"I was afraid you'd let me down," Lisa said, her lips curling into the same grim smile she always wore. She had no respect or fear for the demons residing in Sicily; she simply considered them pests that lived under beds.
That's why, when she encountered Petra as her enemy, Lisa felt a surge of excitement. The honor her enemy possessed made the battle shift from a dull duty to a thrilling fight.
"Do you go deaf as you get stronger?" Lisa commented, observing Petra standing motionless, her eyes locked on her enemy. Lisa wondered why Petra was so quiet, while she herself couldn't stop talking. In that brief moment of observation, Petra raised her left hand, her right palm meeting it before pulling back. It looked like she was trying to shoot an arrow, but her hands were empty.
Lisa's mind raced as she watched Petra's slow movements. She had time to think because Petra's actions were so deliberate. But the excitement on Lisa's face tripled when Petra formed an arrow made of bright purple light from the palm of her left hand. Petra stretched her glowing purple energy and shot the arrow toward Lisa.
The arrow broke the sound barrier, tearing through the settled cold air as it hurtled toward Lisa. She saw it coming but was barely able to dodge it. The arrow passed right next to her head.
"That was a fast one," Lisa complimented, but before she could say more, she heard a blast behind her. Turning around, she saw nothing but a bright purple explosion. The blast was silent but so intense that it lit up the entire area.
Lisa looked back at Petra, whose eyes glowed purple, and her energy surged. Summoning a sword made of ice, Lisa leaped into the air to attack. Before she could land, Petra flew at her, and they collided mid-air. Their blows exchanged true might, shaking the very ground beneath them.
Both fighters landed, but before Lisa could attack again, Petra lunged at her, grabbing her by the throat and pulling her into the sky. Once airborne, Petra threw Lisa to the ground. Lisa hit hard but sprang back quickly. Petra grabbed her again and dragged her along the ground. Blood began to trickle from the right side of Lisa's head, staining her hair.
Noticing her hair matted with blood, Lisa clenched her fist and struck Petra's head with a punch. The punch was infused with the same knullyfying technique she had used against Regem. The force released a wave of blue energy upon impact, sending Petra flying into a rock.
Petra's arms stiffened, and her powers faltered. The purple aura around her faded. Struggling, she tried to get up but saw Lisa charging toward her. Petra leaped from the rock, trying to get above Lisa, but Lisa swiftly kicked her in the face before Petra could react.
"A demon is always a demon," Petra sneered, blood dripping from her mouth.
"I know that very well," Lisa replied, twisting her lower body while held in mid-air and kicking Petra with her other leg, sending her crashing into the same rock Lisa had jumped from moments earlier.
Petra didn't have time to question what had just happened. She got back up and ran toward Lisa, but Lisa had already summoned her ice sword once again. As Petra approached, Lisa slashed at her right eye. Petra was pushed back but quickly retaliated, shooting Lisa with a beam of purple energy.
Lisa attempted to block the attack by wrapping her ice sword in knullyfying energy, but the sword shattered, and the energy beam struck Lisa, crashing her into the ground. As Lisa struggled to rise, she saw Petra pulling out another purple arrow, aiming it at her.
"This will end it all," Petra said as she readied her shot.
Before Lisa could respond, Petra smiled wickedly and fired the arrow into the sky. It soared upward, but the next moment, countless arrows rained down from the sky, covering the ground. Lisa dodged left and right, but she was quickly running out of space. She dropped to her knees and touched the ground. Ice shards began growing from the earth, forming a protective dome around her.
Not a single arrow hit her, but as Lisa thought she had evaded the deadly barrage, she realized the arrows were about to explode. The dome of ice shards was covered in arrows, and before she could react, the arrows detonated, incinerating her with intense purple energy. No part of her was shielded.
When the explosion faded, Petra approached, thinking Lisa had lost her mind from the blast. She walked toward her, only to stand right in front of Lisa and taunt, "How did the heat taste?"
Lisa didn't answer. She just looked up, her lips curling into a grin, and then let out a laugh.
Suddenly, Petra felt a twisting motion gripping her from all sides. Looking down, she noticed she was standing on a symbol Lisa had drawn in the sand. Before Petra could move, a massive water spout erupted, lifting her into the air. The swirling vortex carried Petra high into the sky before crashing her back down to the ground.
As Petra struggled to get up, Lisa was already charging toward her again. With a powerful punch, Lisa struck Petra in the right side of her face, causing Petra to spit out a tooth.
Before Petra could retaliate, Lisa grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground, slamming her into the earth. After smashing Petra into the dirt, Lisa loaded her left hand with the knullyfying technique and delivered a heavy punch to Petra's chest. The impact cracked the ground, and blue light filled the fissures.
Petra grabbed a large rock from the ground and swung it at Lisa's head. While the hit didn't send Lisa flying, it created just enough space for Petra to recover. As soon as she regained her footing, Petra was hit in the face once again by Lisa.
The fight became a brutal exchange of blows. Both of them had used up their powers, and it was now all about hand-to-hand combat. Lisa had an advantage, though—she somehow still had her ice sword. She swung it at Petra, but Petra tried to grab it.
Lisa kicked her away and then slashed Petra's right arm, which sent Petra into a rage. Petra grabbed the sword, her eyes glowing with fury. Covered in purple aura, Petra launched herself into the air, grabbing both Lisa and her weapon. In a flash, they crashed back to the ground.
Petra was about to finish Lisa by unleashing a blast of purple energy to fry her head, but Lisa suddenly spit boiling hot water at Petra. The water burned Petra's face, causing her to stagger backward.
As Petra tried to focus, Lisa launched a sphere of water at her, hitting Petra square in the chest. Enraged, Petra rushed toward Lisa, her purple aura flaring as her powers surged back.
Before Petra could strike, Lisa slashed her head clean off with her ice sword. The head fell and rolled a few steps away. Petra's lifeless body dropped to its knees.
Lisa gazed at Petra's fallen form and said, her voice tinged with sadness, "I could not go all out."
But then, to her shock, Petra's body began to move. Lisa watched in disbelief as Petra's severed head reattached itself to her neck. A glowing chain-like backbone with purple aura extended from Petra's body and rejoined with her head. Petra, now fully restored, was overflowing with purple energy.
Petra looked at Lisa with newfound power. Lisa, shocked by this resurrection, took a step back. Petra reached out, releasing a massive wave of purple energy that sent Lisa flying.
As Lisa recovered, she saw Petra transforming. Her body was covered in purple electricity, and a silver armor began to form around her.
"Let's go all out," Petra said in a shrill voice, her face obscured by her new armor.
"I was wrong. You are fun," Lisa said with a grin so wide, it was impossible to hide her excitement