As the arena plunged into darkness, the crowd hushed in anticipation, their eyes straining to see through the veil of blackness that Mira had summoned.
Her [Calamity's Embrace] enshrouded the battlefield in a terrifying mix of yin magma, yin lightning, and darkness that destroyed everything in its path. The ground was ripped up, the walls turned to dust, and the barrier cracked in several areas.
Yin Magma shot out of the ground, and Yin Lightning coursed through the darkness, leaving the air electrified. It was as if a natural disaster had spawned right on top of the arena!
Meanwhile, engulfed in her [Ouroboros Ascension], Nova shone like a light wreathed in black flames. Her draconic form, outlined in a fiery aura, clashed against the encroaching storm, creating a spectacle of Yin and Yang.
Mira and Nova's attributes were akin to extreme opposites. The two almost canceled each other out whenever her flames swept across Mira's lightning. They would've if it weren't for Mira's near-perfect elemental control.
On the other hand, Seraphina found herself at a disadvantage. Her [Leviathan's Oceanic Dome] struggled under the oppressive force of Mira's attack.
Water and metal churned around her like a fortress as she tried to withstand the might of Mira's power, but cracks were inevitable, causing lightning and magma to lash at her like a whip.
Rayna saw these opportunities and moved like a wraith in the darkness. Her [Venomous Shadow Blitz] technique was almost imperceptible, with her twin daggers striking silently but with lethal precision.
Her lesser Shadow Basilisk bloodline lent her an uncanny ability to navigate through the darkness, making her a deadly hunter in this obscured battlefield.
However, Nova and Seraphina both sensed her approach and strengthened their defenses.
Rayna was the one they were worried about, especially Nova since she was the one running and jumping around trying to find an opening. Seraphina, though stationary, had the defenses of an ancient tortoise.
The clash of titanic forces reverberated through the arena, each strike and counter shaking the mountain as the two teams fought as if their lives depended on it.
Nova, with her [Black Starfall], rained down a meteor shower of black flames, targeting Mira's ice fortress. The impacts shattered the ice, but with every crack, Mira repaired and reinforced it.
Seraphina launched a [Tidal Wave Strike], a massive surge of water infused with shards of metal, aiming to break through Mira's defenses. But Mira's [100 Glacial Warriors], though diminished, still fought fiercely, countering the wave with a barrage of physical and elemental attacks.
Mira unleashed her [Paragon Wings] in a swift counter. The icy elemental feathers spread out in a fan before she waved her hand and launched them at her two opponents. The air was filled with the sound of slicing winds as the feathers cut through the air.
Most of them bounced off or shattered upon hitting Seraphina's barrier, but some made it through, slicing apart chunks of skin.
Nova grunted, feeling a pain in her legs and torso, but cast her [Eclipsed Descent], a spiraling inferno descending on Mira's position.
The impact was like a star falling from the heavens, the collision sending shockwaves throughout the arena.
The Formations burst apart for a moment, but Aelina and the Elders had already prepared for that and created more.
Seraphina seized the moment and combined her [Leviathan's Fang] with her [Leviathan's Maelstrom], creating a swirling vortex of water and metal that ground against Mira's elemental warriors, seeking to engulf them in her aquatic tempest.
With the two of them completely focused on Mira, Rayna found her opportunity. With a burst of speed, she lunged at Nova, her daggers coated in a venom so potent it turned the air around it a sickly green. The daggers aimed for Nova's vital points, each strike a potential end to the draconic powerhouse.
But Nova was not so easily bested. She parried with her spear, the clashes sending sparks flying. Her [Eclipsed Spear Surge] met Rayna's onslaught. Fire and poison sizzled in the air, creating deadly fumes that Seraphina quickly washed away with a wave of her hand.
'Tch. This isn't going anywhere.' Mira clicked her tongue, but a smile still played upon her lips. 'It seems none of my normal techniques will work.'
She canceled her [Calamity's Embrace], letting the darkness recede and revealing the battlefield anew. The arena wasn't so much an arena anymore as it was a deep pit.
In the aftermath, Nova, covered in black draconic scales, stood tall amidst the destruction. Her eyes, ablaze with a fiery determination, locked onto Mira. She launched herself forward, her spear trailing black flames. "[Eclipsed Spear Surge]!" she roared, unleashing a barrage of fiery spear thrusts.
Mira, her ten tails swaying behind her, moving in seemingly random patterns. However, each tail flicked with its own unique element, parrying Nova's fiery onslaught. Suddenly, she sent Qi into her Wind Tail, causing hurricane-like winds to sweep through the arena, momentarily throwing Nova off balance.
Taking advantage of this, Rayna darted in. Her daggers struck like vipers at Nova's exposed spots.
However, Nova's draconic reflexes were on full display as she deftly dodged, countering with a tail swipe that forced Rayna to retreat, but she did manage to knick one of Nova's scales, getting a drop of poison stuck within her.
Observing from her watery domain, Seraphina realized the need for a change in tactics. She raised her sword high, summoning the [Leviathan's Maelstrom]. The water in the arena began swirling violently, turning into a giant whirlpool with her metallic dome at the center.
Feeling the vortex's pull, Nova anchored herself with her tail, her spear thrusts becoming even more ferocious. Her [Black Starfall] technique rained down, aiming to break Mira's defenses.
Mira, unfazed, summoned her [100 Glacial Warriors] again. This time, they emerged larger and more formidable, each infused with a different elemental power from her tails. They charged toward Nova, clashing against the meteor shower of black flames.
Amidst the chaos, Mira's blood-red eyes glowed coldly as she prepared her next move. She began casting [Frostbite Requiem], her scythe materializing in her hands. The air around her dropped to freezing temperatures as she swung her scythe, releasing waves of ice that clashed with Nova's flames and froze all the water around Seraphina.
Rayna, seizing the moment, unleashed her [Petrification Gaze]. Her eyes, now slits, emitted a gray beam that turned whatever it touched into stone.
She aimed it at Seraphina's barrier, trying to petrify the water and metal.
Seraphina, noticing this, quickly altered her [Leviathan's Barrier], transforming the water into a series of rapid currents that disrupted the petrification process. She then launched a [Tidal Wave Strike], a towering wave that sought to engulf Mira and Rayna.
With a flick of her tails, cast Mira [Abyssal Quake]. The ground beneath them trembled and ruptured, sending up spires of ice and earth, disrupting the tidal wave and providing cover against Rayna's petrification attempts.
Nova roared and unleashed her ultimate technique, [Ouroboros Annihilation]. A spiral of dark flames enveloped her, turning her into a fiery avatar of destruction. She charged at Mira with unparalleled ferocity, her spear aimed to pierce through the heart of the ice fortress.
Mira met Nova head-on. Her scythe clashed with the spear, ice against fire, in a blinding display of power. The collision between the two was like the meeting of two ancient gods, unleashing a shockwave that rattled the arena's very foundations.
Not to be outdone, Seraphina combined her [Leviathan's Maelstrom] with [Leviathan's Bulwark], creating a swirling fortress of water and metal that absorbed and redirected the energies of the battlefield.
She then unleashed her new technique, [Leviathan's Oceanic Wrath], a massive surge of water and metal that engulfed everything in its path, seeking to turn the tide of battle. The power of her water carved out sections in the earth, even piercing through the walls and spilling out the side of the mountain.
However, seeing this, Rayna's lips curved upward, and she disappeared into the shadows. Mira saw that and instantly reacted. Channeling a decent chunk of Qi into her Darkness Tail, she summoned a dense black fog to cover the area.
Nova and Seraphina countered it by attempting to light up the area, but Mira was already on top of them. She put her scythe away and hopped on the dome protecting Seraphina.
"You can't hide in there forever." She whispered before slamming her fists and tails into the metal barrier.
BOOM!
They sunk a level into the ground, but Mira continued pounding away. Nova attempted to throw her off, but Mira just controlled the earth around her, launching giant rocks at Nova that she was either forced to dodge or destroy.
That was all the distraction Rayna needed. She found a hidden spot in a trench under the water and opened up her palm. A purple-green orb appeared, which she infused into the water.
Sitting there, she continued to imbue her poison into the water until a shiny, oily film reflected off the sun. However, the change was so subtle that nobody noticed except for Aelina, not even Mira noticed.
All she knew was that Rayna had something planned.
'There's poison in the water.' Mira suddenly received a Sound Transmission from Rayna and instantly knew what to do.
She channeled her Qi into her Ice Tail, initiating a new technique, [Glacial Dominion]. The water around Seraphina and Nova began to freeze, the poison within crystallizing into lethal shards.
Feeling the numbing cold seeping into her scales, Nova roared in defiance. Now enveloped in a halo of black flames, her draconic form resisted the freezing grip. "[Draconic Inferno Burst]!" she bellowed, unleashing a cataclysmic explosion of fire that shattered the encroaching ice.
Seraphina, realizing the imminent danger, gathered her remaining strength. "[Leviathan's Cataclysmic Surge]," she intoned, summoning a towering wave of metallic water, attempting to wash away the poison and ice.
But Mira merely snapped her fingers, and all the ice shards split apart into thousands of tiny needles. Then, she gathered them around her, having them circle her like a tiny blizzard.
Grasping her scythe again, she charged at Nova, sending sweeping Yin Fire attacks at her. Nova was forced to retaliate, but every time Mira unleashed a surprise attack or caught her off guard, she'd flick her fingers and shoot a few ice needles.
Nova could repel most of them, but they were so tiny and fast that a few imbed themselves within her. Rayna's poison worked instantly, and Nova started to feel dizzy.
Nova's movements began to falter under the onslaught of Mira's relentless attacks. The poison seeping into her bloodstream sapped her strength, clouding her mind with dizziness and fatigue. Despite her indomitable will, her draconic form started to stagger, and her flame diminished with each passing moment.
Seeing this, Seraphina surged with resolve. "[Leviathan's Vengeance]," she roared, unleashing a colossal wave of metallic shards that spiraled toward Mira.
Now infused with her metallic essence, the water formed razor-sharp blades that whistled through the air.
With a twirl of her scythe, Mira deflects the metallic shards with gusts of wind.
Rayna, lurking in the shadows, chose this moment to strike. Emerging from her hidden vantage point, she lunged at Seraphina with a [Venomous Shadow Assault], her daggers aiming for critical points. Coated in her deadliest poison, the blades glinted with a sinister light as they sliced through the air.
Caught off guard Seraphina barely managed to raise her [Leviathan's Bulwark] in time, the metallic dome absorbing the brunt of Rayna's attack. Yet, the impact sent her reeling, her defenses buckling under the force.
Seeing Seraphina in danger, Nova mustered her remaining strength for one final stand. "[Ouroboros Wrath]," she bellowed, unleashing an inferno of black flames that engulfed the battlefield. Fueled by her desperation and fury, the flames incinerated everything in their path, including Mira and Rayna.
The two tried to dodge and block her attack, but the flames couldn't be stopped and latched onto their skin like a parasite. The black flames devoured their skin, increasing its strength and potency before spreading further.
Not bothered by this, Mira soared into the air, her tails flailing wildly. "[Paragon Blizzard Obliteration]," she declared, summoning 9 clones of herself that surrounded the two and detonated into a mass of destruction.
The collision of fire and ice created a cataclysmic explosion, the shockwave tearing through the remnants of the arena.
In the midst of the chaos, Rayna saw her chance. Darting through the storm of ice and fire, she aimed a final [Petrification Gaze] at Nova. The gray beam, charged with the full might of her Shadow Basilisk bloodline, sought to turn Nova into stone.
Nova reacted on instinct. She swung her spear in a wide arc, the [Eclipsed Descent] cutting through the beam and dispersing it. But the effort drained her last reserves of strength, and she collapsed to her knees, her form reverting to her human appearance, the black flames extinguishing.
Mira descended from the sky, her scythe gleaming with a frosty aura. With a final swing, she shattered Seraphina's barrier and smashed into her side, sending her flying.
To put the nail in the coffin, Rayna appeared above Seraphina and stabbed her shoulder, injecting her with a non-lethal dose of venom that sent the woman into unconsciousness instantly.
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