The moment Damon’s Relic turned to a sword, Ivy was already upon him.
He pivoted to the side, narrowly avoiding a flame-coated fist flying straight at him.
Using the momentum of his dodge, he spun around and back-kicked Ivy in the side, sending her hurtling through the air for half a dozen meters.
She didn’t need long to recover.
The second her feet touched the ground, she lunged forward again, and this time the fire around her intensified at least threefold.
She crossed the distance between them in an instant.
Crimson fire trailed behind her like a comet that was about to crash.
Damon’s eyes widened slightly.
She was fast.
Faster than before.
He almost scoffed at how ridiculous the sudden jump in her strength and speed was, but he had no time to as another strike came his way.
Using Dimensional Step, Damon vanished in an instant, appearing behind her as her fist swung through the empty air.
For the first time, her relentless focus seemed to waver as her eyes widened and a double-edged metal sword pierced right through her entire torso.
If it were a duel of pure strength and speed, then Damon doubted this was how it would have gone. But with an ability that lets him move through space instantaneously, no matter how fast she was, it was impossible for anyone to react that fast.
The second Damon pulled the sword out of her back, Ivy’s body slumped to the ground.
"Is it—" Nyla began, but Damon quickly cut her off.
"No." he paused for a moment, watching the process using his Heavenly Comprehension before the heat emanating from her suddenly intensified.
"Stay back—" Damon had no time to finish his warning as an explosion erupted from Ivy’s body, sending him hurtling through the air.
His skin sizzled, and his armour deformed under the immense heat as he watched her get up to her feet midair.
’Seems like resurrection doesn’t make death any less unpleasant,’ Damon thought, almost amused at how angry she appeared.
Her gaze locked onto him a second later, and an endless barrage of flames tore through the air toward him.
Damon ignored the deadly array of attacks coming his way and instead focused on Ivy’s shadow.
Using his Domain directly on the girl’s shadow, he called for a summon that he had yet to test in battle.
It wasn’t that he needed it to win, it was just that he found no meaning in winning if he couldn’t get something from it.
In almost an instant, a massive serpent materialised behind Ivy.
Her eyes widened as she felt an oppressive presence from behind her. She whipped around, a third of her flames changing direction while Damon avoided the other two-thirds.
Flames clashed against the Serpent’s massive maw as it snapped open. It spanned at least ten meters wide, casting a massive shadow across the field.
Realising it completely ignored her flames and charged forward, Ivy dashed to the side, throwing herself out of harm’s way at the last second.
The Serpent slammed into the ground where she’d been standing, shattering stone and sending debris flying in every direction.
Before Damon could close the distance, Ivy thrust both hands forward.
A concentrated pillar of crimson fire erupted from her palms.
Damon raised his sword, but the impact still sent him skidding backwards across the battlefield.
The heat washed over him like a tidal wave, fresh cracks spreading through his already damaged armour.
It had been a while since he’d been hit by something that could potentially kill him.
A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth as he began to cast Black Ice across his body and armour. He couldn’t remember the last time he was truly on the defensive.
Ivy’s expression sharpened, and just as her attack was about to intensify even more, Damon vanished.
Using Dimensional Step, he appeared at her side.
The last thing she saw was a streak of black steel cutting through the air before her world went dark.
Steam still sizzled from Damon’s half-melted armour as he used Black Ice to cool it off. He watched Ivy from up close first, noting the shifts of mana inside her body, before he dashed backwards and watched the sudden burst of flames from afar.
[Your Comprehension of the *Resurrection* has significantly increased.]
Ivy rose again, this time she wasn’t so keen on attacking right away.
Her eyes shifted across him, the Serpent and the field, with a thoughtful frown.
"Ready to give up?" Damon asked, noticing her gaze.
Ivy let out a slow breath. "No."
The answer came without hesitation.
Damon wasn’t surprised. Even before becoming like this, Ivy was never the type to give up easily.
Her eyes lingered on the Serpent for another moment before shifting back to him.
"Any more surprises?"
"Just a few," he replied. "But don’t worry, I’ll be gentle... ish."
Ivy didn’t reply.
Instead, her presence suddenly shifted.
It wasn’t like the sudden burst of mana she had showcased earlier, this one was a lot slower, a lot more controlled.
Her arm rose almost causally, aiming straight at Damon as a small bright orange orb began to materialise in front of her palm.
Damon didn’t move.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the orb.
It was tiny, barely larger than a marble.
Yet the moment it appeared, the temperature across the battlefield rose noticeably.
’Some form of final attack?’ he wondered as he watched the orb brighten with each second.
The attempt seemed almost naive. With how long it took for the orb to reach its full power, Damon could’ve simply used Dimensional Step and reached Ivy before the attack could even leave her palm.
And yet, watching the orb, he felt an urge to entertain this attack.
Copying the movements of her mana, Damon began to weave both Shadows and Black Ice into an identical orb.
A small, marble-like sphere materialised in the palm of his hand.
Absolute Coldness emanated from the orb as Damon copied Ivy’s attack to near perfection.
Her gaze trailed to him for a moment, her eyes widening slightly as the attack she spent weeks developing was just copied at a single glance.
Then, her expression locked back into focus.
"Ready?" Damon asked, and in that moment, both orbs surged forward.