Two jet black wings adorned Demetra's back. They shimmered in the sunlight, while at the same time they looked as if they would devour the light surrounding them, making them look ethereal.
Peyton gritted his teeth and lead his sand to attack her but Demetra was even faster in the air. She flapped her wings as she dodged the pillar of sand but it still cut a few strands of her hair. But Peyton felt much more indignant. He could not even touch her much less injure her.
He was getting more enraged with the passing time and he could see her gathering her powers in her palm.
The black Knight's main ability is to heal and revive. The revival is of two different types, one is reviving a person with a soul and the other reviving a person without a soul. The latter makes the person or animal an undead but it does not break the contract with the God of death, Finados.
But the former revival with the soul brings back a person to life from death in complete form with their soul and body intact. Since the black Knight brings back the soul which was already in the hands of the god of death, it defies the laws of nature and heaven and the punishment is to offer one's own soul for eternal damnation.
But just the ability to heal and revive doesn't make the black knight the strongest.
They also can purify any form of malice, be it in the form of miasma or the form of a physical or mental attack against one.
And if Demetra finished gathering her power, she would be able to completely nullify his magic and deplete his mana at the same time.
It was completely different from Aurora's shielding ability which can only stop the attacks from reaching them but cannot vitiate the attack.
If Demetra had been at her full potential, he would not have lasted this long. It was his fortune that she was currently weak. But he did not expect her to have unleashed her potential as Animagus.
Reaching that level enables the Knights to integrate with their familiars where one can manifest the parts and abilities of their familiars in their own body or completely transform into their familiars. When one hasn't reached that level, they can only manifest their familiars as an apparition and cannot merge with them.
Only an Animagus can release the powers of their familiars to their fullest.
Peyton now knew he cannot match Demetra's speed much less injure her.
So if that's the case, he might as well render her unable to move.
Demetra was frustrated at the time with which she could gather her powers. She was weaker than when her powers first manifested at eight and much slower. She wanted to render Peyton unable to use his ability for at least two weeks so she did not want to take any chance and gathered all her mana in her hand.
But as she dodged another attack she was startled as the sand divided into multiple smaller threads and surrounded her blocking her way. Demetra gritted her teeth and tried to break out even if they cut into her skin but Peyton's move was quite ruthless. He wound the threads around her wings and crushed them until they looked disfigured.
Even though Demetra has a higher tolerance for pain, her face still distorted as she let out a groan, "ugh"
She was sure that her bones were broken to pieces.
'Nara, I'm sorry' Demetra apologised to her raven within her conscious.
'Do not apologise, child, I can heal back with your powers but you will be the one implicated, I'm more worried about you' Nara replied her voice laced with concern and nervousness.
Demetra was saddened at letting her familiar get hurt and the sadness turned to anger towards her opponent. Not caring about the pain, Demetra retracted her wings even if the string wound around them cut through her feathers reaching her flesh. She gathered the rest of her mana not caring if she couldn't fly or use her speed. And jumped down to the ground facing Peyton.
He was sneering at her not feeling any guilt over the blood oozing out of her wounds, not a single speck of an affection a brother has towards his sister in his eyes but a look as if gazing at a mortal enemy.
But since long ago, Demetra did not hold any affection as well.
Demetra narrowed her eyes and clutched the threads of sand wound around her neck. Her arms which were originally bound with her body broke free of the threads leaving multiple cuts on her body that started to bleed.
The glow in her palm receded as soon as she touched Peyton's sand and they burst into tiny particles before falling to the ground.
The stage Peyton erected collapsed and both he and Demetra fell to the ground. Ezra who was waiting acted quickly and used his powers to get both of them down gently.
Sand covered the air in the arena for a few minutes lowering the visibility of the atmosphere. All the Knights spectating previously rushed towards both of them.
Ezra and Stella rushed towards Peyton and Demetra each to check on them. Peyton was not injured in the least save for depleted mana but Demetra was covered in blood from head to toe and her injuries were still oozing blood.
Since she depleted her mana as well for her counterattack, her wounds weren't healing.
Before Stella could even ask Demetra whether it hurts, nobody expected Rubin to jump up and try to slam down Peyton with his fist covered in dark red flames.
"You!!!! Just who gave you the courage!" Peyton who had his entire mana depleted had no way to defend himself. He flinched and shut his eyes ready to take the punch.
But before it could reach Peyton. Demetra jumped up and stopped him holding his fist with her palm, not caring about her burning flesh. Rubin felt as if he was hit by thunder, he immediately withdrew his fist and his flame receded but Demetra's hand was already burnt till her bones were seen.
"Demetra!" Aurora who witnessed the situation only when she came running closer felt as if her heart would burst.
"Oh my God! You are burnt badly" she held her injured hand while Stella was ripping her skirt to bind her wounds which were deep and hadn't stopped bleeding. Demetra did not utter a word of pain but her perspiring forehead told of her condition.
"Let's get her to the infirmary!" Arthur declared and went to pick her up but stopped himself when he saw someone walk next to him.
Before anyone could say anything Micah reached down and held Demetra's uninjured hand.
"Heal"
A low voice echoed in the arena. Even though her mind had gone hazy from pain Demetra felt that the voice was very pleasant.
But before her thoughts could proceed more she felt her vision darken as her consciousness gave way to oblivion.