Right as Freja finished speaking, blood pools manifested around us. Blood spikes then shot out of these small pools towards us, aiming for each of our throats. However, everyone was already prepared, successfully dodging the spikes except for Luna. Himeko had been standing next to her, so she pulled out her greatsword to block the spike while dodging the one aimed at herself.
Everyone else drew their weapons as negotiations had failed and now it was onto plan B.
"Tch." Freja clearly wasn't impressed that she hit no one with that attack, but we were no longer as weak as we were before. If it were us 8 months ago, I doubt we could have dodged something like that.
"You will be fighting me!" Knowing that everyone is in danger, I needed to grab Freja's attention before she picked anyone off.
Pushing off my feet, I crushed the concrete underneath as I hurtled towards Freja, catching her off guard with my newfound speed. I slashed at her neck, but right before I touched it Freja caught my blade with her fingers.
"Weak." Freja was about to throw me away, but my attack wasn't that simple. I activated the elemental aspect of Kotetsu and it burst with starfire, forcing Freja to vanish out of her chair.
Normally I wouldn't have known where she went, but now that I am Tier 10 her movements are so much easier to read. My mana sense allowed me to discern even small fluctuations around me making it obvious where she would reappear.
Kicking off the throne, I spun around and slashed towards the air above me, sending a starfire slash right where Freja newly appeared.
Her eyes widened, but she quickly composed herself and sent a counter blood slash of her own. As soon as they made contact, the blood was engulfed by the flames, stopping both our attacks in their tracks.
"Seems like I am underestimating you." I could see the veins beginning to appear on her forehead as she was progressively getting more annoyed.
"Didn't you say to expect the unexpected?" Using her own words from back when I was living here only added fuel to the fire.
"Bitch!" Freja turned her head to Clara, who was still by the door on the lookout for any outsiders joining the battle along with everyone else.
"No you don't!" Freja conjured a blood platform in the air and kicked off of it, aiming straight for Clara. I knew exactly what she was trying to achieve, but it wasn't going to work.
Opening up a spatial rift, I appeared right besides Freja mid dash and kicked her in the ribs, completely diverting her momentum. She crashed into the side of the mansion, forcing this battle outside.
The entire building shook from the impact so no doubt that drew attention.
"Did you need a hand, Shaman?" Himeko quickly shouted, as she probably realised now that it was going to be hard to insert herself into this battle.
"JUST DIE ALREADY!" Each slash Freja made was filled with more rage than the previous. We continued to get higher and higher in the air until we were far above her city, which is when I finally saw an opportunity.
Parrying Freja's next strike, I slid Kotetsu along her blade and almost managed to decapitate her, forcing her to lean back to avoid my blade. However, I had already expected her to dodge it, so I had a pre-charged starfire slash shoot out from the back of Kotetsu.
Freja was unable to move in time as her left arm got caught in my flames. Moving away, she quickly extinguished the starfire on her arm, attempting to protect it with her blood magic. Seems I still managed to damage her though, as once she dispelled the blood, I could still see the burn marks on her arm.
"Ha, I never thought you would even be able to touch me." Freja's gaze turned dark, as if she were on the verge of insanity.
"Just goes to show who has the better training and superior system." I knew I was poking the bear, but I was gaining confidence that this fight will be mine.
"You don't understand, the power of the system is something much greater than you can hope to comprehend. You may have injured me, but don't get cocky." Freja clawed at her face and glared at me with eyes full of hatred and murder.
"Are you sure you know the system better? Last time I checked, you still have a god in control of yours, pulling your strings." Once again, Freja's ignorance was leading her to underestimate me.
"It's those gods that give us power, Shaman. If you have forsaken them, you are only limiting your own potential!" Freja once again charged towards me, but as I was about to counter, a pink light formed just above me.
"Get away from her!" It was Elysia! Suddenly she manifested next to me in her usual gothic dress. She cought up with the situation in an instant and kicked Freja in the face, launching her towards the ground. She crashed into one of the buildings, launching debris everywhere forming a massive dust cloud.
"Elysia! You're here!" I wanted to jump right into Elysia's arms, but for some reason, a part of me stopped. The air around Elysia had changed and I wondered if it was still the same Elysia I knew.
"Sorry I'm late. There was a barrier preventing me from leaving, so I couldn't come back sooner." However, that worry faded away as Elysia looked away, embarrassed.
"I don't care, all that matters is that you are alive and well. Unfortunately we don't have the time to catch up." As much as I wanted to enjoy this reunion, Freja was already digging herself out of the buildings below.
"Phew, I guess this will be a good time to show off then." Elysia quickly returned to her normal self, making me giddy to see what she had to offer.
"I need to show off as well, so how about we use Freja as a punching bag for our new abilities?"
"I love the sound of that."
With both of us in agreement, we looked down at Freja, who was fuming at the appearance of Elysia.
"BRING IT ON!!!"