"Are you seriously doing this?"

Sandy clenched her jaw as she blocked an attack from Amerula. She took a small breath her other hand clenched into a fist she had imbued with ice.

She swung her sword, and Amerula side-stepped creating an opening. She made space and punched through but he caught her fist, his hand freezing in the process but he didn’t seem to care.

With his arms crossed, Igrad stood behind them, watching, a smug smile on his lips. If Amerula wanted something in exchange he had to show him.

Sandy Glaris had proven to be too loyal to the dark elven kingdom. What he didn’t know was that loyalty wasn’t the only thing keeping her from accepting his offer it was more of fear that she would be haunted by the Devil queen in her death.

As a free hunter, she had been placed between a rock and a hard place. She had chosen to die loyal to her kingdom rather than surrender and probably become a puppet to a human.

This was something she couldn’t perform.

She retracted her sword and jumped back, her hand slipping out of Amerula’s hand. It was so quick that he didn’t have the time to kick back.

He chuckled.

"You’re fast, I give you that..." he whispered. He clenched his fist, spread his legs apart slightly, and bent his legs at an almost ninety-degree angle.

Sandy brandished her sword, ice slowly coating the ground around her. She stood in her battle stance, sword pointed at him, her brows furrowed.

’How had this come to this extreme’

She had only accidentally bumped into Amerula and they decided to hunt together since the frequency of the high-ranking monsters’ appearance had increased.

They had been together for almost a whole day and she had found him pretty entertaining but it seemed he was a fox. She wasn’t surprised, foxes were famous for their selfishness and treacherous nature.

She might have gotten a little too comfortable after surviving a few hardships together and had become complacent. Now she was probably going to die due to her stupidity.

At least she didn’t betray her kind.

She matched him in power, but what worried her was if Igrad decided to join in. She would be dead in a matter of minutes.

A small sigh escaped her lips.

"You know if he loses against his highness, this will affect your whole continent, " she muttered, trying to buy time," One of the best warriors attacked the Dark elf queen’s husband. This is war you’re looking into."

He shrugged, his face impassive," I do not care." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Then, he stepped forward. His fist landed hard on her side, ice bloomed around the area but she was still pushed back going through a few trees.

She didn’t get to rest. He appeared before her. A large ice shard shot up from the ground around her, forcing him back a few steps.

"This is your last chance, Lady Sandy..." Igrad’s voice called to their attention distracting both of them.

Sandy circled her aether desperately around her core, converting it into her elements.

She raised her free hand.

"I will not be a servant."

Icicles shot towards Amerula. He skipped back, bending his body in impossible angles as he dodged every piece of icicle. He bent to the side, and a large icicle passed by him but this time he never anticipated the amount to suddenly increase.

One stabbed into his thigh. He jumped back, creating more distance between himself and her. He pulled out the icicle and his wound closed up at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Since almost all beastkins were body strengtheners, their bodies had evolved beyond nature.

Icicles floated around her, surrounding her like they belonged. Sandy’s gaze shifted to Igrad, who was still leaning against a tree, a small wall of flames surrounding him like a shield.

All her icicles had melted before they could reach him.

A small exhale of breath left her, then she stepped forward. A whirl of frost surrounded her as she swiftly ran towards Amerula, almost in a blur.

Fists collided, one reinforced with ice while the other pure flesh. His foot raised in a question mark form and kicked her down but she crossed her arms above her. A flat slab of ice covered her arms.

It shattered into pieces the moment it met. The ground cracked around creating a small crater with her half kneeling in the middle.

Her left leg swept towards his, intending to destroy his balance. He narrowly avoided it, distancing himself from her.

"You’re really something, huh."

Gladia could feel the mockery in his tone. She rolled her eyes.

"You’re not bad yourself, for a stunted man."

His neck corded and his eyes went from playful to almost venomous. It was clear he did not like the jab at his height.

He disappeared right before her gaze. Gladia suddenly bent backwards, and cold wind grazed her skin as his fist punched where her head had been.

Ice burst below him, and he side-stepped his face impassive. His fist came again, a block of ice rose before him shielding her from it and slowing his fist down.

She skipped back distancing herself. The ice wall exploded into little pieces as he punched through it as though it were paper.

It was clear he had been toying with her.

Her fist clenched at her side, her heart beating hard against her ribs. Her gaze swept across the small clearing.

"Are you thinking of escaping, "a gruff voice cut in, like the devils," unfortunately you can’t. One of you must die today."

His gaze moved to Amerula. "He will be the one to win obviously."

The fight continued between them as each of them exchanged blows that could cripple a weaker person. The valley had almost frozen at this point.

"This is going long enough, " Amerula mumbled.

He moved. He disappeared from her vision again but this time, she was ready. A wall of ice rose to her right, followed by icicles shooting towards that direction.

He expertly avoided them, bending in unimaginable ways again. His tails, deflecting any stray ice.

He moved through the showers and suddenly appeared in front of her before she could form another wall of defence.

His fist landed directly on her stomach. She crashed through multiple trees while simultaneously defending against his persistent attacks.

They came to a stop quite a distance from Igrad. Sandy was too tired to fight back. He lifted his fist. Her eyes fell closed.

Before he could strike a light shot through the sky then a larger explosion followed.

Steam spread quickly through the whole clearing.

"What..."

"Found you," a cold voice came through the dark.