Here I present myself with a new chapter!
It will probably be a chapter that everyone will like, since things will start to get quite hectic from this point.
Again I would like to thank Surfysun, Srpaocomqueijo and Shiro777, the members who made this quadruple chapter possible.
With nothing more to add, it's time to get started.
Enjoy!
The regular rhythm of a knife hitting a board echoed in the spacious kitchen. The cuts on the vegetables were messy and the sizes of each piece varied at a glance. The feminine fingers brushed against the edge of the knife occasionally, making the movement slow.
"Hummm…" Ei muttered to herself with some displeasure as she continued cutting the vegetables.
She was wearing her usual clothing, except for the green apron that was responsible for tightening her figure a little.
"That's not how it's done." Aether took her hands to stop her, catching the Goddess's attention.
"And how am I supposed to do it?" She asked really not understanding, because, according to her, what she was doing was perfect.
"Pay attention." Aether stood behind her and took her hands ever so gently. "You have to do it this way…" Ei felt how the blonde leaned on his body and began to move his hands, thus resuming the cooking.
Now the cuts stopped being regular and became incessant, gaining great speed. Messy cuts no longer existed and irregularity in portion proportions no longer existed.
A cute smile appeared on Ei's face as she turned her face to look at him. It felt extremely good as he helped her and held her with such gentleness and care. That was a gesture that didn't take long for Aether to notice.
"Hey, are you on cloud nine?" The blonde scolded her, making Ei seem a little nervous.
"Of course not! I'm paying attention!" She exclaimed while focusing her gaze on the vegetables with complete determination.
That action caused a slight smile to appear on Aether's face.
"Record each of the movements in your mind." He recommended as he stood on tiptoe to try to see over his shoulder.
Ei became even more empathetic after hearing his words, paying absolute attention to everything he did.
"Once this is done, you must now use the frying pan. The oil is already more than ready." Aether commented with a confident smile on his face. "All you have to do is add the Jueyun chilies as the recipe indicates!" The young man concluded with complete confidence that she could achieve it.
"According to what the recipe says…" Ei muttered to herself as she placed the knife unceremoniously on the freshly cut vegetables. "5 servings every 5 seconds…" She read from a small note, then nodded seriously.
The Goddess took all the portions in her hand, causing a nervous bead of sweat to slide down Aether's head.
"Hey, the knife…"
"Oh, it's true!" The Goddess exclaimed as she removed the knife, thus throwing some fragments of the vegetable to the ground.
Aether couldn't help but pat his face as he saw how the Goddess tried to pick them up and they dropped even more.
"How can you make the easiest part seem so hard?"
Ei finally picked up all the portions and stood in front of the frying pan whose oil seemed to be about to explode because of how long it had taken.
"5 servings every 5 seconds…" Ei said to herself as she selectively grabbed onto her hand.
Once she got what she wanted, the Goddess looked at the frying pan as if it were a demon and moved away a little. Her arm extended as far as it would go as she watched her greatest enemy silently.
After that overly dramatic moment, Ei opened her hand from a great height and dropped the 5 portions, causing the oil to begin to splash out, something that scared the woman a little.
And that's when she remembered it.
"Oh! The 5 seconds!" The woman shouted in exasperation. "Wait, have those 5 seconds already passed? Should I throw out more servings because of the wasted time? Do I have to do everything again? And what happens if they burn? This food can burn, right?" The endless questions made Ei's eyes start to spiral.
"Hey! Time!" Aether's words only made Ei even more desperate.
"It's true! How long did it take?!" Ei looked at the oil with dull eyes, as if her mind had been blocked by the great pressure on her shoulders. "Then…!"
Aether watched with blank eyes as Ei threw all the portions into the frying pan, causing a large amount of oil to fly everywhere and the top to catch on fire.
"Oh no!" Ei exclaimed with comical tears as she tried to fix the mistake.
After seeing how Ei threw food and poured water into the oil, the only thing he could do was give a big sigh covered in fatigue.
"This is going to be a lot harder than I thought…"
_ CHAPTER 14: THE REVENGE! _
Passersby came and went without worry. Everyone seemed to be very focused on their own tasks and objectives...
Until…
"¡BBOOOOOOOMMM!"
A huge explosion shook the second floor of the mansion, making everyone stop to look at what happened with a mixture of amazement and disbelief, since that room had apparently exploded, or so indicated by the huge hole that kept emanating smoke.
"No…"
"I'm sorry!"
"Listen…" Aether emerged from the smoke with his hair standing on end. "If you left the gas running inside the oven, then don't try to turn it on after 10 minutes, because this is what happens." The protagonist declared with a neutral look on his face.
"Seriously I am sorry!" Ei exclaimed, who was on the verge of crying.
"Hey, you're a lot meaner than I thought." Those words caused a depressive aura to surround the Goddess. "But still, I'm not going to give up." That dark aura turned into one of complete happiness. "Every day, I'll make sure you pick up those damn ladles and are able to do something decent. I don't care if you die trying your own food." That last statement made the aura of happiness transform into a terrified one.
"Hem…I, um…shouldn't I rethink the idea of being a cook?" Ei asked with a mix of nervousness and fear.
"Of course not." Aether commented with a challenging smile. "You are going to become my official apprentice, and your first objective is to clean up the mess you made while I prepare lunch!" The blonde raised his finger in the air to emphasize his words.
Ei looked around as a rather downcast look adorned her.
The excitement in Aether's tone was a complete contrast to the vast destruction around him. Just watching a hole fall from the ceiling was enough proof that there was no exaggeration.
"I didn't think the path to becoming a cook would be so difficult…"
_ LINE BREAK _
Relax teapot
A few hours later…
Everyone was having lunch calmly. The most important people were gathered, such as Aether, Ei, Yae, Sara, Itto, Kaeya, Shenhe, Ayaka and Kokomi.
"As you may already know, my body has completely recovered three days ago. Therefore, I would like to organize this last week of training." Ei declared as she spread a paper on the table, and everyone watched with great curiosity.
"Me and Shenhe? No offense, but does the lady know how to fight?" Itto asked with quite a bit of confusion as he focused his gaze on Shenhe, who just looked at him without showing emotion.
"Silence! If the Great Narukami-sama says that it is proper training, then…" Sara stopped her typical chatter just as her eyes widened after reading a certain part of the paper. "Why do I have to go in with the former rebellion leader?"
"I guess I'm the only one who doesn't have problems." Kaeya commented with satisfaction when he fixed his gaze on Ayaka, who was just reading the paper with great interest.
"I understand that the selection can be somewhat controversial. But after evaluating all of them, I concluded that this type of format is what benefits everyone the most." Ei stated confidently. "Itto, I understand that you feel more comfortable training with Aether, but you are holding back his true potential. And don't doubt Shenhe, she seems like she's not very strong but you should also know that the last thing a martial artist should pay attention to is appearance. Although I have never seen how Shenhe fights, I am sure that she is at your level or even higher. We need both to create good synergy, since even forces work very well as a team." These statements made Itto become serious. "The same is for Sara and Kokomi, except for one other important point. I need you to work on your relationship and forget any past animosity that is separating you. Right now we need strong generals, we need warriors who are willing to defend all the people of Inazuma." A stern look crossed Ei's face, making Sara and Kokomi tense. "From now on, prejudices are over, understood?"
"Understood, Shogun-sama!" Sara responded somewhat stiffly, but her confident tone was never lacking.
"I will do the best I can. After all, this is what I have always wanted." Kokomi responded in a much calmer tone.
"Kaeya, I know that you are not only a cunning man. You have much more experience than you let on, and that is why I want you to train Ayaka with her elemental control and help her go further." The Archon's words made a rather peculiar smile appear on the aforementioned.
"Oh, If she places so much trust in me, then I can't let her down." The man clarified, bowing his head slightly.
"In the meantime, I need Yae to continue focusing on internal political matters." Ei concluded, fixing her gaze on her best friend.
"I was wondering how much longer it was going to take you to get this thing under control, dear. I guess starting that relationship with Aether managed to bring you to your senses." Those words made the Goddess give her a somewhat displeased gesture. "Don't look at me like that, you know it's true!" Yae exclaimed in feigned indignation, something that earned a soft sigh from Ei.
"Why is it always so difficult to talk to you?" The Goddess asked with some suspicion, but her annoyance was quickly replaced by a smile. "Although I won't deny that it's nice to talk to you again."
"Hehe, you know it's my pleasure too." Yae declared with a cheerful smile. "But, back to the topic, now that you are recovered, the people of Inazuma will want…"
"I understand, I already have a plan." Ei interrupted her, and the vast majority were left with doubts about what he was going to say.
"Hey, why isn't Aether's name on the list?" Paimon asked with some confusion, something the blonde had also noticed.
"Ah, that's simple. As I mentioned earlier, Aether needs a good obstacle to advance faster, no matter how counterintuitive it may sound. I confirmed that very well from the few times I saw him fight." Ei commented naturally, then fixed her gaze on Aether.
"That is why I will be your opponent."
_ LINE BREAK _
Relax teapot
Several hours later…
Aether was on one of the few uninhabited islands along with Ei and Paimon. The Goddess was standing several meters away, while the fairy stood away from both of them with a worried expression on her face.
"After everything that happened between us, I never thought I would find a rematch like this." Aether decided to break the silence, giving her a competitive smile that Ei didn't share.
"A revenge? I wouldn't consider it that way. It is a friendly battle, and also…" Ei summoned her spear and pointed it forward. "The reality is that there is still a gap between our powers. It couldn't be considered real combat when one of us is holding back." The Archon concluded naturally, making Aether's smile disappear, although it was only momentary.
"If you think I'm the same as before, then it's because you haven't seen what I've done these last few months." The blonde declared with conviction as he summoned his sword, making Ei look a little serious.
"I see it, and yet, I also see that you are far from reaching me." Ei's statement emanated a smirk from Aether.
"We'll see."
Paimon looked from one towards the other in worry while the breeze adorned the place.
The silence returned and the tension was as growing as the air that flowed on that small floating island.
Suddenly, Ei's eyes narrowed a little and one of her feet slipped a little on the grass, as she disappeared without a trace.
Aether's smile disappeared completely. His gaze went back as fast as he could, watching as Ei prepared her spear to slash him from the back. But just as the slash seemed imminent, a smile appeared on Aether as he moved his body at great speed and countered the attack with his own sword. The collision caused sparks to fly everywhere, and the force was such that both were thrown in opposite directions.
Ei spun around in the air and fell gracefully, leaving a thin line due to the drag of her feet. Her gaze lifted, and her face became even more serious as she looked at Aether, who was simply smiling and pointing his sword at her.
Ei also raised her weapon and prepared to attack again under Aether's watchful gaze. She disappeared with a great jump, causing the blonde's smile to change to a sympathetic expression after seeing how a blur passed over his head.
The blunt part of the spear slammed hard against Aether's head, or so she expected, as Aether's sword appeared in the path from one second to the next to deny her the blow. Aether raised his gaze to see the woman who was still in the air, causing her to give him a slight smile.
"Satisfactory." The Archon commented calmly.
Aether narrowed his eyes in response, then moved his sword with great force to the side, causing it to collide with one of the protruding edges, something that managed to destabilize Ei's fall, as she fell somewhat clumsily and received a severe cut. descending over the left shoulder which created a large gust of air. But Aether didn't stop there, as he delivered various thrusts and slashes that were either dodged or blocked by Ei's spear, until she finally rolled on the ground to gain some distance. That moment did not end there, as she immediately took a huge leap and began to descend while spinning, causing her spear to spin at high speed and create a deadly downward attack.
But Aether had already seen all those moves, so he wasn't going to be surprised twice.
"TAKE THIS!"
Aether raised his free hand and a large geo pillar emerged from the depths, taking Ei by surprise, who received the impact square, generating a pile of fragments that flew everywhere.
Ei flew into the air until she fell to her knees under the watchful gaze of Aether, who immediately returned to his combat stance with his sword.
"That was a direct hit, but still…" Paimon thought as she watched Ei slowly stand up.
The Goddess rubbed her shoulder where she had previously been cut, only to reveal that her clothing was torn, but there was just a thin cut that was not deep. The rest of her body did not look affected at all from the previous attack either.
"She only got a few scratches."
Aether observed her body carefully, watching as the Goddess rubbed her shoulder calmly.
"It was just as I thought." Aether thought seriously. "If it had been the puppet, that blow would have done a little more damage. But her real body is much more resistant." Ei looked at him with her usual calm, seeing that her beloved was very still.
"Do you want me to take the initiative for all attacks?" That question made Aether clench his teeth slightly, falling for the obvious provocation.
The traveler moved at high speed to try to make a horizontal slash, but Ei moved much faster and dodged it with a jump. Aether followed instantly and threw another geo pillar, which this time was split in half with a clean cut from the spear.
"The same attack won't work twice." Ei commented confidently as the two fragments passed by the sides of her body.
Aether tried to surprise her when he jumped at her, attempting another horizontal slash that Ei stopped with her bare hand, making the blonde's eyes widen. Still, the surprise of the moment did not last long on his body, as he used his grip on his sword as a support to take the hilt with both hands and do a fierce somersault to try to hit it, but Ei separated just before the double kick hit her face.
They both fell a little far from each other, and again looked at each other in silence. Although this time that moment lasted only a second.
Aether lunged again with a scream as he attempted a thrust, but Ei dodged by turning her body to the side, only leaving her leg in its previous position. That action caused Aether to trip over her and end up falling to the ground on his knees. Just when he realized he was in a very compromising position...
"FLAP!"
"Ay, ay, ay, ay!" Aether began to roll on the ground while holding his head.
"This is training, not a game." Ei declared with a poker expression, while a large amount of steam came out of the blunt part of his spear, indicating which part she had hit him with. "Stop playing, use your Elements, and take this fight as something serious."
"I understand! But was it necessary to break my head with one blow?!" Aether was finally able to pull himself together, although that huge bump on his head said otherwise. "Besides, that's what I was going to do. You really have very little patience…" Aether complained in a rather peculiar tone, making Ei look at him blankly.
Aether took a couple of steps away as he stretched out his arms, until he finally turned around and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"You are a great martial artist. You of all people should know that it is important to have fun when fighting. It is true that not every moment lends itself to that, but…" Aether crossed his arms, looking at her with some depth. "Why don't you try to have some fun too?" That question made Ei lower her head a little.
"It's been a long time since I felt any fun being a martial artist. It's another consequence of stasis I guess..."
"Maybe it's true, although I don't think so…" Aether interrupted her, earning Ei's interest. "You are a sword, I know that feeling. And although you suffered many things, both you and I know that it has nothing to do with being a martial artist." Aether dropped his sword before Ei's confused look. "What happens to you is that you have lost all feeling for progress. Not because of your past, this came about because you haven't had a worthy opponent for millennia." Those words made Ei's eyes widen slightly. "And for that reason…" Aether extended his arms to the sides, causing the Geo, Electro, and Anemo Elements to begin to appear in his body.
"I WILL MAKE SURE TO BECOME THAT OPPONENT THAT WILL BRING YOU BACK!"
Paimon was forced to cover her face due to the great blizzard that got released from Aether's body. Meanwhile, Ei was unable to hide her astonishment at seeing how three different elements surrounded Aether's body and apparently complemented each other.
"¡AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Aether shouted loudly, then waved his arms to the sides, making all that blizzard disappear, and a small crater was generated in its place.
"Now is where the really fun begins." Aether looked at his fist and clenched it tightly, causing a geo coating to appear along his entire arm before Ei's surprised gaze.
"Is this what you have been practicing with Itto for the last few months?" Ei thought in slight disbelief, as Aether's presence had grown greatly compared to a few seconds ago.
Aether looked up, and a smile emerged on his face as he got into a combat stance.
"Very good…" The blonde whispered, and then his eyes widened from one moment to the next. "Here I go!"
Aether disappeared, leaving a blur of Anemo and Electro that generated a line of destruction.
"He is faster." Ei thought as her body disappeared and reappeared a few centimeters back, as she had moved just enough to avoid Aether's punch.
Aether's onslaught did not stop there, as he slammed his foot heavily on the ground, causing a large amount of Geo Stakes to shoot out from the ground, forcing Ei to jump.
The Archon did not have a moment's rest, as she was forced to use her spear to block a punch that was headed straight for her face, creating a small shockwave and causing them both to separate a few centimeters in the process.
"Not yet!" Aether shouted with a big smile, and then threw a sequence of punches accompanied by the three elements, so his punches were extremely fast.
The fact that he moved so fast was even more incredible after seeing how Ei moved her face back and forth at an even faster speed, making her face barely visible, until she finally blocked both attacks with his spear, something that unbalanced Aether's posture a little. This caused Ei's eyes to narrow as she spun the spear around herself at an impressive speed.
"BALEFUL OMEN!"
A large amount of lightning bolts flew everywhere, bolts that hit Aether squarely and sent him rolling on the ground with a deep cry of pain.
Ei descended to the ground without any major problems and observed how Aether was lying on his back a few meters away, apparently very injured.
"It was a direct hit. If you want we can take a short break until you recover." Ei declared, but received no response.
That made her brow furrow, so she soon approached at a slow pace.
Once she was in front of him, she remained completely silent. All she did was stare at Aether's back.
"I know that blow was not enough. I'm not even using half of my power yet." The Archon declared as she crossed her arms.
But again…
She received no response.
That made her cute brow furrow even more.
Was he ignoring her?
Or was he throwing some kind of tantrum?
In both cases, that was simply unacceptable.
"Don't complain later…" Ei whispered with a somewhat annoyed tone as she took the back of her spear and managed to hit him hard on the head with the hilt.
But…
Ei's eyes widened as the attack was blocked by a geo stone that appeared right at the impact site.
Seeing this, Ei withdrew the spear and tried to hit him in the middle of the back, but the result ended up being the same. That made her brow furrow and she started unleashing a lot of really fast thrusts in hopes of hitting him, but it always ended with the same result.
Until…
Aether turned around from one second to the next and caught the spear in his hands. The smile was immediate on his face upon seeing Ei's somewhat dazed expression, as a large geo armor suddenly surrounded him.
Aether took advantage of that moment of confusion to grab the spear with all his strength with the intention of throwing it away, something that worked.
Ei did a somersault in the air and fell gracefully before the watchful eye of Aether, who had already composed himself.
Ei didn't even say a word and rushed forward at breakneck speed, but Aether dodged her as she made half of her body bend backwards. She again tried to cut him, but Aether blocked the spear with his hands and then tried to hit her in the chest, which Ei blocked with her free hand. Once both of their hands were already occupied with each other, they both threw a completely synchronized knee at each other, creating a small blizzard next to a crater. The power of the attack had been great enough for both of them to take a small distance, but Ei gave no respite and tried to attack him as quickly as possible. Still, Aether seemed more prepared, as he created a small geo path above his feet that allowed him to slide and dodge each of Ei's slashes, until he finally deflected her spear with a strong blow and used the newly created opening to throwing a strong blow to her chest that sent her sliding on the ground, although thanks to the firmness of her feet she did not lose stability.
"This is just the beginning!" Aether shouted very excitedly as he threw himself at her at full speed, making Ei's guard as high as possible.
But just before he reached it, something rather strange happened.
The Anemo and Electro Elements overlapped each other, causing a small elemental reaction to occur, something that created a small crater in front of Aether's feet, so he ended up losing control and slid away with a scream. Ei could only watch stoically as Aether passed by her until he collided with a tree, knocking it down in the process.
"Ara…" was the only thing she could comment in the face of such a bizarre situation.
"Shit, I still don't have it completely under control." Aether thought out loud as he held his head in pain, although that image did not last long, as it did not take him any longer to become serious and jump again against Ei, who was forced to put aside what he had just done.
The Archon swung her body back to avoid a punch, then tried to counter with a clean cut. Her eyebrows contracted as she saw how Aether bent the upper half of his body backwards, showing off his great agility.
The traveler composed himself instantly and tried to counterattack with several punches that were blocked by Ei, who went to counterattack once again.
Grave error.
Aether responded in a different way, as after noticing that the attack was now going much lower, he dropped his body completely. His hands rested against the ground and he threw a strong kick, a counterattack that Ei did not expect, and this was shown when she barely had time to counter the attack with her forearm, causing one of her eyes to close in pain when a wave a shockwave occurred around both of them, so it didn't take long for her to be thrown backwards.
Aether bent his knees, generating a large Anemo explosion that directed him towards Ei like a missile, so she barely had time to block it with her spear, generating a large shock wave that deepened a considerable crater under both their feet.
In the end Ei managed to repel him and moved him a few centimeters away, so Aether did not miss the opportunity and continued his destabilizing attack. The Archon managed to block each of his attacks, and even tried to counterattack once again, but Aether made the exact same move. But this time, Ei was not fooled and struck his legs with the spear, although that armor was so strong that it only served to make Aether spin like a snail until he jumped to his feet, continuing his incessant attacks.
Without realizing it, Ei was taking several steps backwards, until she suddenly found himself at the edge of the island. Seeing that Aether wasn't going to stop, her feet gripped the ground tightly and she began to counter all the attacks with all the strength she had, until she finally saw an opening and used her free hand to punch him hard in the back abdomen that disoriented him a little. This was taken advantage of by her as she quickly jumped onto Aether's back, and now he was the one who was cornered.
"Now!" Ei thought just as she began to dish out a large number of thrusts.
Surprisingly, the blurry thrusts could do nothing against Aether, who was moving even faster than them, although his compromising position caused his body to slowly lose balance.
Ei's eyes narrowed at this, and her thrusts ended without warning.
"BALEFUL OMEN!"
The blow fell again on Aether's body, but her surprise was more than obvious when she saw that he did not receive a single scratch thanks to the powerful armor. But she quickly returned to his senses and continued the onslaught, receiving the enormous surprise of how Aether stopped all of the spear's attacks even with his back turned, until he finally grabbed it with both hands and threw a couple of horse kicks at it, forcing her to give several steps back.
Aether turned around from one second to the next and lunged at her, forcing her to act defensively once again. After a short sequence of blocks, Aether caught Ei's spear with both hands, and his foot stomped on the ground. Ei's eyes widened considerably as a geo pillar was propelled out of the ground with Anemo, so the impact was imminent.
A huge explosion was accentuated at a specific point on the island, in which Ei soon flew out of the dust, rolling on the floor until she finally fell exhausted to the ground.
For the first time in a long time, someone had managed to break her stance.
That thought was accentuated even more in her mind when she saw how the spear stuck into the ground several meters away from her.
"What did you think of that? I still have a few tricks up my sleeve." Aether commented with a confident smile on his face.
Ei didn't say anything at first, all she did was slowly stand up while looking at him seriously.
"I see, so that's your power…" The Goddess commented, drawing Aether's attention. "In that case…" Ei put her hand on her chest, causing a sudden suffocating pressure to be felt throughout the Relaxing Teapot.
"Let me show you what I'm capable of."
Lightning emerged from her body in droves as she pulled out a sword from her chest.
Aether couldn't help but sweat as the entire environment turned purple while a monstrous aura completely surrounded Ei.
But he wasn't scared.
"This is what I was waiting for." Aether declared with a somewhat feral smile on his face. "Now is when the real fight begins!" With that, Aether threw himself at her unceremoniously.
It was obvious that this would not end well.
Ei met him with his sword and countered his blow as if it were nothing, sending him several meters back. But he insisted again, but this time he stopped the sword with his hand and tried to punch her hard, but a strong electro current was released from Ei's body, something that sent him flying with unparalleled strength.
Aether screamed as he crashed into the tops of the trees, until one was able to stop him and send him to the ground.
"Argh, what the hell was that?" Aether pulled himself together as best he could, but suddenly felt a stinging pain in his hand.
His eyes widened when he saw that his palm had a deep cut.
"It was just a moment…" Aether thought, remembering when he grabbed the sword. "But she was able to break through my armor so easily?" He concluded, somewhat incredulous.
"Do you still want to keep fighting? I don't think you can use that hand properly." Ei approached, making Aether close one of his eyes as he felt the pain increase.
"It shouldn't hurt so much…" He thought, watching the blood drip from his hand. "Does this have anything to do with that sword? Maybe it's just her power?" Those thoughts were put in the background when he raised his gaze, observing the Goddess carefully. "In any case, I understand that I must avoid direct contact with her." His serious face was replaced with a slight smile.
"What is he planning?" Ei thought with some curiosity as she saw how Aether stood up, prepared to resume the battle.
"This isn't over, until I say it's over…" Aether commented as his smile widened a little.
"EARTH AWAKENING!"
Aether raised both hands and Ei looked somewhat surprised when she suddenly found herself surrounded by some geo stones that seemed to have no end. The only possible exit was behind her.
And Aether knew it.
"He won't be able to escape this!" The blonde exclaimed in his thoughts when he appeared behind Ei without warning and threw an Anemo and Electro infused punch that devastated everything in its path.
But, against all odds, Ei closed her eyes and placed the sword on her shoulder patiently. Then, just before the attack hit her, she disappeared and reappeared behind Aether, who watched in shock as he was signaled by an electro symbol, only for 6 lightning bolts to appear around him.
"MUSOU NO HITOTACHI!"
Ei swung the sword forward gracefully, causing a large bolt of lightning to completely envelop him. The attack was so devastating that it crossed the island and split it in two, something that did not go unnoticed by anyone, who watched what happened with complete disbelief.
"Aether!" Paimon screamed through tears as she flew towards the start of the attack, but Ei stopped her.
"Don't worry. I held back long enough to make sure the attack didn't kill him." The Archon declared, and just at that moment the dust began to clear, revealing that Aether was lying on the other half of the island with noticeable injuries. "It's surprising that someone can withstand half the power of this attack. "I haven't found someone like that in a long time." Ei commented, then turned to see Aether. "Anyway, this training has come to an end. I doubt you'll be able to move." She concluded, putting her sword back away.
"Not yet…"
However, both Ei and Paimon were surprised to see how Aether slowly stood up, although the difficulty in that action was more than apparent.
"As long as I can move, this is not over yet." Aether declared with conviction, then raised his hand, causing a large amount of geo stones to surround Ei.
"Paimon, go to the mansion. This is very dangerous" Ei gave her a penetrating look, so the fairy had no choice but to accept her words.
"You showed me your strongest attack, then…" Aether finally stood up as he wiped the blood from his nose and mouth. "Let me show you my most powerful attack!" He exclaimed with conviction as he summoned his sword, and then made several turns around himself.
Ei watched in silence as a sudden Anemo tornado was generated around Aether which was soon shot towards her, so she was forced to summon her spear when she was caught by the whirlwind, as the numerous geo stones that contained her now flew dangerously close to her. That made her feel the need to break all the fragments that were heading towards her.
"That's not all!" Ei watched out of the tornado as Aether approached her at full speed, his sword was surrounded by strong Electro power.
Once it entered the tornado, the green color was replaced by a purple one, added to the large lightning bolts that struck the surroundings.
Ei simply stood there watching as Aether approached at full speed, prepared to deliver a powerful thrust that would be capable of killing anyone.
"DESTRUCTIVE CONSONANCE!"
It definitely looked like it was going to be a really destructive attack, but all the destruction disappeared when Ei grabbed the sword with her bare hand. A large line of destruction occurred behind her, causing the tornado to dissipate and the island to be further destroyed.
Aether's eyes widened to the maximum, as he couldn't believe that his most powerful attack had been stopped with just one hand.
"You cannot destroy the storm with more storm." Aether came out of his stupor after hearing those words. "I think the Shogun had told you something similar back then. I can even tell you that some attacks you used during combat wouldn't have hurt me at all, but I decided to dodge or block them to keep the pace of the fight so you can learn. So, the first lesson today would be for you to learn this point, since I am not the only one who benefits in this way. Other Archons and other special subjects may also have these same qualities and be immune to certain elements, in addition to monsters."
"I understand, I can't believe I forgot those words." Aether felt a little annoyed with himself as he stepped away, then fell to his knees.
"You are very tired and hurt. It's best to abstain from fighting for now." Ei stated as she helped him to his feet.
"I would like to protest, but I honestly don't think I can make another attack." Aether commented with a pained smile.
"Do you know something?" Noticing Ei's somewhat melancholic tone, Aether looked at her carefully. "When you hit me with those stakes, I felt a strange adrenaline rush through my body. I think that's why I wanted to use all my power. After all, maybe you're right when you say that I just need to find a good opponent." She concluded with a slight smile on her face, something Aether responded to in her own way.
"In that case, let us become the best rivals this world has ever seen." Those words hit Ei's heart a little, and she looked at him with genuine surprise.
In the end, she responded with a beautiful smile.
"I never thought that a declaration of a fight could captivate me." The Goddess declared with emotion, but that was left in the background when they both looked at the completely destroyed island.
"Although, it would be best to continue our training elsewhere…"
"Yes you're right…"
_ END OF THE CHAPTER! _
I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
I've been a little sick these last few days, so you may have found the last few chapters a bit rushed. I'm really sorry about that as my head isn't working at 100%. Still, I don't want to leave you without chapters, especially since I owe you (literally).
Luckily today I feel like I'm almost completely recovered, so it shouldn't affect me in any way for the next chapter. And speaking of that, the next update will most likely bring the first lemon in this story.
Remember that if you want to be aware of all the information regarding my stories, you can visit my Patre-on, you can find me as "Jyanzein". You can also become a member if you want, and thus order an extra chapter of any story that is in development, all for the price of one dollar.
Without anything more to add, I say goodbye.
Thanks so much for reading!