Driven by pure combat instinct, Ishkab twisted her body violently. The blade's tip grazed her ribs, leaving a trail of bloody sparks and a charred mark on her waist.
The searing pain nearly caused her to faint. Anemo Energy erupted instinctively, propelling her forward in a clumsy tumble until she crashed into a fractured, faintly glowing ancient Stone Tablet.
Gasp... gasp...
Ishkab's vision blurred, and amidst the ringing in her ears, she heard the steady footsteps of the black-robed figure approaching. The sound was faint, yet each step felt like a hammer blow against her heart.
With immense effort, she raised her hand, attempting to summon her Flying Blade for a final desperate strike. But the Flying Blade merely trembled before falling limply to the ground.
Exhaustion and blood loss had pushed her to her limit. As she watched the pitch-black long blade slowly rise, preparing for the final strike, a flicker of defiance flashed in her eyes before she slowly closed them.
Just then—
"Get away from her!!!"
A furious, thunderous roar exploded like a bolt of lightning!
Immediately afterward, an incomparably brilliant golden sword light tore through the dim skies like the descent of the Sun itself. With irresistible force, it slashed fiercely at the black-robed clone!
Sensing the overwhelming threat, the black-robed figure abandoned its attack on Ishkab and braced its longsword horizontally to block.
BOOM—!!!
Amidst the violent explosion, the black-robed figure was forcibly hurled back over a dozen meters by the enraged strike. The Abyss Energy radiating from its body surged wildly, emitting a silent shriek, and the longsword in its hand shattered instantly.
Ishkab's eyes flew open in disbelief. She saw a figure, descending like a goddess, standing between her and the black-robed figure.
Before her stood Lumine, the golden-haired Traveler, now wreathed in an unprecedented maelstrom of raw Elemental Energy. Gripping her sword tightly, she glared at the black-robed figure, her chest heaving with furious breaths. Those eyes, usually filled with warmth and unwavering resolve, now burned with a scorching flame that threatened to incinerate everything in its path.
Paimon's small face paled, but she bravely stood her ground in front of Ishkab.
"Sister!"
A lithe figure darted to Ishkab's side in an instant.
He gazed at his sister's bloodied and battered form, his eyes instantly bloodshot with a mix of heartache and fury. After swiftly examining her wounds, his voice trembled with lingering fear as he muttered, "Thank goodness, thank goodness!"
"Treat her first!" Mualani snapped, producing bandages to wrap Ishkab's bleeding injuries.
Ahead, the black-robed figure steadied itself, its crimson gaze sweeping over the four newcomers before locking back onto Ishkab—its target had never wavered.
The long blade in its hand reformed, raised once more as Abyss Energy surged around it with even greater ferocity.
But this time, it faced not a lone, exhausted Ishkab.
Lumine stepped forward, her sword pointed directly at the black-robed figure. Her voice, cold as millennia-old ice, carried an unwavering resolve:
"You—try—moving—against—her—one—more—time!"
A black-robed figure... another one?!
The fury in Lumine's heart threatened to burst through her chest. The black-robed figure's attire reminded her of Rola, Qingge, and Yuna!
Yet beneath her rage, Lumine remained acutely vigilant.
The black-robed figure's attire cast a deep shadow over her psyche. The lessons from their past failures flashed through her mind, causing her to focus nearly all her attention on Ishkab, fearing the black-robed figure might strike again.
At the same time, she secretly retrieved a small flower, ready to crush it at any moment!
Paimon mustered her courage and shouted, "Y-yeah! We won't let you hurt Ishkab again!"
Kinich gently set Ishkab down and rose to his feet. A pair of massive Claymores, shimmering with green Dendro Elemental Energy, materialized in his hands. His eyes narrowed, locking onto the black-robed figure with the cold precision of a seasoned hunter.
Mualani also summoned her surfboard, preparing for battle.
The Unrelenting Will in Lumine's hand blazed with unprecedented brilliance, as if urging her to confront the black-robed figure directly. Among the swirling hues, the blue glow burned most fiercely.
-
In the live stream:
[It's Little Yuna!!]
[Waaah, my eyes are leaking again... Every time I think about what happened to Little Yuna...]
[Having been treated like that before, seeing someone similar now makes me so angry... Is this rage?]
[We absolutely have to kill this black-robed figure, or Yuna will never find peace!]
-
Night Kingdom.
"Protect Ishkab! I'll handle this!" Lumine declared.
Having regained her composure, Lumine realized the black-robed figure before her seemed significantly weaker than before, though still beyond Kinich and the others' ability to defeat.
The moment her words landed, Lumine vanished from her spot.
This wasn't mere speed, but something closer to... a spatial blink?
The black-robed figure immediately moved, attempting its signature tactic: using its bizarre movements to bypass Lumine and strike directly at Ishkab.
This was its signature tactic, but Lumine had anticipated it.
"Trying the same trick twice?"
Lumine's icy voice echoed from behind the figure as the Geo Elemental Power surging through the Unrelenting Will Sword erupted. A massive, unadorned cleave crashed down with devastating force!
The black-robed figure hastily turned to parry.
Clang—!
Amid the violent collision, most of the energy blade in its hand shattered. The Abyss Energy composing its body churned violently, clearly suffering grievous damage.
"Too slow," Lumine stated flatly, her voice utterly devoid of emotion, as if simply stating a fact.
Lumine instinctively wanted to hurl insults at the black-robed figure, uncertain if it could even understand.
Gripping her longsword tightly, Lumine focused. In the next instant, a blazing vortex of wind coalesced at her sword's tip. Before the black-robed figure could reform its weapon, the violent suction force locked it firmly in place, rendering it utterly immobile.
Immediately afterward, a dazzling bolt of Electro energy descended from the heavens, striking precisely at the eye of the wind vortex!
Lumine's attack flowed seamlessly, without the slightest pause.
She didn't even glance at the black-robed figure struggling within the elemental storm. Instead, she reversed her grip on the sword, unleashing a condensed golden sword aura that howled through the air!
This strike precisely exploited the moment when the black-robed figure's energy was most unstable and its defenses weakest due to the elemental reaction. It also channeled Lumine's boundless fury and her resolve to avenge her friend!
This strike was faster than thought itself!
The sword aura sliced through the black-robed figure without resistance.
Time seemed to freeze for an instant.
The black-robed figure let out a tormented wail as it exploded into its purest form: pitch-black particles. These particles were immediately purged by the residual Anemo and Electro elements in the environment, vanishing without a trace.
From start to finish, the entire encounter lasted only a few breaths.
Lumine stood her ground, exhaling a faint sigh as the fierce glint in her eyes gradually faded.
She turned to face the dumbfounded Paimon, Kinich, and Mualani, her gaze softening with concern, especially for the gravely injured Ishkab.
"It's over now. The threat is gone. Ishkab, how's your injury?"
"I-I'm fine..." Ishkab weakly raised a hand. "If it weren't for your help, I might already be..."
"Sister!" Kinich cut her off, preventing her from finishing the sentence.
A sister knows her brother best. Ishkab didn't continue.
Kinich had already propped Ishkab up. Seeing his sister still struggling, he simply scooped her up onto his back.