Angel Monarch

Yvonne's words were true, even though she said it as a remark. While Transcended wouldn't be too bothered by the outside temperatures, it would still feel fairly uncomfortable.

As they walked outside, Astrid wore nothing but some training clothes and running shoes. Yannick had a similar getup, however he also put on gloves.

Kim couldn't do much with her snake body, so she wore a long, thick dress, which covered all of her human parts. She also had a pair of comfortable knitted gloves and bright patterned hat, which kept the small snakes out of the cold.

They dressed for the occasion. Yvonne, though, only wore a tank top, shorts, and shoes. Her tightly braided metallic gray hair desperately tried to escape with the wind.

She stood proudly in the wind, holding onto her training sword. However, her attitude became chilled as her opponent stepped out.

Bea didn't change at all. She wore her majestic, flowing crimson dress, her bare feet walking on the freezing ground. Her long brown hair, though unbraided, stood still even in the extreme wind.

As if the weather itself obeyed her will, she took step after step; her satisfied smile never waning. The young woman also carried a sword, her favorite weapon.

Yvonne opened her mouth to explain the rules, but before she could try shouting over the wind, Bea raised a finger.

The magnificent woman bent down and dug a small hole in the frozen earth. She held out her palm and a small seed appeared from thin air. She gently placed it below the dirt and covered the hole.

All four spectators, curiously, watched what Vicky's mother planned on doing. Unlike most of Bea's older friends, Kim and the others had no idea of the scale of her powers… They weren't in the Realm of Boundless Frost with her!

Bea closed her eyes, green energy concentrating on her palm. It continued flowing through her hand, into her index finger. When the green energy burnt brightly, she touched her finger to the ground.

"I think you should back away!" She said with a wide grin, as the world exploded into dirt, bright green light and falling leaves.

From the ground, a Tree of Life burst forth. The weather immediately became more bearable, the wind quieted down, and the sky became obstructed by the giant tree.

Yvonne and the others stood before Bea and the Tree of Life in awe. They breathed in the warm air, and dismissed all irrelevant pieces of clothing, like gloves and hat.

Bea then proceeded to use nature and grow a large podium out of wood. She even added seats on the side for the spectators!

"Ah, much better!" She said with satisfaction while approaching the podium.

Yvonne, Yannick and Kim burst out into laughter, and even Astrid's usually emotionless face had a wide smile on it! Yvonne found that smile especially attractive, but she averted her gaze from Astrid's, fearing she would blush.

"You really did all these theatrics, just to build a better duelling area?" Asked Kim, barely managing to control her amusement.

Bea just shrugged and climbed atop the podium with her training sword in hand. The others quickly followed her.

They were all surprised how sturdy the podium stood, even though it was seemingly ordinary wood. Yvonne even stabbed it with her training sword, but it didn't even scratch its surface.

"Don't worry, it won't break. Now, Yvonne, let's spar!" Said Bea, with strange excitement.

She didn't think it would feel so exhilarating to finally duel against somebody. The tall woman shared the same sentiment as a wide grin spread across her face.

Together they walked to the middle, while everyone else sat down in the spectator seats.

"Before we begin, let's get the rules straight! We're forbidden to use any ability passive or active! We can only use our fighting prowess, our bodies and our weapons! I'm sure the losing conditions are already obvious."

Bea nodded thoughtfully. She already guessed all these rules, but getting a confirmation was still nice.

After the explanation, they turned back to back and walked a dozen meters in opposite directions. They then faced each other and prepared to attack.

"Go, Yvonne! Show Bea how amazing you are!" Shouted Kim, with a small giggle.

Next to her, Yannick leaned in close and asked in a whisper, "Do you think she'll win?"

Both Kim and Astrid snorted at the same time, trying to hide their amusement.

"Well, she hadn't dueled for over a year, so maybe Yvonne will last longer than most. However, during the War of Three Alliances, Bea was given a nickname by the soldiers…"

Before Kim could've finished her sentence, the two women clashed with a loud bang. They moved extremely quickly, but soon it became fairly obvious who was the better fighter.

Yvonne stabbed towards Bea's chest, then she tried turning it into a faint and slash at her opponent's midsection. However, before she could retreat, Bea deflected the blow upward, then ducked under it and backhanded the tall woman.

She staggered back, surprise evident in her metallic gray eyes. But she had to defend against Bea's next attack immediately.

Her sword cut through the air so fast, Yvonne could barely follow it. Bea's blade slashed towards her neck, and the tall woman easily parried it.

Strangely, though, Bea's attack didn't carry enough power to cause any issues, and Yvonne soon learned why!

Just before their swords made contact, Bea halted her weapon's movement, and let Yvonne hit it with full force. Her body absorbed all the momentum, and with a clean pirouette, Bea stabbed towards Yvonne's stomach.

The tall woman leaned back, but still the tip of Bea's sword cut through her shirt and drew blood.

A few droplets landed on the wooden podium, causing crimson flowers to bloom.

Bea didn't relent, her attacks rained on Yvonne one after another. Slowly, meticulously, she deconstructed the tall woman's defense, causing minor cuts to accumulate all over her body.

Blood stained Yvonne's shirt and pants, while she drew not a single drop from her opponent.

The majestic woman's greenish-gold eyes stayed sane throughout the fight. Not a glimpse of emotion showed on Bea's face. She felt no pride or joy, only pure determination and deep concentration.

Each move seemed flawless, and the woman didn't even seem to care!

Yvonne, on the other hand, felt nothing but amazed. A wide smile spread across her face as Bea slowly beat her ass.

Never in her life did Yvonne feel so outclassed by someone. Bea's prowess didn't even come close to hers, Astrid's or even Kim's. She was much better than all of them!

Bea continued battering away at Yvonne's defenses, making the tall woman more excited. When one of Bea's slashes came close to disabling her, Yvonne finally snapped.

She concentrated and activated Zone. The game ending blow came faster than she could've reacted. However, her arms moved on their own.

Her off-hand touched the flat of Bea's blade, pushing it away. She then used her own sword to impale the flawless duelist.

The first time during their duel, Bea's greenish-gold eyes widened. She let go of her own sword and grabbed the blade of Yvonne's with both hands.

Bea's blood painted the sword's blade bright red as it cut her palm. It fell on the podium's wooden floor, creating more crimson flowers.

While her hands firmly held onto the blade, she pulled Yvonne off-balance, then kicked out her legs. The tall woman lost grip on her sword as she fell backwards.

Her hands managed to land before her body, so she easily pushed herself away from Bea's approaching attack.

Somehow, her perfect attack ended with Yvonne losing her weapon to Bea. She couldn't understand how, even with Zone, Bea continued to obliterate her!

The match didn't last long after that. Even though Yvonne evaded most attacks, she couldn't close the distance to the dropped weapon, and eventually, Bea's sword stopped near her neck.

The two women breathed heavily. All of Yvonne's small cuts healed, while Bea stood straight, with only her hands bloodied.

In the spectator seats, Yannick's eyes went fully wide, while next to her Kim finally finished her sentence with trembling lips.

"The soldiers nicknamed her… The Best Duelist!"

While the spectators stared in awe, Yvonne just laughed full of joy. Suddenly, the motivation to get stronger, which died about a year ago, reignited in her heart.

She wanted to get better, to keep up with Bea and maybe even rise above her talent!

"You're truly amazing, Lady Bea! But I must ask… How did you beat me so easily, even when I use Zone?"

Bea tilted her head, looking confused, and Yvonne soon realized why.

"Oh, Zone is what my mother named the ability to dissociate the mind from the body. It greatly improves the reaction speed of any fighter! I already taught it to Vicky too, and she's quite the prodigy!"

Suddenly, hearing Yvonne's explanation, Bea's eyes widened with realization. A small chuckle escaped her lips, bewildering the tall woman.

"Zone… I see… So that's what you call it! Interesting name, but not the best… I usually refer to it as Clear Mind!"

Yvonne became even more surprised, since Bea seemed to be already aware about the Zone. However, she knew it by a different name, which made Yvonne very curious.

"Clear Mind? Where did that name come from? It's pretty good!"

Another chuckle escaped Bea's lips, and soon a sad smile stretched across her face as she remembered the name's origin.

"Clear Mind is what Sera received from her first Heritage! So, when she taught me how to use it, we always referred to it as Clear Mind!… I used it against you as well, but…"

Suddenly, blood began running from Bea's nose, and her feet became weak. Before she could've fallen over, Yvonne quickly caught her.

"…But I hadn't used it for more than a year… I forgot how bad the after effects would get without constant exposure… Could you help me to the seats… I need to lie down!"

The tall woman quickly carried her over to the spectator seats, where she explained everything to the others, so they wouldn't be worried.

Yvonne then cleaned off Bea's face and hands, while Yannick and Astrid went onto the podium for their own duel.

"Clear Mind, eh?… Sounds much better than Zone!" Whispered Yvonne to herself with a small, satisfied chuckle.