Let's Train Heroine

Liora's breath was ragged, her body burning from the immense strain she'd been under. Every spell, every attack she hurled at Iris drained her bit by bit, and with each second that passed, her remaining lifespan withered away. She could feel it in her bones—a deep ache that warned her how little time she had left.

She glanced at Iris, who stood poised and calm, her golden eyes unwavering, as though the battle had barely affected her.

Thirty-five million years… Liora thought, gritting her teeth as she conjured another spell. A ball of white-hot flame materialized in her palm, crackling with deadly energy. I started with that much... now I'm down to twenty-five million... no, even less now. Ten million years already burned away.

She hurled the ball of flame toward Iris, but her opponent barely flinched, raising her hand to dispel the attack with ease. As the flames fizzled out, Liora's frustration deepened. She knew the truth—if she kept fighting like this, she would only burn more of her lifespan without ever landing a decisive blow. Iris was simply too powerful, too calm, and too experienced in battle.

Every move Liora made, Iris countered effortlessly.

Is this all I can do? Liora thought, a wave of despair washing over her. Am I really just wasting my life... just for nothing? Her fists clenched, a deep growl rumbling in her throat. No.

I won't let it end like this. I have to finish it, even if it means giving everything.

An idea began to form in her mind. She could feel the last vestiges of her strength, the remnants of her flame, flickering like a candle on the verge of being snuffed out. But if she focused it, if she does that things, then she might be able to take down Iris.

The thought solidified, and her decision was made.

"I'll end this, one way or another."

With renewed resolve, Liora gathered the last of her power, summoning it into a massive ball of fire. It swelled before her, a raging sun of scarlet flames, larger and more intense than anything she had conjured before. Her muscles screamed in protest, her very soul trembled under the weight of the spell, but she held firm.

Iris watched from across the battlefield, her expression unreadable. She made no move to stop Liora—she knew her strength would easily overcome whatever Liora was preparing.

Liora gave a fierce cry and threw the enormous fireball straight at Iris, the ground trembling beneath her feet as the sky seemed to ignite with its fiery glow. The world watched in stunned silence as the attack hurtled toward the Holy Phoenix, the heat from the spell distorting the air around it.

But as the fireball reached Iris, she simply waved her hand. The flames dissipated into nothing, vanishing into the ether as if they had never existed.

However, behind the fiery onslaught was Liora, who had used the fireball as a distraction. She lunged forward with blinding speed, throwing a flurry of punches directly at Iris. The two phoenixes clashed in midair, their bodies moving faster than the Kingdom Class people's eye could follow.

Iris dodged the first strike with a sharp twist of her body, countering with a swift punch aimed at Liora's jaw. Liora blocked the blow with her forearm, retaliating with a high kick aimed at Iris's midsection. Iris caught her leg and spun her around, but Liora recovered quickly, flipping through the air and landing on her feet.

Their fists flew in rapid succession, each strike resonating with the force of their respective powers. Liora ducked under a sweeping kick, delivering a quick jab to Iris's side. Iris responded by driving her knee into Liora's abdomen, but Liora absorbed the impact, stepping back only slightly before delivering a fierce uppercut that sent Iris skidding backward in the sky.

Both combatants panted from the exertion, but it was clear that Liora was running out of time. Her flames flickered weaker with each passing second, while Iris remained almost untouchable, her golden aura still strong.

Suddenly, Liora saw an opening—a brief lapse in Iris's stance. Without hesitation, she surged forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Iris, locking her in an inescapable embrace.

"I won't let go..." Liora whispered, her voice trembling with determination. "Even if it means the..."

Iris's eyes widened as she realized what Liora was about to do. "No..." she began, but it was too late.

Liora unleashed all the remaining years of her life in one final, devastating act. A brilliant flash of light erupted from her body as she self-destructed, using up every last drop of her lifespan in an explosive inferno.

The shockwave from the explosion tore through the sky, a fiery blast that consumed everything in its path. The sheer force of the detonation was enough to obliterate entire mountain ranges, sending ripples of destruction across the land.

In an instant, two human countries were reduced to ash, their cities vaporized by the aftermath of Liora's sacrifice. The ground cracked open, rivers dried up, and forests were set ablaze as the shockwave spread across the Saint's Region.

Far beyond the battlefield, in villages and cities miles away, people fell to their knees in terror. They had no idea what had caused the sudden cataclysm, but the tremors beneath their feet and the sight of the sky burning told them one thing—the world was ending.

"The end... it's here..." whispered a terrified elder as he watched the horizon turn red with flame.

Across the Saint's Region, powerful people looked toward the sky, their faces pale as they sensed the immense energy from Liora's final act. The sheer magnitude of the explosion left even the most seasoned warriors speechless, and many believed they were witnessing the beginning of the apocalypse.

In the aftermath of the blast, the sky grew eerily quiet. The once-proud battlefield was now a smoldering crater, a testament to the power of Liora's sacrifice. High above the scorched earth, the air shimmered with the remnants of her fiery explosion, the last traces of her existence fading into nothingness.

And yet, in the center of it all, stood Iris. She had survived the self-destruction, though her body bore the marks of the blast. Her golden wings were singed, her robes tattered, but she remained standing, her expression unreadable as she gazed at the spot where Liora had once been.

For a moment, there was only silence. Then, Iris closed her eyes and whispered softly, "You fought well, Liora... but in the end, it was all for nothing."

Iris theow up blood as she fell down. Although she survived, it would take a year to recover from the injures.

Well, this is good excuse to stop killing.

---

Lucan stood on the edge of a cliff, the wind tugging at his dark robes as he stared out across the endless horizon. His black eyes, usually calm and composed, flickered with a rare hint of emotion. He felt it—the massive surge of energy that had just torn through the sky. The residual power from Liora's self-destruction echoed in his chest like the fading ripples of a distant storm.

He clenched his fist, feeling the weight of his miscalculation sink in.

"I thought they could handle it..." Lucan muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. "I thought Liora and Elysia were enough to stop Lilith and Iris."

But he was wrong. Elysia, the Light Fairy Queen, had sacrificed herself, sealing Lilith in a desperate move. The seal might hold for now, but Lucan knew better than anyone that it was only a matter of time—a few centuries, maybe less—before Lilith broke free. And then there would be no stopping her.

And Liora... she had burned away the rest of her life, leaving nothing behind but destruction. Two entire human country, obliterated in a flash. Hundreds of thousands of lives lost, and yet, Iris remained standing. Just injured, but not dead. The Holy Phoenix would recover within a year, stronger than before.

Lucan sighed heavily, his breath misting in the cold air. His thoughts drifted to his own battle—Bing, the Ancient Ice Dragon. Bing was powerful, there was no denying it, but Lucan had hoped that fighting Bing would be different, that his fate wouldn't mirror the tragedies of Liora and Elysia.

"I have to be careful," Lucan murmured to himself, narrowing his eyes. "I can't let this fight end the same way. If I fall here, then Maris power might get out control and she destroy entire region. I can't let that happen."

---

Far away, in a quiet temple nestled among the high mountains, Maris felt the shockwave of Liora's destruction ripple through the atmosphere. She was on her way to meet Nyx but Nyx used her space power to send her away, so she was here, thinking way to make herself immune to Nyx's space magic when she felt this destruction.

She stood abruptly, rushing out to the temple balcony. Her heart raced as she stared out at the horizon, the dark smoke billowing from the distance, where two countries had once stood.

"They're... gone..." she whispered, her voice trembling with disbelief. The destruction was unimaginable—an entire country wiped from the map in an instant.

Tears welled in her eyes, not from sadness alone, but from a rising fury deep within her chest. Liora had sacrificed everything, and for what? Two human country, countless innocents, gone... and Iris would return in time, unscathed by the deaths she had caused.

Maris clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms as her anger grew. The loss, the devastation, it was all too much.

"This... this is what Nyx wants," Maris said through gritted teeth, her voice thick with emotion. "All of this chaos, all of this destruction. And she'll keep going unless I stop her."

Her sadness shifted into burning determination. No matter what it took, no matter how many battles they had to fight, she would kill Nyx. She wouldn't allow another catastrophe like this to happen. Not again.

"I won't let Nyx destroy anything else," she vowed, her light magic flaring around her. "I'll end her... even if it costs me everything."