The fight was heading exactly where I had feared from the start.
A battle of attrition. Who runs out first.
And in that contest, Thalia's summon Leena was losing miserably.
Her firing speed had slowed considerably. She was conserving aura now—the fundamental resource behind every arrow she launched. Each shot drained her further and she couldn't afford to waste any.
Meanwhile, Vaelis was closing in. Faster than before. He had grown so accustomed to this rhythm that I actually saw him yawn.
YAWN.
Mid-combat.
He even released one grip on his saber, letting the blade rotate lazily from momentum alone while he stretched his jaw.
The arrogance was suffocating.
The prince spoke up. Playful. Mocking. "What happened? Why aren't you using your ultimate move?"
He knew exactly why. Leena's sacrifice beam would be useless. Vaelis could simply block it with his relentless saber attacks. Sure, there would be some explosion damage but not nearly enough to bring down a B-rank summon.
