Celeste put her hands on Alice and Zalgo's shoulders, making them face her.

  "You see, when a Void Mage's Aura Shield is down, their body not only becomes completely vulnerable, but it also leaves them unable to adequately defend themselves from another Void Mage. When your Aura Shield is down, another Void Mage can land a critical blow on you, just like Kaitan did to Yuki.”

  The two girls remained quiet, processing the explanation. The gravity of the situation was sinking in. While they knew the basics of Aura Shields, they hadn't fully grasped the implications of having a critical blow done on them.

  "This means that, aside from your Shield getting completely broken, having your Shield fully down for even an instant leaves you completely vulnerable and unprotected, as you witnessed with Yuki just now.”

  Alice inquired, "So...as long as your Aura Shield is down, they can keep landing these 'critical hits' on you, yes?”

  "Precisely," Celeste responded. "If your Shield remains down, your body is susceptible to being assaulted with multiple critical blows one after the other, leaving you extremely vulnerable, if not entirely defenseless.”

  The girls were taken aback, now understanding the dangers they could face. They had heard about Void Magic and its dangers, but this was a whole new level of danger they hadn't fully grasped before. The gravity of what they were getting into was becoming clearer with each explanation.

  Alice then followed up with another query, "Cel, you mentioned before that the more powerful a Void Mage is, the longer their Aura Shields take to regenerate. Therefore, being a powerful Void Mage means making yourself even more vulnerable to critical strikes?”

  "Unfortunately, yes." Celeste confirmed, nodding. "The more potent your Shield is due to your increased reserve from training your aura capacities, the longer it takes to regenerate, thus the longer you remain vulnerable after just one hit. Being a more powerful Void Mage has advantages, such as larger aura reserves and a wider pool of Void Magic skills and abilities. But it also has significant drawbacks, one of which being a prolonged recovery period after your Shield is shattered. It's a double-edged sword in that regard.”

  Zalgo's face turned rather pensive. "It'll make one seriously question if being a Void Mage is worth the trouble…”

  Celeste nodded in agreement. "I understand your concern, but keep in mind this doesn't mean that powerful Void Mages are at a constant or even a great disadvantage. The long recovery period is a drawback, yes, but that doesn't mean the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. All you would have to do is learn how to keep your Shield from fully breaking, which will require you to be strategic in battle. Know how to master the flow of your aura, even on a dime, and anticipate your opponent's attacks, as they will aim to break your Shield and take advantage of those critical hits.”

  The girls exchanged pensive glances, absorbing the knowledge that was being dropped on them. They knew about the risks of being a Void Mage, but they didn't fully grasp the complexities until now. The dangers, the risks, the vulnerabilities...it was a lot to process. But they also understood that the power that came with it was worth the sacrifice, and that it could be mastered with proper training and control. With this new information in mind, they turned their attention back to the match.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  The two fighters were preparing once again.

  Yuki was getting into her battle stance, her expression still calm.

  Kaitan's smirk was plastered across his face, his eyes glimmering with anticipation.

  "You put up a good fight, sweetheart," Kaitan said, his smirk widening. "But we both know this isn't over yet.”

  Yuki's expression remained calm.

  "Don't count me out just yet, elf."

  With a soft pink glow around her body, Yuki’s Aura Shield recovered at last, giving her a new degree of confidence.

  “Oh ho, that’s more like it.”

  Kaitan chuckled, noticing Yuki’s recovered Shield.

  “Now, we’re back in business.”

  Kaitan made the first move, closing the distance in a flash. Yuki stayed composed, reacting quickly and prepared for his attack.

  Kaitan attempted a powerful kick, aiming straight for her stomach, but Yuki reacted with a swift dodge. However, Kaitan had expected that and instead spun his body around, attempting to hit her with another powerful kick from the backflip.

  Yuki predicted this swift change of plans and ducked under the kick, barely avoiding it. She quickly retaliated with a swift elbow to his gut. Kaitan stumbled backward slightly from the impact, but he quickly recovered, his smirk unwavering.

  "You're more tricky than I initially thought, sweetheart.”

  Yuki responded, her expression still calm with that hint of trademark sly grin.

  "I'm full of surprises, trust me.”

  Kaitan chuckled, clearly amused by Yuki's words.

  "I look forward to seeing what else you've got in store for me then."

  He swiftly charged at her again, attacking with a jump-kick.

  This time, Yuki was one step ahead. She ducked under the kick and responded with a powerful uppercut to his abdomen.

  The blow connected, taking Kaitan by surprise. He flew up in the air from the impact, letting out a small grunt. But Yuki wasn't done there, as she jumped in the air above him and gave him a brutal axe-kick with both her feet, sending him back down like a meteor. Just like an actual meteor, the impact of his body against the arena floor left a rather sizable crater.

  The crowd went wild with excitement over the powerful attack, several yelling out, "That's a critical hit!" and "Damn that's a hard hit!”, even a “It should've been ME instead!”

  Yuki landed smoothly, her gaze fixed on Kaitan, who was still struggling to get up from the powerful blow. Once he finally managed to get up, his smirk remained intact, a hint of anger beneath it.

  "Well, I didn't expect that, sweetheart," Kaitan said, a touch of anger in his tone. "You've got quite the bite to you, huh?”

  "I told you I was full of surprises, didn't I?"

  Yuki's expression remained calm on the outside, but her smirk had grown a little bigger, satisfied with her successful attack.

  "Indeed, you did."

  Kaitan dusted off his clothes, a hint of irritation still evident.

  "But don't get ahead of yourself just yet; I still have more tricks up my sleeve.”

  Yuki raised an eyebrow, a hint of playful defiance in her eyes.

  "Oh yeah? Bring it on, then. I can handle whatever you throw at me.”

  Kaitan chuckled, his smirk returning.

  "I like your attitude, sweetheart. Let's see how long that confidence lasts, shall we?"

  Instead of dashing at Yuki again, he teleported behind her to attempt a sudden sneak blow. With her immaculate intuition and reflexes, Yuki ducked the right hook headed straight for her head and retaliated with yet another brutal spin kick on Kaitan's right cheek, his neck snapping from the force with a spine-shivering CRACK!!!!

  The crowd let out shocked gasps at the impact, witnessing the sheer force and skill from Yuki's attack.

  Kaitan managed to remain standing, his cheek marked with a nasty bruise.

  "Ah. That was a good one."

  Kaitan rubbed his bruised cheek and smirked, still standing.

  "I think I'll start taking you more seriously now, sweetheart.”

  "You should've done that from the start."

  Yuki retorted, staying composed, her expression still holding that hint of a smirk.

  "Hee hee, touché."

  Kaitan's smirk grew wider, his anger turning into a hint of excitement as he cracked his knuckles.

  "I like your spunk. This is definitely going to get interesting now. Prepare to see the true power of centuries' worth of training.”