As the cat-and-rat tactic continued, Valentine vanished one last time, leaving a trail of darkness in his wake. By the time he reappeared, he was already behind Azaron, his short blades tearing toward Azaron's waist from either side in a perfectly synchronized killing motion. But Azaron's instincts and reflexes bordered on the impossible.

His hand blurred backward, the spear moving almost before thought itself could form, intercepting the attack. The first blade collided with the very tip of the spear, sparks bursting outward, while the second blade tore into the butt of the weapon, sending a sharp metallic cry through the air.

Seeing his plan fail, Valentine could only click his tongue in annoyance before vanishing once more, disappearing before Azaron could launch a counterattack. This time, however, he did not appear before another resident. No, he left the destroyed territory entirely.

Azaron, witnessing this, simply shook his head at how easily Valentine had given up on that particular tactic. His golden eyes shifted toward the earth below, toward the place where life had once flourished and people had once lived peacefully before he and Valentine had arrived.

The landscape was still covered in Valentine's oppressive darkness. Azaron slowly raised his hand, and with dismissive ease, he waved it. In the next instant, a sundering explosion of plasmic energy erupted outward, burning away the darkness with insulting ease. Shadows screamed as they were annihilated, light reclaiming the land in a violent yet purifying surge.

With that done, Azaron carefully lowered the residents back toward what remained of their destroyed homes. Then, in the very next second, he vanished. Of course, even up to this point, the residents had not seen who or what was responsible for everything that had transpired.

Azaron and Valentine existed on their own plane of existence and at a level of speed far beyond the perception of anyone present. Even if the two of them stood completely still, none of the residents would be able to perceive either of them.

With matters settled for the moment, Azaron vanished in a flickering blur, crossing kilometers in less than a second as he gave chase to the Assassin Guild Leader. Valentine could soon be seen standing atop a tree, calmly gazing at the approaching Azaron, his posture relaxed despite everything that had occurred.

Azaron came to a stop before Valentine, landing lightly on the crown of another tree. "I had thought you ran away," he stated calmly as he gazed at the Assassin Guild Leader before him.

"Why would I run?" Valentine replied with a calm smile hidden beneath the darkness covering his face and body. "We've been fighting for a few hours now, and yet the power you possess doesn't seem to match the legend behind it."

Although he said that, Valentine knew it was a blatant lie. Throughout the entire battle with Azaron, he had been on the losing end. Even though he had not received a single injury, he was not foolish enough to ignore the sheer difference in physical strength between them.

From the very first moment he had clashed with Azaron back at the Guild headquarters, he had been using various techniques to boost his physical strength just to match him. Even while stacking those techniques together with Astra Physical Augmentation, he knew he was barely keeping up.

But Azaron was different. Azaron moved without any Astra physical augmentation at all. He relied purely on his base speed and base strength, yet still matched Valentine blow for blow, strength for strength, speed for speed.

'Tsk… I'm the assassin here. I'm supposed to be faster,' Valentine thought to himself in frustration. He knew how ridiculously powerful the Wargraves were, but his mind could not help but drift back to the moment when Azaron had blocked one of his attacks, a strike carrying immense momentum, without even reacting. The clouds beneath Azaron's feet had not even stirred.

'Is he holding back?' The thought slithered into Valentine's mind. 'Because he wants to have fun?'

His thoughts snapped back to Azaron's earlier words, spoken before the battle had truly begun.

"Hmmm… I didn't know there was a legend behind my strength," Azaron mused in response. Even after hours of continuous battle, he was not winded in the slightest. He stood as perfectly composed as he had at the very beginning. His golden hair remained neatly arranged, his red cape danced gently behind him, his spear floated at his side while humming softly, and his armor was still immaculate, as though he had not been fighting at all.

In stark contrast, Valentine's chest could be seen rising and falling just a little faster than normal. It was subtle, but it was there. He was not gasping for breath, nor was he exhausted, but his stamina was not infinite.

"Haven't you ever heard of cats playing with their food before they eat it?" Azaron continued, a wide grin spreading across his face. "Although, if you want, I can stop playing around and show you the true difference between us." He paused briefly before continuing, his tone casual yet heavy with meaning. "We might both be at the Crownstar Life Ranker, but the difference between us is no different than that between a sun and a candle. Want to see?"

Valentine's eyes immediately narrowed. Danger screamed in his mind the moment Azaron asked that question. Still, he remained outwardly confident. Victories in battle were not decided by pure power alone, or so he told himself. Yet at the same time, a sense of helplessness crept into his thoughts. For the past few hours, he had been observing Azaron with a cold, calculative gaze, searching desperately for a gap, a weakness, something, anything, that could tilt the battle in his favor. But he had found nothing at all.

To Valentine, this was a first.

It was precisely why he had not hesitated to slaughter millions if it meant forcing Azaron into making even the slightest mistake.

"I thought the Wargrave family talked less, carried stone-cold expressions, and all that," Valentine said instead, skillfully dodging Azaron's question. "I didn't know you talked this much."

Azaron arched an eyebrow, then replied with a smile. "We do. But I'm currently having fun. Have you ever seen someone having fun with a cold expression on their face?" he asked calmly.

Valentine did not reply.

Seeing the silence, Azaron simply continued. "Anyway, since you said my power doesn't match the legend, I'll show it to you." He paused for a moment before speaking with finality. "Although you might not be able to truly see it."

His golden eyes locked onto Valentine.

"Get ready, Valentine. This time, this battle's fun won't be going both ways… but only one way."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: I still need your golden tickets. Thanks for reading.

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