Kassie stood, radiating pure malice. Opposite her, Tristan's summon waited—a massive, graceful quadruped that balanced raw physical power with supernatural elegance. Muscular haunches built for explosive leaps. A long, sinuous tail crackling with static electricity. Oversized paws tipped with retractable claws that left scorched marks on the sandy ground.
Two brilliant cyan orbs glowed with inner starlight. No visible pupils. Just twin pools of electric blue light.
The Tyrant Empress was as imposing as ever. Standing behind her, it took some effort to look away from her ass, especially when her armor flowed so smoothly it made everything jiggle like liquid metal.
She didn't summon a sword like the first time. Actually, since we'd started this training, she'd refused to summon any weapon. We kept losing. Using her blade might give us an edge, but Kassie still refused.
I stepped closer and looked up at her.
"Don't be stubborn today, Kassie. Summon the damn sword."
She looked down at me. Her helmet scattered into sparks, revealing her ethereal face... glaring at me like I was an insect.
"I refuse to use a weapon against this lowly beast. You're the incompetent one, not me!"
I lowered my head for a moment, exhaled, then looked back at her.
"Yeah, but Stormwhite is a Sovereign tier! He's beaten us what—seven times? Listen to me for once!"
Kassie's gaze remained stubborn.
Tristan leaned against the massive body of his summon, scratching its chin. Stormwhite raised its head, growling as Tristan's fingers disappeared into the fur beneath its jaw.
I exhaled.
"Fine. Will you at least listen to me? I have a plan."
She turned her blood-red eyes on me.
"So far, our main problem is Stormwhite's speed. He's strong enough to resist your Intimidation Cascade. And because Tristan is too damn smart, too quick to adapt. Tactical Dismantling is useless. He just uses Stormwhite in ways we can't predict. He's experienced. If you want to beat them, we have to work together."
She hesitated, then turned to me.
Meanwhile, at the corner of the yard near the support beams, Clara and Lira stood talking.
Clara stared at Kassie from her position, eyes unable to get enough of the magnificence before her.
"She's so tall... and so... damn, I can't believe I'm looking at the Blood Conqueror in the flesh." She glanced at Lira. "My mama made me fear her my whole life. Told us she was carved from blood and drank from everyone who looked at her, including the Emperor and his children."
Lira chuckled. "Scary bedtime stories. Our parents used them to keep us in check." She studied Kassie from behind. "She looks more like a goddess than a demoness to me."
Clara's gaze lingered on Kassie's impressive figure. "She has a body I'd kill for. I can't imagine what a menace she must've been in her era."
Lira frowned slightly. "About that..."
Clara turned, her expression suddenly serious.
"I want to investigate the church."
Clara's eyes widened.
"Are you insane?!"
At that moment, the battle began.
Both fighters moved. Stormwhite vanished—pure lightning—and in less than a second struck Kassie, hurling her back with devastating force. But Kassie rolled mid-air, killed her momentum instantly, and landed clean. She pivoted sharp and darted sideways.
Stormwhite stayed perpetually in lightning form. He could turn invisible if he wanted, and when he moved, it was like watching lightning flare for a split second. This had been the beast's ace, the reason he kept beating Kassie. It wasn't that he was stronger. He just had the advantage. Massive speed combined with his summoner's wit and grit.
Of course, that was all just an excuse. Truth was, I'd been getting my ass—no, Kassie's ass—handed to me on a silver platter labeled "defeat." The first day, I'd underestimated Tristan when I heard he was an S-rank Regular Spirit Summoner with a Sovereign Tier Bestial Spirit. I'd expected Kassie to dominate because she was Calamity Tier with a high fortitude.
I was dead wrong.
Stormwhite's abilities completely blindsided me!
"You're not forgetting about me, right?!"
I flashed a dark grin, crossing my arms over my face. "Of course not!"
Tristan's blow slammed into my guard, shattering it effortlessly. I staggered back but recovered fast—I knew his patterns by now. He'd come in for a follow-up.
Just as predicted, he curved back and lunged. I smiled internally. 'This is it.' I tilted sideways.
'Weave and counter!'
Another fist crashed into the side of my face from that exact angle. My ear screamed. Tristan laughed.
"What? You think I'd let you read me that easily just because we've sparred a few times?"
I staggered, losing my balance as my ear rang at a high pitch. But I couldn't waste time. For my plan with Kassie to work, I needed to do better.
I lunged forward and unleashed Emperor's Presence.
Even someone like Tristan felt it. The oppressive aura slowed his movement—though he was still fast enough to bait me into traps and hit me from blind spots.
But there was something I hadn't tried before.
Emperor's Presence created an oppressive aura that debuffed enemy movement. But I didn't think that was all it did. My theory? It didn't just debuff—it created an area of effect that amplified my other attributes. At least the ones tied to Tyrant Empress.
The problem was, until now, I'd always used these abilities separately. Recently, after gaining more essence, I decided to test it. Honestly? It required serious focus. Like holding a glass of water in one hand while reaching for another. One wrong move and the first glass falls—in this case, the attributes deactivates.
As I struggled to maintain focus, Tristan gritted his teeth, lowering slightly but resisting the aura.
Wind whipped around him. Within seconds, a sandstorm erupted around us. Another one of Stormwhite's skills—weather manipulation. He could create storms from nothing, and this was always Tristan's counter to Emperor's Presence. The violent wind threw me off balance while he struck from shifting angles. The area effect massively boosted the duo's already devastating speed.
I checked with my peripheral vision. Tyrant Empress was getting bombarded. She dodged some of the beast's strikes, but the increased speed had her struggling. A dark frown settled on her delicate features, making her look more demonic than ethereal.
"You've got no time to be distracted—"
"Kneel!" I roared with Warlord's Command.
My eyes blazed with crimson light. Just as Tristan lunged from behind, he dropped involuntarily to his knees, eyes wide.
"Kassie! Red Banner and Tyrant Advance! Now!"
I intensified Emperor's Presence, amplifying both our abilities. As I screamed at Kassie, I lunged my leg toward Tristan.
Kassie obeyed instantly. She stomped forward—one leg planted hard—and a crimson aura rolled across the ground like a shockwave. It covered the entire battlefield like red fog. She didn't waste a second. As she stomped, she slid her other leg back, thighs going rigid, stance dropping low. From the clouds above, a red banner rose, billowing in the storm Tristan and Stormwhite had created. Kassie charged forward like a tyrannical river of blood.
All of this was less than a second.
As Kassie charged, my leg swung toward Tristan but hit empty air. He vanished. I whipped my head around. No sign of him.
But Red Banner's effect was kicking in.
To make this plan work, I'd studied Kassie's abilities thoroughly, looking for ways we could synergize—ways to amplify each other in battle. My Emperor's Presence buffed her. Her Red Banner buffed me.
When Kassie manifested Red Banner, all allies gained 100% damage, fear immunity, and pain suppression. All enemies lost morale and will to fight. It was designed for large-scale warfare, but who said I couldn't apply it to myself? My Emperor's Presence made allies stronger and enemies weaker—intensity depending on how much spirit essence I devoted to it. I could focus on a specific target. Right now, I focused on wherever Stormwhite was hiding, weakening it so Kassie's advance would land hard enough to force the summon to reveal itself.
Still had to worry about Tristan, though.
A blow slammed into my right flank. I folded like paper and skidded across the ground.
'Ugh, how the hell is he this strong?'
CRACKLE.
The entire yard shook.
CRASH.
The massive red river surging forward collided with the storm and smashed it against the wall, solidifying into the white beast. Kassie's hand shot out of the advancing crimson tide, grabbed Stormwhite by the head, and hurled him sideways. The beast tumbled and crashed into one of the support beams. Clara and Lira reeled away from the impact, shielding their faces from flying splinters.
Kassie moved. She shot forward at terrifying speed, each step covering impossible distance. Before Stormwhite could vanish, she grabbed him by the tail, dragged him away from the building, and slammed him into the ground. Once. Twice. Three times.
Just as I stood, still recovering from whatever the hell that punch was, Tristan appeared beside me—grinning like an evil cocksucker.
He slammed a kick into my head.
My head snapped sideways. I rolled away from the impact like a soccer ball after a perfect free kick.
He rushed me again. While Tyrant Empress smashed the beast into the ground, Tristan was smashing and disfiguring my face with kicks, grinning the whole time.
"You fail as a summon if you can't protect your summoner!" Tristan yelled.
Kassie yanked her head back. In that same moment, another kick slammed into my gut, launching me into the air. I tumbled, blood spraying from my mouth.
Kassie's eyes blazed with red light. The pressure intensified. Her flowing red banner whipped more violently, like it was battling the storm itself.
Her demonic helmet formed over her head. She shot toward Tristan, a swirl of sparks forming a long red-and-black greatsword in her hand. The distance closed in a fraction of a second.
Tristan's eyes widened. He shook, lost his balance. Kassie's killing intent hit him before she did, her sword following behind.
The wind parted. Fled from her path as she swung the blade from behind her, carrying all its weight one-handed.
Stormwhite struck like a lightning bolt, colliding with the sword mid-swing. The shockwave blasted me and Tristan away. Kassie tilted back but held her ground, already twisting her wrist to redirect the blade's momentum for another strike.
In that moment, it hit me.
Kassie was inherently a villainess.
I immediately yelled at her with Warlord's Command:
"Kassie! Stop!"