Rachel gritted her teeth in pain as she stood up with fury burning in her eyes. Her opponent was another saint candidate who had contracted with the Archangel Gabriel.
The girl's name was Selena and she belonged to a different faction within the Nephilim Church, so the rivalry between the two was not small.
Selena had the bearing of a holy maiden with a lithe figure and gorgeous blond hair that flowed gently down her back.
Her eyes gleamed with holiness and purity that made one unable to look away.
Rachel was confident in beating Selena in a one on one duel, but the presence of other students was disrupting her concentration as she had to be constantly on guard against sneak attacks.
Each saint candidate was temporarily contracted with an archangel or demon for a period of two hundred years.
The church would then hold an internal competition called 'Veniza' to carefully select no more than three individuals to become permanent hosts of the deities.
This was the highest honour in the church and the individuals selected would become the core leaders in the future.
The entire power dynamics of the different factions could shift with each competition as the number of saints in a faction would change the balance of power.
Holy Sword Arts….
Second form – Illuminating Blaze!
Rachel's sword ignited in an eye catching purplish black flame which swept towards Selena and the rest of her team.
"Dodge quickly!" Selena leapt backwards and avoided the fire successfully but others in her team were not as fortunate.
Agonizing screams burst out of the students caught in the blaze as their barrier devices activated to send them back to the ship.
The purplish black flame seemed be almost alive as it attacked the students in odd angles to hit their bodies.
What was terrifying was that the fire did not seem to stop burning once it struck the students no matter what technique they used.
Beads of sweat ran down Rachel's brows as this ability consumed a significant amount of her qi reserves.
"Is that all you got changeling?" Selena mocked as she activated her angelic wings to soar into the sky.
Rachel narrowed her eyes in fury at the insult and continued to direct the flame in Selena's direction.
Changeling was an offensive term used to describe the Quafes as nothing more than substitute humans.
A poor man's version and never being able to match the original.
Selena flew confidently in the air and avoided the purple fire chasing her figure while laughing joyfully.
"My turn," she spoke in a sing- song voice.
Holy Sword Arts…
Fifth form – God's judgement!
Selena's sword became coated in qi energy until the weapon transformed into a massive beam of sword light that shone towards the heavens.
Even the members of Selena's team backed away slowly to avoid being hit by the shockwaves from the attack.
This was the moment!
Selena could feel the raw power of the Lord flowing through her body and enhancing her attack.
She was one of God's chosen and being able to eliminate a fellow saint candidate would surely grant her favour among the higher ups in the church.
The massive beam of sword light grew bigger and bigger as more qi energy flowed from Selena's dantian into the weapon.
Rachel was not being complacent and started to mutter an ancient language as a white barrier formed around her body.
This was the strongest defensive technique that she knew, and it would consume all the remaining qi in her body.
Sword versus shield.
An unstoppable force versus an immovable object.
Whoever won would decided the fate of the other.
Just as the tension between the two had reached its peak…. a loud but familiar howl could be heard.
"Get away from Rachel you flying chicken!" Astrid yelled in fury.
Under the dumbfounded eyes of the spectating students, a Mendolesa girl burst out from the nearby forest and darted towards the two combatants.
Many watched in amazement as there was no doubt in their minds that this girl would have to be an idiot.
Did she not see the enormous force of the attack?
Selena was shocked at the unexpected interruption, but it would have no impact on the outcome of the fight.
Her attack had been fully charged and there was nothing that the Mendolesa girl could do to stop it.
Coming over would just make one elimination turn into two.
Selena gave a complacent smile and swung her sword towards Rachel's location with a wave of unstoppable qi energy behind it.
What poor Selena failed to realise was that this Mendolesa girl was not merely a brute and one could never underestimate the power of a magic caster.
"Spatii perturbation!" Astrid chanted.
A loud crack was heard, and all the spectators were astonished to see Selena vanish as if she had never been there.
Selena's pillar of sword light had also disappeared with her and Rachel was left on the ground staring at Astrid with great puzzlement in her eyes.
"What…what happened to her?" Rachel asked in confusion.
Astrid leapt confidently to her side and grinned with a devilish smirk.
"Simple teleportation spell to send her to a random location within a twenty-mile radius," she replied.
"Am I impressive? Make sure to praise me!"
Teleportation spells were quite tricky to pull off as they were cast towards specific coordinates rather than directed towards the person.
It was a testament to Astrid's skills that she could accurately predict Selena's movements to succeed in casting the spell.
Rachel gazed at the Mendolesa girl who was now proudly wagging her tail and striking several poses.
She resisted the urge to laugh and just gave Astrid's head a few pats.
Of course, Astrid did not mention that she had modified the spell to seek out a body of water, so it was very likely that Rachel's opponent was now at the bottom of a river or lake.
The other students of Selena's team still had not gotten over the series of events when they were violently struck by a series of blaster shots that targeted their vital areas.
Sophie had followed closely between Astrid and had hidden herself in the treetops to eliminate the remaining students once Astrid succeeded in interfering in the duel.
Qiana was also nearby in case something unexpected happened but luckily, she did not have to step in.
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