Watching the smoke and destruction before her, the eerie stillness gnawed. “Is it over?” Nohrell wondered.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  Rapid explosions echoed from the distance. Nohrell squinted through the dissipating smoke.

  “The Lancers?!” She spurred her steed forward for support.

  But it was too late. More explosions followed in quick succession. Nohrell pulled her steed to a halt, watching in horror as her Lancers were reduced to ash.

  From the hillside, Aurora emerged. Her armour was cracked and torn apart. One arm hung limply at her side, and a deep slash across her forehead narrowly missed her eye. She forced it open.

  “Iasis!” she chanted, casting a healing spell as her steed circled Nohrell.

  She then pointed her blade at her enemy. “Now you die...” Her voice was hoarse and clipped.

  “You think you’ll win, you damned witch!” Nohrell growled in pure hatred, her body trembling uncontrollably. Her usual playfulness was gone.

  Three thunderous claps echoed. The battlefield ignited in a fission effect, mana sparking in cascading colours, drifting like a rainbow snowfall.

  Visually stunning. Terrifying.

  A violent tremor shook the earth as the combatants clashed again, sending plumes of dust skyward. Aurora’s blade pressed against Nohrell’s scythe, neither willing to yield.

  Nohrell groaned, summoning every ounce of strength. “After I finish you off, I’ll parade your pretty corpse through every city!” she snarled.

  “I will fix this world, starting with you!” Aurora countered, pushing forward. Every fibre of her body strained to its limit.

  “YAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Both warriors screamed, their voices reverberating across the battlefield.

  In a split second, Aurora twisted her blade, slicing into Nohrell's side. Simultaneously, Nohrell retracted her scythe and hacked into Aurora's exposed shoulder, blood splattering into the air.

  Both staggered back, raising their free hands.

  “Magnetos!” Aurora roared.

  “Vortexis!” Nohrell chanted.

  A violent storm erupted, flinging Aurora 50 metres into the air before she crashed into the scorched earth with a sickening thud. The impact forced the air from her lungs.

  Meanwhile, Nohrell was hurled over a hundred metres, tumbling across the dirt.

  Aurora struggled to her feet, gripping her bleeding shoulder.

  Nohrell, equally wounded, desperately tried to rise. “How do you like it now, Fox?” Aurora muttered through ragged breaths.

  “Now I know... My hypothesis might be correct,” Aurora thought. “She has nine slots. The Ninefold Apparition occupies eight, and one is reserved for wind magic. That means her scythe is an arc weapon.”

  Aurora chuckled deeply, “Heh, she doesn’t have Iasis. I can will this.”

  “Iasis!” Aurora chanted again, but her wounds barely healed. “No...” She collapsed to her knees, eyes fixed on the fox.

  Nohrell sneered, despite her pain. “Heh... Oh? Did you hit your head so hard you forgot the fundamentals of arcane?”

  As she crept toward Aurora. The storm howled again, nearly knocking Nohrell off her feet.

  “Give up! Damn it! Can’t you see? I still have Armatus!” Nohrell insisted, desperation creeping into her voice.

  “Never,” Aurora replied resolutely, slowly rising to her feet, gripping her sword. Her silver eyes burned bright.

  “Why?!” Nohrell screamed.

  “Because I will save this world...” Aurora glared down at her enemy, “from the likes of you.”

  “Persistent bitch!” Nohrell lunged.

  Clank!

  Metal clashed. Sparks flew.

  Nohrell retracted and swung again. Aurora adjusted, blocking with an overhang guard.

  “There!” Aurora spotted an opening. Nohrell’s long weapon gave her reach, but its wind-up left her vulnerable.

  With lightning speed, Aurora redirected her blade, stabbing at Nohrell’s torso. The fox barely dodged, but the blade nicked her underarm.

  “Ah!” she yelped, stumbling back.

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  Aurora pressed her advantage, sweeping her sword down. Nohrell raised her scythe to block.

  CLEAVE!

  The blade cleaved the scythe in half. Nohrell’s eyes widened in disbelief.

  “Impossible!” she gasped.

  Aurora pressed forward, reclaiming her ground. Raising her sword, she struck downward.

  Nohrell sidestepped to evade and used the broken half of her scythe to pin Aurora’s blade.

  Grunting, Aurora attempted to pull her sword free, but to no avail — their weapons were locked. They exchanged a brief glare before simultaneously discarding their weapons and raising their hands.

  “Empyrion!” Aurora roared, summoning a burst of flames.

  At the same time, Nohrell screamed, “Vortexis!” casting a powerful whirlwind.

  Wind and fire clashed with a deafening roar, pushing against each other with the force of nature itself.

  Aurora held her ground, her feet rooting into the dirt. “You just don’t quit, do you?!” she shouted.

  Nohrell gritted her teeth and leaned in, pouring every ounce of her strength into the battle. Their combined power condensed into a swirling orb of elemental energy, its chaotic light resembling a miniature sun.

  “Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!” Both warriors screamed as they expelled the last remnants of their mana.

  On the cruiser above, a Gold knight turned to Suingi, hesitation in his voice. “Sir… the energy is off the charts. The Earth will break.”

  Suingi remained calm. “No, it will not. Knights, cover your ears.”

  A deafening explosion followed. Another shockwave tore through the battlefield, sending the Armatus fleet into disarray. Their thrusters roared as they struggled to stabilise.

  A towering mushroom cloud of plasma illuminated the sky, resembling the aftermath of a nuclear detonation — hundreds of them at once.

  But this was not a bomb. This was the clash of the two most powerful mages of the modern era.

  As the dust settled, a massive crater, nearly 100 metres in diameter, scarred the battlefield.

  Suingi gazed down at the scene below. The entire battlefield had been bathed in a strange phenomenon.

  “The holo mana-fall. Such a beautiful sight,” Suingi murmured the new discovery, clapping his hands slowly.

  On the ground, two figures lay motionless in the dirt. Their silver hair, once pristine, was now tainted with black ash.

  Nohrell remained sprawled on the ground, unable to move. One of her eyes was shut tight, while the other — her golden eye — stayed open, mesmerised by the falling mana particles.

  She coughed, blood spilling from her lips. “Su~... Su…” Her voice barely formed words.

  Aurora rose unsteadily, her body screaming in pain. Yet she commanded it to move. Her dark figure loomed over her fallen enemy.

  “Fox… I shall grant you a painless death. Stay down,” she instructed with a trace of empathy.

  “Again… with those condescending eyes…” Nohrell mused bitterly. “I... hate… you...”

  Her voice grew stronger as mana trickled back into her body.

  Aurora crouched over Nohrell, opening her palm. “Thanatos Spatha,” she chanted.

  The dark blade materialised, its blue flames flickering ominously.

  “Suingi! Help me! Kill her!” Nohrell screamed, desperation lacing her voice.

  Suingi did not respond.

  The blade hovered just above Nohrell’s sternum.

  “May your passage to the underworld be undisturbed,” Aurora whispered, pressing the blade downward.

  But at that moment, her dark blade dissipated into mist as she collapsed atop Nohrell.

  “Hades’ hell!” Aurora cursed under her breath. Her arms no longer obeyed her commands.

  “Get off me, you bitch!” Nohrell squirmed beneath her, trapped under Aurora’s weight. “Suingi! Suingi Marchand—”

  “I heard you the first time,” a calm voice replied.

  Suingi was no longer on the cruiser. He was standing beside them, gripping a staff.

  Nohrell’s eyes widened. “What…?”

  Aurora gasped for air and rolled to the side, chuckling uncontrollably.

  “Suingi Marchand…” Aurora repeated before bursting into laughter, lying on her back.

  “You stupid fox,” she continued, voice weak but triumphant. “Since we’re about to die anyway, I’ll spell it out for you.”

  She smirked. “S U I N G I, spelled backward, is I G N I U S.”

  Nohrell’s eyes widened in horror. “Ignius? The Celestius?!”

  She struggled to rise but collapsed again.

  The illusion around Suingi wavered as the mana-fall touched him, revealing an old man with a long beard and golden eyes as fierce as a dragon’s.

  Aurora exhaled. “What is your goal, Ignius? Kill us both, and then what?”

  Ignius regarded them for a moment before shifting back into his youthful form. “Your battle isn’t over yet. So carry on. As the Mage of War, I’ll be the judge of that.”

  With those words, he faded away.

  Aurora smirked. “Even a deceitful man has a line he won’t cross.”

  Nohrell erupted into fury. “How could you do this to me?! Suingi, Ignius, whoever you are—”

  Her words were cut short. A wet gurgle replaced her voice as Aurora’s blade plunged into her chest.

  Blood pooled beneath her like a butterfly of death.

  “Please, close your eyes,” Aurora said, adjusting her grip on the blade.

  Despite her convulsing body, Nohrell’s golden eyes locked onto Aurora, unblinking. Then, she took her final breath.

  In the darkness… Eight essences of Ninefold Apparition were shattered into pieces.

  “Hades’ hell…” Aurora muttered, pushing herself upright. She watched as Nohrell’s lifeless body lay still, her eight tails slowly disintegrating into white particles.

  The humming of the retreating Armatus fleet drew her attention.

  She looked up and exhaled. “So… that’s your answer, huh? Ignius Lux Draconus, the Celestius of Aries.”

  ***

  Inside the grand bedchamber of Astral Empress Aurora, a portal hummed open near the lavish bed.

  “Eeeee!” A cat Wildren shrieked as she tumbled through the portal, stomach twisting from the fall. She bounced off the bed with a startled yelp.

  Wide-eyed, she scanned the room in confusion. “W~where am I?” she stuttered, glancing around in panic.

  The chamber was lined with luxurious furniture, its aesthetic dominated by royal silver tones. Elegant electronic appliances were seamlessly integrated into the decor.

  The double doors creaked open. A cat Wildren dressed in a maid’s uniform stepped in, tail flicking in suspicion.

  “Maow! Welcome back, Empress Aurora—” She paused, eyes narrowing. “Wait… Who are you?” she snapped, pointing accusingly at the intruder.

  The girl on the bed gulped. “Umm, I’m Cartier De Joy, I guess?” she replied sheepishly.

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