The wind howled all around, tornadoes swirling through the air, carrying with them dust and the remains of battle.
Ruminas no longer dodged on instinct. She no longer relied solely on reflexes to survive. Every step, every movement she made now carried a clear will.
Because now, she has fully grasped that invisible power.
It was no longer something foreign inside her body, but had become a part of her , a part of who she was. And with that strength, she faced Answosa with everything she had.
Answosa's black sword swung up, creating a cold streak of light in the air.
Ruminas dodged to the side, no longer simply dodging but incorporating new strength to lessen the impact.
Her invisible aura pressed against the blade the moment it struck, causing its trajectory to bend for just a moment.
Her body moved, no longer stiff, no longer hurried.
Like a stream of water, she weaved through every gap in the attack without being hit.
But Answosa is not an easy man to deal with.
One hand he swung his sword, the other hand instantly created a giant fireball. The flames swirled in his palm before exploding into a pillar of light that shot straight towards her.
Ruminas immediately stomped her foot on the ground, the power surrounding her body shrinking for a split second before exploding violently.
With a swing of her arm, she released that stream of power in an arc.
The air was torn.
The flame was cut in half.
It split into two smaller streams, passing by her sides without touching her even slightly.
That moment—
Ruminas charged.
Answosa noticed the change immediately.
Ruminas was no longer as passive as before. She was fighting on equal footing with him.
No longer a prey that only knows how to run away and try to survive—
She has become a real hunter.
"Very well," he continued to smile, but Ruminas paid no attention to his carefree attitude. She didn't know what else he was up to, but she knew she had to fight with all she had if she had any hope of winning.
This time, she was the one who attacked first.
Her hand clenched, power concentrated in her fist to the point that the surrounding air began to distort.
The moment she swung her arm, an explosion rang out. The force from the punch spread out like a shockwave, shattering the ground beneath their feet.
Answosa jumped back, but Ruminas had already anticipated that.
She turned, adjusted her strength, and launched a lightning kick.
The air was torn apart, the kick was so fast that it left a white trail in the air.
Answosa did not have time to completely avoid it.
His sword was quickly raised to block, but the moment the two collided—
BOOM!
His whole body was thrown dozens of meters away.
Ruminas lowered her foot to the ground, the sole of her foot leaving a deep imprint on the hard surface.
She felt it very clearly.
This power was now within her control. It no longer spilled out indiscriminately. She could use it to attack, to defend, to change the flow of battle.
She can use it any way she wants.
Ruminas raised her hand, palm slightly open.
That stream of power quietly flared up at her will.
She smiled.
"Don't think you've escaped being a prey, from beginning to end nothing has changed!"
Answosa spoke loudly and from his heart a dark power erupted and enveloped his body.
Ruminas could feel his power increasing again, the small wounds she had given him had completely disappeared.
"Well, using the identity of the prey to kill the hunter is also very exciting."
Darkness erupted from Answosa's body, spreading like a tornado, engulfing everything around him. The cracks in his black armor gradually closed, and the traces of Ruminas' previous attack disappeared.
The pressure from him increased, the air became heavy as if being suffocated by an invisible hand.
But this time, Ruminas did not back down.
She had complete control over her power. There was no panic or hesitation, only absolute calm. Without warning, she charged forward like a bolt of lightning, so fast that she left behind afterimages.
Answosa reacted immediately, the black sword swung down. A terrifying sword energy tore the ground, creating deep cracks.
But Ruminas had disappeared from attack range.
She weaved through his attacks, each movement precise and precise. A punch cut through the air, making a direct impact with the black armor. The shockwave from the blow exploded, shaking the entire armor, creating a long crack. Before Answosa could react, she spun around and threw a sweeping kick into his side, causing the armor to vibrate violently.
But she didn't stop.
The hand swung up, invisible power exploded from the palm, creating a terrifying pressure that struck straight into the armor. The crack spread, and a large piece of the chest armor was blown off.
Answosa roared, swinging his sword to counterattack, but Ruminas had already disappeared from sight.
Her speed was beyond all limits.
Ruminas felt an unprecedented sublimation at this moment.
"Must push this power higher, maximize it," she said to herself.
She moved relentlessly, attacking from multiple directions. Each punch, each kick carried crushing force, not giving Answosa a chance to recover. A punch landed on his shoulder, shattering the armor on it. Immediately after, she jumped up high, delivering a spinning kick to his head, cracking the armored mask.
Without pausing for a second, she continued to press. The once-solid armor that had protected him was now being torn to shreds under her continuous blows. Answosa could not withstand this frenzied pace of attack.
Ruminas didn't give him time to counterattack, didn't let him regain the initiative. She was like a mad beast being cornered to death.
The final punch struck straight into the center of the armor. A terrifying shockwave spread out, and the entire black armor on Answosa's body shook violently, then shattered into pieces.
The pieces of black armor fell apart, revealing Answosa's true form. Underneath that sturdy armor was no ordinary human body, but a gigantic figure with bulging steel-clad muscles, each vein like a chain crisscrossing the flesh.
His eyes flashed with a red light, his entire body radiated a terrifying pressure, causing the surrounding air to twist.
Ruminas knew she couldn't attack hastily at this point, so she just waited on the defensive.
"Hahahaa, interesting, very interesting!"
Ruminas reflexively took a step back. She could clearly feel the change. If before Answosa was a power user who relied on armor and sword, now he was like a true beast, without the need for weapons or armor to protect himself and still possess destructive power.
He stood there, not rushing to attack immediately, but his mere existence caused the ground beneath his feet to crack, the surrounding winds howling as if trying to escape the enormous pressure that was suppressing them.
"Do you think breaking that armor is victory?" His voice was low, echoing like thunder reverberating through the earth. "That thing is just an obstacle. Now—"
Not letting him finish, Ruminas charged forward, a powerful punch aimed straight at his chest. But as her fist made contact, a terrifying recoil exploded. Instead of piercing through his defenses like before, her hand seemed to hit an impenetrable steel wall. The shockwave from the punch was repelled, causing Ruminas to lose balance in an instant.
Before she could react, Answosa had already disappeared from the spot. A fierce wind blew by, and the next moment—
Boom!
His punch landed squarely on Ruminas' stomach. The impact was so terrifying that the space around her distorted in an instant. Her body folded, and she was thrown far away, slamming into a cliff behind her. The entire cliff exploded, shattering into hundreds of pieces.
But Answosa did not stop. Before Ruminas could even land, he was right above her, his hands clenched, his fists coming down like a divine hammer.
Ruminas only had time to raise her hand to block the attack. A deafening explosion rang out. The entire ground beneath her collapsed, forming a giant crater.
"Too slow," Answosa growled. He grabbed her by the neck, lifted her up, and threw her hard to the ground.
Dust billowed up. Ruminas' body was buried in the rubble. But just as Answosa was about to finish, the ground suddenly shook. A violent whirlwind rose from below.
Answosa frowned and took a step back. From within the thick dust, Ruminas slowly stood up. Her breathing was heavy, but her eyes were as sharp as before. No, even sharper.
"It seems you are stronger than I thought…" She smirked, wiping away the blood from the corner of her lips. "But I have come this far. Do you think I will stop?"
The invisible power around her exploded violently. The wounds on her body quickly healed as if they had never been there.
"Hahaha, do you think you are the only one who can use that kind of power?" Answosa said and then suddenly an invisible stream of air appeared from his body, but the difference was that the stream of air was black.
Ruminas directed her aura to her eyes and she saw it. It turned out that this was the reason why he was still confident until now.
Indeed, if compared, a person who had just learned the power like her would not be able to fight against someone who had used it as skillfully as possible, but Ruminas did not give up because of that.
She smirked. "I still have ten lives, and we still don't know who will be the final winner."
Answosa has revealed nothing and now it will be a battle where the two will use everything they have. And of course only one person can survive until the end!