The emerald spirit raised one delicate hand.
Her gentle smile never faded.
The surrounding wind condensed once more.
Not into blades.
Not into arrows.
Instead—
thousands of tiny emerald spheres materialized around her.
Each was no larger than a marble.
Yet the sheer density of mana contained within them distorted the surrounding air.
For a single heartbeat—
they remained perfectly still.
Then—
**SHHHHHHHHK!!**
The spheres erupted.
Hundreds of compressed wind projectiles screamed across the battlefield.
They moved with impossible speed.
Like bullets fired from every direction at once.
Draven disappeared first.
**BOOM!!**
The ground shattered beneath his feet.
His body became a crimson blur, weaving effortlessly through the relentless storm.
One projectile tore past his shoulder.
Another curved sharply toward his back.
Without even looking—
he twisted.
The attack skimmed across his chest before burying itself into a distant cliff.
**BOOOOM!!**
Stone exploded into countless fragments.
Aldric laughed.
"...So they can only bend so much."
He ducked beneath another projectile.
A third curved toward his head.
He leaned sideways.
It narrowly missed before continuing for several more meters—
only then did it lose momentum and smash harmlessly into the ground.
A grin spread across his face.
Another volley pursued him.
The emerald bullets bent.
Adjusted.
Curved through the forest with unnatural precision.
But each correction became smaller than the last.
Eventually—
their trajectories locked.
No longer capable of changing direction.
Aldric's crimson eyes gleamed.
"...My turn."
His hand opened.
Blood surged from countless crimson circles surrounding him.
The liquid compressed violently.
Each droplet transformed into a razor-thin crimson spike.
One.
Ten.
Fifty.
Hundreds.
The sky behind him darkened beneath their overwhelming number.
Every spike vibrated with densely compressed Blood Mana.
He pointed toward Lunaria.
"...I'll feed you a mouthful of your own medicine."
His fingers closed.
**BOOOOOOM!!**
The blood spikes erupted forward.
Hundreds of crimson streaks ripped through the forest.
They crossed over one another.
Shifted angles.
Covered every possible avenue of escape.
The earth below was shredded apart simply by their passing.
High above—
the emerald spirit's smile widened ever so slightly.
She raised both hands.
The remaining wind projectiles immediately changed course.
Rather than continuing their pursuit of Draven and Aldric—
they turned toward the incoming blood spikes.
The battlefield transformed into a storm of emerald and crimson.
**BOOM!!**
**BOOM!!**
**BOOM!!**
Compressed wind collided with condensed blood.
Explosion after explosion thundered across the forest.
The night sky flashed with brilliant shades of red and green.
Smoke billowed across the battlefield.
Countless projectiles annihilated one another—
yet neither side showed any intention of stopping.
The emerald spirit calmly continued generating more.
Aldric's grin only widened.
"...Good."
"...Keep wasting mana."
Far below—
Draven never once looked toward the explosions.
His crimson eyes remained locked on Lunaria alone.
Using the chaos as cover—
he accelerated.
One step.
Then another.
Each movement carried him closer.
Hidden behind the curtain of colliding projectiles—
he vanished completely from sight.
Beneath the raging storm of crimson and emerald—
Draven burst forward.
**BOOM!!**
The earth exploded beneath his feet.
His black blade rose.
Mana surged along its edge.
In a single step—
he closed the remaining distance.
The sword descended.
Before it could reach Lunaria—
the spirit moved.
She appeared between them without warning.
The surrounding wind gathered around her outstretched palm.
A translucent barrier of densely compressed air blossomed into existence.
**CLANG!!**
Draven's blade slammed into it.
The impact sent violent ripples tearing through the surrounding forest.
His crimson eyes narrowed.
He glared directly into the spirit's eyes.
"...Fuck off."
For the first time—
the spirit's gentle smile faltered.
She stared back at him.
Something stirred deep within her.
A sensation she couldn't understand.
Not fear.
Not danger.
Something...
wrong.
Alien.
For the briefest instant—
her instincts screamed.
Then—
Lunaria moved.
His emerald sword descended from above.
Silent.
Precise.
Aimed directly at Draven's skull.
Before it could connect—
**CLANG!!**
A crimson poleaxe intercepted the strike.
The collision detonated with explosive force.
A shockwave tore through the surrounding trees.
Aldric stood between them.
His grin revealed a row of gleaming fangs.
"...The hell do you think you're doing?"
Lunaria's golden eyes met his.
"...You continue to interfere with my task."
His voice remained as calm and emotionless as ever.
"...Very well."
"...Then I'll eliminate you as well."
Aldric's grin only grew wider.
"...Funny."
"I was planning to do exactly that."
The next instant—
both vanished.
**BOOM!!**
**CLANG!!**
**BOOM!!**
Crimson and emerald streaked across the battlefield.
Their weapons collided again and again.
Neither gave an inch.
Lunaria's sword flowed like water.
Every movement was economical.
Every strike was executed with flawless precision.
Every attack was meant to kill.
Aldric answered with savage, overwhelming power.
Each swing of his poleaxe shattered the earth beneath them.
Every collision unleashed another violent shockwave.
The surrounding forest rapidly disappeared beneath the sheer devastation of their exchange.
Then—
a flash of emerald.
**SHHK!**
Lunaria's blade slipped past the poleaxe.
In one seamless motion—
it severed Aldric's left arm cleanly at the shoulder.
Blood scattered through the air.
The severed arm spun away.
Before it even touched the ground—
Aldric laughed.
"...Too slow."
His remaining leg exploded upward.
**BOOOOM!!**
The kick slammed into Lunaria's crossed forearms.
A violent shockwave erupted.
The elf managed to block the strike—
but the overwhelming force still launched him backward across the ruined battlefield.
He skidded dozens of meters before finally coming to a stop.
Chunks of earth and shattered stone were hurled into the air behind him.
Meanwhile—
muscle writhed.
Bone extended.
Veins intertwined.
Fresh flesh rapidly spread across Aldric's shoulder.
Within mere moments—
his severed arm had completely regenerated.
He flexed the fingers of his newly formed hand once.
Then casually rested the crimson poleaxe across one shoulder.
A feral grin slowly spread across his face.
"...Don't get cocky."
His crimson eyes blazed with exhilaration.
"...You might die."