Ria, the Oga Clan Head, and Zara switched locations, arriving in an empty field where they could fight to their heart's content.
Rather than saying they held animosity towards each other, it was better to say that they were just looking for excuses to fight.
Ria was the head of a berserker clan, so her bloodlust could be easily explained. Zara's situation, however, was far more complicated.
Whether it was her nature as a beast, her mysterious bloodline, or even her inherent disposition, none had ever been peace-loving. Zara and Damien grew up together in the First Dungeon and were equally influenced by its environment.
But while Damien slowly learned to control himself and somewhat adapt to society, Zara wasn't the same. Unlike him, she had no reason to do so.
She was a beast. Unless she went to the Beast Domain, she would never be treated the same as other existences. The humanoid races of the universe considered both beasts and plants as below them, but unlike plants who were left alone, beasts were often enslaved and controlled as mounts or companions.
Zara despised this idea. As she became more comfortable with her identity, as she understood what it meant to live as an individual, she became unable to accept this reality.
The only exception was Damien. Because while she did indeed view him as a sort of Master, he never treated her as such.
In fact, he was the main driving force behind her quest for independence and her ability to realize problems on her own.
In the current situation, Zara's behavior could be considered venting. Along with this, she was well aware that with the Oga Clan's nature, this duel was clearly a test of her worth.
If she couldn't prove herself, she'd be demeaned and rejected. If she could…
She'd thoroughly force the Oga Clan to submit to her.
"You're quite brave following me out here," Ria said mockingly, pulling Zara out of her clouded mental state.
Looking at Ria, Zara didn't feel any fear. Instead, she felt an excitement she'd been missing for a very long time.
"Don't talk with words. Use your fists instead!"
Without entertaining pointless sophistry, Zara turned into an array of shadows that split and snaked through the ground at different trajectories. They instantly surrounded Ria before reforming into a physical body as Zara shot her fist out at lightning speed!
Ria scoffed and moved her body slightly, allowing the fist to pass by. Her arm shot out to grab Zara's throat right after.
"Ha! This is all you had? And you think you're worthy of my help? Pathetic!"
Ptui!
Zara's split landed square in Ria's eye. "Shut up, bitch. We haven't even started yet."
Thanks to the swearing habit she picked up from Damien, she was able to easily enrage Ria, whose ego had become bloated due to her position.
Just as Ria tried to ruthlessly crush Zara's throat, her body turned immaterial, dispersing into the air.
"Engulf."
Zara's voice rang out from her original position. Her body remained there as if she never moved. Her shadow expanded from beneath her feet, following her words and engulfing the entire area.
"Die."
The pseudo-domain she created pressed down on Ria, limiting her speed. Zara's body shifted the second it happened, arriving next to her and striking with precision.
Bang!
Her claws collided with Ria's outstretched arm, letting out a dull thump. Instead of drawing back, Zara pushed on with her attack!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Her claws slashed like drifting shadows, elusive and ethereal, but every single swipe of her arm contained the power to tear a normal early 4th class to shreds.
In comparison, Ria's movements were crude. She used the most basic blocking patterns imaginable, but the raw power of her defense was enough to contend against Zara's technique.
"Not bad! I thought this would be boring, but you might actually give me a good fight!" Ría exclaimed.
"It's my turn now!"
In that moment, her arm became a flash of light. Before Zara even realized it, a fist was mere millimeters away from her face.
'Chronolock!'
She rapidly utilized her Ice Laws to freeze time, but Ria's capabilities far exceeded her imagination. The fist, though somewhat slowed, was still too fast for her to react in time.
Bang!
Zara took a punch to the face and was sent flying backwards. Stabilizing herself in the air, she wiped the blood from her nose and sneered.
"Weak!"
Without an ounce of hesitation, she dove back in. Now partially transformed into her beast form, Zara continued her melee with Ria.
Her brutality slowly began to match her opponent's. The two danced around each other in a battle of blood, dying the ground red in their own. Whether it was Ria or Zara, neither was unscathed as they clashed hundreds of times every instant.
Zara was skilled in mid-range combat more than anything else. While she did have a strong body as a beast, it had to be remembered that the Sea God Clans were Godbeast descendants. On top of that, the Oga Clan specifically was specialized in physical combat.
Challenging Ria in this way was completely impractical, but Zara didn't care about practicality. She didn't even care about winning as fast as possible.
She wanted to destroy Ria in her area of expertise. Only in this way would the Oga Clan bow down to her.
'Now!'
Zara's eyes hardened. Her claw slashed out, laced with a grayish mana that had never seen the light of day before.
'Deconstruction: Lightspeed'
Xiu!
Her body moved too fast for sound to keep up with her. Her claw turned into a blur of light, and as if it teleported, completely changed trajectories in an instant.
Zara retreated immediately. As she did, a fountain of blood sprayed out from Ria's chest. The gash Zara created only stopped expanding when it reached her neck.
'She's strong!' Zara realized. Her slash had surpassed the speed she could move without the help of her self-created skill. She used Light Laws themselves to aid her speed, yet Ria still managed to narrowly dodge her throat being gouged out.
"Keuk…!" Ria coughed. A trail of blood leaked from her lips.
"Not bad…at this level, maybe it really will be possible to carry out your plan…"
"Fine! I've decided! The Oga Clan will earnestly hear your proposal and make the decision that benefits us most without an ounce of bias! While I can't say for certain, we will most likely participate in your insanity!"
Her gaze locked on Zara, a light of madness coloring her eyes.
"But…we aren't done with just this much, right?"
A red aura covered her body. A thick smell of blood permeated the air as her bloodlust spread.
From now on, she was clearly going to take this fight seriously.
And Zara wasn't one to deny such an entertaining battle.
Her body shifted. Her beautiful form expanded into that of a terrifying winged black wolf. Her shadow turned murky, almost mirroring the appearance of muddy water.
Within that shadow, a pair of golden eyes shone ruthlessly.
Zara's maw widened into a harrowing grin. Her wings flapped a single time in a motion that could only be called graceful.
But the aftermath…was anything but.
The surrounding few thousand kilometers were enveloped in a terrifying explosion, signifying the beginning of the battle's second round.
