Dahlia steadied herself in the air and smiled despite the heat still clinging to her scales.
"I’ll admit it," she said. "Your [Sunfall Verdict] is strong."
She glanced upward briefly, eyes sharp.
"But from what I can tell," she continued, "you need focus to use it. And it takes ti."
For a split second, it felt like she had found the opening.
Then Sindral smirked.
That smile made her instincts scream.
Before Dahlia could react, the sunlight above twisted again.
Another strike descended.
Faster and stronger.
It slamd into her wing before she could fully move away.
A sharp pain shot through her body.
Dahlia cried out and was forced lower, wings flaring unevenly as she struggled to stabilize herself.
"...Goddamn it," she muttered, teeth clenched. "What the hell...?"
She glanced at her wing.
The scales there were scorched. Cracked.
It was injured.
On the God Gym side, several people froze.
"What?!" Arden exclaid.
"That actually hurt her?" Valtor said, eyes wide.
Even Garion narrowed his eyes.
Their cultivation path reinforced the body to an extre level.
Dahlia’s body was further strengthened by dragonification.
And yet...
She was injured.
Dahlia forced herself steady and looked back at Sindral.
"How did it appear again?" she demanded.
Sindral’s smirk deepened.
"It seems," he said calmly, "that you still don’t understand."
He lifted his sword slightly and looked toward the sun.
"[Sunfall Verdict] isn’t just calling down a single strike," he explained. "It uses the sun itself."
His eyes returned to her.
"And I’ve mastered it."
Dahlia’s expression darkened.
"This is the best ti of day," Sindral continued. "The sun is high. Stable."
He raised his sword again and slashed downward.
This ti, the air scread.
One strike.
Then another.
Then another.
Three more blazing judgnts ford in the sky at once, descending in a tight spread toward her.
Dahlia’s eyes widened.
"...Damn it," she hissed.
Her wings beat hard as she tried to move, storm energy flaring around her again.
Multiple [Sunfall Verdict] strikes were coming down at the sa ti.
Sindral threw his head back and laughed.
"Give it up, Dahlia," he shouted. "You can’t beat like this!"
He raised his sword again, light pouring down around him.
"Face it," he continued, voice full of confidence.
"You ran away from a Grand Clan, trained in so strange sect for barely over a year, and now you think you can stand above ?"
Dahlia clenched her teeth.
She wanted to rush him.
She wanted to close the distance and tear him apart before he could swing again.
But the strikes were already there.
If she charged, she’d take them head-on.
And Sindral didn’t stop.
He slashed again.
Another wave of [Sunfall Verdict] descended, stacking pressure on top of pressure.
On the God Gym side, tension snapped tight.
"...This is bad," Arden muttered.
Valtor clenched his fists. "She’s getting pushed back."
Rachel’s hands tightened at her sides.
Nearby, rsha leaned close to Garion, eyes shining with concern and excitent all at once.
"Master," she said quickly, "it looks like Senior Sister Dahlia is in trouble!"
Garion nodded, eyes never leaving the sky. "Yeah. It seems so."
He folded his arms.
"That brat Sindral is abusing the power of the sun itself," he said calmly. "The skill relies more on the environnt than his internal mana."
rsha’s eyes sparkled.
"So that ans..." she said eagerly, already digging into her bag, "...he can use it a lot?"
Garion glanced at her. "That’s right."
rsha grinned. "Then I can use my potions now?"
Garion nodded once. "You should. Prepare so for Senior Sister Dahlia."
Clara, Valtor, and the others stiffened the mont they heard that.
"...Damn," Clara muttered. "She’s really in trouble."
Valtor growled. "This is really bad."
Even Seira frowned, her jaw tightening.
Up in the air, Dahlia heard fragnts of their voices carried by the wind.
Potion.
Prepare.
Her expression hardened.
"...Goddamn it," she muttered.
She twisted her body sharply, narrowly slipping between two falling judgnts.
Heat scorched her back, her injured wing screaming in pain as another strike grazed her scales.
She hissed and nearly lost balance, barely stabilizing herself with a powerful flap.
"No," Dahlia said under her breath. "I can’t."
Her fingers dug into her palm so hard her nails bit into her skin.
"I can’t drink her potion," she growled quietly. "I already drink her stuff every day for training, and it tastes so bad."
Her face twisted in genuine disgust.
"And now," she continued, teeth clenched, "she’ll definitely make a special one."
She shuddered.
"I don’t even want to imagine how awful that thing would taste."
Dahlia lifted her head and looked straight down at Sindral.
"SINDRAL, YOU BASTARD!" she shouted.
The arena echoed with her voice.
Sindral froze for a mont, genuinely surprised. He blinked, then frowned.
"...What?" he muttered.
He looked up at her, confused. "Is she... angry because she’s losing?"
Then he smirked, confidence returning.
"To think I could make a Draconia genius lose her composure," he said to himself. "So this is how far I’ve pushed her."
But he was wrong.
Completely wrong.
Dahlia wasn’t furious because she was losing.
She was furious because thanks to him, she was about to be forced to drink sothing truly horrifying.
Her wings spread wider, storm energy crackling harder around her body.
The pain was still there, but it was drowned out by sheer irritation.
"I don’t care anymore," Dahlia shouted.
Her voice wasn’t shaky.
"I’m ending this," she said.
Below her, Sindral’s confident smile finally faded.
His eyes narrowed, and his grip on his sword tightened.
"...I see," he said. "One last strike to end it all, huh?"
He straightened his posture and lifted his blade slowly.
"Fine," Sindral continued, his tone firm. "Let’s do this."
He closed his eyes for a brief mont and focused.
The sunlight above the arena began to change.
It pulled inward, concentrating toward a single point high in the sky.
Heat pressed down on the arena, making the air heavy and hard to breathe.
Sindral opened his eyes.
"I’ll finish this," he said quietly.
Above him storm clouds ford unnaturally fast, wind spiraling around Dahlia as lightning gathered along her scales and horns.
Two powers rose at the sa ti.
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