The street lay fractured.
Concrete split. Windows shattered. The distant chaos of curses and sorcerers clashing painted the air with noise, but here…
Here, it narrowed.
Focused.
On two figures.
Mei Mei stepped forward first, her heels clicking softly against broken asphalt as if she were walking into a ballroom instead of a battlefield.
Opposite her—
Oden lowered his stance slightly, one hand resting loosely near the hilt of his blade, serpents coiling and uncoiling behind him like living shadows.
For a moment—
Neither moved.
Then—
Mei Mei vanished.
The ground exploded beneath where she had stood.
Oden's eyes widened slightly beneath the blindfold—
He twisted.
The axe came down like judgment.
BOOM—
The street shattered where he had been a fraction of a second before.
Oden slid back, boots skidding across debris as he steadied himself.
"…She's fast," he muttered.
Mei Mei straightened, resting the massive axe over her shoulder with effortless grace.
"My, my," she smiled. "You dodged."
Her eyes glimmered.
"Good."
Oden didn't answer.
He moved.
A burst of cursed energy surged through his legs as he closed the distance instantly—
Twin blades flashed from the white cloth at his side.
Steel sang.
Mei Mei tilted her head slightly.
Then—
CLANG.
Her axe met both blades at once.
The impact sent a shockwave through the street.
Oden's eyes sharpened.
Heavy.
Not just strength—
Control.
He twisted his wrists, redirecting the force instead of meeting it head-on, sliding off the edge of her weapon and stepping inside her range.
A calculated risk.
His blade flicked toward her side—
But—
Mei Mei pivoted.
Too smooth.
Too precise.
Her knee drove toward his ribs.
Oden dropped low, the strike grazing his shoulder instead of breaking it, and rolled away—
Only for the axe to crash down again.
BOOM—
Dust erupted.
Oden leapt back, landing lightly atop a broken streetlight.
"…She's not just strong," he muttered.
"She's efficient."
Below him, Mei Mei smiled faintly.
"You're analyzing me already?" she said.
Her voice softened.
"That's dangerous."
She stepped forward again.
"Boys who think too much tend to die early."
Oden frowned slightly.
"…You talk a lot."
Mei Mei chuckled.
"And you're cute."
A beat.
"Why don't you just… die for me?"
The words came out smooth.
Soft.
Almost affectionate.
Oden froze for half a second—
"…Huh?"
A faint blush crept across his face.
"W-what are you saying…?"
Mei Mei's smile widened.
"Hmm?" she hummed. "Did that fluster you?"
Oden immediately looked away.
"Stop saying weird things in the middle of a fight!"
"Why?" she asked innocently. "It's fun."
She moved again.
Faster this time.
Oden reacted instantly—
"Dog."
The ground beneath Mei Mei shifted.
Ground Dog surged through the earth, twisting the terrain into uneven spikes and sinking pits.
Mei Mei's footing faltered—
Just for a fraction.
That was enough.
Oden dropped from above.
Blades descending.
But—
She smiled.
Her foot adjusted mid-step, using the instability itself as leverage—
She spun.
The axe came around in a wide arc.
Oden's eyes widened.
Too fast—
CLANG—
He barely blocked.
The force launched him backward, crashing through a wall behind him.
Dust filled the air.
Silence.
Then—
From within the debris—
"…Okay," Oden's voice came quietly.
"Now I get it."
The rubble shifted.
Serpents slid outward.
Oden stepped back into view, adjusting his grip on his swords.
"No wasted movement," he muttered. "No openings unless she makes them herself."
His stance lowered.
"Then I'll just have to force them."
Behind him—
More serpents emerged.
Infinite Snake spread across the battlefield, weaving through debris, slipping into blind spots.
Mei Mei watched it all.
Calm.
Interested.
"Adaptable," she said softly.
Her grip tightened slightly on her axe.
"I like that."
She stepped forward again.
"Come on," she called gently.
"Try harder."
A pause.
Then—
"Or I might actually have to kill you."
Oden exhaled.
His blush gone.
His focus sharpened.
"Yeah," he said.
"Same here."
And the next exchange—
Was faster.
The street trembled under the pressure of two sorcerers who had both decided—
This would not end lightly.
Oden moved first.
Not forward—
Everywhere.
Snakes surged across the battlefield in layered waves, some slithering along the ground, others coiling through the air, all moving with eerie coordination.
At the same time—
Oden vanished into them.
His presence blurred.
His footsteps erased.
A moving blind spot.
Mei Mei's eyes sharpened slightly.
"…Good," she murmured.
Above her—
A shadow flickered.
Oden dropped from a skewed angle, blade aimed not for her center—
But her wrist.
A disarm attempt.
Calculated.
Mei Mei didn't block.
She let go.
The axe fell—
Only for her body to shift inward, her elbow driving straight toward Oden's throat.
Oden twisted.
Barely.
The strike grazed past his neck, stealing breath but not life.
His second blade followed—
But she stepped back just enough.
Always just enough.
Distance re-established.
Then—
A flutter.
A crow landed lightly on Mei Mei's shoulder.
Still.
Silent.
Watching.
Oden's eyes narrowed beneath the blindfold.
"…That's new."
Mei Mei smiled faintly.
"Yes," she said softly.
"It is."
She lifted her hand slightly—
The crow launched.
At first—
It looked harmless.
Just a bird.
Then—
The air collapsed around it.
The pressure spiked violently.
Oden's instincts screamed.
"Ox."
A massive form erupted into existence—
Flaming Ox roared forward, flames surging around its body as it placed itself between Oden and the incoming strike.
The crow hit it.
And—
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
Then—
Everything did.
BOOM—
The explosion didn't spread outward.
It compressed.
The Ox's body shattered instantly. Flames extinguished, form collapsing as if erased by overwhelming force.
The shockwave tore through the street behind it, carving a line of destruction through concrete and steel.
Oden skidded back, arms raised, coat torn slightly by the pressure.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Unsettling.
Oden exhaled slowly.
"…That makes no sense."
His mind moved rapidly.
Too fast.
Too precise.
"That level of output… from something that small…"
His head tilted slightly.
"…No."
A pause.
Then—
"I get it."
His gaze lifted toward Mei Mei.
"You're sacrificing them."
The realization settled instantly.
"A binding vow," Oden said calmly. "You trade the life of the crow… for an absurd spike in power."
A beat.
"…That's cold."
Mei Mei blinked once.
Then—
She smiled.
Not playful this time.
Impressed.
"Well," she said softly.
"That didn't take long."
Her eyes gleamed.
"You're a genius, aren't you?"
Oden didn't respond.
But his stance shifted.
Lower.
Sharper.
More dangerous.
Then—
The air changed.
Violently.
Oden inhaled once.
And released.
Cursed energy surged outward like a ruptured dam.
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
The air distorted.
The very space around him warped under the sheer density of power flooding into existence.
Snakes multiplied.
Pressure intensified.
Even the light seemed to bend slightly around him.
Across from him—
Mei Mei's expression changed.
Subtly.
But undeniably.
"…Oh."
A bead of sweat formed at her temple.
"…That's…"
She exhaled slowly.
"Ridiculous."
For the first time—
She felt it.
Not just strength.
Not just talent.
But something abnormal.
Oden stood at the center of it all, calm.
Unshaken.
His voice came quietly.
"If you're trying to kill me…"
A pause.
His grip tightened around his blades.
"…then I'll do the same."
No anger.
Just a statement.
"Nothing personal."
Mei Mei stared at him for a moment longer.
Then—
She smiled again.
But this time—
It wasn't playful.
It was sharp.
"Good," she said.
She lifted her axe once more.
"I was starting to worry I'd have to hold back."
The air between them tightened.
---
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