Yina looked up at Kondo, who stood suspended in the sky. In the blink of an eye, she vanished from her spot and appeared right in front of him.
The moment Kondo sensed her presence, he swung his sword up and blocked the punch she threw at him.
A grin spread across Yina's face.
Although Kondo managed to stop the attack, the sheer force behind it sent him crashing into the ground, the earth beneath him collapsing from the impact.
Without hesitation, he climbed back to his feet.
His eyes met Yina's as she descended from the sky, yet the smile on his face never disappeared. Instead of waiting for her to come to him, he rushed forward. The instant she landed, he closed the distance in a flash and slashed his sword toward her.
Yina calmly crossed her arms and blocked the strike.
She smiled.
With a burst of strength, she shoved him backward before immediately taking advantage of the opening and driving a punch toward him.
Kondo noticed it at the last second and stepped back, narrowly avoiding the blow.
Yina laughed.
"What happened? Why are your feet moving backward?"
Kondo simply stared at her with the same unsettling smile.
Then...
He sensed another presence behind him.
Turning his head, he found Yirina standing there. Crimson lightning crackled violently around her sword, illuminating the battlefield with flashes of scarlet.
Kondo merely glanced over his shoulder, still smiling.
Without wasting another second, Yirina swung her blade.
A crimson slash tore through the air toward him.
Kondo dodged it effortlessly, while Yina also stepped aside to avoid the attack.
After evading the slash, Kondo looked at Yirina with an amused expression.
"What a stu—"
Before he finished the sentence.
Yirina was already standing right in front of him.
Her speed was so terrifying that she had crossed the distance in less than a heartbeat. Her sword had already reached him before he could react.
Kondo instinctively raised his own blade to block.
Clang!
The collision sent him flying backward through the air.
Watching from below, Yina folded her arms and sighed in disappointment.
"...That's not how I wanted to fight."
Kondo was still airborne when Yirina appeared beside him once again.
He could clearly see the smile on her face.
Without hesitation, she swung her sword, sending another slash straight at him.
Kondo deflected the attack—
—but immediately felt another surge of energy behind him.
His instincts screamed.
He twisted around in midair.
Yina was already there.
Her fist was only inches away.
Kondo crossed his arms to defend himself.
Boom!
The punch landed anyway.
His body was blasted across the battlefield before he finally regained his balance.
Hovering in the air, he looked at the two women standing side by side.
The smile on his face widened.
"...Now the real fight begins."
He let out a laugh.
Yina glanced at Yirina.
"What do you think? Why did that kid suddenly change so much? Until now, he cared about everyone around him... but all of a sudden, he's acting like a completely different person."
Yirina kept her eyes fixed on Kondo.
"...It's strange."
"When I fought him earlier, he wasn't nearly this strong. Back then, all he could think about was protecting everyone."
She narrowed her eyes.
"But now... he's different."
"He's fighting without worrying about anything."
"It's almost as if..."
"...he isn't the same person anymore."
A faint smile appeared on Yina's face.
"Whatever happened to him..."
"He's still standing after taking my punches."
"And honestly..."
"I haven't enjoyed a fight this much in years."
She glanced at the ring wrapped around her finger.
"So... why don't we fight him at full power?"
"I'd love to see how long that kid can keep up with us."
Yirina shot Yina an annoyed look.
"We didn't come here to wage a war," she said coldly. "Control yourself. We can't use our full power without the Demon King's orders. Besides... this much is already more than enough for him."
Yina pouted.
"Okay, okay... I won't."
She glanced back at Kondo.
"Still... his ruhi has grown much stronger. That means he's getting stronger as the battle drags on."
She clenched her fists and shifted into a fighting stance, extending her right hand while pulling her left behind her.
A crimson glow flickered around her right fist.
The next instant...
She vanished like a gust of wind.
She appeared directly in front of Kondo.
Kondo smiled the moment he saw her approaching. He shifted his sword into his left hand and threw a punch with his right.
Boom!
Their fists collided head-on.
The impact released a violent shockwave that rippled across the battlefield.
Yina blinked in surprise.
He had actually stopped her punch.
Instead of frustrating her, it only made her grin even wider.
Taking advantage of the opening, Kondo swung the sword in his left hand—
—but Yirina suddenly appeared beside them and deflected the blade before it could reach Yina.
Kondo glanced toward her.
That brief distraction was all Yina needed.
She drove another punch straight into his chest.
The force sent Kondo skidding backward across the ground. He stabbed his sword into the earth to stop himself, then immediately launched forward again, charging straight at the two of them.
**
Meanwhile...
Lawine desperately tried to wake Sam.
"Sam... Sam! Wake up!"
Kim and Shin stood nearby, watching anxiously.
A moment later, Sam slowly opened his eyes.
"...Lawine?"
He rubbed his eyes before noticing the grim expressions on Lawine, Kim, and Shin.
"What happened? Why do you all look so worried?"
"...Where's Kondo?"
Lawine silently raised her hand and pointed toward the battlefield.
Sam followed her gaze.
His eyes widened.
Kondo was fighting both Yina and Yirina at the same time.
But something felt...
...wrong.
The strange smile on Kondo's face...
The madness in the way he fought...
Sam frowned.
"Lawine... what's wrong with him?"
"Why is he acting like that?"
Lawine lowered her eyes.
"I don't know..."
"It all happened so suddenly."
"But... he's protecting all of us."
She looked back at the battlefield.
"I just hope..."
"...he wins."
Sam couldn't bear watching Kondo like this.
That twisted smile...
That reckless obsession with fighting...
It wasn't like him.
Kim quietly whispered,
"...I wish I could do something to help."
Shin looked at her.
"But..."
"...is that really Kondo anymore?"
Kim fell silent for a moment before answering softly,
"I don't know."
"But whoever he is..."
"I still believe in Kondo."
The two of them turned their attention back to the battle.
**
Kondo continued parrying both of their attacks with astonishing precision.
He dodged one of Yina punches—
Only for Yirina to slash at him from the opposite side.
Kondo intercepted her blade with a slash of his own.
Finding a brief opening...
He thrust his sword into the ground.
The moment the blade pierced the earth, thick black smoke erupted from beneath his feet, spreading rapidly across the battlefield.
Yina and Yirina were just about to attack him—
—but since they were already standing within the smoke, they found themselves completely surrounded.
Suddenly...
Gigantic black worms burst out of the ground.
Each possessed an enormous mouth lined with countless razor-sharp teeth—so many that they were impossible to count.
The creatures lunged toward Yina and Yirina, trying to devour them.
Both women instantly leaped away, escaping the jaws just before they snapped shut.
Yina landed outside the smoke.
Without hesitation, she brought both palms together in a powerful clap.
A tremendous shockwave exploded outward, instantly erasing every worm around her.
Yirina responded differently.
She cut through the creatures with a series of sword slashes—
—but to her surprise, the worms caught the flying slashes with their mouths...
...and spat them right back at her.
Yirina eyes narrowed.
She swiftly dodged her own attacks.
At the center of the smoke...
Kondo slowly pulled his sword from the ground.
As the blade left the earth, every trace of the black smoke flowed back into it, disappearing into the dark blade as though it had never existed.
A smirk spread across his face.
"What happened?"
He laughed.
"Why did you stop?"
"Aren't you going to attack me?"
Suddenly...
All three of them felt it.
A pressure descended over the battlefield.
It wasn't overwhelming...
...but it was powerful enough that every one of them noticed it immediately.
Without a word, Kondo, Yina, and Yirina all lifted their heads toward the sky.
High above them...
A man dressed entirely in black stood suspended in the air, silently watching the battlefield below.