...
In the center of the garden, the scene was one of absolute domination.
Yoon Hyun was breathing heavily, his body covered in cuts from which red demonic energy leaked like blood. Every blow he attempted was intercepted and countered with overwhelming force. The girl in front of him was no ordinary cadet; she was a combat monster, a Valkyrie wielding a blade that looked as gigantic as a mountain.
"You... you damn..."
He spat, glaring with hatred.
"You think you've won? Miss Lilith will hunt you down! She'll turn your soul into..."
"Oh, shut up."
Nayun interrupted him, bored with his threats.
"You talk too much."
"Vroooom!"
With an explosive movement, she lunged forward, raised that nearly ten-meter-long sword high, and then her attack came down toward the Djinn.
Releasing even more demonic power, the Djinn crossed his arms over his head and defended the attack, his arm suffering some bruises.
"That..."
Nayun's eyes widened, the cuts and wounds on the Djinn's body were healing.
"Ahahaha! You thought you were winning, didn't you? Now I'm going to make you regret it deeply."
The red mana in his body intensified even more, exploding into a violent aura that burned the grass beneath his feet. His muscles swelled, his claws lengthened, and his eyes glowed with pure malice. He concentrated a massive amount of demonic mana into his claws, which now glowed with an ominous scarlet light.
"Die!"
He roared, his voice completely abnormal.
"Zlassh!"
With a savage swing of his claws, crescent-shaped attacks made of demonic energy flew toward Nayun.
Three consecutive attacks, each faster and larger than the last, cut through the air with a sharp, menacing sound.
Faced with the desperate offensive, Nayun did not panic. Her eyes sharpened in pure concentration. Instead of trying to block the attacks with the colossal blade, she quickly focused on her Gift.
The nearly ten-meter claymore, which seemed impossible to wield, instantly shrank in her hands, returning to its original size of 1.5 meters.
The change was so quick that it seemed like an optical illusion.
Now, with an agile and perfectly balanced weapon in her hands, she moved.
The first crescent of black energy arrived. With a quick step to the right, she let it whiz past where she had been a second before, the attack colliding with Theo's invisible barrier in the background.
The second attack came immediately after.
"Clang!"
She spun, the silver blade rising to meet the attack at a perfect angle.
The claymore didn't budge an inch, parrying the blow and deflecting its trajectory into the sky.
The third and largest attack was almost upon her, aiming for her head. With impressive agility, Nayun ducked down, her body almost touching the ground. The demonic crescent whizzed over her head by the thickness of a finger, leaving a trail of heat in the air.
The moment the danger passed, she used her crouching movement as a springboard.
"Fwhoosh!"
She exploded forward, the distance between her and the shocked Yoon Hyun disappearing in the blink of an eye. The Djinn, with his guard down after his triple attack, tried to retreat, but it was too late.
Catching the Djinn off guard, Nayun raised her claymore, causing him to instinctively retreat to protect himself from a blow he thought would come from above.
But it was a feint. Instead of slashing, she spun her body and, with brutal force, kicked him right in the middle of his chest.
"Bam!"
Yoon Hyun was thrown back like a rag doll, flying several meters before falling heavily to the ground, rolling to a stop.
Nayun expected him to stay down longer, but to her surprise, he was already getting up.
Nayun clicked her tongue in frustration, her eyes narrowing.
'Tsk! This is going to be difficult. He heals himself from any damage I inflict on him.'
She realized that brute force and superficial cuts alone would not be enough. She would need a blow that would annihilate him completely, one that his magical power could not contain, and one that his regeneration would not have time to be used.
"Ah, you're such a pain..."
Nayun muttered to herself, the amusement on her face replaced by a cold, irritating concentration.
Seeing the Djinn preparing to strike back, hatred flashing in his regenerated eyes, she moved.
But this time, she didn't advance, she retreated.
With a quick jump, she created distance, raising the tip of the claymore to the sky several meters away from Yoon Hyun. She needed a moment. A moment to prepare the only type of attack that would guarantee victory.
Yoon Hyun, seeing her retreat, interpreted it as fear and let out an arrogant, guttural laugh.
"What's the matter? Did you realize you can't kill me?"
He advanced, claws outstretched, ready to retaliate.
Nayun ignored him, closing her eyes for a second, she concentrated. All her mana, the vibrant green energy flowing through her body, began to be redirected to a single point: the claymore created by Theo.
"Vmmmmmmmmmm!"
The sword, acting as a perfect catalyst, began to grow as it received magical power from its core, growing several meters. The silver blade was engulfed in a blinding green light. The concentrated power was so immense that small stones and leaves around it began to levitate. The air became heavy, charged with overwhelming pressure.
Yoon Hyun stopped suddenly, the arrogant smile freezing on his face. His instincts screamed danger. This was no ordinary attack; it was an attack that could truly threaten his life.
"If you think I'm going to stand by and do nothing, you're sorely mistaken!"
He growled, red mana exploding around him.
He wouldn't give her the luxury of preparing such a powerful blow. With a violent thrust, he shot toward her, not with projectiles, but with his own body, transforming into a crimson blur. He crossed the field in an instant, claws extended, aiming directly at Nayun's heart.
Nayun's eyes snapped open. Her concentration was broken. The flow of mana to her sword faltered, the blinding green light dimming for a fraction of a second.
'Damn! Too fast!'
...