In that room only illuminated by magical cyberpunk answer to LED, Rem held Phantasia first homicidal AI at gun point. Neither side made a move. Both Rem and PALISADE understood this suspense was temporary, a momentary calm hanging on the thread of curiosity.

“You know I know what you did,” Rem’s first sentence painted the convoluted picture to light. “But I must ask you this one question. What pushes you to do this?”

Ehto also tensed, waiting to know the answer to the question plaguing him for years.

…

Up on the ocean, Melody punched Luxinna into the sky, but the golden beast readjusted her body position, conjuring a massive lance of golden glass. She threw the glass at full strength.

Melody performed the midair maneuver and dove from the attack only for the spear to split into tiny glass blades homing at her in all directions.

“Shit.”

The blade hit her from all sides, exploding in golden eruption.

…

Inside the mental-scape, a bloody Luxinna hit the dirt.

The elf’s corrupted mirror version crash-landed into her, hammering fist after fist and bouncing her around the area with its beating. Blood splash everywhere from her pulverized and bruised face. The monster threw her up and kicked into flight.

Luxinna felt nothing from her dulled sense of pain. Her body was eviscerated, crumpled, crushed, and beaten so much that she could no longer distinguish her sense. Neither the leaves fluttered past her body and the broken tree she crashed into returned her sensation. The only scent up her broken nose was blood. Her vision was blurry. Was it possible to be punched blind?

The world was so funny. The sky was red, and the ground was black for a reason. Oh, was that another tree.

Luxinna barely registered the final tree she collided into or the eerie feeling of bouncing off a rock cliff into the waterfall. The only thing she registered was crashing into the cliff’s surface and splashing into the dark, ominous liquid of the waterfall.

From that purple fluid, Luxinna floated. Defeat. Not a hint of golden glass armor remained after her bloody beating at the hand of the corrupted reflection. Every exhausted. All muscle fiber torn. Lethal quantity of blood flowed out of many injuries, dying the corruptive fluid even darker. Meanwhile, the liquid of the perverse waterfall seeped into her body, slowly eroding and mutating her cell.

If Luxinna didn’t burst her eardrum during the battle, she would have reacted to the monster falling down nearby.

But she didn’t react, the only thing visible in her lightless eyes was the ominous monster; the Paracis Corrupter eroding her very identity.

…

Melody’s clothing was ruined from the last explosion, but that was the least of her worries. The berserker Luxinna recovered her ability to wield Arcane.

Melody faced a giant electrical eagle while the monstrous elf slashed her glass claymore, releasing a tidal wave of compact of electrical sword-wave on her. Sparks and lightnings covered the sky as Melody tanked lightning with her Aura.

[Pyro Genesis]

Wyvern of flames collided with the giant eagle in a physic-defying collision governed utterly by Mana.

Melody’s trouble wasn’t over. The Paracis controlled Luxinna fired a series of Mach-12 projectiles. The demoness froze. Uh oh. She knew that trick.

The projectiles erupted, forming the link of enchantment akin to a cage of electricity which struck in Melody with the weight of a truck. The demoness gritted her teeth and finally decided that an out-of-controlled Luxinna who rapidly regaining her ability while being amped with bullshit True Magic outweighed anything a malicious AI could throw.

[Burning Asura: Dragon Dance]

With her body switching to overdrive, the massive amount of power surged from Melody to activate her strongest Primal Arcane.

[Dravritra: Scale]

Translucent scale belonging to the draconic ancestor materialized around Melody, easily fending off Luxinna lightning and scrambled the cage of electricity zapping the life out of her. She met the elf who rocketed toward her at rail-gun round speed with the crimson crawl that did a number on Trimegal. Sensing the raw destructive power about to rain on her, the elf drew her arm back and performed Luxinna’s coup de grâce.

[Dravritra: Claw]

The crimson finger traced a line of annihilation that warped the space and burned the air.

[Jewel Sword: Salvation]

The gauntlet of glass churned with pressurized molten fluid build-up enough to rip apart a decent chunk of a city.

The collision between crimson and gold illuminated the sky with searing heat and light. Energy crackled and exploded. Raw energy burned the very oxygen as the semi-nuclear bomb level output disrupted against the bending space. Something got to give.

Eventually, something gave way.

The chitin covered body of Luxinna lost the contest of power and got blasted to the ocean. The armor covering her arm fractured to its last layer. The elf tumbled into the ocean in an enormous splashed.

However, Melody wasn’t celebrating her victory. She was gasping for breath.

“She already got [Salvation] back,” Melody wanted to lodge the complaint. She was lucky Luxinna didn’t have access to [Historia] or else that contest would end differently. No. Even without [Historia] she wouldn’t be winning anyway. [Dragon Dance] was a double-edge sword. She either won before the inevitable burnt-out or expected Luxinna to beat her to death once the debtor collected. The fight was now put on the timer.

The elf shot from the water not a second later. The armor on her arms was already repairing itself. Meanwhile, her other hand glowed with a familiar compressed swirling of liquid glass.

What the hell? Repetitive used of [Jewel Sword]. Melody wanted to cry. What type of insane power was this? High-speed armor regeneration and ability to spam such output without set-up. Even sane Luxinna couldn’t do this.

[Jewel Sword: Salvation]

Melody, foreseeing the attack coming, banked as hard as possible away from the concentrate torrent of golden destruction. Melody gritted her teeth and unleashed her speed move.

[Dravritra: Wing]

The demoness zoomed toward the elf grabbing her by the armor arm.

[Dravritra: Fang]

Melody grasped Luxinna’s remaining gauntlet. Her fingers sank into the glass like fang of the dragon, injecting powerful energy into the material and eroding it to pieces. But the Luxinna’s reaction was fast as expected. She immediately ejected her arm from the bulky armor and pirouetted, aiming the whipped Melody out of the sky with a reinforce tail. Melody passed the dexterity check and responded with a kick amped by another Arcane.

[Dravritra: Tail]

The demoness foot, backed by the kinetic energy of a meteor, smashed the [Static Glass] tail into glittering dust. The collision sent a shock-wave which batted Melody into the ocean.

Melody breathed deeply. Yeah, she was keeping up, winning even, but it won’t lose much longer.

It was then the ocean again exploded in lightning.

Melody’s shoulder sank. The hell. How much would it take to put the elf down?

Luxinna’s inexhaustible persistence wasn’t the only thing Melody should worry about. As the foam and bubbling ocean died down to reveal her opponent, the demoness discovered why even Rem dreaded Luxinna's growing ability.

The elf was sporting a new armor now. The monstrous beast inhibiting her was originally cladded her in golden exoskeleton; a stark contrast to refined and light greaves, breastplate, and gauntlets Luxinna favored.

This armor essentially combined the best of both Luxinna the hero and Luxinna the berserker. Yes, chitin still covered her body, but it appeared the Legend finally discovered the optimal way to employ experience laid inside Luxinna’s body. The bulky tentacles and tails were gone. The cumbersome armor was slimmed down to Luxinna’s favored size. But it was the glow that worried Melody. The new armor sported several oval nodes. Two on her back as if it were wings. Two by either side of her hips. Each one on the shoulder, either side of the thigh and bicep. And finally, a glowing node like light in between her chest. Every one of these auditioned was glazed with a golden glass. The opaque, expressionless faceplate remained to represent its lack of empathy.

Luxinna’s current armor wouldn’t be unfamiliar from the realm of full body knight. Worst was the Melody did not know what she could—

It happened in a flash.

Luxinna appeared above him in a glittering dust and punched. Golden specs scattered around her body like a glitter of a butterfly.

[Dravritra: Scale]

Melody watched her shield flickered to life. Luxinna’s gauntlet hit the shield. It hard out-layer charred against the scale of the dragon, but its inner layer emitted a familiar glow of supercharged golden dust.

“Shit”

[Jewel Sword: Salvation]

The focus blast of [Jewel Sword] blew up Melody's defence and sent the demoness flying through the air.

Should it be mentioned, this version of Luxinna’s armor had excellent air-combat function. Well, Melody about was about to find that out the hard way.

…

Inside her mental landscape, Luxinna was dying. She didn’t need Cytortia to tell her the ominous liquid broken body submerged in was slowly mutating and poisoning her cells. Without medical attention or strength to resist, she would be digested.

Resistance was futile.

Yet, and in the mist of death, Luxinna thought back to her memory of the time in Millian.

One day, I believe I will reach it, the knight who fast enough to save everyone.

Luxinna refused to betray her vow. There must be a way to win. Ability to punch people wasn’t the answer.

No. The elf glance at the huge flower of Paracis Corruptor. She must admit she forgot the Rem’s basic guide of strategy, affirming the win condition. She must subdue her True Magic—the Legend represented by the Corruptor.

Wait.

Her True Magic?

Luxinna wanted to drown herself. This test was a disguise like everything the WORLD did. This was a lesson. Something WORLD wanted to teach to avoid a ticking time-bomb — one aim specifically at the elf — and what was the lesson she learned from fighting the darker version of herself.

Her father. Her sister. All of Lightwell believed Mia Alusto’s glorious image that they were a chosen race above mortal judgement. However, her corrupted version proofed contrary. It showed a version of her that got corrupted like any forest animal except more destructive.

This was the WORLD’s lesson—a refutation of Mia. Averting your eyes from your darker nature and claiming purity or superiority didn’t make you immune to corruption. Now, what would allow you triumph over your darker impulse.

Luxinna spread her presence over the corrupted water. Like it or not, this place was a part of her. The potential to be a monster existed inside her and its time she accepted the fact. Even Rem’s comic book heroes have a dark side and doubt, but it was their ability to channel them to do good was what her friend considered the proved they were superior to pleb like Bhima and Achilles.

Luxinna breathed, absorbing that corrupted water with a resolve and released her willpower. It became an authority. A golden wave of power to remind her of darkness who was in charge. Golden liquid oozed from her wound, converting the rancid water into a well of light.

Luxinna rose to her feet, despite her smashed leg and broken body. She faced the beast with the presence woven across the entire field.

The beast growled and charge at Ace of the Horizon Dawn. Luxinna didn’t even bother dodging. She wasn’t fast enough and it won’t matter anyway. The talon of the monster carved through her chest, smashing her heart and spine before penetrating through her back. It was pointless. The attempt succeeded, but the result was worthless.

“Sorry,” Luxinna ignored the gaping hole in her chest. “But you are a part of me. The only person who decides whether your attack hurt is me and me alone.”

Golden light erupted from Luxinna's chest and dissolve the unstoppable beast into golden dust. Luxinna daintily flicked her hand at the Paracis and evaporated it into a shower of golden spark.

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

…

Melody braced herself for the punch. After Luxinna reemerged in that golden armor, the battle turned utterly unsalvageable. The elf finally regained her access to [Overflow], and the result was brutal. Melody could deal with the elf's normal hyper-speed action, but this version of Luxinna took [Overflow] to another level.

[Dravritra: Claw]

Melody released as many [Claw] as her stamina permitted, but the elves were fast. I was a seemless blended of [Overflow] processing and her electromagnetic acceleration. The elves weaved through the rending space and smashed the demoness across the sky. It was like fighting a humanoid fighter jet running at Mach-13.

Right. Left. Above. Forward. Right again. Her velocity was meticulously calculated and impossible to react to even with [Heavenly Eyes]. The few times Melody caught her, the elf’s countered attack with an overclocked fist which hurt worse than anything Melody ever ate.

Rem often talked about this possibility, but Luxinna’s limit meant she never able to pull this perfected movement off until now. It was to perfect combination of everything the elf’s accomplished. Surge of [Override] strength, Mach-13 manoeuvre tied together by the control room that was [Overflow].

A fist sparkled with golden glitter sent Melody flying the blue sky. Melody’s view of sky and ocean flipped several times before receiving knee in the stomach which emptied her lunch. A kick punted her solar plexus. A flying punch sent her flying through the cloud. Another fist followed. [Wing] was helping her stabilized, but she couldn’t maintain any resemblance of balance against such speed, precision, and power. Not oven with [Heavenly Eyes]. Melody felt a hand palming her into the face, then her eyes and stomach lurched from the change in G-force.

Then nothing. The nausea was halted, and the demoness found her self suspended above the ocean. Her face was inside a gauntlet’s grip.

Then before her very eyes the glass faceplate obscuring the elf face broke.

…

Luxinna recognized the Asian guy applauding her.

The WORLD.

“That trail is ridiculous.”

“I understand,” he nodded. “But you need to learn the lesson to cross this Threshold.”

“What lesson? I doubt I learn anything.”

The WORLD smiled.

“How did it feel to fight your alternate version?”

“It fucking horrible.”

“Do you want anyone else to suffer the same fate?”

Luxinna finally got it.

“So, you want me to know what it feels like to be under my fist.”

The WORLD sighed and patted Luxinna’s head.

“A power to inspire hope could easily slip to inspire fear. The god. The elf. The Church. And countless morons across the Multiverse fail to grasp this easy fact. Normally, it is not a problem, because they weren’t too much of threat. But dear, you are different. You don’t understand what you will do yet. You don’t know your strength. If you forget the consequence — or let your negative emotion control your action — forget the World Enemy, the multiverse won’t survive. Remember today. Remember that inside you is a capacity for destruction. Respect that darkness and remember how you use it reflect who you are.”

Luxinna got more question.

“Hey, what is this Legend anyway. I know its kick my ass and my alter ego said it made the elves obsolete, but what is it.”

WORLD produced a scientific illustration of a cell.

“Life. Through ages, your people are deeply connected to this,” he waved the image of the smallest unit composing the body. “They channel it, worship it and praise it, but their understanding of this power is lacking. It is a cellular structure, Lux. Your first Legend granted the ability of [Static Glass] to possess any property. Your second turned it into a True Magic base living-organism — the [Bioglass].”

“You mean my [Static Glass] is alive.”

“Alive as a part of you. It basically acted like your cell, but under your every command.”

“So how do I use it?”

The WORLD rolled his eyes.

“Oh lord, well, to answer that question, find Ehto Shaxter and ask him to run test. I don’t need to give you more idea with Rem and Ehto running your R&D department. Now, it is time for you to wake up and help take out a certain annoying AI.”

…

Luxinna woke up to find herself about to crush Melody's skull like a watermelon.

The elf glanced at the steaming ocean that housed their brawl and the battered state of her rival before mouthing one response.

“I win!”

Melody blew her top.

“Win my ass! You only push me this far by getting hel—”

The water beneath them exploded into a shower of tides.

It appeared Rem was too optimistic about his ‘checkmate’.