Butcher’s eyes managed to catch the spike as it came, but it was far too late for him to react in any way to it. Ken had concealed it so well that he had made no preparations for such an attack.

The spike travelled through the air fast and penetrated Butcher’s neck. It was clean, half of it sunk into the neck. What followed after was a fountain of blood. It gushed out nonstop and immediately painted the floor.

Butcher clutched at his neck after that, staggering backward with blood pouring out of his neck. Ken stood there and watched him, thinking that he had won the battle, but then suddenly, Butcher grabbed the spike that was lodged deep into his neck and yanked it out immediately. More blood gushed out, but he did not even make a single noise.

He tossed the spike to the ground and it dissolved. After all, it was made of his own body, so he could uncreate it. The issue was that he wasn’t able to do that fast enough, else he would have used that to stop Ken from stabbing him.

"What the hell are you made of?" Ken asked as he saw Butcher still standing. Butcher began breathing heavily from under the mask. It sounded like a table being dragged across the floor. It was clear that the injury Ken had delivered was doing a number on the big guy, and even then, he did not want to be brought down.

He gripped his sword and then took a step, blood leaving a trail behind him as he walked, each step heavier than the last, each one slower than the last, his eyes pinned on Ken as he walked. There was an eagerness to finish this fight, but his body refused to allow him.

After making it halfway, he suddenly stopped. He stood in that position for what seemed like a pretty long period of time, and then he collapsed to his knees. One hand grabbed the neck that was bleeding, the ragged breathing continuing.

"Come on dude, take the loss already, stop pushing it," Ken said. He could see how much Butcher was struggling to not allow him to leave here, but even the strongest had their limits, and a spike through the neck would be the limit for many.

"Seems you hurt my Butcher."

Suddenly, a feminine voice cut through the air, and by the time Ken looked up to see where she was, the saint had already unleashed a waterfall of lightning right over Ken. There was nowhere to run to, nowhere to escape to.

The ground rumbled at the last moment, and massive roots shot out of the ground and very quickly created a dome over Ken at the last moment. The lightning slammed into the root dome extremely hard like it was trying to rip everything to shreds. The dome managed to keep itself standing and survive the attack.

When the attack ended, the dome separated and revealed Ken inside, safe. Behind Aren, a small distance away, Luna stood there with her hands stretched out and blood running down her nose. She managed to stop the attack that wanted to kill Aren, a very powerful attack, which meant the dome she had used was a high-level spell and she was forced to cast it very fast.

She collapsed, and Leo grabbed her before she hit the ground. Ken looked over to them, his face meeting that of Leo.

"Take her somewhere safe, Leo!" he yelled.

Leo did not need to hear it twice. He grabbed her and ran. She had done what she could, and now it was time for her to move.

The saint landed beside Butcher, her clothes burned and torn at certain places, which showed that she had been in a fight. But as for her body, there was not a single scratch on it. She was not hurt at all. In fact, if not for the clothes, Ken would not believe that she was in a battle.

She looked at the wound on Butcher, then she used lightning from her palm to fry the wound shut without even asking Butcher to be ready first. Butcher let out a pained groan.

"Why did you not use your true form, Butcher?" she asked. Her eyes said a lot, she was enraged at him.

Butcher bowed his head low. He uttered no words, but his massive body suddenly seemed small as he knelt beside her.

"You really think that you are human? You cling to that lie even after how many times I have told you not to?" she asked, her anger growing.

Ken, who was watching this, began to feel bad for the big dude. He could tell that whatever this true form was, Butcher did not want to use it. He wanted to fight with his strength alone.

The saint suddenly looked at Ken, and he felt a pressure instantly.

"You. You managed to fight him in his human form until you won. That’s impressive for a human your age."

"I’d like for you to come with me. You could become my next toy," she said and then licked her lips.

"Yeah, that’s a no from me, and after all, you are here for the princess and not me," Ken said, his hands tightening around his sword as he spoke.

She looked at him for a few seconds, and then she spoke again.

"There have been some changes. The next time I come, you’ll be the target as well."

She finished saying that and then muttered something. A massive bolt of lightning fell from the sky, and when it stopped, she and Butcher had vanished, leaving Ken standing there.

"She left?" he muttered in shock, clearly not expecting that. He had survived the encounter with someone that strong. He felt bad though. After all, Butcher had been taken away and he did not die or give up, which meant their fight was not over, and now he discovered that Butcher was holding back.