At the heart of Takobo stood a tower so massive it felt like it was built to pierce the sky itself.
Its shadow stretched across the entire district like a warning.
Turrets lined every layer of it—mechanical eyes already tracking movement.
Menchie looked up.
"…That's not a building. That's a statement."
Jhonathan stepped forward.
A slow breath.
Then a flick of his hand.
A current of air tore forward like a blade.
The first row of turrets collapsed instantly.
Metal snapped mid-rotation as if it had forgotten how to exist.
Then—
a shadow landed in front of them.
Victoria.
Her presence didn't announce itself.
It replaced everything else.
"…Alas," she said softly, smiling, "you have come to me."
Behind her—
Seven swords appeared.
Bound in flowing Chinese ribbons.
Not restrained.
But displayed.
Like trophies that still remembered how to bleed.
The air tightened.
Victoria stepped forward.
One motion.
A single point of her blade.
Jhonathan was hit instantly.
The impact wasn't physical.
It was authority.
A command written into reality itself.
His body reacted before his mind did.
He punched back.
Lich form igniting.
God's Fist layered over Phase-level mana.
The clash echoed—
but Victoria didn't move.
Not even slightly.
Instead—
reality bent around her stance.
The battlefield subtly rearranged itself to favor her position.
Like victory was not being earned…
but already decided.
Jhonathan froze for half a second.
A memory flickered.
Blurred.
The same aura.
The same pressure.
Something he had felt before—but never understood.
Victoria tilted her head slightly.
"…Persistent."
Jhonathan exhaled.
"…I know."
Brunhilde reacted.
The blade ignited with unstable light.
Not power—
but refusal.
A crack formed across Victoria's constructed domain.
The "realm of winning" flickered for the first time.
Her smile widened slightly.
"…Interesting."
Jhonathan stepped forward again.
No hesitation this time.
One strike.
Brunhilde cut through the space between them.
Victoria's expression shifted—just barely.
For the first time.
The blade connected.
And the tower of Takobo… shuddered.