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"Heh, oh, you haven't seen anything yet." Riku gave a cold smirk, vanishing from where he stood. The air beneath his feet exploded with pressure as he took off.
His terrifying speed—most Flügel wouldn't even have time to react with spatial jump (Ten'i) before getting nailed.
But Jibril was no ordinary Flügel—she was a variant. Anomalous, self-evolving, constantly battling the strongest out there. Her awareness and combat instincts were way sharper than the average.
So the moment Riku lunged at her, she blinked away with Ten'i. This time, she wasn't about to take a hit head-on. If even multiple Fourth Eternal Blessings got smashed like nothing, tanking it was suicide.
BOOM—!!
Riku's fist landed where she'd just been. The force blasted the air, tearing through the landscape. Several huge mountains ahead exploded into rubble, the sky went dark with flying debris, and the earth trembled.
"That was close. But—still my win."
Jibril suddenly appeared behind Riku, wings flaring as she summoned a burst of elf-magic and cast several spells in rapid succession.
Fourth Eternal Blessing, again. The top-tier spell not only defended—it sealed.
"Oh yeah?" 'Riku' turned to face her, sealed in tightly by over a dozen layers of the spell. A weird grin spread across his face.
"Huh?" Noticing something off about Riku's reaction, a wave of unease crept over Jibril.
Then—out of nowhere—Riku materialized behind her, ghost-like. His Zanpakuto flashed through the air, glowing with magic and brutal power, slicing down toward her pale neck without a hint of mercy.
"—!!" At the last second, Jibril's eyes shrank in shock. She blinked into one of her own Fourth Eternal Blessings.
SPLURT—!!
CLANG—!!
CRACK—!!
Blood sprayed into the air. Riku's Zanpakuto carved through several Blessing barriers before finally getting stuck.
"You actually dodged that? That's kinda impressive," Riku said, gripping his blade tightly, golden eyes locked on Jibril, who had sealed herself inside the very spell she used for defense.
"An illusion?" Jibril muttered, holding her neck where it had been cut—just a shallow slice. She cast a healing spell as she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Bingo. Now here—have another kick!"
Riku's lips curled into a grin. His right leg whipped through the air like a whip, slamming into the Blessing barrier again.
BOOM—!!
The impact shook the whole battlefield, sending shockwaves that made Shinku and the others stagger.
The remaining Blessings shattered instantly. But in the brief second before they did, Jibril blinked away again, reappearing kilometers off in the sky.
"Heheh, you're really something. Fighting you reminds me of that dragonkin, Zhu Yue. Every second felt like death could come any time—such an intoxicating thrill!" Jibril's eyes gleamed as she licked her lips, face flushed unnaturally. "The more I fight you, the more I wanna collect your leader's head!"
"Zhu Yue...?" Riku's eyes flickered oddly at that name. So the dragonkin Jibril kept chasing was her, huh?
"Well, enough chit-chat. Let's end this." He didn't seem too bothered. Calmly, he made his move.
Suddenly, Riku vanished again—his fist aimed right at Jibril. The force of it warped the air.
But Jibril, having fully grasped the scale of his strength, didn't give him a chance. She blinked away again, high into the sky, leaving him punching empty space.
That damn teleport ability... Riku frowned slightly. Sure, he had Shangri-La, but it wasn't nearly as convenient as Ten'i. Catching Jibril off-guard for a finishing blow was proving tough.
"That human's got the upper hand, but neither can land a clean hit. That's the Flügel for you—crazy strong and totally cheating with their space magic," Shinku muttered with a wry smile, eyes glued to the sky.
This battle was blowing her mind. A human—beating down on a Flügel variant? Unreal.
"Husband…" Hatsuse Fia was no longer glaring at Shuubi, instead gazing up in worry.
"Relax. Riku's got this. He even beat a dragonkin—before he got this strong," Shuubi said coolly, turning her head.
"Dragonkin?!" Hatsuse Fia and the other beastfolk all gasped, faces full of shock. Just a day ago, and he was already at the level of beating a dragonkin? That's insane!
"No wonder he's my husband... I really underestimated him," Hatsuse Fia said dreamily.
"Jibril, is running all you can do?" Riku called out, trying to bait her. He could've used Kyoka Suigetsu or opened the Seventh Gate to end the fight faster, but he really hated this whole "punching a cloud" feeling.
"Trying to provoke me again? That's the second time now," Jibril smiled down from above, her eyes gleaming. "Last time it was to get me to run, this time you're trying to bait me into a straight-up fight. You're full of surprises."
She giggled. "Seriously though—I have to know how you got this strong in just a few days. You've grown a hundred times stronger, at least."
"Well, if you manage to beat me, maybe I'll tell you," Riku said casually. "But at your current level? That's not happening."
"Hah. You're really underestimating me, huh? Alright then—this time I'll go all out and crush you with everything I've got."
Jibril gave a cold laugh. A violent wave of elf-magic surged around her.
Then she raised her hand—and the air around them started to quake. A massive amount of energy gathered around her.
That energy slowly compressed—forming a gigantic black spear, crackling with terrifying black lightning. Just looking at it sent chills down the spine.
"This is called Final Strike. A refined version of Heavenstrike. If you think you can take it—then go ahead, try!"
Jibril's voice rang out, confident and full of pride.
In an instant, the winds roared and clouds surged; the entire world grew heavy and oppressive!
"....."