Seeing that Ottar had no intention of responding to her, Elise stopped hesitating.
If he wanted to fight, then fine—let's fight!
A howling gust reached her ears as Ottar's attack followed close behind.
Elise twisted her body to the side, narrowly evading the strike.
As for why she didn't block it head-on...
Her weakness lay in her physical attributes.
Though she could contend with Ottar, she relied on skills and talent. In terms of raw ability values alone, she would unquestionably be crushed by him.
So she could not confront him directly. But as long as it wasn't a head-on clash... that was another matter.
The tip of the Sacred Demon Sword pressed against the side of his greatsword. Empowered by her Prana, Elise pierced through the surface with a single precise point, shattering Ottar's blade with barely any effort.
But one must not forget—Ottar carried more than a single weapon!
If the sword was gone, he still had an axe and a hammer!
After losing one weapon, there was no way Ottar would allow her to repeat the same trick.
With axe in one hand and hammer in the other, he swung the massive weapons as lightly as if they were chopsticks. Even Elise had to avoid their edge.
What followed was much the same as before. Ottar's attacks still failed to land on her.
That was only natural. Of all Elise's abilities, the strongest one she had cultivated through her own effort was her perception.
After all, living blindfolded required extraordinary senses just to function. In her first world, she had trained her perception to an abnormal degree.
Though she now relied on sensing through Prana instead of faith, her mastery of perception remained unchanged.
No matter how slight the disturbance from Ottar, she could detect it instantly and respond accordingly.
But there was still a problem.
Because she had no intention of killing him, any wound she inflicted healed within seconds.
And now Ottar clung to her like an unshakable burden. No matter which direction she moved, he chased her relentlessly, unleashing frenzied attacks.
Even if she didn't want to continue fighting, she had no choice.
"This won't work. I need to create a momentary opening—just one instant of hesitation—if I want any chance of leaving..."
"If I want to stall Ottar... then I'll use that."
Once again, energy wrapped around the pure white blade, sharpening it further. Yet there was no visible starlight, and the Sacred Demon Sword itself showed no obvious change.
But upon closer inspection, something unseen coiled around the blade.
Like flowing wind...
Wind?
That's right.
What Elise was using now was Est's power!
One of the eight attributes absorbed from the Seven Elemental Lords—the power of the Wind Elemental Lord!
In the next instant, Elise abandoned all evasive movement and charged straight at Ottar.
The sight made Ottar hesitate briefly, suspecting another trick. But...
The Fierce Warrior's strength would not falter. He chose to suppress her with even greater force!
Overwhelming strength crushes all technique!
Ottar knew well that in terms of pure power, he held an absolute advantage over Elise. He would not abandon that advantage.
Boom!
The massive axe came crashing down. Just like before, Elise evaded it—but...
The hammer's trajectory suddenly shifted mid-swing, attacking her from a different angle!
Ottar knew her speed was extraordinary. A straightforward attack would never work. So in the midst of high-speed combat, he abruptly changed forms and launched a second strike!
The hammer and axe closed in at intersecting angles. If she wished to avoid them, she would have to retreat—or leap upward.
But after so many failed attempts, Ottar had already discerned her patterns.
His tree-trunk-like leg slammed against the ground with a deafening crash. A dark object shot behind Elise, struck the wall, and ricocheted back—
Aimed directly at the back of her head!
Her retreat and upward escape were completely sealed off!
"This is..."
"The shattered greatsword from earlier?"
Ordinarily, once a weapon cracked, one would discard it to prevent further damage. Otherwise, it would cost a fortune to reforge.
But did Ottar care?
He was not lacking in money.
Whether the weapon survived or not was irrelevant. Defeating the opponent before him was all that mattered!
This wasn't a second strike.
It was a third!
Elise had no apparent path of escape. Facing such an assault, she seemed to make no immediate move.
Ottar fixed his gaze on her semi-transparent form.
Only at the very instant before impact did she act.
Wind from nowhere wrapped around her body.
Then Elise began to spin with her sword in hand. As her speed increased, the wind intensified with it.
In the blink of an eye, her figure vanished—replaced by a small tornado!
Whatever the comparison, its principle was simple: through rapid rotation, deflect everything!
As expected, the shattered greatsword fragment that struck from behind was instantly flung away upon touching the tornado, clearing an escape route for Elise.
"Don't think you can run!"
Realizing this, Ottar roared and exerted even greater force!
The axe and hammer clamped down on the tornado from both sides!
Though it required immense effort, he restrained the vortex, preventing her from escaping!
"AAAHHH—!"
The Fierce Warrior poured every ounce of strength into suppressing the spinning storm, compressing it smaller and smaller—until...
Specks of starlight appeared within it.
At some unknown moment, that strange radiance had emerged inside the tornado—and it erupted toward Ottar's comparatively weaker left side!
The axe in his left hand was blasted away.
A razor-sharp killing intent followed immediately, targeting the arm that had just been freed!
The sudden shift made Ottar freeze for a split second—then a wilder grin spread across his face.
His right hand continued swinging the massive warhammer toward Elise.
And his left?
Ottar raised his arm...
He intended to block it with his bare wrist?
BOOM—
A violent cloud of dust exploded from the center of the battlefield.
After that, all sounds of combat ceased.
It seemed the outcome had been decided.
Ottar stared blankly at the scene before him.
A sight he would never have imagined.
His attack had struck—without question, it had struck Elise.
Yet it had been blocked by rock shimmering with starlight, appearing from nowhere.
That was the power of the Earth Elemental Lord.
And Elise's attack...
The wind-wreathed blade had already cut into Ottar's arm.
One more inch, and it would sever bone.
He would lose that arm forever.