"It has a heart..."

My eyes lock onto the bright orange energy source beneath its layers of black energy manifested cloak. It avoided being hit there on purpose, so I know this is exactly where I need to land my final blow.

The moment its halves comes back together, the battle is back on instantly

I release another mana blade full of fire, and in response, the monster throws its swirling black balls of energy my way.

The Wraith doesn't bother dodging, but to conserve energy and test out what this new attack will really be, I do.

I immediately air-step back and recharge my sword with the mana in the air and dome behind me while two orbs of black swirling energy come rocketing toward me.

They pierce through the flickering flames that grow higher on the arena floor, disintegrating the red aura around them, and even putting out some of the roaring flames.

Wisps of orange seep out from the orbs as their energy is used up to extinguish the flames in their path, but the jet black core only gets faster the closer it comes to me.

I use the same strategy as before, pushing myself off the arena dome for extra momentum to face the attack full-on with a charged blade, but upon impact, I face a lot more resistance than I initially expected.

Instead of sinking through, the edge of my crimson aura reacts to the black aura in the orb like two identical magnets repelling each other.

For a moment, I stop in mid-air, and there isn't even a sound on impact.

Then I'm repelled backward and the black orbs are too.

I'm thrown back into the arena wall, but get my footing before I hit the dirt floor.

Both of the orbs follow with incredible speed, one attacking from the left and the other on the right.

I use all my might to block again, but the angles and speed of this secondary surprise attack are too awkward to perfectly line up. I manage to block and repel one with my sword as the other black orb collides into my blind spot on my upper back's left side.

There's a moment where the energy repels just like before, but on collision, the orb self-destructs and a wave of orange light erupts from inside. It is hotter, denser, and brighter than any light I've ever witnessed before.

On top of that, it's all focused on a single point as the black swirls of energy disperse into the air.

The intense sizzling and bubbling sound comes back as I turn around.

A massive hole in my Red Hydra's Aura has been burned straight through, and the smell of burnt metal in the air and plumes of smoke coming from my back signal something is very wrong...

The orange light dims, but the sensation of my own power being drained as well doesn't make me feel any better about it.

I turn and use my perception skills to see not only my aura has been burned through, but my layer of mana shielding, Salamander King's Cloak, and even a portion of my Berserker King's blood-bonded armor set.

The moment my Red Hydra's aura seeps out from my body to refill the hole in my defenses, I use the self-regeneration skill to heal the portion of bonded armor, but the burn hole in my cloak remains.

While gritting my teeth and charging my sword back up, the second orb comes flying my way in the same fashion as before.

I block it and it's repelled with a bounce that does not give off a sound at all, but out of the corner of my eye, I see the Wraith charging up two more black orbs.

It throws them my way, and before I know it, I'm forced to block two more with my sword and I'm hit at point-blank range with another attack. The black outer casing of swirling energy dissipates the moment it contacts the area just a little to the right of its last attack, releasing another wave of the orange energy that flashes so bright it's almost yellow-white.

Sizzles, bubbling, cracks, and smoke erupt from my body and I jump away again with an even more determined gaze.

Another large hole is torn through my cloak and armor, but I have no time to think about aesthetics.

The Wraith has already formed another two orbs and the two remaining in the air are already coming my way.

If I keep playing on the defensive like this, I'll surely be battered down until I lose.

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My natural aura and armor are enough to take its attacks head-on, and clearly, it won't give me an opportunity to block. This monster is only going for the cheap shots when I'm distracted. It may be a cowardly method, but it sure is the smart one.

It's keeping me at a distance for a reason. My best guess is it can't take a hit as well as I can...

My eyes lock on its torso, using every drop of my Red Hydra-infused perception skills to try and locate the orange glowing heart I saw before. However, in the small moment of time I have before a whopping 4 black orbs come flying my way, I can't manage to pick up a single reading.

I make the decision and run straight forward, continuously charging my sword up in order to make the most powerful attack, and completely disregard the orbs of energy coming my way from the sides.

One after another, I'm hit on the back, shoulders, and sides as I zip across the ring swinging my sword in an upward motion.

I release an energy blade equal to the full power strike I did before while showering the Wraith with the same earth spikes and spears as a bonus.

The aura around my body is bombarded by hot acid-like soul energy attacks, and my Salamander's cloak is decimated even more than I imagined it would, My chestplate becomes cracked and melted in places, but I push forward to watch the black blade of flames slice the Wraith in half once again.

It gives minimal reaction, releasing another set of orbs my way before the stone bullets destroy its boney hands and arms.

I tank the two incoming attacks before my aura even fully recovers from the last barrage, and the impact isn't pretty. Almost half of my cloak is burned away, and a huge hole in my armor is made too. This time, it even managed to burn through and touch my skin...

I feel a horrific burning sensation, hotter than being covered in lava, but it only lasts an instant.

My aura leaks out from deep within me to nullify it almost instantly, and I self-regenerate my skin and armor given the time I have until the Wraith's hands and arms need to be put back onto its body.

In the same instance, I see its glowing orange heart emerge from the two jet black halves, and the only thing on the front of my mind is claiming that prize.

I swing downward again, releasing another flaming mana blade, now at such close range, it's nearly impossible for me to miss.

As the crimson-covered mana blade closes the gap, the half of the Wraith without a pulsing orange heart shifts its body in front of the attack.

It slices right through like butter, but the moment it comes out the other side, the red aura surrounding it is significantly weaker.

The other portion of the Wraith reconnects one of its arms to the half with the heart, and creates a miniature orange orb, shifting its body, and taking the brunt of the blast with its summoned energy.

The red and orange masses collide and disperse, nullifying my attack completely, but I still run forward getting closer and closer to the dismembered Wraith.

It's half with the heart attached floats backward, and its dismembered half is left in the dust as I run past.

The arena around me feels as if it's slowed down so much in this moment that time has almost come to a halt.

The amount of energy being plundered from the arena and put out to charge and block attacks is unfathomable to the average person. To anyone watching from outside the ring right now, it must be nothing but a blur of bright lights and series of loud sounds.

What feels like a long series of exchanges to me in here has been less than 5 seconds to the rest of the world since the battle began.

I run forward as my black flames from earlier continue to rise higher and fill the arena floor everywhere I step.

Charging up another mana blade, the gap between us lessens to 5 meters, and I swing again at its main body.

I can hardly even see its arms, energy cloak, or even other attacks being thrown at me.

My eyes are on the pulsing heart in its chest, and nothing else matters. I'll kill it here and now. Retreating again will only lead to more cat and mouse, draining my precious energy. I'll have to go on the offensive eventually, and right now is the only time I can catch it by surprise.

I have to go all in.

The red and black blade slices through the Wraith again as it shifts its body, narrowly twisting its heart away from the dense part of my attack.

I get less than 3 meters away now, and feel another two balls of hot energy hit my back.

The intensity burns the remainder of my cloak away and severely damages my armor more, but it's far from the first thing on my mind.

I focus deeper, allowing even more of my surroundings to fade away, activating my swordsmanship skill, and see a very faint thread to follow. All I can truly see now is the swirling black energy, a skeletal ribcage, and a bright pulsing heart deep within it.

My blade swings right through the Wraith's remaining black body, but my eyes are filled with shock once the eerie feeling of dread comes over me again...

The same dark feeling I felt when I entered the ring, again in the middle of our fight, and now again the instant my blade makes contact with its darkness. I can feel the swirling darkness of its energy cloak split in half as my blade pierces through it. However, the more I push through, the more energy I feel leaving my own body.

The Red Hydra's aura is being sucked away from the outer layer of the blade the deeper I pierce through, and the thread from my swordsmanship skill becomes dimmer and dimmer.

I have to dig deep to follow it.

Pushing through, the tip of my blade is less than half a meter away from the heart, but the red aura around it becomes so thin that holes in its outer layer begin to let black energy seep through.

I let a wave of Qi rush into the blade, but it doesn't do a single thing to help.

The darkness envelops my sword, and the edges of it begin to crack and crumble. The blade's tip is less than 10 centimeters from the pulsing orange heart, but every ounce of power and momentum has been used up from it to make it this far.

Pushing my sword any further may damage it beyond repair, and most likely not even make a fatal blow.

My eyes widen and I completely change my momentum. I let the sword fall short, downward, without piercing the heart and take another step forward plunging my other free hand deep into the darkness covered in The Red Hydra's Aura following the open path carved out by my sword.

The tips of my fingers hit the edges of the darkness and it immediately feels as if I plunged my hand into a bucket of boiling water.

However, I don't hesitate to push it further, reaching closer and closer to the bright beating heart.

As the skin is melted away from my hand, and the essence of the Hydra is burned away again, I tighten my grasp to feel the pulsing heart and let out a victory yell.

I activate Life-steal and Plunderer the instant I make contact, and a rush of MP and HP fills my body. I fully grip the beating heart and rip it out of the monster's body.