"I finally got to your level. Let me enjoy it for a little while longer."

  Amelia's voice echoed from every direction.

  Carefully observing his surroundings, Orion focused.

  "It's true that you've greatly improved. Compared to our last battle, this is levels beyond."

  "But you're being sloppy."

  Aiming his finger toward one Amelia to his right, he did that without looking at her.

  "Hide your energy output. You're asking to be found out if only you are exerting magic."

  A bead of sweat dropped from her forehead as she realized that the tactic she chose actually had weaknesses.

  "It's fine. I'll just have to work on that as I fight you."

  Slowly, the real Amelia vanished into the air, as if she had been an illusion all along.

  "..."

  Orion noticed more copies appearing, but this time, not a trace of magic remained that could lead him to her.

  There were at least fifty copies of her glaring at him.

  'That's more like it.'

  Adjusting his posture, he readied his body.

  His wings opened wide and, with a push of his right leg, left an afterimage behind him.

  In a fraction of a second, all copies of Amelia were destroyed by him, each time leaving an afterimage of himself that lasted a few seconds before dissipating.

  "What?!"

  He managed to pinpoint where the real Amelia was and left her the sole survivor.

  "I know you far better than you think. Those copies are, ultimately, just copies."

  Behind her back, he whispered in her right ear.

  (You should do something about that, or your enemy will find you out, like I did.)

  Standing still, she gulped.

  'He is still far stronger than I could have imagined.'

  She slowly glanced over her shoulder, but he was already gone.

  "!"

  Searching for him, she focused.

  *Click*

  With this simple sound, she knew what was coming. Without checking if it was true, she let her body fall backward before jumping away.

  That was the right decision, as a void bolt grazed the tip of her nose, coming from her right.

  "Shit!"

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  Hearing multiple clicks, all she could do was dodge.

  As if she were dancing, she masterfully avoided all bolts. When the last one flashed in front of her eyes, she pushed her chest forward, letting it travel behind her.

  "Not even exhausted? That's an incredible improvement in your stamina."

  This time, she heard his voice from above. Lifting her face, she saw him with a smile.

  "I'm not underestimating you, just so you are aware. I'm testing the water, as to speak."

  "I know, I was doing the same previously."

  Pushing a strand of hair behind her left ear, she grinned at him.

  "My turn, right?"

  Amelia took a strange pose, which intrigued Orion. Bringing her right hand in front of her face, she appeared to hold something in it.

  "Astra."

  Void particles began to gather from the surroundings, even dragging those coming from Orion.

  Unsurprised, he nodded.

  "So that's the name of your weapon."

  He was used to the names she had given to her elements. This one was no exception.

  A magnificent gun, a revolver, appeared after taking form from the elemental particles.

  She pulled the safety and aimed it at her husband.

  "It's going to hurt."

  Pulling the trigger, a muffled ripple echoed from the gun as a bullet ripped through space itself to hit its target.

  "..."

  The bullet was easily traceable to Orion. With one movement of his hand, he caught it and smirked.

  "I rule that domain. Even Tetra cannot do that."

  "Did you think this would be enough to beat me?"

  He flicked the bullet at her, which lodged itself between her feet.

  "Grr!"

  Growling lightly, she hid the plan she had built behind fake anger.

  "What about that, then?"

  Five copies of Amelia suddenly blinked into existence around Orion, aiming Astra at him.

  Five bullets were fired at him.

  "Good."

  Orion smiled while letting gravity take him. The bullets ripped through the air and vanished, unable to meet their target.

  Amelia kept pressuring him by firing Astra continuously until she ran out of bullets.

  A clone appeared each time another missed, taking the spot of another.

  Flying through the bullets, Orion had to seriously avoid them.

  'Last bullet.'

  Astra needed a slight moment to reload. Knowing that this would give Orion the time to strike back, she carefully planned her next move.

  Using her copies, she forced him to get closer to her position until he was right above her.

  "Kh!"

  Realizing that he had fallen into her trap, he turned to face her in midair.

  The moment he crossed her horizontally, she fired at him.

  "!"

  But she wasn't prepared to see Orion aim Pleione at her in return.

  Firing a bolt at the bullet, he met her attack with one of his own.

  A massive blast of energy pushed them back, ripping the fabric of space itself.

  "I have to control that."

  Getting hold of his center of gravity, Orion flapped his wings and straightened.

  He opened his right hand and overlapped it with the luminous blast before closing his hand.

  As he did, everything returned to normal.

  "It's still a strange feeling. This knowledge imparted through the 'Seed of Divinity' feels as if I always knew how to control it."

  As a Remnant, his state was closer to what Henrietta and the others faced after being turned into one. Where knowledge of their functions came naturally, just like a newborn who knows how to breathe.

  "Amelia?"

  *Clack*

  Calling his wife to see if she was alright, he heard a metallic sound coming from under him.

  "I'm fine."

  Astra's chamber opened, letting all the empty cartridges drop off toward the ground.

  But as they fell, they dissipated into particles before a new batch of void bullets magically formed inside the barrel.

  Satisfied, she nodded.

  "Are you up for more?"

  Placing his feet on the ground next to her, he asked.

  "Of course."

  With a smile on her face, she aimed Astra at his face.

  "Haha~"

  Orion lifted his right hand, placed his index finger on Astra's nozzle, and pushed down on it.

  Amelia took this chance and spun around, sending a kick that would normally hit him in the neck.

  But knowing that, he answered with the same attack.

  Their legs met, and with a massive blast of air displaying the intensity of their physical abilities, they returned to training.

  Pushing on each other's legs, the ground began to crack as they exerted more strength.

  Orion was actually surprised that she was holding on against his natural ability.

  All he had to do to overpower her was to activate any level of 'Gear'. However, he preferred to fight her with his natural ability.

  Seeing that this clash would lead them nowhere, they broke off at the same time.

  "Hmpf! Stubborn!"

  She puffed her cheeks and turned her face away.

  "No time to speak."

  Without giving her a moment to rest, he fired Pleione at her.

  He was prepared for her to dodge the bolt, but instead, she stood still, watching it get closer and closer.

  Then the bolt went through her body.

  "..."

  A wild smile appeared on his face as she did.

  "What? Don't tell me you weren't prepared to see the truth."

  He shrugged it off.

  "I knew it was a matter of time, but you certainly learn fast. I'm quite delighted, to be perfectly honest."

  "Compliments will give you nothing."

  "Oh, I know."

  Both aimed their weapons at each other.

  "Show me everything you've been hiding from me."

  "I will."

  Instead of firing Pleione, Orion leaped forward and crossed the distance in the blink of an eye.

  His feet scrapped the ground as he pulled his right hand behind him and sent a devastating punch at Amelia's stomach.

  "!"

  This was slightly too fast for her, but she managed to escape it by a thread by stepping aside.

  The pressure exerted by his punch pushed air forward, destroying the ground in a straight line.

  "Are you trying to kill me?!"

  "Yes?"

  He turned around, only to see her looming over his back, ready to punch his head.

  "I could say the same..."

  Warping away, he avoided her attack.

  "to you."

  Her fist met the ground and set an unprecedented record of destruction.

  Like a meteor crashing on earth, walls of dirt and rocks were lifted around her. A massive cloud of dust wrapped everything in opaque brown, creating a sense of disorientation for Orion.

  "..."

  The dust instantly vanished as a violent wind lifted everything upward.

  "You want to play that game with me?"

  A gurgling sound, with sounds of bubbles exploding, echoed from where her voice came from.

  Orion felt an outstanding sense of danger coming out of Amelia.

  When his vision returned, the ground where Amelia was standing had melted into a puddle of lava.

  She was standing on a platform of frozen lava, which had turned into obsidian from the intense heat difference.

  The wind rapidly spun above her, while a fiery glare burned in her eyes.

  Five elements were reacting to her will while she aimed Astra at Orion.

  "You better be prepared. I'm not holding back anymore."

  Gulping, Orion smiled dryly.

  'I think I made a mistake...'