“Alrighty then. Let’s do this, meow.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“Meow meow.”
Yena hopped up from her seat.
Currently, Yena was at Avatar Phase Stage 1.
She was only a stage behind Heavenly Horse, who was at Avatar Phase Stage 2, but her power was at Record Phase level.
No matter how outstanding Yena’s abilities were, defeating Heavenly Horse wouldn’t be easy.
Creeeak—
Heavenly Horse also rose from their seat and turned their back towards somewhere.
“Follow me. I’ve prepared a suitable place.”
“Okay, meow.”
Yena and I followed Heavenly Horse and soon arrived at the arena surrounded by a black veil.
The arena was encircled by thin black drapes, reminiscent of a coliseum, and the sky was wide open without a ceiling.
In the arena where the blue sky was visible, there were several layers of viewing seats.
I naturally sat in the top-tier viewing area.
This was a building I hadn’t seen in the Lower Realm, so it must have been constructed after coming here.
[Oh]
[For real, a fight?]
[Who do you think will win?]
[Yena, of course]
[Heavenly Horse might win, though?]
[Great Heavenly Horse]
[Yena won last time, but I still think Yena will win.]
[Lily, who do you think will win?]
“Well… I don’t know. If we’re just talking power, Heavenly Horse is definitely at an advantage…”
Simply based on strength and level, Heavenly Horse had the upper hand.
Heavenly Horse could exhibit Record Phase-level power and had significant talent in cultivation.
Yena was impressive but wasn’t in the same league as Heavenly Horse.
Furthermore, if Yena were affected by ‘that,’ the gap would be even wider.
“However.”
“Miss Yena isn’t just any Master of Avatar, either.”
Yena possessed a ‘parrying’ technique that could deflect any attack.
Unless someone completely wiped out the area without even a space to dodge, they couldn’t harm Yena.
With the ability to accumulate and enhance damage based on the attacks, Counter Enhancement made it a tough fight for Heavenly Horse as well.
How long had it been since we speculated on the victory and defeat of the duel alongside the viewers?
Step. Step.
The two ascetics stood facing each other at opposite ends of the arena.
Yena pulled out the Green Hermit, while Heavenly Horse stood with their hands behind their back, not drawing any weapon.
“Aren’t you going to pull out a weapon, meow?”
“My body is my weapon.”
“Really? You’re going to fight without looking out for me, meow?”
“That’s for me to say.”
“Hmph.”
The two continued their psychological warfare.
Even though it was a duel, both were users with an ego that wouldn’t settle for second place.
As two of the best users in Deoen, this was definitely not a fight they would yield.
Yena held a Green Hermit in each hand, getting ready for her stance.
Heavenly Horse also took a stance, stepping one foot forward.
“I’ll let you go first. Come at me.”
“Are you sure you won’t regret this, meow?”
“Of course.”
As soon as the Heavenly Horse’s words finished, Yena’s daggers surged forward.
Myeosin Technique, Wave-Shaped Ten Blades.
The Heavenly Horse, witnessing the onslaught of daggers raining down in a cross shape, subtly shifted his feet as if drawing lines on the ground.
Creak!
The sharp energy of the daggers shattered like cookies.
The Heavenly Horse’s feet slowly moved towards Yena, who was glaring with wide eyes.
“I have changed since then.”
Boom!!
“Heavenly Horse’s Dominance.”
The arena shook violently.
With every single step she took, the arena seemed like it would be completely destroyed.
Had it been an ordinary Master of Avatar, their body would have crumbled with the first step, but Yena held her ground.
“…Huh!”
Clang!!
Yena’s parrying activated.
The parry deflected most of the Heavenly Horse’s attacks while sending the Green Hermit spinning wildly in midair.
Hundreds, thousands of daggers filled the arena.
The chaotic trajectories of the daggers threatened the Heavenly Horse, but they didn’t faze him.
Whoooossh!!!
“Ugh?!”
The Heavenly Horse sliced through the wave of daggers and approached Yena.
His speed was as if he had used teleportation.
Yena instinctively attempted to counterattack, but the punch from the Heavenly Horse, imbued with Aura of Heavenly Horse, was faster.
Bam!!
Yena flew far away after taking the hit.
She deflected the punch, but couldn’t avoid the ‘shockwave’ that swept through the entire arena.
The Ascetic at the Record Phase couldn’t even directly perceive the ‘shockwave’.
Wiping away the blood trickling from her mouth, Yena activated Counter Enhancement.
“Myeosin Technique, Chaotic Blossom…!”
“…!”
Swoosh!
Every attack scattered chaotically into the air and transformed into the shape of flowers.
Thousands of flowers filled the sky, all charging toward the Heavenly Horse.
If it were a typical attack from Yena, the Heavenly Horse would have easily dealt with it in one step. However, this recent attack was significantly enhanced through Counter Enhancement.
Even if the Heavenly Horse swiped away hundreds of flowers, thousands more surged in behind.
Furthermore, Yena cast one more technique to ensure it would all end.
Swinging the dagger as if performing magic, she drew patterns in the air.
A technique that merged the Myeosin Techniques she already knew with the Magic Techniques she learned from the Main Temple.
Crackle…!
It was an explosion in the form of a flower.
Myeosin Technique, Fire Bomb Blossom.
“Explode, meow!!”
Kabooooooom!!!
Thousands of flowers surrounding the Heavenly Horse exploded.
[Shudder shudder shudder shudder shudder]
[Wow]
[Whoa]
[Insane lol]
[Go Yena]
[I held my breath watching this]
[Is this a fight of a Top Ranker…?]
The fight of the Top Ranker…?
[So lit, LOL]
[Meanwhile, Lily seems super relaxed]
[Did the Heavenly Horse lose?]
[Did it get taken down?!]
“Whew… whew…”
“……”
“I’m dead meow…”
Yena descended from the air, looking exhausted.
All that remained was the Heavenly Horse, crisply roasted from thousands of explosions in the sky.
At first glance, it seemed like the fight was over, but the Heavenly Horse was still alive.
Yena readied herself to finish it off, firmly grasping the Green Hermit.
Black and pink energies simultaneously manifested around Yena.
Kugugugu…!
On one side was pink, and on the other side was black.
The two energies harmonized and combined, drastically amplifying Yena’s power.
“Divine Beast Technique. Pink Black Sword.”
Yena unleashed her ultimate technique, the best thing she could do right now.
With the two energies partially mixed, Yena soared into the air for the final blow.
And she struck the Heavenly Horse in one go…
“Meow?”
“…That’s a bit surprising.”
She should have struck it down.
Sre.
A sword appeared in the Heavenly Horse’s hand.
A dark sword that seemed like a beam of light wouldn’t fit.
It wasn’t anything special aside from being a dark sword, but Yena sensed the unique aura of the Myojok.
‘I’m going to die.’
Yena instinctively felt danger and tried to retreat, but it was in vain.
Swaaaash…
“Uh?”
“I understated your abilities for a moment. Since your level is low, I assumed your skills hadn’t progressed much. This is the fault of the Ruler.”
A vertical line appeared at Yena’s head.
Just as she registered the “huh?” moment, Yena’s body began to separate smoothly.
“I decided not to use a weapon, so my defeat is certain.”
“Meow, Meow?”
“You have won, Yena.”
Swaaaash!!
Yena was split in two.
Transformed into blue particles, it wasn’t gruesome, but seeing Yena become “Ye / Na” was an uncommon sight.
‘Especially since Yena has become incredibly strong at this point.’
The chat window froze for a moment at the Heavenly Horse’s attack that broke through the parry.
[Wow]
[?????????????????]
[What the hell is this?]
[??? Uh?]
[Heavenly Horse! Heavenly Horse! Heavenly Horse!]
[Huh?]
[Eh?]
[HAHAHAHAHAHAHA]
[Great Heavenly Horse]
[Is Yena dead?]
[No way, this is insane, LOL]
[Lord Heavenly Horse, that’s pathetic]
[Didn’t you say you weren’t using a weapon?]
[Why is the Heavenly Horse so strong?]
Thud, thud!
Ye / Na rolled on the ground.
Having become Ye / Na, she later resurrected due to her Myojok race’s traits and became “Yena” again.
“…?”
However, perhaps due to the previous shock, she didn’t rush in.
They didn’t charge in, perhaps because it was like that.
Yena stared blankly up at the Heavenly Horse.
More specifically, she looked up at the pitch-black sword held in the Heavenly Horse’s hand.
“…When did you get that?”
“Hehe. Are you jealous?”
“A little too much?”
“First, I suppose I should apologize. Since I’ve decided not to use a weapon, this fight is certainly a loss for me, the Ruler. I’m sorry.”
“Winning while my body’s torn in half seems a bit much…”
“Then shall I let you take a swing at me?”
The Heavenly Horse spread out his arms.
She seemed to be inviting him to go ahead and cut, but Yena shook her head.
In the end, even though the Heavenly Horse decided not to use a weapon, Yena had also used one from the start.
If the Heavenly Horse had used a weapon initially, the outcome wouldn’t have changed.
It might have even ended faster.
The Heavenly Horse wielding a weapon was stronger than expected.
Thud!
As I descended into the arena, the Heavenly Horse turned his head.
“Lily.”
“You wield a sword well; it would have been better if you had used it from the beginning.”
“The Heavenly Horse is more suited for martial arts than weapons. This is… somewhat of a dark power.”
“Where did you get that sword?”
The Heavenly Horse’s sword.
At first glance, it didn’t seem like a remarkable weapon.
It didn’t hold much power, nor did it have any special abilities.
“If we had to categorize it, maybe it’s a Mythical-grade weapon?”
Mythical-grade weapons were indeed formidable, but at this point, calling a Mythical-grade weapon something that could disrupt the balance was hard to argue.
Yena herself was equipped with a Mythical-grade weapon known as the Green Hermit.
Not to mention that Yena’s ability, ‘Parrying’, was worth more than transcendent levels.
“But… I was cut by someone like Yena.”
Piercing through Parrying. Just by swinging that sword.
The Heavenly Horse glanced at the sword and laughed weakly.
“You don’t get it.”
“Huh?”
[What if my older sister doesn’t know?]
[Huh?]
[Yena looking dazed is so damn funny lol]
[You don’t know?]
To not know while holding a sword.
For a moment, I wondered if the Heavenly Horse was lying, but his expression was serious.
“The first day I ascended to the Mid World and received the advancement proposal, I heard someone’s ‘rumor’. And at some point, this sword was by my side.”
I don’t know who that existence is, but…
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