Zaya took a well-accurate stance. Korin only stood there, silent, his eyes sharp like he was staring deep into her soul.
Zaya moved forward at breakneck speed, her broad sword hissed on the ground below as she lunged towards her supposed prey.
Korin didn't move a bit, not the slightest tilt in his body; his expression was cold, his eyes expressing boredom. Zaya hit him with all of her strength; he cleaved his sword with hers, escaping her fierce strikes and pushing her forward.
He gave Zaya a wild punch on the jaw, sending her high into the air; two of her teeth strayed away from her mouth.
He kept his sword back into his sheath, disappointed. Zaya, unwilling to give up, rose up for yet another strike.
Korin's tongue clicked; he was disgusted; he hated desperation. He faced Zaya, moved his sword in an unseen speed, and Zaya could only feel it bite deep into her flesh.
Zaya yelled in immense agony; tears dropped from her eyes like it was a waterfall. The others tried to move into the court to help Zaya, but they were stopped by some strong bodyguards.
Zoey's mum wanted to test Zaya's strength; her eyes beamed with hope as she stood afar off.
Korin then finally spoke, "The last fox, so they say, don't they?" "You are the greatest disgrace of the fox clan. You've proven them the weakest of species." "Such unworthiness, Zaya Lexington."
Zaya felt like her heart had dropped from her body. Who was he to judge her? She called the staff from far away; the staff ricocheted through the air, landing on Zaya's hand, giving her strength. Though heavily injured, Zaya launched for yet another attack.
Korin had a slight smile on, seeing the change of the scene. In one powerful strike, before Zaya could think of her next action, he broke the ancient staff.
Zaya looked in disdain as she saw the staff had shattered into pieces; she had barely moved, and Korin had attacked; she was amazed yet enraged.
The staff's glow slightly diminished; the emeralds signifying the power of the phantom girls were scattered around the lush field. Zaya touched the broken staff, remembering how the reptilian priest used it to save her from the shadows of death.
She remembered how she controlled it like a goddess to restore the mountain back to its former glory.
She remembered how the pink fox had waited for decades for her to be born, only to die just to give her the ancient staff.
She knelt down, touching the remnants of the staff; she tried to communicate with it. The staff spoke clearly, "Get your memories back, child, for now you are truly the last fox."
After this, Korin interrupted in a cold tone, "Is this the legacy of the great warrior Edeth?" "A weak scum?" Zaya felt power ignite in her mind's core.
She had only felt this when Zoey was in danger in the Lava River. It could not flow then, but now, now something felt really different.
Unexpectedly, instead of purple energy, Zaya's body began emitting white energy. It was pale but visible; her hands spread out wide, still in her kneeling position, she began to levitate. Slowly but surely, gravity could no longer hold her.
Seeing this, Zoey's mum yelled, "Shield the whole court!" "Her battle power has awoken; this whole place is going down!"
There was chaos everywhere, as red lights began to blare, the ground shaking. The energy around Zaya grew bigger, engrossing her whole body.
Shock was apparent in the faces of the phantom girls, who were staring at the floating Zaya in the air, white energy enveloping her. Zoey's mum, who was still giving orders, was lifted by her supreme bodyguards.
Everyone present in the room began to disperse chaotically.
Outside was no different. Zoey's mum was taken to the control room by her bodyguards, which was far above the court.
"Tell me," she said, talking to one of the male typists, "how bad is it?" "The whole structure is losing its integrity; it should fall in approximately three minutes," the male typist replied.
Zoey's mum then asked the head typist, "Have you given the evacuation order?" "Yes, ma'am, there's enough time for everyone to make it,"
"W-well," he startled, "except for those two," he said, pointing at the screen that showed Zaya and Korin.
Korin had lost his patience; he had been waiting for two seconds now, and a part of him knew that the battle had just really begun.
He brandished his sword and rushed towards the levitating Zaya, aiming for her head.
Zaya's eye moved to the sword's position; her eyes' countenance had begun to change to white.
Zaya opened her mouth widely, her teeth grabbing the edge of the sword; she clenched it hard. The dazzling sword broke; Korin held a cold look, retreating, holding the sword tight, his hands slightly shivering.
At this moment, a bright white light shone from Zaya's body; her eyes closed, her head nodding down, her broad sword in her hands as she began descending.
At a normal glance, there was nothing really different from Zaya than she was before, but Korin could sense the rush of Edeth's power; he smiled as he spoke.
"I've never fought one who used the gift of Edeth, the last resort. I've read it in books; whoever uses this gift would die gruesomely after the impact."
Korin dashed towards Zaya; the place where he stood became covered in eye-blinding dust, aiming to slice her into half.
In the fastest speed he could garner, Korin lunged towards her, his sword on his right hand. He gave a strike with all of his strength.
He was shocked as Zaya's body felt like an illusion. His sword passed through her like it was cutting the wind. Zaya didn't move from where she stood, her eyes still closed, her head nodding to the ground.
The whole court shook immensely, signifying it could no longer hold the damage. It cracked and crushed the rubbles falling on them both.