In the real grove, the cadets were watching the scene.

Most were wondering how Levi had not turned into a tree after his attack, but when they saw Alicia's pale face, they could tell that she was currently using her ability.

They were no longer concerned about the damages, but rather, how long she could sustain her ability.

At that moment, Alicia wobbled and fell to one knee and blood began to drip out of her nose.

"Dammit! This is too much." She groaned in a strained and shaky voice.

After Levi shot out that devastating beam of fire, she felt as if her heart would explode.

Aurora crouched beside her and placed a hand on Alicia's back. "Hang in there, Alicia."

Suddenly, the space began to grow very hot as ten whips of red hot flames began to slowly materialize in the air around Levi's large form, causing him to whip his head around.

Of course, Celeste was dead at the moment, and so, the person that was activating the skill was Lilith. Since she still had her head on straight, she could tell what Levi's plan was.

Levi seemed to get upset at this development seeing as his roar grew louder and flames began to flicker along the tips of his fur.

Even though his large jaws did not move, his deep voice began to echo around them. "Ifrit. Protect your master."

He dug his claws into Celeste's newly formed mouth, lifted her entire limp body off the ground by the jaw, and smashed her back down with such force that a shallow crater formed beneath them.

At the same time, Ifrit was chanting in a foreign language. As he did, a large orb of fire began to form in the air. But then, the center of the orb slit open like an eye, and from the sphere's burning mass, several tentacles of flames began to manifest and lash out in the air.

It was at the same moment that Lilith's whips of flames fully formed. They locked on their target and shot forward with a deafening crack, aiming to ensnare Levi. But then, the tentacles from the orb intercepted them mid-air, wrapping around the whips and pulling them taut.

The air had now grown unbearably hot for those in the grove.

Princess Aurora raised a hand, and as her blue eyes shone, crystallized snowflakes began to appear in the air, bringing a chill that struggled to push back the heat.

Meanwhile, Levi really was not determined to risk Celeste waking up and joining the fight. Her eyes suddenly snapped open to see Levi's foot, before her world suddenly turned black again.

Over and over, Levi crushed the life out of her the moment it returned.

A minute passed, then ten, and another ten…

"How long is this going to go on for?" Alicia asked with a pale face. Since Aurora couldn't reply, she just bit her lip.

After a moment, the brutality suddenly ceased, and a quiet descended upon the two creatures. The whips of flames suddenly flickered and dissolved into sparks, and the demoness who was badly wounded kept breathing heavily on the ground.

Levi had stopped his assault, now that she was no longer healing. His sister's mana was finally spent, leaving her a broken, unmoving heap in the dirt.

When Celeste's form suddenly caught on fire, Levi's body also began to shed its monstrous hide in a shower of embers. Just like that, both siblings reverted to their human states.

The large orb of flames shivered and shrank, before winking out of existence as if it had never been there.

Levi ran a hand tiredly through his hair. "I can't believe you, sister."

A line of tears flowed from her eyes as she watched him, unable to move.

Levi grinned and knelt over her, grabbing her shirt to haul her upper body toward him. "Were you really planning on killing me?"

He began to laugh, but the sound was hollow. Then, without warning, he threw a punch into her face. Then another, and another.

"For that bastard? How dare you?! I am your twin, goddamnit!"

He yelled in anger as he kept striking her.

Aurora gritted her teeth and muttered, "I'm going to go stop him."

She was about to step forward when Xavier, who had also watched the scene, stopped her. "Forgive my bluntness, but… isn't that a matter between family? I don't think it's fair to interfere."

Aurora glared at him while pointing at an exhausted Alicia. "What do you mean? The mere fact that they did this here and even dragged others into their mess means they've forfeited any right to privacy. Besides, I can't just stay here and watch him treat a lady like that. If no one is going to do anything, I will."

She had barely just finished when a cadet blurted. "What is that?"

Aurora turned to see a small, grey-skinned creature holding Levi's hand, straining to stop him from hurting Celeste. The little girl looked strange. A single horn protruded from the side of her head, and an ugly, jagged scar stretched from her temple down to her jawline.

"Is that… Celeste's bond?" another cadet whispered in disbelief. "What kind of bond is that? It looks like a monster."

For a moment, even Aurora was stunned and at a loss for words.

Lilith kept crying, her small hands trembling as she pleaded with Levi to let her bearer go. But seeing her out in the open, exposed to the judgmental eyes of the entire grove, only made Levi's temper flare. He gritted his teeth and his voice dropped dangerously low.

"Hey, Ifrit. Get this thing off me."

Ifrit emerged from his dormant form. Then, he snared Lilith by the collar and dragged her away, throwing her to the ground as if she were nothing more than trash.

Levi looked away from Lilith, back to Celeste's bloodied face. "I think I need to teach you a lesson that you'll never forget, sister."

He raised his free hand and a glove of red flames surrounded it. Then, he began bringing his hand to her face with the intention of giving her the same burn scar like her bond's.

Celeste was too tired to even speak and just stared at him with bloodshot eyes. Lilith on the other hand had begun screaming.

But just as the hand was about to descend, Princess Aurora grabbed his wrist. Levi looked up to see a crown made of ice on her head, and her eyes were completely blue.

"Let her go," she commanded, her voice as cold as the frost beginning to crawl up his arm.

Levi frowned.

Then he began, "I don't mean to be rude, Princess, but…"

Aurora cut him off. "You are still holding her."

Cold mist seeped from her mouth and the chill on Levi's hand where she gripped him turned into a biting sting.

Levi clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. Then, he exhaled and the flames in his hand flickered out as he let go of Celeste, causing her to slump back into the dirt.

It was only then that Aurora let go of Levi's wrist.

Slowly, he stood up and his grin returned. As he began walking away, he muttered, "I had fun, sister. Let's try that again sometime."

Ifrit, who had been holding Lilith in place to stop her from moving, finally let go of her and began following after Levi. Free at last, Lilith ran and collapsed over Celeste. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Aurora just stood where she had been, watching the duo curiously.

As the chaos was finally over, Alicia deactivated her ability. A ripple ran across the grove and all the damages that occurred after she had set up her ability disappeared. The charred earth and broken branches vanished as if the fight had never happened.

The cadets that were watching broke into quiet murmurs, but slowly they began to return to their day.

Not long after, Evelyn approached the scene with a frown. On her shoulder sat a raven. Apparently, the feather Cedric had given her had suddenly transformed into this raven, which had instructed her to head to the barracks.

"Oh no, what the hell happened?"

She rushed over to the two girls, kneeling in the dirt beside Lilith to get a better look at Celeste's injuries.

"My gosh… it's bad. Uh… but don't worry, I'm going to heal you."

She turned to Lilith and flinched. But although she was a bit surprised seeing Lilith's form for the first time, she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she looked back at Celeste and carried her, then she offered Aurora a nod before continuing on out of the barracks. Lilith took her creature form and followed behind her.

Meanwhile, on top of a branch of a nearby tree, a black raven had been observing the scene from the very beginning. Its eyes followed Levi, who was heading to his shelter, then it shifted its gaze towards Evelyn for a moment before letting out a sharp caw and taking to the sky.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.