I pushed myself up from where I had been and moved the instant I felt it, barely managing to dodge the incoming attack that came out of nowhere. It wasn’t even something I saw clearly at first. It just appeared, like space itself decided to cut at me.

That kind of thing wasn’t new to me.

Fighting someone with a similar ability before probably saved me just now. My body reacted before my thoughts could catch up, slipping past the slash by a margin that felt way too close for comfort. Even so, something about it felt off.

This... this was way too familiar.

My eyes narrowed as I steadied myself.

There was no doubt about it anymore. That ability, that unnatural way attacks just appeared without warning, bending space itself...

This was Norman’s Portal Making ability.

Questions piled up in my head, but none of them mattered right now. How Moriarty got that power was something I could worry about later, assuming I even got the chance.

"Quit scurrying around like a pest and just die already!" Julius snapped, his voice cutting through the chaos.

I turned just in time to see magic swirling violently in his hand. The air around him distorted slightly as a massive fireball formed, growing larger and denser in seconds. Heat radiated from it so intensely that even the space between us seemed to waver.

Then he threw it.

Straight at me.

I tightened my grip on Ayuru, channeling a heavy amount of mana into her. The blade responded instantly, humming with power as I swung it through the air. The slash didn’t just cut. It tore through space itself, releasing a compressed shockwave that surged forward.

The two forces collided midair.

For a split second, everything held still.

Then the fireball split clean in half, the shockwave cutting through it like it was nothing. The flames lost their shape and scattered, breaking apart before completely disintegrating into nothing.

I didn’t even get a moment to breathe.

Moriarty was already on me again.

His blade came in fast, precise, and relentless. Each strike carried intent, like he was trying to corner me rather than just land a hit. I moved with it, weaving through his attacks, dodging the ones I could react to in time and barely slipping past the ones that almost caught me.

At the same time, Julius kept launching fireballs my way.

It turned into a constant pressure from both sides.

I had to keep moving. Standing still wasn’t an option. Moriarty kept pushing me in certain directions, and it didn’t take long to realize what he was doing. He was guiding me, forcing my movement, and setting me up so Julius’ attacks would have a better chance of hitting. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

It was annoying.

Also effective.

Moriarty’s speed made things worse. He wasn’t just fast. He was consistently fast, the kind that didn’t drop or hesitate. Keeping up with him was difficult, but my reflexes were catching up. Slowly, but surely.

My vision sharpened, tracking everything around me at an almost ridiculous pace. Every movement, every shift, as well as every incoming attack from different angles. It was like my body was learning in real time, adjusting faster than it had any right to.

Eventually, something clicked.

The fireballs stopped being a real threat.

I could see their path clearly now, and I could predict their timing before they even reached me. Dodging them became almost automatic.

Julius must have noticed.

Because the next moment, he stopped hanging back.

He dashed forward, closing the distance in an instant and joining Moriarty in close combat.

Great. Just what I needed.

Now both of them were right in front of me.

The intensity of the fight spiked immediately. Every clash carried weight with a real force behind it. Each strike we exchanged didn’t just stop at us. The surrounding area took the hit too.

The ground cracked under our feet.

The air felt heavy, like it couldn’t handle the pressure we were putting on it.

Buildings nearby started showing signs of strain. Small fractures spread across their surfaces, growing larger with each missed strike or deflected attack. Pieces broke off here and there, falling apart bit by bit.

The automatons that had been standing around earlier didn’t last long.

They were caught in the middle of it, and that was enough. The pressure alone tore them apart, their bodies breaking down and disintegrating without much resistance. It almost felt unfair how easily they were wiped out.

While dealing with both of them, something started creeping in.

A tight feeling in my chest.

My breathing felt heavier.

Their teamwork was starting to get to me.

Earlier, they had none of this. Their attacks were messy, or you could say very uncoordinated. It felt like they were just throwing things at me and hoping something would land.

That wasn’t the case anymore.

Now, their movements had purpose.

They were syncing up.

I caught it in small details. The way they glanced at each other. The way one would shift position just as the other attacked. It wasn’t spoken, but it didn’t need to be.

They were deciding things on the fly.

Who would attack. Who would hold back. Where I would be pushed.

It wasn’t random anymore.

It was controlled.

And that made it worse.

Somewhere along the way, they fixed their biggest weakness. While I was busy adapting to their speed and attacks, they had been adapting to each other.

This wasn’t good.

Then it happened.

Julius closed the distance in a blur and drove his fist straight into my side.

The hit landed clean.

The force behind it sent me flying, my body lifting off the ground before I even processed what happened. The world blurred as I was thrown back, slamming straight into a building.

The structure couldn’t take it. Cracks spread instantly, and before I could recover, the entire thing collapsed, the upper floors giving way and crashing down on top of me.

Debris buried me completely.

For a moment, everything went dark.

I activated Guardian.

A pulse of force pushed outward from my body, blasting the rubble away just enough for me to move. Pieces of concrete and stone shifted, sliding off as I forced myself up.

I barely got to my feet.

Julius was already there.

Above me.

I looked up just in time to see his fist coming down, already mid-swing. A massive fireball had formed around it, flames roaring and twisting as they gathered into a single point.

There was no time to dodge at all.

The hit landed.

My vision blanked out instantly.

Pain followed right after, spreading through my entire body like it was trying to tear me apart from the inside. It wasn’t just impact. It burned.

It actually burned.

The flames wrapped around me, swallowing me whole. Heat pressed in from every direction, suffocating, and overwhelming. Moving felt impossible. Running wasn’t even an option.

I was stuck.

Then, right when the flames pinned me down completely, leaving no room to react...

The punch came.

It drove straight into my stomach.

The force behind it was insane.

Even with mana reinforcing my body, it shattered instantly. It didn’t even slow the attack down.

Everything inside me twisted.

Blood burst out of my mouth, spilling forward as my vision shook violently. For a moment, my eyes rolled, the world tilting out of place.

Still, somehow, I stayed conscious.

Barely.