"This mission's bolstered my strength significantly," Seraph remarked airily, his gaze drifting toward the window as if musing to the wind itself. "Though I've returned with these wounds, once I've convalesced, I'll emerge more formidable than ever. By then, my command over flamus mageia will surely have eclipsed yours. I must apologise in advance—you may find it impossible to keep pace with me."
"Wh—! Just because Granny forbade me from seeking my rank doesn't mean I'm your inferior!" Evelyn retorted, her spirit flaring like a struck match.
The tears of the red-haired girl evaporated as swiftly as dew in a summer drought, vanishing before she even realised they were gone. At present, Evelyn remained a mere acomage, yet in terms of raw mageia power, she stood as perhaps the most potent soul of her station. The girl possessed a staggering reservoir of mana, renowned within the Citadel for her terrifying ability to unleash relentless, scorched-earth volleys of fire. Her destructive potential was of such a magnitude that it inspired a lingering, respectful dread even amongst the established magis.
However, as she had yet to reach her sixteenth year, Eldra had stubbornly withheld permission for her to attempt the ascension to magis. Furthermore, she was strictly prohibited from venturing into the wilds unaided or undertaking any mission that bore even the faint scent of peril.
Most tasks Evelyn was permitted to undertake remained safely confined within the Sanctus or the broader, guarded reaches of Arkpolis. For years, she'd implored Eldra for leave to venture beyond the borders of Arkflame, yet her pleas had fallen upon deaf ears. Tragically, Evelyn's parents had both perished in a harrowing confrontation with high-tier demons within the demon realms, leaving Eldra as her sole, overprotective guardian. As long as the Grandmaster withheld her blessing, the girl could do nothing but hone her mageia in solitude, a caged phoenix waiting for the sky.
Thus, Evelyn spent her lonely days duelling knight golems in a state of quiet defiance. Amongst all acomages, she'd remained the pre-eminent candidate for ascension for years. Had she been granted leave to test for her rank as a magis this season, she might well have been the one chosen to join the Bloody Hunting.
"In seasons past, I might've been your inferior," Seraph replied, his gaze steeled with a new, hard-won confidence. "But today, I believe my strength has eclipsed your own, Evelyn."
"You—! In that case, let's duel—"
[Whish...]
A sky-blue paper aeroplane glided through the open window, its wings severing the girl's fiery words. It drifted into Seraph's palm with a fluid, liquid grace before dissolving into a letter as seamless as a mountain stream.
The envelope was a vibrant, calming sky-blue, its wax seal bearing the sigil of water and the restorative arts—the unmistakable mark of Marina. It was a missive sent specifically to him, carrying the faint scent of medicinal herbs.
Seraph broke the seal, his brow furrowing in confusion. "I've yet to visit her... how the earth could she possibly know I've returned?"
"We'll duel!" Evelyn declared, her voice laced with sharp, stinging displeasure. The girl's tone yanked him away from the letter like a physical tether.
"I beg your pardon? What was that?" Seraph looked up, utterly bewildered by the shift in the room's temperature.
"I'll best you in a duel and claim your heart as my prize!" Evelyn proclaimed, her voice ringing out with absolute conviction.
"Claim my heart?" Seraph repeated, his mind suffering a sudden, violent short-circuit.
The young man felt as though he'd been struck by a dialect he couldn't fathom; perhaps the trauma of his internal injuries had rendered his mind sluggish. Yet, in that fleeting instant, a strange sense of déjà vu washed over him—a ghost of a memory heard long ago, its origins lost to the fog of his exhaustion.
"If I best you, your heart'll be mine! You must accept my love!" the girl cried, a vivid, roseate flush bleeding from her cheeks to the very tips of her ears.
Evelyn had always embodied the flame, but now, with her countenance burning a feverish crimson, she seemed to truly ignite. It stood in stark, beautiful contrast to the emerald luminescence of her wide eyes.
"Accept your love?—You harbour feelings for me? How the world can this be?" Seraph inquired, his bewilderment total.
Evelyn offered no verbal reply, yet she did not recoil. She bit her lip with a fierce, endearing resolve, locking her gaze onto his—an unyielding stare that spoke volumes of a passion she'd long kept buried. In a heartbeat, she moved closer on the mattress, her cherry-stained lips a vibrant splash of colour in the dimly lit room. If there were one realm where she eclipsed even Sophia's noble poise, it was this—a relentless, unbridled passion that burned without a filter.
"Ngh—!" Seraph cried out in agony once more.
Evelyn's hands had pressed firmly against his chest in her excitement, reigniting the white-hot torment within his fractured ribs. Jolted by his cry, the girl recoiled in shock, instantly pulling away as if she'd been struck.
"Forgive me! I truly didn't intend..." Evelyn stammered, her eyes welling with the threat of fresh, heavy tears.
"Sigh... it's no matter. The sting was less severe this time," Seraph managed, gingerly rubbing his sternum as he fought to keep his vision from blurring.
'I've gotta seek Marina's aid with all haste,' Seraph thought with a shudder of genuine, cold dread. 'If I permit these injuries to fester, I'll surely perish from internal haemorrhaging before the week's out.'
"If you dare gamble with your life and return in such a wretched state again... I'll be the end of you myself!" Evelyn threatened through her tears, her voice a mix of fury and heartbreak.
"My apologies... it was never my intent to worry you," Seraph replied swiftly, his voice laced with a weary, soft conciliation. "Err... but concerning the duel... surely there's no necessity for—"
His protest was severed mid-sentence as she wound her arms around his neck, sealing his lips with another fervent, desperate kiss.
"There's every necessity! We're duelling!" Evelyn declared, pulling back just enough for her emerald orbs to lock onto his with an intensity that bordered on the absolute. "I've sworn an eternal vow to claim your heart as mine—and mine alone!"
✧ . ✶ . ⛤ . ✶ . ✧
✧ . ✶ . ⛤ . ✶ . ✧