"You lost?" Orion was shocked. He had never heard of his sister losing to anyone before. She was known as the strongest of their generation, just behind Astral.
Astral was an exception with his Five Limits sub-ability; otherwise, he wouldn't be considered the foremost genius of the Magus Kingdom in the presence of Emily. It could also be said that Emily, being one generation older than Astral and the others, was never directly compared to them.
Therefore, hearing that his sister had lost left him genuinely shocked.
"Who is this Doom guy?" Orion asked, curiosity piqued. "And why haven't I heard of him if he's so strong?"
He was genuinely curious, wondering how someone powerful enough to defeat his sister could remain unknown to him. It seemed odd that such a formidable figure hadn't crossed his radar before.
Emily looked at Orion, her expression turning slightly strange.
"I fought him about two years ago, and he was only around 23 or 24 years old."
"What?!" Orion's mouth hung open in disbelief. He couldn't fathom that someone so young could defeat his sister. They were the same age two years ago, and she had never lost to someone younger or the same age.
"Tell me everything in detail," Orion urged his sister immediately, his curiosity piqued.
Emily nodded thoughtfully, gathering her thoughts before she began, "About two years ago, there was a report of a demon sighted on one of the royal family's three-star planets. Elyn and I were with the royal family at the time, so we decided to investigate with Erick and the others. When we arrived on the planet, we found that everything and everyone had vanished. There wasn't a single survivor."
"What happened after that?" Orion pressed further, eager for more details.
Emily sighed deeply, her expression troubled as she recounted, "We scoured the entire planet, but all we found was blood—pools of it everywhere. It was as though everyone on that planet had been turned into blood. That's when a man, about 23 or 24 years old, appeared before us. He was covered in blood, yet he had this eerie smile on his face."
Orion, taken aback by Emily's account, pressed on with a mix of concern and curiosity. "Was that the man who defeated you?"
Emily nodded gravely, her voice tinged with unease. "Yes, that was him. He approached us calmly and said he wanted to eat us. Before we could react, one of our guards was caught off-guard. In an instant, he transformed into black particles, and the man devoured it all. There was only blood remained of that guard everything else was gone."
Orion listened intently, absorbing every detail with a mix of shock and concern for his sister's experience.
"So, you fought him and lost?" He then asked, acknowledging her defeat.
Emily nodded. "I've been meaning to train Ella myself but haven't had the time until now. This is a good opportunity to test her skills and give her some guidance."
Ella shouted in excitement, "Yeah! Let me also attack you and train with you!"
Orion smiled and took his stance beside Ella. "Alright, let's see what you've got."
Emily stood ready, her posture relaxed yet alert. "Come at me when you're ready."
Orion and Ella exchanged a quick glance, then charged at Emily together. Orion swung his sword from the right while Ella attacked from the left but Emily parried their attacks with ease.
"Good, Ella. Keep your grip firm and your swings controlled," Emily advised as she deflected another strike from her sister.
Ella nodded, focusing on her movements and adjusting her stance.
At that moment, Orion, seeing an opening, aimed a quick thrust at Emily's midsection, but she sidestepped effortlessly and tapped his shoulder with her sword.
"You're both improving," Emily said with a smile. "Keep it up."
They continued their training, with Emily giving pointers and correcting their techniques. Like that time passed and sky turned red.
Both Orion and Ella lay on the ground, their faces drenched in sweat. The training had taken a toll on them, but they had also learned a great deal, especially Ella, who had benefitted the most from this session.
"You two rest," Emily said, fiddling with her universal bracelet. "Let me connect to Erick."
Orion, feeling something strange, asked, "You can contact people with this?" He was surprised, as he hadn't seen this feature on his universal bracelet.
"Yeah, you can do that. You just don't know," Emily replied, keeping her focus on her bracelet.
Suddenly, Erick's voice sounded before them.
"Emily?"