The clash paused.
Not because either of them chose to stop—
But because something had changed.
Kensai stood still.
Her blade lowered slightly.
Her eyes… closed.
The air around her tightened.
Kael felt it first.
"…No… this isn't normal…"
Shun's grip on her weapon tightened.
"…That pressure… it's pulling…"
Pulling.
Everything.
Dust lifted from the ground.
Fragments of stone slid across the earth.
Even the faint purple energy lingering around Lira's fists began to distort—stretching toward Kensai like it was being called.
Lira blinked.
"…Weird."
Kensai opened her eyes.
Dark.
Endless.
"…Ultimate Skill," she said calmly.
"…Beezlebub."
The moment the words left her lips—
The world twisted.
A silent vortex formed around her.
Not wind.
Not magic.
Something deeper.
Absorption.
Lira stepped forward instinctively.
Her purple aura flared again—wild, powerful, overwhelming—
And then—
It vanished.
Not weakened.
Not pushed back.
Consumed.
"…Oh," Lira said softly.
Kael's eyes widened in horror.
"…She's… eating it…"
Kensai didn't move.
She didn't attack.
She simply stood—
And devoured.
The purple energy flowed toward her in streams, like rivers being pulled into an endless abyss.
The ground cracked as residual power was stripped away.
Even the air felt thinner, emptier.
Shun stepped back.
"…That's not magic…"
"…That's removal."
Lira clenched her fists.
She punched forward.
The force was still immense—
Still enough to shatter mountains—
But the moment the energy formed—
It disappeared.
Swallowed whole.
Kensai tilted her head slightly.
"…Your power is inefficient," she said.
"…You release too much."
She took a step forward.
The vortex expanded.
Lira's aura flickered again—then was torn away, piece by piece, devoured before it could even fully form.
For the first time—
Lira took a step back.
"…Not fun," she muttered.
Kael's heart dropped.
"…She's being countered…"
Prince Eldarin, pale, whispered:
"…She's losing…"
Kensai raised her blade.
Not aggressively.
Precisely.
"…Power without control," she said,
"…is simply food."
The vortex pulsed.
Stronger.
Hungrier.
Lira's fists—once glowing with unstoppable force—were now bare, quiet, stripped of their overwhelming aura.
But even then—
She smiled.
Small.
Dangerous.
"…Okay," she said.
"…New game."
Kensai's eyes narrowed slightly.
For the first time—
There was a hint of curiosity.
Because despite losing her power—
Lira didn't look afraid.
She looked… excited.
To Be Continued…