Redy didn’t release her grip. The pressure from the twelve-winged angel still crushed everything in the room, forcing even the Skarn bloodline to submit, yet her aura surged again without pause. She was pushing further.
Her divine spirit broke the rules every martial artist lived by. Where others relied on a single martial spirit to channel their affinity, Redy possessed two. Even at bloodline level one, that abnormality alone already defied logic.
The second manifestation completed.
The air shifted instantly, turning heavy and cold as a thin mist spread outward from behind her. It wasn’t explosive like the angel. It was quiet but far more unsettling as the temperature dropped sharply.
Within that swirling haze, sothing began to take shape.
At first, it was just a faint outline. Then the form condensed, scales erging one after another, each one smooth and bone-white, reflecting the flickering lights of the building with a dull, ghostly sheen.
The receptionist’s breath caught.
Instead of towering like the angel, the second spirit was compact, its body lean and perfectly proportioned. A small dragon hovered just above the ground, its presence calm, yet suffocating in a completely different way.
Its claws extended slowly, silver-tipped and precise, touching the floor without making a sound. Translucent wings unfolded behind it, moving in a slow, rhythmic motion that didn’t stir the air, yet sohow made the entire room vibrate.
No roar ca or explosion of power followed.
Instead, a low, crystalline hum spread outward. It sank into the walls, the floor, the bones of everyone present, as if sothing deeper than pressure was taking hold.
The crystalline hum deepened as the second spirit fully stabilized, its presence sinking into everything. For a brief mont, the receptionist’s body froze mid-charge, her montum trapped between instinct and overwhelming suppression from the two spirits now dominating the space.
Then control snapped back.
She couldn’t stop herself anymore. Her body surged forward, carried by the force of her earlier launch. Her teeth clenched as she forced her power to respond, dragging everything she had left into one final attack.
Her bloodline strained under the pressure, but she pushed through it.
With a sharp inhale, she summoned her heavenly spirit, forcing it into alignnt with her weakened bloodline. The suppression didn’t disappear, but it loosened just enough for her to act, for her power to answer.
Wind gathered instantly.
It wrapped around her claws in tight spirals, compressing and sharpening with every fraction of a second. The air scread as it condensed, forming multiple razor-like arcs that hovered just ahead of her strike.
"Wind Laceration."
The attack released.
Dozens of compressed wind blades shot forward, slicing through the air in overlapping paths, each one aid precisely at Redy. The force behind them split the ground further, carving thin lines across the floor as they advanced.
Redy didn’t move.
Her stance remained steady, her expression unchanged as both supre spirits responded. The angel behind her brightened, its wings lifting slightly, while the small dragon’s hum intensified, resonating deeper into the environnt.
Essence gathered around her.
It condensed rapidly, drawn in from both manifestations, flowing into a single point centered on her position. The pressure didn’t explode outward, it compressed, becoming sothing far more dangerous.
"Let there be light."
The words fell calmly.
Then everything vanished in brilliance.
A blinding radiance erupted from Redy’s position, swallowing the incoming wind blades instantly. The attacks didn’t clash or resist—they dissolved, the mont they entered the expanding light.
The receptionist’s vision flooded white.
Her attack disappeared. Her senses scread. And in that single, terrifying instant, one clear thought cut through everything else.
I’m going to die.
Her body locked.
She couldn’t dodge, defend or retreat. The suppression, the light, the presence, it all crushed her ability to act, leaving her completely exposed before Redy’s unseen strike.
Then a stronger force intervened.
The pressure shifted violently, cutting through the floor with absolute authority. Space warped for a split second, and the receptionist’s body vanished from its position just as Redy’s rapier completed its motion.
The light faded and rhe receptionist reappeared beside Ivy, stumbling slightly as her legs struggled to stabilize. Her heart pounded violently against her chest, each beat loud enough to drown out her own thoughts.
All her abilities were gone.
Her bloodline had deactivated. Her heavenly spirit had disappeared. Even the lingering traces of wind had completely faded, leaving her standing there, empty, as if nothing had ever been under her control.
Her eyes lifted slowly.
Redy stood exactly where she had been, her rapier already lowered, as if the entire exchange had been nothing more than a minor interruption. The two supre spirits lingered faintly before dissolving into nothing.
Redy exhaled lightly, then slid her rapier back into place with a smooth motion.
"You finally decided to show up."
As her words settled, the door to the manager’s office clicked open.
"Co in."
The voice was calm, firm, and carried an authority that silenced the entire floor instantly. Even the lingering tension from the fight seed to retreat in response to that single command.
Redy didn’t hesitate.
She turned slightly, her gaze brushing over Ivy for a brief second before giving a small, reassuring nod. Then she walked forward, her steps steady, as if nothing about the earlier clash had mattered.
The door closed behind her.
The receptionist remained where she stood, unmoving, her breathing still uneven. Her eyes stayed fixed on the door, the fear from monts ago still lingering deep within her chest, refusing to fade.
****
The door closed behind Redy with a soft click, but the mont her foot settled fully inside, the world shifted. A strange pressure brushed against her senses, subtle yet invasive, as if sothing unseen had briefly tried to take control.
It passed just as quickly.
Redy’s eyes narrowed slightly, her instincts sharpening as she scanned her surroundings. This wasn’t an office. Not even close. The walls, the desk, the enclosed space, everything had vanished without a trace.
She stood on a narrow ridge.
Towering peaks stretched endlessly in every direction, jagged and ancient, their shadows cutting across the landscape. Below, a vast sea of clouds rolled slowly, thick and endless, swallowing everything beneath it.
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