Turning around, Razeal finally fixed his gaze on the two men who had stood silently while he spoke to Nancy. He had half-expected them to interrupt, maybe even to jump at his exposed back in the middle of his conversation. But they hadn't. They had behaved well surprisingly well.

Honestly, he didn't even know why he had bothered to talk so much to the girl in the first place. Was it pity? Curiosity? No. If he was honest with himself, maybe he just wanted to create more chaos for Riven. To twist the threads of fate further out of shape. Let's fuck the plot even more, he thought, his lips curling into a faint smirk. The story's already gone so far off-course, most things can't be predicted anymore anyway.

Now, his attention returned to Ranguard and Togi. Both men stood stiffly in the snow, watching him with guarded eyes. Their muscles were taut, their posture ready, yet they hadn't moved.

Razeal tilted his head, his smirk widening into something sly, almost playful the kind of smile that didn't belong on a battlefield but in the mouth of a merchant about to cut a deal.

"Here's the thing, bois," he said, his tone light, mocking, yet laced with a sharp edge. "You're both here, but I only need one. Which means one of you has to die. The other might live, if he's useful."

"You have two options." Razeal tilted his head, his tone almost playful, like a merchant explaining terms. "Option one: fight each other. The survivor walks away with me. Option two: fight me. Whoever doesn't die first gets to keep breathing. Your choice."

He tilted his head further, his smile stretching into a mockery of kindness. "So? Which will it be?"

For a moment, silence fell heavy over the snowy clearing. The wind howled through the trees, carrying with it the soft hiss of falling snow, but between the three of them, it was dead quiet.

Togi's right eye twitched violently. Rage rippled across his face. "You fucker…" He stepped forward, fists curling, ready to explode

Only for Ranguard's arm to bar his path, pushing him back.

"Stop," the older man said sharply, his tone calm but firm. His eyes cut sideways at Togi. Had he already forgotten what I told him?

Togi glared, but froze.

Ranguard exhaled slowly, then met Razeal's gaze head-on. "Look, kid. No one here wants this to go the hard way. What's the point of being unreasonable? You're just making enemies for nothing. None of this is profitable. Sit down. Let's talk."

But Razeal didn't speak.

Instead, he raised his left arm.

A shadow sword burst into existence, dark energy swirling and condensing into a blade that seemed to drink in the light around it. The moment the weapon appeared, his entire aura shifted the playfulness drained away, replaced by the suffocating intent of someone who had already chosen. He stepped forward, snow crunching beneath his polished shoes, his eyes never leaving them.

That was his answer.

Ranguard's brows drew down, a faint frown creasing his face. "Why are you even protecting her? She's Areon's sister, isn't she? Your enemy."

Razeal's shadow wings unfurled behind him with a whisper, the black feathers spreading wide, blotting out the faint glow of the snowy sky. His eyes were cold, his voice colder.

"Oh, sisters. Daughters. They are same to all, whether enemy or friend." he said lightly.

With that, his wings flexed, and in an instant he shot forward, the shadow sword cutting through the air in a deadly arc aimed straight at Ranguard's neck.

The speed was overwhelming faster than even trained knights could track. Ranguard though didn't move or even flinch. He simply stood there, shaking his head as if disappointed, his eyes calm.

"You aren't that big, boy."

The words had barely left his lips when Togi appeared in front of him like a wall of flesh and rage. His arm shot out, his skin shifting, transforming. White marble-like patterns spread across his flesh, hardening, gleaming like stone. His fingers curled into a palm meant to block, his stance rooted like an unshakable mountain.

For a split second, confidence flashed across Togi's face. He had the power to stop this child's trick. His grin twisted with assurance as he braced for the impact.

Razeal didn't hesitate. No pause, no warning. His sword swung in a clean, merciless arc, as if he had already calculated everything before the first breath of battle.

Swish

The shadow-forged blade collided with Togi's gleaming metallic arm. Sparks hissed, the sound sharp as steel tearing stone. For a heartbeat, Togi's lips curved with smug confidence, certain his body could withstand anything.

That smirk shattered.

The force behind the blade detonated against his guard, lifting his feet clean off the ground. His body was hurled backward like a projectile, snow bursting into a violent spray.

Even Ranguard, standing behind him, had no time to react. Togi's heavy frame slammed into him, driving them both into the air, their combined weight tearing through the trees. The two men were flung back like stones from a sling, carving a brutal path through the forest.

Aughh. Togi clenched his teeth as the wind howled around him. I knew his strength was high, but this much? Even I... His whole body flared, skin and bone hardening until he was encased from head to toe in marble-white stone. The strike hadn't broken him, but it had shaken him to his core.

Ranguard grunted sharply as he was dragged along, branches snapping, bark exploding in showers of frost.

The two men flew for hundreds of meters, trees collapsing in their path like brittle twigs.

But Razeal wasn't done.

In midair, above the tumbling bodies, he appeared faster than their eyes could follow, a black silhouette framed against the falling snow. With his left hand, he swung downward. His blade descended like the judgment of a god, cutting for Togi's exposed upper body.

Crack!

The blade struck Togi across the torso before he could raise a guard.

The strike connected. Their flight shifted violently, their bodies no longer carried sideways but hurled downward at impossible speed.

"Urghh!" Togi's eyes bulged, blood and saliva erupting from his mouth as the sword bit into his gut. He hadn't even managed a scream before gravity claimed them.

BOOOOM.

The impact tore the world apart.

The crash tore through the snowy forest, louder than thunder. The ground collapsed, snow and dirt erupting into the air like a white volcano. A crater gaped where they had struck, the land pressed flat by the sheer violence of the fall.

Hundreds of meters away from the explosion, Nancy still felt the tremors running through the ground. She froze, staring out into the distance, wondering what had just happened.

That blast… Did they already start fighting?

He really went into battle? For me? No.. he said it was for profit, nothing more. That's what he told me, she reminded herself, shaking her head to clear the tangle of thoughts. She didn't want to admit she was being helped by him.

She didn't even want to believe it. What kind of person he was she knew the rumors, the filth tied to his name. A rapist, people whispered. And yet…

Somewhere inside her, a small, unwelcome doubt stirred. Was he really as monstrous as everyone said?

And also

Her thoughts kept circling back to the words he had just spoken. Sisters and daughters are the same for others… even for enemies or friends.

Those words lingered in her mind. Yes, it was clear where she stood.. she was the sister of his enemy, in some way. But here he was, helping her.

He seemed like a person of principle, at least from the way he spoke. His words carried honor, strength, depth.

Is he trying to save me today? she wondered. She knew that doing something good doesn't erase one's crimes, but… could it mean he was learning from his mistakes? Maybe he was.

She didn't know.

She shook her thoughts, trying to push the them away.

Wait.. will he win? Maybe he has a chance.

He's really strong, she thought, already reminded of Razeal's strength yesterday. But now, feeling it so close, with the ground shaking from the loud explosion, she could only be certain of his power.

She could only hope he would win. If he didn't, her life would be ruined.

All she could do was pray.. and look up at the sky since her body refused to move.

Even her eyes had betrayed her now as even her pupils wouldn't shift. She could only stare in silence. Powerless

At the center of the explosion

It was still burning with violent energy, heat rippling in the air and snow hissing into steam. Dust drifted like ash, thick enough to choke. In the middle of it, Togi pushed himself up on trembling arms. His ears were ringing, his vision blurred, and a metallic taste coated his tongue. He coughed hard, spitting blood onto the cracked ground.

His marvel-forged body, usually unshaken, had felt that strike. It wasn't just force.. Razeal's blow had carried a weight that made his very core tremble. His chest rose and fell sharply as he tried to get his bearings.

When he looked down, the damage was clear. A deep dent caved into his abdomen, and hairline fractures ran down his right arm where Razeal's sword had landed. The marble-like flesh of his body had split into jagged cracks, and small chips broke away like fragments from a statue. He stared for half a second in disbelief. His body the very marvel he thought impenetrable.. had been scarred.

But he didn't showed much expressions. From the depths of those cracks, new marble shimmered into existence, pushing outward, knitting itself together. The fractures sealed one by one as if invisible sculptors were restoring him. The dent on his abdomen smoothed out until his torso gleamed again pristine, flawless, and almost too pure for the battlefield.

His upper shirt, however, had been torn away completely, leaving him bare-chested. His skin was not skin at all anymore.. it was white marble, polished and glistening, catching the pale winter light of the snow.

And well he had no time to marvel at it. A grunt pulled his attention downward. Ranguard was still pinned into the ground, half-buried in the crater. The explosion had crushed him under Togi's own body like a hammer striking down with stone weight. The crimson hair's were tangled with dirt and snow, his face streaked with blood. His chest heaved as he spat out another mouthful of red, mixing with the mud beneath him.

Togi immediately bent down and dragged him up by the arm. Ranguard's body was battered badly scratches running across his arms, bruises coloring his ribs, his face smeared with blood. His draconic physique had kept him from breaking, but his frame had been ground into the earth like he had been dropped from the heavens with a mountain tied to him.

Togi could not hide his shock. "You can still stand~?"

Somehow, Ranguard forced himself up. His knees wobbled, but his spine stayed straight. He wiped blood from his lips with the back of his dirt-caked arm.

Togi's mind reeled. No broken bones? No fractures? Just scratches? For all his draconic bloodline, the resilience was frightening.

Dragons really do have thick skin, Togi thought.

Ranguard's crimson eyes, however, burned with both pain and fury. "What the fuck was that?" he growled, his voice hoarse but sharp, genuine disbelief cutting through. He spat blood at his feet and shook his head as if trying to clear the ringing from his skull.

Togi didn't answered. Instead, he only gave a grim nod and turned his gaze toward the figure standing several paces away.

There, in the settling dust, Razeal stood without a scratch. His shadow blade rested lazily in his left hand, the obsidian steel seeming to absorb the light around it. His boots pressed into the cracked earth, but he had made almost no sound landing. His presence was quiet but suffocating.

He smirked when he saw both of them still upright. "And here I thought at least one of you would be dead after that strike," Razeal said flatly. His crimson eyes flickered with disdain. "I underestimated you. This is going to waste even more of my time."

Both Togi and Ranguard straightened, their faces hardening. Their perception of this boy.. was changing rapidly. He was no mere opponent.

"Don't get hit." Togi warned, silently telling Ranguard with his eyes, my body can take it, but yours definitely can't..

Ranguard understood. His lips tightened, and he gave a single nod. "Then let's finish him before he gets the chance."

From his hip, he drew his blade.. a long sword that gleamed despite the dirt and ash around them. Deep crimson engravings ran along the steel, pulsing faintly as if veins of molten fire slept within it. When the blade caught the light, it shimmered with draconic magic.

The three people now stood within the massive crater, the ground beneath them fractured into spiderweb cracks. Dust swirled around them like a storm caught in suspension.

Togi clenched his fist. "I need more protection."

A sharp crack split the silence as wood suddenly sprouted in his palm. It spread rapidly, creeping up his arm, then across his chest. In moments his entire form shifted, skin turning into dense, bark-like armor. His hair, his pupils, even the sheen of his marble body all transformed into the brown hue of living wood. He stood like a walking statue of wood itself.

Recognition flickered across Razeal's eyes. "That wood… the same Sylva used yesterday."

His lips twisted into a grin. "But you're mistaken if you think that can save you."

Before his words had finished echoing, Razeal vanished. His form blurred, speed shredding the air as his shadow blade hummed with killing intent.

At the same instant, Ranguard and Togi launched forward. Ranguard raised his glowing sword, its crimson engravings flaring to life. Togi's wooden arm twisted into a massive spike, the sharp point aiming directly at Razeal's heart.

The three clashed at the center of the crater.

"BOOM!"

The ground erupted. The impact roared like thunder, echoing through the mountains beyond. Snow was blasted away in every direction, trees at the crater's edge splintering from the shockwave. For a moment, the world was nothing but dust, force, and sound.

Two figures shot out of the explosion... Togi and Ranguard, both flung like ragdolls. They slammed into the earth at separate points, gouging fresh craters where they landed. Rocks tumbled and dust plumed into the sky again.

Togi's body shook violently as he forced himself upright, pieces of wood splintering off his frame. He tryied to keep up with the rapid regeneration. He clenched his fists, shaking his head in disbelief.

How did he?

The memory of the clash replayed in his mind. Razeal hadn't blocked. He hadn't even struggled. He had slipped between their strikes as if weaving through children's swings. His blade, quick as lightning, had carved at angles they couldn't even predict. Before either of them could guard, he had already cut, already struck, sending them flying without mercy.

Togi's voice broke out raw, nearly a scream. "Just how the hell did he do that?!"

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Hey guys, I just want to apologize in advance… Honestly, I'm not really happy with this chapter myself. I tried again and again to write it, even rewrote parts, but it just didn't come out the way I wanted.

The truth is.. I'm not very good at writing fighting scenes yet. Arghh, it's frustrating. I wanted to push myself and improve my writing style, especially since last time I went almost 15 chapters without even realizing it.

So, a little confession: in this chapter, I asked ChatGPT for some editing help. Don't worry I still wrote everything myself, but I needed a hand cleaning up the messy fighting parts. Still, I know it's not perfect.

But don't fear! I've made up my mind to actually learn how to write better fight scenes. I'll read, study, and practice until I can make them feel alive and intense. It's a bit complicated right now, but I'll get there.

If you guys could recommend some novels with amazing fight scenes, I'd be super grateful. And again, sorry for the "skill issue." I'm working on it.. I just wanted to try something different this time.

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