'Don't lose sight of the priority!' Rias told himself while staving off Sila's unrelenting attacks.
Vali was a threat indeed, but he wouldn't allow her to derail him. Despite all the obstacles in his path, the only real threat here was one woman. Rias snapped his head in her direction.
Pherdanta was still breathing, and that singular notion filled him with dread. Only she had the attack power to kill him in a single blow, and Rias was not lost on what she was doing. She might have looked beaten – half-dead – but she was only buying time. The fuel for her technique was not mana, but stamina. Once she regained even a tiny bit of it, she would be on the offensive again.
Rias clicked his tongue and barely escaped a right hook from Sila in the skies. 'Damn it all!'
