Selyne was angry. This time, it wasn't a cute or childish kind of anger. It was quiet, deep, and cold. It came off her like heat from fire.

Her eyes, usually bright and gentle now had turned into sharp slits of burning crimson.

Azrael understood what was about to happen. He calmly took a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped it around his bruised hand, covering the small bleeding hole left from their last fight. His lip was cut too, and he could taste the warm iron of blood as it slowly dripped from the corner of his mouth. He bit the split skin gently and tucked it under his teeth. He was ready.

'Astrid,' he thought as his eyes stayed fixed on the catgirl, 'you're about to learn something important. Never underestimate anyone. In every story, no matter how strong someone is, there is always another person stronger. In the book, you would have learned this much later. But in reality, you'll learn it right now.'

The ground began to shake.

The blood that had fallen on the arena floor from Team 13, Team 14, and all the earlier fights started to move. It rose from the sand, droplet by droplet, floating upward as if gravity no longer mattered.

Aelira and Silas, who were still fighting each other, suddenly froze. They could feel something strange happening inside their bodies. It was as if something was pulling at them from within. The small cuts and bruises on their skin began to leak tiny red beads of blood that lifted into the air.

The same thing happened to others too. People in the stands who had fought earlier and still had unhealed wounds gasped in shock as their blood started to move on its own. Every drop, every trace of spilled life from the arena, was gathering in one direction.

It was all heading toward Selyne.

The blood started swirling around her, forming a red storm that spun faster and faster. Then her own golden Aether mixed into it, turning it into a beautiful yet frightening storm of red and gold. The swirling mass began to harden, shaping itself around her body until it became a shining suit of armor. It looked alive, like liquid metal that breathed and pulsed with energy.

[A/N : A fuckin Susanoo]

Selyne stood up slowly.

Every movement of hers was calm and graceful, yet powerful enough to send chills through the crowd. She looked like the hero of a tragic story, one that was written in pain and glory. Her face was still set in quiet fury. Her whole body was covered in the glowing blood armor that looked both beautiful and terrifying.

Astrid saw her and didn't feel fear. Instead, she smiled, her eyes lighting up with excitement. A wide, hungry grin spread across her face.

"So," she said in a playful but dangerous tone. "You were hiding your real power all this time. This is going to be fun."

Azrael sighed softly when he heard that. 'Hiding, huh?' he thought. 'These so-called main characters haven't even shown a fraction of what they can really do.'

He knew because he had created them. Aelira and her legendary bow it was just a weapon. But her skill was really dangerous that let her call upon the spirits of nature and form arrows of pure destructive energy. She hadn't even come close to using its full potential. If she had, this whole arena would be gone.

Then there was Silas. A monster with fire magic that no one else could match. He would show his true strength one day too. And Aria… she was something else entirely. Smart, cunning, and powerful, with a rare ability to control shadows. She had toyed with him before using only a tiny part of her real power.

And now, there were these two in front of him. Selyne and Astrid.

'Astrid is stronger than anyone else here right now, even Aria,' Azrael thought. 'But there's always someone greater than you. And that greater one is that silly girl Selyne, who, when angry, could probably wipe out your entire bloodline.'

He looked down at his hands and sighed again. 'And then there's me. The odd one out. The mistake. The so-called legend among them. Great. Was I brought here just to be embarrassed?'

A thought flashed in his mind. He remembered the fight with Zagan, that moment when a strange and uncontrollable power had burst out of him. 'Wait,' he thought. 'Every one of us has some hidden strength. Elvara has it. Selyne has it. And I too once showed something I couldn't understand.'

He muttered quietly, half as a joke and half as a wish, "Come on, my power. Show yourself and teach these people who I really am."

While Azrael was struggling with his thoughts, the fight between Selyne and Astrid began again.

Astrid moved first. Her body became a blur of pink and gold. She threw a powerful punch straight at Selyne's armor.

The wind cracked from the force of it, but the blood armor didn't break. It was stronger than steel and burned hotter than fire.

The impact pushed Selyne back, but only by one step.

'Big, shiny tricks don't make you stronger,' Astrid thought, smiling confidently.

Everyone believed Selyne had been forced back, but in truth, she was gathering her strength for a counterattack.

Her punch came suddenly a blur of red and gold faster than lightning and aimed right at Astrid. The air itself shivered around it. Astrid barely managed to dodge but the blow still grazed her side before smashing into the ground.

BOOM!

The floor exploded. A deep crater appeared where the punch had landed, and the grass around it caught fire instantly. The heat coming from the armor was enough to burn the air.

Astrid's eyes widened. For the first time, she looked shaken. A single drop of sweat rolled down from her forehead, over her nose, and fell onto the ground. She felt her body tiring and her muscles screaming in protest.

'I'm sweating,' she realized, her excitement dimming for a moment.

Her expression changed from playful to serious. "Looks like I made a mistake by underestimating you," she said coldly. "But even if you get stronger, you'll still be the same pest. A weak little girl."

Selyne's anger grew even hotter. A piece of her armor slid off her arm, floated in the air, and shaped itself into a long, sharp rod. She flicked her wrist, and the weapon shot toward Astrid like a bullet.

But Astrid was too fast. She stepped aside easily, and the rod stabbed deep into the ground behind her.

She looked at it and smirked. "See? You can't hit me."

But when she turned back, her smile vanished. Floating in front of her were more than thirty blood rods, all glowing red and gold. They pointed straight at her like the barrels of guns.

Astrid clicked her tongue. "Guess I'll have to use a bit of my real power."

She punched one of the rods as it came flying at her. It didn't break, but her hit knocked it off course. Another rod came, then another. She moved faster and faster, dodging, kicking, punching, twisting through the air. Her body was a blur of speed. Even though she was getting tired, her eyes still shone with wild energy.

One by one, she deflected them all.

"Pointless," she breathed out, exhausted. But before she could rest, the rods lying on the ground started shaking. They rose up again and came flying toward her once more under Selyne's control.

"Not this again," Astrid growled. "I'm done playing."

She started dodging once more, hitting and twisting between the flying rods. They came from every side, leaving her no space to breathe. She didn't even notice Selyne moving behind her.

Selyne had gathered the blood armor again, but only around her fist this time. It looked like a heavy gauntlet made from all the blood rods combined. She punched Astrid hard right in her cheek as she turned noticing a movement.

As her fist connected, she muttered softly, "Now you won't be smoking in Mama's class again."

Astrid flew several meters across the arena like a rag doll and crashed onto the floor. A red mark shaped like four fingers began to swell on her cheek.

The entire arena went silent. The other teams had stopped fighting and were just staring, completely stunned.

Aria, who stood near Azrael and Aelira, spoke in disbelief, "How… how has she gained this much control over her power? This should be impossible. The last time she used it, she couldn't even hold it for more than ten seconds. And after that… things got really bad."

Azrael heard her and frowned. 'I don't know what she means,' he thought. 'But I do know from the story that Selyne's power keeps growing with time. It has limits, yes, but every time she uses it, it becomes stronger, scarier, and harder for her enemies to handle.'

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