Aiden's vision burned red, his fists already clenched and ready.
"What's wrong? Mad I hurt your girlfriend?" Ruan taunted, forcing a mocking tone.
"You're gonna pay for this."
"I don't have time to waste on you. Die!"
Ruan slashed the air toward Aiden, unleashing multiple beams like the one that had struck Lyra.
But their speed was nothing compared to Aiden's. He charged at Ruan, dodging every attack with ease.
As Aiden closed the gap, Ruan's desperation grew, forcing him to amp up the power of his beams.
"Take this!" Ruan roared, firing a massive electric blast, bigger than any before.
Aiden couldn't dodge in time and instead shielded himself with his arms, taking the full brunt of the attack.
A thick cloud of smoke rose from the impact, drawing a victorious grin from Ruan.
"Had enough, or do you want more?!" Ruan jeered, convinced he'd won.
But before he could gloat further, Aiden burst from the smoke at blinding speed, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.
Ruan thrust his sword at Aiden, aiming to decapitate him.
Aiden caught the blade's tip with his bare hand, unharmed.
"What the hell?" Ruan gasped.
"That all you got?"
Aiden gripped the sword with crushing force, shattering its tip and leaving Ruan stunned.
"My turn."
Aiden channeled a surge of magic power into his fist and, before Ruan could react, landed a devastating punch to his abdomen.
The blow unleashed a gust of wind, sending Ruan hurtling backward until he slammed into a tree.
Ruan tried to recover, but the strike left him too dazed to stand.
"Damn you," Ruan spat, coughing up blood. "Even if you don't fully control your magic, your strength is unreal."
"What makes you think I don't control my magic?"
"I know what a perfectly controlled aura looks like, and yours ain't it."
"Well… if I still managed to beat you, does that say more about me or less about you?"
"Don't get cocky," Ruan said. "Judging by your torn clothes and the scratches on your skin, my attack did hurt you. And don't think this fight's over."
"Got an ace up your sleeve?"
"You bet. Didn't think I'd have to use it, but you've left me no choice."
Ruan reached into his cloak and pulled out a small, transparent vial.
'What's that?' Aiden thought. 'A healing potion? No, that wouldn't help him now. Could it be…?'
"Ruan, stop!"
Serena came rushing toward Ruan, grabbing his arm.
"Hey!" Maya shouted, stepping beside Aiden. "Get back here—we're not done!"
"Why are you stopping me, Serena?" Ruan snapped, his face twisted with anger.
"We said we wouldn't resort to this."
"We don't have a choice. This is our last card, and I'm not letting it go to waste."
"Ruan… I can't let you do this. We agreed we wouldn't kill anyone. I won't cross that line."
"Sorry to hear that, Serena… but I will."
In a swift motion, Ruan struck Serena with a heavy blow, knocking her out cold on the ground.
"You bastard!" Aiden said instantly. "How dare you do that to your own partner?"
"We'll sort out our issues later. First, I'm dealing with you."
Ruan uncorked the vial and flung its red liquid into the distance.
As the liquid hit the ground, it spread into a circle, from which flames erupted, growing larger by the second.
"What the hell is that?" Maya asked.
"That's… a summoning potion," Aiden said, readying his fists for the fight ahead.
With a bone-chilling roar, the demon announced its arrival, emerging from the flames. Sharp fangs and claws like a lion's, paired with a red, humanoid body, towered before them.
"Now let's see who's laughing last," Ruan said, slinking into the trees and leaving Aiden and Maya as the demon's sole targets.