Maia glanced at her two guards, dead on the floor. In the moments when her two guards had died, Maia saw nothing through her Prinstyct. The weak fist that landed on her guard's arm became deadly without a single hint or clue as to why, and the second foolishly lost his nerves and could not defend himself, resulting in two bloody holes as eyes.

The mystery remained with her about the unusual power this person in front of her exhibited. The incredible speed and immense power did not match the flow of Ein she had seen from him, not to mention this black-haired enemy was only a grade four Exolsia. Suddenly, she recalled something similar, something that her grand-aunt, her master, had told her years ago.

…….

Five years ago.

Maia, thirteen years old, ran cheerfully toward the entrance to their family estate because today was the day her beloved grand-aunt would visit from the Undying Flame Sect, the most prominent power in their Scarlet Griffon Empire. She quickly forced her small body to keep moving with her rushed steps until she arrived at the outer wall entrance.

Up above, the loud cry of a beast thundered through the clear blue sky, coming from the scarlet griffon that flew majestically across the air with its ruby feathers shimmering and sparkling from the sunlight. The griffon's large wings wooshed up and down, its body tilted upwards to make its descent, blowing large winds, nearly toppling Maia over.

"Maia! You need to be careful. There's no need to wait for me outside." A soft voice came from atop the griffon, a woman with white hair tied into a side ponytail; her red eyes held gentleness within them toward the young Maia, and her plump red lips formed a smile that made even Maia's heartbeat quicken. She stepped off the griffon and opened her arms wide with a small giggle.

"Aunt Diane!" Maia did not hesitate and hugged her grand-aunt. "Welcome back!"

"I'm back," Diane patted Maia's head and brought Maia with her inside the family estate, holding hands together as they talked and laughed.

Later in the day, Maia and Diane enjoyed some tea together while conversing fondly. However, Maia had a burning curiosity about a particular topic, one that she knew her grand-aunt was quite enigmatic about.

"Have you ever fallen in love?" Maia asked.

Diane raised an eyebrow at Maia's question and covered her mouth as the clear laughter rang out, creating a light-hearted mood. "Where is this coming from?"

Maia pouted. "I always hear about how many people had their hearts broken by you and how many fell to your seduction spells. But I wanted to know if you ever experienced that yourself."

In her mind, her grand-aunt was the most beautiful person in the world whom she admired and a powerful Marshal Exalt whom she revered. There was little chance that anyone would be found worthy of her grand-aunt's attention as she had everything, power, beauty, and lineage of the Claude Clan.

She asked the question in passing because she wondered if her grand-aunt ever had such an experience. After all, Diane was unmarried, and there were no rumors of her being in love with someone, making Maia curious. So, she stared at her grand-aunt with expectant eyes.

To her shock, her grand-aunt had a blank face for the first time in any of their conversations. Maia could not believe her usually gentle and prideful grand-aunt could look so lost, and even more surprising was the red flush that flooded her grand-aunt's cheeks. Then she saw her grand-aunt fidgeting around.

Fidgeting? The Left Flame was fidgeting? Maia could not believe what was happening.

"Aunt Diane? Is something wrong?" Maia grew worried but even more curious.

"It's nothing," Diane downed an entire cup of tea and refilled it. But her red face, red eyes in longing, and a smile full of nostalgia remained. Her tone hummed, and she said, "I did have someone."

"Who?" Maia leaned in, not minding her manners.

"Someone who punched me in the face." Diane laughed while cupping her cheeks, whipping her side ponytail around like a young girl in love.

"Huh?!" Maia's eyes trembled. Did her grand-aunt have some strange preferences?

"Don't look at me like that," Diane flicked Maia'a forehead, making her groan in pain. "I hated that he so mercilessly punched me in the face, but after I spent some more time with him, I gradually fell in love."

"That's still weird, Aunt Diane. I'd hate him forever if he smacked me in the face." Maia frowned.

Diane patted Maia's head with a teasing smile. "A little brat who barely knows anything about the world dares to lecture me!"

"I'm sorry!" Maia said as Diane pinched both her cheeks.

"That man was quite mysterious. He wore a helmet to cover his face and did not talk much. But he was very strong, and I spent a few moments with him after." Diane closed her eyes, remembering some of her good memories with Draven. "He had a rare power that made him exceptionally powerful but at a great cost, the Reis."

"Reis?" Maia had never heard of this power.

The conversation shifted from talking about love to Reis. As Maia listened to the details about the power of Reis, her face slowly revealed more of her shock and awe. But once she heard about the deadly timer to Reis, she formed a frown, thinking it wasn't worth learning.

Diane's smile turned flat, and her eyes stared at Maia earnestly. "If you ever run into a Reis user, do not be careless. Their techniques cannot be caught in the Prinstcyt; they can add to their speed and power without the higher input of Ein. Once you realize they are using Reis, go all out from the start and maintain your distance."

"Would someone try to learn it even after knowing their life is on a timer?" Maia asked, not believing anyone else would be so foolish.

"The person I fell in love with did. That part of him which faced death with resolve was so handsome~oh, but I never saw his face." Diana swayed from left to right as she thought more about Draven.

"A-aunt…." Maia did not think her grand-aunt would become such a person.

…….

"Reis?" Maia asked Oscar, whose face showed a reaction for the first time, a silent yes to her question. Her body trembled, and her Ein exploded out to her limits, summoning her anima, a large white snake with red fire coiling around it and burning from its eyes. Her red eyes gleamed with hostile intent and deep calm.

'You were right, Aunt Diane. Being careless before a Reis user is a deadly mistake. I feel sorry for the other two, but I'm grateful that your deaths revealed the truth.' Maia focused her Ein, turning it into flames of many colors like a flaming rainbow.

Oscar frowned deeper after Maia's entire demeanor shifted after her question. Though he did not know where she got her knowledge, what mattered was that she stopped underestimating him and was going all out from the start. He had hoped she would still hold onto some of her pride that prevented her from joining the fight properly, but that became a nonexistent hope.

In a small step, Oscar charged ahead with his deer anima.

"I won't let you get close!" Maia erupted flames from the ground all around him. She cursed a little as Oscar zigzagged over and between the flames. With a wave of her hands, all the excess flames became spinning flame balls that converged on Oscar, creating a large explosion.

'Ripple Shroud'

'Silver Sheen'

Oscar withstood the fierce flames, but his armor began to crack as the inferno raged, allowing some heat to flow in. His eyes narrowed underneath the silver encasement, assessing the current situation. He had the advantage in Prinstyct and the wildcard that was Reis, but she had ample amounts of Ein, unlike him after he used many spells despite the use of 'Ein Awaken' and also possessed a grade-eight anima.

As the armor began to crack more around him and his deer anima, Oscar knew any more would be a pointless waste of Ein. He kicked off the ground, circling Maia, but could not get close because her fire had a wide range and incredible speed, and she kept moving with flames under her feet. With his Prinstyct, Oscar continued to look for a chance to close in.

'Silver Start Four-fold'

Four silver stars shot through the air, boosted by Reis, but as they approached Maia, the snake anima that coiled itself around her arms snapped and whipped its tail and body around, melting down the silver stars before they reached her. Her red eyes twitched slightly from her shock at the speed of these small projectiles, but it was natural for a Reis user.

Oscar stared off to the side, seeing that Susan and the others were still trapped in the seduction spell; Maia's mind remained firm. "How annoying; I got a ranged spell and movement spell to deal against ranged fighters, but she's good."

Suddenly, his eyes met hers; the smooth obsidian eyes gazed into the volcanic red eyes.

'Basilisk Eyes'

'Allure Gleam'

Maia's seduction spell worked by using the enemy's senses to entrap them, but the strongest seduction was to stare at them directly in the eyes to lure them in.

Oscar's 'Basilisk Eyes' linked onto her, freezing her in place, but her 'Allure Gleam' also shook his mind for a moment. Their spells broke apart simultaneously as their effects worked and interrupted the spell of the other person. The rebound caused Oscar and Maia to feel a sharp pain in their heads that halted them for a moment.

'Allure Gleam'

Maia did not let up her spell on Susan and the others, keeping them trapped. But her flames suddenly flared up and concentrated into a beam of fire aimed at them.

Oscar cursed and rushed in between, and his bulwark flared with his blue Ein as he let out a shout in exertion.

'Shattering Wave'

The dense beam of fire spit apart from Oscar's bulwark, setting the area around him and his fellow students on fire, but they remained unharmed. Looking forward, he could see Maia staring with a teasing smile.

"Can't leave your companions behind? If you went for me, you could have won even though they might have died." Maia twirled her fingers, with more flames concentrated on them. Now that she knew Oscar's weakness, this fight became much easier.

"That would be a terrible way to win." Oscar felt his bulwark remain cool despite the hot flames. "I got an unreasonable request to take care of them as much as possible, so I can't let it be. Sorry, but I will punch your smiling face soon."

He scoffed at her words. Even though she revealed an opening when she went for Susan and the others, Oscar did not believe it would be easy to crack through her defenses, especially since he still lacked the information.

Maia looked shaken and rubbed her cheek before recalling her master's words. With a cold smile, she said, "Give it a try."