Amelia’s blade cleaved another soldier of the anti-earth alliance in two perfect halves.

She moved as though the entire battlefield was her canvas, and the blood and flesh of the enemies were the paints, with her katana being the brush.

At certain times, her robe often acted as an auto-corrector.

She thrust, piercing through another enemy’s eye, before slashing sideways, completely killing him.

Before his body could drop, Amelia had leapt back, her katana a blur of silver as it streaked through another enemy’s throat.

Yelp.

Amelia released a low growl as her body was pulled to the side by the robe she wore.

"What was that?" She asked as she regained her balance.

That was when she saw it, a huge scythe that sliced through the earth she had stood on just moments ago.

The wielder landed a breath later, his eyes calm as he looked at Amelia.

But Amelia did not give him face; she focused her attention on the robe.

"Love this robe," she muttered with a smile.

It had saved her countless times that day, even though most of them would have only resulted in minor injuries. She preferred the fact that she had done everything without sustaining any injury.

She lunged almost immediately, katana flaring with aether as she thrust towards the attacker’s chest.

The man caught the attack with the tip of his scythe, and pushed back with almost insulting ease.

Amelia backflipped, landing softly on the floor.

Without thinking much, Amelia knew the enemy was at the Marshal rank.

But she did not fear.

After all, she had observed almost everyone at the Marshal rank among the candidates.

None was her match, as could also be seen from the fact that she was ranked fourth among all of them.

’Seems like our planet’s cultivators are generally stronger than others at the same rank,’ she mused.

But she snapped out of her thoughts quickly.

"This is not the time for such thoughts."

Amelia’s body surged as she poured aether into every part of it.

For the first time, she utilized full aether strengthening.

Boom.

Tremors rippled outward, destroying the metal tiles as Amelia shot forward.

Her blade and body moved in tandem, slashing upward towards the man’s jaw.

The man sidestepped, avoiding the attack.

Amelia’s body jerked backward again, positioning herself in front of the attacker before he could complete his movement.

She slashed at his torso.

The attacker parried with his scythe’s shaft, then slashed, his scythe cleaving downwards towards Amelia’s head.

Amelia swung her katana up, towards the scythe’s tip.

Clang.

Sparks flew, and a sharp ring exploded through the ship as steel kissed steel.

Amelia groaned. She had underestimated the power behind the attack.

Her knees buckled, lowering till they hit the earth beneath her.

A loud moan escaped Amelia’s lips as she tried to push back.

Nothing.

The scythe did not budge. The attacker did not twitch.

"Arrgh."

Amelia yelled as the attacker’s leg crashed into her head.

Blood sprayed into the air as she flew through it.

She landed on the floor, her body rolling and skidding till she came to a halt at the foot of a pillar.

Her body launched backward at a speed that was too fast for her to even control.

Immediately after, the scythe’s blade pierced into the exact spot where her head had been.

Amelia stood up from the floor slowly, her breathing heavy and ragged.

"Okay, I may have overestimated myself and underestimated this guy," she muttered, still carrying a smile on her face.

"Leviathan’s Tail."

Amelia looked up quickly.

The man was already over her, his scythe descending over her shoulder.

His aether burst out uncontrollably.

A dragon-like creature, made entirely of water, formed behind him.

Its tail followed the scythe, covering Amelia entirely.

The robe moved again, pulling her to safety before she got smashed beneath the tail. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Amelia’s chest rose and fell at a rapid rate.

"He is too strong," she muttered.

If not for the robe, she knew without doubt that she would have died over and over.

She held her sword tightly in her left hand. A vial appeared in her right hand, and she downed the potion before the man could even register it.

Her wounds began to clear, and her fatigue washed away.

Without wasting words, she tore forward again, like a bullet.

She swung her katana forward, targeting the man’s neck with deadly precision.

The man raised his scythe up, towards the point that was meant to be hit.

Nothing came.

A feint.

Amelia’s sword twisted mid-air.

She swung towards his torso using that short window.

The man stepped back quickly, narrowly avoiding the attack.

But that also seemed to be a part of Amelia’s plan.

She switched from a slash to a thrust within a breath, her katana finding the man’s chest.

Aether rose at that point, creating a barrier that shielded him from the thrust.

Amelia raised an eyebrow at this, but her focus was not broken.

She leapt back, creating a gap between herself and the man.

Aether poured into her blade subtly, as if she was hiding it from the man.

The barrier fell, and the man rocketed forward, his scythe charging with aether, as though he had finally grown tired of seeing Amelia alive.

Amelia bided her time. The robe did not interfere even when the scythe had neared.

Then, she split cleanly, the scythe slashing through the space above her.

The man, for the first time since the fight started, felt fear.

He could not tell the reason.

There was no need to know the reason either.

Time seemed to slow down, but it was only for him.

Amelia’s katana hummed with energy, already vibrating under the amount of aether flooding it.

She slashed upward, slicing through the air with a whistle that could have deafened any normal person.

Her katana cut through the man from his thigh to his head, splitting him into two perfect halves that fell in opposite directions with a thud.

The energy from the katana continued upward, till it crashed into the ceiling of the ship.

But the energy was absorbed, unable to create even a scratch.

Amelia heaved in relief, her body stumbling backward.