After Elaina and Shaman finished, they were instantly brought back to the group. Shaman sat on the ground somewhat confused as it had ended so suddenly.
"Did I get a hit in?" Shaman wasn't sure if she even managed to hit Elaina as there was no visible damage.
"Yes you did and I'm extremely impressed." Elaina offered her hand to help Shaman up, but before she could, Shaman fell back to the ground.
"Thank god!" Shaman felt her entire body relax as all she wanted to do was land a hit.
"Don't relax just yet, the day is hardly over. I also think Jane here wants to talk to you" Elaina smiled while shaking her head as Shaman reminded Elaina of her younger self when she was first beginning her training.
"Hmm?" Shaman sat up to look who Jane was and her eyes landed on the blue-haired girl next to Himeko.
"Hey~." Jane did a polite wave while smiling, trying not to come across as unapproachable.
"Oh okay, sure." Shaman wondered what it might be, so she got up from the ground and walked over.
"Now Clara, it's your turn." With Shaman now out of the way, it was time for Clara's duel.
"Yep!" Clara felt extremely nervous since Elaina was her own cousin, so if there were any grudges they would likely come out now.
"Don't stress too much Cla."
"You got this Mother."
Elysia and Silver gave their words of encouragement knowing full well that Clara would be nervous.
Hearing their words helped Clara calm down. She reflected on the root of her worries, the fact that Elaina might be holding a grudge. Knowing that she tended to overthink things, especially when it comes to relations with other people, she decided it was pointless to worry about it any longer and refocused on the fight at hand.
"It's alright, I know what you are thinking. I do not hold anything against you, after all, I was just as pissed at them for using their 8-year-old daughter as a pawn. I may not look it, but I'm glad to see you have turned out great. Still, it doesn't mean you get to have my seat, understood?" Elaina saw the hesitation in Clara's steps and was worried that Clara's insecurities would affect the duel.
Family did not matter at this moment in time as all Elaina wanted to see was how strong Clara had become.
"I understand." Clara took a deep breath, ingraining Elaina's words in her mind. Stepping closer so she could take Elaina's hand, there was no longer any hesitation in her step, which is exactly what Elaina wanted.
"I want you to enter your demon form right away if you can." Elaina took a few steps back to give Clara some space.
"Alright." Clara didn't know exactly how long she could stay in it, but with how fast the duels were so far it shouldn't be a problem.
"Ready whenever you are."
With the signal to go Clara began her transformation, which caught Elaina's attention pretty quickly. It was extremely similar to her own, which shouldn't be the case since their family had split apart long ago.
'Why does Clara have succubus traits? If she is their child then she should be taking on a more dragon-like form unless…' Elaina didn't know for sure, but if what she is thinking is correct then Clara is not a cousin but actually a half-sister.
'Tch, those bastards are more scummy than I thought. Let's see if she is a full succubus or a half-dragon.' Without getting in contact with Clara's demon essence Elaina wouldn't know for sure.
Clara's body finally finished adjusting and by looks alone, Elaina was able to tell Clara had the eyes of a dragon, the tail of a succubus and the horns of royalty. There was little room for doubt that there were some affairs going on, but until she felt Clara's demon essence Elaina couldn't confirm it.
Clara, unaware of what Elaina just discovered, charged at her while pulling out her whip blades. Instantly coating them with lightning, Clara swung forward going right past Elaina.
Elaina had stood still because she did not see them as a threat and wanted to see what Clara had planned.
While running forward Clara retracted her blades aiming right for Elaina's back. The attack itself was rather simple and one that Elaina could easily dodge, but because the whips were coated in lighting it still posed some threat.
Clara overcharged her whip blades causing lightning to burst out from every part of the blade towards Elaina.
An explosion erupted directly hitting Elaina, but as the dust settled bat wings were seen covering the entirety of Elaina's body. Although her bat wings looked rather thin, they were still protected by a layer of demon essence.
Unravelling her wings, Elaina revealed her own full transformation, which made Clara notice that her form was quite similar to her own. However, she thought it merely confirmed that they were cousins since the two still had some differences, especially since she herself had no wings.
"I'm not done." During the explosion, Clara fully retracted and combined her 2 whip blades to create a lightning long-sword. Inspired greatly by Himeko's style of fighting, she used all of her weight to swing down at Elaina as the latter opened her wings up.
"Nice try." As the blade was a few inches away from Elaina's face she caught the very tip with her fingers. Having already switched to her tier 10 clothes, the black gloves she wore were able to withstand the burning sensation from the lightning.
Clara retracted her lightning from the blade, thus reverting its length to its true shorter form and allowing her to continue the attack. However, this attempt would also be swatted away by Elaina.
Using her spare hand Elaina swung with her great axe, parrying the blade while also sending Clara reeling back.
"I like the way you think." Elaina so far had been rather impressed with Clara's fighting style as it adapted very quickly depending on the situation. The only thing Elaina wanted to test was how Clara would defend against her attacks.
This would also allow Elaina to feel Clara's demon essence since the latter has yet to use it in her attacks.
Clara slid on her feet until she came to a full stop and took this chance to take a breather. It was hard to imagine any way to even get an attack in making Shaman's feat all that much greater.
However, she wouldn't need to think for long as Elaina came at her directly swinging down with her axe.
Surprised by the sudden attack, Clara tried to redirect the axe by parrying it with her sword, but the force was almost too great for her to bear. This triggered Clara's innate demonic instincts leading her to use her demon essence to reinforce her body, finally allowing her to withstand the pressure.
'It all makes sense now.' Elaina felt the fluctuation in Clara's body, allowing her to pinpoint who her parents are.
pandasnovel.com 'Clara's mother and my father seemed to have gotten along… I guess that's why my father disappeared when I was younger.' Elaina had already guessed it was her father, but now that she was able to find traces in Clara it was all the more obvious what he was doing some nights when Elaina was still a kid.
'I think I have learnt everything I needed to know now, so let's see how long Clara can last while constantly under pressure.' Elaina no longer needed to test Clara, but to train her demon form Elaina wanted to push Clara to the limit.
Once Elaina's axe crashed into the ground Clara tried to retaliate with her own stroke, but Elaina was too quick. After blocking Clara's blade, Elaina started a barrage of axe swings, just strong enough to bring out Clara's demon essence and force her to constantly be on the defence.
It didn't take long for Clara to understand what Elaina was trying to do, so she completely focused on surviving the attacks.
Clara was constantly on the move dodging, redirecting and blocking the axe for 10 minutes. At this point, Clara had turned her whip blades into two swords allowing for more flexibility when redirecting the axe's blows. It also gave her some opportunities to counterattack, but every attempt so far had been unsuccessful.
However, it wouldn't be long before Clara suddenly buckled when trying to block an attack. Getting launched across the field, her demon traits began to fade signifying she reached her limits.
'Shit.' She hadn't even felt she was close to her limit, but now the usual fatigue that comes from using all her energy was catching up. This made her unable to brace her fall, but Elaina was fully prepared. Before Clara could even touch the ground, she was already caught.
"Well done, especially for someone who hasn't been home for years." Elaina was satisfied with Clara's use of her demon form even though it was still quite immature.
"Urgh." Clara wasn't able to register what Elaina was saying as suddenly her consciousness faded.
"Whoops, maybe I shouldn't have pushed her to the absolute limit."
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