Although I knew you for a short time, it was a beautiful adventure.

Ramiel kicked the ground, bringing out an elongated cut. His eyes carefully followed Night Deuce's posture. Even the trembling muscles hidden beneath the thick fur couldn't escape them.

The monster's tail cut through the air in response, clashing with a perfectly aimed blow.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ramiel's forearms trembled, and his muscles tensed to the limit in an attempt to counter the crushing force. Despite similar statistics, the Night Deuce still towered over the man.

This was understandable due to humans' physiology and structure. No matter how powerful a human might be, he could never match a wild beast, even if their strength statistics were equal.

Ramiel pointed the deadly tail toward the frozen ground with a deft flick of the wrist.

The spearhead shone with a subtle glow, gathering mana inside.

This didn't escape the Night Deuce's attention, but the monster could do nothing about it. In a strange and incomprehensible way, the measly man's strength increased many times over in a matter of seconds. Suddenly, he became a real threat to be reckoned with.

You don't have to be clairvoyant to know this doesn't please the monster.

Loosening his grip around the spar, Ramiel performed a quick and graceful pirouette, giving the spearhead a centrifugal force. It would have fallen dead long ago if his opponent had been any other creature.

Unfortunately, the Night Deuce isn't the first better inferior monster but a living relic of the past that has survived countless fights to the death. It takes more than a cold toothpick to kill it.

The monster reacted before Ramiel's vicious attack reached him. Its paw was covered in a dark and sticky ooze that hissed whenever it came into contact with the air.

The deadly claws doubled in length. Night Deuce decided to get serious. The endless stretching and playing with the insect no longer gave him pleasure.

Ramiel wasn't the only one who could perform exquisite acrobatics. Night Deuce jumped up and performed a spin along its axis.

" Hold on! "

Ramiel's warning was interspersed with silent curses directed at the monster. He only felt Avi's small hands tighten around his lush hair.

The Night Deuce had outsmarted Ramiel. It missed the man's weapon by a tiny margin. Literally, the tip of the spear cut the thick fur near his back.

Suddenly, the roles were reversed. Now, it was the hunter who was in a lot of trouble. The monster's massive paw, representing impending doom, grew in his eyes. One mistake, and he would be gone from this world forever.

The only thing that came to Ramiel's mind was quickly spinning his spear in the air and trying to parry the attack blindly. This seemed to be the most reasonable option.

He didn't have to think twice. He immediately went into action. After all, every split second counts.

Swish

With dizzying speed, the spear danced in Ramiel's hands, changing its trajectory. He had to fully trust the senses and instincts that Mother Nature had bestowed upon him.

BOOM !!!!!!!!!!

Believing in his abilities proved to be Ramiel's salvation... or... maybe someone had their fingers in it... A certain bored goddess of fortune who took a liking to the young man may have had a hand in it.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!

The spearhead, charged to the limit, stood in the way of the bloodthirsty claws. The unpleasant encounter unleashed two powerful and opposing types of energy, which were engaged in a fierce duel with each other.

On the one hand, the sulfurous frost tried to suck dry every gram of life-giving essence... On the other hand, the dark energy wanted to send away everything that stood in its way into oblivion. For her... all that mattered was terror and destruction...

The shockwave created by the minor exchange of words knocked Ramiel and Night Deuce back several meters.

Ramiel drove his spear into the ground with all his strength and held it as if his life depended on it. He wanted to break the momentum to avoid a close encounter with a frozen tree trunk.

Rasp Rasp

With a screech that made his ears wilt, the spear tore through the ground, leaving a crater half a meter deep.

Cough Cough Cough

Ramiel dropped to one knee when he managed to stop in place. His hand was instantly at his mouth, blocking the copious amounts of scarlet liquid that kept pouring out.

The shockwave did more damage than he anticipated. It blew up some of the blood vessels, causing hemorrhaging.

The man would have immediately taken care of the current problem had he not been in more trouble.

A pitch-black mark from four claws ran from his collarbone to the base of his left breast. The wound wasn't deep enough to kill but deep enough to hurt severely.

Ramiel knew he was in trouble. He immediately put the icy spearhead to his chest as soon as he could catch his breath.

" KHGH... "

A muffled groan escaped his bloodied throat. The pain of burning living mana

Night Deuce and the penetrating frost in his cells made him feel sick.

Fortunately, after a few seconds, it was over. Had he delayed a little longer, it could have ended much worse.

Ramiel was panting heavily, supporting himself on his spear. Suddenly, three vials of bright red liquid appeared in his hand, and he drank it without thinking. The quality of the potion Darwin had prepared left much to be desired, but it was better than nothing. 

When you don't have what you like, you like what you have.

A tsunami of heat immediately flooded his body. The fresh wounds stung and pinched, but it was nothing compared to the pain he had just felt.

A sudden burst of energy motivated him to rise on straight legs.

His amethyst eyes shone with a subtle glow. They resembled two violet flames, representing a gateway to an unfathomable abyss.

" Avi, are you alright? "

" Yes... I think so. "

Unlike Ramiel, Avi was nothing. As always, he put the safety of the fairy first, only then his own.

" Get ready, this thing, it's tougher than I thought. "

Ramiel looked appreciatively at Night Deuce. The monster's ashen fur was three-quarters covered by the Dark Spectre. Despite this, the relic of the past didn't have the slightest trouble moving. Maybe it was a tad slower, but that's about it.

The beast seemed to ignore even the fact of its slow loss of stats.

" I'm impressed. I didn't think that an inferior monster could bring me to such a pitiful state. "

Even Cursed Damnation does little to him. - Finished the man in his mind.

The curses and weakenings imposed by Ramiel's favorite skill weren't even worth mentioning.

He tried to find a way to kill him, but nothing came to mind.

" The lack of a plan is also a kind of plan... I'll think of something... After all, when something bleeds, it means that it can be killed. No matter how strong its defenses are. "

Ramiel's words mingled with his calm and steady steps. The tip of the spear dragged along the ground, leaving behind seemingly insignificant lines.

Contrary to what one might think, the two warriors didn't throw themselves at each other's throats like savage and ill-mannered beasts. They stood facing each other, measuring each other with their eyes.

The seemingly ongoing stalemate was broken when Ramiel's amethyst eyes met Night Deuce's bright green eyes.

Swish

Swosh

Rasp

Crackle

The two figures clashed with each other. Ramiel stopped limiting himself, taking full advantage of his potential. With the grace of a ballerina and minimal range of motion, he delivered deadly blows.

A hail of attacks flooded the monster, forcing it to go temporarily on the defensive.

Ramiel's spear literally danced in his hands, carving long slashes. The man was unable to stand still in one place. Every second he changed his position, performing exquisite acrobatics.

Sometimes, he attacked with the blunt side of the shaft. Sometimes, he used his accumulated mana to create frosty spikes that would pierce the confused monster through. Sometimes, in the middle of launching an attack, he turned the cut into a deadly thrust or simply loosened his grip to save a vicious stance.

The man attacked from all sorts of angles he could think of.

Ramiel had a simple plan: He would not give the monster even a fraction of a second to rest. If he pinned it down, the monster would start making mistakes.

The idea began to take effect. On the Night Deuce's massive body were traces of fresh wounds and frostbite caused by the Dark Spectrum.

Unfortunately, it had negative effects that took its toll on Ramiel. His body was still not ready for such an extreme fighting style.

Muscles had long since exceeded the allowed stretch threshold, and tendons had begun to snap. The joints that held his bones in place were loosening, causing an unpleasant grating sound at the slightest movement.

Despite the low temperature, Ramiel was doused in sweat. His body temperature had crossed the safe threshold and stopped at 42 degrees Celsius.

If the man doesn't stop, I don't augur a bright future for him.

The Night Deuce didn't remain passive during the hunter's persistent onslaught. Like a cornered predator, it responded with double the fury and ferocity. From time to time, its tail muscled an exposed piece of skin, or its claws tore off a piece of meat.

This could have been due to the mental exhaustion or physical fatigue of Ramiel's body, but with the passing of time, the monster noticed a pattern in the man's movements.

The man tried his best, but in the end... he was only human. He would succumb to routine and repetition without going beyond a certain limit.

The fight was getting heavier by the minute. His arms were weighing Ramiel down, and his light legs seemed to be made of heavy stone.

' Kid. '

" What... "

Azazel's unexpected voice distracted Ramiel for literally a split second, and that's all it took for the monster to punish the hunter.

The world in front of his eyes swirled, and then he felt himself bounce several times on the ice.

A burning pain nestled on the right side of his ribs, and his skin immediately turned blue. It was a real miracle that he was still alive.

The monster should have broken him in half, but his intuition, shrouded in legend, saved Ramiel's skin. Just before the impact, the mana gathered at one point, forming a kind of unique shield that dissipated most of the force of the attack.

" Fuck "

A ball of dark mist unexpectedly surrounded the hideous mouth of the monster. The relic of the past shouldn't see anything for a minute or so.

Ramiel cast a spell that cut off waves of visible light from reality. It was childishly simple to dispel but required an awfully long preparation.

It was supposed to be a trump card to kill the monster... It ended up being used to save lives.

" Azazel ... has anyone ever fucked you in the stupid snout? " Ramiel barely exhaled, gasping heavily at the same time. The demon's attention might have cost him a potential victory.

' So you aren't interested in the problems of your women? You know ... for me, they can die. '

Ramiel's teeth clenched with anger. For the moment, he had to keep the ticking bomb in his heart on a short leash.

" How bad is it? ' Boiling rage and frustration could be heard in the tone of his voice.

' The one with the horns will say goodbye to her head if you don't think of something right away. Unless you're one of the degenerates who like it cold ... but you don't seem like the type from under a dark star to me. '

WRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Ramiel had to add one more thing to his long list of worries. Night Deuce had just freed himself from his trap.

It obviously didn't like Ramiel's idea because it lunged at him with fury in its eyes. The sudden bloodlust hit the man like a cannonball against the city walls.

" Eh... Although we knew each other for a short time, you served me bravely. "

Without a second thought, Ramiel sent his spear towards the rushing monster.

Night Deuce's tail was about to defect to the oncoming object, but then, something unexpected happened. The weapon suddenly exploded, releasing an astronomical amount of chaotic mana.

Swish Swish

An impenetrable snowstorm formed at the epicenter of the explosion, with razor-sharp shards of the Dark Spectre raging within.

The Night Deuce was pushed to the defensive. To survive, it used the remnants of the remaining cast barrier.

Ramiel had no time to admire his masterpiece. Time was pressing him...

" I hope this works... " The hunter let out a quiet yet tired sigh.

Along with his words, the lines previously outlined by the spears on the ground were filled with a purple glow that deceptively resembled the hue of a blooming orchid.

During the fight, Ramiel took some safety measures to ensure a safe escape route.

As he engaged in a fierce exchange of words with Night Deuce, he took the opportunity to create a magical formation covering the vast battlefield.

No one would call it a marvel of engineering or the pinnacle of man's abilities. But for something created in haste, it seemed remarkably solid.

" Azazel charge the batteries of this thing. "

Suddenly, a pillar of dark energy rose in the middle of the magical formation, reaching all the way to the cave's vault. It lifted Ramiel to the skies. With a little help from Azazel, his astute mana-enhanced eyes could see.

In the distance, he spotted a barrier, and inside it, the Fear of Night, who was bullying Asme. Seraphine was no better off. Although she tried her best, she could not help the horned beauty.

The resulting anger caused by Azazel's actions exploded, taking Night Deuce as its target.

A cracked sword appeared in Ramiel's hand, barely held in one piece. It was immediately surrounded by mana rich in the element of darkness. Under the influence of the hunter's small tricks, it took the shape of a spear several meters long.

Swish

The man tensed to the limit and sent a spell at the arrogant monster.

" I'm sorry. " For a split second, one could see his eyes filled with guilt as he followed the disappearing weapon with his eyes.