A week later, the whale left the World Completeness after receiving a summons through the array. He asked Ruri to completely disperse her technique, and the two of them left.
At the entrance of the building, Rivine was waiting in silence. As soon as she saw the whale and Ruri, she respectfully bowed and declared, "Sir, I’m ready. Let me prove my worth, for the honor of the harpies."
She lifted her gaze, which shone with determination. "Approve my challenge. I want to fight with everything against him, according to tradition. And please, be the witness of the duel."
Ruri was confused, while Alm and Bruno sighed, nodding in agreement. They quickly sent a message to Maelik through the array, summoning him.
It took several minutes for him to appear. Maelik was completely occupied, dividing his time between cultivation and leading, alongside Rehvka, the fronts of battle in this war. His life was entirely consumed by these two things.
When he arrived, his eyes were drawn to Rivine, who returned his gaze with a coldness like a blade. It had been months... maybe even a year, since he last saw her. But why did she look so upset? he thought, confused.
"Maelik," the whale spoke seriously, "Rivine wants to have a full fight with you. I’ve approved it, but now it’s up to you to accept."
"What?" He widened his eyes, surprised. However, upon seeing her expression, he sighed, thinking he understood the reasons.
In the past, Rivine frequently insulted him for being the whale’s official disciple, considering him weak and mediocre. Still, because they shared the bloodline of winged beasts, she helped him in his training, though sometimes she beat him unconscious.
Rivine had even once provocatively said that one day she would challenge him to prove to the whale that he didn’t deserve his status. But back then, he noticed she averted her gaze, as if hiding something. Maelik thought it was just a joke. After all, he was so weak it seemed unlikely she’d even consider it seriously.
But now, things had changed. Did she really want to confirm that he had evolved? Was this just an obsession with protecting the whale’s honor and making sure he was worthy? Doubts arose in his mind.
"Do you... want to prove that I’m inferior? Or are you just testing me?" Maelik asked, sighing like a tired old man. He knew that Rivine’s chaotic personality could lead her to act impulsively. Trying to make sense of such people was madness. The best way to deal with crazy people was simply not to contradict them and pretend they were right.
But for some reason, he liked seeing her act like this; he even found it a little cute. A sense of nostalgia blossomed in his mind. But he immediately suppressed that feeling.
With her silence and the increasingly sharp look, he got his answer. Turning to the whale, he said, "Sorry to involve you in this, master. I didn’t think she’d really do this. I’ll resolve this quickly."
"So you accept a full duel against a harpy?" The whale’s question was surprisingly serious.
Maelik nodded but was confused by his seriousness. Meanwhile, Rivine snorted, dry and impatient.
"Great. It will be tomorrow, at dawn, in the main arena of the sect," Alm declared curtly, turning and heading back to his room.
Shortly after, he sent a message to Mistie, asking her to prepare the arena. He also sent another one to Nebai, requesting additional preparations.
***
The next day, at sunrise, only the generals and people close to the whale were in the stands of the arena. Everyone seemed excited, enjoying the upcoming event.
Rivine landed silently at the center of the arena, focused. Shortly after, Maelik arrived lazily. His confusion only grew when he looked at the audience.
’Why so much interest in a fight over this harpy’s tantrum?’ he thought.
As soon as he stepped onto the arena, the whale arrived calmly. Without hesitation or delay, he announced, "It will be a fight until one of the sides is incapacitated. The winner will be considered superior, and the Harpy’s Duel will be concluded."
Th𝗲 most uptodate novels are published on ƒгeewёbnovel.com.
Maelik frowned: ’Harpy’s Duel? Wait, why does this sound like something special?’
*Shooosh!*
There was no time for him to think or ask about it. As soon as the whale gave the signal, Rivine advanced with all her strength.
Rivine’s wings beat, and a gust of wind enveloped her, turning her into a blur that vanished from everyone’s sight. When she reappeared, her right leg, sharp as a blade, was positioned against Maelik’s throat.
He didn’t hesitate. There was no fear or surprise. Maelik was a veteran of countless battles. He had fought long, bloody wars, commanded armies and died in combat — all of it more than once.
When Rivine emerged, his sharp instincts reacted before his mind could command them.
That fraction of a second was a reflection of the life he had lived. In the days when the three empires fought endless wars, chaos was constant, and death and battle were daily. Only after the total domination of a single king did things begin to stabilize.
But at his core, Maelik had spent half his time fighting or researching that world. When Alm and Bruno found him, he was enjoying a calm life he had never had before, reading books.
Maelik took an agile lateral step, dodging the attack with precision. But his eyes widened when he realized he hadn’t completely escaped.
Time seemed to distort, as if the space around Rivine was shaped by her presence. But it wasn’t the space, it was time. In a split second, she spun in the air, throwing the other leg in an unrelenting slash.
Maelik felt his body and Qi stagnate with the power of time. When did she learn to use this?
It was like an invisible force kept him pinned. Maelik just snorted, focusing. An ethereal glow emerged in his eyes, and his feathers began to radiate mystical colors: bluish, white, and black tones mixing in a unique and mesmerizing combination.
The audience fell silent, as Rivine’s eyes widened in surprise, as did everyone else’s. The air around Maelik rippled, and reality itself seemed to warp under his will.
Everyone wondered what that power was: it was the manifestation of his variant spiritual root, something unique that he had never fully mastered before. Now, he finally showed control over that power, revealing a fraction of his abilities.
Rivine felt the overwhelming pressure. Her own laws shattered, and her muscles froze.
Still, she didn’t hesitate. Her eyes sparkled with determination, and, biting her own lip, she reversed the Qi in her body. The crowd gasped as they realized what she had done: Rivine had inflicted a serious wound on herself to break the stagnation.
"You!" Maelik roared, stunned.
She broke the prison he had imposed on her body. Even with blood flowing from her mouth and eyes, Rivine regained control. In mid-air, she spun her body, and her legs spread into a threatening arc.
Maelik sighed; she could only attack with her sharp body. But Rivine was unpredictable. Instead of using her claws as expected, she performed a surprising move.
In the next instant, Maelik was confused: it wasn’t a direct attack. Rivine’s legs closed like scissors around his head. It was more accurate to say her thighs did that, trapping him in the middle.
"Oh!" the crowd murmured in unison.
Maelik’s face was dangerously close to a sensitive area of hers as Rivine moved deliberately to increase the proximity. It was a move with no intention to attack, so he didn’t react. But the unexpected closeness made his heart beat faster, destabilizing his mind completely.
For a brief moment, the mighty half-demon, who had faced unimaginable horrors, found himself vulnerable before such an audacious and bewildering strategy.
In the stands, Purimu’s eyes widened, while Ruri snorted beside her: "Anything goes, huh? This is a bit... well, effective on this idiot. Don’t learn this, girl!" she warned Purimu.
All the moves happened in less than five seconds. Rivine now had Maelik’s head firmly trapped between her thighs, forcing him to take staggering and disjointed steps.
All the power he had over her was dissipated. Smiling, Rivine activated her laws again. With a flap of her wings, she took off with Maelik. High in the air, she spun 360 degrees before shooting toward the ground.
*THUD!*
"Fast and straight... but without any shame," murmured Calirer.
"Why would she do that to him?" Rehvka replied, chuckling lightly.
"Poor guy, it started like this. Imagine in..." Corin was interrupted when he felt Ruri’s sharp gaze and Purimu’s curiosity.
Rivine didn’t give him any break. After throwing Maelik to the ground with force, she invoked the laws of time and wind, which fell relentlessly like blades on him. Time slowed his reactions, while the winds attacked mercilessly.
In less than fifteen seconds, Rivine stopped. A cloud of dust enveloped the center of the arena, but with a flap of her wings, she dispersed it, revealing the scene.
Everyone held their breath. On the ground, Maelik lay, covered in blood, unable to move.
All his feathers were broken or scattered across the arena. Rivine had cut his tendons and fractured several of his bones, rendering him unable to move or use any offensive power. She was surgical, not causing more damage than necessary.
"Rivine is the winner," declared the whale’s emotionless voice.
Maelik, with his eyes wide open, heard those words without reacting. There was no frustration in him, just a strange and warm feeling he thought he would never experience again. ’I still feel that for her?’ he thought, startled.
"You only intended to fight a little, then let her win," the whale said as he landed next to him in the arena. "But she knew that. That’s why she attacked with everything, as fast as possible, in an efficient strategy... to stop you."
Maelik’s eyes widened as Bruno used the power of faith to heal him. The whale continued: "You think running from her would solve any problem, avoid the past?"
Maelik mumbled something incomprehensible, but Bruno added, "I understand. You did it without thinking. You became someone experienced, knowing how painful a relationship can be. Especially for both of you, constantly facing life-or-death battles. At any moment, one of you could die, so distancing yourself was an instinctive defense."
"I..." Maelik managed to say after recovering a bit. "That was just youthful stuff."
"Really?" Bruno replied dryly. "Didn’t seem like it at all. When she gave you that leg lock, your lower head clearly reacted. And earlier, when you used your variant root, you could’ve easily defeated her right then. But you’d never hurt her, right? Not even lightly could you do that."
"No..."
"Enough," Alm cut in. "You lost. Whether you knew it or not, you accepted a duel with a harpy. Now, she’s your mistress."
Rivine snorted proudly as Maelik’s eyes widened. "What?"
Alm went on, uninterested: "This is pretty common, and anyone who knows a little about harpies knows. When they like a man, they defeat him and dominate him, taking him for themselves."
The arena was filled with light laughter, but Maelik remained still, still processing what he had heard.
The whale, not giving him time to think, shifted the focus: "Nebai, everything’s ready, right?" He turned to the dwarf in the stands.
"Yes," Nebai replied promptly.
"Great. Let’s finish this. Tonight will be the wedding. Nebai and the dwarves prepared a simple party... though I doubt it’ll actually be simple." The whale said, jumping out of the arena and walking off.
Nebai smiled, sending a message to the dwarves who were eagerly awaiting the result. Obviously, they were excited to drink until they dropped; in the middle of war, moments of leisure were rare and very welcome.
Meanwhile, the whale’s allies jumped into the center of the arena to congratulate Rivine. On the other hand, Corin, Quirio, and Zaimo approached to comfort Maelik.
Far from there, Bruno sighed: ’Well, we pushed it a bit, but he really liked her. He became a stubborn fool, running from her all the time. This would take centuries to resolve naturally... we just gave it a little nudge.’
Alm didn’t respond; helping his disciple was normal. If he refused to accept... he would regret it bitterly.
***
That night, the Yinblood Sect was invaded by the dwarves. What was supposed to be a small celebration quickly turned into a huge party.
Alm and Bruno had to bless the couple. They approached Maelik and Rivine, who were at the center of attention.
As they arrived, they carefully observed Maelik, noticing that something inside him still seemed cloudy.
"Maelik, if you want to refuse, no one will force you," Bruno said seriously. "Everyone knows you didn’t fight seriously, even she knows that. All of this was just an excuse to wake you up. I did it because I felt like you cared about her..."
Maelik snorted heavily. Then, he turned to the side and met Rivine’s trembling gaze. Just seeing those fearful eyes made him feel an immense pain. He didn’t have the courage to say no, much less deny his own feelings.
He was just confused. Feelings buried for thousands of years were blooming again, and everything had happened so fast. But when he thought of her as a woman and reflected on the meaning of that moment, an unexpected sense of peace blossomed in his chest.
"No, thank you, master. I was foolish... I ran away to avoid giving this a chance to grow inside me again. Actually, every time I felt death approaching in that place; before losing consciousness completely, her image would appear, comforting me. I wondered if, maybe, I’d finally awaken in this body again, just to see her one more time."
Rivine trembled, and Maelik turned to face her, looking her straight in the eyes, clearly conveying his feelings.
Alm and Bruno nodded in satisfaction. Then, the whale turned to leave.
But suddenly, Maelik jumped up. Something in the words his master had said in the arena had sparked a realization. He then turned to the whale and asked, confused but extremely serious.
"I really love her. But... is this a marriage or am I being sold as a slave?"
"Who knows... it depends on your skills," the whale replied, emotionless.
Maelik forgot to breathe. By his side, a smile, half joyful, half chaotic, bloomed on the harpy’s face.