The empty Void Room suddenly shifted, its sterile purple fog dissolving into an endless sea of lush green grass under a crystal-clear blue sky.
Kael stood in the middle of the field, staring at her in disbelief. "Are you really planning to beat me up with a wooden sword?"
Sara didn't bother answering. In a sudden burst of speed, she closed the distance between them, swinging the wooden blade in a clean, diagonal arc.
Kael raised his arm to block, expecting the harmless impact of training gear. But as the wooden edge touched his shoulder, it cut through his flesh like a razor. Blood dripped down his sleeve, staining his shirt red.
Kael winced, wincing as sharp pain shot through his shoulder. "Fine... if you're taking this seriously, then so am I."
Closing his eyes, Kael called out into the depths of his soul. Drakes! Can you take over for a bit?
A heavy, ancient roar resonated through his mind. "Heh... With pleasure, boy."
Kael's lips pulled back into a cold smirk. "Then take the wheel!"
Sara stopped in her tracks, watching intently as dark magic erupted around Kael. His golden pupils dissolved into pitch black, and dark, scale-like markings spread along his fingers.
Kael lifted his hand, examining his claws in confusion. "Wait... this didn't happen last time."
Drakes' voice echoed through his mind, deep and resonant. "That's my evolved form, kid. Now shut up and let me handle your body."
Kael's mouth went still. His posture shifted, his black eyes staring blankly at Sara with a cold, predatory gaze.
Sara gritted her teeth, her green hair fluttering in the divine pressure. "I don't care who is driving that body. You're still getting punished!"
Drakes let out a low, mocking laugh through Kael's throat. "Punishment? For a broken hairband he didn't even mean to break?"
Before Sara could strike, Drakes vanished. Her wooden sword swung through empty air.
SWOOSH!
In the fraction of a second, Drakes materialized directly behind her, delivering a heavy spin kick toward her ribs. Sara barely brought her arms up in time to block, the kinetic force sending her skidding backward across the grass.
Sara recovered instantly, a sharp smirk touching her lips. "I'm a divine system model. Don't assume you're the only one who can match that speed!"
Her green eyes flared with brilliant light. She surged forward like a green lightning bolt, trading lightning-fast hand-to-hand blows with Drakes in mid-air.
"Hah!" Drakes laughed in genuine excitement. "First time I've met an opponent who can actually keep up with me!"
Catching Sara's wrist, Drakes spun around and hurled her across the meadow. Sara adjusted her weight mid-flight, landing lightly on her feet.
Drakes immediately snapped his fingers, weaving a dark gesture. A swirling black magic circle opened above the grassland, summoning a army of high-tier cursed spirits.
Sara narrowed her eyes. "Two can play that game."
She raised her hand, opening a divine portal that summoned her own army of spirits. The two spectral forces crashed into each other in mid-air with a deafening roar. But Drakes' cursed spirits were refined through thousands of years of battle—they ripped through Sara's summons in seconds.
Sara smirked, completely unfazed. "I know those are your fully powered spirits, and I haven't mastered cursed arts yet. So let's try something else."
She flicked her wrist, opening a massive dimensional rift. Millions of specialized, country-destroying spirit entities poured out like a flood, blotting out the sky.
Drakes murmured under his breath, "Tch... he didn't wake Azune up for this?"
Inside Kael's consciousness, his right eye flared with a brilliant golden light. "I'm awake! Bring it on!"
Half of Kael's face retained Drakes' pitch-black eye, while his left eye shifted into Azune's glowing purple pupil. Long, dark void claws sprouted from his left hand.
Kael's combined form let out a chaotic, dual-toned laugh. "You're going to lose this spar, Sara!"
Sara glared at him, raising her wooden sword once more.
Seeing the blade, Azune's playful expression turned dead serious. Drakes summoned another wave of cursed spirits, while Azune poured his endless void energy directly into them, empowering the army with absolute destruction.
BOOM!
The empowered spirits collided with Sara's army. The shockwave was so immense that the entire grassland shattered like glass, throwing up a massive cloud of dust that blinded the horizon.
Drakes narrowed his black eye, scanning through the dust. "Where is she...?"
Azune's side of the mouth smirked. "Coming from behind, using the dust as cover."
Sara burst through the haze, driving her sword straight at Kael's back.
CLANG!
An invisible, impenetrable void barrier flared around Kael's body. Sara's sword struck the barrier hard, but Kael remained floating peacefully in the air, completely untouched.
Sara stepped back, her expression turning tense. She immediately activated her own spatial barrier, surrounding herself in a sphere of glowing green light.
Azune let out a dark chuckle. "You know Kael's power can shatter a barrier like that into dust, right?"
Sara offered a calm, quiet smile. "Maybe... but this is actually the first fight where I'm considering using 50% of my power."
Drakes paused, staring at her in surprise. "Wait... how much of your power were you using just now?"
Sara tilted her head innocently. "Not sure... probably around 10%."
Both Drakes and Azune froze in place, their eyes wide. "HUH?!"