Back to the fight.
The two clashed—it was like a white sun being pierced by a golden celestial blade.
A two-ring Spiritual Guardian was way stronger than her. That new transformation of hers, which she barely had time to get used to, wasn't a miracle fix.
The strike hit her dead-on, cold and precise. All her white scales shattered instantly, and blood spilled out.
It was just a preliminary attack, using 20% of his power.
But... he only managed to cut her surface-level scales. And even those regenerated in the next second.
It was obvious—even if he'd used 100% of his strength, she would've been seriously hurt, yeah, but not dead.
That definitely caught him off guard. But now, it was over.
His other hand moved with the dagger, and the small blade began glowing in multiple colors. That power wasn't coming from him—it was the laws of this universe bending reality in his favor because of his blessing.
At the same time, all the white energy that had fused with Niara vanished. Darian felt half the power of his ring disappear—along with all the white power.
It had all been burned to defend her, and it worked extremely well. The problem was, the difference of one ring was just too big. If Darian had been on the guy's level, that hit would've barely left a scratch.
But right after the white power vanished…
'This...'
He felt something suffocating. It wasn't an outside force, nor an enemy attack.
It was coming from her.
A terrifying hunger. Unending.
He knew that feeling.
Hunger for power.
Darian's eyes lit up. There was no time to think, no time to hesitate. Instinct kicked in, pulling everything he had from within and pushing it out. All the dark power—and the rest of the ring's energy—rushed toward her.
A single thought shot through the connection, hitting her like a thunderclap:
'Devour.'
The moment the words reached her, her eyes changed. That pure light from before vanished, replaced by a deep, endless abyss.
This time, Darian paid close attention to the changes. He felt the dark power being pulled into her bloodline. Then, on his forehead, a black mark appeared. Only after that did the connection between him and Niara grow stronger.
Darian was sure he had just uncovered a new aspect of his powers. But he also knew this only happened because her bloodline was exceptional—it could handle his power. The fact that she'd absorbed the Celestial Dragon's bloodline and gotten stronger helped too.
"Black Dragon Armor!"
She roared, completely taken over by uncontrollable excitement. She felt a wild, irresistible urge. Everything inside her screamed for battle, destruction—for devouring the world around her.
The change happened in an instant.
The Spiritual Guardian had already activated his blessing. His dagger glinted, ready for the final blow just inches away.
That's when his eyes met hers.
His soul trembled.
His body sank into something thick and suffocating, like he was being swallowed by a sea of black sludge. His muscles, the power of his two rings, even his divine blessing—able to bend reality itself—everything was affected.
His movement, once fast as lightning, dragged like a nightmare in slow motion.
And then, he saw.
The Dragoness's body had completely changed again.
The pure white of her scales had turned into an abyssal black. Her eyes glowed scarlet, like a demonic creature. The only thing that stayed the same was her hair—deep blue, like a cloudless sky. A beautiful contrast... and terrifying.
The Spiritual Guardian couldn't look away. Staring at her felt like looking at something that shouldn't exist.
Niara stared back coldly.
And she saw him moving in slow motion.
The excitement burning inside her hit its peak.
She roared and went all in.
Darian felt it, stunned. All the miasma and corruption of the nest moved with her. It was like... like the environment itself was empowering her... just like a Risen...
She charged. Just a punch.
But that punch felt like it could corrupt all living things.
It wasn't raw, destructive power. It was something else entirely. But still—poison to anything alive.
**BANG!**
Darkness swallowed all light in a wide area. Only a violent sound echoed.
A few seconds later, the light started to return...
"Hehehehe…"
A playful laugh echoed.
"NO! NO! AAAAAH!"
A scream of pure panic and agony followed.
Up in the sky, a demonic black Dragoness hovered, her wings spread wide like a dark cloak.
Her fist was extended, gripping the neck of that white-winged Summoner.
His Spiritual Guardian... had already ceased to exist seconds ago.
The offensive power of this form was absolute. Niara burned through 90% of the black energy she had absorbed all at once—but it let her completely erase all traces of life from her target... his soul was instantly corrupted and then annihilated.
As for the Summoner—he felt something invade his body and soul. He was totally defenseless after losing his partner. Soon, he stopped talking, like something dark had gripped his very life.
'I'm in.' Darian confirmed.
And then… her body locked up.
For a moment, the euphoric glow vanished from her eyes. The strength drained from her wings.
And she fell.
Her body dropped from the sky like a meteor.
*BOOM!*
The impact kicked up a thick cloud of dust.
As the mist of particles cleared, a figure was revealed on the ground.
She was lying on her back, completely stripped of her scales.
Her body was covered in fresh blood, every pore spilling it nonstop.
Her eyes were wide open, her breathing erratic. Every movement looked like a spasm, like she was on the verge of her last breath.
'Shit. Hurry! Hurry!'
Darian moved, nearly panicking.
Black lines snaked through the air, converging on her.
He devoured the karma from the two dead Spiritual Guardians. That energy didn't vanish instantly, even if the bodies were gone. It was like the world's laws were holding onto it, saving it just for him as payment for his work.
He absorbed as much energy as possible. At the same time, he channeled his healing power.
He felt her blood flow start to slow. The leaking stopped. The trembling body began to stabilize.
He let out a heavy sigh of relief—but then, something new hit him.
A soft, warm sensation was pressing in on him from both sides.
"Whoa!"
He quickly tried to move out of there—he didn't have his scales to protect him anymore.
But before he could, a soft hand grabbed him firmly, holding him in place.
With a heavy breath, she slowly sat up.
"I'm fine... you're not allowed to leave..."
She murmured, sitting on the ground, breathing deeply.
Darian watched her struggling to get up. It really wasn't over. They had only survived.
But her... saying she was weak was an understatement. Her bloodline had been pushed to its limits. It would take months of rest before she could use her full power again—and that wasn't something the white power could fix.
She wouldn't even dream of fighting again... and he had less than 5% of his ring power left.
'We did it,' Darian said quietly. Then he turned to look at the unconscious Summoner lying in the distance.
She nodded faintly, taking shaky steps toward the body.
Darian's eyes widened. From his current physical position, every step she took made him sway right in the middle of that spot.
"..."
She had no scales protecting the place. But he could feel it clearly—she wasn't going to let him out of there.
Darian could only take a deep breath, doing his best to ignore the situation.
He wasn't a Spiritual Guardian, but he wasn't a full Summoner either. He and Niara were something in between, and now he realized the black and white powers inside him could be used incredibly well through her.
'My two powers... they cancel each other out when I try to use them together...' he thought.
He could either activate the white power to heal, or the black one to attack. When he fought during that fifteen-day trial, he noticed he could never use both at the same time. It was like one rejected the other.
It was the same with Niara—only one transformation could be active at once.
'...once I get stronger, I'll be able to fight alone with one power, while she uses the other. It's like... she's my special weapon...'