Ascalon's eyes widened as Daru landed on the other side with a graceful and light thud, his weight received well by the powdery layer of the ashen ground.

The onlookers, meanwhile, erupted into whispers, equally in shock.

Some have been trapped here for decades, doomed to stay for eternity since they couldn't even kill a single Lost Damnedling by themselves.

Had it not been for the wretches of Egress Haven, they would still be six feet underground until now.

The fact that they had another reliable champion to rely on naturally made them happier, despite their disbelief at their army deputy's loss at the first exchange.

Ending up in Limbo was extremely rare, and being somehow still alive and sentient even more so.

It was a blessing, really, for them to have three top-rankers.

The Damnedlings of Egress wouldn't even have hope of escaping, otherwise.

Daru immediately went back to his fighting stance, not thinking much of the small victory.

The duel wasn't done yet.

"He's not so cute now, is he?" Lesha muttered, striking a fighting pose of her own before rushing once more, this time in a more measured manner.

The first exchange told her everything she needed to know.

Even compared to the other top-rankers of her race, Lesha was gifted in combat, more so than in intellect, but she possesses both.

Truly a daughter of heaven.

She even held her own quite well against Ascalon whenever they sparred, thanks to her ferociousness in battle covering up for the small disadvantage in terms of rank compared to the slightly older human bladeborn.

Onimaru Kunitsuna drawing first blood on her certainly wasn't in her cards.

And so, her competitive instincts were reignited, and the long-forgotten frenzied look on her face had reappeared, once buried by the grimness of her situation.

"Hahaha! You're strong…I like it…Let's continue."

Almost immediately after her short outburst, Lesha arrived in front of Daru, nimbly sidestepping to dodge her opponent's opening strike and swinging her sickle-like sword in an immediate counterattack.

Daru pulled his tachi back and easily blocked it, pivoting to the side to dodge the other, incoming attack from his right.

But the young female Veshari was relentless, immediately following up with more like a mad beast.

She instinctively knew she couldn't give her opponent distance, sticking to him like glue.

Lesha ferociously swung her arms, not caring about the slight difference in raw strength.

Vesharis had long been used to it.

Instead, she utilized her deftness and mobility, her footwork a blur as she continuously brandished her swords with vicious intent.

To Lesha's subtle disbelief, her opponent was keeping up — better than her suppressed ego preferred.

Daru had a serious look on his face.

His eyes would dart to the left one moment, then shift to the right in the next as he watched his opponent's swords, registering everything with his vision and processing the response almost instantaneously with his brain.

There wasn't a hint of any other emotion, just sheer, borderline dreadful focus.

He moved his body accordingly, flowing like the Howling River.

Like so began a high-level exchange that replaced the exhausted expression on Ascalon's face with a dead-serious one.

Lesha entered the Myriad Sword Realm around three years earlier than Onimaru Kunitsuna did.

While she had been stuck beneath layers of traumatizing ash for a majority of it, it remained a fact that her total time in the realm, her harrowing experiences, her more developed mind, and combat prowess honed by months of survival in the god-forsaken realm of Limbo would allow her to dominate her opponent easily.

Not to mention, there should be a small gap in levels, adding to her list of mild advantages.

The cherry blossom-haired SS-ranker found it difficult to believe that the battle was even as close as it was at the moment.

Naturally, his eyes were glued to the heated duel, and so were everyone's.

Both Daru and Lesha were inwardly impressed at each other, excitement peaking as they continued battling in intensifying ferocity with every passing moment.

Their swords sang in metallic clangs, accompanied by the gentle yet meaningful sifting sounds produced by their feet as they moved through the ashes.

One male human and one female Veshari danced with their swords.

Only the three top-rankers knew that high-level skills were on parade, countering each other with every moment.

Inevitably, though, the superior of the two competitors surfaced.

Daru had not a single minor wound in his body, in contrast to Lesha, who was bleeding in familiar red cubic particles all over.

Daru's heart strangely eased after seeing the familiar "bleeding", instead of real blood.

The Hidden Reprieve was truly a haven for the exhausted wretches.

Unfortunately, the Lost were cursed to never find this place.

Just a few dozen meters from the dueling space stood the statue of a goddess wearing an archaic garment — one whose appearance seemed strangely familiar to Daru, despite this being his first time encountering her figure.

They could apparently respawn infinitely here, as though they were in an Arena.

Daru would soon find out whether this was true or not.

A bit frustrated, Lesha clicked her tongue, a blood-red rune emerging on her forehead.

Another pair of translucent-red arms then appeared below her pale-gray ones, both a reflection of hers, including the sickle-like swords.

Daru's eyes narrowed, but the grin on his face only widened.

"Come, Veshari!" he taunted.

Lesha herself was having a lot of fun, immediately fulfilling Daru's wish.

Her speed remained the same — manageable, but her offensive capabilities skyrocketed.

As she rushed, her arm avatars slashed twice, sending two red crescents shooting her opponent's way.

Daru countered with a [Crescent Dicer], obliterating the first sword projectile with its spinning momentum before dissipating with the second.

A draw.

But then, a four-armed, petite figure emerged from the smoke of the clash.

Lesha was upon him.

"Stay here and be a good little boy, Onimaru Kunitsuna!" she snarled with a beastly tone, starting yet another fierce assault.

Daru was able to contain her first two attacks quite easily, but the moment the arm avatars stabbed at him, he could only jump back.

The female Veshari was experienced, unwilling to give him distance.

Four swords against one.

Very quickly, the situation deteriorated for Daru.

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