She didn’t run.
Didn’t jump.
She walked.
The way those walk who are certain
that the entire world must part before them.
Small tongues of fire flared beneath her feet—she didn’t even notice.
The aura around her compressed space itself.
So strongly
that the air vibrated.
And everyone who looked at her—human or demon—
felt one thing:
this wasn’t magic.
This was authority.
I rose.
Slowly.
Blood boiled inside me.
Cold fury tore me apart, but my mind was already drowning in red threads.
She was the cause.
Which meant—the target.
I lunged forward,
my legs sinking into the earth,
the shadow beneath me exploding into wind.
A heartbeat—and I was in front of her.
The first strike—straight, icy, compressed beyond reason.
Not a fist.
A concentrated tornado,
crushed into a single point.
Mira didn’t retreat.
She raised her palm—and stopped the blow.
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Stopped it. With her palm.
I felt the energy of my punch press against her aura—and simply… crumble.
She smiled with the corner of her lips:
— Weaker than last time.
I exploded into lightning.
We vanished.
To the people—we simply disappeared.
To the demons—we became two smeared flashes.
But to us—everything was clear.
I struck from above with an icy spear of mana,
she deflected, turning so that flame spiraled around her.
She struck from the side—
a fire blade woven from pure force,
I blocked with a barrier of stone mana,
the barrier cracked.
I stepped back—
she stepped forward, at the same time throwing a fiery burst under my feet.
I took off—the vortex carried me upward.
She shot after me like a comet.
We collided in the air.
EXPLOSION.
The sky shuddered.
Soldiers below were thrown down by the wind.
Phoenixes scattered into flame.
Even the titans I had created slowed.
She dominated.
Not because she was stronger.
Because she controlled herself.
Every strike—precise.
Every attack—calculated.
Every step—an attempt to drive me to the position she wanted.
She played with me
like an older player with a younger one in battle chess.
I tried to overwhelm with raw force—
she changed the vector,
breaking my trajectory with the slightest movement of a finger.
I hurled ice—
she melted it with heat.
I threw stone pikes—
she twisted them with her aura,
and the pikes flew back at me.
I struck with lightning—
she grounded it through her own flame,
as if playing with the laws of nature.
Mira didn’t just dominate.
She read me.
Read my emotions.
My rage.
My pain.
My intent.
Every time I prepared to strike seriously—
she was already there.
For the army it looked like this:
First—two points.
Then—two lines.
Then—two elements.
Red.
Turquoise.
Fire.
Ice.
Explosions like blows from gigantic hammers.
Hurricanes tearing the earth apart.
Streams of fire lifting stone into the air.
Lightning spiraling into the sky.
They couldn’t even tell which of us was which.
We weren’t human—
we were shapes of color and force.
— What… is that? — one soldier whispered.
— Are gods fighting?.. — another answered.
The demons began to retreat.
Even they understood:
this was not their war.
This was a Helvard family duel.
We collided for the fifth time—and I struck harder than before.
Mira’s feet carved three meters into the ground.
The flame around her flared brighter.
She stopped smiling.
— Enough, — she said quietly.
I lunged.
She caught my fist.
Twisted my arm.
Locked it.
Pain struck,
but the power inside me tore forward.
I tried to unleash a burst of rage—
she leaned close to my face and whispered:
— Come back.
— Don’t let what’s inside take you.
The words hit harder than her fists.
I faltered for a second.
She used that instant:
fire surged,
exploded,
and I was thrown dozens of meters away.
I crashed down.
The snow melted beneath me.
She walked toward me…
slowly.
Like someone who doesn’t want to finish you off.
But wants to reach you.
But I rose.
With fire in my eyes.
With rage in my veins.
With power that was barely listening to reason anymore.
And Mira understood:
the next strike would not be a game.
the next strike would be the one after which someone wouldn’t stand back up.
She raised her hands.
The phoenixes behind her roared.
I took a step forward.
And the earth trembled.