{Month: Sunflare}
{Date: 1/7}
{Time: Evening}
The Water Elven Queen marched down the halls with her Royal Knights, hearing the discourse from the lower levels of her castle, quickly storming down the steps, her silver hair flowing behind her in rushing waves.
Reaching the second floor, she noticed a few guards apprehending my forces, hearing the defiant calls of Izumi, Leo, and Hayate and seeing the calm silence from Mira and Ren. She walked toward them, a simple glance enough for the guards to release them.
"Queen Sophia," The elven guards saluted, standing at firm attention before her queen.
"What is going on here? Why is there so much commotion at this time of night? Why are you apprehending Leo and his allies?" Sophia questioned, her left ear perking up as she heard an explosion in the distance.
"Your Highness, Queen Stella and her Advisor are raiding the citadel and we have probably suspicion this was a planned invasion!" The guard reported, her stance as still as a stone statue.
"I promise we had no idea my sister and Lady Victoria were planning this! We just got done saving North Sylvannia from North Wadataka, and Sylvannia are our allies," Leo confessed, his eyes pleading for Sophia to believe him.
Sophia met Leo's gaze, gently reaching to him and caressing his cheek with a warm smile. "Don't worry, Leo. I believe you, and I know Stella wouldn't attack without reason. She's seeking a challenge after what happened to her Kingdom..."
Sophia turned toward the next set of stairs down the corridor, summoning a crystal snowflake at her side and braced herself for combat. "I know when a Queen is walking the path of a Warlord, a Conqueror. Yet...I don't blame her, but I will stop her."
Leo watched Sophia with a softened gaze, placing his hand upon his cheek, the icy sensation of Sophia's touch lingering upon his cheeks. Izumi glanced between Leo and Sophia, sensing their long royal history, yet remained silent.
With her speech spoken, she hurried toward the battle outside, her steps quick as she rushed down the flight of stairs. The Royal Knights and Guards began to escort Leo and the others to safety while Sophia stepped out to the battlefield to defend her home.
Outside in the courtyard, Saya and Miyuna continued to fight valiantly against me, using their combined speed to attempt to overwhelm me, but I could see right through their every move. I evaded Saya's flurry of strikes while shifting my Affinity to Fire to melt Miyuna's ice into water.
Steam began to form around the battlefield, obscuring Saya's and Miyuna's vision slightly. I chuckled within the steam, my silhouette crossing the smoke like a reaper in the night.
"You two shine brightly together, and show great courage to face against a Queen. A Rook and Bishop... interesting duo on the board, but this is real life!" I taunted, dashing toward Saya and knocked her away with a darkness lariat.
Saya groaned as she rolled backwards along the ground, her body naturally recovering onto her feet but her mind still dazed. Not giving her time to rest, I blinked in front of her with a strike aimed at her face, causing her to flinch.
"That's two for flinching," I sneered before delivering a crushing knee to her gut then let out a roar, using my aura to launch her away once again.
Saya groaned as she crashed into a bush, reaching in her satchel weakly and raising up a white flag. "Hold on...I need a break! We've been at this for 20 minutes, where is Queen Sophia..!?"
Miyuna glanced back at Saya, letting out a soft exhale with an assured smile that she was okay. She rose back to her feet, looking ahead and noticing the steam clearing. "Hmph, you seem to be holding back, Queen Stella. I thought someone like you would kill anyone no matter the age."
I chuckled softly at Miyuna's comment then dusted myself off, closing my eyes with pure confidence. "You two remind me of my cute little brother, and... some other people I used to know..."
As those words left my mind, static images of Tomoka and Aaron flashed in my head, Risa's memories continuing bleed into my current ones. I opened my eyes with a smirk, shifting Nyx for my Lunar Arm: Vesper Argentum.
"Also, it's been a while since I last ever had fun fighting someone. For mere rookies, you are quite strong and resilient," I praised, readying myself to take down Miyuna once more.
Miyuna calmed her nerves, her icy energy flowing gracefully around her body as she held her rapier with certainty. "As Saya said, we are not rookies!"
Miyuna dashed toward me and thrusted her rapier toward me rapidly, aiming to land at least one jab upon my body. I evaded and blocked each of her attacks before countering with a clean punch to her face, causing her to stumble backwards.
Miyuna caught her footing, quickly slicing upwards and landing a clean hit along my torso. I grunted softly as a line of frost ran across my ripped dress along my stomach, a smirk forming upon my face at the face of challenge.
"Miyuna! You got a hit! We can do this!" Saya cheered, pumping herself to join back into the fray.
Miyuna took a deep breath and exhaled softly, readying herself for what was to come. 'A clean hit but—'
Before she could finish her thought, the earth beneath her began to shift, dragging her toward me and catching her off guard. I shifted my Affinity into Wind, generating strong winds around me then released it in a huge burst.
Miyuna grunted heavy as she tried to resist the extreme forces of wind, a pained shriek leaving her as she was sent flying. I took a step forward, blinking a short distance away from her and catching her ankle then slammed her to the ground.
"Don't tell me this is the best you can suddenly do," I taunted, sticking the blade of my sword beside her head and stepping upon her stomach with cruel dominance. "As I said, two rookies...you can't handle the weight that comes with being an Officer or even a Commander. Just two juniors playing hero..."
Miyuna grunted softly as she struggled under my foot, attempting to raise her sword to fire a beam at my head, but I used my other foot to stomp on her arm. She groaned lightly as her arm was now pinned, leaving her no options other than to struggle.
Saya grit her teeth as she watched Miyuna's struggle, a flame burning where her heart passionately beat, the Ignis Star releasing solar flares within her spirit. 'This woman is crazy strong...but I can't let her hurt my bestie! We have to stall until Queen Sophia gets here!'
"Senju! It's time to shine!" Saya bellowed, leaping out of her panda suit and summoning her halberd using a streak of blue flames.
Saya's panda suit began to shift into a panda with a Yin and Yang symbol within his eyes. Senju rose on his hind legs, letting out a roar and locked onto me with a battle ready gaze. His eyes shone with protective might, his growls oppressive as they rumbled deeply in his throat.
I chuckled lightly as I stepped off Miyuna and turned to face Senju and Saya, placing a hand on my hip and tilting my head slightly. "Once again...you just don't know when to quit, do you?"
"This time, I'm going all out! You've might've heard my title raging about in the past! The Burning Ember Barbados of Doom, I am the student of one of the Six Masters of Arcania!" Saya declared, pointing her halberd toward me, its blade shining with a fiery red hue.
"Burning Ember Barbados? Ahh yes, this little one is a known bandit around Cynthia, impressive potential just the wrong crowd."
"Defeat her, and recruit her. Build her and Miyuna up..."
I listened to Bushido's whispers, noticing her had taking a liking to Saya and Miyuna...and frankly I had as well. I chuckled lightly, taking my blade out of the ground and enhanced my Vesper Argentum into Wave Vesper Argentum, water glyphs appearing upon my blade.
"Going all out huh? Your best isn't even 10% of my worst!" I challenged, taking my battle stance once again.
"Enough talking! Senju, pulverize her with your Dual Ignis!" Saya commanded, pointing at me with a direct tone.
Senju roared with might, surrounding his paws with fiery energy then dashed toward me and began hurling powerful and accurate blows toward me. I watched each strike carefully, blocking and parrying each strike and using calm strides to maintain distance.
Saya rushed to flank my blindspot, slashing with her halberd at my head, but I generated an orb of water to catch her blade then froze it solid. I dodged Senju's attack and grabbed the handle of Saya's weapon, thrusting it forward to shatter the ice ball against his face.
"Senju!" Saya called out, growling with anger and her hair setting ablaze. She charged at me with wild, fiery slashes, setting on hitting me at least one time.
I dodged each slash and thrust gracefully, raising my leg and stomping her blade into the ground before blinking forward and knocking her away with a roundhouse kick. Saya rebounded off one hand into the sky, generating multiple fireballs and hurling then my way.
Dodging each fireball, I retaliated with a grand, spinning downward slice, releasing large cutting wave of water toward her. Senju quickly rushed forward to block the attack for Saya, crossing his arms in an X formation and tanking the attack.
"You're finished!" I called out, slicing downward again and releasing a cutting wave of Abyss Energy, merging the two elements together to create Black Water.
The destructive cutting wave of black water began corroding through Senju's raw defenses, the tides crashing down upon him violently. With his natural instincts, he unleashed his Reversal Claw, swinging his paw in a powerful circle and sending the waves back toward me.
I stuck my sword into the ground in front of me, using the blade to slice the waves in two, protecting myself from the very waves I washed toward Saya. Once the water began entering the streams of Ránheim, the streams immediately purified the water to prevent corrupting the water systems.
Miyuna watched as Saya and I rested to reset and collect ourselves once more, her grip upon her rapier tightening. 'She's so reactive, nearly having an answer for almost any situation. From what I've seen...she has Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Darkness..!'
'Just how can she wield so many elements with her energy points overloading? Ms. Natsume can only handle three at once, and Lord Jin and Yomi can only wield four at a time. She has five...' Miyuna questioned mentally, trying to understand me the best she could.
"This woman is something else..." Senju communicated using the collar around his neck, his voice wise and deep. "Saya, how did you manage to get into this one?"
"What!? You're blaming me for this? I didn't even know this was going to happen! Besides, how are we going to even get out of this? No way am I letting you get ice balled in the face again by this hag again," Saya argued, letting out a sassy scoff as she looked Senju up and down.
"Hag?!" Risa and I spoke at the same time, my cheeks immediately flushing red with embarrassment and insult.
"I'm 19, you damn punk! Have no room to talk about me looking like a blue raspberry on fire. How old are you? Can't be older than fourteen, little girl," I fired back immediately, glaring at Saya with pure defiance.
"Yeah! Eat her up, Stella! Leave no crumbs!'
"Ah...hell no! Blue raspberry? Fourteen? I'm 17, bitch! Get your facts straight!" Saya argued back with pure frustration in her tone.
Senju and Miyuna watched on the sidelines as Saya and I argued across from one another, slinging insults toward one another. They glanced at each other for a moment, making sure they were witnessing the same as the other.
"This is not how I imagined this battle going," Senju said in disbelief, scratching behind his ear with confusion before lowering into all fours once more.
"Yeah...Saya tends to do this a lot more than you'd think while you're dormant," Miyuna confessed, shaking her head and sighing.
Leo, Izumi, and Mira watched from the balcony, Leo and Izumi unable to contain their soft laughter as they listened to me bicker with Saya about our looks and age. Mira sighed and chuckled softly with amusement, witnessing my humanity shining through once more.
"Enough with this! It's time I take you down right here, right now!" Saya roared, sticking her halberd into the ground and summoned gauntlets in the shape of bear claws.
I laughed at Saya's declaration and stuck my sword into the ground as well, cracking my knuckles with a wide grin. "Oh, I would love to see you try!"
Saya lowered her stance then dashed forward, swiping her claw at me with ferocious night but I blocked her attack then elbowed her face, following with a high kick to launch her in the air. Saya grunted softly from the stinging pain to her chin, but she recovered quickly to block my next strike.
Saya landed on the ground, parrying each of my strikes before countering with a fiery palm strike to my chest. I stumbled backwards a bit, catching my footing once more and chuckled lightly with slight enjoyment.
"Heh, is that all you've got, Saya? All that for a tap along my breasts. You're weak, pipsqueak," I sneered, snapping my fingers and giving her a thumbs down with a mocking grin.
Saya began to flare up with anger, but decided to calm down knowing her recklessness was getting her nowhere. She took a deep breath then slowly exhaled, opening her eyes with Yang Symbols forming in her eyes.
Senju hummed with wisdom, nodding his head in agreement to Saya's decision. 'Finally using Yang Mode...keep your mind calm Saya...'
Saya dashed toward me at renewed speeds, launching more precise and direct strikes, each one slightly more challenging to evade. I parried her next strike, but Saya used the same momentum to land a Reversal Claw along my side, the force of her attack knocking me to the side.
I gracefully recovered onto my feet, noticing Saya already in front of me with a devastating strike to my face, knocking me away even further. Saya didn't let up her momentum, rushing me with furious attacks, each strike reflecting her burning soul.
Saya knocked me away with a kick, using my body to flip backwards and land on her feet. She clapped her hands together then separated them, generating a large, orb of plamsa energy. "Ignis Star Technique: Requiem Nova!"
"Stella! Get up!" Leo called out with horror in his voice, gripping upon the rails of the balcony as he watched Saya unleash her ultimate attack.
The orb of blue plasma energy began crashing down upon me like a star crashing down upon its planet, the heat rapidly rising, the crackles of electricity irritating my skin. Though I was in grave danger, I couldn't help myself but to laugh in the moment.
I stood onto my feet, my eyes flashing a violet hue, cursed marks slowly crawling along my skin as my Royal Crest began to awaken. A force of Spatial Energy began to passively repel Saya's Requiem Nova, but surprisingly began adding more force against my natural defenses.
'Amazing...though weakened by the night, it is still powered by the energy of the Seven Stars, enough to slightly overpower Queen Stella's Spatial Energy...but something seems off...' Senju thought to himself, keeping an watchful eye upon my struggle form.
"This is it for you, Stella! I'm taking you down right here!" Saya bellowed, adding more power to her already devastating attack.
I chuckled at her confidence, blinking out of the way of the attack, the orb rushing down the courtyard before exploding against a wall. Saya quickly searched around for me, her gaze remaining expectant and alert.
"You know... I've always wanted to try this after first learning it," My voice echoed around Saya like a ghoul haunting the night, the area suddenly shifting and warping around.
Saya began to grow slightly dizzy, her perception warped and exchanged around as she noticed only minor details shifted. 'What the he—'
Before she could process what happened, I blinked in front of her with a powerful knee to her face, knocking her away. Holding my hand out toward her, I began using attractive forces to pull Saya back toward me before warping our surroundings again.
Saya grunted heavily as she landed on top of Miyuna, both girls groaning from the heavy crash. Senju looked down at the girls, figuring out what my true Affinity was after my basic display of Spatial Control.
"I think that's quite enough, Stella," A familiar voice called out to me from behind.
I smirked lightly and turned around to face the Princess of North Sylvannia, Sophia Lustrum. I crossed my arms with a soft hum, chuckling softly with amusement. "Sophia, the woman I've been looking for. Finally deciding to show your face."
"I'm willing to let whatever you're doing slide as long as you end your raid upon my land. First Yomi, now you. Can't we get a break?" Sophia asked, her tone tinged with soft exasperation.
I let out a soft exhale, glancing back at Miyuna and Saya, watching them help each other up on their feet. I turned back to face Sophia with a calculating smirk, shrugging my shoulders. "Alright, I'll call it quits...as long as you allow me to take Miyuna and Saya under my wing."
"What?!" Saya squeaked in the background, looking at me as if I lost my mind. "Ah hell no! Decline it immediately!"
Sophia sighed softly, lowering her head as the contemplated her decision, knowing I put her in a tough situation. "Geez, Stella...still as complicated as ever. Alright, look...I'll agree to you insane idea after we come to an official agreement. But first, you have to help me find Natsume and Victoria."
"Sounds like a plan~" I hummed with delight, turning around to face Miyuna and Saya. "Alright, you two, starting today, you will become part of my army! And the first training you'll get is watching a high level duel."
"Great...Queen Sophia just sold us to the crazy lady. Some loyalty, am I right..?" Saya said dryly, looking over at Miyuna with a dull expression.
"Yeah...but something tells me we could learn a lot from Lady Stella. After all, she beat you. Three times," Miyuna replied, meeting Saya's dry and annoyed expression.
Saya rose her fist at Miyuna's face slowly, flicking her forehead with a heated finger, causing Miyuna to flinch and hold her forehead. "That was for insulting me," Saya began, flicking Miyuna's forehead once again.
"Ow...Senju, stop her..!" Miyuna softly whined, shuffling behind Senju to avoid Saya's soft wrath.
Senju chuckled softly at the two, glancing back toward me with an intrigued gaze as I spoke with Sophia. 'She could have easily killed us if she wanted...no way they could handle Queen Stella even while severely holding back...'
'I wonder why she spared us the way she did... the entire time reading her essence, it was relatively pure...so I know she has decent intentions. I just wish I could understand her energy,' Senju thought mentally before shifting back to his Dormant Form so Saya would equip him once more.