Juliet's body was enveloped in golden flames, cutting a truly heroic figure.
"Nice parlor trick, little boy," the Queen of Devils smiled.
Juliet jumped forward, trying to punch the teeth of the woman's mouth. Epagogia pivoted gently on her feet, avoiding her attack without breaking a sweat.
"Too much movement in your limbs, little boy, tighten it up if you don't want me to read you like a book."
Juliet knew that was the same problem with Jacob. These warriors of infinite experience could foresee attacks from the simplest movements. But she had been thinking how she would fight against a much more experienced warrior.
Juliet widened her stance and stretched her arms in front of her.
"Dodge this, you wh*re," Juliet spat.
Phoenix Nova
A huge wave of golden flames sprouted from Juliet's palm, enveloping everything on the other side. Epagogia disappeared in the sea of golden fire.
Juliet breathed heavily, still alert. She knew that an attack like this one wouldn't be enough to put the Devil out of commission.
"Wow, birdy-boy, that was a good warmup."
Juliet pirouetted as soon as she heard Epagogia's voice and attacked again in the other direction.
Phoenix Nova
Another bit of the forest got blown away. Then, the golden flames started gathering on the ground, slowly looking for the enemy with a mind of their own.
"Still a bit chilly, birdy-boy," Epagogia laughed.
This time, her voice came from every direction.
Goddamn Devil.
Juliet knew the woman was toying with her, but she couldn't lose her calm. There was no way she would win otherwise.
"Come out, you coward!" Juliet snarled.
"Oh my, you really should have killed someone today to calm your spirits, as your little friends did. Now, you want to kill me? Oh my, indeed. Well, at least you seem to have no problem with not having mercy."
Juliet twisted and turned, trying to catch the Devil's figure in the sea of golden flames all around her. She had to be careful not to ignite the entire forest on fire. Thankfully, the flames could sense her intent and stop burning the trees, just resting in mid-air all around her.
"Boo."
Juliet turned and got a punch straight on the nose.
The Devil woman didn't relent and punched her stomach and neck in quick succession.
Juliet felt her windpipe bend, making breathing almost impossible.
Epagogia stepped back. She enjoyed this little game, and, unlike Jacob, she sometimes liked playing with her prey.
"You kids still don't understand how this world works," Epagogia said with a sly smile, "the strong kills the weak, birdy-boy. And here, you are the weak, and I am the strong."
Epagogia was done playing. A big spiked Morningstar made of what looked like steel magically appeared in her right hands and a spiky shield in her left.
"Today's lesson, Juliet, was in knowing that you cannot have mercy on your opponents. That you need to be ruthless, to be able to kill without a second thought. I'm not sure how many of your little pink and soft humans understood that. See," Epagogia twirled the mace as if it weighed nothing, "one day you will meet an enemy, and you might hesitate. That hesitation will cost your life. So, show me if you will hesitate, birdy-boy."
Juliet didn't expect the Devil to suddenly go on the offensive and tried to dodge the mace coming for her head.
Tried.
The spiked morning star suddenly changed path, hitting her ribcage and making her fly.
F*ck, how strong is she?!
Juliet could already feel herself heal thanks to her Sacred Queen Phoenix Constitution, but she still had received substantial damage. If she took another blow that strong, she might not be able to shrug it off easily.
"What? You thought that a little birdie strength scared me, that I have no secret of my own? I am the Queen of Devils, Juliet."
Epagogia sped up and disappeared from her sight, reappearing the next second at her right. Juliet felt the movement through her flames and moved her fist to meet the spiked morning star.
The impact created a shockwave so strong that multiple small rocks around them flew away.
Juliet ignored her damaged hand and threw a punch enveloped in golden flames, but Epagogia simply parried with her shield as if it was nothing and then clipped her shoulder with the morning star.
Juliet sprouted fire wings and used them to fly back.
She felt all the cracks in her bones, some too deep to be repaired swiftly.
Since she got her Sacred Phoenix Body Transcension Technique at the 6th Belt, she had never found someone capable of harming her like this. Of course, Jacob could cut her, but that was different. This woman was going to club her to death with a simple morning star.
For the first time, Juliet felt truly outmatched.
"Oh, are you going to surrender?" Epagogia was simply walking toward her with a bright smile on her face.
Juliet would have given anything to wipe that smug smile off her face.
"Come no, another soft human who can't even fight? So what are you doing by Jacob's side, then? He saved your life, right? And this is all you can do? There are monsters so terrifying out there you can't even imagine, birdy-boy. But I guess you are just begging me for mercy," Epagogia had a mocking gaze.
Juliet's eyes went bloodshot.
"I'll have you are begging for mercy," Juliet snarled.
There was one card she had to play yet, something only someone with a Sacred Queen Phoenix Constitution could be mad enough to use in a spar.
Epagogia was going to suffer.
Forbidden Technique 21, Realm Ascension, Fifth Tier
Juliet's aura exploded forward with a shockwave so strong Epagogia had to brace herself. Her eyes went wide and her jaw slack, feeling the slow rise in power of the little girl in front of her.
In a matter of seconds, Juliet's aura started rising above her current cultivation level, pushing for the peak of the Mantis realm.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR DAMN MIND?" Jacob's voice came suddenly from the side. "STOP IT IMMEDIATELY, BEFORE IT CROSSES THE PEAK OF THE MANTIS REALM, YOU FOOL! NOW!"
He had felt some disturbing emotions from the Ancestral Bond, and he had set up to look for Juliet.
Juliet's anger immediately disappeared as soon as she saw how mad Jacob was and all the accusatory emotions conveyed by the Ancestral Bond. She stopped the Forbidden Technique, feeling a slight backlash hit her body. She coughed up some blood, but otherwise, she seemed fine.
"You two, what the f*ck were you thinking?!" Jacob was mad, really, really mad.