As if ohe red-haired witch rose from the wreckage, her body emitting siing pops and cracks as her broken bones reset themselves. Kayvaan’s onsught had nearly shattered her entire skeletal frame, and his cws had torn through her internal ans like wet paper. One of her eyes had even been gouged out by a well-pced e-mouth punch.

  Yet none of it seemed to matter. The injuries were knitting themselves back together at an arming rate. Her mutited form rapidly regeed, and in moments, the bck silk dress she’d been wearing was repced by swirling bck psychiergy. The smoke coiled around her body, hardening into thick, jagged bck armor.

  “I uimated you, human,” the witch said, her voice calm and measured, though her crimsoill bzed with fury. “But that won’t happen again. Now, you’ll face me at my full strength.”

  She reached into the void and pulled out a massive bck crystalline sword. Its bde was wickedly jagged, emanating a chilling aura that froze the air around it. “This bde will trap your soul, imprisoning it for eternity. Your suffering will bee part of my masterpiece!”

  Kayvaan sneered. “You ged your outfit, but you’re still spouting the same useless nonsense. e on already!”

  The witch didn’t attack right away. Instead, she turned her head toward the Spirit Tribe warriors. Her gaze settled on Rosina. “Rosina,” the witch said coolly, “are you just going to stand there and watch me get beaten to a pulp?”

  Rosina smirked, resting her executioner’s bde on her shoulder. “If I had some tea, I’d sit down and enjoy the show.”

  “How thoughtful,” the witch replied with mock sweetness. “But don’t fet—I haven’t fulfilled my part of the deal yet.”

  “You got what you wanted, and I upheld my end of the bargain. We’re done.”

  “No,” the witch said with a sly smile, her gaze shifting briefly to Sydria, who stood nearby. “You delivered the goods, but I haven’t paid up yet.”

  Rosina’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me you’re trying to back out on our deal. If you do, I’ll hunt you down—even if you hide in the depths of Chaos. You know I .”

  “Rex,” the witch said, shrugging. “I’m not bag out. I just need a little help finishing this human. Then I’ll honor reement.”

  “I don’t trust you.”

  “You never have, and I ’t bme you. But you’re out of options.” The witch spread her hands as if in apology. “Believe me, I’d rather take him down myself, but this human… He’s something else. A monster. Rosina, lend me your strength.”

  Rosina sighed and g Sydria. “It looks like I have to stand with the daemon again. Just this once, you stay out of it?”

  Sydria frowned. “Rosina, what kind of deal did you make with this devil? How could you trust her? She’s clearly maniputing you!”

  Rosina didn’t flinch. “I know. I know it’s stupid. But I didn’t have a choice. I’ll deal with the sequeer. Just don’t interfere.”

  After a moment of hesitation, Sydria stepped back. “The Eldar sure are reliable allies,” Kayvaan said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. “Sydria, weren’t we supposed to be on the same side? And now you’re just going to stand there and watch me get ganged up on?”

  Sydria’s face was impassive. “I’m sorry. I didn’t keep my promise.”

  Kayvaan chuckled bitterly. “Figures. Never had high expectations for the Eldar’s sense of honor anyway. Well, that makes it two against one.” He studied his oppos. The red-haired witow bck armor and wielding a cursed sword, radiated raw power. Beside her stood Rosina, a deadly for her ht, her executioner’s bde gleaming with malice.

  Both were as beautiful as they were terrifying. Aloher one could destroy worlds. Together, they were an unstoppable storm. Yet Kayvaan only ughed. “Perfect. This makes it a fair fight. Let’s go!”

  Whewo women attacked in unison, Kayvaahe weight of their bined power bearing down on him like an avahe battles he’d fought before had been grueling, even unlucky at times, but he’d always mao maintain trol. “Why do you keep fighting? The survivor won’t be you!” the red-haired witch taunted, swinging her bck magic sword with calcuted move. Each strike was meant to limit Kayvaan’s movement, her bde cutting arcs of freezing air as it desded. All the while, her voice shed at him as persistently as her on. “Do you holy think you take owo of us alone? Know your pce, human. You’re just a mortal. Stop chasing what’s impossible!”

  Rosina, oher hand, said nothing. She held the executioner’s bde in a white-knuckled grip, her focus absolute. Her strikes were deliberate, her movements precise. Each attack came from a ing angle, her bde dang between brutal swings and sudden, ued thrusts meant to exploit even the smallest opening in Kayvaan’s defenses.

  A mortal. Kayvaan didn’t see himself as anything more. He wasn’t some legendary hero, nor did he believe he was ily superior. To an ordinary person, fag either would be suicidal—a csh with figures from legends. Fag both was sheer lunacy.

  This was, without question, the toughest battle of Kayvaan’s life. The moment the red-haired witch revealed her unnatural speed, any hope of retreat was gone. Running would only ensure a swifter death. Victory or death—those were the only choiow.

  Kayvaan didn’t bother responding to the witch’s verbal jabs. He spoke with his cws instead. Electriergy arced across the air as his lightning cws met Rosina’s bde and the witch’s magic sword. Their ons cshed with ferocity, releasing bursts of brilliant sparks and high-pitched screeches of metal grinding against psychiergy.

  Not far from the chaos, the grotesque painting of corpses and blood y undisturbed. Sydria, standing in tense silence, found herself transfixed. The beauty of the se before her struck her uedly. It wasn’t the hollow beauty of a vas or an artificial masterpiece—it was the raw, visceral beauty of life ah colliding.

  In the ter of the arena, three warriors moved with lethal grace. Their strikes were fluid yet merciless, their movements fueled by raw hatred and the primal instinct to survive. Each attack carried a singur purpose: to kill. But no vierged. The fight had reached a stalemate, with her side able to deliver a decisive blow. ‘How?’ Sydria thought, her eyes wide with disbelief. ‘Is this human protected by Khaihe God of War? How he hold his own? No, this isn’t human—it’s a monster!’

  Kayvaan fought hard to maintain his rhythm. He couldn’t afford to let either oppo gain trol of the battle. With the witch’s magic sword f him bad Rosina’s bde attag from the fnks, his movements were tightly strained. But Kayvaan stayed sharp, f the two to respond to his tempo. He pressed whenever he could, searg for an opening to nd a decisive blow.

  Despite his precarious position, he could feel himself gradually seizing trol of the fight. If he could keep this pace, viight just be within reach. But they hit him like a hammer. A ten-sed tdown echoed in his ears, a harsh remihat the stimunt c through his veins was about to run out. Five minutes of superhuman speed and strength—his borrowed time was nearly up.

  The fight reached its peak. Sydria held her breath, her gaze locked otlefield. She didn’t dare blink, knowing the oute could be decided in an instant.