"What the hell are you making those out of?"
"I forged them from a meteorite; unlike Arthur's armor, I poured all my skill into these. They have no weak points. And it's impossible to melt them."
"So what? Any blacksmith who can forge such armor can become a guard? I thought it was a more honorable position..." Seleria sighed deeply and looked into the knight's eyes, as he now stood close to her.
"I can do more than that! And if you insist, I'll show you." Something glinted behind the guard's shield, and in a split second, he pulled out a simple short sword and delivered a direct horizontal strike. Seleria managed to dodge at the last moment, and the sword only grazed her abdomen.
"Quick!" Seleria stepped back, but the guard caught up with her in a single leap and started bombarding her with a hail of blows. The princess barely dodged them, but the sword left shallow cuts all over her: "I thought you didn't favor speed!"
"I don't like haste, but sometimes I have to use it," the guard said in a calm, soft voice, continuing to strike swiftly.
"But it won't help you!" Seleria managed to wriggle away and, slipping under the enemy's sword, released a burst of fire at his head. "When you attack, you become vulnerable. If your armor truly shielded you from my magic, you wouldn't hide behind your shield!"
The guard took a direct hit from the fiery burst on his head and stepped back. Then, he squatted and, putting all his weight on the shield, delivered a powerful shield strike that sent the princess flying several meters away.
"You can't forge armor without small gaps, or else I would suffocate in it. That's why I try to avoid your fire. But it doesn't matter now; you've lost, and you're coming with me!"
The guard straightened up and stood before Seleria. Although the princess had only suffered one serious blow, he already felt like the victor.
"Have you gone mad? Do you think I'll collapse from a single strike?" The princess rose sharply, but her legs didn't obey her. Darkness clouded her vision, and she fell to her knees: "What the hell? Do you know some secret pressure points where you struck me?!"
"No special points, really; the wounds I inflicted earlier have finally taken their toll," the guard pointed to the tiny cuts all over Seleria's body made by his sword. They were minuscule, but blood seeped from them, covering almost her entire body: "I needed to capture you alive, and this was the easiest way. I couldn't bear to fight a young lady seriously, so I brought you to a state of unconsciousness through blood loss. Don't worry; you won't even have any scars. The cuts are so small that in a few days, you'll be as good as new."
"Damn it! Damn it all!!! You caught me with such a trick! And you didn't even bother to fight me seriously!!" Seleria was furious, her hands trembling, and her blood boiled with anger: "DO YOU THINK I'M THAT WEAKLING!?"
The princess staggered to her feet, and the guard tried to stop her.
"Please don't move. If you continue, your wounds may open up even more, and you could die!"
"Shut up! DON'T YOU DARE PITY ME!! You're an inept knight! I'll show you all my power!!!!!" Seleria seethed with anger, and a crimson aura enveloped her. Taking a deep breath, she seemed to inhale a light red smoke emanating from her entire body: "Just DIE!!!"
Seleria clasped her hands around her mouth and exhaled bright red flames. A massive explosion spread in a cone from the princess for hundreds of meters. The fiery blast illuminated the field, scorching everything in its path, and the little guard in the center looked like a miserable bug.
"What kind of power is this!?" The guard hid behind his shield, believing it would protect him from anything. But something went wrong. Starting from the top, the shield began to melt and drip downward. Following it, the thinner parts of the guard's armor began to give in to the flames. While the meteorite could withstand hellish fire, it proved useless against the princess's strength. The guard crouched on the ground, trying to hide behind the diminishing shield. Luckily, after a few minutes, the flames ceased, and he was free.
The crimson flames burned everything within a three-hundred-meter radius, but the damage on the imperial guard was even more severe. From his shield, only a small knob no higher than forty centimeters remained, and in an attempt to avoid further burns, he took off his melted helmet, pauldrons, and breastplate, which had turned into shapeless masses. The guard himself was in a wretched state; his hair was singed, the upper half of his body covered in severe burns, and he breathed heavily due to lack of oxygen. While he was inside the fire, he had nothing to breathe, and that further harmed his body.
"That was dangerous, but I'm still alive!" The guard remained conscious and slowly looked up at Seleria, hoping to see a completely weakened sorceress after her last attack.
"Quite an unpleasant surprise, isn't it? After all that, I'm not ready to surrender yet," Seleria said, on all fours, panting heavily, but she still had strength left. Shaking, the princess stood up, and she approached her opponent.
"How can you still move?! After all this, you should be dying from exhaustion!" The guard couldn't believe his eyes.
"I just closed my wounds," Seleria raised her hand; the blood on her cuts coagulated, no longer robbing her of her remaining strength: "I can still continue the fight. And you?"
The princess looked at her opponent with menace and disdain.
"I... surrender," saying these words, the imperial guard lay down on the ground and lost consciousness.
"Phew, good thing he believed me," Seleria sat down on the grass, utterly drained: "A couple more hits, and I would've collapsed too. Damn it, now maybe a couple of scars will remain."
The princess examined the cuts on her body when something enormous crashed into the ground next to her.
When the girl approached the edge of the crater, she saw Ragni unconscious in the center and a man with red wings standing over her.
"Hmm, she surely gave you a good beating, Seran, if I'm not mistaken," Seleria scrutinized the red dragon. He, too, was covered in burns, and his right wing suffered particularly severe damage. Even though Ragni was defeated, and he emerged victorious from the battle, regenerating from all those injuries would require a considerable amount of energy.
"Yes, it seems the daughter of Ignis grew up not only beautiful but also very strong as a dragoness. If she had a bit more experience battling red dragons, she could have defeated me. I could have helped her," Seran replied.
"I had my own matters to attend to. I didn't expect her to lose so quickly, though," Seleria clenched her fists with malice.
"Well, not about that, but never mind. I truly didn't expect someone would take on Rondel like that. You even melted his armor; you are as powerful as I thought, Seleria, aren't you?" Seran said.
"Where do you know my name from? I don't remember broadcasting it like you people!" The princess became wary, and a small flame ignited in her hand.
"Calm down, don't be nervous. Many have heard of the heir of the crimson flame. Rumors about you even reached the empire," Seran replied.
"And many of you thirst for my blood?"
"Well, only those in our tribe know about you, and many are hoping for your help."
"And why should I help you when my parents got married, and my mother was banished as a traitor?" Seleria clenched her fists angrily.
"Well, you know how everyone perceives that. Your father attends official receptions alone, doesn't he?"
"Don't drag my father into this! Unlike you, his family accepted my mother!"
"Well, he's the king, and no one would dare defy him."
"Is that all you wanted to say!? If so, we can proceed to the second round of the fight."
The princess assumed a combat stance, but the guard nervously waved his hands.
"No-no-no, I'm not ready to fight again, and I need to help my companion. So, let's consider it a draw. We'll settle this another time. I just wanted to tell you one thing," Seran fell silent, considering whether he should say it now.
"Don't stall, dragon. If you want to say something, say it!"
"Alright, you know that among dragons, the most numerous are the red ones; only the blue ones can compare, but they live so deep underwater that we can't check for sure. But on your continent, not all dragons live; many fled to the empire."
"I know that! Although I never understood why, you people already strive for power and despise humans, what's the benefit of staying in the empire?"
"Like many of my kin, I escaped to the empire to get away from the call of Ultras. But even on the other side of the world, I sometimes hear it. And many in the empire still worship him, forming a faction eager to wage war with humans."
"Oh, hold on, I have no idea who Ultras is, and I have no desire to find out!" Seleria attempted to brush off Seran's story, but he continued unabated.
"Ultras is a very large, very old, and very malevolent red dragon. And the main thing is that he sees humans as nothing more than slaves or food. I'm sure your paths will cross, if not you finding him, then he will find you sooner or later. And remember, among red dragons, the most powerful rules them all," Seran ended his speech with a satisfied grin.
"I don't see the point in what you've told me, but never mind, it's time for us to return," Seleria dismissed Seran's story. "Guards, return to the square... and you can take those you fought with. Buzz off."
A slightly distorted voice echoed from Seran's helmet lying nearby.
"Hoo, it seems we are not the only ones who can communicate from a distance. Won't you accompany me back, the crimson princess?"
"Take your partner and get out of here. I'll wake up my partner and catch up."