The jagged demonic blade remained locked fast against the four interlocking links coiled around Hajin's forearm, shower after shower of blinding sparks screeching into the dark.
Maren's full downward momentum hung suspended in midair, his bloodshot pupils trembling as the ancient divine metallurgy refused to yield even a single millimeter.
Corrosive miasma boiled from the stalled edge, hissing violently against Hajin's leather sleeve and leaving weeping chemical scorch marks in the fabric.
"What kind of sorcery is this?" Maren rasped in sputtering disbelief, his layered demonic voice vibrating with sudden, disoriented panic.
"Simple physics and superior metal," Hajin replied through clenched teeth, his brow furrowing as his core circulated pure radiant mana into his braced limbs.
"A slum rat cannot parry a chosen warrior's blade!" Maren roared, spraying dark saliva as his shoulder plates grinded together under violent strain.
