She veered toward Syderisâs right flank in a wide arc, her figure blurring with sheer speed. Each stride sent shockwaves through the ground, her sandals punching deep craters into the soil. Dirt and dust trailed behind her like smoke, stirred by the golden pneuma cloaking her form, barely visible, yet radiant, as it shimmered faintly across her entire body.
At the same time, Rein sprinted toward Syderisâ left, his body surging with Pneuma. He flooded every muscle he needed with the energy, pushing himself as hard as he could, but even at full throttle, he lagged behind Morinâs speed from the opposite side.
Still, Rein was confident heâd be the first to reach Syderis.
Just as he predicted, one of the hovering blades snapped toward Morin like a bolt of lightning. She didnât even slow down. With a swift backhand, she swatted it aside like a fly, the weapon clattering harmlessly to the ground as she continued forward without pause.
Seeing that, Syderis adjusted immediately. One blade wasnât enough.
The rest of the blades shot forward in unison, realizing her tactic of sending them one by one was useless.
Now eleven blades shot toward Morin at once, encircling her from all sides, leaving no room to dodge or swat them all away. But just before they could strike, she launched herself upward. The blades collided with each other midair, missing their mark entirely.
Yet they didnât drop.
Instead, they regrouped with eerie synchronicity, aligning as if guided by a single will. Twelve blades nowâincluding the one she had deflected earlierâfloated together like puppets on invisible strings, controlled by one mind. All pointed upward.
Then they surged toward Morin again, still suspended midair.
Unlike before, she couldnât simply sidestep or jump again. In the air, her options were limited. There was only one direction she could go: down. But Morin, being Morin, didnât panic.
She spun in midair.
The motion redirected her momentum and twisted her body just enough. The blades struck, but rather than piercing her, they ricocheted off her Pneuma-wreathed form, bouncing away harmlessly.
Rein exhaled, realizing his worry had been misplaced.
He turned his focus back to the real threat, Syderis. He had to. A single distraction could leave him like Fomor... or worse. Syderis wouldnât show him even a shred of mercy.
While Morin battled the relentless swarm of blades, Rein had already closed the distance, sprinting past the ground she had covered from the opposite side. His momentum surged forwardâfueled by determination and Pneumaâas Syderis finally shifted her gaze to him.
Their eyes met.
Then, just before he came within armâs reach⦠he stopped.
âGeneral Syderis,â Rein began, steadying his breath. âMy name is Rein, and thatâs my little sister, Morin. Weâre not here to fight. We were only defending ourselves before. So... can you please let us go?â
Syderis stared at him, unblinking.
âToo late for that,â she said, her voice cold and final.
Plan A: Pleading.
Chance of success: less than 1%.
Failed. As expected. On to the next.
âAlright,â Rein said, shrugging slightly. âBut Iâm sure youâve already noticed, Iâm not nearly as strong as my sister.â
âMaybe,â she said with a smirk. âOr maybe youâre deceiving me, hiding your true strength. Is that what you did to that fool and his lackeys?â
A knowing smile curved her lips. Reinâs stomach tightened.
Damn it. Not just strong, smart, too.
Even as she spoke with him, her blades continued attacking Morin without pause, moving as if they had minds of their own. Each strike coordinated, seamless. It was awe-inspiring, and terrifying. Rein could only imagine the years it mustâve taken to master that level of focus and control, the kind where the body moved with reflexes honed into instinct.
The clash of metal against metal echoed through the battlefield. Blades ricocheted off one another, or slammed uselessly against Morinâs Pneuma-hardened body, gleaming like gold, sounding like it too.
âI did use that strategy against them,â Rein admitted. âBut I doubt itâll work on someone like you. From what I can tell, you're strong. Experienced. You must know, Iâm already going all out.â
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He met her eyes, gaze steady.
âSo I ask: go easy on me. At least donât aim to kill. That seems fair, doesnât it? We didnât kill any of your allies.â
Syderis narrowed her eyes, sizing Rein up from head to toe.
âYour expression... the tension in your body... even the way you move, everything tells me you're being honest,â she said. âEven the way you run is clumsy. Amateurish. Like someone who's only done it once or twice in their life.â
She paused, her gaze sharpening.
âBut thereâs something in youâsomethingâand itâs setting off every alarm in my body. Whatever it is, itâs telling me not to let my guard down.â
Her voice remained steady, but there was a trace of steel behind it now.
âBesides, Iâm already channeling all my Pneuma and nearly all of my focus into my blades. If I didnât, that little girl of yours wouldâve left me in the same state as that Half-Giant fool. Iâve got nothing left for defense, no Pneuma to enhance my body. So Iâll be facing you with just my natural strength, and divided focus.â
She raised an eyebrow, almost mockingly.
âIf you're really telling the truth, then wouldnât you say weâre evenly matched?â
A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
âAnd for the record, you didnât kill them, but you did injure them. Some quite badly. So donât you think itâs only fair I return the favor?â
Rein gave a small nod.
âFair enough.â
Without another word, he lunged forward, going for a tackle. No time left for talk, it was clear she wouldn't be convinced whatever he said.
Syderis barely shifted. She twisted her body sideways, effortlessly avoiding Reinâs charge without taking a single step from where she stood. A sharp counter jab struck his face from behind, sending him crashing to the ground.
But Rein recovered quickly. Rolling, scrambling to his feet, and launching himself at her again.
He had no finesse, no real training. Only the basics of hand-to-hand combat and barely any experience applying them. But with how fast Syderis moved, he didnât see another option. His only chance was to tackle her, pin her down, and buy time for Morin to end the fight.
Still, he wasnât out of cards just yet.
Syderis, meanwhile, never once pressed the attack. She simply dodged gracefully jumping, twisting, weaving past Reinâs desperate attempts to take her down. Occasionally, she threw in a jab, a shove, or a casual kick, each one precise and dismissive.
She wasnât toying with him out of arrogance.
No, she was conserving her energy.
All her focus was still anchored elsewhere. Rein realized it then, she was saving everything she had for Morin.
The real threat.
Minutes dragged by, and Rein had yet to so much as graze her.
The metallic taste of blood coated his tongue. Shallow cuts and scrapes burned across his exposed skin, now caked in dirt. Even though Syderis was holding back, her counters still landed hard enough to wear him down, and the damage was accumulating fast.
Worse, he was panting now, chest heaving with exhaustion. Most of it was real, some of it feigned, but his fatigue was starting to show. His tackles had grown sluggish, predictable. Syderis barely needed to move anymore to dodge; she simply twisted in place and let his momentum pass her by. Every attempt ended in failure.
But grabbing her had never been the core of his plan.
That was only a distraction.
âI know youâre still hiding something,â Syderis said, voice sharp but measured.
Rein spat blood to the side, then grinned.
âI am. And Iâm tired now, really tired. So Iâll stop holding back.â
His stance shifted. His aura grew heavier.
âIâve been pooling all the Pneuma I have left into one final tackle, since the moment I first heard your voice. I canât keep it hidden anymore.â
He narrowed his eyes.
âNo matter how fast you are, you wonât dodge this, not while youâre still dividing your attention between me and my sister.â
With that, Rein knew the seeds had been planted. Doubt, tension, and anticipation were now blooming in his opponentâs mind. It was time to move on to the next step.
He froze completely.
Like a statue rooted in place, he closed his eyes, trying to sell the illusion of a devastating final move gathering strength. When he opened them again, he did so with sharp purpose. His eyelids snapping up, his expression shifting from a grin to cold seriousness in an instant. It was almost comical how hard he was selling it, and for a brief moment, he had to suppress the urge to laugh at himself. But that instinct was easily crushed by the weight of real danger still pressing in on him.
He let some of his Pneuma flood into his legs. His muscles tensed, his stance sank, sandals grinding deeper into the dirt beneath him. He didnât pour everything in, he needed to save some, both for a follow-up and in case he had to retreat. But that was the trick: he hadnât used any Pneuma at all during his earlier tackles. If his performance had been convincing enough, then Syderis might now truly believe he was about to unleash something unstoppable.
And then he saw it, the signs.
Syderisâ eyes narrowed, her stance shifting slightly, arms lifting higher into a guarded position. Just for an instant, he thought he caught a flicker of fear behind her now-serious expression. It was subtle, so subtle he almost doubted whether it was real or just what he wanted to see.
But his peripheral vision confirmed it.
The sound of metal striking metal slowed. The rhythm of the fight had shifted.
The odds of his plan working⦠had just gone up.
Alright, that got her attention. Now for the next step.
With a loud, guttural scream, Rein lunged forward. This time, he wasnât acting. He threw himself fully into the motion, every visible part of his body straining toward the tackle. Beneath the surface, though, he carefully conserved his Pneuma, holding it back for what was to come.
To his surprise, he covered the distance between them faster than ever before. It was his best shot yet.
Maybe I actually have a chance here, he thought as time seemed to slow.
He was close. So close his fingertips hovered inches from her. He reached out, stretching his hand like someone grasping for a bird on the verge of flight. For one fleeting moment, he believed he had her. He could feel the rough fabric of her clothing brushing against his fingers.
And thenâ
Pain exploded through his back.
It was like an anvil had dropped on him. The world flipped as he crashed face-first into the dirt, air punched from his lungs. He writhed instinctively, a strained, broken noise leaking from his throat.
âDidnât expect me to put that much strength into that elbow?â Syderisâs voice came from behind. He couldnât see her face, but her grin radiated through every word.
âI thought⦠you were only gonna hit me with a light counter again,â Rein groaned.
âYou just assumed that yourself.â
"You⦠did you purposely use light counters earlier to make me drop my guard?â
Syderis chuckled softly. âMaybe. Now stay down, before I actually injure you.â