Aster tried to stand tall, his sword held aloft, though not in any particrly aggressive or defensive stance—just a neutral position, as if gathering his resolve.


    "Lori..."


    His voice was deep,ced with a sense of regret, but he didn''t say anything more. He didn''t need to. Lori, of course, understood exactly what he meant, even without further exnation. Both of them knew—their next exchange would be thest.


    She gripped her staff tightly, her face a mask of stoic calm. Yet, for just a brief moment, a flicker of emotion crossed her eyes. Aster couldn''t quite ce what it was, but it signaled the beginning of their final contest of strength.


    Without any hesitation, Aster activated Ground Shrink, disappearing from view in an instant. Lori''s eyes darted frantically, trying to locate him. A mere secondter, she sensed his presence—he was behind her, no, to be more precise, diagonally above her, poised for an attack!


    Aster''s sword was already raised high in the air, and with the pull of gravity and his full strength, he swung down, aiming to end the battle in one decisive strike.


    "What futility!" Lori muttered, her voice cold, but she wasn''t nning on receiving his strike head-on.


    With expert precision, she raised her staff, allowing Aster''s de to slide down its length. The force of the swing was diverted away from her body in a masterful parry that left Aster unable to find fault with her technique. Her movements were swift and wless.


    "HASTE!"


    But Aster''s assault was only just beginning. The moment his sword slid off her staff, he activated his speed-enhancing spell, Haste, and took a bold step forward. Retreating would only give her the upper hand, so he chose to stay close—too close for her to have the advantage.


    With his reaction time and attack speed enhanced by the buff, Aster moved quickly. However, the curse still weighed heavily on him, weakening his overall strength. Even so, he was back to what he considered his "normal" state. "This will be enough!" he thought, steeling himself.


    Wasting no time, Aster spun on his heel, shing horizontally with his sword, aiming to catch Lori off guard. But she was just as quick. Twisting her body in one fluid motion, she moved her staff from one side to the other, blocking his strike with ease while simultaneously sending a swift kick toward Aster''s chest.


    *CLANG!*


    The sound of their weapons shing echoed through the air, a sound far more metallic than one would expect from a sword meeting a wooden staff.


    Aster used the force of the rebound to twist his body out of the way, narrowly avoiding Lori''s iing kick. As her leg fully extended, Aster grabbed her by the ankle, stopping her movement and holding her in ce.


    "...!"


    But Lori was one step ahead. With perfect timing, she used the leg he held as leverage, lifting herself off the ground and sending a powerful kick with her other leg toward Aster''s temple.


    If it weren''t for his increased reflexes from the Haste spell, that kick could have easily knocked him out. Thankfully, Aster ducked forward, letting her leg sail harmlessly over his head. At the same time, he pulled his sword back and shed diagonally upward, aiming for Lori''s exposed midsection.


    *WRIGGLE!*


    Just as Aster''s de neared her, one of the dark, writhing hands emerged from the ground, wrapping itself around his arm and halting his swing mid-motion!


    Aster grimaced, knowing he could easily break free from the dark hand''s grip. But the brief pause it forced him to take was all the time Lori needed to turn the tide of the battle.


    *BOOM!*


    The dark hand gripping Aster''s arm suddenly exploded with raw, concentrated energy. The st was intense, and at such close range, that Aster had no way to avoid it. The force of the explosion sent shockwaves through his body, leaving him with severe burns and a feeling of disorientation as the magical energy ravaged his form.


    "Agh..." Aster coughed, smoke rising from his singed clothes, his body battered from the st. Pain coursed through him, and his vision wavered, but he forced himself to remain standing. He couldn''t give up now, not when everything was on the line.


    "A-Ah... S-Star...!"


    Cassy''s trembling voice echoed in the distance. She had heard the explosion and the rapid, uneven beating of Aster''s heart. Though she couldn''t see what had happened, she could piece together the battle''s events from the sounds alone. Fear gripped her as she imagined Aster being hurt—perhaps even fatally.


    Cassy''s body shook with worry, her hands gripping the cold, hard ground beneath her as she tried to muster up the courage to help. But with Arima keeping her restrained, all she could do was pray that Aster could endure.


    "UGH!"


    Aster grunted, but he wasn''t finished yet. Stabbing his sword into the dark, cracked ground just in time, he managed to stay in ce without being blown away by the explosion''s force. His body was battered, but his will remained unbroken.


    His right arm, though, was a different story. The explosion had reduced it to a mess of charred skin and bone, practically useless. The wound had been seared shut by the intense heat, preventing any severe blood loss, so at least he didn''t need to worry about bleeding out for now.


    *GRIP!*


    With his left hand still functional, he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, the only weapon he had left. Aster leaned forward, gathering what little strength he had remaining, beforeunching himself toward Lori. His sword cut through the air in a diagonal upward sh, aimed at her with everything he had left.


    "You should realize when to stop," Lori scoffed, her voice cold and detached. With a swift movement, she spun her staff like a spear, effortlessly deflecting his sword''s path. "Just lie down and die already," she added, her toneced with cruel indifference.


    *CLANK!*


    The force of her parry threw Aster off bnce, and he stumbled forward, his face scraping against the hard, unforgiving ground. His body screamed in protest, but the adrenaline surging through his veins dulled the pain, keeping him conscious.


    He knew, though—his body had reached its limit. The explosion he had taken head-on was the final blow, sealing his fate. His limbs felt heavy, his movements sluggish, and the curse that had been eating away at him was now in its final stages, draining thest of his strength.


    "..."


    Aster''s grip on his sword loosened, and he could barely even make a fist. His body was shutting down, bit by bit, and his vision started to blur.


    *Whoosh!*


    Just then, two small figures emerged from his back, materializing in a burst of energy.


    "Master! You have to pull yourself together! You can''t die here!??" Pyra''s fiery eyes flickered with panic, her small body hovering anxiously over Aster.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Master?! Master?!?" Crysta was already crying, tears streaming down her cheeks as she frantically tapped his face, trying to rouse him. Her usual icy demeanor was gone, reced with raw fear and desperation.


    Aster''s eyes shifted weakly, catching a glimpse of Crysta''s tearful face. He wanted to say something tofort her, to reassure her that everything would be alright, but his lips wouldn''t move. His body had failed him, and he was too weak to speak.


    Lori watched the scene unfold with cold indifference, her gaze fixed on Aster. Slowly, she began to walk toward him, each step deliberate and measured.


    "This is the end," she dered, her voice calm but filled with certainty.


    Pyra, desperate to protect her master, flew in front of Lori, spreading her tiny arms wide as if she could shield Aster from the inevitable. But Lori''s dark magic moved swiftly, a shadowy hand grabbing Pyra and pinning her down with ease.


    As Lori drew closer, she stopped just a few steps away from Aster. Her eyes flickered with something—an emotion she quickly buried—but she shook her head, casting aside whatever fleeting thought had crossed her mind.


    She raised her staff high, gripping it as if it were a sword, aiming directly at Aster''s head. It didn''t need an edge; with Lori''s strength, even a blunt strike would be enough to crush his skull.


    "NO!" Cassy''s voice rang out in the distance, filled with anguish. If she still had her sight, she would have been crying, but now, all she could do was scream in frustration and despair.


    For a brief moment, everything seemed to pause. Lori''s staff hovered above Aster, poised to deliver the fatal blow. And then, with deadly force, she brought it down.


    "Hold it right there~!"


    "...!"


    Just as the tip of Lori''s staff was about to strike, a figure materialized out of thin air, appearing as though summoned by the very shadows. With a swift, effortless motion, the neer caught the staff in her open hand, halting its descent.


    "We were gone for only a moment," the woman muttered, her voice tinged with mild exasperation as her gaze flicked over Aster''s battered form. "And you''re already on death''s doorstep. You''re lucky we made it just in time."


    "You..."


    Lori''s eyes narrowed, recognition shing in them. She knew immediately who had intervened.


    Standing before her, gripping the staff with casual strength, was a woman d in a blood-red dress, her ck hair flowing elegantly down her back. Her piercing ruby eyes seemed to glow in the dark as they locked onto Lori''s.


    Vanessa Ross had arrived.


    "You should really stop ying with my meal," Vanessa remarked, her voice carrying an eerie calm as she slowly released her hold on the staff, stepping forward to stand protectively between Lori and Aster.


    Lori stepped back, her gaze flickering between Aster and Vanessa. She knew she was powerful, but Vanessa was at a different level of danger—as proven by how she was right there with them right now.


    Her mere presence seemed to shift the bnce of power in the area. The tension was palpable, thick in the air, as the two women sized each other up.


    "You''ve made a grave mistake by interfering," Lori hissed, her voice low and venomous.


    Vanessa simply smirked, her ruby eyes glowing with a predatory glint. "Oh, darling, I live for mistakes like this."