Dante silently considered how much Lexa should hold back.
She's still a little too much for the big guy. She's absurdly fast, hits hard, and cuts even more brutally. Add the fact she can comfortably fight opponents five or six levels above herself...
His hand unconsciously slipped to the side of Vexion's dress, gently squeezing her soft backside.
She smiled, letting out a quiet giggle before looking up at him.
"What do you think?"
Vexion immediately understood what he was asking.
She observed the two standing several dozen feet apart.
"If that guy fights the way barbarians from our home continent do..." she murmured thoughtfully, "...then he's in for a rough time. He's roughly around Elric's level physically... maybe Lexa should use sixty-five percent."
She tilted her head.
"Maximum... seventy."
Dante couldn't help but smile.
This was another reason he enjoyed Vexion so much.
Her body alone would've attracted countless men...
But it was her mind that fascinated him.
She evaluated combat situations almost as quickly as he did.
"Fair assessment."
He nodded.
"Let's go with that."
He raised his voice.
"Lexa."
She turned immediately.
"You got that?"
She nodded respectfully.
"Sixty-five percent. Don't exceed seventy. I actually want to see what he can do."
Lexa bowed her head.
"Understood, Master."
Gorgon would've found those words insulting on any other day.
But...
After witnessing Dante's absolute control over space...
He had long since accepted there were monsters even among monsters.
She's a swordswoman...
My biggest problem won't be strength.
It'll be whether I can even land a hit.
Jurian and Aishwa remained silent.
Neither of them knew enough about Gorgon to judge him properly.
Likewise...
They had only seen glimpses of Lexa's abilities.
All they truly knew was one thing.
Lexa... is absurdly strong.
As Mythical Beings, they could gauge her strength far more accurately than the others.
She was still only a Legendary-tier being...
Yet her combat ability was utterly abnormal.
Dante lazily waved his hand.
"Start."
Lexa had no intention of playing a waiting game.
She stepped forward once.
Gorgon frowned.
I knew it...
Fast.
Barely reacting in time, he gripped his enormous hammer with both hands before swinging upward like a colossal baseball bat.
The sheer force alone distorted the air.
Wind exploded outward.
Rocks shattered.
The mountain itself trembled.
Lexa calmly stepped to his right.
The hammer missed her entirely.
Gorgon didn't panic.
Almost as if he'd expected it.
The shockwave generated by the swing alone blasted toward her.
Even after dodging...
Lexa was still blown backward.
She flipped several times before landing lightly.
The instant her feet touched the ground...
A mountain-sized hammer descended from above.
She calmly unsheathed her sword.
Sword met hammer.
Instead of resisting...
She redirected.
The elegant parry carried almost the entire force into the earth beneath them.
BOOM!!
The mountain split apart.
A crater nearly three kilometers wide and over half a kilometer deep erupted beneath them.
Lexa frowned slightly.
Indeed...
If I'm limiting myself this much...
I can only afford to take perhaps two direct hits.
After that... I'd have to break Master's limit.
Neither retreated.
Gorgon immediately advanced.
Lexa kicked off one of the enormous boulders sent flying into the sky.
As she moved...
Two blood-red swords formed behind her.
She condensed them until they became nearly solid.
Nearly ten percent of her mana reservoir disappeared.
The blood she'd absorbed while training Amber had significantly strengthened their quality.
They were far denser than ordinary blood constructs.
Lexa slashed downward.
Gorgon simply raised his hammer to block.
At that exact moment...
The two blood swords attacked from completely different angles.
Both struck before his eyes could properly follow them.
Vexion blinked.
"...No attempt to dodge?"
Both swords carved into Gorgon's back.
He merely grunted.
The wounds barely seemed to matter.
Then...
He inhaled deeply.
Vexion's eyes widened.
"Oh..."
Gorgon released a deafening—
WAR CRY!!
Lexa's expression paled.
"Oh no."
She instantly leapt backward.
Too late.
The soundwave struck her directly.
Her head violently rattled.
Her vision blurred.
An unbearable ringing exploded inside both ears.
My eardrums...
They burst.
She had barely begun recovering...
When she sensed movement to her left.
He's swinging from the left?
Four massive blood broadswords instantly materialized.
Three intercepted the hammer.
The fourth became a foothold as she kicked away.
The collision sent violent shockwaves through the valley.
Gorgon stared in surprise.
Four more blood swords...?
These are just as strong?
Lexa quietly exhaled.
I got careless.
Vexion instinctively leaned further into Dante's hand as he lazily continued caressing her backside.
"She got careless."
Dante nodded.
"She's trying to overpower him."
Jurian spoke from the side.
"She seems capable."
Elric and Amber weren't nearly as confident.
Neither of them interrupted.
They simply listened alongside Eliosphere as the three stronger fighters analyzed the battle.
Lexa flew backward atop one of her blood swords, allowing herself a brief moment to recover.
Still not normal...
But it's manageable.
I got careless.
Gorgon watched her soar through the air before snorting.
Without warning—
Two blood swords pierced into both of his sides.
They drove in with incredible force.
Yet before they could penetrate deeply, he planted his hammer into the ground and ripped both blades free with brute strength.
He frowned.
This girl...
She's just not a good opponent for me.
He took another deep breath.
High above—
Lexa tensed.
Another War Cry...?
It can still reach me from there?
The roar exploded once more.
Even at that distance...
Her ruptured ears suffered again.
Now she heard nothing but one continuous—
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP
Her vision blurred for a second time.
"Tch."
Without hesitation, she flew even higher.
Hovering in a meditative position atop one of her floating blood swords, she closed her eyes and took several slow breaths.
Gradually...
Her vision stabilized completely.
Her hearing...
Remained gone