Answosa curled his lips slightly.
Ruminas had grown accustomed to his attack rhythm, but habit could also become a fatal weakness.
Without warning, he completely changed his approach.
If before, he had launched powerful, decisive slashes—
Now he began to use unpredictable movements, spectacular tricks, irregular blows with no rhythm.
A stab seemed to be aimed at her chest, but as she dodged to the side, the sword swung back at an odd angle, hitting the exact spot she had just retreated from.
"—!!"
Ruminas did not have time to react.
[You are dead]
Reviving again, she tried to regain the feeling from before—
But it disappeared.
The power she had just felt had completely vanished.
She tried to feel it again, but when Answosa changed his attack, it was no longer as evident as before.
"I can't feel it anymore…"
A sword swing came from the right.
Ruminas instinctively dodged to the left, but—
The sword suddenly changed direction mid-sentence, as if it was teasing her.
[You are dead]
Again, again.
Every time she tried to regain her old rhythm, he changed his attack.
From powerful blows, to soft but precise strikes. From sharp slashes, to flexible and unpredictable stabs.
There are no more rules.
There is no space left to exploit.
She couldn't control that power steadily.
[You are dead]
[You are dead]
[You are dead]
…
[You are dead]
Ruminas felt like he was back to zero.
Everything she had achieved before was torn apart in a matter of seconds.
She thought she was beginning to understand this power. But now, she realized…
She still hasn't really mastered it.
Because it only works based on inertia, based on the rhythm of the enemy.
As soon as Answosa changed the rhythm, she immediately lost the ability to feel it.
She was passive from the start.
" But… if so then…"
She just needs to stop being passive.
If Answosa could change his attack—
Then she can also change the way she reacts.
This time, when she revived, she didn't try to remember the old rhythm anymore.
She let go of all her previous habits, let go of all sense of rhythm.
Instead—
She relaxed completely.
Don't try to predict. Don't try to react automatically.
But to let that power spread naturally, to naturally feel everything around without forcing it to follow any rules. If Answosa could change, then she could change too.
Just as Answosa rushed over—
A feeling clearer than ever before flared up in her body. A new form of consciousness, independent of what she saw and heard.
He was no longer a foe with a series of evasive attacks. He was a mass of movement, a constant flow of killing intent and pressure.
The sword swung again—
But this time, Ruminas was no longer surprised.
She no longer dodged by instinct.
She controls her powers more freely.
Her hand clenched, and for the first time—
She took the initiative to counterattack.
Ruminas raised her hand, using her bare hand to directly block the attack from the sword, but there was still a gap between her hand and the sword, and Ruminas realized that was the power she was trying to control.
"Very good!"
Answosa's sword stopped in mid-air, just a fraction of a foot away from Ruminas' hand. Between her hand and the blade, an invisible layer of power spread out, like a wave that intercepted the blade before it could touch her.
Ruminas felt it more clearly than ever.
No more vagueness. No more fleetingness.
It was literally in the palm of her hand.
A smile appeared on Ruminas' lips.
She finally got the hang of it.
Just then—
She clenched her fists.
BOOM!
A powerful shockwave exploded from her palm, sending Answosa's sword flying backwards.
Even if it was just for a moment, Answosa was forced back.
First time-
He cannot attack as he pleases.
"OH?"
Answosa looked down at his sword, then back at Ruminas.
His eyes flashed with interest.
"Got it?"
He didn't seem angry. On the contrary, he felt more interested. If at first, this was just a one-sided game where he hunted his prey—
Now, the prey has learned to bite back.
"Then," Answosa lifted his sword, the pressure around him skyrocketing.
"Show me how far you can go"
Ruminas took a deep breath.
She still doesn't have complete control, but…
She was no longer prey.
She stood up straight, no longer in a hurry to dodge like before.
That invisible power enveloped her body, like a shield, like a wave of energy that silently moved according to her will.
This time, she will fight for real.
Answosa charged forward, faster than before, stronger than before.
But Ruminas was no longer overwhelmed.
She felt his every move.
Every step. Every shift in weight.
Before, she could only react after he attacked.
But now—
She could sense it before he acted.
She can read him.
The blade swung down!
Ruminas did not dodge immediately.
As the sword approached, Ruminas raised her hand, but not to block the attack like last time. At the moment the invisible force collided with the sword, she used force to force the sword to change its direction.
As a result, the sword was deflected a little and stabbed into the ground. Taking advantage of that opportunity, Ruminas gathered internal energy in her palm, clenched it, and punched forward.
Her hand didn't directly touch Answosa's armor but the attack had already made contact, she clearly saw a shockwave being created and pressing into the armor causing a long crack to appear.
"Still not enough…"
Ruminas did not want to fight and immediately retreated.
Answosa looked down at his armor.
A long crack appeared on the sturdy armor, marking the first time Ruminas had inflicted real damage.
However, he did not appear worried.
On the contrary, he smiled.
"Prey that fights back is always more fun," said Answosa.
He swung his sword lightly, a sharp stream of air swept across the ground, clearing away the dust.
Ruminas kept her distance, not reacting in a hurry. The internal energy in her body was still boiling.
She could feel its circulation, like a flow, like an extension of herself.
But that's not enough.
If she just stopped at this level, she would still die like before.
She needs more.
But Answosa didn't give her time to think. He charged again, this time harder and faster than before.
Ruminas realized it.
This time, he did not simply slash straight.
He changed the angle in the middle of the attack!
She reacted instinctively, but her invisible power could only deflect the sword's path by a hair's breadth.
Swish—
A long cut appeared on her hand.
She was hurt.
But Ruminas ignored that wound because Answosa continued to move. She herself also started moving. In terms of speed, Ruminas couldn't compare to him. She didn't try to catch up or move with him, but only moved so that she had the least blind spots.
Answosa charged, sword raised.
Ruminas was about to block like before but suddenly a fireball appeared in his remaining palm and shot towards her.
"Combo move!"
Ruminas momentarily didn't know which side to block, and that single second of hesitation caused her to take both hits.
[You are dead]
[The ninetieth round begins]
"Only ten times left…"
Answosa smirked at her again.
"There are only ten times left, how far can you go?"
Answosa said and then attacked again, this time with two hurricanes surrounding on both sides and the sword in front.
Ruminas immediately retreated but Answosa also immediately activated his fastest speed and intercepted her from behind, the attack from his sword also changed from a vertical slash to a horizontal slash.
Ruminas knew she wouldn't be able to block it in time, so she chose to forcefully change her body's direction and charged into the violent tornado.
Luckily, the invisible force that was still protecting her prevented her from being cut into a hundred pieces, but Answosa followed. He rushed into the tornado as if it were no one's business.
Ruminas regained his composure and immediately began to counterattack.
She relaxed her body, using the force of the storm to dodge the attack, then used that strength to strike him hard from behind.
Answosa was blown away from the tornado but managed to swing his sword again and cut Ruminas' face.
She wiped away the blood that was flowing down and continued the match.
Answosa's combination of swordsmanship and magic caused Ruminas a lot of trouble, she was constantly hit and injured but luckily she was not finished off.
"Just don't die! Now is the time to fight to bring out this power"
Suddenly, smoke rose from the wounds on her body and after the smoke cleared, the wounds disappeared.
"This kind of power has the ability to self-regenerate…? I guess I'll have to continue exploring it through this battle."
Ruminas clenched her fists, gathered her strength, and then charged forward. This fight wouldn't end so easily with her being killed.