Kintovar swiftly defeated the pursuing drones; however, upon reag Runebelle and Roselle, her face shifted to one of .

  She gently lifted Runebelle and Roselle, her protective instincts kig in. Kintovar muttered, “I’m way too te..."

  Alden, who was in the process of healing his wounds looked at Kintovar and asked, "Are you the real Kintovar?"

  For a moment, Kintovar just stared at him. Then, she made a decision. Alden persisted, pointing toward the swirling dark vortex that enveloped Risebelle and Dark Whirlwind.

  "If you are Kintovar," Alden implored, "Risebelle is in there. We need your help!"

  Kintovar's face hardened. Without uttering a word, she began to move toward the turbulent vortex.

  Ihe chaotic vortex, Risebelle and Dark Whirlwind engaged in a deadly shootout. Their sh out in rapid succession. The blue energy bullets from Risebelle's on cshed with the dark projectiles fired from Dark Whirlwind's replica gun.

  Risebelle and Dark Whirlwind came face to face again after several rounds were fired. They were locked in a deadly standoff, but then, without warning, Dark Whirlwind seemed to appear right in front of her with the on aimed at Risebelle's chest. Risebelle's reflexes kicked in. She barely mao evade the shot. This surreal event happened not just o three times in quick succession.

  In the moments between each close call, a flurry of thoughts raced through Risebelle's mind:

  ‘She's fast, but I won't let her catch me off guard.’

  In the blink of an eye, Dark Whirlwind appeared right in front of her, gun aimed at Risebelle's chest. It was a fra of a sed, but Risebelle's instincts kicked in, and she barely mao evade the shot, a sense of shock c through her.

  ‘How did she get there so fast? I 't let her hit me!’

  But Dark Whirlwind's speed defied prehension, and once more, she appeared before Risebelle, her gun inches away from its deadly mark. Risebelle twisted her body, narrowly avoiding the shot.

  ‘Stay focused, Risebelle. Don't let her outmaneuver you again.’

  With growing unease, Risebelle prepared for another frontatio again, Dark Whirlwind defied the ws of speed, materializing in front of her. Risebelle's instincts screamed at her, and she made a desperate dive to the side, feeling the rush of wind as the shot narrowly missed her once more.

  Risebelle's entire body was slick with sweat. She g Dark Whirlwind, who stood with a smirk.

  "You haven't figured it out yet, have you?" Dark Whirlwind taunted. "Right now, you must be thinking that I'm getting faster, that my movements are being too quick for you to handle. Is that why you’ve been looking so surprised, retly?"

  Risebelle's eyes narrowed.

  Dark Whirlwind shook her head slowly. “It’s simply not the case. My Shadow Tempest doesn't increase my speed, nor have I used any abilities to increase my speed. I have not gotten any faster."

  Realization dawned on Risebelle like a cold spsh of water. She hadn't noticed it, but her movements were being sluggish, her reas slower. It wasn't Dark Whirlwind who had ged—she had. "I'm the oing slower."

  Dark Whirlwind's eyes gleamed with satisfa. "Precisely. Your exhaustion is catg up to you. Every move you make, every attack you unch, drains you further. You're fighting a losing battle against your own limitations."

  Risebelle fired at Dark Whirlwind, their ons bzing as they traded rounds once more. She struggled to keep up, her movements growing more bored with each passing moment. Amidst the chaos, a thought struck her like lightning: Dark Whirlwind created a perfect replica of her on. How was that possible?

  She cast her mind back to her creation, to the intricate design and unique features of her on. This was the first time she had used this form, a Dark Whirlwind seemed to have aical gun. Risebelle's eyes narrowed in suspi.

  ‘Wait a mihere's no way she could replicate my on perfectly. She wouldn’t know how the shots fun… that means…’

  Risebelle stopped trying to fight and, instead, allowed a shot from Dark Whirlwind to hit her squarely in the chest. No damage occurred. She felt nothing—no impao pain.

  "The on," Risebelle said, "it's an illusion. You've been using it to trick me, to sap my stamina."

  Dark Whirlwind's smirk faltered, her eyes narrowing in frustration. "Clever girl, but how long did it take for you to figure that out?”

  Risebelle retorted, "It doesn't matter how long it took me to figure it out. What matters is that I won't fall for your tricks again!"

  Dark whirlwind immediately followed up with atempt to ensnare Risebelle using her Shadow Bind teique; however, Risebelle was quicker this time. She skillfully evaded the shadowy restraints. Dark whirlwind grinned, "You're improving, Risebelle, but… you don’t realize that the damage has been done."

  Dark Whirlwind, her eyes gleaming with malevolence, decred her eique,

  "Suffog Gloom!" She raised her arms, and the Shadow Tempest around her intensified, releasing oppressive waves of suffog darkness.

  "The longer I stay in my Shadow Tempest," Dark Whirlwind expined, "the more energy I drain from my oppos. It's a slow and agonizing dest into powerlessness. Suffog Gloom amplifies that effect."

  Risebelle started to respond fidently, "That won't work on me becau—"

  Dark Whirlwind finished Risebelle's senteh a sinister grin, "Because you're a creation with no magiight want to check your systems properly."

  [System Warning]

  Magic Draied - External Source

  To her surprise, Risebelle's systems detected aernal source siphoning her magical energy within the Shadow Tempest. It was a ing development, and her magical reserves were rapidly diminishing as a result.

  "You might have said that against any e, Risebelle, but I am not just any mage. I have the knowledge and the power o destroy you."

  What was once a formidable 390% of Magical energy had now dwio a mere 200%. Panic gripped Risebelle who felt her magical energy slipping away at a rapid pace.

  Risebelle dropped her gun, reizing that using it would only accelerate the drain of her magical energy in this transformed state. Risebelle charged at Dark Whirlwind with reckless abandon, her sword swinging wildly. Dark Whirlwind, seemingly unfazed by the physical assault, opted to attack with words.

  "Your aim was better a minute ago," Dark Whirlwind jeered while effortlessly avoiding the strikes.

  Risebelle gritted her teeth aed, "Shut your mouth!" Her swings grew more furious . With each swing of her sword, Risebelle's anger mounted.

  Risebelle swung her bde with ferocity, aiming for Dark Whirlwind's side; however, Dark Whirlwind sidestepped the attack easily. "Oh, e on, Risebelle, you do better than that!"

  Uerred, Risebelle swiftly followed up with arike, this time aiming for Dark Whirlwind's legs. But once again, Dark Whirlwind danced out of harm's way. "Is that the best you've got? You're supposed to protect your sisters, aren't you?"

  “SHUT UP!”

  Risebelle unleashed a powerful overhead strike, yet Dark Whirlwind effortlessly evaded it. "Pathetic! You're nothing but a child's pything, Risebelle!"

  Dark Whirlwind moved in front of Risebelle. She aimed her at delivering a devastating blow, but Risebelle raised her bde and delivered a powerful strike across Dark Whirlwind's chest.

  Dark Whirlwind was sent reeling backward. The attack had not only halted her assault but had inflicted signifit damage. She clutched her chest where the bde had struck, her sinister smile repced with a look of shod disfort.

  Risebelle, panting heavily and barely holding on, stood her ground and smirked. "That bde... it's not just sharp. It's coated with a potent toxin. No one, not even you, escape its effects. You may be powerful, but you're not immuo poison."

  Dark Whirlwind’s face torted with pain. She clutched at the wound, feeling the effects of the toxic substance c through her.

  Dark Whirlwind growled through ched teeth, "You... you dare to poison me?"

  Risebelle, though she was running on fumes and barely standing, held her bde steady. "I'll do whatever it takes to protect my sisters.”

  Dark Whirlwind's scream echoed through the tempest. It was a sound of pure rage and agony. Her eyes bzed with fury. She summoned a set of shadowy bdes, eae flickering with dark energy. With a guttural roar, she charged at Risebelle with lethal i.

  Risebelle braced herself. The first bde came down, she parried it with a swift, upward strike, the shadowy on dissolving into nothing upon tact. But Dark Whirlwind was tinued. She formed another in her hand almost instantly, and she swung it with deadly precision. Risebelle dodged to the side. The bde whistled past her ear. She tered with a quick ssh aimed at Dark Whirlwind’s arm. The attack ected, and another dark bde dissolved into mist.

  Dark Whirlwind pressed otacks being more frantid aggressive with each passing moment. She jured bde after bde, but eaet Risebelle’s skillful parries and ters.

  With a powerful swing, Risebelle disarmed Dark Whirlwind, sending her bde spinning away into the darkness. Seizing the opportunity, she lunged forward with her bde aimed at Dark Whirlwind's heart. Dark Whirlwind twisted at the st sed, evading the strike aaliating with a jured bde aimed at Risebelle's side.

  Risebelle pivoted on her heel, narrowly avoiding the attack, and brought her bde down in a sweeping arc. The strike caught Dark Whirlwind across the leg, causio stagger back.

  Panting heavily, Risebelle fired a series of shots from her gun. Dark Whirlwind deflected the bullets with her remaining bde, but the effort left her visibly strained. Risebelle saw her d charged forward. She analyzed Dark Whirlwind's movements. ‘She's panig,’Risebelle thought. ‘How will she move? Swing to the left? No, she'll try a fake-out.’

  Dark Whirlwind prepared for her move. Dark Whirlwind lunged, feinti, but Risebelle was ready. She dropped her on, sidestepping the strike, and grabbed Dark Whirlwind's arm with a firm grip.

  Dark Whirlwind's eyes widened in surprise. Risebelle pulled her close, leveraging her momentum. With a powerful twist, Risebelle brought her bde down in a decisive strike across Dark Whirlwind's chest. The bde cut deep, and Dark Whirlwi out a cry of pain, staggering backward.

  The wound was grievous. The toxin from Risebelle's bde was already c through Dark Whirlwind's veins, and now it worsened, weakening her further. She clutched her chest, trying to steady herself, but her legs wobbled. Her breathing was bored. She gred at Risebelle with hatred and paiched across her features. "This... isn't over," she hissed.

  Risebelle leveled her gun at Dark Whirlwind. "It's over," she said with a look of disdain and with steady speech despite her fatigue. "You won't harm my sisters. Not while I stand."

  Dark Whirlwind's eyes bzed with fury. She tapped into the dark energy surrounding her. Her body began to grow and expand. "I will crush you, Risebelle!" she roared through the Shadow Tempest. With a swift motion, she gathered a swirling darkness into her hand, f a massive ball of energy crag with malevolent power.

  In a fsh of inspiration, Risebelle thought. ‘What if I use my Acid Rain in here? It might disrupt the Tempest and stop Dark Whirlwind from attag… It's worth a try. The poison's going to take its toll on her as well, but I 't let my guard down.’

  With her insight into the chaotiature of the Swirling Vortex within the Shadow Tempest, Risebelle decided to take a bold step.

  "Aqua-Acidic Tempest!"

  She raised her arms, the dark clouds above the battlefield thied. From them, the glowing aqua-blue droplets desded. Eae carried the potential for destru. Risebelle's focus was intehe corrosive rain formed right into the heart of the Swirling Vortex.

  The moment the torrents of Aqua-Acidic Tempest made tact with the vortex, chaos erupted. The corrosive nature of the rain cshed with the shadowy energies, creating violeions. Dark Whirlwind, thanks to already being weakened by the poison, struggled to maintain trol over the tempest. Her Dark ball faded away from her hands and she was met with immense pain from Risebelle’s teique.

  Dark Whirlwind's screams pierced the battlefield. The Aqua-Acidic Tempest raged within the Swirling Vortex. The corrosive rain had not only disrupted her trol but had intensified the poison's effects on her. Her body vulsed in agony with the acidic downpour searing her skin.

  "You may have all the knowledge in the world, but you 't defeat the power of my bond," Risebelle said with authority,

  Risebelle tio el her Aqua-Acidic Tempest and withe effects on Dark Whirlwind, but she was suddenly met with a jarring realization. Her magic reserves were pletely depleted, registering at 0% in her system.

  Her eyes widened in surprise as she checked her system, but her shock turo as a new warning message appeared:

  [System Warning]

  Magical Rupture Immi - Cease Magical Activities Immediately

  ‘I….I 't stop now! Not when I'm so close to destroying Dark Whirlwind! It ’t…end like this!’