"Second strike. Demonic energy reinforcement," the official said after taking a deep breath.
Sonya slowly pulled back her fist.
This time, the atmosphere around her changed.
A deep brown light flowed over her arm, but it did not spread wildly. It sank into her muscles, bones, and skin like the earth itself was pressing strength into her body.
The platform beneath her feet did not crack.
It became still.
Strangely still.
Simon noticed this and his eyes moved slightly.
Most demons caused tremors because they could not fully control the force beneath their feet.
Sonya was different.
She was holding everything in place.
The ground was not helping her scatter force.
It was helping her gather it.
Akaza’s gaze sharpened.
Ammor clenched his fists.
Then Sonya punched again.
BANG!
The sound was deeper than before.
For a brief moment, it felt as if the entire compound had been struck from below.
The Impact Crystal flared with crimson light.
One ring.
Two rings.
Three rings.
Four rings.
Five rings.
The fifth ring appeared instantly.
Then the sixth ring flickered.
The moment it appeared, every demon in the compound held their breath.
Minor Greater Demon physical strength.
If Sonya achieved this result, then many demons would not know how to feel.
The smallest demon present was actually the strongest demon?
Unbelievable.
The sixth ring flickered violently, brightening and dimming again and again. It looked like it was about to stabilize, then it shook as if something was forcefully dragging it back.
Sonya stood silently before the crystal.
Her expression did not change.
The sixth ring fought for a few seconds.
Then it vanished.
Only five crimson rings remained stable.
The official’s throat moved and he breathed in the air he had unconsciously stopped himself from breathing in.
For a moment, he forgot to speak.
Korran glanced at him with slightly narrowed eyes.
He could understand the official’s stunned state since he took was shocked, but that was not an excuse for a delay.
Korran snapped his fingers, and though it was not loud, it was like a gunshot in the ears of the official.
Only then did the official recover.
He quickly spoke out the result.
"Half-Step Greater Demon physical strength."
His voice was louder than before, but it carried a trace of disbelief.
The compound exploded.
"What kind of body is that?!"
"She almost formed the sixth ring!"
"With that size?"
"Is she really only an Archfiend?"
"Peak S grade earth affinity and this kind of strength..."
Some demons looked at Sonya with fear.
Some looked at her with envy.
Some looked at her with the same expression one would have when looking at a monster wearing the skin of a small demoness.
Sonya waited until the official announced the result, then she lowered her fist.
Her expression became slightly disappointed.
"Only Half-Step?"
Her voice was not loud, but the nearby demons heard her clearly.
Their expressions stiffened.
Only?
She said only?
Ammor almost coughed blood.
He had nearly gone mad because he failed to form the fifth ring, but this little demoness was disappointed because the sixth ring failed to form.
His face turned dark, then pale, then dark again.
For the first time, he regretted calling her little thing.
He nearly fainted.
Korran Veyl looked at Sonya silently.
His expression had returned to calmness, but the look in his eyes had changed.
This demoness was not just someone they had to watch and list as a high potential candidate. She was someone they had to find a way to control properly.
Or avoid provoking until the right method was found.
’Why am I having such thoughts? She’s clearly a Kragh. And Kraghs are not an easy race to mess with.’
’There’s no way they’ll allow somebody of her talent to be here without any protection or without any good reason.’
’I have to be careful with how I deal with her or Velmora City might suffer a disaster even though we’re under the Darkness Kingdom.’
Korra narrowed his eyes slightly.
’Unfortunately, the Kraghs are based far from here. Reaching out to them or trying to find information about her is not going to easy.’
’But that’s not a problem though. As long as she’s interested in the invasion, then it’s all good.’
Korran glanced at the officials and they understood his gaze.
One of them quickly wrote something beside Sonya’s name, and his hand moved faster than before.
Sonya turned around and walked back toward Simon and Akaza.
As she passed Ammor, her head tilted slightly in his direction.
She smiled coldly, and Ammor’s body could not help but stiffen.
Sonya did not say anything to him.
She didn’t need to.
Her smile was enough.
When she returned, Akaza looked at her and said nothing for a second.
Then he spoke.
"Not bad."
Sonya raised her chin slightly.
"Of course. This Honourable is the greatest."
Akaza shook his head slightly.
"You seriously need help."
Sonya scoffed and folded her arms.
"I do not."
Akaza chose not to say anything.
Meanwhile, Simon glanced at her fist, then at the Impact Crystal.
He had known Sonya was strong after all, they had trained a lot of times together but the result was still better than he expected.
Half-Step Greater Demon raw physical strength.
And a reinforced strike that almost touched Minor Greater Demon physical strength.
If the sixth ring had formed, the entire compound might have lost control.
’I guess she was holding back when I used to train with her as a Fiend. She would have broken quite a lot of my bones back then if she used her full strength against me.’
Sonya noticed Simon’s gaze and folded her arms.
"What?"
Simon looked away.
"Nothing."
Sonya snorted.
"You were impressed."
Simon did not respond.
Akaza quietly looked toward the official, as if hoping the next name would be called before Sonya became even more pleased with herself.
Her arrogance and self confidence was truly as high as the heavens.
The official swallowed, looked at the beast-skin list, and called the next name.
"Akaza."
The compound became quiet again.