Aina slowly propped herself on the ground using her right hand.
Pain wracked the left side of her body, especially the part where Lux's attack had connected.
This wasn't the first time she received an injury like this because there had been several instances where she had to face off against Boss Monsters in Dungeons, who far exceeded her Rank, in order to protect her Guild Members.
Each and every time this happened, Aina would take a break from Dungeon Expeditions, and allow herself time to heal.
What many didn't know was that Aina bore many scars on her body.
Only her doll-like beauty had remained untouched by such scars, making people think that the rest of her body was just as beautiful as her face.
Aina didn't really pay any attention to these scars because, for her, they were the marks of all the times that she had cheated death in Elysium.
Naturally, her family tried to use the best potions and healing salves they could to remove these scars from her body. But, for some unknown reason, none of them had any effect on her.
It was as if these scars didn't want to be removed, serving as her medals for surviving the life and death battles she had faced.
"Are you alright?"
Lux's concerned voice reached her ears, making him look up at the Half-Elf who was hovering a few meters above her.
"No," Aina replied. "But, it doesn't matter. The fight isn't over yet."
The Guild Master of Eternal gripped her mace tightly before spreading her fiery angelic wings wide.
"Let's finish this duel," Aina stated. "Or are you saying that you're afraid to hurt me?"
Aina asked with a devilish smile on her face, which made the Half-Elf almost say Yes to her question. However, before he could answer, Aina jumped up and attacked Lux without warning.
The Half-Elf had already expected that something similar to this was going to happen, so he immediately summoned the Corpse God to block Aina's attack.
Even though she was injured, the might of her Divine Smite didn't weaken. In fact, it had become even stronger, which slightly pushed Lux back.
Understanding that she wouldn't surrender, and only her total defeat would end the battle, the Half-Elf no longer hesitated and attacked alongside the Corpse God in order to subdue the Fiery Angel, who was smiling despite the pain she was feeling.
Flashes of lightning streaked across the heavens, and thunder boomed like the roars of lions, as Aina desperately attacked and fended off Lux's blows, using only her right arm.
Just as the Corpse God's Flail was about to hit the Fiery Angel's body, a lightning bolt descended from the heavens and deflected it.
Soon, more lightning bolts rained down from the heavens, attacking the Half-Elf like snakes that wanted to sink their fangs into his body.
'What is happening here, Keoza?!' Lux asked as he evaded one lightning bolt after the other. 'Are you switching sides?'
'No,' Keoza replied. 'The world… is breaking through my domain.'
'Huh?' Lux was about to ask more, but a loud crashing sound, similar to thousand crystal vases breaking at the same time reverberated in the surroundings.
The endless plain where he and Aina were fighting was enshrouded in a thunderstorm that made Lux wonder if Keoza was playing a prank on him.
'Back away now!' Keoza warned. 'Get as far away from Aina as you can!'
Lux didn't even think twice and followed Keoza's order because he, too, felt that something terribly wrong was going to happen next.
Just as the Half-Elf had distanced himself from the doll-like beauty by hundreds of meters, a sight that he never thought possible happened in front of him.
Countless lightning bolts rained down from the heavens, making it look like the end of the world has come.
But, these lightning bolts didn't target Lux.
Instead, all of them locked on Aina, hitting her small body from all sides.
A scream of pain spread in the surroundings as the doll-like beauty was bathed in countless lightning bolts, creating a miniature silver sun amidst the darkness.
Lux wanted to go and help Aina, but Keoza told him to stay where he was, and focus on defending himself.
'Don't do anything Rash!' Keoza stated. 'We can't help her. This is her battle!'
'What do you mean?' Lux asked. 'What battle?'
'The world… she is receiving the blessing of the World to break through and become a Ranker.'
'T-This is the World's Blessing?!'
Lux didn't expect that the so-called Rank Up would be like this. If all Rankers had to face this kind of punishment, wouldn't that mean that some of them died before they could even become a Ranker?
'Not all World Blessings are the same,' Keoza replied. 'Some can become a Ranker without experiencing something like this. There was even a case when an Initiate chose a Ranker Trial that was to just take a nap.
"After that he became a Ranker without too much fuss. The breakthrough that Aina might be facing right now might not be completely related to you. Perhaps, the impetus was for her to feel something when she was fighting against someone who was stronger than her.
"Only then would her true trial emerge, which is this Lightning Storm. Maybe her Profession is so Heaven Defying that it became like this."
Keoza's explanation didn't make Lux feel any better. Aina screamed, and screamed, and screamed some more, making the Half-Elf wish that he could help her.
But, each time he tried to do it, Keoza forced him to stop and stated that interfering with the World's Blessing would bring Aina more harm than good.
Even when Aina stopped screaming, the rain of lightning didn't stop. The silver sun in the distance was still being hit repeatedly by countless lightning bolts.
Finally, after nearly fifteen minutes, the lightning stopped pouring from the sky.
The silver sun then slowly decreased in size until Aina's frame appeared in Lux's vision.
The Guildmaster of Eternal floated in the sky with her eyes closed.
Behind her were wings that moved as if they were tendrils instead of wings that kept her afloat.
The other thing that Lux noticed was that she was no longer wearing her armor.
Her naked body was laid bare for anyone to see, including the scars that only her family members knew about.
Slowly, but surely, Aina opened her eyes.
Lux wasn't able to see her pupils in them because her eye sockets were glowing in a silver light.
"Lux, prepare to fight!" Keoza gave another warning after seeing Aina's current form. "She has successfully broken through, but her mind is unstable right now. You need to buy time until she recovers her senses!
"Because her breakthrough has just ended, the remnant power of the Lightning Storm is still coursing through her body. She's as strong as a High-Ranker, so make sure to stop her at all cost. My Domain has been breached by the Laws of Elysium, and if I don't try to repair it, the Domain will shatter completely."
"If that happens, Aina and you will be transported back to the real world. If that were to become a reality, there is a high chance that she might attack her Guild Members instead of you, and start a one-sided massacre. We mustn't let that happen, or she will feel guilty for life!"
Lux took a deep breath because that was something he didn't want to see as well.
"Everyone, knock her out!" Lux ordered as he summoned all of his Named Creatures, as well as the members of his Covenant.
Now that he was no longer fighting Aina in a duel, he must neutralize her as soon as possible.
Not only for her sake, but for the sake of the people that were waiting for her back in the real world as well.
