more, but she was just unlucky.
Disappointed, Everly left the battlefield only to look at Rayna expectantly.
Finally, Rayna moved, her form blurring into the shadows. The Lesser Shadow Basilisk Bloodline within her awakened, casting a veil of darkness over the area. Within the shadowy abyss, two glowing eyes appeared, staring at Mira with a petrifying gaze.
Mira couldn't help but freeze up, one of the bloodline powers finally having an effect on her.
With a flash, the shadows lunged, attempting to snatch the token from her grasp.
Yet, Mira was able to regain consciousness just fast enough to prevent Rayna from grabbing it before kicking the silent woman in the stomach with a transformed beast leg, sending her flying.
"That's enough playing around," Mira's voice dissipated the palpable silence as she put her token up. "It's time to loot this place dry!"
