Billie’s katana arced through the air, slicing towards Gaun’s neck with terrifying speed.

Kay reacted, his blade catching Billie’s by the edge.

Gaun moved immediately, his hand lashing at Billie’s head.

Billie ducked, barely avoiding the punch.

As if already waiting for her to do that, Kay withdrew his katana and brought it downwards, piercing towards her exposed head.

But Billie was anything but surprised.

She took the attack with the flat of her katana.

Her body was pushed deeper into the floor, but she held.

Gaun came in from the side, his leg whipping towards her torso.

Billie somersaulted over it and landed with a soft thud.

She had created distance between herself and her attackers.

She looked at them and flicked her wrist.

Gaun and Kay felt something shift in them.

Billie did not linger. Her body tore through the air again, her dagger appearing in her left hand as she pierced towards Gaun’s chest.

Gaun stepped back, creating just enough space for the attack to miss.

But Billie was not going to miss that easily.

Her right hand moved in tandem, katana slashing at the same chest, this time with greater precision.

Gaun was caught by surprise.

Kay jumped in just in time, blocking her attack once again.

The force behind it sent a tremor through his bones.

His hand froze for a second.

Gaun, already closing in, suddenly stopped in his tracks as he felt a sudden force spread through his arm.

Billie moved again, her katana carving through the air.

In its trail, aether followed.

Kay reacted instantly, his katana striking back at Billie’s with equal force.

Billie’s hand flung backwards from the counter, but she reacted instantly, using her dagger to block a follow up.

The floor beneath them shook from the weight of their attacks.

Left, right, right, right, left, up, left. Kay’s moves were so erratic that they kept Billie constantly on edge.

She ducked, avoiding a slash aimed at her neck.

She drove her katana upwards in a rising arc.

Kay stepped back, creating enough space for the blade to pass.

He did not close in.

From behind, Gaun entered, his fist clenched and coated in aether.

Billie was not surprised.

She raised her leg, kicking the hand away before it could find its mark.

Gaun’s fist sailed wide.

Billie used the space created, spinning in the same motion and driving her elbow into the side of his head.

Gaun staggered.

The same could be said for Kay, whose head suddenly jerked to the side with enough force to snap a normal person’s neck.

Both fighters stopped for a moment, eyes locked on Billie, who was already moving.

In that moment, they finally understood the reason for the shift they had felt.

Billie flickered into Kay’s rear, but he was prepared.

His leg kicked backwards hard.

Billie twisted out of its path and delivered a punch at his head.

Gaun was there, catching the hand before it could even connect.

Kay finished with a kick at her stomach. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Billie’s body folded inward, making her skid backwards.

She caught herself.

Kay was already coming from the front, katana slashing in a tight diagonal aimed at her collarbone.

Billie caught it with her dagger and pushed it wide.

Her katana flashed forward into the gap beneath his guard, toward his ribs.

Kay leapt back, the blade only grazing his aether coated stomach without breaking through.

Gaun came in from the side, his leg shooting forward at Billie’s neck.

Billie caught it in her palm, the force behind it making the wind stir in chaos.

Gaun rolled, his other leg delivering the kick instead.

Billie released the leg, ducking just before the kick could connect.

Her leg swept through the ground in a wide arc, sweeping Gaun’s landing legs off the floor.

Her katana glistened with a cold silver sheen as she thrust downwards.

Gaun rolled away, the katana only driving into the earth beneath.

She stepped back, abandoning her katana to avoid Kay’s cleave.

She held her dagger firmly within her grip, then shot forward.

Aether flared from her form as she crossed the distance.

Gaun dropped low, avoiding a thrust at his glabella.

Billie did not let him go unscathed. She drove her knee into his head as he was on the floor.

His head snapped backward from the power behind the attack.

Kay, who was already rushing in, was suddenly thrown backward.

Gaun recovered quickly, his fist lashing at Billie’s exposed jaw.

Billie sidestepped, her leg shooting towards Gaun’s head once again.

Gaun caught it with his elbow.

His body was hurled through the air, only stopping when it hit the warehouse door.

Billie sighed as she stood alone in the middle.

"Even though you are just puppets, why are you this weak?" Billie could not help but ask.

She had been very eager when she heard this organization was able to produce a being comparable to a pseudo Monarch rank cultivator.

Alas, such a thing could not be mass produced.

"Let’s just get this over with and get out of here," she said with a sigh.

She began to walk towards Gaun’s battered figure.

Her fingers curled around the hilt of her katana, still pierced into the ground.

Without stopping or exerting force, she pulled it out of the earth.

She reached Gaun and raised her katana above his head.

With a final look, she pierced downwards.

The sound of flesh parting echoed through the air. Blood splattered to the floor beside the body, then silence.

Kay, who was far away, lost the light in his eyes as Gaun was killed.

"I should have used that skill instead of this one. It would have made the fight faster," she muttered as she thought of another skill in her arsenal.

Just then, cracks began to appear in the space before her.

The same place Miller had disappeared alongside Gee and Lan.

"He is done already?" She asked herself. "Such coincidence."

But her eyes widened.

Miller’s battered body was flung out of the crack, blood seeping from every pore in his body.

Then, walking out of the crack, was none other than Gee.