BLOOD PAWN

Yuui and Winter locked eyes, the intensity between them palpable. Neither moved for a second, but both knew it was time. The moment of reckoning was here.

Yuui's hands tensed, the orbs of pure energy pulsing with raw power. Without another thought, she thrust her arms forward, releasing both orbs simultaneously. They shot forward at incredible speed, blazing through the air like twin comets aimed directly at Winter.

The light from the energy orbs illuminated the battlefield, casting long shadows as they surged toward Winter with terrifying force.

Winter's eyes followed their trajectory, his lips curling into a sneer of disdain.

"Noob," he muttered coldly under his breath.

Without a moment's hesitation, Winter leaned forward, his body tense as if he were about to charge.

"Flash Step"

But just as the orbs closed in, he disappeared in a blur. The air around him warped as he activated Flash Step—a technique that allowed him to teleport across short distances within his sight, depending on the amount of mana he used.

One moment, he was directly in front of Yuui's incoming attack.

The next, he vanished.

The energy orbs tore through the space where Winter had been standing, hurtling past without hitting their target. The blazing lights surged forward like comets, racing through the battlefield, their force unstoppable.

But Winter was already gone.

In the blink of an eye, he reappeared—right behind the path of the energy orbs, far from their destructive reach. The air shimmered for a brief second where he had reemerged, as if reality itself struggled to catch up with his speed.

Before Yuui could even comprehend what had just happened, Winter flashed again, appearing right in front of her. His presence was sudden and overwhelming, his cold, blood-red eyes gleaming through the dim battlefield like beacons of menace. The sheer shock of his speed sent a chill down her spine, her body involuntarily jolting.

A jump scare—her breath hitched as her mind raced to catch up with reality.

She had no time to think.

Winter's fist was already on its way, heading straight for her with deadly precision. There was no hesitation in his attack, no room for Yuui to gather herself. His speed was relentless. The force of his punch cut through the air, aimed directly at her.

Fear surged through her as his red eyes burned into hers. He was too fast. The blow was coming, and her mind scrambled for a way to defend, to escape.

But something was wrong.

As Winter's fist approached, something unexpected happened. The blood coating his arm, the blood armor that had made him a near-invincible force, began to evaporate—slowly at first, and then more rapidly. The crimson hue of his body began to dissolve into the air as his hand neared her.

And then, she saw it.

Growing from Winter's fist, just as it was about to make contact, were shimmering white crystals. At first, they were small, barely noticeable. But as his fist drew closer, the crystals expanded, creeping over his skin like ice slowly forming over a frozen lake. The more they grew, the more they absorbed.

the white crystals continued to grow, expanding across his arm like a ravenous parasite. But something else was happening—something far more disturbing.

The color of the crystals began to shift.

What had once been pure white, almost like ice, now slowly morphed. First, it was subtle—a faint blush of red tinged the edges. But as the crystals grew, the colors deepened, swirling together into a mix of red, blue, and black. The transformation was unnerving, like watching raw energy twist and corrupt into something unnatural.

Yuui's heart pounded in her chest. "What is this?"

The red glistened like fresh blood, as if Winter's control over his blood magic had seeped into the very structure of the crystals. The blue, however, was different—pulsing with a cold, eerie glow. It seemed to radiate with a different kind of energy, something more ethereal, almost as if it were siphoning her mana, not just her life force. And the black... the black was something darker, a void that swallowed the light around it, a representation of the abyss.

The crystals were no longer just draining her power—they were becoming something far more insidious.

Winter's crystal-coated fist connected with Yuui's defense, and the force of the blow was overwhelming. The chaotic energy coursing through the crystals surged upon impact, sending shockwaves of power rippling through her. Yuui had no time to react—no time to regain control. The sheer intensity of the hit sent her flying backward like a ragdoll caught in a storm.

She was launched through the air, her body spinning uncontrollably as she hurtled across the battlefield. Her mind was a blur, every nerve in her body screaming in pain. The world around her seemed to twist and warp as she flew, the wind whipping violently against her as the glow of her energy suit flickered and dimmed.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Yuui slammed into the ground.

The impact was devastating.

The area where she landed erupted in a violent explosion of pure energy, the force disintegrating the ground beneath her. The earth cracked and crumbled, dissolving into nothingness as if vaporized by a high-powered laser beam. Dust and debris shot into the air, and a massive crater formed where she had crashed, its edges glowing faintly with residual energy.

For a moment, everything was silent. The battlefield stilled as the dust slowly settled, revealing the destruction left in her wake. Yuui lay in the center of the crater, her body battered and her energy suit flickering weakly. The brilliant glow that had once surrounded her like a shield of pure light had dimmed considerably, the edges of the suit fraying as she struggled to hold onto control over her mana.

Yuui's body trembled as she slowly pushed herself up from the ground, her muscles screaming in protest. Every breath she took was labored, her chest aching with the effort. It felt like her lungs were on fire, and the pain radiated through her ribs, making it nearly impossible to catch her breath. But despite the agony, she forced herself to stand, her legs unsteady beneath her.

"I can't stop now... I have to fight."

Her vision swam, but she could make out Winter's looming figure, still standing tall, watching her with cold, calculating eyes. His blood-crystal Gauntlet shimmered ominously, the chaotic red, blue, and black swirls glinting in the dim light. He didn't move at first, just waiting, as if savoring her struggle.

Yuui's hands clenched into fists, but before she could even begin to summon more energy, Winter vanished.

"Flash step!"

In an instant, he reappeared right in front of her—too fast for her to react. There was no warning, no time to defend herself. He materialized out of nowhere, just like a ghost from her nightmares, his presence overwhelming.

Yuui's heart skipped a beat, her body frozen for a split second as the shock hit her.

Then came the fist.

With brutal speed, Winter swung his other arm, his blood-crystal-covered hand aimed directly at her. The punch hit her with the force of a sledgehammer, the impact knocking the wind out of her lungs. Yuui's body was launched through the air, once again sent flying from the sheer force of the blow.

She barely registered what had happened as she spiraled uncontrollably, her limbs flailing, the world around her a blur of motion. The pain in her chest intensified, every nerve in her body screaming in agony as she crashed to the ground, skidding across the battlefield. Her back hit the earth with a sickening thud, and she tumbled a few more meters before finally coming to a stop, sprawled out in the dirt.

The ground beneath her was scorched, disintegrated by the aftershocks of her energy suit—what little was left of it. Her body ached from the inside out, and her once-bright glow was now almost gone, flickering faintly like a dying ember.