Behind him—
A glass vial clinked softly as it rolled across the broken ground.
Seraphine stepped out of the shattered building she had crashed into moments earlier.
The empty healing potion bottle dropped from her hand and rolled away.
Her injuries had mostly closed.
Blood still stained her face, but the worst of the damage had already healed.
She rolled her shoulder once.
Then she smiled.
"Well," she said, stepping forward through the debris.
"Looks like it's time for **round two**."
Draven didn't even turn his head.
His attention remained fixed on the sky.
Seraphine's smile widened slightly.
"You think we didn't prepare properly?"
Draven released the string.
**THWANG**
The crimson arrow shot upward like a meteor.
It tore through the air toward the airship—
And then—
**BOOM**
A massive **barrier** covering the sky flashed to life.
The arrow struck it and detonated, crimson energy exploding across the invisible dome.
The barrier rippled violently—
But it held.
The destructive energy scattered harmlessly across its surface.
Seraphine folded her arms.
"The entire town has been sealed," she said calmly.
"No one going out."
"No one coming in."
Her eyes locked onto Draven's back.
"So you shouldn't bother thinking about escape."
Wind began spiraling around her again.
Sound vibrated through the air as both runes activated.
She bent her knees slightly.
Then **launched forward**.
The ground cracked beneath her feet as she shot toward him again.
But Draven still hadn't turned around.
Seraphine reached him in an instant.
Wind exploded around her body as her fist tore toward Draven's head.
He shifted.
The punch ripped past him—
And the **building behind him detonated**, stone bursting apart from the compressed sound wave.
She followed immediately.
Another strike.
Then a kick.
Then another fist.
Her attacks were **faster now**, heavier, each one tearing apart the battlefield around them.
Draven moved through them like a shadow.
Step.
Slip.
Turn.
A punch grazed his shoulder—
**BOOM**
The shockwave blasted the street open beside them.
As he twisted away—
The small cat tucked inside his coat was suddenly blown free by the force of the wind.
The tiny body spun helplessly through the air.
Draven's eyes flicked toward it instantly.
Without hesitation, he moved.
He lunged sideways, snatching the cat out of the air with one hand—
At that exact moment—
Seraphine's next strike came.
Draven twisted his body mid-motion, barely dodging the blow while holding the animal.
But the following kick still clipped him.
**CRACK**
The impact slammed into his side and sent him sliding backward several meters across the shattered ground.
Draven's boots carved deep lines through the broken stone.
Before she could follow—
His leg snapped upward.
**THUD**
The kick caught Seraphine across the side of the head.
The force lifted her completely off the ground, sending her body spinning through the air.
But she recovered instantly.
Wind burst beneath her feet as she landed and launched forward again without hesitation.
Relentless.
Draven's coat shifted as he steadied himself.
He moved the cat back inside his clothes quickly, securing it against his chest.
Then—
He drew his bow again.
At **point-blank range**.
The string pulled back.
A crimson arrow formed instantly.
Seraphine's eyes widened—
She twisted sharply.
The arrow released.
**THWANG**
The projectile screamed past her shoulder, missing by inches and blasting apart the ruins behind her.
She shot forward again immediately.
Draven stepped back quickly, putting distance between them.
His eyes narrowed.
"…I don't have time to fuck around with you."
The bow lowered slightly in his hand as he shifted his stance.
Above them—
The sealed barrier over the town flickered faintly.
Airships hovered like predators circling their prey.
Seraphine wiped blood from her lip again.
Wind roared louder around her body.
Her grin returned.
"Then stop talking."
The ground beneath her feet cracked again.
She launched forward—
And the fight exploded once more.
High above the burning town—
The battle in the sky had not slowed for even a second.
The sixth-star commander cut through another blood chain, his blade flashing like silver lightning.
**SHING!**
Three more crimson constructs split apart.
Below them, explosions from the mages continued bursting upward, lightning and fire tearing through the clouds.
But Aldric suddenly paused.
Just for a moment.
His red eyes shifted toward the horizon—
Toward the barrier covering the entire town.
Because something had struck it.
He had seen the ripple.
A crimson flash spreading across the invisible dome.
Aldric tilted his head slightly.
"…Oh?"
Another sword strike came for his neck.
Aldric moved lazily, raising one blood gauntlet.
**CLANG**
The blade slammed into the gauntlet.
He slid back slightly through the air before stabilizing himself.
But his attention was no longer fully on the commander.
His eyes were on the barrier.
"…That looked familiar."
Another ripple of fading crimson energy shimmered across the sky where the arrow had struck.
Aldric's smile slowly widened.
"Ah."
He chuckled under his breath.
"Looks like it's time to go."
The cultist behind him stiffened in the blood chains.
"The lord—?"
The sixth-star commander did not hesitate.
He lunged forward instantly, blade slicing toward Aldric's chest.
But Aldric moved differently this time.
Not lazily.
Not playfully.
His blood wings expanded suddenly.
A massive surge of crimson mana erupted outward from his body.