?


    After ina and Shaman finished, they were instantly brought back to the group. Shaman sat on the ground somewhat confused as it had ended so suddenly.


    "Did I get a hit in?" Shaman wasn''t sure if she even managed to hit ina as there was no visible damage.


    "Yes you did and I''m extremely impressed." ina offered her hand to help Shaman up, but before she could, Shaman fell back to the ground.


    "Thank god!" Shaman felt her entire body rx as all she wanted to do wasnd a hit.


    "Don''t rx just yet, the day is hardly over. I also think Jane here wants to talk to you" ina smiled while shaking her head as Shaman reminded ina of her younger self when she was first beginning her training.


    "Hmm?" Shaman sat up to look who Jane was and her eyesnded on the blue-haired girl next to Himeko.


    "Hey~." Jane did a polite wave while smiling, trying not toe across as unapproachable.


    "Oh okay, sure." Shaman wondered what it might be, so she got up from the ground and walked over.


    "Now ra, it''s your turn." With Shaman now out of the way, it was time for ra''s duel.


    "Yep!" ra felt extremely nervous since ina was her own cousin, so if there were any grudges they would likelye out now.


    "Don''t stress too much ."


    "You got this Mother."


    Elysia and Silver gave their words of encouragement knowing full well that ra would be nervous.


    Hearing their words helped ra calm down. She reflected on the root of her worries, the fact that ina might be holding a grudge. Knowing that she tended to overthink things, especially when ites to rtions with other people, she decided it was pointless to worry about it any longer and refocused on the fight at hand.


    "It''s alright, I know what you are thinking. I do not hold anything against you, after all, I was just as pissed at them for using their 8-year-old daughter as a pawn. I may not look it, but I''m d to see you have turned out great. Still, it doesn''t mean you get to have my seat, understood?" ina saw the hesitation in ra''s steps and was worried that ra''s insecurities would affect the duel.


    Family did not matter at this moment in time as all ina wanted to see was how strong ra had be.


    "I understand." ra took a deep breath, ingraining ina''s words in her mind. Stepping closer so she could take ina''s hand, there was no longer any hesitation in her step, which is exactly what ina wanted.


    "I want you to enter your demon form right away if you can." ina took a few steps back to give ra some space.


    "Alright." ra didn''t know exactly how long she could stay in it, but with how fast the duels were so far it shouldn''t be a problem.


    "Ready whenever you are."


    With the signal to go ra began her transformation, which caught ina''s attention pretty quickly. It was extremely simr to her own, which shouldn''t be the case since their family had split apart long ago.


    ''Why does ra have subus traits? If she is their child then she should be taking on a more dragon-like form unless…'' ina didn''t know for sure, but if what she is thinking is correct then ra is not a cousin but actually a half-sister.


    ''Tch, those bastards are more scummy than I thought. Let''s see if she is a full subus or a half-dragon.'' Without getting in contact with ra''s demon essence ina wouldn''t know for sure.


    ra''s body finally finished adjusting and by looks alone, ina was able to tell ra had the eyes of a dragon, the tail of a subus and the horns of royalty. There was little room for doubt that there were some affairs going on, but until she felt ra''s demon essence ina couldn''t confirm it.


    ra, unaware of what ina just discovered, charged at her while pulling out her whip des. Instantly coating them with lightning, ra swung forward going right past ina.


    ina had stood still because she did not see them as a threat and wanted to see what ra had nned.


    While running forward ra retracted her des aiming right for ina''s back. The attack itself was rather simple and one that ina could easily dodge, but because the whips were coated in lighting it still posed some threat.


    ra overcharged her whip des causing lightning to burst out from every part of the de towards ina.


    An explosion erupted directly hitting ina, but as the dust settled bat wings were seen covering the entirety of ina''s body. Although her bat wings looked rather thin, they were still protected by ayer of demon essence.


    Unravelling her wings, ina revealed her own full transformation, which made ra notice that her form was quite simr to her own. However, she thought it merely confirmed that they were cousins since the two still had some differences, especially since she herself had no wings.


    "I''m not done." During the explosion, ra fully retracted andbined her 2 whip des to create a lightning long-sword. Inspired greatly by Himeko''s style of fighting, she used all of her weight to swing down at ina as thetter opened her wings up.


    "Nice try." As the de was a few inches away from ina''s face she caught the very tip with her fingers. Having already switched to her tier 10 clothes, the ck gloves she wore were able to withstand the burning sensation from the lightning.


    ra retracted her lightning from the de, thus reverting its length to its true shorter form and allowing her to continue the attack. However, this attempt would also be swatted away by ina.


    Using her spare hand ina swung with her great axe, parrying the de while also sending ra reeling back.


    "I like the way you think." ina so far had been rather impressed with ra''s fighting style as it adapted very quickly depending on the situation. The only thing ina wanted to test was how ra would defend against her attacks.


    This would also allow ina to feel ra''s demon essence since thetter has yet to use it in her attacks.


    ra slid on her feet until she came to a full stop and took this chance to take a breather. It was hard to imagine any way to even get an attack in making Shaman''s feat all that much greater.


    However, she wouldn''t need to think for long as ina came at her directly swinging down with her axe.


    Surprised by the sudden attack, ra tried to redirect the axe by parrying it with her sword, but the force was almost too great for her to bear. This triggered ra''s innate demonic instincts leading her to use her demon essence to reinforce her body, finally allowing her to withstand the pressure.


    ''It all makes sense now.'' ina felt the fluctuation in ra''s body, allowing her to pinpoint who her parents are.


    ''ra''s mother and my father seemed to have gotten along… I guess that''s why my father disappeared when I was younger.'' ina had already guessed it was her father, but now that she was able to find traces in ra it was all the more obvious what he was doing some nights when ina was still a kid.


    ''I think I have learnt everything I needed to know now, so let''s see how long ra canst while constantly under pressure.'' ina no longer needed to test ra, but to train her demon form ina wanted to push ra to the limit.


    Once ina''s axe crashed into the ground ra tried to retaliate with her own stroke, but ina was too quick. After blocking ra''s de, ina started a barrage of axe swings, just strong enough to bring out ra''s demon essence and force her to constantly be on the defence.


    It didn''t take long for ra to understand what ina was trying to do, so shepletely focused on surviving the attacks.


    ra was constantly on the move dodging, redirecting and blocking the axe for 10 minutes. At this point, ra had turned her whip des into two swords allowing for more flexibility when redirecting the axe''s blows. It also gave her some opportunities to counterattack, but every attempt so far had been unsessful.


    However, it wouldn''t be long before ra suddenly buckled when trying to block an attack. Gettingunched across the field, her demon traits began to fade signifying she reached her limits.


    ''Shit.'' She hadn''t even felt she was close to her limit, but now the usual fatigue thates from using all her energy was catching up. This made her unable to brace her fall, but ina was fully prepared. Before ra could even touch the ground, she was already caught.


    "Well done, especially for someone who hasn''t been home for years." ina was satisfied with ra''s use of her demon form even though it was still quite immature.


    "Urgh." ra wasn''t able to register what ina was saying as suddenly her consciousness faded.


    "Whoops, maybe I shouldn''t have pushed her to the absolute limit."