The smoke thinned, revealing Varek.
He was still standing tall, though his black clothes were torn in several places. The dark aura swirling around him grew fiercer, denser, like black flames raging endlessly.
He laughed. Loud, unrestrained, filled with disgusting excitement.
"HAHAHA! Incredible! Amazing, Lyra Elvianne Voltheim!" he shouted. "I never expected to feel an attack this heavy from a sixteen-year-old girl!"
His eyes glowed bright red.
"No wonder they call you the Lightning Light of Velthraine... But..."
WHUUMMM!!
The black aura around him exploded outward. The ground beneath his feet cracked, and the pressure made the air feel suffocating.
Lyra narrowed her eyes. "His aura... increased again. He hasn't been using his full power."
Varek lowered his sword. "But unfortunately, little lady... you're still far too young."
His gaze sharpened into the stare of a true killer.
"Now... allow me to return the favor."
Varek vanished.
Lyra reflexively raised her sword.
CLANG!!!
The first strike came from the right, throwing Lyra sideways. Before she could recover, Varek reappeared from the left. Their blades collided again in a shower of sparks, forcing her back.
Then, a third attack crashed down from above.
"Ghhh...!" Lyra blocked with both hands, her knees nearly touching the earth.
Varek grinned widely above her. "What? Already tired, little miss?"
Lyra burst lightning from her body, forcing him back, and leaped away to widen the distance.
"So fast..." she whispered in her mind.
In the distance, Varek stood casually.
"You're good, Lyra. But this is the difference between a young noble... and a soldier who has witnessed death thousands of times."
He raised his sword. Black aura gathered at the tip, forming a spinning orb of dark energy.
"Now. Feel this!"
WHUUMMM!!
Varek swung his blade. Three waves of black aura, shaped like giant claws, shot toward Lyra at terrifying speed.
Lyra plunged her sword into the ground.
"Voltheim Lightning Art... Thunder Barrier!"
BOOM!!!
The claws crashed into her lightning shield. Massive explosions shook the field, splitting the ground and toppling trees.
Lyra was pushed back, boots carving deep grooves into the soil.
"Hahh... hahh..."
As the smoke faded, Varek was already right in front of her.
"Too slow!"
Their swords clashed again. But this time, Varek didn't stop.
He attacked relentlessly—from above, the sides, the ground. Every swing was filled with brutal power that numbed Lyra's arms. A cacophony of steel ringing against steel echoed through the forest.
Lyra parried, dodged, leaped back. But Varek kept closing in.
A final strike launched Lyra backward. Her body slammed into a massive tree trunk.
BRUKK!!
"Gahh!" Lyra coughed, blood dripping down her lip.
Varek walked toward her slowly. "You know, Lyra... Your aura is impressive. But you're still a child. You've never killed anyone, have you?"
He stopped right before her.
"I can see it in your eyes. Eyes that have never watched someone die by your own hands."
He raised his sword high.
"So... let me be your first."
The blade descended.
ZRAAAKKK!!!
"LIGHTNING VEIL!!!"
Her body vanished instantly in a trail of pink light. Varek's sword struck empty ground, creating a massive crater.
He narrowed his eyes, turning sharply left—but he was too late.
Lyra appeared beside him. Her blade sliced his shoulder, spilling thick black blood.
"Ghhh!" Varek grimaced, retreating instantly.
Lyra landed gracefully. "I may have never killed before... But don't blame me when I show no mercy."
Varek wiped the blood, then burst into laughter.
"HAHAHA! Good! This is what makes battle fun!"
Dark aura exploded from him again. Bigger. Denser.
"In that case... let's see how long you can last..."
The sky shifted. Black clouds gathered. The air grew cold.
Black clouds thickened, swirling into a massive vortex.
Varek stood at the center. His pupils had changed into vertical slits. He opened his mouth, and a deep, echoing growl emerged.
"Zah'kareth... vel'nothir... akra'zul..."
Lyra gripped her sword tighter. "A summoning incantation..."
She knew the risk. Human bodies weren't designed to withstand demon power. But Varek didn't care.
"...vel'krathor... BELETH!!"
WHOOOMMMMM!!!
The black aura exploded like a tsunami. Lyra braced herself, but the pressure drove her back meters.
When the shockwave faded, Varek had changed.
Horns. Grey skin. Wings.
"Hahahahaha!!" Varek laughed in two overlapping voices. "Feel it! The true power of Beleth!"
He shot forward. Faster than ever.
CLANG!!!
Their swords clashed, and Lyra was blown backward like a rag doll. She smashed into the ground, rolling until she dug her sword into the dirt.
"Hahh..."
She had barely risen when Varek was already on top of her.
A relentless barrage of strikes rained down. Left, right, above, below. Lyra blocked desperately, her hands going numb.
'I can't keep this up... I need to go back to fundamentals.'
She inhaled deeply. The lightning around her shifted from a chaotic storm to a smooth stream.
"Lightning Veil..."
She vanished.
She reappeared behind him, sword swinging.
SHHRRKK!!
A rip across his wing.
Varek roared and leaped away, but Lyra wasn't done. She vanished again. Appeared at his right. A slash. Appeared at his left. Another strike.
"ARRGHH!! STOP!!!"
Varek swung wildly at empty air. 'Damn it! I can't sense her movements at all!'
Lyra kept moving. Smooth, precise, silent. Only streaks of pink light painted her path.
SHHRRKK!!
Another cut carved into his back. Then another. And another.
Varek staggered, blood streaming from every direction. "If the contract were older... I'd be able to track you!"
But then... he felt it.
A tiny wobble in her stance.
Lyra landed, breathing heavily. Her hand was trembling. Not from fear, but pain. Red veins bulged across her skin, threatening to burst.
'I... pushed too far.'
Varek grinned like a madman. "You think I don't see it? Your body is screaming. One more movement, and you'll collapse."
Lyra bit her lip. He was right.
Varek stepped closer. "We contractors are used to pain. But you... You're too precious."
He raised his sword. Black aura formed a roaring dragon around the blade.
"Goodbye, Lyra Elvianne Voltheim."
The sword fell.
Lyra couldn't move. She closed her eyes.
'Mom... it feels like I'll be coming to you soon.'
But then...
"WAAAAAITTTTT!! PLEASE DON'T KILL MEEEE!!!"
A shrill, absolutely unheroic scream echoed from the distance.
Varek stopped mid-swing. Lyra's eyes snapped open.
"HUWAAAA!!! HELP MEE!!! I DON'T WANNA DIEEEE!!!"
Bursting from the treeline came a young man with messy black hair, tears and snot streaming down his pale face, sprinting with the grace of a drunken penguin.
Behind him, ten exhausted soldiers chased.
"GET BACK HERE, YOU BRAT!!"
"WHY DOES MY LIFE ALWAYS GO LIKE THIS!? WHY ALWAYS MEEEEE!?" Erison screamed, sobbing uncontrollably.
Lyra and Varek simply stared, slack-jawed.
Lyra blinked, unsure if she was hallucinating. "...Who... the hell... is that idiot?"
Varek scratched his horned head, equally baffled.
"..."
"I have no idea."