[Outdoor Training Field]
The sparring field behind the Augustus estate buzzed with subtle mana currents. Magic had stained the very soil from countless battles before—but none like this.
Scarlett stood across from Noah, the breeze catching her red braid. Her daggers shimmered with silver steel, their hilts etched with shadow runes. The tiara-like imprint of the Shadow Prince's crown glowed faintly across her forehead. Her eyes—once kind—were calm, calculating.
Noah stood in casual silence, his coat fluttering gently, a soft wisp of azure flame coiled lazily around his shoulders. His Divine Eyes glowed faint gold-blue.
On the sidelines, Layla sat on a marble bench, sipping tea. "Ooh, I'm betting on Scarlett. Noah's too soft with her."
Lyra crossed her arms, frost rising around her fingers. "He won't be. Not today."
"Ready?" Noah asked, rolling his wrist.
Scarlett answered by vanishing.
[Shadow step]
From his left.
"First Form—Silent Gale!"
Dozens of air-enhanced slashes whipped toward him in a tight cone. Each blade of wind was nearly invisible—razor-thin crescents that shimmered only when they struck stone, slicing clean through it.
Noah used Flash Step, blinking through space just before the storm hit.
But Scarlett anticipated it.
She twisted in mid-air, her leg sweeping out.
Wind Kick.
The air detonated in a burst—he was forced to guard with his forearm, skidding across the ground.
"She's fast…" Noah thought, a grin forming.
He snapped his fingers.
[Mind Acceleration]
The world slowed.
Scarlett's next movement—normally imperceptible—now appeared smooth and readable. She was rotating her body to chain a Poison Slash from below.
He blocked.
But her blade phased.
Shadow Slash—a curved strike wrapped in pure shadow mana. It warped space slightly as it carved upward.
"Clever girl."
He teleported.
[Space Spell – Fold Point: Displacement Slash]
Noah appeared behind her mid-move, his sword coated in spatial distortion—a crescent-shaped distortion rippled through the air, aiming for her blind spot.
She spun around midair—using her own shadow to yank herself with Shadowstep, narrowly avoiding it.
Their blades clashed mid-air.
Sparks flew.
Noah's sword was engulfed in flickering azure.
Scarlett's daggers glowed with dual affinity—Wind and Shadow interwoven into every strike.
Back and forth they moved—one step a teleport, the next a flurry of slashes—ducking, dodging, predicting. Their battle wasn't just power.
It was a chess match in motion.
From above, Noah pointed two fingers down.
[Time Spell – Chrono Pin]
Lines of pale blue time energy formed a net above Scarlett's head—locking space in that zone.
But she grinned.
"Bad spot to try that."
Second Form—Eclipse Spin!
She whirled into a shadowy cyclone—daggers slicing out with elegant fury. The spinning burst sent a wave of darkness-laced wind in every direction. The chrono net shattered.
Noah shielded with Gale Dance, forming a vortex of flame and wind to absorb the brunt.
He was laughing now—eyes gleaming with genuine excitement.
"You really got stronger, Scar."
Scarlett landed silently, crouched low, daggers at the ready.
"I told you, didn't I?"
She dashed forward, this time weaving Wind Cloak—a silent movement spell that left no air pressure.
Noah activated a space rune on his glove.
[Space Layer – Dimensional Trail]
A glowing ring expanded beneath his feet, warping the distance around him—making it harder for enemies to approach in a straight line.
But Scarlett's instincts had grown sharper.
She didn't charge. She threw a Dagger Feint from the side—imbued with Shadow Bind.
As Noah blocked it mid-air with a backhand slice, the real Scarlett leapt from behind the tree shadow on his left.
"Third Form—Death Pierce."
Her dagger struck forward—so fast the air itself collapsed in on the tip, forming a needle of wind and shadow. It targeted his heart—perfect, undodgeable once locked.
He had less than a second.
So he activated it—
[Flame Explosion]
Blue fire expanded in a wave—muffled yet monstrous. The ground blackened instantly, grass disintegrating. Time and space distorted at the edges of the field.
The attack met his flame…
BOOM!
Her Death Pierce clashed with a spinning defensive spiral of blue fire.
Wind and shadow were devoured—dissolved into the flame.
Scarlett was blasted backward—landing on her feet, panting, eyes wide.
"That's…" she muttered, "the true flame?"
Noah didn't press the advantage. He stood inside the burning circle, his silhouette bathed in divine blue.
He lowered his sword.
"That would've pierced me clean if I hadn't burned the path."
They both stood there, breathless. Scarlett smiled faintly.
Scarlett crouched, panting lightly, sweat tracing down her jaw.
Noah's Azure flame had barely blocked her Death Pierce, and even now the ground around him was scorched black—warped by that strange blue fire.
She narrowed her eyes.
"I'm not done yet."
Then—
The Crown of the Shadow Prince awakened.
A chill swept the battlefield. Shadows writhed at her feet like sentient ink. Her red eyes flashed with deeper intensity as the crown's ethereal shape flickered behind her—its cursed authority pressing down on reality.
[Predator's Veil – Activated]
Her presence vanished.
No mana. No breath. No heartbeat.
Even Noah's Divine Eyes flickered with static for a brief moment.
He raised an eyebrow. "So… now you're serious."
Scarlett didn't answer.
She was already moving.
She teleported mid-shadow, appearing behind him with Shadowstep – Royal Tier, faster than even time-enhanced perception could register.
He twisted, Flash Stepping into space distortion, but—
CLANG!
A dagger grazed his cheek.
"She's matching my space movement…?" Noah thought.
Scarlett didn't let up. She activated another skill:
Shadow Arsenal – Partial Unleashing
From the darkness behind her, a circle of 12 shadow-forged weapons—spears, scythes, daggers—hovered like loyal knights.
They launched.
Noah used [Time Spell – Chrono Delay], slowing their flight.
But as the first blade neared him—it twisted mid-flight, curving unnaturally.
"Willpower-guided?"
The spears forced him to dodge with Blink Teleport in random patterns, breaking his rhythm.
From above—Scarlett fell, twin daggers glowing with Shadow Poison Edge.
"Eclipse Spin!"
She rotated midair, her shadow forming wings of daggers, spinning in a storm of death.
Noah unleashed Azure Flame Burst, forming a shield of holy fire—but the spinning assault pierced through three layers before he countered with a space ripple slash, pushing her back.
They separated again, breathing hard.
Scarlett's crown flared brighter.
Even Layla stood up now, eyes wide.
"She's like… a walking shadow storm now."
Lyra whispered, "Heh. She's more dangerous than ever."
Back on the battlefield—
Scarlett's voice cut through the air, calm.
"You always protected us."
She stepped forward, the shadows parting for her.
"But I'm not a girl hiding behind you anymore."
The crown pulsed with dark violet light, but she didn't activate her full domain—not yet.
Noah's grip on his sword tightened. A slow grin spread across his face.
"Alright then."
He activated a thin veil of Temporal Shift, and the air began to fracture—time itself bending.
"Let's see if you can outplay both time and space."
And so the real battle began—
She vanished and reappeared through shadows.
He folded space and warped attacks mid-air.
Every movement had purpose.
Every skill a response.
Scarlett struck from ten directions at once.
Noah rewrote space to funnel her attacks into traps.
They weren't just trading blows.
They were measuring belief.
After half an hour.
Finally, Scarlett leapt back, landing on one knee, exhausted.
The shadow weapons faded.
The veil lifted.
She looked up, sweat-drenched, grinning.
"You still outmatch me…"
Noah approached slowly, offering a hand.
"But now," she continued, accepting it, "you have to try."
Noah helped her up, nodding once.
"And that makes all the difference."
To be continued...
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