The jungle below thrummed with raw, ancient energy as the vampiress finally unleashed the skill she had been preparing in silence. A deep pulse rippled through the canopy like a shockwave. Thalion barely had a moment to register what was happening before she vanished and reappeared directly before him.

Her form had changed dramatically. From her back extended four thick, pulsating red vines, writhing like the limbs of some eldritch beast. Dozens of smaller tendrils sprouted from her skin at random, each one glowing faintly with blood-infused mana. Her eyes had turned entirely crimson, save for a single, bright core of light in the center of each pupil. The pressure she now radiated was suffocating, far beyond anything he had sensed before. Even his bloodline flames, which had scorched the air around her moments ago, now recoiled, forced to retreat from her burning presence.

Every vein beneath her skin pulsed with a violent, red glow, and her claws crackled with spinning energy. Whatever ability she had just activated, it was an apex-level boost. Thalion could see the instability rippling beneath the surface, but that didn’t make it any less deadly.

Her first strike came faster than he could track. He instinctively raised his sword and summoned his vines to block, but the sheer force of her blow launched him backward like a ragdoll. His sword arm wrenched from its socket with a sickening crack, and his chest armor was shredded like paper. Bone splintered beneath the impact.

Before he could even hit the ground, she followed up, firing a bloodthorn straight at his heart. It was far more potent than any she'd used before, at least three times stronger. Thalion barely managed to throw up a mana barrier, deflecting the deadly projectile as he twisted mid-air, aided by blood manipulation. He grabbed his dislocated shoulder with his left hand and yanked. Pain flared through his body, sharp but tolerable.

His crimson virethorn was already at work, binding his fractured ribs and forcing the shattered bones back into place with thin, surgical vines. Still, there was no time to recover. The vampiress was on him again, her claws flashing downward.

Anticipating it, Thalion activated Mistform, transforming into vapor and reappearing twenty meters away with a whisper of air. This time, she didn’t chase him directly. Instead, she raised her hand and launched a barrage of blood-forged blades. These weren’t made from her living plant, this was her raw blood, hardened and honed. He tried to seize control of it with his own manipulation, but it resisted him. The power infused in the blades was too concentrated, too distant from his influence.

He dashed again, narrowly avoiding the onslaught. This was troubling. Up until now, her blood abilities had been limited to close-range manipulation and the use of her vampiric flora. But now, her control extended well beyond that. Meanwhile, Thalion couldn’t use both his own blood powers and the crimson virethorn simultaneously. He was outmatched. She was faster, stronger, and now had longer reach. His superior technique meant little when he couldn’t even close the gap.

The only thing holding him back from transforming was the effect it would have on his flames. Below, the jungle was a roaring sea of fire. His flames fed on blood, and if he changed form now, their strength would be greatly reduced. The vampiress must’ve been pouring mana into that jungle, maintaining both the burning canopy and her own monstrous transformation. That upkeep had to be draining her, he just had to outlast it.

Shifting into Eagly form was out of the question. The vines would snatch him out of the air the moment he got too close to the canopy. Even his rapid regeneration wouldn’t save him. Those blood plants were evolution-honed to deal with high-recovery threats. And as Eagly, he would have no way to block a direct hit. No, he had to hold on like this, human, injured, but still fighting.

His mana pool was nearly full. His bloodline skill remained unused, its potent recovery still in reserve. He could afford to take more punishment, but it burned him inside to be on the defensive. He had bled and fought through every level of the tutorial, suffered endlessly to become stronger and now, he was barely surviving.

We’ll see who laughs last, Thalion growled to himself.

The vampiress struck again, forcing him to dissolve into mist and reform mid-air, dodging by inches. Her movements blurred with supernatural speed, almost beyond his ability to track. Only his combat title, which enhanced perception during high-threat engagements, kept him alive.

The pain was constant now, cumulative. Every strike he couldn’t fully avoid added another wound. He was being worn down. Still, he refused to use his bloodline skill just yet. Instead, he continued to rely on Mistform, psychic dashes, summoned barriers, and vine manipulation to redirect and evade.

It still wasn’t enough. The vampiress’s form was simply too powerful, like a storm given shape and will. Thalion, gritting his teeth, redirected his focus toward intensifying the flames consuming the jungle below. If he couldn’t overpower her directly, perhaps he could hasten her downfall by forcing her to maintain the burning domain. He could already tell that most of the other battles had ceased; all eyes were on them now. From the corners of his vision, he caught glimpses of onlookers frozen in mid-fight, transfixed by the duel above the inferno.

He wasn’t exactly making a heroic impression, darting through the sky like a hunted animal while the vampiress chased him with terrifying speed and precision. But what choice did he have? That creature, whatever she had become was absurdly overpowered. It felt unfair. He remembered their first encounter vividly, when he had dominated her in combat, striking with confidence and control. Now, he didn’t even dare swing his sword, not even when she was wide open. He was forced to retreat, over and over again, staying just out of reach.

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The vampiress mirrored his movements with uncanny fluidity, her speed enhanced by some ability that felt disturbingly similar to Mistform. The crimson vines sprouting from her back acted like wings, propelling her through the air in sweeping arcs, though Thalion had yet to fully grasp how they functioned. He was far too busy dodging to analyze her technique.

Then came another devastating strike, one he failed to avoid. Her claws raked across his side, nearly tearing his left arm from his shoulder. The raw power behind every blow was staggering, enough to split trees or shatter stone. When she reappeared in front of him again, claws poised and red eyes gleaming, he knew he had no choice. If he didn’t act now, it was over.

Her left arm came sweeping toward his skull, claws aglow with lethal energy. Thalion caught the smile on her face wide, cruel, and brimming with victory. Her teeth, thin and needle-like, shimmered with an inner red light. She thought this would be the end.

How wrong she was.

Thalion activated his bloodline skill.

His body exploded into pure crimson flame, disappearing and reforming in an instant behind her. The heat was intoxicating warm, empowering, righteous. But he didn’t linger in that form; the mana cost was too high. He reappeared mid-swing, the blade of the Blooded Templar gleaming with condensed power. The vampiress turned too late. His strike cleaved through two of her vine-wings and carved deep into her back, molten energy trailing behind the arc of his swing.

It wasn’t the killing blow he had hoped for.

Even as he activated Red Slash, aiming to carve her in half, vines burst from her wound, intercepting his attack and pushing against the enchanted blade. These vines were unlike any he had seen before—denser, darker, filled with maddening resistance. Still, he felt bones snap beneath his strike, and the vampiress shrieked in pain and fury.

She whipped around with predatory speed, red claws lashing out. Thalion didn’t hesitate. He kicked her square in the face, the impact shattering her nose and using her head as a springboard to launch himself backward, narrowly avoiding the counterattack.

“She has to be running low,” Thalion told himself, though he felt no confirmation through his title. It was a matter of logic. He was supposed to be the pinnacle of recovery in F-grade, his connection to the Outsider granting him unmatched regeneration. There was no way she had greater endurance at some point, she had to falter.

He briefly considered manifesting a blade through his bloodline skill to deliver a final, devastating strike but the wind-up was too slow, and he feared she would recover faster than he could channel the attack. She had already proven her speed. That window of opportunity had closed.

So the dance continued.

She hurled blood spells, clawed at him, dashed through the sky in relentless pursuit. Thalion weaved through her attacks with near-perfect grace, relying on Mistform, barriers, telekinetic bursts, and pure instinct. All the while, he continued feeding mana into the firestorm below, fueling the jungle’s incineration. But he couldn’t understand why she was still holding onto the domain. It offered her no tactical advantage, not while they fought in the open sky.

Still, she tried to force him downward.

Thalion was unfazed. If necessary, he could teleport skyward again with his bloodline skill. She wasn’t going to corner him that easily.

The chase dragged on for several grueling minutes, both combatants locked in a deadly aerial ballet while hundreds watched in awe. Then finally Thalion saw it. The jungle below was no longer regenerating fast enough. The fire had gained ground. Her domain was crumbling.

About damn time, he thought. It had taken far too long. He had already used his bloodline skill three times, and his mana pool was down to half. Luckily, thanks to his rapid recovery, it wasn’t a major issue, so long as he didn't push it further.

The vampiress was still too strong for a direct assault. Thalion continued the evasive strategy until the domain below was finally consumed. The burning wasteland that remained offered no refuge for her plants and now he had the advantage.

With a confident smirk, he descended into the scorched terrain, the heat welcoming him like an old friend. The flames licked at his armor but posed no threat. The vampiress followed without hesitation, still attacking with claws and vines, her movements as aggressive as ever. Occasionally, she launched blood thorns at him, but Thalion anticipated each one, dodging effortlessly thanks to his combat title.

It was annoying, however, that the flames no longer harmed her. He’d forgotten: her aura repelled the fire now. Every flame that came close was pushed back by her overwhelming presence.

Fine, Thalion thought, cutting off the flow of mana to the flames. Time for a change of tactics.

If she wanted a melee battle...

Then he had the perfect form in mind.

And this time, she wouldn’t see it coming.