The courtyard Narberal had chosen was empty, save for the occasional whisper of wind that swept across the stone floor. Sparks of lightning danced between Akeno's fingertips, crackling and snapping with every pulse of her magic. She was breathing hard, sweat running down her brow, but her smile was serene and graceful, the kind of smile she always wore in front of Rias and the others.
Narberal stood opposite her, arms folded, her expression impassive as her cloak shifted in the breeze. She looked untouched, pristine, as though Akeno's bolts had never even reached her.
"Thunder Prison!"
The bolts converged, weaving into a cage of lightning that closed in around Narberal. The ground scorched under the violent charge, the air vibrating with the raw force of Akeno's magic.
For a heartbeat, it looked as though she might have cornered the Pleiades maid.
Then Narberal raised her hand. A golden sphere of magic blood in her palm, and in an instant, Akeno's prison shattered like brittle glass. The backlash of the collapse sent a jolt through Akeno's body, forcing her to stumble back.
"You call this lightning?" Narberal's voice was cool, scorn dripping from each syllable. "Pathetic."
She raised her other hand. A jagged streak of lightning shot forth—not violet, but a blinding white-blue that cut through the sky with surgical precision. It struck Akeno square in the chest before she could summon a barrier. The heiress of Hijima scread as the current ran through her body, hurling her backward into the dirt.
Smoke curled from her torn uniform, the acrid stench of ozone filling the air. Her body trembled as she pushed herself up, coughing blood.
Narberal advanced, her boots clicking against the stone floor of the training ground. She did not even look winded. Her golden eyes locked onto Akeno, unwavering, rciless.
"Why?" Narberal asked simply.
Akeno panted, sweat dripping down her brow. "W-Why what?"
"Why do you hold back?" Narberal's voice cut through the crackling silence. "Your output is weak. Your control is sloppy. This level of lightning could never harm ."
Akeno gritted her teeth, sparks flickering feebly between her fingers. "I'm not holding back. This is everything I have."
Narberal stopped a step away, her gaze boring into her. Then she tilted her head, her tone flat, almost bored.
"No. You are not using all of your power."
Akeno froze, her blood running cold.
"You aren't drawing upon your fallen angel heritage."
Her breath hitched. "H-How do you know…?"
Narberal leaned down slightly, her face expressionless as she delivered her words with the weight of absolute certainty.
"I knew from the mont I looked at you."
Her voice was devoid of hesitation, as though stating the ti of day. "You carry it in your aura—unmistakable, tainted light bound within the flesh of a devil. You despise it. You suppress it. You chain it down, as though denying a limb of your own body."
Akeno's fists trembled. Her heart raced at the exposure of the truth she hid from even most of her peers. That blood, that cursed heritage… the wings she loathed.
Her lips twisted in a bitter smile, though her eyes glistened with a pain she couldn't hide. "So even here… I can't escape it."
Narberal straightened again, her tone colder than thunder.
"If you refuse to accept your whole self, then you will always be weak. Even the greatest spell is useless if the caster denies their own strength. If you wish to survive, if you wish to stand at your master's side, you must embrace it."
Akeno's breath ca in ragged gasps as she clutched her chest, torn between sha and fury.
And Narberal, unmoved, raised her hand once more. Another bolt of lightning coiled at her fingertips, humming with lethal promise.
"Now… show . Fallen or devil—it makes no difference. If you will not use all that you are, you will lose everything."
"No, I won't use my dirty blood power. I am strong enough without it," Akeno said, her voice trembling yet laced with defiance.
Narberal did not reply imdiately. She stood in silence, her golden eyes unblinking, her expression unreadable. The crackling thunder around her seed to hold its breath.
It was as though she were analyzing Akeno—not just her magic, but her soul itself.
Finally, she spoke.
"Pathetic."
The word was cold as ice, sharp enough to cut.
Akeno flinched, but Narberal didn't stop.
"You disgust more than the insects I incinerate. Not because of your bloodline, but because you would throw away strength that is yours. Because you would rather cling to pride than wield what you are."
Her hand lifted, lightning gathering into a massive sphere that humd like a storm about to collapse. The sheer pressure made Akeno stagger backward.
"You say you are strong enough?" Narberal's voice was calm, too calm. "Then prove it. Survive this."
The sphere detonated.
A cascade of white-blue lightning split the sky, a storm so violent it tore cracks into the earth itself. The magical barrier trembled under the impact, rippling as if it might collapse at any mont.
Akeno scread as she raised every defense she could muster. Sigils of violet light spiraled around her, forming a layered shield of thunder. The force slamd into her like a tidal wave, shredding her barriers one after another until only raw willpower held her in place.
Her knees buckled. Pain seared through her body as arcs of Narberal's magic ripped past her defenses, leaving burns across her arms. She gritted her teeth, refusing to fall.
"I… I won't lose…!"
The explosion faded, leaving the air heavy with ozone and smoke. Akeno remained standing, barely—her chest heaving, blood trickling down her lip, her barrier shattered completely.
Narberal lowered her hand, unimpressed.
"So this is your strength? Pathetic resistance that crumbles at the first storm? Do you truly believe such weakness can protect your master?"
Akeno's breath hitched. The words stabbed deeper than the burns on her skin.
Narberal stepped closer, towering over her like a shadow. "You disgust not because of your heritage—but because you are a coward."
Akeno's eyes widened.
"You fear what others will think of you. You fear your blood. You fear yourself. You hide behind thunder that is only half yours. And you call that strength?"
Her voice turned sharp, rciless.
"Answer , Akeno Hijima. What will you do when your enemies do not care about your sha? When they co to kill your friends, your master? Will you protect them with pride alone? With denial?"
The storm above dimd, as if reflecting her turmoil.
For a long mont, she said nothing.
Narberal's expression did not change. She simply raised her hand again, another spear of lightning forming at her fingertips.
"If you refuse to embrace your power, then you will die here. That is all there is to it."
The spear humd, its glow illuminating Akeno's conflicted face.
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