Rose grunted as she slid backwards, softly panting. She chuckled as she locked onto Annalise. "You've gotten soft on us, Headmistress!"
Annalise laughed as she looked down upon Rose and Liao Ru. "Soft...I'm just simply holding back~ I love punishing you two," she said with a sadistic chuckle then snapped her fingers, summoning two orange orbs of energy surrounded with a black light.
Liao Ru sighed then closed her eyes, meditating and manifested a wing of fire. "Seems like there's no reason to hold back," she said summoning a gem of Primordial Fire energy.
I watched the fight with the girls cowering behind me, watching these three absolutely powerful women fight within Annalise's domain. Sephora watched as well and studied how they all fought.
"Now come at me!" Annalise bellowed, laughing as she fired a barrage of lasers at Rose and Liao Ru.
"Liao Ru!" Rose called out.
Without hesitation, Liao Ru rushed forward, and leaped upwards with a courageous bellow. She summoned a large orb of flames, maneuvering her way past the lasers. Rose unleashed her energy, her digital aura spiralling around her body and she bellowed as she began amplifying Liao Ru's power while charging up a powerful energy beam.
"Yes...Yes! Will today be the day you defeat The Void?!" Annalise exclaimed, her voice filled with pure bliss of watching her two best teachers going all out.
I watched how Liao Ru moved around the lasers with such grace and concentration, the orb of primordial flames growing larger due to Rose's amplifications. My heart raced with anticipation as I watched, it was almost like a lesson. Liao Ru's power truly amazed me.
Liao Ru bellowed and teleported behind Annalise. "Infinity Arts!"
"Final Burst Skill!" Rose bellowed.
Annalise combined both of her orbs, creating one massive orb. She raised it in the air then grinned proudly. "Domain Arts..~"
"Phlogiston Flash!" Liao Ru roared, releasing a powerful beam of fiery primordial energy at Annalise.
"World Nova!" Rose yelled, firing her beam of energy at Annalise, groaning loudly at the recoil.
The two beams of energy collided with Annalise's Void Barrer and caused powerful shockwaves to collide with our Void Barrer. The ground beneath Rose began to crumble and raise due to Rose's full power being unleashed. I could see the energy coursing through her veins.
Annalise smirked and closed her eyes. "Null Void," she said in a low, intimidating tone before snapping her fingers.
The massive orb of Void Energy shined brightly then expanded, engulfing the battleground within a cataclysmic explosion. Everyone yelled, guarding themselves. Liao Ru grunted as she kept pushing through the void explosion, not trying to be trapped in the void.
Liao Ru surrounded her body in Phoenix Energy then spread her wings, blowing away the smoke cloud. Annalise's eyes widened with shock then she looked back seeing Liao Ru still standing strong, the Infinity Sigil shining on her chest.
"It's not over yet?!" April exclaimed as she peeked her head over my shoulder.
Liao Ru bellowed and transformed into her Infinity Form, her hair becoming completely white, two Gauntlets appearing on her hands and her Sigil Shined on her gauntlets. Her gauntlets were made to look like Phoenixes, even her wings looked like that of a Phoenix.
Rose grunted softly as she looked up at Liao Ru then chuckled softly. "Immortal..Phoenix," she chuckled to herself before passing out on the ground.
"I'm beating this void this time...and there is nothing you can do about this." Liao Ru said as she descended to the ground then took up her martial arts stance.
"She can still fight..?" Nina asked in awe, watching Liao Ru with admiration.
"She is pretty strong...but look at her eyes. They are completely calm." Sephora said.
Annalise descended to the ground then smirked at Liao Ru. "You endured Null Void this time? I do forget you are an Infinity Council member, but you still can't get through my defenses."
The determined glint in Liao Ru's eyes caused her eyes to shined then with a swift motion, vanished faster than the eye could see. Annalise surprised by her sudden burst in speed, looked around for Liao Ru then groaned as she was struck with a powerful blow, knocking her out of her barrier.
Liao Ru appeared in Annalise's previous spot, landing gracefully then exhaled. "The tides have turned."
Annalise sat up and looked at Liao Ru then chuckled, snapping her fingers and turning off her Domain, transporting us all back to her office. "I yield. I know when I'm beat."
Liao Ru reverted to her normal form then fell to her knees, exhausted. She looked over at Rose then gently shook her. "Rose.."
Rose opened her eyes, seeing the fight was finally over. 'Finally, I was tired of getting my ass kicked...'
I watched Annalise stand up then crossed my arms. "So we just came here to watch you lose after one hit?"
Annalise blushed at my comment, looking at me with a confused gaze. "Huh? That isn't why I brought you here!"
"Yeah? I at least took multiple hits from Liao Ru, you took one and quit." I said, tilting my head.
"You wanna have a go at it?" Annalise asked, crossing her arms.
I smiled and slightly held my hands up. "Hey, I never said I'd win...but I am impressed. I've never seen my headmaster fight, let alone see him bonding with his staff," I said, placing my hands in my pockets.
Annalise smiled and stared at me. "Are you sure you want to head back so soon after this? My daughters like you and your friends, and even some of the students speak highly of you, especially Amunet."
"I thought we talked about this, no trying to sway him—"
"I do like it here better than at St. Meishi, but I have unfinished business there. Even after I get finished with that, I have a tournament to win. I have to destroy St. Meishi, show them that the boy they once stepped over is no longer a boy.." I said with a cold determination, my eyes faintly glowing.
Rose got the chills as she watched me. "His hatred for that Academy is a bit scary, yet I can understand it. Also there will be no reason for him to transfer as after their tournament is their graduation month."
"After what I do, I'm not sure there will be a graduation...I already know what will happen if I go through with my decision. I want to avoid it, but...there is no avoiding it. If I clash with Vinson within the process, so be it." I said then closed my eyes.
"At least afterwards I can move on...to my next goal, find and kill Darkness." I said.
Sephora looked at me and had a slightly sad expression on her face. 'What has the world done to you during my absence..?'
Annalise walked toward me then gently placed her hand on my arm. "There's no reason to rush into this...You should enjoy the peace you have here while you can before going straight into war."
"She's right." Liao Ru said and closed her eyes. "I was like you once, only focused on my goals and never on the other things of life that mattered. It's good to have them, but you need to calm the flame. Find the Calm Sea within the Raging Flames."
I looked at Liao Ru then looked back at Annalise, sighing. "Alright...I can take it slow, but I do still need to get stronger. Archer is training hard, I know. I can't let him defeat me again."
"We'll make sure you're ready, dear. Trust in us..~" Annalise smiled as she gently pat my cheek.
I looked at Annalise, returning her smile with a slight one. "I will."
-------------------------------
Ishara took off the bag over Taurus's head then Leona slapped Taurus, waking her up. Taurus grunted as she sat up quickly, looking around. She looked up at Leona, grunting at her Regel Presence.
"Now we can do this the easy way, or the hard way...and as the Apex Predator of the Zodiacs, I love the hard way..~" Leona spoke in a soft, yet terrifying tone.
"What the actual fuck are you all doing?! Kidnapping me for what?!" Taurus yelled then grunted as she noticed a blade of light held at her throat.
"We don't have time to play, not especially since Darkness is still looming in these specific areas. North Emerald is closer to St. Meishi than you think." Imogen said.
Taurus looked at Imogen and noticed Harmony ready to strike as well then noticed Rama at the doors of the in her Ram Form, ready to take Taurus down at Leona's command.
"You all can't be serious right now. Like what are we doing?! I'm Taurus!" Taurus yelled.
"Is that so...then name her previous Zodiac Knight before Heifer. Who was she going to choose before Heifer?" Leona asked. "Don't forget, the real Taurus is my best friend..."
Taurus looked at Leona and was about to answer then sighed, deciding against it. "Fuck it...I wasn't expecting to get caught this quickly..~" she said, her eyes shining purple then she laughed, a dark energy pulsating powerful from her body.
Leona grunted as she slid backwards. "A Fallen Legend?!"
The woman stood up from her seat, fixing her wavy midnight blue hair. She summoned her staff and her black robe appeared around her. "Champions!~ I am the Trickster, the Ruler of Deciet...and daughter of Underworld Ruler Hades. My people at home call me Melinoe, but you have the honor of calling me Maliz.."
"Maliz..? I've definitely heard your name before, you're not even that old are you? You and your sister at the youngest Fallen Legends to date." Leona said then smirked, cracking her knuckles. "Angsty teen or not, you're gonna eat a three course meal worth of concrete and flames!"
Maliz laughed softly then tapped her staff against the floor, her aura take shape of a Grim Reaper then she tossed her staff upwards. "It's not too late to apologize..~ You hurt my pretty little neck..~"
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to break your neck next time!" Leona roared and prepare for battle.
Maliz smirked then rushed forward and slid underneath Leona's first strike. Showing off her acrobatics skills, she performed a NY Flare, knocking Leona in the air. Imogen flew toward Maliz and slashed at her, but grunted as she was blocked by Maliz's Reaper.
Maliz gave Imogen a taunting giggle before landing a spinning roundhouse kick to her head. Imogen lost her balance then recovered, groaning as Maliz landed a powerful punch to her face, knocking her away.
"Coming through!" Rama bellowed as she charged forward.
Maliz gracefully dodged Rama then noticed Rama drifting around charging toward her once again. Maliz giggled and snapped her fingers, swapping places with Harmony. Harmony looked surprised then groaned as Rama crashed into her, blowing her away.
Maliz sensed Ishara behind her then dodged her slash, kicking her backwards. "I've been watching you all fight! I know all of your weaknes—"
"Lionheart Smash!" Leona bellowed as she delivered a powerful and calculated fiery punch to Maliz.
Maliz's eyes became white, her brain hitting against her skull. She was launched into the metal wall of the warehouse, crashing into the wall and causing metal pipes to fall upon her body.
Imogen panted softly and stood up straight. "How long has she watched us for..?"
"Had to be quite some time for her to clutch a five verses one. I didn't go all out on that attack because I want answers from her." Leona said then walked forward.
She moved the pipes away and grunted as she noticed Maliz had disappeared. "What..?"
"She's gone?" Ishara asked.
Leona closed her eyes then stood up, sighing a bit. She held the back of her neck, rolling her neck. "She's a slippery one...and her ability to shapeshift into other people, Taurus of all people as well."
"We need to figure out what she's after. After we have something to eat. If we were on a full tank, we would've easily beaten her." Imogen said.
"Fair enough.." Leona chuckled softly.
---------------------------
Maliz appeared back at North Emerald and fell to the floor.
"Couldn't even last a singular morning." Darkness said as he sat upon his throne, looking down at Maliz.
"That one was not fair! Five Goddeses and I had them beat—"
"Until you got overconfident." Maliz's sister said.
Maliz scoffed, looking at her sister. "Think you can do better, Macaria?"
"That's Scarlett to you, Melinoe." Scarlett said, crossing her arms.
"Your mission was to gather information about August and you chose to disguise as Taurus...Since you're young and naive, I'll give you another chance. I recruited you and your sister due to Cetus's request. Do not make Him regret his decision." Darkness said.
"What about that Goddess with him?" Maliz asked.
"Don't worry about her. As long as you aren't a threat, she won't suspect anything. I need more information on him...That Sigil he possesses. It looks like the same Sigil Cetus posseses. Gather information about him, learn and be smart." Darkness said. "That is all."
Maliz bowed toward Darkness. "Yes sir."