23. Ice Vs Fire
Nirvana came in between Duran and Beta, she used her bare hands to stop both of their attacks, gripping their fists without taking any damage, no less. A brief explosion of air burst forth from the clash, cracking the reinforced walls of the training center.
The look on her face was serious, more deadly than her usual shy self. They all remained suspended in mid-air, either side barely moving a muscle, strange blue tattoo-like patterns spreading from her clutched fingertips like tree branches upwards to her mid-arm.
An unexplainable pressure eroded the atmosphere enough to make one's breath cease for a moment. Her usually dark blue hair gained white streaks, fluttering softly in the air. She let go of their fists, letting out a faint and brief sigh barely echoing through the training center.
"This match no longer holds any meaning!....Do you intend to destroy this place before the practice match exercise is over?" she said with a hoarse and commanding voice.
They began to descend slowly to the wrecked ground. Duran's eyes burned with annoyance, the flames atop his tail began to flicker, burning brighter than before, then it suddenly stopped as he took a deep breath, clenching his fists vigorously as if he wanted to strangle Nirvana.
"I agree with your reasons for stopping the match....but... next time don't grab my hand like that" His blue eyes flared with animosity. "I mean it" He let out a faint but controlled hint of bloodlust.
Beta's spirit energy rose in an instant, the calm expression imprinted on her face began to crack. She looked at him with something similar to a death stare — a warning perhaps. Her eyes began to twitch as she tried to hide her bloodlust.
"Is that supposed to be a threat or a warning?" Beta asked with a slight undertone.
A slight red glow appeared on Nirvana's cheeks, she pursed her mouth and squinted her eyes.
"Ahem! ...Be..beta, tha... that's enough," she said shyly.
'She's back to her usual self'
Beta rolled her golden eyes slightly, dusting her trousers.
"As you wish, Lady Nirvana."
Her spirit energy decreased along with her bloodlust. She brought her mouth closer to Nirvana's ear, uttering words that Revet couldn't hear. But those words made Nirvana's eyes spin, faint steam escaping from atop her head.
Duran's tails faded into blue flames as he walked away with an unsatisfactory look on his face.
Nirvana walked up to the observation deck where Revet was seated, with a shy demeanor, she held her hands together slightly in a nervous manner, her pale cheeks became light red.
"Revet-do...dono, ...why di.. didn't you stop them... they would have destroyed...yo..your training...center. But knowing you, I a...am sure you had a pla..plan!"
'You simply moved too fast. Also, thank you for being so considerate.'
She diverted her eyes from his line of sight as she walked towards her seat.
"Yo..you are... welcome!"
'The first match was indeed splendid....'
He turned his gaze towards Beta and Duran.
'But just because you can wreck the training center doesn't mean you should!.'
'Who do you think is going to repair this damage, ME! It's me.'
Nirvana chuckled slightly.
"You...guys...ar..are certainly giving... Revet-dono a hard.... time."
She tapped on her chair laughing as she used her other hand to clean the tears that were coming out of her eyes due to excitement.
'Thanks,' he mumbled softly to Nirvana.
She covered the side of her mouth with her other hand.
"You are welcome."
She whispered to him as a smile played across her face.
With the help of Nirvana's little display, the intense pressure in the air settled down quickly.
'Ahem!' he cleared his throat lightly, sending a signal to Nirvana.
"It'..time..for...practice...match...number...
two."
She exclaimed softly with a surprised tone.
Gamma raised her hand as she stepped forward. An awkward smirk began to form on her face.
"Dragon girl, wanna go?"
She sneered, "or maybe you are too sca—"
Aria cut her off before she could finish.
"If you want me to play with you that badly, you can just ask nicely."
She stepped forward with a rather serious look on her face.
"How would you like to be cooked?"
She ignited a red flame with her middle finger.
"Mildly or..."
The flames increased in magnitude, the heat radiating from it enough to reach the observation deck.
"Cind—"
Aria's flame ceased abruptly, going out with smoke. A sudden cold filled the atmosphere. Tiny dark snowflakes, not the usual blue colour, began to form in the air.
"Oh...."
Gamma stepped closer to Aria up to the point that she was right in her face.
"Were you saying something?"
She blew an icy dark breath in Aria's face.
"Or... did you suddenly catch a cold?"
She asked sarcastically, stepping away from her with a solid grin on her face. She placed her sharp painted black claws over her lips, rolling her eyes in a mocking manner.
"Oh... it's because of me."
A cold burst of wind hit Aria in the face.
Aria remained unfazed and unmoved by Gamma's taunts. Her spirit spiked almost immediately like an unexpected explosion.
"So it's... Cinders then."
The tip of Aria's dragon tail lit up with flames as she radiated a fierce heat in the training center.
'It's now half cold, half hot... I wonder which will win.'
'Ice or fire'
"You...may now...BEGIN!"
Nirvana brought down her hand like a sword, signaling the start of the match. He turned his head briefly and, as expected, she squinted out of embarrassment, laying back on her seat.
The moment she gave the signal, hot flames clashed with cold dark ice.
Aria dashed towards Gamma, gathering flames around her tail. She turned to the opposite direction, taking advantage of gravity, and swung her flame tail at Gamma.
Mist formed, occluding his vision. Immediately the mist dissipated, a shield of thick crescent-shaped ice stood firm in front of Gamma.
"Dark Ice Incant: Crescent Moon Shield."
Gamma chanted boldly.
"You have to bet—"
Aria didn't allow her to finish speaking, she followed up with a flaming spear attack.
"I got y—"
She coughed up blood before she could finish speaking.
"You sneaky little piece of shit!"