Snake 22, Year 8693 of the Grand Wulin Era, Hou Minzgzhou

Regulus Septimus stepped forward, flames wrapped around him in the shape of bird that looked like a cross between a crane and a phoenix, and electric arcs jumping around on his gear and over his mildly tanned skin. One of his eyes glowed with golden-yellow fire that reminded me of sunlight, and the other glowed with purple lightning. The two swords in his hands glowed with both the purple lightning and the sun-like fire, to the point the two glows began to blend. He kept walking towards Aelia, motioning to us to get out of his way.

"It's been a while, Parva Flamma." He said, the last two words said with a gentle inflection, like he was giving the words a hug.It was Sol Magnan for... Little Flame? Small Flame? I don't really remember, I haven't spoken the language in a while. Even if I hadn't understood the meaning, though, I'd have probably picked up on the fact that it was a nickname or pet name kind of deal, like you give to a really good friend or your kid or your younger sibling...or even a lover.

"I told you not to call me that anymore. You lost that right when you rejected the best you'll ever have. Hmmph, it looks like even with me actively trying to ruin you, you've made a lot of progress with your sword art, I didn't see the Bennu Manifestation last we fought. Shame it won't get to do much before I crush you like a bug."She grimaced, and her face turned red with fury, and I guess in her mind she had a lot of reasons to be mad. From what I could tell, some of the biggest ones that weren't named Regulus Septimus were that Dmitri had trapped her Mages ,and that the other fights dragged on.

"C'mon, you're acting like I'm the one who promised friendship till the end and then tried to ruin the other person's life when they turned down your unreciprocated and frankly creepy affections. You know, even after all the shit you've done to me, I still find myself caring about you. But I guess me caring was never quite enough for you, was it? You wanted everything,and to get it you've chased me into the house of people who shouldn't even be involved." His expression seemed melancholy under the flame and lightning,as if the last thing he wanted was this fight.

"That's right, you handsome jerk! I'm beautiful, and talented, and from a great family. I was nothing but good to you, until you rejected me. Where the hell does a commoner like you with just some weak strength and decent potential get the idea of rejecting someone as great as me!" A tear slipped out of one eye and rolled down her cheek, betraying the sadness she'd hidden with rage.

"Aelia, did you ever think about my feelings? Why I rejected you? Why I couldn't return your passion? I don't think you ever did. While you do care for me, you care selfishly, with yourself always being the number one priority, other people's pain be damned. Sure, you saved my life and helped me many times, you did that for yourself, because you wanted to have me for your own. You don't love me as a lover or a brother or a comrade, you love me like a toy or a pet, and I cannot and will not live with that." He said, his tone gentle and calm, but loud enough for her to clearly hear every word.

Through it all, the melancholic expression on his face was constant. I guess despite everything, even if she was more of an entitled brat than the three literal children nearby, he still cared about her and didn't want to hurt her. Huh, how did someone that caring get into a military famous for its efficiency and brutality? I didn't know then, and I still don't know know. What I do know is that those words made her even angrier, and the two swords in her hands began to glow with a fiery light. She screamed wordlessly and charged towards him, going for what looked like a decapitation. He stepped out of the way at the last second, the fiery steel passing close enough to singe the hairs on his neck, and nothing else."

"Damn bastard, you were always better than me at this. Even though i've reached the peak of Early Mana Sea, and you've just broken through, you dodged that like it was nothing! At least use that stupid Static Flash Step technique you're so damn proud of!" She said, her voice almost cracking with anger as she attacked again, this time aiming for his legs. Looked like even though she was angry, she remembered she was supposed to be there to capture the poor guy. I assume she figured she could cripple him without killing him and then fix it when she had what she wanted? He managed to use two swords to block one, but the other sliced through his armor and left a long cut on his leg as he tried to step to the side to avoid her slashes. With my Divine Sense stretched out, I could see that it had torn through skin and muscle, but hadn't cut into the bone. The wound wasn't bleeding, because the heat of the flame had cauterized it enough to stop blood flow.

He winced from pain, but kept moving, as if he hardly noticed it. With the physique of a Warmage at the Mana Sea stage, the injury wasn't exactly debilitating, and the adrenaline rush of the fight was probably severely dulling the pain, so I was pretty sure he wasn't just acting tough. His expression changed to one of grim determination, his eyes narrowing and his lips pressing themselves into a line. I guess he'd decided to actually fight for his life?At the time, I guessed he'd wanted to tire her out so she'd get bored of the fight and leave, but he understood that wasn't gonna work. Years down the road, he'd tell me I was right, but right then I couldn't really have known that, I just felt it.

"I guess it's about time to show off the Static Flash Steps, wouldn't you agree? Try to keep up, because I'm not going to hold back any of my techniques anymore!" He flashed a smirk at her, and the anger on her face seemed to sap away for a second before returning in full force. As the smirk faded from his face, the lightning on his body covered it entirely under the fiery Bennu Manifestation as his body disappeared from the spot he was at in a puff of purple & gold sparks.

"You were HOLDING BACK? Against a clearly superior opponent? You damn IDIO-" The last word cut off as she spun her body to face where her back had been a second before, blocking the two swords with their weird,cool lightning-fire perfectly.

"Hmmph, that was a good hit! It looks like you're actually using the power of the Bennu! Channeling the power of a bird related to such illustrious beings as the Phoenix or Golden Crow feels nice, doesn't it?Now taste my true strength!" Aelia said, somehow as smug as if his power were her own accomplishment. At that moment, I remembered that Bennu were a type of firebird magic beast from the Vermilion Bird Continent, with a close association to the Sungod of Vermilion Bird Continent, Ra, and the original Bennu, one of his aspects/siblings. Look, gods are super weird, OK? Especially ones that are born that way. Living beings are so weird and variable anyways, so gods have to be even weirder I guess.

Anyyyways, back to the fight. Aelia flashed him a smirk herself,Her swords glowed brighter, and the air around her began to shimmer as fire gathered around her body in the shape of a Phoenix. It screeched as it formed, and Regulus's Bennu Manifestation let out what sounded like a bird battle cry in response. She slashed out at him, this time aiming for his waist with one sword and protecting herself with the other. His body vanished into purple-gold sparks again, barely dodging what could've been a really nasty wound. He reappeared in front of her, slashing both blades towards her right arm, which seemed to be her dominant one from the way she used her swords, and I guess he knew that really well given how much they'd sparred with each other and fought side by side in the past. She moved the sword she was defending herself with, the one in her left hand, just fast enough to defend against one sword without cutting herself, but the other stabbed into her shoulder, leaving a deep-looking cut cut that had burned edges. Didn't seem like it was enough to do more than slow that arm's movement a little and make moving it hurt like hell, though, as she immediately stepped backward to distance herself from him. For now, she had a bit of advantage, but who knew how long that would last and who was gonna be the one to survive this fight?