"Ladies and gentlemen, our first match up: Saintess of Light against Saintess of Nature. Let us see who emerge as the victor."

The announcer's voice boomed as the first pairing took their places. Seraphina and Valeria.

Valeria stood with an easy, confident grace on her platform, her emerald hair shimmering. Seraphina, serene in her white robes, drew a shimmering, slender sword.

The signal was given. Seraphina moved first. A streak of focused light as she channeled her Light energy into a minor Sword Art.

Her strikes were precise and quick, seeking to end the battle before Valeria could utilize her domain control.

Valeria met the attack with a playful smile. The ground around her moved upward, not as rock, but as dense, thorny Vines and hard, living Wood. These natural defenses blocked Seraphina's sword strikes, forcing the Saintess to pull back.

"Tell me, Seraphina," Valeria called out, her voice carrying an intentional, teasing lilt across the platforms. "How was Vahn Necrotis, our supposed husband? Has he found his purpose yet?"

Seraphina's expression remained calm, yet her eyes tightened fractionally, a sign of her hidden possessiveness. She parried a whip-like vine with a glowing white shield of energy.

"He is a great person," was all Seraphina would say, her response measured and final. She refused to give Valeria the satisfaction of eliciting any drama.

The fight intensified, becoming a spectacle of contrasting powers. The atmosphere itself began to vibrate violently, forcing the arena's ancient Suppressing Formation to activate, cloaking the platforms in shimmering, protective layers. Without the formation, the shockwaves of their Soul Transformation level attacks would have certainly injured spectators and flattened the surrounding landscape for miles.

Seraphina focused on speed and purity, striking with radiant, focused light and occasionally flashing her renowned Healing Arts to mend minor fissures in her defenses. Valeria, however, had the entire environment as her weapon.

She could grow massive, defensive trees in seconds, summon Ground Beasts made of dense earth and bark, and continually manipulate the weather and the earth beneath Seraphina's feet. Seraphina's light was pure, but Valeria's domain was vast and overwhelming.

Seraphina's specialization in Healing Arts, while making her indispensable—no one in the Righteous Faction could match her restorative power—also proved to be her weakness in direct combat. She was dependent on others for protection.

This was the very reason she had always sought a powerful person to rely upon—someone whose strength was her shield, allowing her to focus on what she did best.

And now, she finally had that person: her husband.

The climax arrived when Valeria completely enclosed Seraphina in a quickly grown, iron-hard dome of ancient tree roots. Seraphina was forced to expend a tremendous amount of energy to break free, leaving her spiritual core temporarily depleted.

Valeria Wins!

Seraphina, breathing hard but otherwise unharmed, stepped out of the broken roots, officially defeated. Yet, instead of the expected look of chagrin or frustration, her expression was one of profound, quiet contentment.

She looked toward the Sky Box where her husband {Vahn (Damien Infernos)} was watching. Her loss in a battle for supremacy seemed utterly meaningless to her. She had a champion now, one who had already proven his worth and loyalty.

Valeria, who had been expecting a grudging nod of respect, was momentarily stunned by the White Lotus Saintess's serene joy.

"You lost, Seraphina," Valeria stated, her playfulness gone, replaced by genuine curiosity. "So why are you still smiling?"

Seraphina simply smiled, a private, knowing smile. "I lost the match, Valeria, but I did not lose what is truly important."

Valeria frowned, a feeling of unease settling over her. She had a distinct sense that despite being the victor, Seraphina had achieved far more than this competition's temporary glory could ever bring.

As Seraphina ascended, gracefully heading toward the White Lotus Sky Box, Valeria Rosethorn watched her with keen curiosity. The Nature Saintess had noted Seraphina's odd serenity in defeat and her subtle, almost protective joy.

​Valeria's sharp gaze followed the direction of Seraphina's frequent, loving glances. Her eyes landed on the secluded, much more modest Sky Box of the Drunken Master.

Inside, she saw a figure she recognized: Damien Infernos, the Foundation Establishment cultivator who had become the hero of the White Lotus. Beside him was the perpetually intoxicated Drunken Master.

​

Just what was her relationship with those two? Valeria wondered, a genuine frown creasing her brow.

​Nevertheless, she was a Saintess of the Righteous Faction, and duty called. She quickly pushed the private affairs of her rival aside and turned her full attention to the second epic showdown.

​In the main battle circle, the tension had been dialed to the maximum for the next pairing.

Flama Astoria, the Fire Saintess, will be facing Aria Stormsong, the Proud Warrior.

​Aria was like a brutish Lightning goddess with her massive greatsword crackling with the chaotic energy of Lightning.

She looked fierce, full of untamed power, eager to exchange blows.

​Flama, in contrast, carried herself with an energetic, almost distracted air. Her platform was soon ringed by four intricately carved cauldrons, which glowed with a restless internal heat. She represented the power of Blazing Fire, transformation, and volatile energy.

​The signal was given, and the two Saintesses erupted into motion, one a rushing torrent of pure martial might, the other a chaotic storm of elemental destruction.

​KRA-KOOM!

​Aria's lightning-clad greatsword struck first, its power equivalent to a mountain being split in two.

Flama reacted not by meeting the blow, but by conjuring a wall of molten glass and concentrated flame from her cauldrons.

Boom!

The lightning struck the fire-glass wall, resulting in an explosive clash of elements that sent light and thunder booming across the Colosseum.

​The arena was instantly divided into two perilous domains: Blazing Fire dominated Flama's side, turning the air into shimmering heat waves, while Aria's side was a landscape of Crackling Lightning and raw, percussive force.

​This was less a duel and more a contest between elemental chaos and battlefield dominance.

The clash of Fire and Lightning.

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