But Valentine wasn't done. His jaws snapped open, teeth spreading wide as he lunged forward, attempting to bite down on Azaron's wrist with feral intent. Azaron didn't dare test whether his armor could truly withstand those teeth. He disengaged immediately, his body blurring as he pivoted away. His feet danced across the surface of the earth as he recalibrated in an instant, his knuckles already singing through the air toward Valentine's ribcage.

Valentine's eyes flashed as his instincts screamed in warning. His body twisted sharply to evade the strike, but before he could fully reposition himself, Azaron's hand snapped out and clamped down on one of his wings. Without missing a single beat, Azaron spun, leveraging his momentum and strength, and hurled Valentine forward like a discarded ragdoll.

Valentine momentarily lost control of his body, his back and sides crashing violently through trees, trunks snapping and splintering on impact. Yet it made little difference, he emerged unscathed, his monstrous form absorbing the punishment with ease.

His body finally came to a halt atop the surface of a vast sea, water rippling violently beneath him. His head snapped toward Azaron's direction, murderous intent blazing in his eyes. But before he could tear toward the Duke, Azaron was already upon the sea as well. His speed ripped up towering walls of water in his wake, his fingers pointed forward as they shot toward Valentine's eyes like the tip of a spear.

For a fleeting moment, the world seemed to slow around Valentine. Then, in the very next second, reality snapped back into place. He recalibrated with effortless precision, his head tearing to the side as he dodged the lethal strike. His center of gravity shifted seamlessly as he caught Azaron by the wrist, twisted his body, and hurled the Duke over his shoulder with brutal efficiency.

With a world-buckling blast, Azaron's back slammed into the water's surface. The sea itself exploded outward, massive waves erupting violently as the force tore backward in roaring devastation. Valentine didn't even pause. He flowed forward in one continuous motion, his leg rising into the air and hovering above Azaron's face like a looming UFO for a split second. Then his foot tore downward with the force of a dying sun, descending like a judge's gavel passing final sentence.

Wind barriers shattered as the foot came crashing down, the attack booming with catastrophic power. Azaron's vision filled entirely with Valentine's descending foot, but he simply grinned. His right hand blurred as he caught the foot with his palm. A concussive ring of detonation exploded outward upon contact, rippling across the sea. Azaron didn't hesitate. The moment he secured Valentine's ankle, he twisted sharply, attempting to snap it outright. Valentine had no choice but to move, adjusting his body instinctively to match Azaron's motion.

The force of the twist, combined with his own momentum, dragged Valentine down as well. He crashed onto the surface of the water, his face nearly plunging beneath it. Azaron didn't waste the opening he had created. He surged forward immediately, his fist clenching as it boomed downward like a sledgehammer striking an egg.

Valentine's senses screamed. His wings flapped violently, thrashing the water as he hurled himself upward into the air to dodge. The instant Azaron's fist connected with the water's surface, it stretched unnaturally, like a massive trampoline, before imploding upon itself. The force beneath his fist tore straight through the sea and slammed into the seabed far below.

But did either of them care?

Absolutely not.

Valentine tore through the water in a blur of black, his form streaking upward as he ascended into the air. In the next second, gravity reasserted its dominance, and he began to descend with rapidly increasing speed and force. As he fell, his leg rose toward the sky, then slammed down toward Azaron's head the instant he drew close.

Azaron didn't hesitate. He raised his forearm, and in the next instant, the full force of the attack crashed into his vambrace and forearm. The water beneath his feet threatened to erupt outward, but Azaron endured the entire impact with his body alone. His other hand shot out, catching Valentine's ankle yet again. He pulled him closer, his first arm realigning as his fist tore forward toward Valentine's chin.

But Valentine had become more agile than a cat. His wings flapped sharply as he twisted with impossible grace, narrowly dodging the point-blank strike. Still, Azaron refused to let up. His arm readjusted mid-motion, the punch seamlessly transitioning into an elbow strike. His elbow came crashing downward like a hammer of judgment aimed straight for Valentine's head.

Yet Valentine wasn't here merely to be overwhelmed.

He countered without even bothering to dodge the incoming elbow. His claw tore forward toward Azaron's waist, aiming to rip away flesh and bone with pure, unrestrained savagery. Seeing himself at a sudden disadvantage, Azaron immediately altered his tactic. He abandoned his attack entirely and transitioned into a dodge with silent, practiced grace.

The air shrieked as Valentine's claws ripped through it as though it were nothing more than fragile paper. Azaron moved again, but before he could fully adjust, Valentine mirrored his own tactic. This time, he caught Azaron by his flowing red cape, abruptly halting the Duke's movement.

Valentine's muscles coiled and strained. With nothing but raw, unbridled force, he hurled Azaron forward and across the sea like a pebble skipped by a god.

Azaron's body spun midair as he crossed the vast distance. He left the sea entirely, rocketing toward a distant forest. Just before his body could smash into a tree, he regained full control. Twisting midair, his feet kissed the bark of a towering tree with deft precision, perfectly canceling his momentum and neutralizing the throw as though it had never happened.

His golden eyes shifted to the side, and all he saw was a black streak tearing toward him. It moved so impossibly fast that it leveled terrain in its wake, reducing the land to ruin. Azaron didn't wait for Valentine to reach him. Instead, he moved as well. His muscles coiled tightly before he shot forward in a blinding burst of speed.

They collided mid-motion.

The ground beneath their feet burst apart like an overfilled balloon, earth and stone detonating outward. Before Azaron could initiate his next attack, Valentine struck first. His tail lashed out suddenly, attempting to catch Azaron off guard.

But Azaron's battlefield awareness was anything but shallow.

He disengaged instantly, dodging the attack as the tail sliced through the air like a hot knife through butter. Azaron spun on his feet in a single, fluid motion, transitioning from dodge to offense as though the two were never separate actions. His heel tore upward, streaking toward Valentine's temple.

Before Valentine's wings could even begin to flap, foot met temple.

The impact was nothing short of titanic.

The wind exploded outward like a thunderclap, the shockwave rippling violently across the battlefield. Valentine's body tore sideways through the air like a broken kite caught in a raging storm, hurled away by the sheer force of Azaron's strike as the clash between monsters continued to escalate.

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