High above—
the elf watched in complete silence.
His eyes never left Draven.
Without a word—
he slowly raised his bow once more.
Wind gathered.
Compressed.
An emerald arrow gradually took shape upon the bowstring.
The surrounding air trembled beneath the immense pressure contained within its slender form.
**TWANG!!**
The bowstring snapped.
The emerald arrow vanished.
Below—
Draven's pupils contracted.
"There."
**BOOM!!**
The ground beneath his feet exploded.
He vanished from where he had been standing only an instant before.
The wind arrow tore through the space he had just occupied.
Without slowing—
it curved sharply.
Pursuing him.
It ripped through the forest.
Towering trees were split cleanly in half.
One after another.
Massive trunks collapsed in its wake.
Wood exploded into clouds of splinters.
Leaves scattered wildly through the air.
Yet the arrow never lost speed.
It never wavered.
It simply continued its relentless pursuit.
Draven darted between the trees.
His movements were sharp.
Precise.
Every step shifted direction.
Every leap carried him somewhere unexpected.
His path changed constantly.
Impossible to predict.
Yet—
the emerald arrow adapted effortlessly.
It curved after every movement.
Every feint.
Every sudden change in direction.
Like a living predator refusing to lose sight of its prey.
"...Tch."
Draven planted one foot against the side of a fallen trunk.
His body twisted violently.
Changing direction in an instant.
The emerald arrow bent after him almost immediately.
His right arm blurred.
The black blade flashed.
**CLANG!!**
Steel collided with condensed wind.
For a brief instant—
everything froze.
Then—
**BOOOOOOM!!**
A deafening explosion erupted.
A violent shockwave blasted outward.
The surrounding trees were uprooted.
The earth shattered.
Leaves exploded into the sky like a storm of emerald rain.
Draven was hurled backward.
His boots carved two deep trenches through the ground before he finally forced himself to a stop.
The wind arrow shattered apart.
Its condensed form dissolved into countless emerald particles that drifted harmlessly through the night air.
Far away—
Aldric watched everything unfold.
His crimson eyes narrowed.
*...If that's your entire plan for staying alive...*
*...then you're an even bigger idiot than I thought.*
His gaze slowly shifted upward.
The elf was descending.
Not quickly.
Not recklessly.
Each step through the sky was calm.
Measured.
Deliberate.
Closing the distance little by little.
*...Can't let that bastard get any closer.*
Crimson mana erupted violently around Aldric.
The ground trembled beneath his feet.
Fragments of shattered stone rose into the air.
Blood-colored mana gathered before him.
It condensed.
Compressed.
Stretched into form.
Until—
a colossal poleaxe materialized within his grasp.
Its massive crimson blade towered over him.
Dark blood mana crawled across its surface like living veins.
The sheer weight of its aura distorted the surrounding air.
Even space itself seemed to ripple beneath its presence.
Aldric grinned.
"...Let's see you dodge this."
He planted one foot firmly into the shattered earth.
His muscles tensed.
Then—
he swung.
**BOOOOOOOM!!**
The enormous poleaxe cleaved through empty air.
Four colossal crimson slashes erupted from its blade.
Each stretched for well over a hundred meters.
Their edges radiated enough destructive force to distort the night itself.
They tore across the sky.
The clouds split apart beneath their passage.
Everything between Aldric and the elf was shredded apart.
Trees.
Stone.
Earth.
Even the wind itself seemed to be sliced in half.
The four crimson arcs surged forward.
Crossing the battlefield in an instant.
Each one carried enough destructive force to carve apart an entire mountain.
The surrounding forest shook beneath their pressure alone.
Far above—
the elf remained perfectly still.
His expression never changed.
Beside him—
the emerald spirit quietly watched the approaching attacks.
A faint smile rested upon her lips.
"...Persistent."
She slowly lifted one delicate hand.
The surrounding winds answered immediately.
Not explosively.
Not violently.
Gracefully.
Streams of emerald wind gathered around the four crimson slashes.
They spiraled gently.
Layer upon layer.
Like flowing ribbons dancing beneath the moonlit sky.
Then—
they touched.
The first slash trembled.
Its momentum faltered.
The second began to slow.
Then the third.
Finally—
the fourth.
None of the attacks lost their power.
Instead—
their trajectories gradually shifted.
Only slightly.
Only by a few degrees.
Yet—
that tiny change was enough.
The four crimson slashes drifted harmlessly away from their original course.
Passing cleanly beside the elf.
Far into the distant mountain range.
Moments later—
**BOOOOOOOOOM!!**
**BOOOOOOOOOM!!**
**BOOOOOOOOOM!!**
**BOOOOOOOOOM!!**
Four cataclysmic explosions illuminated the horizon.
Entire mountaintops disappeared beneath waves of crimson light.
The deafening echoes rolled across the kingdom.
Aldric clicked his tongue.
"...Seriously?"
The emerald spirit slowly lowered her hand.
"...Raw power without finesse."
Her emerald eyes calmly studied him.
"...You're quite strong."
"...But strength alone cannot touch the wind."
Aldric's grip around the enormous poleaxe tightened.
Veins bulged across his forearms.
"...Keep yapping."
"I'll split both of you in half."
The elf finally moved.
He took a single step forward.
The air beneath his feet rippled outward.
Then another.
Each step carried him effortlessly across the heavens.
As though the sky itself willingly supported him.
His gaze never wandered.
It remained fixed upon only one person.
Draven.
Not Aldric.
Not anyone else.
Only Draven.
Below—
Draven silently watched him approach.
His regenerated left hand slowly tightened around his bow.
Deep within his body—
the folded mass continued rotating.
Mana flowed endlessly through every pathway.
Compressed.
Folded.
Refined.
Prepared.
His crimson eyes never blinked.
"...He's ignoring Aldric."
Aldric noticed it as well.
"...The bastard doesn't even care about me."
His expression darkened.
"...He's treating me like I don't even exist."
The elf calmly raised his bow once more.
Wind gathered around the string.
This time—
it wasn't a single arrow.
Nor two.
One after another—
emerald arrows materialized behind him.
Five.
Ten.
Twenty.
They continued forming.
Thirty.
Forty.
Fifty...
Still they appeared.
Until an entire formation hovered silently at his back.
Each arrow hummed with terrifying power.
The surrounding winds screamed beneath their presence.
The atmosphere itself grew heavy.
The forest below bent under the overwhelming pressure.
Branches creaked.
Leaves were torn from their limbs.
Even the beasts hiding throughout the forest fell completely silent.
Draven's eyes narrowed.
"..."
Aldric stared upward.
"...Well."
"...That doesn't look good."
The elf finally spoke.
His calm voice drifted across the battlefield.
"You possess remarkable vitality."
His unwavering gaze remained fixed upon Draven.
"But..."
He slowly drew back the bowstring.
The countless emerald arrows behind him responded in unison.
Their light intensified.
The surrounding winds howled louder than ever before.
"...Regeneration has its limits."
One by one—
every emerald arrow slowly shifted.
Every razor-sharp tip—
locked onto a single target.
Draven.