The students stood frozen in panic, their eyes wide and bodies trembling as the brutal clash raged before them.
"You… you're jumping next on him?" Derius stuttered, his face pale, his nervous gaze darting between the Monk and Duke.
Duke's heart pounded violently in his chest. Me… attack the Monk? Me fighting him? His palms sweated as doubt gnawed at him.
Derius snapped, his voice high and desperate. "Did you really think I wanted to run away from this fight? Look at him! How are we supposed to beat him when we're not even trained enough? Even a warrior like her—Miss Violet—bit the dust before him!" His words cracked with fear. "Think about it—we still have our chance to escape!"
Duke swallowed hard. Deep inside, he nervously admitted Derius was right… but still, he didn't want to give up. Something inside of him burned against surrender.
Lysa's fingers trembled as she lifted her bow, determination flickering in her frightened eyes. "I… I can distract him. Miss Violet is recovering," she whispered.
"Hey, idiot! Don't you even dare!" Derius screamed angrily, his face twisting in panic. "Pathetic, useless bitch!"
Lysa flinched, her chest tightening as his words cut deep into her heart.
"If it wasn't for you," Derius spat, his voice shrill, "I'd still have some Kendra energy left! So don't even think about creating another mess again!"
Her breath hitched. Panic swelled in her chest as guilt flooded her mind. He's right… I'm useless. If it wasn't for me— She grabbed her hair tightly with both hands, shaking her head in despair.
"Lysa." Duke's voice broke through the chaos, steady and sharp. His eyes were fierce with conviction. "Do what you think is right. You are not useless. Don't ever let a pathetic man like him say things like this to you again."
Her trembling stilled as she stared at him, his words pushing against the self-doubt crushing her.
"I'm going to fight," Duke declared seriously, his tone heavy with determination. "No matter what happens next. Even if none of you come with me."
"What are you saying?!" Samaira shouted, her hands tightening around her glaive. Her voice rang with steel. For the first time, Duke saw her this serious, and it relieved him deeply.
"I'm coming with you," Samaira said firmly.
Duke nodded, a small weight lifting from his heart.
"So, Lysa," he said, softer but serious, "don't doubt yourself. It's okay to run sometimes… If it wasn't for that day—" his voice cracked as Jax's death flashed across his mind, the hammer crushing his friend mercilessly, "—I would have run away too. But I won't let anyone die in front of me again."
"I… I'm in too," Lysa whispered, her voice shaky but carrying newfound resolve.
"All of you have gone crazy!" Derius suddenly cried out, his face pale and streaked with sweat. His whole body trembled as he backed away, eyes darting frantically. "I don't wanna die! They've surrounded us—if we go out together, we can still manage to leave the village! But this bastard—" he jabbed a trembling finger at Duke, his voice breaking, "—he keeps dragging you all into suicide!"
"Look!" Samaira suddenly shouted, her eyes widening as she pointed through the dust. "Miss Violet—!"
"It… it can't be…" Derius's eyes widened in shock. "She's still standing… after that hit?!"
From the rubble of the broken house, Violet slowly stepped out, her body scarred with dust, her aura still fierce.
The Monk's eyes narrowed, disbelief flashing across his face.
"What a monster," he muttered under his breath.
"I already had pain in my back for several days," Violet said coldly, rubbing the back of her head. "And you just made it worse. For that… you need to be punished."
The Monk chuckled softly, a sinister grin stretching across his lips. "Hahaha… I can't even understand who the real demon is between us."
With a casual flick of his hand, he sent slashes of Kendra energy spiraling toward her.
Violet leapt backward, her body twisting mid-air into a flawless backflip, landing gracefully on the rooftop of a taller house.
"You move well," the Monk said calmly, his eyes analyzing her every step. "But your Kendra energy… it's already flickering."
"Ohh, that?" Violet smirked. "I only lost a bit of control, nothing more."
The Monk's grin widened. "Heheheh… you wouldn't want to show your students that you're about to lose, would you? My main motive is simple now—" his eyes glowed with malice, "—to break you, cripple you, and make you scream like a vegetable for life. If they hear your screams… their will to fight will shatter."
"Is that so?" Violet shot back confidently, her chains rattling as energy crackled around her. "But if things go the opposite of what you said—then hearing me fight will only ignite their will even more."
Without hesitation, she launched forward, diving from the rooftop like a falling star.
"Tch—" The Monk quickly moved back, avoiding the deadly impact. The rooftop shattered under her landing, debris exploding outward.
"Her speed…" he muttered, his pupils shrinking. "Superior to mine, for sure."
Violet advanced rapidly, her chains swirling through the air like living serpents, surrounding him with deadly precision.
"She's trying to catch me," he thought grimly, sweat forming on his brow. "If she gets even one clean chance… it could be fatal."
The Monk immediately widened the distance, his hands cutting through the air as he unleashed more furious slashes of Kendra energy, determined to keep her at bay.
Violet's chains cracked through the air like thunder, whipping forward as the Monk desperately tried to maintain distance.
One of the chains snapped tight around his leg.
Violet's lips curled into a cold smile.
The Monk's eyes widened in shock, panic flashing for the first time. He clawed at the chain, but before he could react, Violet yanked hard, her strength merciless. His body spun helplessly through the air before being hurled like a ragdoll against the stone wall of a house.
CRASH! The wall shattered on impact, dust and rubble exploding outward. Blood dripped from the Monk's mouth as he staggered, spitting crimson onto the ground.
But he stood back up immediately, fury blazing in his eyes. With a furious roar, he unleashed a storm of slashes—countless blades of Kendra energy whistling through the air in violent rhythm, each one sharper and faster than the last.
The students gasped in terror.
Violet moved like water, her body weaving flawlessly through the deadly barrage. She dodged each slash with fluid precision, her chains spinning around her as she stepped in a perfect pattern—never once letting a single strike touch her.
When the dust settled, not even a thread of her clothing was cut.
Violet smiled again, calm and unshaken.
The Monk froze, staring in disbelief. Fear cracked in his heart, his confidence trembling. She dodged… all of them?!
Before he could blink, Violet was already upon him.
Her fist rocketed forward, smashing square into his face with devastating force.
BOOM! The impact sent him flying back, destroying the wall he had just slammed into earlier—this time blowing straight through it and shattering the wall of the next house behind it.
His body crashed violently through the debris, rubble burying him as the ground shook under the force.
The dust slowly cleared, revealing the Monk dragging himself up from the wreckage, blood dripping down his face. His once calm, mocking expression was gone.
Now his face was twisted with pure rage, his eyes burning red as he glared upward at the rooftop where Violet stood tall, her chains rattling in the air, framed against the broken house she had destroyed him with.
"Why… why aren't the people coming out?" Duke muttered, panic in his voice as his eyes darted to the silent houses around them. "After all that noise… why are they still hiding?"
No one answered. The air felt heavier, as though the entire village was holding its breath.
From the rubble, the Monk rose again—bloodied, bruised, but still radiating a terrifying aura. His body lifted off the ground, floating steadily. His hands trembled with power as Kendra energy surged between his palms, condensing into a swirling sphere of destruction.
Fwoooom.
He hurled the blazing ball toward Violet.
Violet reacted instantly, leaping high into the air as the blast roared past beneath her, detonating into a thunderous explosion that shook the ground.
But the Monk had already begun forming another ball, his voice sharp with fury.
"More… MORE!"
Violet landed on a rooftop, her eyes narrowing. She dashed forward, charging her own energy into her hand, forming a coiling sphere of Kendra to counter his.
Their projectiles collided mid-air. The impact split the sky with a blinding flash—but the Monk's power tore through hers, breaking the balance. Violet's eyes widened in shock as she twisted her body, barely dodging the searing remnants of the blast.
"Even more…" the Monk growled, his face twisting, veins bulging as he pulled in greater force. "Even MORE!"
The energy ball forming between his hands this time was larger, darker, vibrating with violent intensity.
Violet's breath caught for a second, her heart pounding. He's forcing me… forcing me to use my full Kendra energy.
She clenched her fists, summoning chains of light around her arm, and charged another sphere. She met his attack head-on, but once again, the Monk's sphere ripped through hers, shattering it apart.
She gasped and tried to dodge, but this time the explosion caught her side.
BOOOOM! The force hurled her across the battlefield, smoke erupting in her wake. Pain tore through her ribs as she rolled and slammed against the ground.
The Monk's laughter rang out, deep and furious. He raised his hand again, gathering even more devastating energy, the glow burning brighter than before.
"The next one…" he hissed, his voice trembling with rage, "…the next will be even MORE devastating!"
The Monk's aura boiled like a storm, his body trembling as he forced every ounce of his power outward. Above his hands, a massive spire of Kendra energy formed, swirling denser and darker than ever before.
"This… this is the farthest I've ever pushed myself," he muttered, sweat dripping down his forehead. "The most powerful Kendra energy ball I have ever created!"
The sphere crackled with destructive force, vibrating the air itself, bending the ground beneath him.
Then his eyes snapped forward—Miss Violet stood tall, her chains coiled around her arm, but in her hand gleamed something else. A spear. Glowing faintly blue.
The Monk's lips stretched into a crazed grin.
"What is that? It doesn't matter! You'll be erased all the same!"
With a roar, he shoved forward, sending the massive, blazing sphere of Kendra energy flying.
"Now… DISAPPEAR!"
Violet's expression didn't waver. She raised the glowing spear, whispered in a calm, almost cold tone—
"Void's Bolt."
She hurled it forward.
The blue spear cut through the air like lightning, colliding with the monstrous Kendra ball. For a heartbeat, the battlefield exploded with light and force—then, impossibly, the spear pierced straight through the energy sphere, ripping it apart like paper.
The Monk's eyes widened in disbelief.
What?! It went through?!
Before he could react, the spear slammed into his chest with brutal precision. His mouth opened as blood gushed out, his body convulsing violently. His Kendra pulses sputtered, flickered… then stopped entirely. His overwhelming aura shattered, vanishing into nothing.
The Monk crashed to the ground, paralyzed, his limbs twitching as he gasped for breath.
How… how is this possible…? he thought weakly. Her energy wasn't stronger than mine…
His blurry eyes darted to the weapon lodged in his chest—then realization struck.
"It… it was real… a real spear… infused with Kendra energy…"
His head dropped back, the last flicker of resistance gone.
Up above, the students were frozen in place, their eyes wide and mouths trembling.
"She… she did it…" whispered Samaira, clutching her glaive tight, her face pale with shock.
"Impossible…" Lysa muttered, her bow trembling in her grip. "She destroyed that… with a single strike?"
Even Duke, who had been biting his lip nervously, felt his chest loosen with awe. "Miss Violet…" he whispered, eyes burning with admiration. "She's… unstoppable."
Derius, meanwhile, was shaking uncontrollably, his earlier bravado shattered. He stared down at the Monk.
But the loudest reaction came from the shadows of the watching crowd.
Dan's grin, which had never left his face throughout the fight, finally faltered. His eyes widened, the smirk dying as he leaned forward, disbelief written across his face.
"Tch… what the hell…" he muttered, lips twitching. "That brat… pulled out that much power?"
Dan looked… unsettled.
Now all that's left… is to finish it.
Her chains uncoiled around her arms like serpents, glowing with sharp pulses of blue Kendra energy. She sprinted forward, each step cracking the ground beneath her boots, her gaze locked onto the broken figure before her.