At first, nothing happened. The two of them just circled the arena, their eyes always locked, waiting for the other to attack. But neither of them was in a hurry, or at least so it seemed for about a minute. Then, Carmela's golden eye brightened.

Isaac tensed, Symphony of Blood jump-starting in his veins, playing a low, steady tune. His grip on the Root also tightened. Better to be safe than sorry, as they say.

A heartbeat later, golden flames burst from Carmela's back, shaping themselves into a single wing, only slightly longer than her arm. Her grin widened as the fiery appendage launched her a few feet into the air and let her hover there. The musket came up next, aimed straight at him.

A bullet of pure white Viron reached him in the blink of an eye.

Too slow. Isaac scoffed as the projectile slammed into the side of his raised Root. His blade didn't even twitch in his grip. Is that all you got?

Obviously not. The almost-silent boom of Carmela's gun echoed across the arena again, and again, and again. There was barely any delay between her shots. For a musket, it sure functioned more like a modern sniper rifle.

Doesn't matter, he thought, parrying two bullets and dodging three more. My turn.

Dozens of Blood Daggers materialized around him and shot toward Carmela in smaller groups. This finally forced her to move. And move she did.

Even with just a single flaming wing, she darted around the arena faster than most Hosts could track. Her musket also never stopped firing, now attacking him from every possible direction.

Still, Isaac defended, moving even faster than the bullets trying to skewer him. And sure, he could have taken them, let his regeneration deal with the wounds, but there was no point in doing that. Not yet.

Burst.

The skill triggered, and in an instant, he was midair, just a few feet from Carmela. She didn't panic, though. Nor did she try to escape. No, she just grabbed the musket with both hands and allowed its blade to meet his own Root.

By all rights, Isaac should have dropped immediately after the clash. He had no wings, only the forward momentum from Burst. Momentum that was already gone. Yet he didn't fall. His soles dug into small, crimson platforms he summoned beneath his feet, steadying him.

With their blades still locked, Carmela arched a lone brow. He answered with a quick grin.

"Curious."

That was all she said before her musket erupted with silver light and hurled him back toward the arena floor. He flipped and landed without as much as a stumble. A split second later, the Symphony screamed at him to raise his sword.

He obeyed, blocking the blade that came for his neck. The weight of the strike disappeared almost as soon as it landed, but not before he caught a glimpse of a bright moon burning in Carmela's other eye and a lone silver wing of pure energy jutting out of her back instead of the earlier gold.

Then she vanished from his sight and reappeared behind him, forcing him to abandon those observations and defend.

Fast, he admitted. Faster than before.

Carmela was like lightning, blitzing across the arena in a silver blur. She struck at him time after time, always from a different angle, always staying on the ground despite still having a wing. Her entire fighting style had shifted in a blink.

Two modes. Range and melee. Fire and… no.

Sun and moon.

Two elements? he wondered, deflecting another strike and following with a punch to the woman's shoulder. She stumbled back, but with a flick of her silver wing, she vanished again. No… that would mean fusion. This is something else. But what?

He didn't have long to think, though. Carmela flickered into view at his right, mid-swing, barely a few feet between them. Yet now there was something new to her assault. Her musket glowed bright silver.

The Symphony roared.

Isaac didn't hesitate.

Cursed Draw.

Arcs of blood and moonlight cut into each other, with neither coming out on top. Their blades connected again afterward, and this time Carmela didn't immediately vanish.

"Thought we were keeping it non-lethal," he murmured, mildly amused.

She smiled. "I heard you can take it."

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And just like that, she was gone once more.

Isaac chuckled and spun, unleashing another Cursed Draw toward a fresh arc of moonlight. This time, however, he put a little bit more Viron into it. If Carmela wanted this spar to be more exciting, who was he to refuse?

Gotcha, he thought as his skill tore through the fourth wave of moonlight and pressed on. Burst.

He appeared just behind his flying skill and swung again, throwing another low-powered Cursed Draw into the mix. Both slammed into Carmela, hurling her back across the arena. He followed, ready to end this spar right here, right now.

Yet, the woman recovered much faster than he expected. She flipped mid-air, dug her heels into the ground, and stopped the momentum. More surprising still, she looked hardly like someone who had just eaten two Cursed Draws to the chest. Aside from a few tears in her battledress and a split lip, she was untouched.

This didn't stop Isaac, though. Injured or not, she was still exposed.

He let his left fist fly, powered by a weak charge of Obliteration. More than enough to end this.

Or so he thought.

Before his fist could connect with her shoulder, a transparent silver shield appeared between them. It took the brunt of the skill, shattering under the strain. Somehow, however, it also flung the blood of Obliteration back at Isaac.

This again?! he hissed, twisting aside to avoid his own attack. After his fight with that one Zerian, he had thought it would be a while before he met someone who could deflect skills back at him. Apparently not. Annoying.

Worse, this gave Carmela enough time to recover. And by the look of it, she again decided to escalate.

Where before she only ever had one wing, now there were two. One golden, one silver. Similarly, both of her eyes glowed. And add to all this, she now had strange symbols crawling all over her exposed skin. Those also the colors of the sun and moon.

Isaac took a deep breath and raised his blade.

Carmela answered with a light grin and vanished again. The problem? With her golden wing back, she was no longer chained to the ground.

Bullets descended from every direction as Carmela blurred through the arena, leaving afterimages in her wake. Arcs of moonlight followed, blending into the continuous onslaught that Isaac did his best to defend from.

Cursed Draw and pure Blood Manipulation came alive, cutting down what he couldn't dodge with speed alone. Still, some bullets got through, tearing through his clothes and flesh beneath.

He ignored the pain, letting his regeneration handle it. There was no way he was losing like this.

Maker's Shell.

His body exploded with blood, reshaping into the now familiar humanoid yet monstrous crimson form. The world slowed just a bit, and he dashed forward, following after the blur that was Carmela.

The bullets and waves of moonlight kept coming, but his skill cared not for them. Even when his arm was cut off, it regrew in a blink. When one of the few golden bullets flying in the chaos exploded against his chest, Maker's Shell repaired the damage, too. And all the while, he grew stronger and faster as Symphony of Blood played louder.

Still, none of this made Carmela falter. If anything, her assault grew more vicious. The golden bullets burned just a bit stronger, while the cuts from moonlight took a second longer to heal. Once, she even tried melee again, clashing her blade with his bloody claws.

It was a mistake on her part, one that ended with blood dripping from a few cuts he added to her stomach.

After that, it was a game of cat and mouse again. Isaac chased a target he couldn't reach, while Carmela fired at an enemy she couldn't put down. If they hadn't held back and used all their skills, Legacies, and even Ultimates, the result might have been different. But alas, it was still a spar.

A spar that could get out of control very fast if they both allowed their bloodlust to climb. Thankfully, they both realized that the moment Carmela blew off his arm again and he carved another long cut across her side.

"Enough?" he asked as Maker's Shell melted away, leaving him whole once more.

On the far end of the arena, Carmela landed. Her wings burned out like dying embers. The glow in her eyes also vanished, returning them to their usual hazel.

"A tie?" she offered, smiling despite the sweat and blood covering her face.

Isaac arched a brow. "A tie?" he repeated, chuckling. "Sure, let it be a tie. Just don't think you would win if we went all out."

The bloodthirsty grin returned to her face. "Care to prove it? I can still continue."

For a moment, the distant cheering of the crowd faded from his mind, replaced by the song of the Symphony. His Origin and Legacy also pulsed, while the Root in his grip practically purred. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Maybe another day."

He opened his eyes just in time to see Carmela nod and dismiss her musket. "I will hold you to that."

And just like that, the roar of the crowd returned. He winced, glancing at the hundreds packed around the arena, cheering and shouting. By some miracle, he managed to spot Daryl, Elaine, and James. They all looked amused, and it wasn't hard to guess why.

Whatever. I can just fly out and tell the others to take Daryl to our house. No way I'm dealing with all those pe—

"You're not planning to leave already, are you?" The voice of his sparring partner stopped his Legacy from activating. "I heard about your escape yesterday. That just won't do."

In a blink, Carmela was at his side, hooking her arm through his. "Allow me to show you how to handle situations like these."

Isaac's eyes widened as she started dragging him toward the crowd. Like hell he was going there. He pulled on his Legacy, ready to transform and get as far away from this place as possible.

As if sensing it, Carmela's grip tightened. "Run, and our partnership is off."

His head snapped toward her. "You wouldn't dare."

"Wouldn't I?" she countered, smiling. "Besides, would you really abandon an injured, helpless lady to those hounds? How rude."

Helpless? He stared at her as if she had grown another head. "I'm not doing this."

She sighed. "So stubborn… Isaac, please, just trust me. This is for both our benefit."

His eyes narrowed. "You planned this."

The widening of her smile was the only answer he needed. Of course, he should have known there was more to her than just power and old-world money. He just had no idea what the point of this was.

He grimaced. "Fine, I will come. But for the record, if anyone asks me for an autograph, I'm teleporting out of here. And don't ever try to manipulate me like this again. Understood?"

Carmela shot him a wink.

"As you wish."

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