[TWS] Chapter 265 – A Step Ahead

“What is… this…?” the king muttered in awe.

A being of literal flames hovered above the ground. It was still Silvia, his beloved daughter, but at the same time, it felt completely different in terms of the aura and power it emanated. He could tell that she hadn’t just been covered by the fire that had surged from underneath her earlier but had become one with it. She was the flames.

“Surely, you didn’t think that Aura Materialization was the final step, did you, Father?” Silvia asked with a louder voice.

Welrond’s eyes couldn’t turn any wider. “No way… Don’t tell me…”

“Aura Unification.” He could feel the soft smile on her lips even without them present on Silvia’s faceless visage. “This is just a name I have given to this stage, but I think it fits rather well, doesn’t it?”

“You are almost like…”

“The Primordial Spirit of Fire?” She chuckled delicately. “This might be the closest we can get to our ancestor, Father. This is the true gift of our bloodline. The real incarnation of the True Sun.”

“Incredible…” Welrond still marveled over her enchanting figure.

“But, let us speak about this later. We have a match to finish. Please, be very careful not to get hurt, Father. I haven’t yet fully mastered this form.” Silvia moved her right hand to the front.

Not even a second later, the flaming Lesser Dragon coiling around Silvia’s right arm opened its tiny jaws and the king’s forehead became riddled with sweat. A powerful jet of violent flames shot forward like a ferocious, pressurized stream of water. Welrond didn’t even think about blocking it and immediately teleported himself away with an orange flash. But, he had to do it again as Silvia’s fingers followed him without fail.

Up in the audience, Asterios turned to his mates, who watched the battle with curious and excited expressions. “Selene, Bryn, would you mind?”

The two ladies exchanged smiles and nodded at him.

“We were going to suggest it anyway, my Lord,” Selene said with a quiet chuckle.

“This arena won’t survive long enough for Silvia to display all her power at the current pace. And we can’t have that. She was elated for the chance to prove herself. And you, Master,” Bryn added, taking a peek at the ongoing spar.

“Me?” Asterios shook his head with a soft smirk. “What am I even doing there?”

Miria trotted closer to him and pushed herself into his side lovingly. “Silvia is proud of her progress as much as she is proud of your help and contribution to it. This isn’t just a display of her strength but also a statement of how incredible standing by your side can be. She wants to send a message, for everyone to know that it’s all thanks to you.”

He moved his palm to her black hair and began caressing Miria’s fluffy treasures. “I always felt like she and Tina were long-lost sisters.”

The person in question blushed deeply as she looked at Asterios with a timid smile. “I… I can’t deny that we get along pretty well…”

The cuddly panthergirl giggled and let go of Asterios so that he could lean forward and place an affectionate peck on Tina’s supple lips. Then, he glanced at the two mature ladies once more and Bryn immediately got to work with Selene by her side.

Down in the arena, Welrond couldn’t catch a single breath. No matter how fast he escaped, how unpredictable his direction was, and how misleading was the distance he covered, a scorching jet of flames always caught him right after he resurfaced. Nothing he tried seemed to work in his favor. It felt like his daughter always knew where he would pop out again.

Then, after another jump, he noticed the floor and the walls of their battlefield get covered with complex arrays of cyan and gold radiance. They initially obstructed the view of the gathered audience, but soon faded away almost completely. He could tell that whatever those spells were, they remained active.

No more violent fire assaulted him for some reason and he noticed one more thing. He instantly cursed under his breath as he spotted the slight shimmer of the air inside the arena. It was clear that Silvia’s sensory technique had managed to somehow envelop the entire stage. And that meant one thing. She knew everything that took place inside this heated space. She had definitely felt the spark of his movement technique at the exit point. There was no doubt about that.

“It looks like Asterios noticed that I was holding back,” Silvia said softly, directing her empty face up to the audience. “I can’t waste such a kind gesture from my dear sister-mates.”

Welrond choked on his breath as the pressure around his daughter suddenly spiked to unimaginable levels. He felt like his feet would melt and his entire body would roast on the spot. Then, he realized that it wasn’t just a feeling and the ground beneath him was starting to emit a dangerous glow.

The king wasted no time flying up into the air. The temperature in the arena helped him stabilize his technique. Moments after he’d taken his boots off the stone tiles, liquid, amber flames burst out of the inexistent gaps between them and pooled over the entire floor of the fighting arena. They filled it in a flash, stopping at about three meters high. The protective barriers glinted with their respective colors where the fire touched them. The ground was no longer safe, even for him.

But, that didn’t mean that the air was safe instead.

His wide eyes snapped to Silvia just in time to see her extending both hands to the front with palms facing outwards as a sophisticated magical circle almost the same size as her glinted ferociously. Without a hint of hesitation, Welrond propelled himself to the side as fast as he could. He felt like he couldn’t risk taking his gaze off her with his movement technique anymore.

And that premonition was more than right.

A thick, buzzing beam of orange light rushed forward straight from the array. It crashed into the border of the arena in a blink and began chasing after the king as Silvia turned her floating body. The barriers sizzled, sparked, and crackled under its power. A trail of heavy damage remained wherever the ray passed, shocking the audience greatly.

Meanwhile, Welrond felt its scorching breath right over his neck as he kept flying away. He didn’t even have time to throw any spell at Silvia to disrupt her focus. He couldn’t risk slowing down and letting the beam of certain death catch up to him. It was no longer a fight, he was running for his dear life.

That was not how he’d remembered his daughter’s strength a while ago, even considering her ability to hide her aura. To conceal something like this, she would have to be a complete monster. She had turned the arena completely into her own domain and she was toying with him.

Even so, he had to do something. He had his own pride, even if he totally didn’t mind losing to her. Everyone clearly saw the level she was at. Who could blame anyone for doing anything else other than focusing on surviving in such an unbelievable situation? Yet, he knew Silvia really wanted him to fight back. She wasn’t just bullying him. He could tell how proud she felt to have a chance to spar while he didn’t have to hold back anymore.

Welrond smiled to himself and stopped abruptly. Silvia completely didn’t expect him to do so and the humming column swallowed him before she could even slow it down. People in the audience gasped in shock, some yelled and shouted in terror. The pillar passed the spot where the king halted his movements and there was no trace of their beloved ruler.

A pang of worry surfaced in Silvia’s heart. Nobody could see the nonexistent frown of concern on her blank face. She began wondering if she hadn’t actually taken it too far in her elated mood and desire to impress her father, possibly ruining her chances of ever doing so again.

But, before she could fully slow down the beam and cancel her spell, something suddenly surged out of the back end of the horizontal column of pure fire right in front of her face. A tip of a ginger spear tore through the magical formation and barely missed her head, sliding just by her cheek.

With her focus broken, she hastily dodged to the side, putting her guard up. Welrond hovered at the spot she’d just been with a massive, ornamental javelin made of beautiful ginger metal. The polearm barely fit in his hand and its length surpassed the man at least twice. It glinted mesmerizingly like it was fire itself turned to metal.

There was no trace of the king’s flaming armor and cape. His royal attire was scorched, charred black, or even burnt so badly that holes had appeared in his clothes. Some parts of his face and body held traces of being at least a little singed.

“I can’t believe this really worked.” He spun the fierce weapon while chuckling at his flabbergasted daughter. “It really is true that you can’t grow without a good challenge. I must thank you greatly for this opportunity you have given me.”

“Is that…?” Silvia whispered as the deep cut in her cheek quickly reformed.

The king nodded with a big grin. “Aura Unification might be way over my capabilities, but it looks like I can at least follow you one step behind.”

“Aura Materialization! You made it!” She gasped with amazement.

“I had to gather my entire aura to succeed, forgoing every other bit of my manifested flames, but it looks like all I needed was to end up in a certain death situation. One you so kindly offered to me.” He smirked at her proudly. “But, I won’t be able to keep it up for much longer, as pathetic as it sounds. So, let us test it properly before my time runs out!”

If she had more than just two glowing spots as her eyes, Welrond would be able to see a wide smile growing on Silvia’s lips to the utmost limit of her noble face. He sensed her exhilaration, though, and laughed softly, showing back a fierce grin. After a second of silence, they disappeared with an orange flash and met in the middle with a powerful explosion of pressure.

One of Silvia’s Lesser Dragons had been transformed into a bright amber quarterstaff of pure flames, retaining a detailed, draconic design. It clashed against Welrond’s materialized, ginger spear on pretty much equal terms. The two weapons bounced back with a powerful flash of light and lots of tiny sparks and tongues of flame dancing at the point of impact. They were both sent back a few meters.

She spun around, released the other Dragon from her other arm, and then guided it with the tip of her staff. The beast grew in size as it followed her lead and she launched it straight at her father. The person-sized Lesser Dragon slithered through the air at an impressive speed, opening its jaws wide to swallow the man in front of it.

The king inhaled sharply and thrust his new weapon right at the incoming apparition. As the tip of his spear sank into the flaming pits of the Dragon’s mouth, it caused it to rip apart like a cheap fabric and he pushed through the beast’s entire length before coming out of its tail completely unscathed. His materialized aura spear was not afraid of fire of this caliber.

Welrond smiled excitedly and charged at Silvia without a second thought. He only had a weapon on him now, and could barely use his flying technique. His only chance of doing anything was in close quarters, where he could make use of his new spear’s qualities. It was only thanks to it that he had survived the death ray earlier.

Silvia quickly realized that her father’s spear interfered with fire-based spells and non-condensed flames. She blocked his attack with her gleaming staff, which didn’t disperse after getting in contact with the king’s weapon. They began exchanging moves in the air, focusing on melee combat rather than casting. Still, each hit of their polearms sent a mighty wave of pressure into the protective barriers, causing them to flash faintly right in the face of all the spectators.

Tiny cuts began to accumulate over Silvia’s amber-colored, flaming figure. But, the same could be said for Welrond. His clothes and skin turned more and more scorched each time her attack barely grazed them. No matter what he did, he knew that he was still far away from besting her in this combat.

He soon noticed that Silvia had been withdrawing instead of attacking with a clear purpose. They arrived close to the boiling, liquid fire covering the ground and their swings sent some bits of them splashing in every direction. Thankfully, the barriers protected the audience. He felt like this magical substance could melt through the arena’s walls completely.

Silvia spun around and intentionally dipped her staff in the mysterious liquid. She spun around her own axis and sprayed the flames above them, raising a big wave full of holes and openings. Welrond had to evade at once and he dodged between the dripping fire, parrying with his spear the bits he wasn't able to fully avoid.

The arena became surprisingly quiet and he looked around to locate his fierce daughter but failed to do so. Something burst right under him and Silvia emerged from the firewater with a well-aimed blow. Welrond barely managed to twist his body to avoid getting skewered and she flew by his side. The liquid that followed her splashed him and painfully burned his body.

Before he could retaliate, she was already back in the liquid flames. He understood the disadvantage of their positions and attempted to raise his altitude, but stopped immediately. A tight net of amber fire covered the sky above him. He cursed, realizing that she must have cast it during the initial moment of distraction where she had launched a lot of the liquid at him, aiming to use it for that purpose from the very start.

Unable to fly high enough, the king could only prepare himself for another sneak attack and he soared over the bubbling fluid while blocking and parrying his daughter’s attempts. More and more burns accumulated over his body and his clothes threatened him with falling off with the number of holes present in them. He was trapped.

But then, Silvia surged out of the liquid flames far ahead of him, dragging up a beautiful spiral of the firewater behind her figure. The net dissipated as she reached its height and stopped, facing Welrond, who froze in place, sensing the ungodly amounts of energy that started to radiate from her.

Faint streaks of crimson crawled up Silvia’s glowing amber figure, starting at her feet. Squinting a little, Welrond realized that the pattern they made resembled scales of some sort. After the dark scarlet outlines reached her chest, she lazily raised her arm towards the sky as they continued to the top of her head.

One by one, rippling, amber rings of fire appeared behind her back. Soon, there were dozens of flaming circles, creating a massive wall reaching the sides of the arena and even the boiling bottom, extending an equal distance up too. Something slid out of the center of each circle and the king didn’t need long to figure out that he was looking at various blades made of bright orange metal, bearing a similar crimson pattern.

They all simultaneously pointed at him while half-buried inside their little portals and Welrond swallowed heavily as he felt like a mouse sitting right under about forty crossbows directed his way. The moment Silvia lowered her arm, he would turn into a hedgehog instead. It was clear that every single weapon sticking out of those weird gates was a creation of Aura Materialization. His own spear could not cancel them as easily as other flames. If it even was able to in the first place.

Welrond snorted lightly and shook his head. Before hell broke loose, he dismissed his weapon, letting it disappear in a puff of dark orange flames, and raised his hands into the air.

“I lost.”

The arena became still and completely silent for a good few seconds. Then, Silvia snapped her fingers and the scary wall of materialized weapons faded away, alongside every other bit of magic that still remained on the battlefield. Her own body was finally uncovered as the fiery energy slowly revealed the beautiful princess. A few tiny cuts decorated her skin and clothes, but her state was incomparable to that of the king.

They floated down to the ground and stepped onto the hard tiles at the same time. The moment they shook hands while exchanging gentle smiles, the crowd finally lost it and a deafening roar rolled over the entire place. The audience wasn’t that numerous, but the combined energy of the gathered spectators shook the battleground like an earthquake as the protective barriers disappeared.

“That was a good fight,” Welrond praised Silvia with a big grin, raising his voice to break through the loud noise.

A delicate blush tinged Silvia’s cheeks with a trace of rosiness as she nodded. “I think we should get out of here first. It doesn’t look like they are going to calm down anytime soon.”

The king laughed openly and reached out to her. They linked their elbows and wandered towards the exit while the people cheered without a break. Asterios and the girls headed out too, knowing well where the duo of challengers was going thanks to the information from their insider.

A few minutes later, Selene pushed a heavy wing of ornate double doors and they walked into a beautiful lounge. Welrond and Silvia stood in the middle and turned to them with soft smiles. They had clearly just gotten there themselves.

“I’m soooo drained I can barely move.” The king sighed heavily.

“That fight was a real something.” Asterios nodded at them as everyone gathered in the corner with comfy sofas and armchairs. “It was really smart to hide in the only place on the entire field that Silvia was unable to sense.”

Welrond chuckled while shaking his head as they all sat down. “I don’t know what I was expecting but this has exceeded all of it. To think that there could be a level above Aura Materialization…”

“It certainly is a shocking revelation. I was equally surprised when I realized how far I am.” Silvia gave Asterios a warm glance.

“And that thing at the end? It felt even more powerful than everything you did in your flaming form. What was that?” The king raised a brow at her.

“That’s when I reached into my connection with Asterios and borrowed some of his energy. The technique I used was originally his idea too, though slightly different. He shot bolts of flames that tracked the target instead,” she explained. “With our mana combined, it was a simple thing materializing numerous weapons with my fire and controlling them with perfect precision. Even you would have a hard time reacting to them with how fast they can be launched out of the gates.”

The king chuckled wryly. “It feels like I took my eyes off you for a mere moment and you suddenly came back as an almighty, ancient being straight from our legends.”

“With all due respect, Your Majesty, Silvia isn’t the only one who has grown considerably in a quick time. You have managed to advance during the fight, have you not?” Asterios smiled knowingly.

“That’s right, Dad! You materialized that spear! It was amazing!” Silvia beamed at him with an honest smile, her eyes literally sparkling with admiration.

Welrond was taken aback for a good while, unused to witnessing so much emotion and cuteness from his beloved daughter. He cleared his throat and smiled back at her, dropping his hand onto Silvia’s hair.

“That is true, I guess. But, as you have been helped by Asterios to reach new heights, I have been helped by you. I thought I would never be able to pass this wall ever. Yet, you shattered it into pieces during that fight. It was the first time since my youth that someone gave me a run for my money.” He bellowed joyfully.

“Sparring with a stronger opponent is the best way to better oneself.” Selene nodded softly.

“That’s why teachers exist. Some things you can learn only from interactions with others.” Grea grinned while crossing her arms under her ample chest.

“I’m sure you can reach the next stage too, Dad. I will train with you as much as I can. You are already so strong as to materialize a weapon so it definitely won’t take long for you to learn Aura Unification,” Silvia said.

“Yeah, I am. That spear took my everything but it felt almost unstoppable. Maybe it could even give me an edge against your amazing husband and his draconic fire.” Welrond ruffled through her hair while sneaking a peek at Asterios.

Silvia let out an adorable giggle, catching his attention once more.

“What?” The king raised a brow at her.

“Even I wouldn’t stand a chance against him now, Dad. As Asterios said, it’s not only me who has grown. On the other hand, we were able to grow only because he had. You do not realize what you are up against.” She smiled at him mysteriously.

Welrond looked between Asterios and Silvia with a frown of confusion and curiosity. Asterios shrugged with a quiet chuckle and glanced around.

“Well, I guess there’s barely enough space here to show. But, some things will definitely end up at least slightly scratched,” he replied with a small smirk.

The girls shared an excited glance, which made the king want to know what they were talking about even more. Silvia nodded at Asterios to let him know that it was alright and he stood up, moving back to the center of the chamber. He examined the high ceiling one last time and took a deep breath.

Dark crimson mist surrounded his body and began quickly growing in size. Welrond’s eyes widened to the brim as the ominous smoke filled almost the entire lounge. Then, as it finally receded, his eyes bulged out in shock.

“Good gods…” He shivered, pushing himself further into the backrest of his sofa to put some distance between himself and the ferocious head of a huge crimson Dragon hanging right in front of him.

A rumbling chuckle rolled through the chamber as Asterios stood there in his full draconic form. His wings were tightly folded over his long, majestic back, but he still knocked off some decorations and furniture no matter how much he tried to stay still. To her father’s pure horror, Silvia stood up too and hugged Ast’s giant, sharp snout with great affection, rubbing her cheek against his dark red scales with a blissful smile.

After she placed a peck on his big cheek, Asterios shifted back into his humanoid form, appearing right in front of her, hugging the princess dearly. They looked each other in the eyes for a brief moment and he assisted Silvia as they sat down again. She chuckled softly as she noticed her father’s expression.

“A True Dragon. In all of its glory.” Tina giggled while looking at Asterios with a proud expression.

Welrond was speechless. He’d obviously known that Asterios was a True Dragon since the very beginning, but seeing him actually turn into one made it finally sink in properly. It wasn’t his daughter who had returned as an almighty, ancient being. It was him.

Silvia placed a hand on his thigh, breaking her father out of his stupor. “I’ll go and change while you calm your thoughts, Dad. I might not look as bad as you, but my garments suffered quite some damage too.”

He just nodded blankly, still processing everything.

“I’ll accompany you.” Asterios stood up alongside her.

“Thank you.” Silvia smiled at him delicately, gratefully taking his hand into hers.

They nodded at the other women and unhurriedly strolled out of the lounge.

“You can drop the act now.” Asterios chuckled with a warm smile after the doors closed behind them.

Silvia let out a deep sigh and stumbled over her feet a little, letting Asterios catch and lean her onto his side. “That form is so exhausting.”

“I would be surprised if it wasn’t. But, I’m sure it will get easier the more you use it. You are currently wasting a lot of mana due to being inexperienced.” He brushed the top of her hand with his thumb.

“I’m aware.” She mirrored the gesture. “Now, would you mind escorting me to my chambers so that I can change properly? I think I need to borrow your shoulder for a little longer.”

Asterios didn’t answer but scooped Silvia up into a princess carry, evoking a quiet gasp from the surprised princess, and headed right for her room as she rested her forehead against his neck.