Andrea was tired of listening to the Divine Priest. The wind around her suddenly exploded as she shot towards him, her body tearing through the snow before she reached him.
The Divine Priest raised his hand and attacked without hesitation. Snow exploded around them as his new Dormant Ability activated, the force of his movements kicking up a thick cloud that swallowed both of them.
His fists moved hundreds of times within a single breath.
Andrea’s Fatal Inkling activated before each attack could reach her, warning her of danger before it even happened. Combined with her superior speed and physical strength, she parried every strike, her enchanted blade meeting his claws again and again as the two of them exchanged blows at a speed that would have been impossible for most Awakened to follow.
If there had been other Awakened nearby with enough vision to witness the battle, they would have seen nothing but hundreds of afterimages flashing through the snow as the two monsters exchanged powerful blows.
The Divine Priest’s claws tore through the air where Andrea’s head had been a moment earlier.
She tilted her body aside and caught his next strike with her blade, the impact producing a sharp metallic sound before she twisted her wrist and knocked his arm away. His other fist immediately followed, but Andrea was already moving, her blade sweeping towards his ribs.
The scales blocked the attack, and sparks erupted between them, but neither of them backed down.
Yuri didn’t remain on the sidelines for long. After realizing that Andrea could match the Divine Priest in speed, strong currents of lightning surged through her entire body.
Then she disappeared, he didn’t see her run towards him, to him she simply appeared next to him.
He was moving at the absolute limits of his speed, convinced that nothing on the battlefield could possibly surpass him. Yet Yuri appeared beside him as though space itself had carried her there.
The Divine Priest’s eyes widened.
When they had first exchanged blows, Yuri had been holding back. She had deliberately matched her speed to Andrea’s, allowing the two of them to fight together without disrupting one another.
She wasn’t holding back anymore.
Yuri vanished before the Divine Priest could react, then appeared on his other side. Her black katana swept towards his neck.
The Divine Priest twisted violently.
The blade struck his scales.
Sparks burst from the point of impact, but the scales remained intact, repelling the katana with enough force to send the blade sliding away.
Yuri had already disappeared again.
The Divine Priest spun around quickly, but he once again struck empty air.
His claws suddenly swung towards his blind spot, but they caught nothing except swirling snow.
Yuri appeared several meters away before flashing towards him again.
The Priest’s expression finally changed.
For the first time since completing his transformation, genuine fear entered his eyes.
Andrea didn’t waste the opportunity. Her body shot forward and her blade came down towards his shoulder.
The Divine Priest barely managed to raise his arm. Her weapon collided with enough force to send another burst of sparks across the snow.
He pushed against her blade, then suddenly kicked towards Andrea’s stomach.
She sensed the danger and brought her arm down to block. Air exploded from the force of contact, sending tremors through both their bodies.
Andrea’s boots dragged inches across the snow as she regained her balance, but the Divine Priest was already turning towards Yuri.
He flung both hands towards the space where she appeared. But a black blade suddenly appeared behind him.
It struck the side of his head.
Sparks exploded across his blue scales.
The Divine Priest’s body jerked as Yuri vanished once again, leaving him staring into the storm while Andrea advanced from the opposite direction.
"Your turtle shell won’t protect you for long," Andrea said coldly as her blade collided with his wrist.
"DIIIIIEEEE ALREADY!"
Andrea smirked.
"No."
She suddenly dropped her body low and swept his feet out from beneath him, sending the Divine Priest crashing towards the ground.
Before he could react, Andrea twisted her body while still low to the ground. She spun a full three hundred and sixty degrees, her leg whipping around with the movement before her foot slammed directly into his chest.
The impact was brutal.
The blue scales covering his chest sunk inward, several of them bending beneath the force before faint cracks spread across their surface. Blood seeped between the gaps as the Divine Priest’s body was thrown backwards.
He roared in pain.
The sound echoed across the battlefield as he slammed both hands against the ground.
A violent gust of snow and wind erupted from his body, spreading in every direction with enough force to tear through the surrounding snow and throw anything caught within it away.
Yuri, who was already closing in on the Divine Priest, was caught in the blast and hurled backwards. Even Andrea, who was already close to the ground, was swept away and thrown several meters through the snow.
The Divine Priest pushed himself back onto his feet.
His chest rose and fell heavily as he stared down at the damaged scales.
Blood was still leaking through them. His expression twisted with rage. The damage was small. Compared to the enormous strength contained within his transformed body, it was barely anything.
But it was enough for the divine to acknowledge that he wasn’t invisible.
The moment the Divine Priest raised his head, Andrea’s blade was all he could see. It grew larger in his field of vision with every passing instant, but he couldn’t react in time. The enchanted blade slammed into him and sent his massive body tunnelling through the snow, leaving a deep trail behind him before he finally came to a stop.
The Divine Priest shot back to his feet and immediately punched towards Andrea. His Dormant Ability activated, and a cold wind twisted around his arm before erupting into a miniature tornado that tore towards her.
This time, Andrea didn’t bother dodging.
She stepped into the attack and swung her blade through the tornado.
The sword carved a beautiful arc through the violent wind, splitting the attack apart as the storm scattered around her. A thunderous clash followed as her blade came down against the Priest’s arm, the force of the impact sending tremors through the surrounding air.
The scales touched by her blade immediately began to crack.
Blood mist escaped through the opening as the enchanted runes on her weapon vibrated violently, forcing their way deeper into the damaged scales.
The Divine Priest still had his other hand free.
He raised it, preparing to strike, but Yuri suddenly appeared from the side.
Her black katana flashed towards him.
The Priest was forced to abandon his attack and bring his free hand up to defend. The two weapons collided, sparks bursting from the point of impact as Yuri’s blade slid across his scales without penetrating them.
Yuri’s expression visibly tightened with annoyance.
The Priest tried to retaliate, but she had already disappeared.
Andrea freed one arm from the clash and drove her fist directly into his face.
He couldn’t defend in time and the punch landed with a sickening impact.
The Divine Priest’s jaw shattered beneath the force, his teeth and blood spraying from his mouth as his head snapped violently backwards. He still managed to release a raw roar of pain, but the movement sent another spray of blood across Andrea’s face.
Andrea didn’t even flinch.
The Divine Priest’s body suddenly erupted with another wave of freezing air and snow. The sudden blast obscured his movements, allowing him to drive his fist into Andrea and finally force her away.
He staggered backwards, clutching his shattered jaw as he tried to regain his breathing.
For a brief moment, he thought he had finally created some distance. Then Yuri came hurtling towards him.
Her speed was so absurd that the Divine Priest couldn’t properly follow her movement. He instinctively threw his fist downward, knowing there was almost no chance of actually hitting her.
Instead, Yuri planted both feet against his body.
The two stared directly into each other’s eyes for a brief moment.
The Divine Priest’s expression twisted with disbelief before he ruthlessly swung his arm and launched her into the air.
Yuri’s body shot upwards.
She remained completely calm.
After travelling several meters into the air, she twisted her waist and turned herself downwards. Her eyes locked onto the Divine Priest below as she pointed her katana directly towards him.
Lightning surged through her body.
With a powerful flash, Yuri bolted downward at breakneck speed, the air around her violently distorting as she accelerated. The pressure of her movement shattered the snow beneath the divine priest.
The Divine Priest was still massaging his shattered jaw as he prepared to attack Andrea again.
He looked towards her and roared aggressively.
But before he could finish the roar, an overwhelming pressure descended from above.
His eyes widened as Yuri’s blade struck him from overhead.
The impact erupted outward, the force driving his enormous body down as the blue scales covering his shoulder to his chest began to shatter one after another. Fragments of scale exploded across the battlefield as the katana finally broke through the defense that had resisted both women for so long.
The blade sank deep into the Divine Priest’s flesh, cutting through his bones and sinking deep into his internal organs.