Sssnnnccc—!!

The reddish-black sword tore through the air with a thunderclap. But before it could reach him, a rusted, curved sword leapt into the path, intercepting the strike with a deafening clang!

Sparks burst like miniature suns between them.

Essa stood there, blocking the attack that almost took Leo's head off.

The curved sword groaned, veins of golden light spiderwebbing through its rusted edge as she pushed back, every muscle straining against the weight that bore down like a mountain.

"You call that pride?" Essa spat, meeting Fallen Pride's gaze head-on. "Is ambush all you've got? Or are you afraid to face me head-on?"

Fallen Pride's expression remained unchanged, unreadable.

Her sword glowed in deep crimson, black lightning twisting around the blade. A cruel smile played on her lips.

"Not bad," she murmured coldly. "But talking won't save you."

Without warning, she raised her other hand and slammed her fist into Essa's gut with blinding speed. The shock wave detonated outward, tearing buildings, ripping up the earth, and sending the world into chaos.

BOOOMM!

The shockwave hurled Leo off his feet… he barely had time to draw breath before the force blasted him backwards, pain flashing white behind his eyes.

"Argh!"

He slammed into the side of a twisted building's walls, coughing as bricks rained down around him.

Gasping, he thrust his katana down like a staff, the blade ducked deep into the cracked floor.

He looked up.

Only two streaks of light danced in the ruined street now… one crimson-black, the other golden-green.

They moved faster than he could follow, crossing dozens of meters in less than a blink.

Each time their blades collided, the world seemed to split.

A single slash from Fallen Pride sent ripples of reddish-black flame screaming through the air, melting street lamps and twisting steel beams until they glowed.

Essa's counterstrike flared in golden arcs, each blow ringing out with the force of ten thousand bells.

Buildings shook and collapsed under their feet.

Leo narrowed his eyes, trying desperately to track them—he couldn't. Their movements left only fragments of afterimages burned into his vision. One moment, they were on the left side of the ruined road; the next, they clashed mid-air above the shattered remains of a cloth shop.

'I can't see them… what kind of speed—?!'

Leo clenched his teeth, a low hiss escaping as he drew breath, inhaling mana straight from the shattered air. His lungs expanded, chest swelling with ether as he forced the surging energy into his eyes, veins glowing faintly along his temples.

"Alright… let's see what you two are really doing," he whispered.

His vision shimmered, energy threads pulsing like veins of light behind his pupils…The world slowed to a crawl. The blur of motion separated, snapping into sharp, violent detail.

He finally saw… them!

Essa ducked low, spinning her rusted sword backwards like a crescent fang. She parried three consecutive strikes, each one coming from a different angle—impossibly fast, the clangs like a storm of bells.

Fallen Pride moved faster, a tempest wrapped in crimson and black. Every swing of her sword carved the air into ribbons, her body wreathed in streaks of crackling lightning that exploded wherever her boots landed.

Essa's counters were raw but instinctive... each deflection left a trail of golden dust swirling behind her, fragments of fading light in the shadows.

Leo's heart pounded as he watched.

For a split second, Fallen Pride vanished, then reappeared above Essa, blade raised high, her armour gleaming beneath the blue beams of light piercing through the wreckage.

Essa crossed her rusted sword in front of her... ready.

BOOOOOOM!

The collision flattened the street in an instant. Stone and pavement crumpled, the ground turning into a vast crater, flames erupting outward like a blooming inferno. Leo threw up his arm, shielding his face as glass shards and twisted metal screamed past.

The shockwave tossed him off his feet again. He twisted in mid-air, slamming the edge of his katana into the ground to anchor himself. Sparks screamed from the blade as he skidded backwards, boots grinding against rubble until, at last, his heels dug into solid earth.

"Essa!!" he shouted.

Above the smoke and shattered light, two silhouettes hung in the air.

Essa's hoodie was stained red with blood, while Fallen Pride stood unscathed, sword hanging loose in her grip, her gaze cold and disappointed.

"You hold out pretty long," Fallen Pride said, her voice soft but edged with disdain. "But is that all you have left?"

Leo's fingers tightened around his sword hilt. He drew in a steadying breath, eyes still burning with that unnatural sight—energy swirling in his chest like a second heartbeat. And in the space of the next heartbeat, he was already standing before Fallen Pride, sword flashing as he drove it toward her chest.

Fallen Pride's eyes widened, just a fraction—almost impressed. Then her blade snapped up on pure instinct—

CLANG!

The impact shrieked through the air, sparks bursting between their blades as the pressure forced both of them back several inches across the cracked ground.

Fallen Pride smirked, her eyes shining with cold amusement. "So, the boy finally learns to stand."

Leo's expression stayed still, jaw tight. "I've been standing since the day I lost you."

She twisted her wrist; her sword howled with reddish-black flame, forcing Leo backwards. The ground beneath his boots split open, trails of energy zigzagging across the street like veins of living lightning.

He twisted, spun, and slashed upward, his blade ringing out as it slammed into her armour.

Yet, Fallen Pride stood indifferent, her armour barely dented, glowing faintly from the impact. She brushed a speck of ash from her shoulder as if he were nothing but dust in her path.

"You've gotten faster," she said softly, "but you're still just human."

Her words ended with a single step forward, and in that heartbeat, she was gone—vanishing into the blur.

Leo's eyes flicked left… too late!

Her sword was already there, slashing from the side. The sharp edge grazed his ribcage, nearly cutting him diagonally when—

TANNGGGGGG!!!!

Essa reappeared behind Fallen Pride, blood still dripping from a gash on her arm. She spun her rusted sword, pressing its edge against Fallen Pride's neck. "You talk too much," she hissed, her voice a ragged growl.

Fallen Pride had no choice but to turn, meeting her mid-swing. But it was already too late. Essa's sword hooked under the armour like a fishhook, and with a savage twist, she hurled Fallen Pride toward the nearest building!

BOOOMMM!!!!

Leo panted heavily, hand pressed to his ribs. He felt the sting of a shallow cut—not deep, but hot and sharp.

"H-Ha… Ha… Are you alright?" Essa called out, her voice shaky with worry.

Leo sighed, shaking his head. "I… I don't know," he muttered. Then, forcing a weak smile, he asked, "Weren't you supposed to be facing Dracula right now? Wasn't that our plan?"

Essa shot him a deadpan look, then spat, "Fuck the plan!"... after all, the plan had gone to hell the moment they were teleported here.

Now, they were on their own. She charged at Fallen Pride, who was climbing from the rubble, her eyes burning with something dangerously close to fury.

TING!

Fallen Pride parried Leo's downward slash with her left hand, using the flat of her blade, twisting just in time to block Essa's next strike with the other.

Tang!

Tang!!

Then, with one violent swing, she shoved both of them away. The pressure threw Leo into a half-spun skid across the street, while Essa flipped backwards, boots slamming down on broken stone.

Before she could recover, Fallen Pride was already on her—

Clang!

Sparks erupted in a blinding flash as Fallen Pride's sword clashed against Essa's rusted blade again, but this time, Pride didn't hold back. Her blows came in relentless bursts, faster and heavier, the sound ringing through the ruined city.

Each swing tore shockwaves through the street, the ground buckling and splintering beneath their feet.

BOOM!

BOOM!

THUD!

Essa gritted her teeth, stepping back beneath the storm of strikes. Every parry sent pain shooting up her arms; the rusted edge of her blade screamed under the strain, green light leaking from every crack like blood from an open wound.

Fallen Pride's crimson eyes glowed brighter, "You… get in my way too often," she growled.

Her next swing shattered Essa's guard... a flash of red and black lightning streaked through the air with godlike precision.

Leo screamed, "Essa!!" as his chest heaved, pouring every last drop of strength into his legs.

He dashed forward just in time — his hand caught her hood and yanked her back as the reddish-black sword arc carved through the space she'd been standing in.

The blade missed Essa's neck by a hair, carving through her hoodie and leaving a thin line of blood across her shoulder.

SSSSSSSSSSHHHHHH!!!!!

The blast tore through the street, slicing straight through an entire twisted building behind them.

The buildings groaned, warped, then split apart and collapsed in slow motion... glass and concrete rained down like a waterfall of death, crashing into the ruined earth.

Leo rolled with Essa across the debris, landing hard behind a half-crumbled wall.

Dust clouded the air!

Essa coughed, clutching her shoulder. "Don't—don't get close to the buildings!" she shouted over the rumbling chaos.

"What?" Leo snapped, still scanning the swirling smoke for any sign of Pride, realizing she'd vanished in an instant.

"I found those buildings… it's not real. It's teleporting between layers!" Essa shouted, voice ragged. "One wrong step and you'll end up—"

A flash cut her words short as she dodged a searing reddish-black beam aimed at both her and Leo.

Fallen Pride was already there, running atop collapsing beams, her boots pounding along the walls of the falling buildings as she leapt from one broken structure to another with impossible speed.

Clang… Clang… Clang…

Leo and Essa blinked in confusion.

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