The Empress of Demons

Introductory Arc: Chapter 16 A battle between sisters

I heard the swords and spears clashing, the sound of men grunting and growling while training with each other in the courtyard.

“Put your back into it! There's a reason why I chose you lowlifes! Don't show such a pathetic and weak display in front of those empire's scums!”

Alice's hellish training was not normal but it worked to the point that the Crimson Legion is one of the best soldiers that an empire could have. These tough men were warriors of war and steel and those scars were normal because Alice would train them through torture on the body with lashes and on the psychological side is verbal abuse, how long can they keep focus on the task at hand while having a powerful and beautiful lady screaming at your face?

I just remembered something, 2 months has passed since I came here, Turning my HUD on completely slipped my mind. Let's try activating it. I saw green bars and their levels of the people inside the courtyard. I could also see my HP and MP bar, suddenly there was a text pop out saying “Activating the HUD will allow you to learn more information about this world and learn more skills through books and scrolls, every techniques you learn through skill books will be permanent. Enjoy!” Wait… What? If I turned my HUD on I could've learn all those spells and lessons about the swords and scythes.

I was standing there dumbfounded rather than dumbfounded, I feel frustrated. This was truly a blessing in its own way but a frustrating one. Alice saw me, she halted the training. She was walking up to me, I should really return the favor from the training. Not in a nice way but in way where I could show her my fruits of labour. I made a devious smile, Lili who beside me retreated a couple step back. She could feel the animosity.

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(Trasitioning to Third POV)

Alice halted the training of the new recruits because of her sister shown up, she was under the assumption that it was time for her training. Clapping her hands together to get the attention of the recruits

“Alright boys! Break time!”

Alice was walking towards Oblivian but one thing that she didn't see that she was already in front of her, her eyes were dead set on her chest. Alice could see clearly that she was going to get stab on her chest by her sister's hand. Not a sword but a hand, catching her off guard, Alice had enough time to block the attack. A loud sound like a drum was heard across the courtyard in Bloodsworn castle. Oblivian’s attack blew Alice to the other side of the courtyard, she hit the wall upon impact, the wall crumbled and crack. With time to recover, Alice tried to get up but there wasn't any time to recover because Oblivian didn't let her. She grabbed the head of Alice, lifting her up on head level.

“Didn’t you told me to be always aware of danger? Always take opportunities and exploit the weaknesses of the enemy?”

Oblivian slowly made a smile, a smile that made Alice shivered, she was trying to escape by squirming like a little worm. It made Oblivion chuckled. She threw her again but this time, it wasn't strong, Oblivion wanted equal grounds when fighting with her sister, so she threw her in the middle of the courtyard.

“You really did a number on me.” Alice got up and wiped her blood dripping from her mouth.

The soldiers and Lili went to the sided, to see this play out, this is once a lifetime to see the Empress fight their superior which was her sister. In fact they were a new batch of recruits, they haven't seen a real battle nor see the empress fight. They only heard stories of it, stories on how she cut down an ancient dragon that ruled this land long ago or the story where she silence the kingdom's rebellion of a million people strong with only her scythe, she was death in their eyes.

“Hey, Aleks. Who's going to win” Ray who was the only female in the batch of recruits was feeling ecstatic while the other were shivering in fear.

“The empress. She's a superior being that is not to be mess with. Mistress Alice wouldn't stand a chance, the only way to defeat her is to have Alice and Grand lord Dovelthain working together but he's not here. Her chances are slim.” She said bluntly.

The battle continues on, Alice initiated it by raising her hand in the sky while her other open hand pointing at the bottom of her feet. She silently use two spells that will summon fireballs from the sky via magic portals and the land will crack and have molten lava out of it. This is magic, any image that can be materialize with mana is magic. Anyone could use a nuke if they wanted to but they need a lot of mana in order to do.

Oblivian was unfazed with her magic, she charged at her with speed, and so did Alice. When they collided, it made a loud bang resulting the dust to be elevated, making it difficult to see each other, it was like a massive fog but with fireballs coming from the sky and the floor had little land due to the lava. Lili and the batch of new recruits retreated retreated onto high grounds, they can barely see anything. They can only hear the sounds of metal clashing, but one thing that they know is that they heard the scream of Alice, a agonizing scream that spread across the world like an echo.

The smokes are clearing up, they could see Alice kneeling on the ground with both of her knees in front of Oblivian who had a  scythe on her chest, ready to stab her. Everything around them was normal, there wasn't lava nor fireballs, it was an illusion all along. A smile traced along on Oblivians face, “My dear sister, this is my fruits of labour, enjoy it while it last. Dear sister.” She was cold, she was like a stone, her eyes looked likes a dead fish. Oblivian stabbed her chest with the pointy end of her scythe, her blood dripped down like a waterfall. Lili with haste went beside Alice. Oblivian looked her and said “Get Luna, heal her up.”

The empress that stabbed her own sister continue her way towards the exit of the courtyard, Lili and the new batch of recruits will never ever forget this display of power.