The atmosphere was filled with both SE and Umbra energy.

The previous tree filled forest where the two fought was now a massive clearing with no trees in sight.

Or rather than no trees, it was more like they had been burnt completely to the ground. There were also massive craters on the forest floor, and yet, this fight was far from over.

Lorenne let out a heavy breath as she looked at the monster before her, this battle had started completely in her advantage as she didn't allow Nox to get close for even a second.

But as the fight stretched on, the more she realized that she was quickly getting outmatched.

As if he was some kind of machine, Nox didn't seem to slow down or even feel tired, on the contrary, his movements seemed a lot faster than before, almost as if he was also getting used to fighting in his body.

"Damn it," she muttered, "I should've killed you when I had the chance."

And yet, he still said nothing to her words.

His expression was blank and his golden eyes were locked completely on her, even while he dodged and sliced the attacking shadows.

Lorenne was now back to two arms, but it wasn't because she had transformed back into her human form, but rather it was because she had allowed Nox to get a bit too close.

He had teleported faster than she could react.

One moment he was several meters away, cutting through shadow tendrils with a terrifying precision, the next he was right in front of her.

Lorenne's felt her body let out an involuntary tremble which indicated her fear.

She reacted instantly creating shadows upward to form a wall between them, but it didn't matter.

Nox still raised his sword and attacked, and it went through the shadows as if they weren't there at all.

The sword in his hand created a clean arc of light and Lorenne felt resistance vanish from her left side.

A heartbeat later, the pain caught up.

Her arm fell to the ground with a wet thud, before dissolving into shadow moments later.

She tried creating distance between them but Nox had no intention of letting up, he destroyed shadow construct after the other as quickly as she created them.

Fortunately for her, the moment she created shadow spikes beneath him, he quickly jumped back and put some distance between them.

This gave her a moment to breathe and reassess the threat.

'Was this the awakening master meant?' she asked herself, after all, there was no other logical way to explain his sudden rise in strength.

Even at tier 6 now, she was sure that a single mistake from her would be the end.

"W-what the hell are you?" She let out, but got no answer, since Nox was completely uninterested in a conversation with her.

Or he just didn't know how to speak after his 'awakening'.

Now that she thought about it, it seemed like he was in some sort of autopilot mode, since his movements looked eerily efficient.

There was no wasted motion in his movements, there wasn't even hesitation or a single flare.

Nox moved like he was given a single directive.

Kill.

She tried healing the missing arms like she previously had, only to realize that the stumps were now coated with SE.

Which her body was specifically built to absorb, but it didn't.

Lorenne, ignoring the arms for now, raised the remaining ones and from the ground rose dozens of blades, spears, and chains launching towards him from every angle.

Nox looked at the approaching attack, one that Lorenne had ensure would either force him to teleport away, which placed him in her trap, or get turned into a pinata.

What she didn't expect was, instead of moving, Nox just let out a soft breath as the glow in the sword, his hair and eyes got brighter, as he drew more SE.

Time froze to a stop and he calmly took a low pose before dashing and slashing every single shadow construct aimed at him.

A second later, he returned back into his previous spot and all the shadow constructs exploded into motes of golden light.

"T-that's impossible," to Lorenne, all she saw was him just glowing a bit brighter and a second later, all her attacks exploded.

She lashed out again, this time shaping the shadows into a massive claw that came down from above, carrying enough force to flatten a small city.

Nox looked at the approaching construct without a single change in his expression.

But instead of jumping out of the way, he just simply raised his hand and what seemed to be like golden chains made of light wrapped themselves around the approaching claw.

The chains tightened themselves around the claw and in a flash of blinding light, exploded, making it seem like day had arrived in this realm of perpetual darkness.

Lorenne staggered back, panic finally settling in as all her instincts screamed one thing at her,

Run!

And she tried to.

She turned to flee, gathering the shadows beneath her hooves and launched herself forward, hoping to escape this monster.

For a moment, she thought she was going to, she thought he would really let her and her plan was to let him burn all his SE in that form before returning to finish him off.

She turned back, only to realize that he wasn't there any longer.

The next thing she knew was a small hand grabbing her face firmly and the next second, she felt herself plunging to the ground.

Boom!

The impact, kicked up dust and debris and Lorenne's brain didn't get the chance to even register the first attack,

It was followed by a second, in the form of a light construct in the shape of a massive nail which dug into her arm.

Then another, and another, and the moment the dust cloud cleared up, Lorenne was completely restrained to the forest floor, screeching in pain as the SE powered nails refused to let go.

Nox looked at her for a second before raising his sword high,

"W-wait.... P-please don't kill me ," She quickly reverted to her human form, tears streaming down her eyes, "I don't want to die."

Unfortunately, the Nox before her had no concept of emotion as he plunged the sword straight down, cleanly separating her head from her neck.

Lorenne's eyes widened, but they quickly lost their light and her body soon started crumbling into motes of light.

Nox stood above the crumbling body for a while longer before turning to the dead bodies of Elias and Levi, before a golden barrier rose and covered the three.

The sword in his hand finally dissipated before his body fell forward, completely blacked out.

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