A massive sword with an ancient design was suddenly drawn from the air by the Blue-haired Girl.
The black-gray hilt was adorned with sharp black decorations, some ring-shaped, others tooth-like.
The blade was covered in strange cracks, or more precisely, fractal art patterns.
It was the ultimate mathematical beauty.
For Ning Yu, who had mild OCD, these patterns were incredibly pleasing to the eye, completely satisfying.
The originally gray blade began emitting blue light, matching her hair and eyes, as soon as the girl grasped it.
The fractal cracks lit up with white light even brighter than the blue.
Strange mechanical chanting suddenly filled the air, as if celebrating the sword's arrival, making the scene momentarily resemble some sacred ritual.
"Eliminate..."
The girl muttered, while the mechanical ornaments near her ears began flashing increasingly rapidly, like an engine revving to maximum power.
At this moment, Ning Yu and her blade reached her opponent.
Her Crimson War Blade moved so fast it seemed to leave afterimages in the air.
The blue-haired girl finally swung her massive sword, and this motion seemed to harness infinite energy, its imposing presence making Ning Yu's heart tremble.
"CLANG!!!!"
Their attacks violently collided, with fierce sparks flying between the giant sword and the Crimson War Blade.
The girl's expression remained unchanged, but Ning Yu felt an overwhelmingly powerful force transmitted through her hands.
Could a young girl possess such strength?
She was sent flying backward, her body spinning uncontrollably in the air.
Then she crashed hard into the concrete wall of the rooftop water tank, her Crimson War Blade clattering to the ground beside her.
"Puh!"
Ning Yu hit the ground and spat out blood, which mixed with the rainwater flowing across the rooftop.
What a terrifying strike!
Her crimson eyes fixed intently on the girl, realizing there was an overwhelming gap in their combat abilities.
The girl hadn't even moved her body, just one swing had sent her flying.
Looking up, Ning Yu's vision blurred as the girl vanished from her spot.
Ning Yu knew she was already attacking again.
No choice! She had to activate "Dark Side of the Moon" now!
"CLANG!!"
Ning Yu, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly stood up and managed to block the girl's next powerful strike with her blade in one hand.
The silver-haired little girl's lips curved into a maniacal smile:
"Good, this is interesting!"
"Dark Side of the Moon" had activated.
The girl's giant sword pressed down with thunderous force against Ning Yu's single-handed blade defense, pushing her lower and lower.
"Eliminate..."
"Are you a damn broken record or what?!"
Ning Yu showed an impatient expression, her snow-white teeth clenched and her small nose wrinkled - the picture of an angry little girl.
She switched from one hand to two hands on her blade, and the power balance suddenly reversed.
Now it was Ning Yu who was pushing back the Blue-haired Girl, who remained floating but was forced to retreat step by step.
Ning Yu's blade pressed closer and closer, her previously calm face now full of frenzy and excitement.
She brought her face close to the blue-haired girl's, as if about to give her an intimate kiss.
Looking closely at the girl's beautiful ice-blue eyes, Ning Yu made a threatening declaration through gritted teeth:
"Your eyes are truly beautiful."
"I've decided to gouge them out and keep them as souvenirs!"
With these words, she suddenly swung her Crimson War Blade, pushing back both the blue-haired girl and her cracked giant sword.
Then her figure exploded forward with a boom, catching up to the blue-haired girl, the raindrops around her scattering from the force.
"Die! Die! Die! Die! DIE!!!!"
Ning Yu's blade strikes were more fierce and dense than the current downpour.
She let out soul-piercing screams, each strike aimed to take the blue-haired girl's life, her red eyes flashing and shifting through the heavy rain.
The blue-haired girl remained completely unfazed by Ning Yu's aggressive assault, simply continuing to block with her blue-glowing cracked sword.
Her expression hadn't changed at all.
But the battle situation had become very unfavorable for her, with the mechanical ornaments behind her ears flashing at an extreme frequency, as if about to overclock.
Another strike forced her back, and Ning Yu was approaching her limit.
Suddenly spinning her body, she delivered consecutive horizontal slashes - this time the blue-haired girl had nowhere to dodge!
"Crack!"
The blade struck the blue-haired girl's waist, and Ning Yu smiled in victory.
However, after the strike, she realized no blood flowed from the girl's wound - only dense transistors could be seen, with precise flowing lights inside.
So she wasn't human after all.
But Ning Yu wouldn't let such a good opportunity slip away. She pulled back her blade and thrust it straight at the girl's heart, determined to land this hit.
The girl who had just been struck suddenly froze, then began shaking violently like a malfunctioning machine.
But Ning Yu's frenzied expression suddenly stiffened, as her thrust was blocked by that invisible barrier again.
Her thrust had been so powerful it had dented the barrier, revealing its curved outline in the air.
But it couldn't penetrate.
At this moment, the girl's ice-blue eyes also changed - her left eye began filling with gold, like ink spreading through water, soon consuming her entire left eye.
"How useless."
This time, it wasn't the mechanical, emotionless voice.
The girl spoke with a voice that, though cold, had human characteristics.
Damn, there's a second phase?!
The darkened Ning Yu cursed internally, preparing to pull back her blade for another strike.
But the crimson blade seemed stuck in the rippling barrier waves, impossible to withdraw.
Damn it!
The girl, her left eye now golden, looked down at Ning Yu with contempt.
She raised her giant sword, which suddenly burst with intense power, and struck Ning Yu's Crimson War Blade!
"CLANG!!!"
Ning Yu's eyes widened in shock.
The Crimson War Blade that had accompanied her through so many battles was cleaved in two by the cracked giant sword!
[Ding! Item: Crimson War Blade has been destroyed]
She really wanted to tell the system that she didn't need the reminder.
With her weapon destroyed, the effects of both "Dark Side of the Moon" and "Blood's Ancient Wish" immediately terminated.
Ning Yu felt strength draining from her entire body.
The frenzied negative emotions occupying her mind vanished instantly like floodwaters released from a dam.
Her crimson eyes visibly transformed back to their original amber color.
She collapsed sitting on the ground, strength gone.
Cold rain fell on her head, some wet strands of hair covering the edges of her eyes.
Ning Yu experienced a familiar feeling.
Was it death? Was she about to embrace death once again?
The blue-haired girl's waist, which Ning Yu had just damaged, was repaired by strange blocks surrounding it, returning to perfect condition.
Her golden left eye emitted a divine light, more majestic and solemn than the original ice-blue.
It must have been the eye of a deity.
She raised the cracked giant sword that had just broken the Crimson War Blade and placed it against Ning Yu's neck.
Ning Yu, who had always been the one threatening others with her blade, was now having a blade held to her throat for the first time.
"You're interesting..."
The girl spoke these meaningful words, strange patterns flickering in her eyes.
Ning Yu was still panting, though being forcibly ejected from "Dark Side of the Moon" seemed to have spared her from its usual negative backlash.
She hadn't passed out or experienced intense pain - that was good news.
But the bad news was:
Her Crimson War Blade, worth 15,000 points, was gone.
She wondered if she could get a refund for that.