Chapter 4

John holds a sheathed sword on his waist. The handle is dark purple wrapped with black cloth in diamond shapes. It also has a four-prong purple tsuba with a black scabbard. John observes the seven cages in front of him. The creatures within them are similar in design, they slightly vary in height with the tallest almost reaching John's height. Their dog-like heads distract from their scaly, hairless hide. Each one is slightly muscular and has a small tail. Their hide also varies in color; copper, bronze, and rust. Dean is besides these creatures glaring at John, who is waiting patiently.

"Ready for the final test?" Dean asks.

"Let's just get this over with." John grunts.

"Ungrateful, even after all that time training." John grips the sword's handle and stares at his next prey. "Fine, since you're so eager to start. You can fight all seven of them." Dean holds out his hand over one of the cages. They all unlock and the creatures burst outwards; three copper, two bronze and two rust colored. The copper ones charge in swinging their claws wildly. The bronzes are trying to break the bars of their cell, Dean notices and tosses them each a dagger. The rust ones stay back and begin to gather flames after a short chant of growls.

John draws his sword at rapid speed, slicing off the head of one of the creatures, before dodging the other's wild attack. He quickly counters by slicing off an arm before slicing its gut open. The remaining one lunges forward only to be met by a thrust into the neck. John pushes the dead body to the ground and watches the blood drip down his katana. His katana was a magnificent black blade with a purple wavy pattern ingrained into it. His hands tremble as he glances at the lifeless bodies. Though after a brief moment he stops the tremble and glares at the remaining four.

The bronze ones nod at each other and growl at the rust ones before they dash at John. The rust ones each hurl a ball of flames the size of baseballs. John dodges by leaping backwards and lunges forward at one of the bronze creatures. The creature attempts to block with his dagger, but the force is overwhelming and John slices through both the dagger and its head. The remaining bronze one dodges John's slash and attempts to stab him, but John dodges. He forges a ball of flames and slams it onto the creature's back. The ball of flames melts through the creature. Two balls of flames smack John causing him to stagger. John retaliates by pointing his hand at the remaining creatures and generating his golden flames. He releases it, engulfing them both. John swings the blood off his katana blowing a gust of wind in the process, before sheathing it.

"I'm done." John states walking back into the house. Dean stares at the bodies and sighs.

"Where did I go wrong with that boy?" Dean mutters.

"For the past two years all you did with him was train him to the point of exhaustion." Karen interrupts. "After this match, you're banned from training him."

"He wanted to. He asked me to help him, not you."

"He just wanted to spend time with you. You're never home and when you do come it's about formalities and our image."

"Sorry, I don't want to live like adventurers again and that I don't want our kids to live that lifestyle. Grow up Karen, all you do is daydream about the past, it's obvious that you lost your touch."

"Careful Dean. I may have gotten rusty, but I'm still stronger than you'll ever be."

"That still won't make you happy. You let that chance slip by."

"We both did." Karen states before walking away.

The next day they traveled to the colosseum in a carriage. John and Dean wear similar styled black suits, while Diana wears a white dress. Karen wears a dark blue outfit with leather armor that protects most of her body, while not restricting movement. Karen stares out the windows for most of the trip while Diana imitates her. She would have worn her training gear to match as much as possible to Karen, but Dean ordered her to wear the dress.

"You're doing this to taunt me." Dean breaks the silence and glares at Karen who doesn't bother facing him.

"Not only that, but I admit that you are right. I was only daydreaming, not going anywhere with my life, and after the kids grow up what then? Nothing, but fighting with you and the other nobles. I want meaning again." Karen finally looks at Dean. "I'm going back to the Central Continent, and becoming an adventurer again." She declares with a smile.

"You know that he retired as well, and that he has children." Dean reveals.

"Good, we have a lot of time to catch up then. I'm sure Bruce and Wendy wouldn't mind me showing up, in fact I'm sure they'll be pleased."

"So that's it then you're just gonna leave this family and abandon our kid to go visit them."

"Who said anything about abandoning them, if they wish they'll come with me. Dean you don't understand I'm not leaving anytime soon. I want them to grow up to be stronger and more mature so they can make that decision for themselves."

"Wait, where are we going?" Diana asks just now, paying attention.

"The colosseum." Karen answers.

"Who's Bruce?" John asks, curious about their conversation.

"An old friend." Diana responds.

"You remembered." Karen hugs Diana. The rest of the trip was in awkward silence. Soon the carriage stopped. As Diana leaps off the carriage and jogs to the other side to meet with John they remain speechless staring in awe. A mansion stands strong presenting its symmetrical structure in every little way, from its shape to the front-gardens. Towering this building is the grand colosseum with its imposing structure. John steps back just looking at it.

"You won't be fighting there." Dean states getting off the carriage. "That's for the best of the best. One day, you may fight there if you go down the right path. Your battle will be held within the mansion." They enter the mansion to be greeted by several nobles, though they did hesitate when they saw Karen. Dean without hesitation entertains the other nobles. Karen uses the opportunity to guide John to the waiting room. She kneels down to meet at eye level outside the door.

"Are you ready?" Karen places her hands on his shoulder. John gazes at the floor and nods. "John, you don't have to if you don't want to. We can throw this tradition away if you feel uncomfortable with it." Karen states lifting his chin. She notices the color in his eyes have dimmed. "I know that you feel alone after your friends have left, but you have to understand your father, even if what he did was wrong. He didn't want them there as a distraction."

"He sent them away?" John asks, finally looking into her eyes. "I finally made friends and he sent them away."

"Drenn! Stop it!" A familiar voice shouts. John hugs Karen before he opens the door.

"I'm going to be fine, mother." He reassures as the door closes behind him.

"Rude. He didn't even say goodbye." Diana pouts. "I'm taking his ice cream as punishment." Karen agrees and guides her to their seats.

John sees his friends Nami and Orianne trying to pull Drenn away from another kid. Drenn resists as he stares down at the girl. She's being pinned down by a large dog with rottweiler features. It mainly has black fur, but also has a shaggy, navy blue coat on its chest, head, tail, and muzzle. The girl is grasping an amulet in her hands. She has light blue hair braided into a bun.

"She abandoned her! Nami doesn't need to hold onto the past!"

"It's her choice!" Drenn yells. "Give it back!"

"I wasn't abandoned!" Nami cries, still holding Drenn back with Orianne. "She's just missing. I'm going to find her. Please Beatrix, it's the last gift I got from her." John starts to walk up to them after watching for a bit.

"I'm doing this to protect you." Beatrix cries. John grabs the amulet, but she doesn't let go. "Who are you?"

"John, you're here!" Orianne and Nami release Drenn. Drenn about to fall from the unexpected shift in force is caught by John.

"You have gotten stronger." John states as Drenn fixes his posture. He wears a similar suit with a dark blue color scheme.

"Of course, I'm a future Demon Lord." John glares at Beatrix. She flinches and relaxes her grip. John takes the opportunity to take it and notices the crystal, it was transparent with a blue tint and within was similar to that of an ocean during a storm, the vibrant color draws the eyes. John hands it to Nami and before facing Orianne. Nami gazes at him in awe. She doesn't recall doing something that made him upset. She holds her amulet close to her chest and lowers her head.

"I'm sorry." Nami mumbles, but Orianne interrupts without hesitation.

"How have you been?" Orianne asks. "Were you lonely without us?" She laughs.

"Yeah, I was missing this." John states. "Thanks for saying goodbye." John glances at Nami who looks at him with teary eyes.

"I'm sorry." Nami manages to say.

"Stop being a baby!" Drenn yells.

"But, but." Nami continues. John rubs her head and sighs.

"I was just teasing. Just give me a heads up next time." Drenn puts his arm around John and turns him to the dog and Beatrix.

"I'd like you to meet my familiar. Xen, greet." Drenn orders. The dog leaves Beatrix alone and turns to them. It sits and raises its paw. John laughs and grabs its paw while petting it.

"I've never seen a dog like this. What breed is it?"

"A hellhound, but not a purebred, it's a rare breed. His name is Xen and he has been with me, a little over a year." Drenn places his hand over Xen and the hellhound vanishes. "Do you have a familiar?"

"No." Beatrix stands and gives Nami a glance before stomping away. She stops next to a girl with stunning silvery, blonde hair that reaches her shoulder. She has a black battle dress that reaches her knees, with a black hem that was striped a dark violet color. The abdominal region was violet with four silver buttons with matching buckles on her shoulder straps. She also wears a white blouse. Beatrix whispers something to her and the girl gives a glare towards the four of them. Her purple eyes lock with John's ruby red eyes.

"Oh well, looks like Orianne isn't going to have a good time in her fight." Drenn states, giving Orianne a grin.

"Why?" John asks looking at Orianne who is being held by Nami as she whines.

"I don't want to fight her, why does it have to be me!"

"It's ok. You'll be fine." Nami reassures her.

"Guys why?"

"She's the daughter of this region's Demon Lord." Drenn answers.

"So we already know who we are fighting. How do we check?"

"Didn't you hear me, Demon Lord's daughter."

"Ah, right what's her name and how do we know who we are fighting?"

"Her name is Helena." Drenn punches in front of John inches from his face. "And you are fighting me." Drenn says with a smile.

"Great, can't wait to take my revenge." John states moving Drenn's fist to the side.

"You don't even care who she is."

"Why would I? It's not like we are going to meet and even if we did, what would I say? 'Hi, I'm going to beat up your dad in the future to become the next Demon Lord.' She'll start a fight that no one wants."

"Fair enough." Drenn says starting to stretch. A woman in a suit, holding a clipboard, enters the room from the opposite side.

"Helena Infernious and Orianne Solris, please make your way to the arena. The match will commence in five minutes. If you fail to show up, you will be declared the loser." Helena without hesitation makes her way through the door. Nami leads Orianne to the door. She waves goodbye and makes her way to the arena. Several transparent orbs rise from the ground, emit a flow of magic, revealing a screen of the ring-shaped arena.

Helena and Orianne face each other. Helena stands strong holding a spear. Orianne hesitates in entering her form. The eyes of adults gazing at every move made would cause anyone to be nervous. Above them is a countdown starting from 3. Once it reaches 0, Helena closes the distance and thrusts the blunt end of the spear against Orianne, lifting her off her feet. Helena shoots 3 bolts of bluish purple flame from her hand. They pass by Orianne and reshape into javelins. Helena closes her fist and curls her arm towards herself. This causes the flaming javelins to get pulled towards her in a way that pierces Orianne's limbs and drags her back to Helena.

"She's going too far!" Nami cries running to the door trying to get it open. Drenn stares at the fight in silence, though it doesn't help hide his anger as his face slowly becomes more of a scowl.

"Can you beat her?" John asks, glancing at Nami struggling to open the door.

"I'll give her the speed advantage, but she hasn't shown any real feats to compare to. Nami can beat Orianne and she's not even much of a fighter."

"I guess, but you should be able to judge her strength from what she has displayed."

"Can you?"

"If I'm being honest. I'm sure I can force her to take it seriously." Helena ends the fight by headbutting Orianne. An adult rushes to Orianne and a glowing magical circle appears beneath them. After a few moments they vanish and Helena makes her way back to the room. Nami greets her with her swinging fist. Helena dodges with ease and prepares to counter. John rushes beside them and shoves Nami away before the strike could land.

"You went too far!" Nami shouts, recovering her footing. Drenn tries to guide her towards the back. Helena gazes at Nami with a smug. John sighs before turning his back to her.

"You're fast." Helena complements. "Of course if I was trying I would have landed my hit."

"And I would have blocked it." John responds, walking to Drenn. Helena stares for a moment before the lady enters again.

"John Reaper and Drenn Kaiser, please make your way to the arena. The match will commence in five minutes. If you fail to show up, you will be declared the loser." Drenn lets go of Nami and heads through the door with a grin.

"Nami don't get in a fight. I'll be back in a flash." John assures as he makes his way to the arena. Helena watches the screen ignoring Nami's glare. John and Drenn have a brief stare down waiting for the match to start. Drenn rests a large warhammer on his shoulder as John gets to position to draw his katana.

"That sword is going to break with a single hit. Are you sure about this?"

"Yami can handle everything you throw at her." Flickers of golden flames start to swirl John, not remaining for longer than a moment.

"START!" Drenn reacts first by reaching his right arm out with his fingers flexing towards the sky. A wave of turquoise colored water manifests towards John at rapid speeds. John stomps the ground and releases a wave of flames. They collide for a brief moment before the water swallows the flames. It wraps beneath John and springs upward forming a sphere while snaring John in a bubble like prison.

John attempts to break out, but the pressure restrains most of his movement. Drenn closes his fist before pulling his arm back towards himself, readying his weapon as layers of water wrap around the warhammer. The water squeezes John as the sphere rolls towards Drenn like a rushing river. John gathers his strength with the restraints and draws Yami. Drenn swings his mace downward using all his strength.

"Mom, will he be okay?" Diana asks worriedly as she leans on the rails.

"Just watch, sweety. You'll see the outcome," Karen responds.

"What is John doing!?" Dean yells. "If he takes that head on he'll lose."

"No, he won't. He may not come out unphased, but he'll still have a chance to win." Karen calmly responds as she pulls Diana back to her seat. Drenn's strike connects, cracking the ground, forcing water and dust to spread outward. The audience starts to make chatter as they witness the powerful attack.

"That was the combo, huh? Impressive, if I took that blow head on, I would have been in trouble." John states with a playful tone as his arm trembles from the impact. Yami's handle withstood the impact of his empowered warhammer. "You showed me your best." John glares with excitement as Drenn widens his with surprise. With his free hand, John motions a strong thrust, as he shouts, "I'll show you mine!"

Golden flames gather and swiftly condense as sparks flicker fiercely, gathering in the center of John's palm. It wraps around his hand, like a glove, spreading like wildfire. He releases the flames as a large beam engulfs Drenn, violently drags him along its path. The audience muffles as the flames roar, devouring everything in its path only to stop against the edge of the arena. A powerful force prohibits any of the debris and flames from leaving the fighting ring. Drenn, smashes against the invisible wall and flops towards the ground. The audience returns to their quiet state except for Karen and Diana, who are both clapping furiously. Dean's smile quickly shifts to surprise.

John turns back to Drenn as an adult runs up to his unconscious body. John sheathes Yami and makes his way to the waiting room. The crowd gasps which intrigues John. He turns to Drenn and sees him standing with his weapon enhanced.

"Drenn it's over I won." Drenn slowly starts to charge at John. "Don't try it!" John manifests a fireball, imbuing a large amount of energy into it. Drenn swings his weapon like a baseball bat. John feels the crushing force as it's still inches from his chest, on instinct John explodes the fireball point blank. The impact from the warhammer takes his breath away and pushes him a few feet away initially, but not nearly enough to escape the explosion of the fireball. As the flames engulf them both, flames and smoke shroud their vision. John stands strong, removing his burning jacket. He glares at Drenn, who is prone on the scorched ground. Many start to cheer from the unexpected events. John begins to cough heavily as he walks back to the door.

Helena bursts out the door with excitement in her eyes. She points her spear at John. The crowd goes silent as they watch the princess challenge John. John sighs, before continuing his path as he covers his coughs. Helena frowns and grabs John's wrist.

"Are you going to refuse my friendly match?"

"I don't see why I need to fight you after I already fought."

"Are you afraid of losing? Isn't your mother supposed to be the strongest warrior in the region? Isn't the saying 'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree?', " Helena taunts with a smug smile.

"That's my mother, not me. Now let go!" John orders. Helena pulls John and throws him to the ground a few feet in front of her. She frowns and points her spear at John.

"Don't you know it's disrespectful to talk to a princess like that? Not to mention giving her an order." She holds her free hand in the sky and fires three bolts of fire. Like before they take shape into javelins. John stands and blitzes her. He strikes her in the gut before charging a fireball and firing it. It shoves Helena against the door and explodes. The powerful force field protects the structure and endures the attack. Instantly several armored demons, hiding in the audience, rush to Helena's side and draw their swords at John.

"What are you doing here?" Helena groans standing after the attack.

"We are ordered to protect you if something goes wrong." One of the demons answers.

"Nothing went wrong, I was caught off guard and got hit, now leave."

"Attacking the princess outside an official match is a crime. He must pay for his actions." One of the demons lunges forward and swings their sword. John attempts to draw Yami, but the blade is already inches from his face before he reaches the handle. Karen appears in front of John stopping the blade bare handed and choking the demon. Afterwards a crackling thunder bursts into the air from Karen's seat and a shockwave emits from the blade's impact.

"Adults shouldn't get in the way of children's playtime." Karen grins with an intimidating aura, as the man attempts to break free from her grasps. Helena smiles as Karen appears, her hostility shifts to admiration. Karen throws the demon onto the ground and stomps on his head. The ground beneath him cracks widely. "When the princess orders you to do something, you loyal dogs are supposed to follow." The demons ready for an attack with hesitation.

"I said to leave us alone!" Helena yells. "Disobeying is an act of treason. Are my father's royal guards traitors?" Some of them sheath their swords, while others hesitate.

"John, we are leaving." Karen orders.

"Wait." Helena pleads. "I want to apologize, I didn't think something like this would happen."

"Then take this opportunity to learn and be more cautious about your choices." Karen answers before she starts to run.

"We'll fight next time I promise." John says, following his mother. John waves goodbye to Nami. Diana waits for them outside worried.

"What happened? Dad said to leave him be while he takes care of it." Diana questions as she starts to follow them.

"Nothing important, just a few bad apples."

"Mother, is something bad going to happen?" John asks.

"I believe so, but that's for your father and I to handle. Don't let it bother you. I won't let my children suffer," Karen answers.

~

Drenn visits John two weeks after their fight. They talk for a while, about Nami and Orianne. Nami is learning to become a teacher while Orianne is training to be a chef. Drenn says he's going to join the military in two years and wants John to join him.

"I'll think about it. I still have to prepare for my journey to the Central Continent."

"That's in like seven years. How much do you have to prepare for?"

"I never left the Eastern Continent, I don't know how things work over there."

"Just join with me, you won't regret it. I also heard that trolls have been getting more active and aggressive as of late, so we might even join at the start of a war."

"It would help in getting stronger, I guess I could try." After their talk, Drenn decides to leave and go train for the remaining years until he applies for the military. Karen decides to spar with John and Diana later that day.

Karen launches herself forward, and in an instant, delivers a hard punch, simultaneously coating it in white lightning, against John's stomach. His muscles tighten with the vibrating sparks circulating through his body. He clenches his jaw as he forces himself to strike back after a few moments of being paralyzed. His movements are noticeably slower. Karen points it out by delivering another hard punch to his face.

John collapses from the impact. Karen doesn't spend too much time explaining techniques or strategies. She trains with hands-on experience. John struggles with this method, but is still able to grasp on how to improve. Diana on the other hand excels with this method.

Diana launches herself towards Karen, readying a strong punch. She blocks Diana's attack and thrusts her palm against Diana's stomach. She falls onto her knees, hugging her stomach as she gasps for air. Karen bends down and caresses Diana's head a few times.

"Nice job, Diana. But if you would have attacked sooner instead of waiting you might have landed a hit." She gives a caring tone with a prideful smile.

"I'm sorry, I'll do better next time." Diana responds.

"Stand up, John. In the real world, resting is a privilege not a right. Would you lay down and die if you were surrounded by monsters?" She drags Diana to the side, leaning her against a tree.

"Yes, ma'am," John responds. He regains his footing and begins to generate golden flames in the palm of his hand. He launches the ball of fire and gathers flames in the center of his palm. It wraps around his hand wanting to spread. He focuses hard at gathering the flames at a faster rate. Karen glares as she catches the fireball with her hands. The metallic golden flames shift to a vibrant snow white color.

"I've taken control of your flames and negated your attack. Yet, you haven't finished completing your next attack."

"Done!" He shouts as he thrust his arm towards her. The roars of the flames are similar to that day at the arena. Nami was forbidden to meet with John after that day. Her father opposed the relationship between her and a boy who would go against a princess. He forced himself into training as he couldn't do anything else.

Karen sighs at the attack and hurls the ball of flames against it. They clash for a moment before the white ball of flames overpower the beam. The collision scorches the ground as the flames try to climb over each other. John focuses on pumping more power into the beam as the white flames approach. No matter how much energy he feeds into it, Karen's flames don't back down. Her flames explode a few inches away from him.

Diana watches as John gets blown away. She notices that Karen always adjusts her strength when fighting either of them. John stands again to continue the fight. The aches coursing through Diana's body hinder her movement. She stares at John wondering why he doesn't stay down and rest. He keeps standing up after being knocked down.

Karen ends training to assist the maids with dinner. Diana approaches John who just lays on his back staring at the sky with heavy breaths. He reaches for the sky and conjures flames in the shape of a star. He shoots it far up until it flickers away.

"How do you do it?"

"What? The fire? Well it's not difficult, but-"

"Keep fighting." Diana interrupts. "I know your body hurts and we both know you have no chance of beating mother."

"It's not about that. I keep fighting to get stronger for my dream. I won't quit because that'll be like throwing my dream away."

"But, how do you find the strength to keep going? I hate feeling this pain."

"Why do you want to get stronger?"

"I just thought it looked cool and mother is super strong."

"Then that's it. You need more motivation than just looking cool, you need a reason to help drive that desire to improve. Well that's fine, you can grow up to be whatever you want. If you want to keep training you can either do it at your own pace or you can push yourself and test your limits."

"I wonder how much weaker she got."

"Who? Mother?"

"Yeah. She said she hasn't trained in years."

"Don't worry about it. She's probably satisfied with her strength or lost her reason to continue training."

"Maybe," Diana responds, before running back into the house. She walks around the house and remembers that the library room has a book about one of Karen's many adventures. She glances at each bookcase trying to find the book. After some time of searching vigorously and grabbing the steps to check higher shelved books she finds it. It's a large leather book with a crown imprint on the cover. The title read's, Storm Queen's Wrath by Wendy Grace.

The story describes how she is the first to arrive on the blood stain field with injuries and broken armor. Exhausted from a previous battle taken not too long ago and her party still a ways back at the battleground, her promise shatters as her battalion is erased from the field. A horde of viciously large, bipedal purple creatures with bright red sharp lines around their body and with distinct reptilian features, stomp across the ruined battlefield. They have narrow eyes, fur-like tufts on their cheeks, and a short snout filled with pointed teeth. A short, venomous horn sits on their forehead and a ridge of spines traces down their back towards their powerful tail. Their chest is armored with natural black plates that rival steel.

They are called Carnage Lizarleth, a certain breed of the Lizarleth species, infamous for their violence unlike their many cousins. With the rage of a storm, she bolts into the fray. Faster than any lightning and as strong as a crashing meteor, she sweeps the creatures from Mythoigus. Only her party is left alive from the chaos: Wendy, The Graceful Healer; Dean, The Vicious Sage; Herold, The Legend; Bruce, The Frost King; And Karen, The Storm Queen. Bruce, with injuries that surpass belief, arrives at the scene as Karen collapses on the ground. The story ends with Bruce carrying Karen back to the nearest town. Wendy was unable to heal her at that moment since she had used the remains of her magic to heal Bruce's fatal wounds.

Before Diana knew it, it was dark and her yawns began to bother her as they lasted longer. Diana put the book away and made her way to her room after grabbing dinner.

She wake up to the sound of loud flames. She changes from her sleepwear and runs downstairs with her training gear on. The maids had her breakfast ready. She eats in a rush, runs outside. John was launching blasts of flames while Karen was observing. She stands off to the side watching John train. Karen had told her beforehand that she wouldn't be able to join in the morning, since it's ability training.

~

For the next few years, Diana trains with basic exercises to build her stamina, strength and speed. John unlocks the water attribute during his training. He's still trying to increase the amount of fire he can produce in an instance while expanding his supply before exhaustion. They continue to spar, like before with Karen. John keeps getting up even after getting knocked down. Karen fights more seriously with him, by using her abilities against him before shutting them down when targeting Diana.

Diana clenches her fist before standing from the ground. She notices the patch of grass in her hands and tosses them before rushing back inside. Her breathing hardens as she approaches the stairs. The air around her thickens, similar to a tornado, it swirls around her as if she's the eye, making it more difficult to breathe. She rushes to her room and closes the door. She jumps on top of her soft bed and lets out a scream, muffled by the pillow. The gasping for air didn't let her rest. She turns her body and stares at the ceiling for a moment. She tries to call for help, but fails with no sound coming out. Diana notices that her breathing is abnormal, it feels like it isn't her breathing. Surrendering to the event and closing her eyes shifts the tornado like-bubble into a soft summer breeze.

The suffocating sensation is gone. Her body is able to move again as it used to. A slight breeze circulates around her. Diana hears a faint reminder of one of Karen's lessons, about concentrating on a point to gather energy, to feel its movement and guide it to the focal point. Diana listens once more and stares at her hand. Attempting to guide the mysterious energy to reach her palm, a light pinkish purple wind-like current twirls around her arm flowing to the destination. It fades out as she struggles to maintain it. With a wide smile she stares out the window watching John and Karen fight. She might be able to keep up with them now.

A few more weeks pass and Karen decides to switch up the training. Karen and Diana have been training in secret upon Diana's request.

"Today, I won't fight either of you." Karen explains. "You have to fight each other every now and then."

"Why?" John asks.

"John, don't underestimate her, she is your sister."

"But."

"Start!" Karen interrupts. Diana, with impressive speed, lunges forward swinging her sword. John unsheathes Yami, blocking the attack. He releases an omni-directional pulse of flames that forces Diana to retreat. She wields the sword with both hands waiting for John to make a move. John glances at Karen who is silently observing the match. Sighing in disbelief, John focuses on the match.

He begins to gather flames in his palm while Diana watches. She sprints towards him and then maneuvers around him. John shoots bolts of flames predicting where she is going. She manages to dodge them and lunges off a nearby tree, leaving an imprint of her boots. As soon as she appears beside John with her sword mid-swing. John counters with the hilt. On impact, it shatters her blade, but she manages to twist her body mid-air and lands on her feet. In a quick motion, she places her hand near his chest and starts to focus.

She grasps the wind's might and a light pinkish purple sphere made of strong wind begins to form in her palm. It begins to spin rapidly. Similar to a vortex, swirls of strong wind gather into the sphere. John immediately begins to be drawn towards it even though he is resisting. The pressure is incredible, as if in a windstorm. Blades of wind slash his back as he's blocking their trajectory to the sphere. The sphere explodes and blasts Diana a large distance away. The force also blows John away.

Karen runs to Diana to fix her dislocated arm. Diana yelps and squeals in pain. She starts to cry vehemently.

"What was that?" John asks in disbelief.

"That was her skill. She's still rusty, but in time and with more training, she'll be able to use it without dislocating her shoulder." Karen answers.

"That's too dangerous."

"Yeah, it's a lot stronger than normal. It seems to take control of the wind around her by force. Typically, one would use their own energy to create a similar effect."

"Why would you teach her that?"

"I didn't. I only taught her how to control her ability and shape it. It's quite brilliant of her to figure out how to use this technique on her own."

"I'm sorry. I'll practice harder." Diana declares while hugging Karen.

"Don't worry about it. You have impressed me today. Let's get some rest ." Karen picks Diana up and holds her in her arms. They start to walk slowly towards the door. "You held back too much." She reveals to John before entering the house. John feels a deep chill run down his spine before he shakes it off.

"I'll try to adjust it now that I know she can handle it." On his 13th birthday, John applied to the military. After a few weeks of waiting with no news, he was accepted.