The black odachi descended toward the back of Samael's head with monstrous speed.
He threw himself to the side at the last instant.
The blade passed so close that he felt the wind cutting through his hair.
'Too fast…'
If not for his bestial reflexes, his head would already be rolling across the Colosseum's sand.
Even as the fight continued…
The rhythm had completely changed.
At the start, Samael had been able to pressure Mongrel with unpredictability and rapid weapon switches.
But now—
Sunny was adapting.
And that was terrifying.
The masked demon constantly changed his fencing style, alternating between fluid, aggressive, and brutal movements while using Shadow Step in an increasingly oppressive manner.
Samael could barely breathe.
All he could do now was survive.
And even that was reaching its limit.
CLANG!
The black odachi fell again.
Samael dodged quickly and, in the same motion, threw the spear he was holding while retrieving the rusted sword that had fallen in the sand.
The diagonal slash cut through the air toward Mongrel's torso.
But it was blocked immediately.
A second later—
Samael's own spear was flying toward his eyes like a bullet.
'Shit!'
He tilted his head by pure reflex.
The tip grazed past his face.
But before he could regain his balance—
BAM!
A brutal kick struck his abdomen.
The impact threw him several meters back.
Samael slid across the blood-soaked sand, trying to catch his breath.
'Damn…'
His heart sank.
'He's already copying my style.'
Shadow Dance had taken a little longer to adapt thanks to his unpredictability.
But now…
With every passing second, Sunny understood his patterns better.
And that meant only one thing.
His chances of victory were rapidly diminishing.
Then—
Mongrel vanished.
A shiver ran down Samael's spine.
'Behind me!'
Without even having time to get up completely, he spun his body just as the black odachi descended like a deadly guillotine.
BOOM!
The blade crushed the sand where his head had been a moment before.
Samael rolled desperately to the side while throwing his rusted sword toward Weaver's Mask.
CLANG!
Sunny deflected it easily.
Then he advanced.
Too fast.
The monstrous pressure returned immediately.
Samael barely retreated and finally reached his fallen spear.
The next instant, a storm of blows rained down on him.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Sparks constantly exploded across the arena.
His beautiful silver armor was now covered in scratches, cracks, and dents.
His defense was failing.
Little by little, more blows slipped past his guard.
Samael breathed heavily as he tried to keep up with that monstrous sword dance.
Then—
He dismissed the rusted sword.
It was only an instant.
A micro-moment of distraction.
But against Mongrel…
That was fatal.
The black odachi pierced his defense and opened a huge gash across his beautiful face.
Blood sprayed across the arena.
The audience shuddered.
Even wounded, Samael reacted immediately.
A kick exploded toward Sunny's ribs.
But Mongrel was already expecting it.
He dodged.
Samael turned the motion into a punch.
Sunny dodged again.
Then—
SCHLICK!
The black odachi tore through the silver armor.
A deep cut opened across his chest.
Pain burned through his entire body.
But in that instant—
Samael smiled.
Fragments of essence appeared behind Mongrel.
The rusted sword materialized in the air.
Behind him.
Sunny sensed the presence of essence for a microsecond.
And that was enough.
Before the shocked eyes of the crowd—
Samael vanished into the shadows.
Using Sunny's own Shadow Step.
'What?!'
For the first time since the fight began, Mongrel was caught off guard.
Samael appeared behind him.
His hand grabbed the rusted sword still in midair.
Then he struck violently at Mongrel's neck.
CLANG!
Sunny managed to block at the last instant.
Even so—
Scarlet blood sprayed across the arena.
A deep cut appeared on his neck.
The crowd went wild.
— "SHE HIT MONGREL!"
— "IMPOSSIBLE!"
— "WHO IS THIS GIRL?!"
But Samael didn't stop.
His body vanished into the shadows again.
Another Shadow Step.
He appeared behind Mongrel a second time—
But this time…
Sunny was already waiting.
Mongrel allowed the rusted sword to open a long gash across his ribs.
And in the same instant—
The black odachi pierced through Samael's neck.
SCHLICK.
The world spun.
For a brief moment, Samael saw his own body still standing in the arena before it collapsed.
His head fell onto the blood-soaked sand of the Colosseum.
"Damn…" he muttered.
The Dreamscape's voice echoed through the arena's skies.
{Mongrel defeated Nagi Kurose.}
Silence fell over the Colosseum.
The entire audience watched the arena with stunned expressions.
That beautiful, delicate girl…
Had revealed herself to be a true monster.
A brutal, unpredictable, and ferocious fighter capable of pressuring the invincible Mongrel.
It was almost ironic.
Sunny remained undefeated since the moment he entered the Colosseum.
Meanwhile—
Samael had lost his first match.