Tara straightened, her wings of water rippling behind her as she looked down at Bhumi with pride.
"Now," she said calmly, "who's getting cocky?"
Bhumi wiped the blood from her arm and forced herself to breathe.
Every elemental Teaching packs overwhelming force, she thought. But it always comes at a cost. Resources. Timing. There's an opening—I just have to see when and how it appears.
Tara didn't give her time to think.
Water bullets screamed through the air one after another. Bhumi sprinted across the arena, dragging walls of stone up behind her to block the attacks just in time. She dodged, redirected, blocked—again and again.
Five attacks.
As the fifth shot struck the ground, Bhumi saw it.
Another wing of water began forming behind Tara's back.
Tch…
Bhumi noticed something else too—while the wing was forming, Tara stopped attacking.
That's it.
Bhumi slammed her hands down and tore three massive chunks of stone from the arena floor, hurling them toward Tara with all her strength.
But just like before, a single water bubble shifted instantly into place, absorbing the impact without so much as a crack.
Bhumi clicked her tongue.
I thought she was just powerful… but she's smart. She always keeps a reserve—one water bubble purely for defense.
Tara resumed her assault.
Bhumi dodged again, walls rising and collapsing around her as the arena shook. But this time, one of the water bullets struck her arm directly.
Pain exploded through her shoulder.
Her arm went limp.
Bhumi gasped—but she didn't stop moving.
With only one usable arm, she continued dodging, rolling, forcing her body to respond even as panic crept in.
Then—
The third wing of water formed.
Bhumi's eyes widened.
After every five attacks… a wing appears.
Her breathing quickened.
How many wings does she need? And what happens when they're complete?
Fear crept in—but she crushed it immediately.
I don't have time.
Bhumi slammed her remaining hand into the ground and began pulling the earth upward, shaping a tight, sealed sphere around Tara.
I'll cut off her supply.
But as the ground rose, Bhumi froze.
The soil was wet.
Too wet.
She pulled harder, lifting a massive block of stone—and her heart sank.
Below the arena, endless water stretched out in every direction.
The platform was floating above the ocean.
Tara laughed.
The earthen sphere shattered as four wings of water burst outward. Tara raised both hands high, and the wings twisted, flowing together, reshaping themselves into a massive rotating ring of compressed water that surrounded her body.
She closed her fists.
The ring shrank—denser, sharper, screaming with pressure.
Then Tara opened her hands.
The ring vanished.
Bhumi barely had time to react. She crossed her arms in front of her—
The slash tore through everything.
Stone exploded. The arena cracked apart, its base nearly severed in half. Debris rained down as the shockwave ripped through the battlefield.
Dust filled the air.
Inside the cages, Priya screamed—but she was unharmed. The spiritual-energy nullifiers held, stopping the attack at the bars.
As the dust settled, Priya searched desperately.
"Bhumi…?"
Then she saw a pair of hands.
Her breath caught in her throat.
Her eyes followed them upward—
To Tara.
Tara was standing calmly, lifting Bhumi off the ground by her throat.
Those hands were Bhumi's.
If you enjoyed this chapter, a Power Stone helps a lot."