In this vast and barren world, at some point, faint ice crystals began to drift through the air. Before she realized it, they had filled the surroundings. A sensation called "cold" crept into the heart of the White Yaksha.
How amusing… that she could even feel the concept of "cold."
A slight grin tugged at the corners of her lips—an excited, expectant smile.
As the astral spirit of the sun and white night, the Demon King of White Night, the White Yaksha had long grown lonely. Her noble status had always placed her above all else, pampered and revered. Her immense power made her immune to heat or cold, untouched by mortal needs.
Except for when she met that annoying guy… she couldn't even recall the last time she truly felt cold.
"Cold... really is quite a marvelous sensation."
She gently stretched out a hand, catching a falling snowflake. Letting out a light chuckle, her gaze rested on Yoru as she spoke with piqued interest:
"You… you're really interesting. You're so much like my friend. Far too alike… Could it be the two of you are somehow connected?"
The White Yaksha asked curiously—but Yoru had no time to respond. Just as he'd once told Izayoi at the beginning, he indeed had trouble fully controlling the power within his body. Frost—something that should've been pure white and untainted—now gave off a strangely filthy feeling. The temperature plummeted rapidly, and a trail of white slowly spread from beneath Yoru's feet…
It continued to spread.
The air had grown so cold that even the White Yaksha herself couldn't help but take a deep breath. Frost blanketed the ground beneath Yoru's feet, spreading outward, and tiny ice crystals floated through the air—an eerie beauty, a beautiful death.
The White Yaksha realized she couldn't let him continue any further. If this went on, the frost might even become something she couldn't withstand.
"But I am rather curious to see frost that can wound the sun."
With a soft chuckle, the White Yaksha extended a hand toward Yoru and gently pointed.
"Fire." With a soft murmur, a ring of searing flames silently appeared beneath Yoru's feet—and then exploded with ferocious force!
Whoosh!
With a speed nearly imperceptible to the naked eye, flames roared into the sky—yet Yoru's figure had already vanished from where he stood.
The White Yaksha's gaze slowly shifted—but a chill swept through her from behind, a frigid killing intent that made her neck go stiff.
The cold ice… a starved, ravenous cold. It was the kind of chill that made one wish for death.
"Fire!" she cried again. Flames burst around her petite frame like a beacon, soaring high—just as a blue-ice silhouette slashed past her body.
Ice and fire—natural enemies! When they meet, one must fall.
And in many ways, as a symbol of the sun, the White Yaksha naturally held no fondness for Yoru's powers.
The sun symbolizes life and hope. Yoru's frost, on the other hand, was pure death—frost that obliterated all.
"…A little interesting. But you're still far from enough."
She spoke with a light laugh, but no one answered. The world had become utterly silent, save for the gently falling frost…
"If that's the extent of your power, then unfortunately, you're not my match."
As her words fell, an incomparably scorching aura burst from her body. The girl shone like a tiny sun, radiating light and heat.
Far away, Izayoi and the others watching the battle felt a sharp pain in their eyes, and a blinding white brilliance spread across the entire world. Moments ago, the cold had been unbearable—now, as the white light spread, the temperature abruptly soared to an overwhelming level, leaving them all a little breathless.
"Whoa… This feels like we're inside a furnace. I guess she really is the Sun's Astral Spirit."
"Indeed… Lady White Yaksha is the spirit of both the Sun and the White Night. She's practically the sun itself."
Black Rabbit nodded and looked toward the distant battlefield with worry.
The frost that once blanketed the field had quietly melted away—perhaps a sign of Yoru's defeat. But had Yoru really lost?
As Black Rabbit and the others began moving closer to where the White Yaksha stood, a faint groan of pain rang out—clearly from the White Yaksha herself.
Yoru's figure staggered into view before her. His face was pale as death, his body bore signs of burns.
But Yoru was smiling.
Looking at the White Yaksha's rather sullen expression, he smiled as he spoke calmly to her:
"I lost. I'm not your match."
The admission came easily and with dignity. Yoru knew full well that the other party hadn't even used a tenth of her strength, and yet he was already completely outmatched.
Yoru's frost was certainly powerful—but it still couldn't freeze the sun.
The White Yaksha was the sun. To defeat her, one would first have to freeze the sun. Of course, freezing the sun wouldn't necessarily guarantee victory—it was only the minimum requirement.
If you couldn't even do that, you had no right to stand before the White Yaksha, let alone fight her.
Yoru longed for strength, for power, and for the ability to freely travel between worlds—but that didn't mean he was a fool. He wasn't someone who would stubbornly fight to the death when he knew there was no hope of winning.
The moment the White Yaksha unleashed a portion of her power, Yoru immediately sensed the vast, insurmountable gap between them—and conceded without hesitation.
Of course, conceding was one thing. Before he did, Yoru had still managed to deal a small, hard-to-swallow blow to the White Yaksha—enough to earn back a little pride.
"Pfft, if I hadn't held back, do you really think you could've lasted more than a few seconds?"
The White Yaksha pouted, clearly displeased. One of her arms had gone numb, and shards of ice were still embedded in it.
Yoru's power couldn't freeze the entire sun—but that didn't mean his frost lacked potential. What he lacked was simply overwhelming power.
While the strength gap between him and the White Yaksha was vast, by skillfully using his abilities to strike a specific target, Yoru was still capable of inflicting a decisive blow.
That's exactly what he had done in the final clash. He unleashed his strongest attack to completely freeze half of the White Yaksha's arm!
It had only immobilized her for a few seconds—just long enough to numb her arm—but Yoru was already quite satisfied.
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