Point-of-View: Persia Gerit

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  "Hm? Yes, that is fine with me," Replied Ekai.

  "Awesome, I appreciate it," I thanked him with a grin in response.

  "No need to mention it, we were planning on sparring a few more rounds anyway, so this will actually benefit us as well," He remarked, before turning to his partner, "Right?"

  "Yes, it will be useful to spar against a larger variety of opponents," Responded Siert with no objections.

  I'd been roaming around, looking for someone to spar with……when I came across one of the many arenas in Abyss, where Siert and Ekai were dueling each other, with a Vampire General acting as referee.

  And once their duel ended, resulting in a narrow win for Siert, I approached them and asked them if I could join in, and possibly take them on one against two. And they both seemed fine with that idea, so they agreed to my suggestion. Ahhhh, I'm so excited to test out how much of a power boost I've gained!

  "Alright, no time like the present, let's get started!" I suggested eagerly.

  We then entered the arena, as the referee activated a safety barrier around us and began counting down from ten.

  I entered VamPanther Mode as half the countdown went by, crouching on all fours as wind swirled around my hands and feet, my eyes locked onto my two opponents. Jet black fur with red streaks sprouted all over my body, as my limbs grew more flexible and my wings formed, my power surging as I transformed, my fangs and claws extending out.

  The two of them immediately responded by both unleashing their True Anima forms, their gazes fixated on me warily. Snow white fur appeared all over Siert's body as his arms grew more muscular and his mouth and nose extended forward into a snout, his fingernails sharpening and extending into claws.

  A wave of heat burst out from Ekai as golden brown fur grew all over his body, his limbs growing sturdier and more flexible as his hair grew longer, framing his face as his nose and mouth morphed into a snout, his teeth and nails growing into fangs and claws.

  I then crouched low as I prepared to strike, before rapidly zipping forward the instant the countdown ended and firing two blasts of black flames, one aimed at each of them. Siert formed his water tails and swung them at my flames, putting them out, while Ekai fought fire with fire, literally, his flames canceling out mine.

  Suddenly, the two of them fired large blasts of their respective Elemental Magic types, at an angle that would have them collide right in front of me. Was their aim off? Either way, I'd rather not get splashed by boiling hot steam, so……

  I sprang back the moment their two attacks clashed, before bursting in a steam explosion, which doubled as a smoke screen. My ears twitched as I heard the faint sound of footsteps across to my right……damn it, I should have memorized their scents and kept track of them that way.

  Because as much as I hate doing that, it's even more effective at keeping track of my targets than with my eyes, so yeah. I actually keep track of them by their Mana, not their scent, but to lock onto their Mana signature, I need to also memorize their scent, associate that with their Mana and then fixate on it……it's kinda gross though, getting a whiff of and memorizing people's scents.

  I then stiffened as I felt heat behind me, getting closer and closer……now, Accelerate x4! I leapt up and backflipped over the heat I was sensing, to see Ekai behind me, driving his flaming elbow towards the back of my neck.

  I sprang over and past him, I fired out a wind blast from my right hand, which struck his back and knocked him off balance before he could react……tch, I didn't have enough time to charge it up much, that was a weak attack.

  Intense flames suddenly burst out all around him, I quickly sprang back and got out of the way, just in time to avoid getting burnt. The steam cloud had all but dissipated, just in time for me to see that Siert was behind me, his water tails massively expanded and swinging down towards me. I think it's time I try out my new Cross……

  Here goes, Quintuple! I split into two and shot towards Siert while I sent my copy after Ekai……woah, this is weird, it's like I'm controlling two bodies at the same time……I probably shouldn't use this too much until I get some practice in with it.

  I had my clone fire a wind-enhanced black flame blast at Ekai, while I fired out an expansive, shredding sphere of wind at Siert. A pillar of water burst out between Siert and I, absorbing the impact of my wind attack, as Ekai sprang off to the side to evade the flame blast, just barely getting out of the way.

  No good, my control with this Cross is too sloppy right now, and with my overall power cut in half when split like this, I've lost the edge I had over them……I won't get anywhere like this, that's for sure.

  I then rejoined with my clone, reappearing right in front of Siert, who flinched and sprang back in alarm, whipping his tails at me as he tried desperately to get some distance from me. But I was too fast for him now that I was back to full speed, and fired a piercing wind blast aimed at his chest, teleporting him out before he could get skewered.

  One down, one to go. I shot towards Ekai as he shot multiple fireballs in my direction, which I countered with pressurized blasts of wind, canceling out the flames with the sheer intensity of my wind. Flames then began swirling around Ekai, as he conjured up his flaming tornado attack.

  Right as the spinning tower of flames began to rise, I shot up into the air using Propulsion and swooped down into the tornado before it could reach the ceiling of the barrier, charging up my black flames as a look of alarm appeared in Ekai's eyes, having no doubt already sensed me with his nose, but just wasn't fast enough to react.

  I blasted my charged up flames straight down at the eye of the tornado, where Ekai was trapped. He quickly dissipated his flaming tornado and began to jump out of the way of my attack, but I'd put as much momentum as I could possibly generate into those flames, so it was no use.

  Before my flames could burn him, he got teleported out……sweet revenge, I finally paid him back for defeating me in that first Brawl of Glory I entered. Sure, that was a long time ago and all, but still. I haven't forgotten that feeling of frustration, that even though I gave it my absolute all, it was a futile effort and I never really stood a chance……pretty sure he felt that today, and it might be petty of me, but I feel good about it!

  "That was a good fight, you two," I remarked, as the referee deactivated the barrier.

  "It was……but it was also frustrating. Care for a second round? I believe that I will be able to deal with and react to your impressive speed with a bit more exposure to it," Replied Ekai, a gleam in his eyes.

  Oh, is that a taunt?

  "I would like to fight another round as well," Spoke up Siert.

  Is that so? Alright, then, I'm game……

  "Sure, why not? I don't mind defeating you guys again, bring it on," I replied with a smirk, as I cracked my knuckles.

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  Point-of-View: Kuro Black

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  "There, done. All the current barriers have been updated and improved upon using your Divine Magic," Sighed Az, sinking into his chair.

  "Alright, nice work!" I replied with a grin, holding up my hand for a high five, which he responded to half-heartedly, lightly tapping his palm onto mine.

  "I have to say, it's pretty incredible……once Diablo explained to me how Divine Magic works and I updated the command lines to accommodate the boost, the safety barriers became at least ten times more secure and powerful," Remarked Az in awe.

  "And you sure that'll last? Like, it won't run out?" I asked him.

  "Nope, because I primarily used the Divine Magic to ensure that the barriers will re-form immediately if damaged or destroyed," Explained Az, before pointing out, "Think about it, the other races were up in their floating island for centuries, but Sant must have already used up a ton of his Divine Magic to make it float, invisible and undetectable. If that state needed to be constantly refueled, he just wouldn't have had enough Divine Magic left to do so."

  "Ohh, okay, that makes sense……by the way, how many protective barriers do we have?" I inquired sheepishly.

  "A total of four barriers. The largest one is a detection barrier which covers a fifty kilometer radius outside Abyss, that one's not a physical barrier, and its purpose is self-explanatory, it detects anything and anyone that crosses it, even if they're invisible or intangible or whatever, and I'm alerted to the intrusion. After that, a nullifying barrier, which covers a forty-five kilometer radius outside Abyss……this prevents teleportation into or out of Abyss, the exception being your reverse-summoning teleportation."

  Man, he's really taking this seriously……back when we first met, I'd have never imagined him working this hard, and by his own choice, no less……

  "It also nullifies spells like invisibility and intangibility, to prevent anyone from sneaking it," He continued to explain, "Next, a physical barrier that covers a forty kilometer radius outside Abyss, which is now near-unbreakable thanks to the Divine Magic bolstering. And finally, the insta-kill barrier, though that won't work on anyone who's got an anti-infliction-spell enchantment on them, it covers thirty-five kilometers. Oh, and each of the barriers aren't visible until you're within five hundred of one……with the exception of the detection barrier which, like I already mentioned, is completely invisible and non-physical."

  Earlier, I'd let Diablo take over my body so that he could tell Az all about Divine Magic, while I hung out with Lazarus inside my subconscious and watched some old episodes of Hunter X Hunter……such a great series, that one.

  Anyway, now that Az is done, it's about time that I use the remaining Divine Magic for the other purpose that I need……

  Hey, Diablo, how much Divine Magic do I have left?

  "About half was used up for the barriers," He replied.

  Alright, in that case……use the rest to make me stronger.

  "Got it……aaand……done! We're all out of Divine Magic, but on the bright side, you're a small bit stronger than you were before you gave away those two Crosses," He remarked triumphantly.

  Seriously? Awesome!

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  Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

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