Legacy World 4.14 A Serious Fight

Two weeks passed by in a blink of an eye. 

She fought with several kinds of hell beings. Some resembled demonified or zombified animals. Some looked completely out of the world. The ones that challenged her the most were the ones that had a humanoid form. Its intelligence tended to be higher, so it was trickier to deal with. She could not win with a straightforward attack. While she did eventually get used to triggering her enhanced instinct to escape unscathed each time, there was something telling her that this difficulty was not enough.

Asking Vlad for more difficult opponents did not change a thing. She was never put in a dire situation where she could really lose her life. Would real battles be this easy? Somehow, she doubted it.

She began to look at Vlad with a growing suspicion. However, Vlad remained obtuse. He was used to Vanora being grumpy, so he did not realise that he had become the object of scrutiny. His aura was currently a light and clear rose pink. It used to look a lot dirtier, but it changed over the week. She did not understand why or what it meant, but she did not care either. She only wished she could read his thoughts.

"Are you still unhappy about how you're not progressing?"

Vanora continued to look at him pointedly.

"You already mastered aura perception."

"It's nothing time wouldn't solve. Didn't you say that it was only a matter of getting used to my demon's body?"

"Your recovery's faster."

"Again, that has nothing to do with me. I'm very well-fed."

"About that, go on, keep eating. Don't let your food go cold."

Vanora continued to stare at him for a while longer, then said in a low voice, "I need to experience life-threatening danger as a catalyst for my growth. It's like a trade. I'm not someone who can grow strong comfortably like other people can."

Vlad's smile froze. Something told him that this was the most vulnerable Vanora had ever been with him. The way she said it made it difficult for him to assure her in his usual flippant way. So, he only knew one thing to say, "I'll be by your side."

"Sure, thanks, but that's not what I want." She said in such a quiet voice that it made Vlad's heart wrench a little. She was disappointed with his reply. Vanora broke their eye contact and resumed her meal.

Vlad eventually dropped his gaze to the table as well. After spending almost every waking second with Vanora, he felt that she was truly one of a kind. He had never met a being who trained like their lives depended on it. Everyone accepted their fate after finding out their strengths through clashing with others. One either belong to the strong or the weak. If you are strong, you get to throw your weight around. If you are weak, you will forever be at the mercy of stronger ones. Because of that, smart ones understand to stay far away from stronger ones.

From the first time Vlad saw Vanora's aura, he knew that she would not be the strongest, but she would at least be above average. However, he never witnessed her aura as brilliant as he had first saw it. The length of time she took to get used to her demon body was average at best. What interested him further was how she seemed so... Self-aware and self-conscious of her limitations. She practices not because she was hopeful or arrogant, but because she refused to give in to her fate. He now knows her propensity to push herself to the point of cornering herself. It looked to him like she was punishing herself for being weaker than others. 

Nonetheless, the longer he watched her, the more a new and unfamiliar but sweet feeling sprouted within him. There was no longer just the obsession and fear of losing her, but also a sincere desire to know her better and just be with her. As much as he tried to indulge her, he still could not bear to see her hurt. /No matter how much you struggle and train, you can't get stronger. We don't grow the same way humans do. She doesn't see this, so she's reckless. I'm sorry, but I'll have to act as your brake./

The next day, the last hell being Vanora encountered was a furless muscular grey bear that was twice the size of her. Its claws were bigger and sharper. Smoke came out of its mouth and nostrils. It merely charged at her repeatedly, swinging its paw each time it passed by her. It was easy and simple to dodge such a plain and straightforward attack, so its attacks simply left deep marks in the ground. Despite its huge size, it was agile, though. It was equally hard for Vanora to land any hits. At the speed that they fought, there was soon no surface left unmarked. The bear suddenly jumped far away from her and stood on its hind legs. Its completely black soulless eyes shined a bright red, while it huffed like a bull about to charge at her.

Vanora rubbed her eyes. /Is it just me or is it getting hard to see?/ She quickly scanned the area and realised that the dust around her were picking up. Still, it was too late. A strong gust suddenly blew throughout the arena. All the loose dirt mixed with smoke that likely came from the bear, and flew at a high speed around her. She was essentially stuck in the middle of a tornado. The debris crashing into each other created so much noise that she could no longer pick up the sounds that the bear made. Some stray bits scraped her skin and drew blood.

/Where's it?!/ She used an arm to shield her eyes, but it was still difficult to keep them open. So, she flared out her flames throughout the arena. Strangely, it did not catch on fire. Just as got befuddled, she heard an odd noise coming from above her. She quickly looked up and was met with giant claws in her face. She spun away, then jumped up to kick its side, but it disappeared. /What? Was that a hallucination?/

Another distinct sound like a huff was heard in the next instant. She looked down and found wide open jaws beneath her feet. /It caught me mid-jump!/ Her hellfire reacted almost like it had a life of its own. It flew out of her legs and shot towards the bear. However, it disappeared as mysteriously as it appeared, again. 

Once she landed, another sound came from her left. She defended by attacking it head on, but it disappeared after she swung her fist. This repeated for around fifteen minutes. Neither of them could land a hit on each other. The dirt storm nicked her and got in her eyes every now and then. It was more annoying than painful.

Vanora frowned and gritted her teeth hard. /This is going nowhere. It's a complete waste of my time./

This shocked BaoBao. It was the first time Vanora complained like this, especially during training.

/I don't have time to play around. I've already wasted over 2 weeks. I have not improved, whatsoever. And what's with this stalemate? Are they taking me for a fool? Do they think I'm so ignorant?/

[Va- Vanora...?]

/It's obvious the bear's controlling this fight. He can take me down anytime. Dragging this out meaninglessly... And it's not just this fight. So many times... Playing me for the fool.../

Anger bubbled up inside her. Her breathing turned increasingly rugged. /This... Whole... Time... It's time to end this farce!/

She clenched her hands tightly. The golden sparks in her eyes shone a little. A strong urge to burn everything to the ground, including the earth itself, and turn this entire place into an inferno, coursed through her veins.

Without thinking too much, she jumped up high, then spun and ricocheted off the ceiling with her two fists stretched out in front of her. When her fists connected with the ground, the earth split and debris flew up with indigo flames. Everything shook dangerously. Rocks and stones fell from the top. /More. More! Burn it all down!/ Her emotions and instinct guided her actions, so she did not realise how much stronger her flames raged and how much more area it covered. She ended up turning the entire place into an inferno, exactly like she wanted.

Although the thick smoke remained, Vanora instinctively knew that everything else was burning, even the bear that blended in with the smoke. A loud angry roar finally rang throughout the arena. Understanding that it would die whether it killed her or not, it did not want to go down alone. Its rage helped it move despite the crippling pain of Vanora's hellfire. It charged at Vanora with its real capabilities, appearing behind her instantly, without a single sound, like a ghost. However, Vanora looked back at it at the same time, making direct eye contact.

With a single glance, fear gripped its heart, and the bear knew that he would lose. He could not break the momentum of his swing to escape. He will die. Vanora lifted a fist off the ground and punched at what she felt was his weak point.

Just before either party connected their blows, Vanora felt herself whipped back into a warm embrace that felt insanely dangerous. She looked up and discovered why. Vlad's face was of pure menace. He crouched between her and the bear, with a palm aimed at the bear's head.

The bear flew back with great force and speed. It crashed into the wall and formed a crater in it. Its body showed no external wounds but it stayed motionless. Vanora was sure that it was dead. /Its hide is insanely tough and thick. No wonder it wanted to end me quick. My hellfire's just a long meaningless torture before its death./ As soon as she concluded that, the bear rotted and shriveled up until it was no longer recognizable, then it got reduced to dust. There was only one person here who could do that. She looked back at Vlad.

Vlad got in her face, cupped her cheeks tenderly, turned her face side to side, then looked her up and down to check if she was fine. The strong killing intent that radiated off his body earlier had completely vanished without a trace. All that remained now was pure concern. He had to be hurting from her hellfire that was still burning all around, but it did not show on his face. As touching as it was, Vanora's expression remained cold.

"Are you angry that I interrupted your fight again?" He sounded apologetic, but it did nothing to ease her irate and anger. She shrugged his hands off of her and walked away without a word. He got up and followed close behind her. "This bear's different from the worm! You may win that exchange but with a heavy cost! It'd have mauled your face off!"

She still didn't respond. 

"I know you won't die from it but what IF you did?! What if your emotions calm and you heal too slowly?! Your default state is not very strong, I can't let you die!"

Vanora stopped dead in her tracks. Without turning around, she looked at him coldly from the corner of her eye. "At this rate, you might as well let me die. It's no different." She walked off with larger strides this time. She was determined to leave him this time.

"Vanora!" Vlad chased after her. "What do you mean? Why do you say that? Why do you always speak so ominously?!"

When they exited the cave, Vlad was stunned when Vanora did not stop. Their usual routine was for him to bring them back to their room. "Where're you going?" He muttered under his breath. Vanora continued to ignore him and headed off in a random direction.

"Where are you going?!" He asked more frantically. He knew that she was seriously upset now. "Is there somewhere you want to go? I'll take you there!"

When she still ignored him, Vlad decisively put himself in her way by cutting into her path. "Vanora, talk to me! Tell me what's wrong!"

BaoBao silently gulped. With how odd Vanora was acting, he did not dare to make a single sound. So, seeing Vlad consistently and persistently bothering her instead of giving her space, awed but also scared BaoBao.