?


    Passing ra over to Elysia, it was now time for nor''s turn to fight ina.


    "ra will be fine, but when she wakes up, tell her to meet me in my throne room tonight." ina wanted to tell ra who she was as it turns out they were sisters.


    "Mhm." Elysia nodded her head while backing away with ra in a princess carry.


    "Now who''s next." ina turned to the 2 remaining people yet to fight. nor and SIlver looked at each other for a moment wondering who should go first. In the end, nor decided to step forward, trying to use this moment as a way to help her confidence.


    "Alright then,e with me." ina offered out her hand, teleporting the both of them.


    ''This should be quick, I can see nor is very new to fighting.'' ina was able to tell from how nor carried herself that she was no fighter, at least not yet. However, her confidence was admirable and was needed if she wanted to go down the path she is currently treading.


    "Ready whenever you are, show me everything you got." ina nned to be more defensive for this fight as she wanted to gauge how experienced her opponent is in fighting.


    nor nodded and pulled out her fans which made ina raise an eyebrow having never seen anyone use fans as a weapon.


    "Interesting." ina muttered to herself, intrigued about how nor would fight. It also put to question ina''s earlier analysis as the way nor carried herself now made a bit more sense. She wasn''t a close-range fighter, but someone who fights with elegance.


    nor took a moment to think to herself about what to do. She wasn''t good at making the first move since she felt her moves were very predictable.


    ''Just do it, this is a mock duel and I just need to showcase what I can do.'' nor gave herself a pep talk, building up the courage to finally attack.


    A sweep from her fan and roots emerged from the ground trying to ensnare ina. Surprisingly they were quite effective due to the holy nature of their element.


    ina had not recognised this aspect of nor''s element, so she let it happen and to her surprise, it began to burn her skin.


    "Argh!" Quickly incinerating the roots with her ck mes, ina became extremely cautious. nor was a direct counter to any pure demon. In any other situation, ina would have killed such a foe on sight before they could be a problem.


    nor herself was even more shocked at what just happened since she only thought it would affect monsters.


    "Interesting, you are not a priest or anything are you?" ina wanted to be sure, since if nor was indeed a follower of god then there is no way ina was going to teach her.


    "No? I just sort of have the element." nor didn''t do anything special to obtain the element as it was just something she had.


    "Hmm I see, keep attacking." ina wanted to experiment with nor''s holy nature but it would have to wait until the one-on-one training.


    nor nodded once again, this time attacking with her wind. Waving her fans back and forth, she created multiple tornados surrounding ina.


    The ground also rumbled indicating more roots were on their way. This time ina jumped into the air and levitated. Roots broke through the ground trying to reach her, but before they could get close they were burnt to ash.


    The tornados began to get closer all the while sending wind shes directly at ina. Dodging with ease, ina let the shes continue on their way, some even colliding with each other causing explosions of wind.


    Surprisingly, ina wasn''t expecting such a reaction, almost getting her wings clipped by the first wind explosion.


    ''I will throw in one attack.'' ina was beginning to get used to nor''s fighting style and had a proper assessment of her experience. A lot of nor''s moves were very pre-meditated which wasn''t a bad thing, but in the flow of battle if she is not used to making quick decisions then she risks being thrown off her tempo or even freezing up.


    Dashing through the air narrowly dodging the tornados and their barrage of wind shes, ina telegraphed a swing wanting to see how nor would react.


    Panic was visible on her face as nor tried her best to think about what to do, but her hesitation cost her too much time and ina was forced to stop her swing before it was toote.


    "Alright, we are finished." ina rxed and offered her hand, but nor was still panicked from the attack.


    "Wait what? Why?" nor was curious as although she didn''t react in time there was still more she wanted to show.


    "I would have killed you right then and there so I stopped. You do not have experience of what it is like to be in battle and struggle to make those quick decisions. For example, you should not have needed to think in order to raise a wall made of roots. You know it''s one of my weaknesses, so you should take full advantage of that fact." ina gave her analysis which made nor go deep into thought.


    ''Damn it, I got overwhelmed.'' nor was cursing herself as everything ina said was right. Hesitation was a big problem for her, but she didn''t know how to go about fixing it.


    "Now let''s head back."


    "A-alright." nor took ina''s hand and the two found themselves back. nor walked back looking disappointed which caused Elysia and Silver to be a bit worried.


    "It''s okay Elysia, just a little mad at myself." nor could see the concern so she wanted to clear up that it wasn''t anything bad.


    "Now wolf boy it''s your turn." ina wanted to move straight onto the next duel and Silver epted, taking her hand without saying a word.


    "Show me what you got." ina didn''t know much about Silver, but still got some basic idea from the scythe he was pulling out and the style of his clothes. She gathered his role in the group was some type of assassin or rogue.


    Silver didn''t say anything and instead disappeared from ina''s sight. Of course, ina was still well aware of where he was. ina''s natural perception of magic was a lot more advanced than Silver''s magic meaning no matter how well hidden he was she would be able to pinpoint the exact spot.


    ''Still impressive that he can vanish physically without a trace. If he was up against one of my elite soldiers I doubt they could find him.'' ina gave credit where it was due, having been impressed by Silver''s ability to hide without there being any kind of visible distortion.


    As a bit of a tease, ina moved her axe, directly pointing it at Silver and continued to follow his movements. Silver quickly figured out hiding will be impossible which he half expected to be the case, but had hoped on the off chance that ian wouldn''t have been able to tell.


    With his ns of surprise over, Silver finally started his attack. He moved around ina in a predetermined pattern, trying to confuse her while also establishing his domain.


    Using the hidden shadow space around ina, he summoned swords to shoot out from the ground. Silver also jumped out of the shadows and swung with his scythe right for ina''s head.


    ina smirked just before stomping the ground and tensing every muscle in her body. She channeled her demon essence throughout her entire body, hardening her skin. Generally, it was not effective against people who are on a simr tier, but it definitely worked against Silver. As for why she hasn''t used it before, it was due to her being unable to move while in this state.


    Many fights require constant movement, so it was rare when a situation came about that justified using this technique.


    The shadow des stopped as soon as they made contact and dissipated shortly after. Silver''s scythe was also stopped right in its tracks, unable to cut through ina''s neck.


    "Hmm? Is this a demon weapon?" ina had finallye in contact with one of the many demon weapons the group has. It instantly piqued her interest as she has never seen a demon scythe in the armoury.


    "..." Silver didn''t know what to say as he was pretty sure his mother said not to say a thing just in case.


    "I won''t punish you if you tell me, I''m genuinely curious." ine saw the hesitation and guessed he was well aware that it was indeed a demon weapon.


    "We got it from a dungeon." Silver tried to not give too much detail, but it seemed enough to tip ina about its possible origins.


    "Ha! Your group really is something… Now keep fighting." ina was still curious, but questions couldeter. Putting her finger up against Silver''s scythe she gave it a little push which was much stronger than it looked.


    Being sent back a few metres, Silver quickly stopped himself and entered the shadows.