The battlefield had stopped breathing.
Flames still burned.
Ash still fell.
But no one moved.
Because at the center of it all—
Two beings stood.
One—
A Demon General.
A calamity feared across the continent.
The other—
A girl.
"…Again," Liren said softly, his voice no longer playful.
The air around him twisted.
Dark energy coiling like living smoke.
His presence alone crushed the ground beneath him.
Lira stared.
"…Okay."
She took a step forward.
CRACK.
The earth split.
Not from force.
Not from impact.
From existence.
Liren's eyes narrowed.
"…What are you?"
Lira blinked.
"…Lira."
"…No," he said, voice lower now.
"…What are you?"
She thought about it.
Long.
Hard.
"…Hungry?"
Silence.
Kael, watching from behind, didn't react.
But his mind—
Was racing.
That power.
That pressure.
That wrongness.
It wasn't magic.
It wasn't aura.
It wasn't anything he understood.
"…A blessing…" he muttered.
Something ancient.
Something absolute.
"…No…" he corrected himself.
"…A talent."
And not just any talent.
"…Ten stars…"
The words felt heavy.
Even unspoken.
A level that shouldn't exist.
A level that broke the system itself.
Liren moved first.
His form blurred—
Splitting into multiple afterimages.
Each one reaching.
Grasping.
Whispering.
"Submit."
"Yield."
"Come closer—"
The air filled with voices.
Desire.
Control.
Domination.
Lira stood still.
"…No."
All the voices—
Stopped.
Then—
She punched.
No technique.
No skill.
Just—
Punch.
BOOOOOOM.
The air exploded.
Every illusion shattered instantly.
The ground collapsed.
The shockwave tore through the battlefield—
Flattening everything in its path.
Liren crossed his arms—
Blocking—
And still—
He was launched again.
This time—
Further.
His body slammed into the ground—
Carving a trench across the forest.
Silence followed.
Then—
He laughed.
But it wasn't smooth anymore.
"…A ten-star… talent…" he whispered.
"…In strength…?"
He stood.
Slowly.
His body regenerated—
But not instantly.
Not cleanly.
For the first time—
He had taken damage.
Real damage.
"…How unfair," he said softly.
The air around him grew darker.
Heavier.
"…Then I'll stop playing."
His form changed.
Not larger.
Not louder.
But deeper.
More real.
The very concept of "desire" twisted around him—
Turning into something suffocating.
Something inescapable.
Even Kael staggered slightly.
"…This is bad…" a soldier whispered.
Lira blinked.
"…You different."
"…Yes," Liren replied.
And vanished.
He reappeared—
Right in front of her.
Faster than before.
Sharper.
Deadlier.
His hand pierced forward—
Aimed directly at her heart—
THUD.
He stopped.
Not because he missed.
Because—
Lira caught his hand.
Effortlessly.
"…No touching," she said.
Silence.
Liren's eyes widened.
Just slightly.
"…You…"
She squeezed.
CRACK.
The sound echoed.
Not loud.
But final.
Liren's arm—
Crushed.
Completely.
"…Ah."
For the first time—
Pain.
Real pain.
Liren's expression twisted.
Not in rage.
Not in fear.
But in realization.
"…You're not a talent…"
His voice dropped.
"…You're a disaster."
Lira smiled.
"…Strong."
Then—
She punched again.
And this time—
Even a Demon General wasn't sure he could survive it.