The moment Page finished speaking...

The girl moved without wasting any second.

Her body blurred forward, Cognis flowing through her legs as she closed the distance instantly, her figure appearing right in front of Page like a flash of steel.

Page’s pupils followed calm and sharp seeing all her movement.

The girl rotated the blade in her left hand, gripping it at the edge with precision before swinging it horizontally toward Page’s stomach.

The air split.

Page stepped back, just one step.

The blade passed her clothes by less than an inch, the fabric trembling slightly from the wind pressure.

Then...

The second attack came.

The girl’s right-hand blade came down hard, a clean vertical slash aimed to cut through Page entirely.

Page turned her body smooth and measured, her feet slid backward one step at a time, her upper body weaving naturally as the blade passed by her again with no panic on her face.

The attacks continued.

Left, right, a thrust, a feint, another slash.

Again, and again and again.

The rhythm built, fast pace.

The girl pressed forward relentlessly, her blades flashing under the sunlight, her movements growing faster, sharper and more aggressive.

Page kept retreating barely.

Each attack missed by the smallest margin.

An inch or half an inch, sometimes less.

From the outside...

It looked one-sided.

The girl was advancing while Page was retreating, anyone watching might think Page was losing, but no one said it because everyone could see it clearly.

Page had not been touched.

Not once.

Not even a scratch on her clothes.

The girl noticed it too and her frustration showed clearly on her face with her brows tightening.

She stopped instantly, her right foot slammed firmly into the ground, Cognis surged into her arm increasing the strength as she threw her blade.

The blade tore through the air at high speed.

Page leaned slightly to the right; the blade passed her face cleanly with her eyes following it calmly, but before the blade even finished its path the girl had already thrown the second one.

"Throwing your weapons away... out of frustration now?"

Page said, her tone light, almost mocking, as she prepared to evade again.

The girl didn’t react to Page’s provocation, instead a slowly curve crept of her lips turning into a smirk and immediately, she ran forward.

This move made Page pause for a brief moment.

Not because she was afraid, but because something about it felt off. The girl had thrown both blades without hesitation, and yet her expression showed no panic, no regret, not even a trace of carelessness. It didn’t match the situation.

Still, Page did not overthink it.

Her body moved first.

She leaned to the side and avoided the second blade cleanly, her feet sliding lightly across the ground as her eyes tracked its path.

Then...

Her senses reacted.

A faint shift in the air brushed past her neck, so light it almost felt like nothing, yet sharp enough to send a warning straight to her mind.

Her body lowered instantly without any hesitation.

The first blade returned.

It cut through the air right where her neck had been, slicing clean strands of her ponytail as it passed.

Hair drifted down slowly.

Page’s eyes flickered as she caught sight of it falling, for a split second, her thoughts paused, then she moved her arms up as a shield, sensing another attack.

The girl had already closed the gap.

Her figure appeared in front of Page, her body lifting slightly as she moved forward, her left leg snapping out in a straight kick while her hand reached up and caught the returning blade with perfect timing.

Boom.

The kick landed on her arms, hard.

Page’s body was pushed back several steps, her shoes scraping lightly against the ground as she regained balance, but even in that motion...

The warning came again, sharper this time.

Her body reacted on instinct.

She turned spinning as the second blade passed by her side, cutting a small part of her coat before flying past.

The girl caught it smoothly.

Now holding both blades again, she straightened her posture, her lips curling into a smug smile as she lifted one blade and pointed it forward.

"Is this your way?" she asked, her voice filled with mockery. "Oh, great Flora Alchemist."

Page didn’t reply immediately, but the vein at the side of her head twitched slightly.

"This bitch..."

She muttered under her breath, her patience wearing thin.

Without delay, she reached into her space bag and brought out a small pouch filled with seeds.

Her hand moved in a clean arc pouring them on the floor.

The seeds scattered across the ground in front of her, spreading unevenly across the stone surface before she tossed the empty pouch aside.

The girl saw it and understood she was about to perform an Alchemy.

She dashed forward again, faster this time, aiming to interrupt before it could be completed.

Clap.

The sound echoed lightly.

Cognis surged through Page’s body, flowing into the space between her palms as the alchemy circle formed instantly.

She dropped down.

Both hands slammed onto the ground.

The seeds reacted glowingly.

A faint green light spread across their surface before they began to move, pushing into the cracks of the ground as if something beneath was pulling them in.

Then...

The ground split.

Cracks spread outward, from those cracks, green veins burst out.

Thick and thin strands twisted together, smooth yet alive, stretching upward and forward toward the girl.

The girl halted immediately.

Her feet pushed against the ground as she leaped backward, her blade cutting down the first vine that reached her.

She flipped in the air and landed on one knee, her body lowering into a ready stance, her eyes locked onto Page.

Page stood up slowly.

A small smile formed on her lips.

"Now..." she said, raising her hand slightly, her fingers curling. "...let’s get this fight started."

Her hand moved towards the girl’s position and the vines followed.

They surged forward, faster than before, stretching aggressively across the space between them.

Just like that...

The flow of the fight changed.

The girl was no longer advancing freely instead she was forced back running but even then, she did not panic.

Her blades moved with precision.

Each strike clean, each motion controlled.

She cut through the incoming vines one after another, sometimes slicing two or three at once as her body twisted and turned with practiced rhythm.

"If this is all you can do..." she spoke mid-motion, her body spinning as she cut through another set of vines.

"...then I’m ending this."

The moment her feet touched the ground again, Cognis surged into her legs.

The ground beneath her cracked slightly as she pushed forward with force.

She lunged.

Straight through the incoming vines.

Her body spun, her blades cutting outward in wide arcs, slicing through the vines like a rotating fan as she advanced.

Page responded immediately.

Her hands pressed forward, directing more vines to block and push her back.

But the girl adapted quickly.

She stepped onto the vines instead using them.

Her feet landed on one, then another, turning them into stepping platforms as she ran upward and forward at the same time, cutting away any vine that tried to stop her.

"You see!" she shouted, her voice filled with excitement, her movements growing sharper.

"You can’t stop my blades!"

She threw one blade again.

At the same time, her body twisted sideways in a somersault, avoiding two vines that shot toward her.

Page raised two fingers up.

More vines surged up instantly intercepting the blade mid-air, stopping it, but the girl pulled a thin wire attached to the blade handle tightened, dragging it back into her hand.

That brief moment... that single shift of attention... was enough.

The girl closed the distance.

Her blades moved in one clean motion.

Slash.

The vines in front of her were cut apart instantly, their pieces falling uselessly to the ground as Cognis enhanced the sharpness of her weapons, then she thrust forward, both blades aimed straight at Page’s chest.

But...

Page dropped.

Her body fell backward before the blades could reach her.

A vine curled up from behind, catching her before she hit the ground and pulling her sideways at speed, moving her out of the attack path like a sliding platform.

The vine lifted her back up.

At the same time, another vine wrapped around her arm, tightening and shaping itself around her fist like a gauntlet.

She stepped forward and punched.

Boom.

The girl reacted quickly, raising one blade to block, not looking at the attack or Page, her face was forward while the attack came from her side.

The impact rang out across the arena.

The force pushed her sideways, her feet dragging slightly against the ground.

Page didn’t stop there.

Her hand moved into her space bag again, bringing out two more seed pouches and she poured them instantly.

Clap.

Cognis surged again.

The ground cracked wider this time with more vines bursting out, thicker, more violent, rushing toward the girl from multiple angles and at the same time...

Page ran forward.

The girl saw it.

The vines were no longer coming in waves—they were flooding the entire space, twisting, stretching, crashing toward her from every direction, while Page herself moved forward behind them like a shadow hidden in a storm.

For a brief moment, the arena felt smaller.

Then...

Cognis surged.

The girl pushed more of it into her body, her veins faintly showing along her arms as her breathing steadied.

"Not bad... not bad," she said, her voice calm.

There was no fear in her eyes, only excitement.

A sharp, almost dangerous kind of excitement, then she moved forward without hesitation.

Her feet stepped lightly, yet fast, weaving through the vines as if she had already mapped their paths in her mind. Her blades flashed again and again, slicing through each vine that reached her, her body bending, twisting, turning in a rhythm that felt almost natural.

Page watched and acted.

The vines shifted.

Not just attacking, but supporting.

She stepped onto them like staircases.

Her body lifted into the air, her feet landing on a rising vine as more gathered beneath her, twisting together, merging, tightening.

Forming into a fist.

A massive one.

Cognis flowed into the veins, strengthening the structure, hardening it, turning something soft into something heavy.

Then...

She dropped.

The fist came down with force.

The girl reacted instantly, both blades rose to block.

Clang!

The impact rang across the arena.

Dust burst outward.

The ground beneath the girl cracked, small pieces of stone breaking away as her feet sank slightly under the force.

Her body trembled.

A thin line of blood slipped from the corner of her mouth.

Page landed a short distance away.

Her breathing grew heavier now, her chest rising and falling as sweat dripped down from her chin, her fingers twitching slightly from the strain of forcing so much Cognis at once.

For a moment...

Silence.

Then...

"Hehehe..."

The girl laughed, soft at first.

Her shoulders shook slightly as her head tilted down, then she lifted her face and smiled.

A wide one.

She stepped forward, then suddenly...

She burst forward fast.

"You are tired now, noble."

Her blade cut through the air, aimed straight at Page.

Page didn’t move much, she just stood there watching.

Then...

Right before the blade reached her...

It stopped mid-air.

The blades were vibrating while the girl’s eyes widened.

"What..."

She couldn’t move.

Her body froze.

Not by fear but by force.

Multiple vines.

They had already wrapped around her body without her noticing...her arms, her legs, her waist...tightening slowly, pulling her back, locking her in place.

"How...?"

She struggled trying to free herself, but the more she pushed... the tighter they became.

"Argh...!"

Blood spilled more from her mouth as her muscles strained, her body shaking from the pressure squeezing into her bones.

Page began to laugh.

Soft at first, then louder.

"HAHAHAHA!!"

She wiped the sweat from her face, pulling out a handkerchief and cleaning her hands calmly, like the fight had already ended, then she exhaled and smiled.

"You really are an idiot."

She walked closer slow steps with elegance.

"That vine holding you down... is called a Bunge Boa Vine."

Page’s voice came out calm, almost soft, as if she was explaining something simple to a student who had failed to understand a basic lesson.

She continued to step closer slowly.

Her shoes made faint sounds against the cracked ground as she stopped beside the girl and bent slightly, her fingers reaching out to touch the vine wrapped tightly around the girl’s right leg. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

She rubbed it gently, almost like she was petting it.

A small, twisted smile formed on her lips.

"They can grow in any environment," she continued, her tone steady, "and they’re treated like weeds... because they always want something to hold on to, something to cling to so they can keep growing."

Her fingers tapped lightly against the vine.

At that moment...

The vine tightened.

"Ahhhhh!!"

The girl’s scream tore out of her throat as her body jerked violently, her teeth grinding together as she tried to endure the pressure crushing into her leg.

Page straightened up slowly.

"They search like hunters," she went on, folding her hands behind her back as she walked in a small arc, her posture relaxed, almost elegant. "They stretch, and stretch, and stretch... always looking, always reaching... and when they finally find their prey..."

She stopped, turned and smiled again.

"They never let go."

The girl’s breathing became rough and uneven.

Her body trembled as the vines tightened further, digging into her skin, restricting her movements, crushing her muscles.

Page tilted her head slightly, as if she had just remembered something.

"Oh... before I forget."

She raised a finger.

"Bunge Boa Vines don’t have a single root," she said, her voice light, almost playful. "Every piece you cut... becomes a new plant."

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"That’s why your idiotic brain didn’t notice it."

She pointed down.

"The vines you cut earlier... they were already growing. Quietly and slowly. From where I first stood."

She let out a soft laugh, then another louder this time.

"Honestly... how stupid can you be?" she asked, shaking her head lightly. "You didn’t even try to understand what you were fighting... not even once."

Her laughter echoed again, cold and mocking.

"Well... what did I expect from an orphan?"

The words fell like heavy stones, thrown on the girl’s face.

The girl’s pupils shook.

So that’s why...

Her thoughts became clearer, everything connected.

The vines, the delay, the way they appeared behind her.

She had been trapped from the very beginning.

"Tsk..."

Her teeth clenched tightly.

Is this how I lose?

Her body trembled.

No!

Cognis erupted from her body.

A violent surge.

Her veins bulged beneath her skin, becoming visible as her body forced itself past its limits. Blood began to drip from her nose, then her eyes, then her ears, staining her face as her breathing turned ragged.

I won’t...

Her voice cracked.

I won’t lose like this!!

She pushed harder.

The vines began to stretch slightly.

Then more.

Her muscles screamed in pain, her bones feeling like they were being crushed from both inside and outside, but she kept pushing, forcing her body forward with nothing but will.

Just like that girl who fought Brooks... I’ll give everything... Even if I BREAK!

Her body shook violently.

The vines tightened further, resisting her strength, but she continued, inch by inch, forcing space between herself and the restraints.

She was close, so close...

Then...

Heat.

A sudden wave of heat spread from her front.

Her body froze with her instincts screaming.

"Another lesson, orphan."

Page’s voice came again calm and unbothered.

Her hands were already on the ground, Cognis flowing smoothly through her arms as alchemy activated once more.

Behind her...

A thick green stem had grown and at its peak...

A large flower.

A sunflower.

But this one wasn’t normal.

Its petals glowed orange, bright.

The light gathered at its center, pulling heat from the sun above, compressing it, focusing it into a single point.

"This," Page said, her tone filled with quiet pride, "is a mutated sunflower."

She turned her head slightly.

"With alchemy, we Flora Alchemists can take any ordinary plant or flower... and turn it into something that destroys."

The glow intensified with the air around it distorting from the heat.

The girl’s eyes trembled.

Her will...Broke.

Her Cognis...Collapsed.

Like it had been wiped away.

"W...wait..."

Her voice came out weak, barely a whisper.

Her body stopped resisting with fear filling her completely.

Page looked at her.

A small smile of satisfaction on her face.

"Are you scared now?"

The light grew brighter and brighter.

Then...

It fired.

A beam of pure heat shot forward.

Boom!

It struck her directly.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! ARGHHHHH!!!"

Her scream echoed violently across the arena, raw and broken, as the beam burned through her body, consuming everything in its path.

The vines holding her caught fire and turned to ash dropping her body on the ground.

Flames still clung to her as she rolled on the ground, her limbs jerking uncontrollably, her voice breaking into painful cries.

The smell of burning filled the air.

Her movements slowed gradually with her strength fading, her hand stretched forward weakly reaching for nothing.

Then...

It fell on the ground, her body not moving again.

She was dead.