Chapter 126: Azure and Cosmic

Blue fire exploded from her body and swallowed the training ground. The quiet training area was transformed into a wasteland of azure flames that burned into the stone.

Valerian stood in the middle of this inferno, as a shield made from purple flames protected him, creating a rift that split the fire.

’It’s strong.’

The [Phoenix Ember] was her normal fire affinity that had evolved into this azure fire, increasing in potency by a lot.

’Hmm? What’s that?’

Valerian looked at the blue fire around him more carefully; the base of the flame had a light golden tinge.

Steps began to ring out in the burning inferno, cutting through the noise the fire made like a sharp blade.

"Val, I can’t thank you enough for this gift."

The flames parted in front of Seraphine, letting her walk through them like servants making way for their sovereign. Standing among these flames, she looked ethereal; even though she had only begun to absorb the phoenix bloodline, she already felt the connection to the fire.

"I’m glad you like it so much."

He was truly happy that she liked the gift. It had always been his plan to let her have the heart. If she were to win the bet, she would get the heart as the reward, and if she lost, he would ’force’ her to accept it.

"Show me more."

He had a wild grin on his face as his [Cosmic Fire] ignited around his hands. A similar grin appeared on Seraphine’s face as she called upon her [Phoenix Ember] again.

Both unleashed their fire at each other, and the flames met in the middle, creating a beautiful spectacle of purple-black and azure flames with a golden core clashing against one another.

The two flames fought for domination. Seraphine’s fire was putting up a good fight, holding back Valerian’s, but the nature of the [Cosmic Fire] was just too strong for it, and it swallowed her attack.

Valerian’s fire continued on its path, threatening to devour Seraphine now, but she kept her calm and gathered mana in her palms, preparing another fire spell. Just as the wave was about to hit her, she released her fire; the force behind it blew apart the purple flames, scattering them around her.

Embers of purple fire flew through the air, and Seraphine and Valerian looked at each other through the raging inferno caused by their attacks. Both had wide smiles on their faces, clearly enjoying the clash.

’Her fire is powerful. Hard to believe she barely absorbed the bloodline.’

Seraphine raised her hand, and a large fire javelin appeared above her, burning with azure fire. Valerian mirrored her motion and summoned his own fire spear.

Both hands fell at the same time, and the fire constructs raced towards each other. When they collided, an explosion that covered everything in a one-kilometer radius with the two distinct flames ignited.

Seraphine stood her ground and crossed her arms in front of her, summoning a shield made of fire to disperse the incoming blast.

Valerian handled it differently. He held out his hand as a katana, burning with his [Cosmic Fire], formed in his palm. He gripped the hilt of the sword tight and cleaved downward, the fire dancing along the blade.

With his downward strike, his flames left the blade. Instead of shielding himself against the inferno, he cut it apart, carving a clear line through the wave of flames racing toward him.

Seraphine, who held strong inside her fire cage and had successfully protected herself against the aftermath of the construct clash, felt a massive surge of mana racing in her direction.

The sea of flames around her parted as the thin slice created by Valerian’s sword zipped past, barely missing her protective shell.

They continued their firefight. Seraphine’s azure fire fought bravely against the concept-devouring [Cosmic Fire]. The training ground turned into a battlefield of craters and molten rock, steadily increasing the heat in the hall.

Neither of them cared about that right now; one wanted to test her new power to its limits, and the other was more than happy to help her do so. Their fight took them across the entire training room, reaching all the way to the boundary walls.

Another luxury of the Apex was this ridiculously large training room, equipped with spatial distortions that created an area stretching over twenty kilometers in every direction. They used it to the fullest, letting loose every fire spell and attack they could conceive.

Fire constructs, concentrated fire beams, summoned burning meteors crashing down on each other, and so much more were fueled by the two distinct flames.

Seraphine blocked another wave of Valerian’s flames. The force behind the attack sent her reeling, and she caught herself on unsteady legs.

’H-How long have we been fighting?’

The hours had blended together as she became completely consumed by her newly evolved fire. If she were to look outside, she would be shocked to find that it was already daylight again.

They had been going at it nonstop for over ten hours. While Seraphine possessed an immense amount of high-quality mana, she was nearing her limit. The lack of sleep was also catching up to her.

The partial transformation of her heart had alleviated the symptoms of staying up multiple nights in a row, but she could still feel her eyelids growing heavy.

The flames of Valerian’s attack rolled behind her, and the sea of fire parted before her eyes. Valerian stepped through, his gaze filled with worry as he took in the state Seraphine was in.

"Let’s stop for today."

"No, I wan-"

She tried to refuse and keep going, but her body betrayed her as the strength drained from her legs due to the overexertion of her mana.

She felt Valerian’s arms wrap around her before she could hit the ground, followed by his whisper in her ear.

"You did well. Now rest, Sera."

Even though she still wanted to fight and test her flames, the warmth and security of Valerian’s embrace drained away whatever lingering stubbornness she had left, and she leaned into his chest.

Scooping her up into a princess carry, Valerian walked through the fire, unbothered by the heat. When he reached the exit of the training grounds, he looked back at the still-burning stone and spoke a single word.

"Out."

The flames died down instantly, brought to their knees by his [Dragon Tongue] as he walked out of the room with a satisfied smile, leaving behind a molten wasteland.

He carried her to the bed in his room, where an unexpected problem emerged.

’Her clothes...’

Her clothes were scorched, reeked of smoke, and were honestly quite dirty; he wasn’t too fond of letting them ruin his clean sheets. But he also didn’t feel entirely comfortable stripping them off for her.

While he was fairly certain Seraphine wouldn’t mind him seeing her bare skin, it still didn’t feel right to do so while she was practically unconscious.

’What do I do?’

While he was panicking, Seraphine shifted in his arms, forcing her heavy eyes open to look at him sleepily.

"Sera, can you take off your clothes on your own?"

He asked her in a soft voice, to which she blinked groggily, taking a moment to process the words.

"You... take them... off."

"Sera, I can’t..."

She lifted her arm sluggishly and booped him on the nose.

"I’m... wearing... underwear... idiot."

For a second he just stared at her, caught completely off guard.

"Are you sure?"

She gave a small nod and rested her head back against his arm. Valerian looked down at her, still hesitating. He swallowed hard and sat her down on the edge of the bed, supporting her with both hands.

His hands moved cautiously to her garments. Taking a deep breath, he channeled as much divine mana through his body as he could.

Moving at lightning speed, he slipped her clothes off while intentionally keeping his eyes averted, and with one swift teleport, repositioned her flat onto the bed before tossing the blanket over her.

"Phew."

He wiped away an imaginary bead of sweat as he sat on the edge of the bed.

’That was stressful...’

It wasn’t that he lacked interest in seeing her in underwear or less; it just didn’t feel right for that first time to happen while she was barely conscious. It didn’t matter that she had muttered her consent, if that half-asleep murmur could even be called that, or that a fully awake Seraphine would likely have no reservations around him.

It simply wouldn’t feel right under these circumstances.

He let himself slide down to the floor beside the bed, resting his back against the frame and laying his head against the edge of the mattress.

He stayed there for a quiet moment, finding peace in the silence and the soft, steady rhythm of Seraphine’s breathing beside him.

Unfortunately for him, his peaceful respite wasn’t high on a certain elf’s priority list, as a portal silently snapped open beneath him, swallowing him whole and leaving Seraphine completely alone in the bedroom.