The moment Elara and Kaela truly engaged, everything changed.

They didn’t circle or hesitate, colliding directly fist to fist.

Boom!

The sound didn’t just echo.

It detonated.

A shockwave rippled outward from the point of impact, tearing across the arena floor and slamming into the stands with enough force to rattle the entire stadium. Dust lifted in sheets, cracks spread like spiderwebs beneath their feet, and for a brief, terrifying moment, it felt like the structure itself might collapse.

And yet, no one looked away.

Their auras alone were suffocating.

A crushing pressure filled the air, thick and heavy, like standing at the bottom of the ocean. Breathing became difficult for most in the crowd, weaker Titled instinctively shrinking back, while even seasoned fighters felt their instincts scream at them to run.

But their eyes remained locked on the centre, on the two figures who no longer looked human.

They moved again.

And to most, they had both simply disappeared, blurs at best.

Flashes of crimson and violet collided again and again, too fast to track, too violent to comprehend. Each clash sent another shockwave tearing through the arena, each strike carrying enough force to obliterate anything below B Rank.

And yet, they weren’t even going all out.

At least not yet.

They were matching each other, testing, measuring, and speaking as they did so.

Boom!

Kaela blocked a punch with both arms.

The impact drove her backwards instantly, her boots carving trenches into the ground as she slid over a dozen metres before stopping. That single strike would have turned a lesser fighter into paste, but Kaela just lowered her arms slowly with a deranged smile.

Across from her, Elara stood still, or more correctly, the Blood Demon.

Crimson energy coated her entire body, flowing like liquid, pulsing with an unnatural rhythm that made the air distort around her.

It wasn’t just power; it felt alive.

Kaela’s purple aura wasn’t any less intense.

It crackled violently around her frame, snapping and sparking like condensed lightning, reinforcing her body, enhancing every movement.

Red against purple - different energies, but similar uses.

The demon tilted its head slightly.

"Are you really... human?" it asked.

Its voice carried effortlessly across the arena, even through the chaos.

Kaela shrugged her shoulders once, then let out a genuine, unrestrained laugh.

"I fucking love you."

She didn’t answer the question, and didn’t need to, because in that moment, all that mattered was the fight.

The Riot Valkyrie burst forward again, this time even faster.

Her body blurred into motion, violet energy trailing behind her like a comet’s tail as she closed the distance instantly.

But Elara vanished.

This wasn’t speed, but instant displacement, reappearing above her opponent.

Kaela’s eyes widened slightly, not in fear, but in fascination.

The demon’s fist came down.

Kaela twisted mid-motion, barely bringing her arm up in time to block...

Boom!

The ground beneath her feet shattered again as she was driven downward, cracks exploding outward from the impact point.

She skidded back once more, boots grinding against broken stone.

Her grin widened.

"Teleportation?" she muttered.

Another flash, and Elara appeared to her left this time.

Then, to her right.

Then, behind her.

Each movement wasn’t continuous, but instantaneous.

There was no transition or signal, just presence, absence, then presence again.

Kaela laughed again, louder this time.

"Okay... that’s fucking cool."

She lunged again, faster, adapting, trying to read the pattern - but there wasn’t one. The demon’s movements weren’t predictable.

They weren’t even logical.

It was predatory, the kind that showed it was used to facing weaker foes and always dominated its opponent with ease. And after experiencing its abilities first-hand, that was definitely understandable.

But Kaela loved it.

All her wounds closed almost instantly as her body regenerated, purple energy knitting flesh and muscle back together in seconds.

The demon noticed, of course.

Its crimson gaze flickered briefly to the healed skin, then back to her eyes, both impressed and curious.

’Let’s see how far you go,’ it thought.

And then they clashed again.

-

Up above, in what remained of the VIP suite...

"Are you serious right now?!"

Ethan blinked, slightly thrown off by the sudden outburst.

He turned to see a young woman storming in. She appeared to be around his age at most, but there was a worn, exhausted edge to her. Her brown hair was messily tied up in a loose bun, strands falling out in every direction, and her hazel eyes were sharp but strained with fatigue.

She looked haggard, but not unattractive. Just overworked, like someone who hadn’t had a proper break in years.

"Couldn’t they just use the gates into the arena like normal people?!" she snapped, gesturing wildly toward the chaos below.

Ethan raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Normal people? Do they look normal to you? And more importantly, who the fuck are you?"

He could feel that unmistakable energy around her, and be it because Spark was rubbing off on him, Ethan had an acute sensitivity to mana. Whoever this person was had a bunch of it, especially when they were in good condition.

Though she completely ignored his question.

"I was already drained! Do you understand that?" she continued, pacing now, her voice rising. "I planned everything perfectly. The fights, the pacing, the energy output - everything was calculated!"

She dragged a hand through her messy hair, making it even worse.

"There was already one surprise C Rank addition, no thanks to you, and now this?!"

Her voice cracked slightly under the pressure.

"I can barely maintain a barrier that can contain that level of power in peak condition, let alone in my current state!"

She pointed down toward the arena again, where red and purple energy continued to clash violently.

"They’re not just A Ranks - they’re practically fucking S Ranks!"

Ethan glanced back over the edge.

’Yeah, can’t argue with that.’ 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The sheer pressure radiating from their fight alone was enough to make the air feel heavy. But more importantly, he finally pieced together who she was, and as he did, things became even more chaotic...