"An Xiaotong, I'm glad you're not dead."
In the Lava Sea, Judgment Hand stood atop a crimson rock, excitement flashing in her golden, slit-pupiled eyes. She rested her gleaming silver broadsword on her shoulder, its blade clinking sharply against her shoulder armor.
Opposite her, a figure in a black-and-gold coat stood in midair, barely half a meter above the crimson Lava Sea, the Dark-Gold Phoenix Wings behind her beating slowly.
An Xiaotong said nothing. She merely tightened her grip on the Gilded Cross Sword, her pale face utterly bloodless and perfectly calm.
Judgment Hand's lips curled slightly, fierce excitement gleaming in her eyes. "If I never got to fight you fair and square, I'd regret it for the rest of my life.
Now I can finally prove who the true master of the Thought Eye is!"
Fair and square?
An Xiaotong silently glanced at her body, ravaged by the Abyss, her Golden Eyes as still as water.
Boom!!
A sudden blast tore through the air. The figure clad in Knight Armor charged as though she had teleported, carving a straight wake through the sea of lava.
Judgment Hand gripped the Cross Broadsword with both hands and brought it down toward An Xiaotong's skull, carrying all the crushing momentum of a knight's charge.
The blow was immensely powerful. Before the sword even reached her, its furious wind sent An Xiaotong's smooth hair whipping wildly.
She did not block it head-on. Her Dark-Gold Phoenix Wings beat sharply, carrying her several meters sideways. As she dodged, she deftly swept the Gilded Cross Sword upward at an angle.
It struck precisely at the weakest point of the Cross Broadsword's swing.
Clang!!
The piercing clash of metal scattered tiny sparks.
The deflected Cross Broadsword threw Judgment Hand off balance. Anger flashed in her eyes, and