---
Roselyn stood facing Arthur on the cracked stone ground. Her only weapon was the spear in her hand, which had shifted into a modern form. Her eyes carefully observed the raw power building within her student… reading every change happening in his body.
With a calm tone hiding a storm, she said:
"Are you ready, Arthur? This is the final dance. Don't expect mercy—what awaits you might be worse… though you've certainly faced worse before."
Arthur replied in his old, cold voice:
"I know. You taught me never to hesitate… so I won't leave you with anything less than everything I have."
Before she could respond, he dashed forward.
Lightning footsteps ignited beneath him, a purple flash turning him into a blur that crossed the distance instantly. His right fist sharpened like serrated lightning, aiming straight for Roselyn's chest with explosive force.
Roselyn moved with the swiftness of wind, whispering with a fierce grin:
"Reckless… as always."
Her spear shifted in a flash—
A whirling spear of crimson fire, its blade wrapped in razor-sharp flames.
She deflected the lightning strike with a fierce spin, fire merging with sparks, producing a small explosion of steam and embers.
With her free hand, she unleashed a focused blast of wind that nearly pierced Arthur's stone armor, pushing him several steps back.
Yet Arthur never lost his momentum.
He raised both hands.
The ground trembled.
The stone under her feet cracked and rose sharply, forming jagged pillars trying to trap her.
Roselyn smiled—
A deadly smile of pure battle delight.
She didn't need to move closer.
The flaming spear dissolved in her hand, transforming into a raging vortex of fire and wind swirling around her. It reformed into a massive blazing bow.
She fired a single flaming arrow.
It tore through the stone stakes effortlessly, leaving molten holes behind.
Arthur felt real pressure.
He closed his eyes—then opened them again.
And he was no longer the same.
A black-violet aura wrapped around his body.
His eyes burned with bright purple.
He partially entered Berserk Mode.
Shadows gathered beneath him.
He summoned Cordelia's Sword in his left hand and forged another sword of dense darkness in his right.
Leaping high, he coated the shadow blade with explosive purple lightning, and Cordelia's Sword with destructive flame.
Roselyn was already prepared for this.
She struck the ground with her flaming bow, raising a circular barrier of compressed wind. It slowed Arthur, scratching his armor, but failed to stop him.
As he pierced through, she shifted her weapon into small, condensed fire daggers, choosing to attack head-on.
Their weapons clashed—
Lightning and shadow versus concentrated flame.
Light, fire, and darkness erupted in a violent explosion.
Just as Arthur was about to deliver his final strike…
Roselyn struck both his sword-bearing hands with precise, surgical accuracy.
Not to injure—
But to interrupt, extinguishing the lightning and darkness in his blades with concentrated heat.
Seizing the moment, she shifted her weapon into a simple turquoise-red spear and struck the back of Arthur's stone armor.
The armor shattered, scattering into fragments.
Arthur dropped back into his normal form—exhausted.
He fell to his knees, gasping for breath.
Roselyn stood over him, her spear pointing at his shoulder.
Her voice carried pride and pain:
"The strategic mind will always win against reckless strength, Arthur. You've improved… but you're still unstable."
Then softly:
"You passed. You're ready."
Arthur placed his hand on the cold spear blade, lifted his head, and chuckled lightly:
"Did it really have to be a farewell like this?"
Roselyn turned her gaze to the cloud-covered horizon, where an uncertain fate awaited him.
"True farewells happen when we forget. This… is a promise. Come back alive. Now go, before I change my mind."
She withdrew her spear and looked away so he wouldn't see her eyes tremble.
Arthur stepped forward—quietly, without any trace of aggression—and gently took her hand.
Her body tensed instinctively.
He spoke softly:
"Roselyn… before I go, I want to show you something."
She raised an eyebrow, trying to hide her sudden unease behind her strict composure.
A strange feeling swept over her…
The kind of scene straight out of one of those overly dramatic stories she refused to admit she read.
"No… don't tell me he's going to—"
She lowered her gaze slightly in embarrassment.
But Arthur, with absolute seriousness, said:
"I have a long-range teleportation skill. I can go anywhere just by thinking… as long as I have enough mana."
Roselyn's head snapped up as if splashed with cold water.
She stared at him for a full second, then asked with a blank expression:
"…That's what you wanted to show me? A skill?"
Arthur nodded with deadly seriousness:
"Yes."
A long silence followed—
A very long one—
Before she let out a small involuntary laugh, the kind that escapes someone who hasn't laughed in years.
Shaking her head, she said with a reluctant smile:
"You're a disaster… a walking disaster."
Arthur smirked:
"But your disaster, right?"
She bit her lip to stop herself from smiling further and lightly smacked his arm:
"Go before I actually change my mind."
With one last shared look—honest, deep, carrying respect and something neither dared to name—
The dark vortex wrapped around Arthur, and he vanished.
Left alone with the fading smoke, Roselyn whispered with a faint smile:
"Idiot…"
---
Inside the Void Realm
[You should have left earlier. We don't have much time left!]
[Remaining lifespan: 3 days.]
Arthur replied with chilling calm:
"Relax. I know the perfect place to extend my life… and to get what I want."
---
Tell me what you think of the emotional moment between Arthur and Roselyn?