Elena pulled her leg back, then thrust it toward Reverie's shin in an attempt to force her to retreat. And indeed, Reverie stepped back several times, smirking mockingly, "Is that all you've got?"
"No, I still have more!" Elena snapped angrily. She grabbed a few elixirs from her inventory and drank them all at once.
Now, having regained her health and boosted her speed thanks to the speed elixir, Elena jumped to her feet and stood tall again.
She rushed toward Reverie, quickly raised her leg, and launched a side kick aimed at her chest.
Spinning her body, she delivered a powerful roundhouse kick toward her head, planted her back foot, and aimed a precise front kick to her stomach.
Each time Reverie tried to block an attack, another strike would target a different part of her body. Although the blows were getting faster and she could be hit at any moment, Reverie never lost her provocative smile—which only fueled Elena's rage further.
"All this for a man who doesn't even want you?" Reverie taunted scornfully. She needed Elena's emotions—especially feelings of rejection and disappointment—as she fed on them.
But unfortunately for her, Elena kept her emotions to herself. Reverie had chosen Elena as her victim because of Alvin's interest in her. She had assumed the feelings were mutual, and that it would be easy to get what she wanted from Elena.
But what Reverie didn't know was this: Elena is an introverted girl who doesn't share her feelings with anyone.
That's aside from the fact that the trust between her and Alvin is absolute. Just as he knows Elena would never abandon him, she knows Alvin would never leave her behind.
Elena drank another bottle of the speed elixir so she could reach Reverie's body and inflict injuries. She moved even faster, grabbed Reverie's arm, then suddenly spun around, hoisted her over her back, and slammed her to the ground.
She raised the dagger into the air and violently stabbed it into her stomach, then dragged it sideways to create a horizontal gash across her side.
Reverie's face twisted in pain, then she lifted her leg and delivered a direct kick to Elena's abdomen, pushing her away before she could strike again.
Elena backed off, standing roughly ten meters away. The wound on Reverie's side was large and deep, and Elena thought that would be enough to defeat her. She also needed a bit of rest—the speed elixir had side effects, and they were beginning to show.
Reverie lay comfortably on her back, her laughter rising as she placed one hand on her wound and the other over her eyes. "This is ridiculous!" she said between gasping chuckles.
Elena didn't pay her much attention, instead focusing on the worms that had begun crawling out of the human skulls hanging from the tree branches.
Some slithered along the trunks, others dropped to the ground, from where they started crawling toward Reverie, who was still laughing loudly.
At first, Elena thought they were small worm-like creatures that had smelled the blood, so they emerged from their hiding places and crawled toward Reverie to feed on her.
But… her eyes widened and her chest tightened in shock. Those worms… were merging together, then fusing with Reverie's wound. In her astonishment, Elena forgot to stop the healing process.
The worms fused until they resembled skin, and the bleeding stopped—the wound vanished completely thanks to them. The only thing left to show there had ever been a wound was the darkened skin where the worms had joined together.
Reverie quickly lifted her legs and, with a powerful push from her back, jumped into a sitting, then standing position. "So… where were we?"
Looks like this fight isn't ending anytime soon, Elena thought as she returned to her battle stance.
__________
"The sky is beautiful from here," the young woman said, admiring the calm blue hue above. More than ten meters away, Meryl stood alert, ready for any sudden attack.
"Where are my friends?" Meryl asked cautiously, not taking her eyes off the young woman with reddish-orange hair. Darsilla smiled slyly as she gently ran her fingers over her rosy lips.
"Hmmm, they're gone!" she plucked a skull from one of the branches, traced her fingertips along its top, then added in a soft voice, "Anyone who wants the crystal must sacrifice someone. And your companions… chose to sacrifice you."
Darsilla's calmness pressed heavily on Meryl's heart, tightening it with pain. Gone? Maybe those words could fool someone else—but Meryl? No way.
Regardless of her confidence that they wouldn't leave her behind, her life threads were embedded in their hearts, and she could feel them through that bond.
They were all still here, in the forest, fighting their own battles. And Meryl was healing them from where she stood.
"I know… the fact they abandoned you must hurt deeply," Darsilla spoke in her soft, gentle tone. She lifted the edge of her straw hat slightly, letting the pink ribbon dangle down. "You can consider me your friend and tell me how you feel. I'm a good listener."
[Don't tell her anything.]
Meryl nodded obediently to her master. Fortunately, Mr. Elyor was by her side and had told her everything she needed to know about her opponent. Thanks to that, she had a better chance of winning this battle.
[You have to kill her to be able to leave.]
[Try to end the fight quickly. Darsilla tends to turn battles into wars of attrition, draining her opponent's energy.]
Meryl sprinted toward Darsilla, then suddenly turned and thrust her leg forward with full force, launching a straight kick aimed at her opponent's chest.
But unexpectedly, the tree branches moved and blocked her approach. Meryl was forced to retreat, and it quickly turned into a struggle for survival as the branches attacked from every direction.
"Forgive me, Miss Meryl. I don't like taking part in fights," Darsilla said with a faint smile.
She lifted her head from the skull in her hands and glanced at Meryl, who was using her sword to slash through the dry branches, then continued, indifferent to her opponent's state, "I'm a delicate girl, and fighting just doesn't suit me."
The secret lies in speed—Meryl realized that while attacking her. What made the situation truly dangerous was that the branches attacked unpredictably. While some would strike, others stayed behind, waiting for the right moment to pounce.
Meryl grabbed a few bombs that had proven effective and quickly threw them into the trees, triggering a massive explosion that destroyed and set many of them ablaze.
She took advantage of the chaos and headed straight toward Darsilla, who was now surrounded by a cloud of rising dust.
Meryl closed the distance, then drove her elbow into Darsilla's ribs. Darsilla heard the rush of air but didn't understand what had happened until she felt the sharp pain searing through her side.
Meryl spun her body and followed up with a powerful backward kick straight into Darsilla's abdomen, sending her crashing violently to the ground.
The pain wasn't just from the blows—Darsilla realized that the moment their skin touched. Meryl was draining her life force every time she made contact.
That's why her once-youthful skin was turning dry and fragile… Meryl was slowly turning her into an old woman with every strike.
"I understand your wish to avoid fighting. And I hope you'll forgive me, too—because I'll fight to the very end," Meryl said with complete seriousness.
Darsilla smiled calmly, lifted her head to look at Meryl standing nearby, and replied slyly, "I don't have to. You'll be dead soon anyway."
— [Watch out!]
But the warning came a little too late… A branch pierced through her shoulder and emerged from the front. Immediately after, dozens of branches surged toward Meryl, who was now trapped in midair.