"How do you feel now?" Aris asked as she pulled her hand away from Rasmus’.

Rasmus took a deep breath and couldn’t feel the sting in his chest anymore. His breathing became easier and fuller as well, making him feel lighter in his chest and all over his body. His body after Aristoria had cleansed it and tamed all the powers, he had lost all his abilities, even controlling Mana was almost an impossible task.

"I feel better, and I can sense a bit of Mana now," Rasmus answered as he sat up from the bed and leaned against the headboard. "But my body feels a bit hot like I’m having a fever right now," he added.

"It means your body has regained its ability to use Mana, and your body is now burning the Mana I gave you in the past weeks, using it as energy," Aris explained and looked at Rasmus’ Mana around him that was being absorbed back into his body. "Your body might feel weak, but right now your body has regained its strength. It would be best if you train now so your body can absorb my Mana that have accumulated inside your body faster," she pointed out.

Rasmus hummed and nodded before he took a deep breath and his body no longer aching whenever he moved. He then watched Aris stand up from the edge of the bed and offered her hand to him.

"Let’s go to the training ground," Aris said with a smile formed on her lips. "With your current strength, I think Uriel Goldmane is a perfect opponent for you," she pointed out.

"You seem to be fond of her by the fact you remember her name," Rasmus grabbed Aris’ hand and slowly got up from the bed. "Has she grown stronger since the last time we met her? I never paid attention to her during the war in Centriva," he asked as he buttoned his shirt and grabbed his suit from the chair.

"While you were spending your time here for the past three days, I have been observing her swordsmanship with Rullein and gave her a few insight," Aris answered as she followed Rasmus out of the room.

"The Queen of Swords..." Rasmus muttered and glanced out the window at the bright peaceful sky.

Rasmus and Aris walked into the training ground where all the elite knights of the South Neva Union trained and sparred. Their arrival attracted everyone’s attention because both Aris and Rasmus were like superior beings compared to them due to their appearance that looked almost ethereal.

On the arena, Rasmus saw Rullein sparring with Uriel, and it was when he got the answer to his question. Uriel stood still, one hand rested on the handle of the sword that sheathed on the side of her waist. Uriel controlled the seven swords that floated across the arena with her Aura like they were her fingers. She controlled all the swords simultaneously, giving zero opening for Rullein to close the distance while at the same time each sword released such a destructive force and slashwave.

"That’s it..." Rullein danced by spinning, ducking, and leaning to dodge every sword that Uriel had thrown at her. "But you’re not fighting humans," she smirked and then turned into a puff of smoke then reappeared outside of Uriel’s devastating and relentless attacks. "You’re fighting beings that can move through spaces," she dashed forward and thrust her greatsword at Uriel.

Uriel unsheathed her rapier and coated the blade with Aura, parrying and deflecting Rullein’s sword. The sparks showed how strong Uriel was to be able to deflect Rullein’s attack. Although Rullein was in her weakened state, a human’s strength still wouldn’t be able to match hers. Uriel put her left hand behind her back, controlling the flying swords to ambush Rullein.

Rullein showed a grin on her face when her face was near Uriel before she turned into a puff of smoke and reappeared behind Uriel. She was ready to stab Uriel in the back, but to her surprise, the flying swords flew past Uriel’s neck and head, almost cutting her own head off. She puffed into smoke and reappeared on the other side of the arena, chuckling in excitement while Uriel kept her cold and calculated expression.

"With my current state I could break your sword easily, but I know it’s not the purpose of the spar," Rullein said as the greatsword in her hand turned into black smoke and got absorbed into her palm. "You might be able to fight against high-ranking demons knowing that you haven’t showed your full power yet. You need to reinforce more Aura on your swords or they wouldn’t be a threat to them," she pointed out and then glanced at Rasmus and Aris.

"Thank you for the insight, Lady Rullein, I’ll master my control over my swords," Uriel nodded with understanding as she retracted her flying swords and sheated them on her back. She then turned toward where Rullein was staring at, and saw Aris and Rasmus standing there, observing the spar. "Count Blackheart, Lady Aris," she lowered her head slightly to show respect.

A black smoke appeared behind Rasmus and Rullein appeared out of it. She could feel herself grow stronger because her core was inside Rasmus’s body. She knew that Rasmus had regained a bit of his power and that had also allowed her to gain more strength to herself.

"Would you mind to spar with me, Commander Goldmane?" Rasmus asked with a straight face.

"With you, Count? Please, that would be my pleasure," Uriel answered and nodded as she pointed her hand at the ground beside her.

"I want you to not hold back and fight me with your life on the line," Rasmus pointed out, but this time his expression became colder and more serious.

The words echoed throughout the training ground, all the knights who heard it immediately stopped their training and looked at Rasmus and Uriel. They had never seen their commander fight with her full power ever since the war against the demons in Centriva. They knew their commander had been in seclusion, training relentlessly, only resting to eat or sleep ever since she came back to South Neva.

"I understand, Count," Uriel nodded with understanding as she unsheathed a sword with her left hand, showing her seriousness by wielding a rapier and a sword.

Rasmus pulled out the black greatsword from his spatial ring as he walked to the arena. He stood across from Uriel and swung his sword around to feel and get used to the weight of his current strength. To his surprise, it was lighter than he had remembered, it was so light that it felt like he was holding air.

Aris did mention after he got dragon scales implanted into his body that he would become unimaginably stronger. His muscles and bones were influenced by the dragon’s scales, adapting to the power the dragon’s scales possessed. Human’s strength and their ability to control Mana into Aura might not be enough to harm him.

"Use everything you’ve got, Commander. I’m tougher than you think even in this state," Rasmus said as he readied his stance. When he set his feet on the ground, the reinforced ground that should be able to withstand a powerful blow coated with Aura to crack like glass.

Uriel who saw that, she immediately believed what Rasmus said, but at the same time she was unsettled by the fact he didn’t use Aura. She knew she had to use everything from the start and she knew the battle wouldn’t last long.

"Thank you for the warning, Count. I’ll do as you requested," Uriel coated her swords, arms, and legs with Aura. When she readied her stance, she also made the ground crack with her strength. "I’m ready whenever you are..." Her eyes narrowed and grew sharper.

Rasmus dashed forward, breaking the ground the moment he transferred the force into his toes. He moved like a strong and fierce wind. When he swung his sword, everyone could see the air bending for a split moment. Uriel who saw that as well immediately reinforced her feet, arms, and swords with more Aura, to the point the ground around her began to crack even wider.

The clash of Rasmus’ sword and Uriel’s two swords made a whole arena sink slightly. Uriel’s eyes widened by the brute strength of Rasmus, and she could feel like her spine might break and snap. She had to gather more and more Mana to empower her whole body. She then showed her full power the moment she screamed and pushed Rasmus’ sword away.

Uriel spun around and released a powerful kick onto Rasmus’ side, but to her surprise, she felt pain in her shin that was protected by a greave and Aura as well. Rasmus on the other hand, he didn’t move a muscle even though the sound of the kick echoed throughout the training ground. She didn’t waste a single moment to think of what had happened and immediately spun once again while her right foot was still hanging, swinging her left heel toward Rasmus’ face.

Rasmus blocked Uriel’s left foot and grabbed it with enough force or he would crush her foot. He threw her away from him, far enough to give them a distance. Uriel tried to stabilize the momentum and made her land on her feet. She looked down at her greave, seeing a deep dent when she tried to kick him.

"Is that enough information to understand the opponent you’re facing, Commander?" Rasmus asked as he readied his stance once again.

"Yes, that’s more than enough, Count," Uriel readied her stance as she took a deep breath and calmed herself down. "I’m ready whenever you are..." She gripped both of her swords tightly and firmly.