Chapter 120: Second Duel: Nora Vs Sylvia [Part-1]

"Cassian... we agreed that this was only a test."

Cassian looked away without meeting his wife’s eyes, knowing full well that he was guaranteed to be punished later for this foolishness.

Sylvia just stared at him with cold, unflinching eyes.

"Mother, it’s alright, I am fine..."

Sylvia glanced back at Neo, her expression still as cold as when she had been looking at Cassian, and for a moment Neo felt a chill run down his spine, as he realised that there were some things in this mansion which were far more terrifying than his father’s lightning. Then she walked towards him with quick steps, took his face in both of her hands, and turned it from side to side, checking every inch of his skin, his arms, and even the torn sleeve of his shirt.

"You are not hurt anywhere? Not even a small bruise? Don’t hide it from me, Neo."

"Really, Mother, I am completely fine. Look, there isn’t even a scratch."

Sylvia stared at him for several more seconds, and only after she was fully convinced did the tension slowly leave her shoulders. She let out a long breath, and the coldness on her face melted away until it was replaced by her usual gentle smile, though her eyes were still slightly red from the worry she had been holding in.

"That is good... I was so scared that I forgot to be careful about my own mana. Your father is lucky that I didn’t throw something at him instead."

Cassian, who had been standing at a distance with his head slightly lowered, coughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck. "I am sorry, Sylvia. I truly didn’t mean for it to be that strong. It’s just that Neo was fighting so well that I got carried away for a moment."

"We will talk about this later, in our room."

"Huh...Understood."

Neo watched the Demon of the Battlefield bow his head like a child who had been caught stealing sweets, and he couldn’t help but let a small laugh escape him, which he hurriedly turned into a cough when his father glanced at him with a faint twitch in his eyebrow.

’Father, I will remember this day for the rest of my life.’

Sylvia gently patted Neo’s shoulder and turned her gaze towards the seats, where Evelyn was already waving her little hands excitedly, and Yuki had woken up and was looking around with a sleepy expression. Nora was still sitting in the same place, but she was no longer holding Yuki on her lap. The little dragon had jumped down and was now wobbling across the floor towards Neo.

"Well then, I think the test is finished for today. Neo, you did very well. Go and rest for a while."

"Yes, Mother."

Neo was about to walk back towards the seats when he suddenly noticed that Nora had stood up from her chair. She walked down the stairs of the stands with calm, steady steps, and her violet eyes were not fixed on him, but on Sylvia. Neo stopped in his tracks, wondering why she was coming towards them, and he was not the only one confused, as Sylvia also tilted her head slightly with a questioning look.

Nora stopped a few steps away from her. She looked at Sylvia directly and spoke in the same soft, flat tone she always used, her voice carrying a clear and undeniable firmness.

"Aunt Sylvia... I want to have a duel with you."

For a moment, no one in the training ground said anything. Evelyn’s mouth fell open, Cassian blinked in surprise, and Neo felt his jaw drop as he looked at the girl who had just said something which he had never expected to hear from her.

’Nora... wants to fight Mother? Why so suddenly?’

Sylvia’s eyes widened slightly, and she stared at Nora as if she was trying to find out whether she had misheard. But when she saw the steady, serious look in Nora’s eyes, there was no sign of hesitation or joking in them, and a smile slowly began to bloom on her face, wider and brighter with each passing second, until her eyes were shining with a delight that Neo had rarely seen on her.

"Oh my... This is quite unexpected. You want to fight me, Nora?"

Nora nodded once.

"Hmm... I haven’t had a proper duel in a long time, and after watching Neo and his father go at each other like that, I must admit that my blood was also getting a little warm." Sylvia placed a hand on her cheek, giggling softly, though the sparkle in her eyes was anything but gentle. "Very well. I accept your challenge. But I won’t go easy on you, so don’t regret it later."

Nora didn’t show any change in her expression, but Neo noticed that her fingers, hanging at her sides, had curled very slightly, as if she had been waiting for this answer for a very long time.

"I won’t regret it."

"Good. Then let us prepare ourselves. Cassian, you will serve as the judge. And please, behave yourself this time."

"...Yes, dear."

Cassian walked to the edge of the field with the weary look of a man who had just been demoted, while Sylvia moved to one side of the training ground and began loosening her shoulders with a casual air, as if she was about to go for a walk in the garden. Nora walked to the other side, tying her hair back neatly with a ribbon and rolling up her sleeves.

Neo stood in the middle, looking between the two of them, and he felt a strange uneasiness settle in his chest.

"Nora, are you sure about this? Mother is a Saint-rank, and she is really strong, even if she doesn’t look like it..."

Nora glanced at him, and then she tapped a finger twice against her own chest, as if to tell him, I know what I’m doing. Then she pointed at the seats, silently ordering him to go and sit down.

Neo sighed in defeat and walked back to the stands, where Evelyn immediately grabbed his sleeve and pulled him down beside her. Yuki, who had been wobbling towards him, climbed onto his lap with a happy "Kyu!" and curled up comfortably, letting out a soft yawn as if she had been waiting for this seat all along.

"Brother, Brother! Nora is going to fight Mother! Who do you think will win?"

"I really don’t know, Eve... Mother is stronger, but Nora is..." Neo trailed off, his eyes fixed on the girl standing across the field.

He stroked Yuki’s smooth scales with one hand, and with the other, he waved open the screen in front of him, as a curiosity he had been holding back since the morning finally began to stir.

’It’s been a while since I checked Nora’s status. She was already at the peak of Master rank when we went to the capital, so I wonder how much she has grown in ten months...’

[Ding!]

[Do you want to Appraise Nora Valentina?]

[Y/N]

He clicked ’Y’ without hesitation.

[Appraising begins...]

[Ding!]

----

[STATUS WINDOW]

>Name: Nora Valentina

>Titles: Path of the Villainess, ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓

>Talent: Immeasurable

>Race: Human

>Core: 7th Circle (The Curse of Inverted Fate)

>Rank: Grandmaster (II)

>Bloodline: Unawakened

>Affinity: All

[ATTRIBUTES]

[STR: 540/∞] [AGI: 540/∞]

[DEF: 540/ ∞] [STA: 540/∞]

[INT: 950/∞]

[HP: 2000/2000] [MP: 10000/10000]

[SUPERNATURAL ABILITY]

>Crimson Petal (Control Lv. 3)

----

Neo’s eyes widened as he read through the screen, and for a moment, he forgot even to breathe.

’Wait... What? The limits... they have changed from numbers to infinity?’

The limits which had once been written as one thousand, the same ceiling that he and everyone else shared, had completely vanished, replaced by a single sideways eight that seemed to mock the very idea of a boundary. And that was not the only thing that had changed. Beside her supernatural ability, a new line had appeared, which he had never seen before, the control level, and it was already at level three.

’Control Lv. 3... So that means she can now control the power of Crimson Petal to a higher degree, without losing herself every time she uses it.’

He had been worried for years about the way that power could swing her emotions unpredictably, and seeing that she had learned to rein it in made his chest feel lighter, though a bitter taste still remained in his mouth. She had also reached the Grandmaster rank, and her Core was now at the 7th Circle, which meant that she had formed it long before he had even managed to touch the peak.

His gaze slowly slid down to the thing that he had been dreading to see, and there it was, still in the same place, unchanged.

The Curse of Inverted Fate.

His fingers tightened on Yuki’s back, and the little dragon let out a soft, questioning sound.

’The curse is still there... So she isn’t alright, even now. Seventh Circle. If the pain doubles with every circle she forms, then how much is she carrying every single day?’

He looked up at the girl standing on the other side of the field, calm and straight like a blade, with her hair tied back and her face as blank as ever. There wasn’t a single sign of agony on her body, not even the slightest tremble. Neo knew that even if he stared at her for a whole day, he would never find a crack in that expression, since she had spent years perfecting the mask that she wore, and she would never let him see past it unless she wanted to.

’I don’t know what you are suffering from, Nora... and it is useless to try to guess it when you won’t let me see.’

He sighed softly and let his eyes move back to the other part of the screen. [Affinity: All]. He had already seen her use fire, wind, water, and even gravity-like spells in the past without any difficulty, and to this day, he still couldn’t help feeling a tiny bit jealous of such a broken status, where she could stand at the top of every path at the same time. But then again, what could he say about it? She had been through so much pain that she deserved every bit of it.

’Well... if it is Nora, then I suppose I have no right to complain.’

He closed the window and straightened his back, putting aside all the thoughts in his head, as he turned his full attention to the field.

On one side stood Sylvia, wearing her usual gentle smile, with the faint silver glow of starlight beginning to float around her hands like fireflies. On the other side stood Nora, her violet eyes calm and cold, with a faint breeze rising around her feet and a few crimson petals slowly appearing in the air, swirling around her shoulders in a lazy spiral.

The air in the training ground grew heavier, and even Evelyn stopped talking, tightening her grip on Neo’s arm as she felt the pressure rising on both sides. Cassian raised his hand slowly from the edge of the field, looking between the two of them with a serious expression, the same face he wore on the battlefield when the signal for the charge was about to be given.

"This is a duel between Sylvia Draven and Nora Valentina. No lethal attacks. The one who yields or can no longer stand will be the loser. Both of you, are you ready?"

"Of course," Sylvia replied with a warm smile.

Nora gave a single, silent nod.

Cassian took a deep breath, and then he swung his hand down.

"Begin!"

The battle begins.