CHAPTER 143: HOPELESS BATTLE JUNKIES

The air was thin at this altitude — not because of height, but because of what they’d done to it.

Khione hovered, ice wings stretched wide, steam curling from her shoulders where Elreth’s heat had nearly broken through her defenses. Her grip on the wand was steady, but her knuckles were pale from the pressure.

Across the shimmering divide of clashing elements, Elreth floated with wings of fire burning so bright the light etched her silhouette into the air. Her spear’s shaft glowed faintly from channeling too much prana in too little time.

They stared at each other.

No words.

Only the rhythm of their breathing.

’Her defense is perfect if I come head-on... I’ll need misdirection.’

’She’s adapting to my bursts — but her recovery after countering is just long enough.’

They moved.

Elreth launched first — wings snapping open with such force the air behind her combusted. She spun mid-flight, spear tracing a burning arc that left afterimages, then feinted left before diving right.

Khione didn’t bite. Her wand whipped upward, summoning a swirling dome of ice petals that spun so fast they blurred into a silver-blue shield. Elreth’s spear hit it dead center — the petals shattered outward like glass in a hurricane.

But Elreth had already twisted, spear now behind her. She kicked off the collapsing shield, closing the gap with a burst of speed that outpaced her own flame trail.

Khione’s counter was precise — she snapped her fingers, and the moisture in Elreth’s path instantly froze into jagged pillars. But Elreth didn’t slow — her spear blazed hotter, cutting through the first pillar, then the second, molten fragments scattering in all directions.

’She’s not just burning through... she’s anticipating my spacing. I must not underestimate how cunning she can be.’ Khione realized.

They met mid-air again —

The spear stabbed for Khione’s heart.

Twack!

The wand redirected it with a flick, ice condensing into a blade along its length.

A flaming sweep shattered that blade instantly.

A counter-blast of frost exploded point-blank.

A fire wing whipped forward to shield Elreth from the frost.

An ice wing folded to block the spear’s return.

It was no longer attack → defend — it was attack-and-defend in the same motion, each reading the other like a mirror.

Their weapons clashed three times in one breath, the sound more like rolling thunder than steel.

Khione shot straight up — but she wasn’t fleeing. Her wings scattered thousands of snowflakes, each one a condensed spell rune. They lit up in a spiral, forming a massive icy cyclone around her as she ascended.

Elreth followed, wings tucked in — a dart of molten light piercing the cyclone. Every snowflake she touched exploded into bursts of steam.

Inside the cyclone, Khione spun, charging the wand until frost climbed to her shoulder.

At the apex, she halted — the cyclone’s eye stabilizing just enough for her to aim.

"Elreth—" she whispered under her breath.

"—catch this."

A colossal ice spear, larger than the javelin from before, materialized and dropped from the cyclone’s heart. Gravity and magic accelerated it like a meteor.

Elreth’s eyes narrowed. She threw her spear upward — flames coiling around it — and it met the ice weapon mid-fall.

Kaboom!

The collision cracked the sky with light, shards of ice and sparks raining in a spiral around them.

But neither stopped.

Both dove at once — Khione encased herself in a forward-facing ice drill, Elreth wrapping herself in a spiraling tornado of flame.

The two projectiles slammed together mid-descent — and the impact didn’t stop them. They kept pushing, spiraling downward locked together like dueling comets. Stone melted and refroze beneath them from the alternating heat and frost.

They broke apart a few meters from the ground — the resulting shockwave carved a ringed crater in the arena floor.

’She’s still matching my pace... even after all this. Truly a worthy rival. Even though I don’t like her gotta acknowledge her talent and strength.’ Elreth thought, a grin tugging at her lips despite the sweat on her brow.

’She’s still grinning?’ Khione’s own lips curved faintly. ’Fine. Let’s see her grin after this.’

Khione moved first — her wand drew an intricate pattern in the air, every stroke leaving trails of frost that solidified into chains of runes. The chains wrapped around her body before uncoiling outward, forming eight massive lances of pure ice around her.

Elreth responded without hesitation — her spear slammed into the ground, flames surging outward in a ripple before condensing upward into six rotating flame blades. They spun around her like the petals of a burning flower.

The spectators — if there had been any — would have seen two gods arming themselves.

They launched.

Eight ice lances streaked forward from every angle. Six flame blades shot out to intercept, each clashing in mid-air with bursts of steam and sparks. Between the gaps, both combatants closed in.

The collision this time didn’t just shake the barrier — it cracked it.

They rose higher, past the dome’s fracture, into open sky where the battle could expand without restraint.

Khione’s wings beat once — the shockwave froze the moisture in the clouds into hail the size of boulders, which began plummeting.

Elreth didn’t dodge — she shot through them, each boulder she touched detonating into showers of molten water.

The visual was apocalyptic — burning rain falling through a snowstorm, lit by two figures clashing faster than the eye could track.

They traded blows at blinding speed — the ice wand clanging against the spear’s haft, the flame wings singeing the tips of ice feathers, shards of frost embedding in

Elreth’s flame armor while droplets of molten stone hissed off Khione’s boots.

And yet... neither slowed.

They broke apart again, floating just beyond striking distance. The barrier was gone now — the arena’s wards struggling to keep the structure from collapsing under the elemental abuse.

Both knew they had one move left in them.

Elreth’s breathing was steady but deep. ’If I aim for her wings, I can ground her — but she’ll know. She’ll counter for the same.’

Khione’s eyes never left Elreth’s. ’If I break her guard, I win. But... she’s watching for exactly that.’

They both smirked.

"Final?" Elreth called.

"Final," Khione agreed.

Elreth drew in every ember still clinging to the air — her wings roared into a full inferno, every feather an arrow of molten light. Her spear blazed until the metal warped under the heat.

Khione summoned every flake of frost in the sky — her wings expanded to twice their size, each feather a shard of enchanted crystal. The air grew heavy, brittle from the cold.

They dove mumbling their techniques.

’’Phoenix Ascent!’’

’’Absolute Zero Bloom!"

Elreth’s ultimate — Phoenix Ascent — turned her into a blazing lance, the sky behind her burning gold and crimson.

While Khione’s ultimate — Absolute Zero Bloom — formed a massive frozen flower in her wake, every petal cutting through the air with impossible sharpness.

The moment they met —

BAAAAAAAAAAANG!

The explosion erased sound for three whole seconds. Light flooded the entire training grounds. The shockwave leveled the last standing walls, sending waves of frost and flame tearing through the ground.

When the light faded, both stood — barely — at opposite ends of what was once the arena floor. Between them stretched a long, diagonal trench where their powers had clashed, half scorched black, half frozen solid.

Elreth’s spear tip rested on the ground, her flame wings flickering weakly.

Khione’s wand arm trembled, ice feathers melting at the edges.

Neither moved for a long moment.

Then — simultaneously — both lowered their weapons.

A faint laugh escaped Elreth’s throat.

"Draw?"

Khione’s lips curved. "Draw."

And with that, both collapsed backward, staring up at the now clear, quiet sky — a sky they had all but broken apart moments ago.

While their mutual dislike was genuine, one undeniable truth tied them together—both were hopeless battle junkies.

For a moment, the arena fell into complete silence, broken only by the sound of their ragged breathing, which gradually steadied. Around them, the devastation they had caused was already knitting itself back together. Shattered tiles reformed, scorched stone cooled and regained color, and cracked pillars rebuilt themselves piece by piece. This special training ground truly lived up to its reputation—and its hefty rental cost.

Elreth pushed herself up from the ground, every muscle in her body humming with exhaustion yet satisfaction. Her fingers curled around her spear, and she spun it lightly to feel its weight once more. The weapon felt perfect—better than perfect. She’d have to give Adam a proper thank you later, she admitted grudgingly to herself.

Her gaze slid toward her rival, and a smirk tugged at her lips.

"Next time, I’ll crush you completely," she declared, her voice carrying that familiar, imperious arrogance that only she could wield against the Ice Queen.

"We will see," Khione replied curtly, her expression unreadable.

Elreth’s eye twitched. That calm, indifferent tone made her blood boil more than any insult could. If she weren’t completely drained, she’d have loved nothing more than to continue right now and wipe that unshakable composure off Khione’s face.

’Tch... control yourself,’ she scolded herself, forcing her irritation back down.

She turned to leave, but paused halfway, tossing her head back over her shoulder.

"Oh, and one more thing—stop loitering around Nero. He’s mine."

The words were like a switch. Khione, who had kept her eyes closed this whole time, slowly opened them. Her icy blue gaze sharpened, and the temperature in the entire training ground plummeted, frost spiderwebbing across the nearest tiles.

Elreth didn’t flinch. She simply grinned and walked out, the heat of her presence fading with each step.

Outside, she found herself face-to-face with Azalea, the elven princess and her longtime friend who saw them heading this way and followed after enjoying a midnight snack and tea.

"You really couldn’t stop yourself, could you?" Azalea sighed, crossing her arms.

"You just recovered, and yet you went off to fight. Even if it was just to test that annoying shorty’s weapon, you’ve been reckless again."

Elreth waved a hand dismissively. "You’re just jealous you didn’t get anything."

Azalea clicked her tongue and spat on the ground. "I wouldn’t mind knocking some sense into you right now."

"Try me." Elreth’s smirk turned into a provocatively sharp grin as she kept walking ahead, her crimson hair swaying with each step.

’This arrogant princess... I’ll put her in her place one day,’ Azalea thought, her smile warm on the outside but her eyes glinting with promise.

—

Back in the now-repaired training ground, Khione stood still, her thoughts unexpectedly tangled.

’Why... did I react so strongly to those words?’

She replayed the moment in her head, trying to pinpoint the reason, but no logical answer came. It was pointless to dwell on it. Still... the mere idea of letting Elreth have Nero left a sour, gnawing sensation in her chest. Irritating. Unacceptable.

Her lips pursed into the faintest pout.

The little Ice Queen had no idea the sensation had a name—jealousy.

With a quiet sigh, she turned on her heel and dragged her tired body back to her room, the faint echo of her footsteps disappearing into the dormitory corridor.