Chapter 364: Betrayal
Serena Blacktide despised how unfazed Celeste Starweaver appeared across the arena. Raw cosmic Qi crackled around the star-eyed girl, radiating waves of intense pressure that constantly put Serena on edge and broke her composure. However, Serena felt justified in her fear, as she had been on the back foot from the start of the battle.
Celeste Starweaver was as deadly and powerful as Serena had feared when she discovered this cosmic affinity girl would be her 'executioner.' With simple flicks of her fingers, Celeste orchestrated her near Star Core level of might to hurl miniature stars that tore through the air with blinding light and intense heat or to direct meteors to rain down upon her.
Serena had found the only method to survive was to take to the skies atop a pillar of twisting black water and use it to dodge incoming attacks. If she tried to hold her ground while on the surface, she would be pummeled by relentless meteors or blasted in the face with star fire.
"Why don't you get down from there?" Celeste Starweaver's voice echoed across the arena. Despite her wrathful appearance with cosmic Qi swirling around her body, her tone was peaceful and serene. It didn't carry any overbearing presence, which matched her short, almost kid-like appearance. Serena would naturally look down on Celeste if not for the immense pressure and hurling stars she was capable of.
"How do you have so much Qi?" Serena retorted, showing no signs of stepping down from her pillar of water. The battle had only lasted a few minutes thus far, and she had already expended years of Qi on conjuring all the grand techniques she knew to try and survive Celeste Starweaver's onslaught.
I had planned to outlast Celeste's Qi reserves as cosmic Qi is one of the most costly affinities, but she has been forcing me to use my most expensive techniques from the start, and now my Soul Core is almost empty. Serena gritted her teeth. I don't want to die and be turned into a fucking tree. I just need to kill this star bitch, and I can find a way to escape from here in the far future.
"I don't know how I have so much Qi," Celeste shrugged as she raised her hand and curled her fingers into a claw motion. Cosmic Qi crackled down her fingers and condensed into a blinding light between her fingertips. "Why do you ask?" Celeste asked while tilting her head. "Are you almost out of Qi?"
"What kind of airhead are you—why the hell would I tell you that?" Serena tripped over her words and was taken aback by their first exchange. Unfortunately, she had no time to process anything as she knew what that gathering of Qi entailed. Serena looked down into the dark depths of the water pillar and commanded it to pull her under. The water obliged, and the roar of the mortal crowd was drowned out and replaced by the intense churning of water as she was enveloped by the abyssal water.
Due to breathing techniques taught in the island nations, Serena had no issues breathing the air in the water. She almost felt less restrained in the water than anywhere else, as she could freely move in any direction the water reached. Which was vital to her survival so far as, despite the water's darkness, it lit up with light, followed by the water above her instantly boiling and exploding as the beam of star fire carved through the water and down toward her head. Not wanting to be cooked to death, she plummeted down through the water like a rock thrown into a lake.