Renee continued to evade every attack.
Not a single strike touched her.
"...What?" Elizabeth's lips parted slightly as she stared at the scene before her.
Her world… had shaken.
Cyrus wasn't any better. He stood frozen, unable to comprehend what he was witnessing.
They were heirs of noble families. The next generation. Among the strongest candidates in the exam—if not the strongest.
Arrogance had been second nature to them.
They believed no one could rival them.
Even when Renee first appeared, they hadn't felt fear—only caution.
But now
"Monster…" Elizabeth whispered.
The mana sustaining her ice constructs faltered. Cracks spread. The weapons dissolved.
"Hehe… you're strong," Renee said lightly.
She stood there, calm, as if the entire exchange had been nothing more than a performance.
A few drops of sweat traced her pale forehead.
It hadn't been easy.
She just didn't bother showing it.
"Are you going to fall like that? Like stones?" Her tone carried no pride.
Only disappointment.
She had expected more.
"Shut up!" Cyrus snapped.
"Shadow Garden."
Darkness spread across the ground. Countless tendrils surged forward.
"Crush her!"
They shot toward her er with violent force.
Threads of violet snapped into existence, intercepting them But that wasn't all.
A spear erupted from her own shadow, aiming straight for her heart.
Renee's expression shifted—just slightly.
But it was already within Cyrus's calculations.
Inside his domain, he felt everything.
Two shadows moved.
One behind her.
One in front.
Blades flashed.
In an instant, threads wrapped around her arm, caught one dagger mid-swing.
More threads burst behind her, restraining the second attacker.
But The real Cyrus emerged.
Right in front of her.
Too close.
His dagger slashed toward her neck.
"Huh?"
A thin line of red appeared across her skin.
Silence.
"Damn" Cyrus muttered.
She had avoided a fatal strike.
But not completely.
Renee didn't move.
She raised her hand… and touched the blood trailing down her cheek.
"…Do you want to die?"
Something shifted.
No Something descended.
Killing intent.
Pure. Crushing.
The air thickened.
Mana surged violently around her, mixed with a suffocating pressure.
Cyrus stepped back instinctively.
His hand trembled.
"She's a monster…" Elizabeth whispered, her voice shaking.
"…Yeah," Cyrus replied.
Barely.
Renee's crimson eyes glowed.
The atmosphere turned heavy—sticky—like something alive was clinging to them.
Then—
"…Oh."
It vanished.
Just like that.
"I almost got angry," Renee said with a gentle smile.
The pressure disappeared. The air returned.
Her expression softened once more.
That… only made it worse.
"If we had more time, I might've played with you a little longer," she continued lightly, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping the blood from her cheek.
"But I need to find Raven now."
A pause.
"…Still. I'll take this as interest."
She disappeared.
"—What?"
Cyrus didn't even finish the word.
A hand pierced toward his chest.
"Damn—"
Too late.
His body dissolved into particles of light.
"Hehe… first one."
"CYRUS!" Elizabeth screamed.
Renee appeared beside her.
"So this is my revenge, pretty one."
She lifted Elizabeth's chin gently.
"And tell your shadow boy…" her eyes flickered coldly,
"I don't like people touching my face."
Then—
She vanished.
"…She's insane," Elizabeth muttered.
...
Klein's POV
"Do you feel that?" Abraham asked lazily.
Klein nodded.
Three presences.
Approaching fast.
"Two of them… the ones who ran earlier," Abraham said, leaning against a tree.
"The third…" Klein's eyes sharpened slightly.
"…strong."
And yet—
Familiar.
Before they could think further—
"They're here."
"Figured," Abraham muttered.
"—Careful."
Klein appeared in front of him, raising his hand—
Clang.
A sudden strike was blocked.
"Interesting."
A voice Calm. Cold. Amused, Black hair. Silver eyes.
Sharp.
Even Klein blinked once.
"…Are you Klein?" the newcomer asked.
"Yes. And you?"
"Raven." A brief pause.
"I want to fight you. Interested?"
"…Are you ignoring me?" Abraham snapped.
Raven didn't even look at him.
He simply pointed.
"Those two are yours."
"…You—"
"Abraham. Leave him to me." Klein stepped forward.
Interest finally ignited in his abyssal eyes.
"…Fine," Abraham exhaled.
"Follow me."
Raven vanished.
"—Huh?!"
Leon. Adel. Abraham.
All stunned.
Except Klein
"Chirp—"
Black lightning erupted.
And he disappeared.
...
An open field.
Raven stopped.
A second later—
Crackle.
Klein appeared.
"You're fast," Klein said.
A blade formed in his hand—an uchigatana born from the void.
"You too."
Raven smiled faintly.
His ring shimmered—
A twin-edged blade replaced his katana.
"Accelerate."
"Chirp—"
They vanished.
Clang—
Steel met steel in less than a second.
Clang.
Clang.
Strike. Deflect. Shift.
Klein's blade cut forward—fast.
Raven saw it.
Blocked.
Didn't retreat.
"Flame."
Silver fire ignited along his blade.
He attacked.
"Crackle—"
Black lightning wrapped Klein's sword as he stopped the strike.
Thud—
Klein's kick slammed into Raven's abdomen.
"…Tch."
Raven slid back several meters.
Power.
Real power.
"…Guess I'll try a bit harder."
His right eye glowed gold.
"Eye of Truth."
A pause.
Then—
"Let's continue."
And he vanished again.
Raven reappeared beside Klein in an instant.
No warning.
No buildup.
Just a sudden cut through space itself.
His blade came down harder this time—faster, sharper, almost desperate to break through.
But—
"Hehe."
Klein laughed.
Not mocking… amused.
Like he had been waiting for that exact moment.
His hand rose casually.
Not even a full stance.
Just a simple block.
"Clang—!"
The impact echoed violently through the air.
Their figures blurred.
Flickering in and out of existence like broken frames in reality.
One second.
Two positions.
Then—
"Clang!"
Steel screamed again.
The only proof they were still fighting.
Raven's eyes sharpened.
"…."
He vanished.
Reappeared above Klein.
Blade descending.
Faster.
Heavier.
"Not bad," Klein muttered.
And this time—
He moved.
Clang!
The strike was caught mid-air.
But Klein didn't stay.
He twisted.
A clean counter.
"Crackle—!"
Black lightning erupted from his blade as he pushed Raven back.
Raven skidded through the ground, carving a thin line behind him.
"…Strong," Raven said quietly.
Dust faded from his coat.
But his expression didn't break.
Not even slightly.
Instead—
He smiled.
"…Good."
A faint glow began building in his right eye.
Gold.
Slow.
Controlled.
"Eye of Truth."
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Not pressure.
Not killing intent.
Something worse.
Clarity.
Like the world itself was being peeled open layer by layer.
Klein narrowed his eyes slightly.
"…So that's your trick."
Raven didn't answer.
He vanished again.
This time—
No hesitation.
Clang—!
The air exploded at the point of impact.
Klein blocked.
But his arm shifted slightly.
Just a fraction.
"…Huh."
Interest flickered in his eyes.
Then it deepened.
"Alright."
Black lightning wrapped tighter around his blade.
"Let's raise the pace."
And both of them disappeared again.